cannabisnews.com: Proposition S Proceeds Apace 










  Proposition S Proceeds Apace 

Posted by CN Staff on July 31, 2003 at 22:38:48 PT
By Fred Gardner 
Source: Anderson Valley Advertiser  

In November 2002, 63% of San Francisco voters voted "Yes" on Proposition S, a one-sentence policy question: "Should the city explore the possibility of growing and dispensing medical cannabis?" Two civilian organizers of the task force that promulgated Proposition S, Wayne Justmann and Michael Aldrich had been proprietors at medical marijuana dispensaries. The measure was put on the ballot "in light of the recent DEA crackdown on local medical cannabis clubs," by four city Supervisors: Mark Leno (now a state Assemblyman), Matt Gonzales ( now President of the Board ), Sophie Maxwell, and Chris Daly.
Following the passage of Prop S, at least five reform organizations, with the Drug Policy Alliance in a leading role, took part in meetings to discuss implementation strategies. The DPA hired a professional campaign consultant, Ellie Sue Schafer, and rented space at the Unitarian Church on Franklin St. and Geary Boulevard to hold a "Community Forum on Implementation of Proposition S." At the forum, held July 22, the five leading candidates for Mayor - --Supervisors Tom Ammiano and Gavin Newsom, Treasurer Susan Leal, former Supervisor Angela Alioto, and former Police Chief Anthony Ribera-- tried to outdo each other in expressing support for Prop S. Questions from the audience reflected a willingness to challenge federal law. Robyn Few of Americans for Safe Access asked Candidate Alioto, "As Mayor, would you be willing to stand up to the federal government --to really fight the federal government-- if they came here to rip out our gardens and close our clubs?" Alioto replied yes, but --she believes in "victory through coalition-building." San Francisco District Attorney Terence Hallinan, who is running for re-election, made one of the few concrete proposals when he suggested that under Prop S the city could authorize cannabis clubs to give "caregiver" status to proficient growers, who would then cultivate crops commensurate with the clubs' needs, i.e., a certain amount per documented patient. Kamela Harris and Bill Fazio --two former assistant DAs who are trying to unseat Hallinan--also asserted their support for Prop S, as did Public Defender Jeff Adachi. Were all the above-named individuals and institutions conspiring to violate federal law? Absolutely not, according to featured speaker Gerald Uelmen, Dean of the University of Santa Clara Law School. This is how he explained the legal situation: "...We're in a head-on collision with the federal authorities who say that there is no exception for medical use under the federal Controlled Substances Act and all cultivation, all possession, all distribution is illegal under federal law. How do we get around that? The first approach we tried was to say, 'There should be an exception for medical necessity.' We got shot down on that one in the U.S Supreme Court two years ago. But in issuing that decision, the US Supreme Court made it very clear that they were not deciding any of the questions of the constitutionality of the federal law. Now those issues are working their way up through the courts and will be heard and decided by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals this fall. There are three fully-briefed, waiting-to-argue cases pending before the 9th Circuit. I'm counsel in two of them: the Oakland Cannabis Co-op Case, which was remanded back to Judge [Charles] Breyer and is now in front of the 9th Circuit. And the WAMM case from Santa Cruz --a motion to get their marijuana back after the DEA raid last September... There's also the [Angel] RAICH case, brought on behalf of patients growing their own for their own use, without the involvement of a club. "I am very optimistic about our chances in the 9th Circuit, because these cases are all going back to the panel that decided the first Oakland Cannabis case... [Chief Judge Schroeder, Judges Reinhardt and Silverman] who aren't afraid of being reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court. They will do what's right. And I'm optimistic that we'll get a favorable decision from them and may be on our way back to the U.S. Supreme Court with these constitutional issues. "...We're making arguments that will appeal to the conservative justices... The essential argument being made in all of these cases is that the power of Congress to regulate intra-state commerce --that is just going on within a state-- is limited to situations where intra-state commerce has substantial effect on interstate commerce... Congress has made a finding in the CSA that all drug trafficking affects interstate commerce. We're trying to persuade the courts that you don't look at the broad activity, you look at the narrow class of activity that the state of California has defined in the Compassionate Use Act. That is, cultivation and possession of marijuana by patients, which has no effect on interstate commerce at all. "It's very important that the model we're taking to the U.S. Supreme Court and to the 9th Circuit is a model in which we can say, 'There really is no impact on interstate commerce from these activities.' "There's another issue raised in the OCBC case, and it was a very prominent issue in the prosecution of Ed Rosenthal... The issue of immunity: whether there is an exception under the federal CSA for local officials who are engaged in the enforcement of a law related to controlled substances. The argument we're making before the 9th Cricuit is that this broad immunity clause provides that if a local government authorizes the enforcement of Prop 215 by local officials, even if what those local officials are doing violates the federal controlled substances act, they are immune, because of what the Act itself says... "When this was presented to Judge Breyer in the Rosenthal case, he kind of read the immunity clause right out of the law by saying, 'You can only be immune if the activity in which you're engaged is in compliance with the CSA. In other words, you only get immunity if you don't need it.' A ludicrous interpretation of the law, and I hope the 9th circuit will see it that way... [A favorable ruling by the 9th Circuit] would open the door to government-authorized programs in which the people running the programs actually are officials and we can say they are engaged in the enforcement of a law related to controlled substances. They are enforcing California's Compassionate Use Act by ensuring that only patients who have the requisite medical approval are possessing, cultivating and using marijuana. "The other issue on the front burner right now is the potential liability of physicians for making recommendations under the CSA. We had a wonderful win in the 9th Circuit in Conant v. Drug Czar where the court declared that physicians are protected by the First Amendment, they have the First Amendment right to discuss all treatment alternatives with their patients, and the government cannot limit that right by saying 'You can't talk to your patients about medical marijuana.' The [government's appeal] may be headed to the U.S. Supreme Court as early as this fall. And that will be a very important case, because if we lose that one, it's over. But I'm very optimistic, because of this court's track record on First Amendment issues, that we can win that case in the U.S. Supreme Court. And I think a win on that case will put us in a very good position when these other constitutional issues find their way up to the court after the 9th Circuit has ruled on them. "In terms of implementing Prop S , there are really only three models to work from. Model A, the model used by the Oakland Cannabis Co-op and by the WAMM Collective in Santa Cruz, is a true collective, where the patients are all members of an organization collectively working together and they all come under the joint user concept. Model B would try to utilize the exception under federal law for medical research. That is the model being used in San Mateo. The problem with that is, the only pot you can use in a government research program is the government-grown pot that comes from their plantation in Mississippi, which has significant drawbacks in terms of medical quality... And Model C is the Whiskey Rebellion. Back in the 1790s, when the federal government first decided they were going to tax the production of whiskey, the farmers in Western Pennsylvania said 'Fuck you, federal government!' And George Washington sent in the federal troops and put down the rebellion. I think that model really has very little to recommend it. I think we really should struggle to come within whatever exceptions we can find in both the state and federal law."  The WAMM Model  The Drug Policy Alliance has hired Mike and Valerie Corral, the widely admired leaders of the Wo/man's Alliance for Medical Marijuana to consult on political and horticultural matters in connection with Prop S. At the forum Mike advised, "Most of the cost in a WAMM style community garden would be donated. Patients would donate labor and the city would donate the garden space and an office... Assuming each patient uses about three pounds a year, the requirement for a 25-patient garden would be 75 pounds. Production costs would be $250 per pound, $13.50 an ounce, and 50 cents a gram. That's for a patient-run garden where the patients do all the work and everything is on a donation basis... Remember, the WAMM model is based on outdoor growing. The more indoor growing you do, the more your costs go up dramatically. "The city has greenhouse space available, and growing in a greenhouse is about the same as growing outdoors. There are a few things you have to change in that environment, but the cost would be negligible.... Even in an urban environment, with the cooperation of your neighbors and the local authorities, people can grow outside on apartment decks, they can grow in their backyards... Indoor growing might make sense for security reasons, or for an individual grower, but if you're growing for a large collective, it makes far more sense to be growing outdoors in the light of the sun. You can set up your garden so that patients in wheelchairs can have full access to the plants and be gardeners themselves. We've learned in WAMM that exposure to the plants can be greatly beneficial to patients. So the idea we're proposing is as much hands-on patient participation as possible, which in turn reduces the security issues..." to be continued The Ballad of Grinspoon and Guy Sativa is a pretty plant It grows tall and green With 68 cannabinoids And the spicy-sweet terpenes Guy says I can market this I'll put it in a spray Grinspoon says let's grow our own Why should people have to pay? Guy says some prefer it neat And some don't like the high Grinspoon says the government Won't even let 'em try Euphoria's a side effect Could do a lot of good Guys says I'm all for ya, please Don't let me be misunderstood We're dealing with a system that Is not about to change Grinspoon says why not Reinvent the grange? And let a thousand farmers grow Every helpful strain... Guy says my approval wasn't easy Or cheap to almost obtain Sativex is a useful drug It bears the Bayer cross Grinspoon shakes the bottle With a subtle sense of loss "You're right from your side And I am right from mine We're just one too many mornings And a thousand miles behind..." Newshawk: afterburnerSource: Anderson Valley Advertiser (CA)Author: Fred GardnerPublished: Wednesday, July 30, 2003Copyright: 2003 Anderson Valley AdvertiserContact: ava pacific.netWebsite: http://www.theava.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:WAMMhttp://www.wamm.org/Drug Policy Alliancehttp://www.drugpolicy.org/ Reefer Progress http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16929.shtml Prop. S: Challenging the Feds http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14669.shtmlProp. S -- Medical Pot, Again http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14598.shtml 

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Comment #30 posted by FoM on August 01, 2003 at 21:13:37 PT
ekim
I don't know if I've ever said this but I really appreciate your comments. You seem like a really good hearted person. 
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Comment #29 posted by Petard on August 01, 2003 at 21:10:19 PT
Mayan...
The Prohibitionists and even some of the Supremes link intra and inter state commerce through jobs (read "workers", i.e. employees, i.e. the subordinates) THEY say stoned workers are less productive (altough when it comes to Med MJ and specifically WAMM I see zero link to employyes making products and thus being involved in interstate commerce). But that's THEIR theory, stoned employees making products are less efficient and therefore affect interstate commerce negatively. THEY fail to acknowledge some studies that illustrate buzzed workers in assemply line, redundant, mind numbing type work are MORE efficient under the mental stimulation of their buzz. That's in addition to ignoring this very tenuous and unproven theory of theirs in the first place, not to mention the surveys indicating most IT workers use MJ recreationally (one of the few actual industries left in the USA but also on it's way overseas). They actually have no studies I know of that back up their claims (surprise, surprise, could it be propaganda or pure reefer madness?).
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Comment #28 posted by ekim on August 01, 2003 at 20:02:51 PT
i know how farmers in Western Pennsylvania felt
You can set up your garden so that patients in wheelchairs can have full access to the plants and be gardeners themselves. We've learned in WAMM that exposure to the plants can be greatly beneficial to patients. So the idea we're proposing is as much hands-on patient participation as possible, which in turn reduces the security issues..." What has happen to my Fed. Gov't. I remember when Jimmy Carter said something to the effect. We can not have a law which is much harsher on the human than the act itself. What has happen to my Gov't. which allows good paying jobs to go to Countries which can grow and sell goods from the Cannabis plant but stops our Farmers from growing the same plant. What has become of our national thinking, that we can produce products which will provide good [paying jobs to our children] and be selfsustaining. Ethanol - Fabric-Paper-Plastics-Meds- who dare say that each and every one of these make in USA industrys are not in dire straits today, which means we are loosing Billions a day in lost jobs and taxes. Today on NPR they had a peice on how a group of farmers were complaining about how they got bulked out of there Ethanol making plant when they were told to sell out because of bad forcast of the industry which proved to be false. The Nat'l Renewable Energy Dept has said one acre of corn can make 99 gals of ethanol. How much could one acre of Hemp make, why no studies --it is criminal not to look out for the future. And that is to say nothing about the sick and dying having the right to Doctors wistom and conscience.
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Comment #27 posted by mayan on August 01, 2003 at 18:22:37 PT
Intrastate = Interstate???
"Congress has made a finding in the CSA that all drug trafficking affects interstate commerce. We're trying to persuade the courts that you don't look at the broad activity, you look at the narrow class of activity that the state of California has defined in the Compassionate Use Act. That is, cultivation and possession of marijuana by patients, which has no effect on interstate commerce at all."I just don't understand how an activity which occurs wholly & only in one state can be regarded as "interstate commerce". If the courts can redefine that term to it's true meaning then the cannabis laws are toast. First California...then all the dominoes will fall! The way out is the way in...9/11 Report - The real Saudi Ties are U.S. Ties:
http://news.globalfreepress.com/article.pl?sid=03/07/30/229223WHAT DOES BUSH HAVE TO HIDE?
http://www.antiwar.com/justin/justincol.htmlArrogance, or something darker?
http://www.lowcountrynow.com/stories/080103/LOCrose.shtmlCheney Being Pulled into the Quicksand:
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/073103_waxman_noose.htmlFTW Runs Ad in Wllamette Weekley(scroll down to view ad)
http://www.fromthewilderness.com/ad_updates.html
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Comment #26 posted by FoM on August 01, 2003 at 16:36:50 PT
Dankhank
It isn't the cost it's we don't have anywhere to buy one. We aren't using our credit card anymore so I would need to go buy one. That's the problems of living far away from civilization.
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Comment #25 posted by Dankhank on August 01, 2003 at 16:33:39 PT:
Mike
Mike costs $5
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Comment #24 posted by druid on August 01, 2003 at 15:49:14 PT
Good things about Dr. Russo
I know this is redundant info but the good information said about Dr. Russo is necessary. :)JOIN DR. ETHAN RUSSO AT OPN'S ONLINE PATIENT FORUM AUGUST 7Dr. Ethan Russo, MD, noted expert in headaches and the clinical use of cannabis, will be OPN's guest at the online Patient Forum on Thursday, August 7, 2003 starting at 7:30 p.m. EDT.Dr. Russo is a practicing neurologist at the University of Montana. He is editor of the Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics (see https://www.haworthpressinc.com/stor...ct.asp?sku=J175 ). He also conducted the "Chronic Cannabis Use in the Compassionate Investigational New Drug Program: An Examination of Benefits and Adverse Effects of Legal Clinical Cannabis," which examined the overall health status of four of the seven remaining patients in the Compassionate Investigational New Drug (IND) program of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).One of Dr. Russo's principle areas of interest lies in headaches, particularly migraine headaches. He has submitted several protocols to the FDA to study the effectiveness of cannabis-based treatments in migraine headaches and was finally approved to conduct a clinical study in 1999. He has also authored a historical review of cannabis therapy in obstetrics and gynecology.Dr. Russo will be sharing his insights and taking questions from the audience, so bring your questions to the meeting.OPN Patient Forums are held monthly on the FREE Internet voice/text chat software and "rooms" provided by Paltalk (https://www.paltalk.com/PalTalkSite/ ). For instructions on how to join this meetings, see https://www.ohiopatient.net/Paltalk_instructions.htm For more details, see https://www.ohiopatient.net/Events.htm
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Comment #23 posted by FoM on August 01, 2003 at 15:14:57 PT

Thank You Dr. Russo
I hope you have a great turnout! I checked out the link and I don't have a mike so I'll not be able to make it. I didn't think about needing a mike when I got this computer a few years ago.
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Comment #22 posted by Ethan Russo MD on August 01, 2003 at 13:58:39 PT:

PalTalk
Here is a link to PalTalk:http://www.paltalk.com/PalTalkSite/Rob Ryan is putting on this show: RRr robryan.org

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Comment #21 posted by FoM on August 01, 2003 at 13:36:01 PT

Go Dr. Russo!
I read that Dr. Russo was going to do a talk for OPN. I have no idea how something like that works or I'd go. I don't have a mike so I've never tried to participate. 
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Comment #20 posted by Virgil on August 01, 2003 at 13:34:15 PT

Link did not work for Dr. Russo's Paltalk
Dr. Russo will not be on Cultural Baggage as you can see in the DRC info. The link they list did not work for me.
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Comment #19 posted by Virgil on August 01, 2003 at 13:29:43 PT

Dr. Russo on Cultural Baggage next Thursday
It looks like Dr. Russo has broken the information blockade. Item#12 at the DRCnet website that GCW speaks of below reads-12. Web Scan: OPN, HRC, Cultural Baggage, Salon.com Dr. Ethan Russo will join the Ohio Patients Forum this Thursday, August 7, 7:30pm EDT, to discuss "Marijuana and Migraines." Visit http://www.ohiopatient.net/Paltalk_Instructions for instructions on how to participate. Discussion with Drug Policy Alliance director Ethan Nadelmann, online at cultural-baggage.com: 
http://www.cultural-baggage.com/ethan.ram or 
http://www.cultural-baggage.com/Audio/FDBCB_0729.mp3 Discussion with Cliff Schaffer, creator of druglibrary.org, at cultural-baggage.com, this Tuesday, August 5, 6:30pm CDT New HCV pamphlet for injection drug users, from the Harm Reduction Coalition: 
http://ww.harmreduction.org/hepCbrochure.pdf (online copy) 
http://www.harmreduction.org/brochure.html (order form) X'ed Out, salon.com on ecstasy: 
http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2003/07/30/ecstasy_part1/ 
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Comment #18 posted by The GCW on August 01, 2003 at 13:17:41 PT

freedom fighter 
(whay are things sent by boat called cargo and things sent by truck called shipments? Ha ha ho ho)The feeling You speak of will only grow. Government decent.Most of the people mentioned in the words below, will not support Bush.10. Newsbrief: Florida Ex-Cons to Get Voting Rights  http://www.drcnet.org/wol/298.shtml#floridafranchisementAn agreement between the Florida Department of Corrections and a 
coalition of civil libertarians, black legislators and grassroots 
groups could lead to as many as 30,000 Florida felons being able 
to vote in time for next year's elections. The agreement would 
resolve a lawsuit brought two years ago by the American Civil 
Liberties Union and others that charged the corrections department 
with failing to help inmates on the verge of release get their 
rights restored. The department is required to do so under 
Florida law.Florida is one of seven states where voting rights are not 
automatically restored to felons upon completion of their 
sentences. Instead, prisoners must apply through the corrections 
department to the state's Executive Clemency Board, which 
ultimately decides who gets his rights restored. That process is 
cumbersome and benefits few, according to ACLU attorney Randall 
Berg, who argued the case. "You virtually have no chance," he 
told the Miami Herald.The impact of ex-con disenfranchisement is greater in Florida than 
any other state, according to Human Rights Watch and the 
Sentencing Project. In a 1998 report, the two groups estimated 
that more than 525,000 felons in Florida had completed their 
sentences but were still unable to vote. More than 200,000 of 
those, or 39%, were black men. And this is the state where George 
Bush won the presidency with a mere handful of votes.But the agreement affects only prisoners released between 1992 and 
2001, about 125,000 people, and three-fourths of those will still 
have to go through the clemency process to determine whether they 
qualify for restoration of their rights. The remaining 30,000 
inmates who, in the judgment of the corrections department, 
already qualify for restoration, will have their names sent to the 
clemency board for action without a hearing.According to the Florida Department of Corrections, drug offenders 
make up the single largest group of prisoners, accounting for 18% 
of all inmates. Florida had 73,000 prisoners at the end of 2002.0oO0oO  FROM:The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue #298 -- August 1, 2003
   A Publication of the Drug Reform Coordination Network  "Raising Awareness of the Consequences of Drug Prohibition"      Phillip S. Smith, Editor, psmith drcnet.org
    David Borden, Executive Director, borden drcnet.orgSubscribe: http://www.drcnet.org/signup.html
Unsubscribe or change address: mailto:listhelp drcnet.org
This issue on the web: http://www.drcnet.org/wol/298.shtmlNote: Effective issue #300, The Week Online will be known as 
"Drug War Chronicle."(The web version of this issue of The Week Online will have photos 
incorporated during the weekend. Please visit 
http://www.drcnet.org/wol/298.shtml to see them.)TABLE OF CONTENTS1. Kansas City Drug Fighting Tax Encounters Organized Opposition
  http://www.drcnet.org/wol/298.shtml#organizedopposition2. Prison Population Increase Accelerates, Up 2.6% Last Year
  http://www.drcnet.org/wol/298.shtml#prisonpopulation3. Brazil's Lula Backslides on Drug Reform, Grants Military
  Continued Control Over Anti-Drug Agency
  http://www.drcnet.org/wol/298.shtml#lulabackslides4. This Week in History
  http://www.drcnet.org/wol/298.shtml#thisweek5. Newsbrief: Mozambique, Swazi Farmers Find Dagga Crop
  Lucrative, But Have to Adjust to Market Trends
  http://www.drcnet.org/wol/298.shtml#mozambiqueswaziland6. Newsbrief: Brazil Bans Viagra Ads
  http://www.drcnet.org/wol/298.shtml#viagraads7. Newsbrief: British Young People Using More Hard Drugs, Health
  Department Says
  http://www.drcnet.org/wol/298.shtml#britishyouthdruguse8. Newsbrief: This Week's Corrupt Cops Story
  http://www.drcnet.org/wol/298.shtml#thisweekscorruption9. Newsbrief: Another Pain Doctor Charged With Murder
  http://www.drcnet.org/wol/298.shtml#anothermurdercharge10. Newsbrief: Florida Ex-Cons to Get Voting Rights
  http://www.drcnet.org/wol/298.shtml#floridafranchisement11. Mini Briefs: Illinois Syringe Deregulation, James Geddes
  Released
  http://www.drcnet.org/wol/298.shtml#minibriefs12. Web Scan: OPN, HRC, Cultural Baggage, Salon.com
  http://www.drcnet.org/wol/298.shtml#webscan13. The Reformer's Calendar
  http://www.drcnet.org/wol/298.shtml#eventcalendar
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Comment #17 posted by freedom fighter on August 01, 2003 at 12:58:57 PT

virgil,
Same thing had happened to my son, he was not thrown in jail but fined 50$ because he wrote an essay denoucning the drug war. He was also fined 150$ for possesion of cannabis.In Judge's own words, "You think you are smart? Well, I am going to fine yu 50$ for the essay you wrote. If you think drug laws are wrong, talk to your senators!" Ya da, I feel sorry for the prohibitionists.. They claimed that their drug policy prevents Anarchy from happening.. That if drugs were legal, there would be chaos.As they keep on running this old train that ran for 90 years ready to fall apart at full steam heading right toward to where they feared most.. Anarchy and the police state... They are going to get what they wished for if they do not quit this drug war addiction..pazff
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Comment #16 posted by Virgil on August 01, 2003 at 12:51:23 PT

Thanks Lehder
You know how hard it is to get a question answered. I cannot believe how powerful the US is in dominating the human condition throughout the world. Cannabis Prohibition in regards to federal failures is right up there with slavery and denying the right to vote to women. It reminds me of eggs that laid on the nest and never hatched and doomed to turn into a stink bomb because of the sulfur compounds that develop. We all know the CP egg stinks. When we crack the shell, the smell will tell our story. Again, I think of movies and the thought of Rainbow Farms kind of pushes out "Remember the Alamo" on things that will be forgotten only with senility. If the cannabis community has a story to get out it would be Rainbow Farms. It also makes me think someone with a camera should have a sign saying "Remember Rainbow Farms" should be on the Canadian side of Rainbow Bridge in Niagara Falls and doing iron-on tee-shirts on the spot. Of course it is impossible to remember Rainbow Farms and the 50 FBI agents there 10 days before 9/11, when you never heard of it to start with.Tom Crosslin and I were both 47 when he was executed. He skipped his court date on Friday the last day of this month two years ago. The words I would right for the movie would be Tom saying "Give me liberty or give me death" and I would have it as his last words and on his tombstone. It would be his son standing next to the tombstone, I would have say "He would have preferred liberty. I would have preferred my father."Well someone will be smelling the stink sometime because too many people are trying to crack those stinking eggs that the media and government hide.Learn about Rainbow Farms and try to forget. It all stinks to me.
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Comment #15 posted by Lehder on August 01, 2003 at 12:29:37 PT

q&a
"Now my big question is ships. Is a ship flying under the Canadian flag subject to the
   Canadian law in international waters. "Vessels of Canadian registry in international water are subject to the caprices of U.S. law.
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Comment #14 posted by Virgil on August 01, 2003 at 11:59:33 PT

Court contempt for contempt of court
This is the entire story from http://www.thewbalchannel.com/news/2360870/detail.html I do not see how an informed person could not have some contempt for the court system. I guess contempt of court is legislating personal feeling or maybe you can have them if you give up your right of free speech.Man Jailed For Comments On Jury Form
Court's 'Lying' Ways ProtestedPOSTED: 2:33 p.m. EDT July 27, 2003TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- A Michigan man's comments on a jury questionnaire have landed him in prison. Officials say the Traverse City man wrote on the form he has contempt for the county court's "twisted lying and extremely warped way." He also thanked the court for wasting his time.The judge found the man in contempt of court after he refused to fill out a revised form and for saying he couldn't afford to pay his $200 fine. The man must stay behind bars until he can find the money for the fine. 
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on August 01, 2003 at 11:48:43 PT

Pot Grower Nabbed on Tax Evasion
Friday, August 01, 2003A Willits man could spend up to five years in jail for growing marijuana and failing to pay taxes on his crop's income as a result of shooting himself in the leg, according to the District Attorney's Office.However, a judge has indicated Adam Field Lee, 32, is more likely to get jail time and probation, according to his attorney, Dave Nelson.Lee on Tuesday pleaded no contest to possession of marijuana for sale and four counts of felony income tax evasion in exchange with other charges against him being dropped, according to Deputy District Attorney Brian Newman.Charging marijuana growers with tax evasion is unusual, Newman said, but warranted in this case."He hadn't filed any tax returns in five years," he said of Lee. Despite no visible legal means of support during that time, Lee was able to purchase his Sherwood Road property for $25,000 down and paid off the other $200,000 plus 10 percent interest - to the former owners - in four years, he said.Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/Stories/0,1413,91%257E3089%257E1546888,00.html
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Comment #12 posted by freedom fighter on August 01, 2003 at 11:46:02 PT

Coffee on a night out?
Britons should be encouraged to read books and sip tea or coffee on a night out, rather than always booze, a parliamentary committee recommended Friday.http://www.msnbc.com/news/947025.asp?0sl=-11Off the topic..... Thought it bit strange to encourage people drink highly addictive substance that keeps you awake at night time. Crazy world we live in.. pazff
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Comment #11 posted by E_Johnson on August 01, 2003 at 11:26:36 PT

I've noticed something about MMJ politics
In this article it say that all five major mayoral candidates support medical marijuana. In the last election in California, Davis and Simon both ended up supporting medical marijuana.In 2000, both Bush and Gore opposed it. This is making me really curious about the 2004 election. What will Bush do as a strategy if the Democratic platform is pro-MMJ?He's pretty much painted himself into an extreme corner by his policies in action, but then he's a cunning political animal, and very competitive, more so than his father it seems.He believes in his position enough to enforce the policy, but does he believe in it enough to make it an issue in the election, knowing that the polls are against him on that issue?
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Comment #10 posted by Lehder on August 01, 2003 at 11:23:48 PT

Jail
Read about this man's experiences as a "prison bitch." He attributes a long list of psychological problems he's having to three years of daily rape. http://www.counterpunch.org/I guess if you're a corrections officer then this is pretty funny. Actually, I think the humor is shared by most Americans.
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Comment #9 posted by Nuevo Mexican on August 01, 2003 at 11:09:25 PT

Kucinich ryhmes with 'Spinach'!
And is in Santa Fe today, meeting with members of New Mexicos' dedicated, inspired, enthusiastic 'kucinich for President' campaign supporters. 
Remember my predictions in the past, indicating the war on cannabis is all but over, but we're still choking on the ashes from its destruction (the truth will always prevail). If Canadas current state of the union is a good indication of where we're at, just wait til the dust settles, and the new landscape is surveyed. Walters is on the run, bush is falling faster than you can say 'impeach the liar', cheney is in hiding still, and Ari and Poindexter are gone. War is over, if you want it. 
Thanks for making my day FOM, (an everyday occurence) but this article takes the cake, as Dennis is the only choice for true progressives, Dean voted down medical marijuana as Govenor of a liberal state, explain that one Dean people!
Dennis wants to end the war on drugs, you won't even hear Carol Mosley-Braun or Al Sharpton go near that one, they've been so marginalized by the media, their message will 'not be televised', but due to our racist drug war, the 'race-card' will always be used against them. A damning indictment of the media, complicite in propping up an illegal resident, safe while committing mass murder through-out the world, unabbated, (must have threatened Congress families with not so sublte threats, Wellstone style!).
Where is the outrage in the media? They're scared sh--less, and are in fear for their lives. Wait til someone comes out and admits it (Tom Brokaw did this last year in a BBC interview, 'If I told the truth, they'd put a burning tire around my neck', something to that effect).
Maybe thats why they put out the photos of Saddam sons (questionable photos at that). A message to those that would oppose bush and his 'minions'. The dark always comes before the dawn! Get ready for a new day!

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Comment #8 posted by FoM on August 01, 2003 at 11:01:16 PT

The Sounds of Silence
I was thinking how quiet the news has been. When the news is slow I wonder what will happen next. I have often in the past thought to myself that I couldn't see any news happening in my mind or what it would be about when it happened. It's weird to think that I've thought well that's all there is so lets keep dancing. What will be next? 
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Comment #7 posted by Virgil on August 01, 2003 at 10:21:33 PT

Beaten by a lie
This would be the Schedule One Lie. I just do not get why people that report do not call up the mean-spirited and malicious policy that improperly keeps cannabis and even individual cannabinoids in the Schedule 1 classification. I do not know all of the cannabinoids listed and if they were hunted down for reporting it would really show how the government has made a leap of reason in classifying cannabis itself as a Schedule 1 "narcotic."I think the thing to do is offer scholarship money to a high school student who can do the best paper on its proper classification. It is really a Schedule 3 or 4 and it would help the cause to know which is the best classification. Plus, if you say they are wrong, you need to be able to say what is right.The second alternative is for everyone to grow one plant or maybe 2. Now what would happen if a person in California were caught with one plant? What would happen as a judge gets bored with hearing the stories that go with hearing a one plant defense. "I use it to cure my hangover judge." "I only use it to help me with my headaches judge." The one plant thing has its merit although it probably would not get that many takers. It would of course depend on punishment and a support system someone would have.The best thing is to load up the bus and head to Canada. One a day everyday. If one of the billionaires would hire a bus out of New York and head to Niagara Falls, what could anyone do? Nothing, except wave the money goodbye, apologize for the corruption and inconvenience and abandon the political position and form one on reason.Now my big question is ships. Is a ship flying under the Canadian flag subject to the Canadian law in international waters. If it is bring the ship off the coast of Los Angelos and let the shuttles begin.I do not see the states rights issue as a loophole. It is an important issue unto itself. The MMJ issue requiring a ruling in this important area is of great interest to anyone interested in restraining federal power and protecting states rights. Even if the stonewall were abandoned and the Schedule One Lie forgotten with proper reclassification, the states rights issue is a very big deal.Canada is a great mirror. We should be thankful for that. It may help us get fixed up and we have a pretty ugly face at present.
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on August 01, 2003 at 10:16:15 PT

Kucinich Gets Green Support
By Adriel Hampton Of The Examiner StaffPublished on Friday, August 1, 2003Congressman Dennis Kucinich supports legalizing gay marriage, repealing the death penalty and the Patriot Act, withdrawing from the World Trade Organization and scrapping the North American Free Trade Agreement, implementing national ranked choice voting and publicly financed political campaigns, ending the occupation of Iraq, creating universal single-payer health care, forming a Department of Peace, cutting the Pentagon budget by 15 percent, legalizing medical marijuana and upholding legalized abortion. Snipped:Complete Article: http://examiner.com/news/default.jsp?story=080103n_greens
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on August 01, 2003 at 08:30:52 PT

A Note
Hi Everyone,I can't find any news to post so far but I wanted to mention this to those who have Direct TV. On Channel 103 they are playing The Wall Live in Berlin (1990) The set is remarkable. I'll keep looking for news though! http://www.floydianslip.com/discs/walllive.htm
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on August 01, 2003 at 07:41:33 PT

E-Mail News from Dale Gieringer
DPFCA: 9th Circuit Hearings for MMJ & Hemp - Sept 17 
    
  The Ninht Circuit Court of Appeals has scheduled oral arguments for the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative and Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana on September 17th (S.F., 8 am). The cases will be heard together. At issue will be the constitutionality of the Controlled Substances Act with regards to non-interstate use of medical marijuana in California.  The panel will consist of Justices 
Reinhardt, Schroeder and Silverman.  Later the same day, a different panel will hear the appeal of the Hemp Industry Association vs. the DEA.Dale Gieringer (415) 563-5858 // canorml igc.org
2215-R Market St. #278, San Francisco CA 94114
 

California NORML
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Comment #3 posted by Patrick on August 01, 2003 at 07:07:50 PT

How about a Marijuana Tea Party Model
[A favorable ruling by the 9th Circuit] would open the door to government-authorized programs in which the people running the programs actually are officials and we can say they are engaged in the enforcement of a law related to controlled substances. They are enforcing California's Compassionate Use Act by ensuring that only patients who have the requisite medical approval are possessing, cultivating and using marijuana.Where does that leave recreational users??? Same place they are now! Besides, do you think the Feds are really gonna let any State get away with medical exemption laws considering that hemp products are now to be included in Schedule 1??? Feds do not want to govern they want to rule. The answer, I think, is in removing cannabis from the confines of the Schedule 1 lie. Not in trying to find legal loop holes around an unconstitutional Schedule in the first place. The Feds will kick your door down every time and let "their" courts work it out later after you've been branded a criminal. Ask Ed.

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Comment #2 posted by The GCW on August 01, 2003 at 04:48:24 PT

List what the Feds. are doing at the present.
“Two civilian organizers”... that reminds Me that this is a group working toward being progressively more civilized... thus the label civilian (civilized... minded). That may expose what is deficient in the Fed. Gov..... there is never any attempt to be progressively civilized minded. To become more and more civilized... but Bush killed more U.S. citiznes than anyone else, by way of Govornor executions in Texas (He is the record holder and His brother Jeb holds 2nd place...) and now Bush is killing in more places than anyone on earth. (He's quite an athlete...)This story also makes Me think about how this is just one facet of how the Feds. are fighting a direct war on simple cannabis use that citizens support... but then what are the doing all together, in list form, right now?Making a list of the Fed. present priorities, would put into scope, for busy people to see the atrocities being committed by the gov. contrary to their wishes.An example of this list would parallel the concept used in this article (see link) exposing a list of flash grenade problems and their direct atrocities, to help end the practice of using flash grenades so zealously. (SWATSTIKA uses flash bombs to serve drug war warrants)US GA: Explosive Dynamic Entryhttp://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1148/a08.html?397 (in case You missed in in the Jagger story... this compiled list is remarkable)So an example of the list of present confrontation would include;Ed Rosenthal; WAMM; the [Angel] RAICH casePeople that are in a cage right now that the taxpayers are paying for that don't support it.This list goes on and on...;;;Let's bring into focus, what the Gov. is doing to Us, since the poeple are fed up with the Feds. 
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Comment #1 posted by Petard on August 01, 2003 at 01:42:01 PT

Whiskey Rebellion Model
"And Model C is the Whiskey Rebellion. Back in the 1790s, when the federal government first decided they were going to tax the production of whiskey, the farmers in Western Pennsylvania said 'Fuck you, federal government!' And George Washington sent in the federal troops and put down the rebellion. I think that model really has very little to recommend it."I beg to differ with the "little to recommend" part. 2004 is an election year, get the farms up and running and see how the Candidates respond, a true test of their stances on Med MJ. Besides, with 150,000 troops in Iraq facing popular unrest, another 30,000 in Korea, another 20-30,000 in Afganistan, and many more thousand's of troops spread across the globe, where's the Fed going to muster troops to send in to impose at the end of a gun an unpopular (at the least) federal law? How would the people of the USA react to that type action too? Forget the snail's pace of the courts, take it to the racetrack of a Showdown at the Med MJ Corral. Force their hand, either put down an uprising of the people of a sovereign state or leave the individual states alone. The Feds have more to lose than gain, and we all know the politicians at the national level don't have the kahonas to do it anyway.
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