cannabisnews.com: Home-Grown Victory





Home-Grown Victory
Posted by CN Staff on December 18, 2003 at 09:28:20 PT
Editorial
Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal 
On Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals defended the all-American principle of federalism, ruling that patients who possess and use locally produced medical marijuana in the states that have OK'd the practice cannot be prosecuted for violating federal drug prohibitions. Federal prosecutors argued that two California plaintiffs -- one patient who grew her own pot and another who obtained it from friends -- were engaged in "interstate commerce," thereby giving federal authorities the right to intervene under the Constitution's commerce clause. A trial judge had refused to issue an injunction preventing U.S. authorities from arresting the patients. 
The appeals court reversed, stating, "the cultivation, possession and use of marijuana for medicinal purposes and not for exchange or distribution is not properly characterized as commercial or economic activity." This decision is good news, and not only for residents of the states within the 9th Circuit (including Nevada) who amended their laws to accommodate this treatment of seriously ill patients. It's also an affirmation that there's a clear delineation between federal and state power, and that the commerce clause of Article 1 does not give activist federal lawmakers and bureaucrats the right to meddle in every aspect of American life. Randy Barnett, the Boston University constitutional law professor who represented the patients in court, said the case marked "the first time there's been a ruling that the application of the Controlled Substances Act to the cultivation of medical cannabis is unconstitutional." The appellate judges sent the case back to U.S. District Court for trial. And if the case eventually reaches the U.S. Supreme Court, the patients may prevail. Two years ago, when the high court justices refused to allow medical marijuana laws to stand based on a "medical necessity" defense, Justice Clarence Thomas stated that other reasons consistent with the Constitution might make the medicinal usage of marijuana legally acceptable. A challenge citing the widespread abuse of the commerce clause might have been what Justice Thomas had in mind. In 1995, the court ruled the commerce clause did not give Congress the authority to ban the possession of firearms near schools. Five years later, the justices tossed out a federal domestic violence law, again holding -- in part -- that by using the commerce clause as its rationale, Congress had stretched it beyond reason. In a later decision, 9th Circuit Judge Alex Kozinski noted that if the logic used by Congress in passing the firearms law were to stand, it would "obliterate the distinction between what is national and what is local and create a completely centralized government." Reason magazine's Jacob Sullum points out the medical marijuana case marks the third time this year the 9th Circuit has built on the reasoning of the Supreme Court's 1995 decision. He writes: "Taken together, these decisions help revive the idea that the commerce clause is not a blank check." As the founding principle of a federal government with limited, strictly enumerated powers gains renewed strength, individual liberty will be resuscitated as well. Note: 9th Circuit clears path for medical marijuanaSource: Las Vegas Review-Journal (NV)Published: Thursday, December 18, 2003Copyright: 2003 Las Vegas Review-JournalContact: letters lvrj.comWebsite: http://www.lvrj.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Raich v. Ashcroft in PDFhttp://freedomtoexhale.com/ruling.pdfAppeals Court OKs Medicinal Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17987.shtmlMarijuana Decision Does Not Sanction Sales http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17986.shtmlLong Battle Over Medical Marijuana Seen Aheadhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17984.shtml
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Comment #27 posted by jose melendez on December 20, 2003 at 07:19:22 PT
authentic journalism
from: http://www.bigleftoutside.com/archives/000279.phpU.S. 9th Circuit Court: Medical Marijuana Is Legal
				A sea change in marijuana laws has just occured in the powerful 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, in California. Only the Supremes can strike down this new law of the land:http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=806957&tw=wn_wire_story Let's see if Ashcroft really wants to risk the national precedent-setting potential of an appeal. If yes, this could become law of the whole land, from sea to shining sea. If not, it's already the law of California and the left coast.(We told you this was coming on November 13th.) I'd write more, but I suddenly feel a case of glaucoma coming on. Here's the text of this historic decision, already posted online by the federal court:http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/F847B86BCD2AB49488256DFE007B89AE/$file/0315481.pdf?openelement#279 Posted by Al Giordanohttp://www.bigleftoutside.com/archives/000279.php
invective capitalism
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Comment #26 posted by Nuevo Mexican on December 19, 2003 at 19:30:05 PT
It is a 'miracle' bush suceeded in stealing the 
election! If bush can be pRes, anybody can be prez! And if we buy into the 'kucinich can't make it' mindset, we have already been defeated.
 
Sorry, I will not be defeated, and I doubt if anyone here is willing to take another stolen election with a grain of salt as Gore and Joe did. (They didn't even fight for their right to the office, lame Dems!)I think bush in office has had a catalytic effect, literally bringing the 60's right into the new millenium!But re-election can only come from stealing another election, (and this is where you NRA folks could come in handy, at the ballot box!)I suggest everyone do what I and most of my friends (you guys are too) are doing, dedicating their time to getting the message out, doing what we do here, distributing kucinich bumper stickers, (everyone in my town has one on their car, the result of grass-roots organizing, and constant, persistent discusions, anti-war rallies, marches on Rumsfelds, soon to be bought by Dick Cheney, (my favorite protest mask, $20). Howard Dean conceded our town to Kucininh volunteers, after the Albuquerque debate, as we have been doing our 'advance' work, and when 500 kucitizens showed up, compared to 100 Dean folks, guess who got all the press, Dean of course!watch the movie MEET JOHN DOE (1946 or so) with John Carradine, you won't believe the prophetic vision of this director and screenwriter, absolutely amazing!It pays off folks, when you driving around behind other Kucitizens with their bumper stickers, and signs taped to their windows, proudly displaying their candidate of choice, young and old, hip and graying, rich and impoverished, this man cuts across all social and economic barriers! Hispanic, native American, anglo, and all the international travelers to NM love the man. Makes you wanna just drive around town looking at the easily recognizable 'kucinich' monkiker.I still thing we should open the elections to the world, as our presidential choice seems to affect their lives even more than he does ours, if you can imagine that, so encourage your international friends to weigh in on this campaign. Non-Americans in general are smarter, more 'worldly', read, don't watch much tv, love to discuss things, cafe style, relaxed, and in no 'American' rush. No offense to anyone here, we seem to be the exception!People that have never heard of Dennis the K tell me within 5 minutes of our discussion that they are convinced, no problem, they will register Democrat just to vote for him in the Causus. I'm sure it's happened to most of you.Dean does not have a passionate support base, just economically well endowed, and good at recruiting internet geniuses it seems.But he is working for our cause, and that is Dennis. once the curtain gets pulled back on his Dennis-LIte style, people will tire of this 'politician, and start to look for the real thing, and it is sooo obvious Dennis is a true leader of the JFK variety, (and he's willing to take a bullet for our country and fellow countrymen, shouldn't we all?) Don't think he doesn't know the position he has put himself in, remember, he won the 2003 Ghandi Award!When Uranus (ruler of the sign Aquarius) enters Picses, the sign of Jesus, Edgar Cayce, and George Harrison, the sign of compassion, the scales will tip in Dennis' favor, just as they did on the last ABC debate. This was the pivotal event that forced bush to pull Saddam out of the hole we had hid him in to restore his credibility and get a bump in the polls, Your are the man Dennis! Dennis is the recognized x-factor in this election, Dean knows it, the insiders in Washington know it, the pols know it, the moveon.org poll proved it, and his internet site rate is right behind Deans, and the Dennis fearing Republicans have nightmares every night about it!Don't allow your consent to be manufactured! It is the sole job of the media to shape your opinions and make sure you don't have any idea why you think what you think, and Americans that believe everything they see on CNN and Fox are proof that they are brainwashed! Every time bush comes on the tube, chronic depression sets in for millions of people watching, hoping this man has seen the light, and all we see is his darkness, hopelessness, fear and loathing for the average American, unbeknownst to the 'average' American. Dedicate yourself to this cause of rebirthing a new America, as the old one has died, and needs a proper funeral. Dennis will be president, if you believe. If you don't, you have nothing to look for, but more chronic depression and its debilitating side effects!What a great discussion that we've had today!Kinda like the days of yore!Let's offer our Jose and System, Yippie etc and all or our computer people here to the campaign! Just go to kucinich.us and donate $50 bucks, the price of an eighth, and get his funds up to par. We've helped collapse prohibition, we can surely collapse bush and get Dennis in office, what else are we doing, waiting for the worst, when we are responsible for everything, the way things are now, and the way things will be!The age of Aquarius is just getting started, war will be obsolete shortly! Patience!We can show the Dean folks a thing or two I'm sure.
(They like Dennis, but listen to the media say, he can't beat Dean, what about the Dean can't beat bush people, c'mon Cannabis folks, we CREATE our realities. We live in a virtual uni-verse where only positive thinking manifests our dreams. You are the master our your own destiny, (bush knows this, and takes full advantage of it). 4 years ago, nobody thought we would be where we are, but here we are!
Read Manufacturing Consent by Noam Chomsky, it reveals how your permission is gained by assuming noone will counter the mainstream paradym, without looking foolish. Well, that is what Dennis does, and always gets the most ) Maybe folks here need to do some grassroots, door to door, phone calls, flyer distribution, meet-ups (Guess who made the first Kucinich for President sign, that ended up on the front page, above the fold, and even above the photo of Dennis Kucinich, and was pivitol in initiating his consideration of running for prez. You guessed it!
After meeting him twice, I turned into this passonate, hopeful, positive 'kucitizen' and have not been the same since. Come to think of it, I haven't been the same since I discovered C-News, and Gov. Johnson came out for legalization of Cannabis. (He even lives here part time, but hasn't come in for a reading yet). He will I hope. I Can't wait! (no kidding) Billy Corgan came in and I just missed him (former Smashing Pumpkin!)That's why people come to New Mexico! They call it the land of enchantment! Go to Astro.com for a free chart, nothing like a reading, but the next best thing!Peace!'A pebble tossed into the pond creates a ripple effect, and it doesn't have to be a stone, or many stones, just one pebble is all it takes.' anon
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Comment #25 posted by agog on December 19, 2003 at 14:07:15 PT:
What does the "Drug War" really tell us?
Kap,Your comments strike a chord. I often try to tell those around me to watch the drug war as it a good predictor almost a trial balloon if you will, of the ways we are being herded down the road to serfdom. Develop mass hysteria, pretend to really want to "protect" your people, bombard them with if not out right lies exagerated hyperbole, and create a learned dependence in order to maintain the power base..... Our supposed public servants are hooked on the most powerful intoxicant of all... that of power and arrogance of office. I just hope these challenges and positive rulings stand, combined with fiscal realities they could go a long way to motivate the population to practice a little more self reliance and the learned mutual respect and responsibilty that goes along with it. Forced payments to the federal Gov't are still extortion no matter whether they are called... fees, taxes, licenses or whatever. And never forget,it is the money forcibly taken from us all that goes to funding a war on our Citizens.
I'm still....... agog 
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Comment #24 posted by mayan on December 19, 2003 at 00:09:56 PT
System...
Cannabis will never be legal...if you don't believe it can be. Kucinich will never be President...if you don't believe he can be. Nothing will ever change...if we don't believe it can.
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Comment #23 posted by yippierevolutionary on December 18, 2003 at 21:37:24 PT
This is the Age of Aquarius
It happened at the millenium, but so far peace has not guided the planets
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Comment #22 posted by FoM on December 18, 2003 at 20:18:13 PT
John 
It very well could be! Sorry it took so long for me to answer you but it took me a while to convince myself to get out of my rocker and put down my knitting but I did! LOL!
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Comment #21 posted by John Tyler on December 18, 2003 at 20:13:32 PT
Old timers
For you old timers, could this be the "Dawning of the Age of Aquarius"? :)(:
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Comment #20 posted by yippierevolutionary on December 18, 2003 at 17:08:21 PT
Virgil
It is how I am preparing myself emotionally for the worse case scenario, making lemons out of lemonade.
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Comment #19 posted by sukoi on December 18, 2003 at 16:14:55 PT
Your'e welcome FoM
For a minute there I thought that I was at the political forum in Americas Debate! Did any of you know about the 9th's opinion on the seed issue? I find that quite interesting.
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Comment #18 posted by Virgil on December 18, 2003 at 16:11:54 PT
Comment15
With all that said I am thinking that long term a bush 2004 victory would be good for America.Under no circumstances could I agree with a stupid thought like that. It is a violation of my NRA conviction and I will leave it at that. A few days ago there was a poll with the link being put up at DU. Even with all the Freepers that are socially challenged, sitting in their rooms and stuffing every poll they can find, the unknown Democrat was about 55% and then there was an undecided. I will put up the next poll with lots of numbers. Bu$h is doomed and what we see is media complicity in trying to prop up this traitorous loser. Anybody But Bu$h. NRA
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on December 18, 2003 at 16:03:21 PT
sukoi 
Thank you. That is interesting.
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Comment #16 posted by yippierevolutionary on December 18, 2003 at 15:49:58 PT
Kucinich
I wish I could find the exact quote that was in newsweek after the moveon.org primary where Kucinich came in second, so I'll paraphrase youll get the gist."the moveon.org primary represents the main voting bloc of the democratic party these days. But the primary is called into question since Dennis Kucinich came in second place"KUCINICH IS WHERE THE PEOPLE ARESystem the only reason you say kucinich won't win is because the media says he's unelectable. Why is Lieberman or Edwards a serious candidate while kucinich is a vanity candidate? Kucinich has so much more support and excitement without the media coverageLook at Dean the media said he could never win early on but now they are saying he is a shoe in. Kucinich could win primaries. I am going to send him 50 dollars (which is a lot for a poor student with no job) and am trying to get my mom to donate too.The sad thing is he is the exact thing America needs at this critical point in
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Comment #15 posted by yippierevolutionary on December 18, 2003 at 15:43:39 PT
Why I think Bush should win a second term
Winning in 2004 may be thinking tactically but not strategically.Bush is downright dangerous, if he wins we will be plagued with fascist supreme court judges for decades to come which is probably the biggest reason he should lose (the supremes could step down and let him reapoint new ones while still in office though) Also I am afraid of the Next War. With all that said I am thinking that long term a bush 2004 victory would be good for America. Bush is so radically to the right he is causing a radical left reaction, a reaction we desperately need. Moderates and Centrists will not save the world. Look at Clinton he escalated CP, took over a country on bogus human rights abuses and cut welfare. The difference was that Clinton was a lot smoother with his S--t. He took over a country and nobody cared. The difference between Republicans and Corporate Clintonesque Democrats:Repubs: Unilateral Imperialists
Democrats: Multilateral ImperialistsRepubs: Incarceration for drugs
Democrats: Incarceration or mandatory treatment (whats the differnce between a hospital and a prison if you can't leave either)Repubs on Polution: Unchecked Consumption with minimal regulationsDems on Polution: Unchecked consumption with a few more controls. The only solution is the new Green Democrats who will end CP declare peace and work to sustainability.Another four years of Bush will empower the emerging Green Democrats and move the left farther to the left. Give us more time to organize. Look at the election in SF the split between party line Clinton Democrats and Green Democrats like Kucinich.Do you guys see what I'm saying?
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Comment #14 posted by sukoi on December 18, 2003 at 14:36:22 PT
the 9th on SEEDS
I don’t know if any of you know this or not, but in Raich v. Ashcroft, the 9th doesn’t even care if the seeds came from out of state! To me, this seems like another huge blow to the government using the Interstate Commerce Clause to bust innocent people! “At oral argument, we questioned counsel for the appellants about the origin of the marijuana seeds used by the appellants. Counsel for the appellants assured us that they came from within California. Regardless, we find that the origin of the seeds is too attenuated an issue to form the basis of congressional authority under the Commerce Clause.”More here http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/2003/12/16.htmlAnd in Arkansas, a medical marijuana proposal is rejected for the third time by their attorney general Mike Beebe.
http://www.arkansasnews.com/archive/2003/12/09/News/78193.html
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Comment #13 posted by Virgil on December 18, 2003 at 12:43:46 PT
Kucinich is now a player
Okay. So Kucinich does not win. He will be elevated as a player to be quoted in national politics. I find it hard to think he will not run for Senator and introduce legislation that goes on to defeat prohibition because its time has come to go. DK will still represent me in Congress even if the plutocracy own the place.There is nothing more rabid than someone bitten by deceit. People are just now finding out the lies and they will not be converted. Something is up and the people here know it. The people at DU know it. Now that Bu$h has poisoned the well, people want to know where to get their water. We are on a new search and the sheep/lemmings will just follow the change. 
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Comment #12 posted by kaptinemo on December 18, 2003 at 12:39:19 PT:
System, I can certainly understand your position
But, as I am fond of saying, sometimes being an old f**t can be an advantage.I've got a good memory, and always have been able to track social movements, their dynamics and focus, and thus can say the re-legalization movement has come a long way since 1995. we have a better shot now than we have had for two decades.Yes, the Powers-That-be and their cat's-paws in the Feds have been very sucessful in blocking us...but only because they use blatantly unConstitutional means to do so. In many so-called democratic countries around the world - in nations with a greater respect for the rule of law than American jurisprudence possesses today - cannabis laws are being stripped of their teeth and regarded as social dinosaurs. The only reason why they presently exist at all is because of political pressure from an increasingly isolated - and increasingly histrionic - US. Pressure which is increasingly being resisted. The cachet of the US has taken a huge beating internationally, and many nations have modified their stances accordingly. Changing their drug laws is symptomatic of that new-found independence.Domestically, the Feds are running out of gas on the issue. Ideologically, they've already lost. When 80 million people know the truth, and see how Uncle lies through his teeth every day about it, it's unavoidable.But the other factor involved is simply this: Uncle will eventually be forced to tighten his fiscal belt. The deficit has to be reined in, and soon. The Republicans are now acting EXACTLY like the same tax-and-spend wastrels that they have always castigated Democrats for being. States across the Union can no longer afford the high priced luxury of penning non-violent cannabis 'offenders' while murderers go free. The piper has stopped playing tunes, and wants his pay...*now*. So, yes, in the short term, we can expect more bad news coming out of Washington, more mule-headed intransigence from Johnny Pee and his cohort, but they are themselves sweating about the sea change in public opinion that's taking place around the country. The Boomer Generation is far more pragmatic about cannabis than the fast-fading War Generation. And a lot of them are getting cancer and know cannabis is a good anti-emetic to use during chemo. The pendulum has swung in our direction, from sheer demographics, economics and politics. We will win...it's just a matter of time. It won't take 50 years; I'll make a prediction here that it will come to the US in less than 10.Something's got to give, and soon...
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Comment #11 posted by SystemGoneDown on December 18, 2003 at 12:21:27 PT:
Virgil.....on Kucinich
I agree that Kucinich has balls and is the only candidate that isn't a corporate sellout. But let me tell you another politician that had balls and wasn't a sellout, his name was John Kennedy. There were people in his cabinet that said he was going to end marijuana prohibition in his 2nd term. Of course he didn't get a chance but the point being: having balls isn't compatible with being in office. And he got his head blown off for it. Since the assasination, Americans stopped caring about voting, the Vietnam War followed and people(the hippies in particular) started realizing that money rules over anything, including people with strong convictions like Kennedy. Money doesn't just influence power, it is the most basic motive FOR power. What makes Georgy Boy Bush seem like the right guy. Many Americans are so stupid to fall for his lies. He has the ability to seem like an ordinary dumb American, they don't see through that. The MAIN reason he is our president is because of the tax cut. For a while, he was able to trick the people into believing it was a tax cut for everybody when in reality is was a corporate tax cut. And now, he uses war as an excuse to sight with corporate interest. Very similar to this is the Drug War of course... The same way they use terror as an excuse to manufacture bombs and other war weapons, they use our "children's future" as an excuse to manufacture prisons to lock up non-violent drug offenders. Its related.
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Comment #10 posted by Shishaldin on December 18, 2003 at 12:07:38 PT
to SystemGoneDown
I think you're underestimating the power of the PEOPLE. Bush, Cheney, Ashcroft, and the rest of the criminals in the White House have, unintentionally (I think), brought about the sea-change that Max Flowers mentioned. If we hadn't had such a volatile swing to the hard radical right, folks would have remained their usual complacent selves. Instead, this radical change has galvanized those of us who knew better, and woken up a lot of those who weren't aware before. I've met some pretty pissed-off soccer moms and school teachers who are ready for a REAL change in 2004. Don't buy into the horse-race analogy bullshit spouted on TV. Dennis Kucinich's Alexa web site ratings were second only to Dean this month: http://www.opednews.com/kall1203_kucinich2nd_alexa.htm
Read: People are ready for his message! They are tired of the same ol' limp-noodle-for-a-spine-wanna-be-Repuglican Democrats and they're REALLY tired of the Boy King George W. They'd like to see some sanity brought back to America. It isn't going to happen with the likes of Dean, Kerry, or Lieberman. They've been bought and sold, pimped-out like common prostitutes.Vote your conscience. Vote your heart. Vote for MMJ and RE-Legalization of our beloved Tree of Life, Cannabis. Vote for Kucinich!!(Apologies to FoM for going on a political rant, but I think that it's definitely ON-topic...)Message to yippierevolutionary and SystemGoneDown: My 13 year old son is just as "cynical". He sees the BS being fed to him from our current system, but his cynicism is just his BS detector going off. NEVER ignore your BS detector and NEVER give up! Our children and our children's children are counting on US...Peace and Strength,Shishaldin
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Comment #9 posted by Virgil on December 18, 2003 at 12:04:40 PT
Ryan was Governor of Illinois
Illinois is Repug heaven, but the backlash of Republican Rape while in office will have broad implicitions nation wide. The media does not report on proportional represetation or any alternative to the two party rule. There is going to be backlash over the current Republican terrorism. There will be many people that found themselves deceived by a call for a smaller federal government and returning decision making to more local powers. There will be many that leave the Republican Party for what they have done to America.
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Comment #8 posted by Virgil on December 18, 2003 at 11:40:40 PT
SystemGoneDown
Certainly the odds are long at a Kucinich win, but they are not zero. I am for Kucinich and will vote so in the primary as an expression of the right direction. I am an ABB (anybody but Bu$h) voter, but I express a sincere conviction that says the DK is the right man for the job.There is a new section up at DU exclusively for the primary election 2004- http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=132 It is clear that Dean has the most support, followed by Clark. I would then say Kucinich at the DU board and they have polls that would defend that on the DU boards. There is a lot of passion for what Kucinih is saying. There is even a respect shown for Kucinich from Dean and Clark supporters you would not expect because of his sincerity of beliefs, problem solving truths, and what I will call his gentlemanness.It does not matter that Kucinich win. It will probably propell him in the Senate as there is a huge scandal anyway now that former Republican governor Ryan is charges with multiple crimes of bribery, kickbacks, and sundry corruption charges. The little man has no voice but when there are millions of us saying "If you won't listen to me, listen to Kucinch," it has impact.How is this. Kucinich is the only one calling for an end to the War on Drugs. Where does your candidate stand? The war criminal that the Supreme Court gave Residency too is for continued failure using the corruption of the Constitution and the the complicity of the media. The Cato Report called for repeal of the CSA of 1970 and the dismantling of the DEA on conservative grounds. Here we have liars in the WhiteHouse that appeal to conservatives when they could give a shit less about conservatism or ideals. They are not conservative. If they were there would be no Department of Education. If they were there would not have been steel tariffs that would latter be found illegal by the WTO. There would not have been a huge farm subsidy bill. There would be not DEA or the Controlled Substances Act. I can tell you the Bush Cabal is doomed. How is the worst president in history going to win this time when he did not win last time and it is the conservatives that will abandon him. We are fighting a media that is on full disinformation. Still, when people like my sister that do not support drug use and do not read on the subject are for the full legalization of all drugs because of what the WOD has done to this country and its people, I know it will change. We can make it change.This ruling of the 9th Circuit will help the issue of legalization coming to Alaska next year. It could also help California get its shit together and call for legalization by iniative as it did in 1972.It is more like a teeter-tooter where the converted are not going back on the side of prohibition and the converted keep coming. If the courts uphold the 10th amendment then Alaska will have Free Cannabis For Everyone. California will have to live with the embarassment of not being first and will try to be second. Everyone at DU was trying to put forth a meme that might advance the cause of Democratic victory that I feel is inevitable dispite what the liars of the media do with their thought herding. It became an overused word that presented some not so brilliant ideas. But for us the meme needs to be "Never Re-elect Anybody."We are a powerful voting block that can sweep the prohibitionist out of office. Incumbents usually win, but not necessarily by wide margin. When policians seeing a sweeping of the trash by the voters they will react to protect their job. The one thing that is missing is a website to gather all incumbent political hopefuls.The first guy I ever knew that got arrested is 40 years old and has never voted. He does not know anyone running but he has the will to change prohibition into history. If he were instructed to NRA and given a list of incumbents, he would vote, especially if he knew the cannabis community was serious about throwing these criminals out that rob us of our freedom, good standing with the law, money, and peace of mind as well as a functioning government.Kucinich may not win but he has my support and my vote. I will not vote against Bu$h just because he is an incumbent. He should be impeached and removed from office and is guilty of nothing less than treason in my book. He is also the worst president ever.I will never, ever vote for a Republican again. It is my goal to splinter the two party system and kill the Largest Minority Rule- something else Kucinich is for.
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Comment #7 posted by The GCW on December 18, 2003 at 11:18:39 PT
SystemGoneDown
"a few good decades more" or "another 50"At the rate We are going, I do not see ending the 
 
Senseless cagings, taking that long.&I’m hip to what You think about Kucinich, but, but and but… And then, whether or not Kucinich becomes President, the moves He has performed are going to expand the waves created. At any given moment the wall is going to fall. 
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Comment #6 posted by SystemGoneDown on December 18, 2003 at 11:11:00 PT:
MaxFlowers
Don't worry, I watched that on Saturday and I got excited at it just as all of us were. However, I think you are underestimating the power of the Fed gov't. Marijuana has been prohibited for 60+ years. This movement of marijuana legalization has been going for years, what makes it any different now? Sure, the power of the internet and shows like Ventura's are good indication of where public opinion is going, the fact of the matter is.....how is that going to have an effect on the powerful corporations that keep marijuana illegal by all means... If it were legal, Hemp would be the #1 source for fabric and clothing material, could replace many forms of medicine, and multi-cutrillion dollar industries like alcohol, tobacco and petroleum would all go downhill.... think about that plus the fact that drug policy budget is continuing to rise, DESPITE public opinion change(as displayed on Jesse Ventura's America) and wonder: are we any closer to legalization? 
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Comment #5 posted by Max Flowers on December 18, 2003 at 10:56:51 PT
SystemGoneDown, you're wrong
It is not going to take decades more, it's coming NOW, within the next few years. You don't know the swell of an approaching sea change when you see one eh? When a TV host has a federal anti-drug spokesman on his show, points his finger at him and barks "stop lying to us!" and says dismissively to his audience about him "that's federal spin, baby" you don't smell the change in the air??Yippierevolutionary, if you think you're cynical, just check out SystemGoneDown's view. Don't worry, you're not too cynical yet.
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Comment #4 posted by SystemGoneDown on December 18, 2003 at 10:42:14 PT:
GCW and yippierevolutionary
You both will be disappointed... A)Kucinich is not going to win president, no matter how much you and I can "believe". Campaigning will get his name out there more, but even thinking that he'll win is just wishful thinking. 
B)Cannabis is struggling to be decriminalized, much less legalized, and might not for a few good decades more. It'll probobly take another 50 years of suffereing for marijuana users b4 it is accepted as an unchangable culture phenomenon and power gives in. There is still reasonable doubt among many Americans who feel legalization is not right, but how can you blame them?!?! They're fed bullsh t from the media and most Americans are skeptical about marijuana SIMPLY because they've been taught that. 
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Comment #3 posted by The GCW on December 18, 2003 at 10:28:14 PT
Nevada
"As the founding principle of a federal government with limited, strictly enumerated powers gains renewed strength, individual liberty will be resuscitated as well." About 40% of Nevada citizens voted to allow full on use of cannabis.I think that since the last election those numbers only go up.& Walters? He can only help! Every time He or one of His goons speak, they only help Our cause.Our request for Walters should be to send every one of them out to speaking ingagements and conduct debate.420&And for anyone who is just dropping by,& haven't heard: Democratic Presidential nominee, Dennis Kucinich, put in writing that as PRESIDENT He WILL: 
"DECRIMINALIZE MARIJUANA" -"in favor of a drug policy that sets reasonable boundaries for marijuana use by establishing guidelines similar to those already in place for alcohol." (POSTED ON His website!)http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17917.shtml http://www.kucinich.us/issues/marijuana_decrim.php Electing a President Kucinich effectively ends this court battle suspense, and makes better use of valuable time.
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Comment #2 posted by yippierevolutionary on December 18, 2003 at 10:27:26 PT
Total Prohibition is Dead
The only thing that worries me is if medical use is allowed and recreational use is decriminalized the people will become satiated and we will fail reach what is truly needed which is total acceptance and tolerance and full rights for Cannabis Americans. I am too young to be this cynical.To Walters all I have to say is this: You suck
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Comment #1 posted by Virgil on December 18, 2003 at 10:00:40 PT
Where is that high water mark, Walters?
Walters said that his prohibitionist had drawn the line of the high water mark of the reform movement after the Nevada initiative was defeated on Nov. 5th last year. The high water mark has been lost since his statement as the water keeps rising. The tide of the cannabis age is coming in. It has now started flooding the stonewall on the outer defenses of prohibition, that was defending the undefendable- the total ban of MMJ in the US. The most outer defenses of prohibition have been flooded and the tide is rising.
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