cannabisnews.com: In N.H., a Parallel Opportunity 





In N.H., a Parallel Opportunity 
Posted by CN Staff on December 30, 2003 at 21:48:54 PT
By Jonathan Finer, Washington Post Staff Writer
Source: Washington Post 
Keene, N.H. -- At a retirement home here on a recent Monday morning, a young man asked presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) about federal drug raids on people smoking marijuana for medical purposes. Two hours later and 80 miles away on the campaign trail, another concerned citizen waited patiently to ask former Vermont governor Howard Dean that same question at a town meeting in Exeter. 
That evening in Concord, the state capital, 10 protesters picketed the local Comcast cable television office because the company refused their ads outlining each presidential candidate's position on marijuana issues. An uninitiated observer could be forgiven for thinking a full-blown marijuana movement had sprung up in famously conservative New Hampshire. And that, said activist Aaron Houston of the Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project, was the point. "Everyone is paying attention now, and it gives us the opportunity to get our message out," he said. As the Jan. 27 presidential primary here nears, Houston's crew has plenty of company along New Hampshire's other campaign trail. Capitalizing on media attention -- and the unrivaled access to candidates the political culture here affords -- interest groups are waging a parallel drive to push their issues to the top of the national political agenda. Employing the same grass-roots tactics used by presidential campaigns in this state -- and in Iowa, where Democrats caucus one week earlier -- they distribute pamphlets door to door, advertise on television and turn up at events to make sure that whenever and wherever the presidential hopefuls appear, certain issues are discussed. "The vast majority of people who show up are regular voters who want to hear what [the candidates] have to say," said Jennifer Donahue, a political analyst at Saint Anselm College's New Hampshire Institute of Politics. "But there is a vocal, and very organized, subset, who are there to push an agenda. This has exploded in the last two election cycles." "You know you're going to get asked about some things over and over again," said Colin Van Ostern, Edwards's New Hampshire press secretary. "You just get used to it." During the 2000 campaign, a man in a rabbit costume soaked with fake blood followed Vice President Al Gore around the state to protest scientific testing on animals for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Gore also generated national headlines when, in response to a question from a Medical Marijuana Project volunteer, he seemed to endorse pot smoking by terminally ill patients, a break with Clinton administration policy. Snipped: Complete Article: http://freedomtoexhale.com/granitestaters.htmSource: Washington Post (DC)Author: Jonathan Finer, Washington Post Staff WriterPublished: Wednesday, December 31, 2003; Page A03 Copyright: 2003 Washington Post Contact: letterstoed washpost.comWebsite: http://www.washingtonpost.com Related Articles & Web Sites:Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www/mpp/org/GraniteStaters.comhttp://www.GraniteStaters.com/Marijuana Group Targets Vt. Legislatorshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17535.shtmlPresidential Candidates Pressed on Marijuana Issuehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16805.shtmlDemocratic Candidate Backs Medical Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16448.shtml Democrat Kucinich Endorses Medical Pot Use http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16441.shtml
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Comment #34 posted by FoM on January 05, 2004 at 14:23:42 PT
E-Mail News from MPP
MPP Issues Final Grades To Presidential Candidates Date: Mon, 5 Jan 2004Dear Friend:The Marijuana Policy Project's campaign to influence the presidential candidates in New Hampshire was covered three days in a row last week by major news outlets.On December 30, CNN's "Inside Politics" covered our campaign to pressure the nine Democratic candidates to adopt good medical marijuana positions. Then, on December 31, The Washington Post published an article that started with this:KEENE, N.H. -- At a retirement home here on a recent Monday morning, a young man asked presidential candidate Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) about federal drug raids on people smoking marijuana for medical purposes.Two hours later and 80 miles away on the campaign trail, another concerned citizen waited patiently to ask former Vermont governor Howard Dean that same question at a town meeting in Exeter.That evening in Concord, the state capital, 10 protesters picketed the local Comcast cable television office because the company refused their ads outlining each presidential candidate's position on marijuana issues.An uninitiated observer could be forgiven for thinking a full- blown marijuana movement had sprung up in famously conservative New Hampshire. And that, said activist Aaron Houston of the Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project, was the point. "Everyone is paying attention now, and it gives us the opportunity to get our message out," he said.As the Jan. 27 presidential primary here nears, Houston's crew has plenty of company along New Hampshire's other campaign trail. Capitalizing on media attention -- and the unrivaled access to candidates the political culture here affords -- interest groups are waging a parallel drive to push their issues to the top of the national political agenda.See: http://www.mpp.org/states/site/quicknews.cgi?key=5881 for the full article.And, on January 1, The Washington Post ran another story -- http://www.mpp.org/NH/news_5882.html -- this time on how the presidential campaigns and MPP are using auto-calls to educate New Hampshire voters on the candidates' positions. "At least one interest group campaigning in the state -- the Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project -- has also adopted the technique" of calling mass numbers of voters, the Post reported.Media coverage isn't the goal, however. It is but one tool that MPP uses to increase its credibility with the presidential campaigns. And it is working.A few weeks ago, MPP notified all nine campaigns that we would be assigning final grades to the nine Democratic candidates on January 1, saying that any candidate who did not pledge to end the DEA's raids on medical marijuana patients would receive an "F" -- the same grade as President Bush. As late as 8:30 p.m. on New Year's Eve, we were still negotiating with one of the campaigns to improve the position of their candidate.Please visit http://www.GraniteStaters.com to view the candidates' final grades. Between now and January 27 -- when New Hampshire will hold its first-in-the-nation presidential primary election -- we will be using TV ads and mass literature drops to educate Democratic and independent voters about the candidates' positions on medical marijuana.When we launched this campaign in April 2003, we underestimated the amount of attention and credibility our campaign would be able to garner in just eight months. Incredibly, MPP has persuaded six of the nine candidates to adopt positive positions on medical marijuana, to varying degrees.A+ - Dennis Kucinich: On May 29, Kucinich was quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle as supporting medical marijuana "without reservation" and indicated that as president he would be willing to sign an executive order permitting its use.A - Carol Moseley Braun: When asked at a campaign stop in Durham on November 3 if she would sign legislation allowing seriously ill people to use medical marijuana with their doctors' approval, Moseley Braun responded, "Yes ... You don't have to record me, I'm already on record on this."A- - John Kerry: During a town hall meeting in Henniker on Sept. 20, an MPP staffer asked Kerry, "Would you stop the raids, as president?" Kerry responded by saying simply, "Yes."B+ - Wesley Clark: During a November 13 town hall meeting in Portsmouth, a volunteer for MPP's campaign asked Clark if, as president, he would stop the DEA's raids on seriously ill medical marijuana patients in the nine states that have removed the threat of jail for medical marijuana patients. Clark replied, "In a simple yes-or-no answer: Yes."B - Al Sharpton: When an MPP volunteer asked Sharpton on December 9 if, as president, he would stop the DEA's raids on medical marijuana patients, he replied, "I think that medical marijuana patients should not be arrested for using medical marijuana. I think that's something that I wouldn't do."D- - Howard Dean: At a town hall meeting in Hampton on November 13, an MPP volunteer asked Dean if he would promise to permanently stop raids on medical marijuana patients in the states that have reduced or eliminated criminal penalties for the medicinal use of marijuana. Dean responded, "I don't believe in what Ashcroft's doing about medical -- putting people in prison who are, who have AIDS. Let me tell you what we have to do on medical marijuana. I stopped a medical marijuana bill in my legislature, and I'll tell you why. Because I'm a doctor, I think substances taken into your body have to be treated the same if they're meant to be medicines, no matter what they are. And I don't like people -- for the same reason I'm pro-choice -- I don't like people who are not in a position to make decisions about people's lives, like politicians particularly ... In the meantime, you know, I'm not in favor of legalizing marijuana -- I mean, maybe for medicinal use ... And so I'm not in favor of the kinds of raids that John Ashcroft is doing in those states where people have decided that medical marijuana is okay. I don't agree with the way it came about from a political process, but I'm not in favor of locking people up for medical marijuana like John Ashcroft is doing." Dean has called for a one-year moratorium on the DEA's raids; the notion of restarting the raids after one year, in combination with his actions as governor, have earned him a D- grade.F - George Bush, John Edwards, Richard Gephardt, and Joe Lieberman: We tried our best, but Edwards, Gephardt, and Lieberman simply would not pledge to end the DEA's raids on patients. Edwards is particularly hypocritical, given that he admitted to having smoked marijuana recreationally.
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Comment #33 posted by Max Flowers on January 01, 2004 at 10:15:19 PT
About ephedra
The plant ephedra (ma-huang) can be extracted to get a crude extract which can itself be refined to get crude ephedrine which could then be used to make meth. However, that is way too much work for speed cooks when they can get pseudoephedrine as a precursor and go from there (and they can still get it I believe).Ostensibly, the feds are concerned about people having heart attacks and strokes etc from ephedra products, but if they were really concerned about that, it would seem they would also ban tobacco, which is proven to do the same thing (along with causing about 10 or 20 other fatal conditions). But tobacco takes many years to kill, so they get to make mucho tax money off smokers before they die. Ephedra kills too unpredictably and quickly (if indeed it is a killer, and I suspect it is), and they can't have folks dying that fast before they can soak taxes out of them.As a bonus, ephedra in theory could be used as a beginning meth precursor, so they will cite that as a reason too, although it is not practical and I think cooks will continue to use pharmaceutical/chemical precursors.Happy New Year!
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Comment #32 posted by The GCW on January 01, 2004 at 07:06:27 PT
this story in another paper... for more LTE'S.
US: In N.H., interest groups press issues with campaigning candidates Newshawk: The GCW
Pubdate: Jan. 1, 2004 
Source: Daily Camera (Boulder, CO)
Copyright: 2003 The Daily Camera.Contact: openforum dailycamera.comWebsite: http://www.thedailycamera.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/103
Author: Jonathan FinerViewed at: http://www.dailycamera.com/bdc/nation_world_news/article/0,1713,BDC_2420_2545463,00.html& Coming to MAP.
 
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Comment #31 posted by Max Flowers on December 31, 2003 at 23:53:23 PT
Happy 2004 everybody!
This might be the year the wall comes down... it feels more and more possible with each minute.
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Comment #30 posted by Dankhank on December 31, 2003 at 15:32:58 PT
Virgil
I am honored to be in the same sentence with NJWeedman. I had the opportunity to support a Liberty Bell Smokeout of his in 2000 during Repub/Shadow Convention. Pray with him and you will come away thinking about what YOU can do.In the meantime ... Happy New Year to all ...
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Comment #29 posted by freedom fighter on December 31, 2003 at 12:10:09 PT
Ephedra
is not the stuff that makes meth. Ephedrine or psueoephrine is the stuff that is used to make meth. I thought I would mention that because someone asked twice about it. Ephedra is an upper but is not used to make meth out of it.Am I correct in assuming that DEA agency now has some 300 different substances under "control"? I know I can check this out at the DEA site but I am too afraid to surf there these days.pazff
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Comment #28 posted by FoM on December 31, 2003 at 10:50:14 PT
kapt
I couldn't get it either. I think we are read alot.
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Comment #27 posted by kaptinemo on December 31, 2003 at 10:44:26 PT:
Those poor guys must have a small server
I tried the link again and got the Web version of a 'busy signal'. LOL!Either that, or a s**t-load of people read it and started clicking.Just goes to show that lots of folks read here, every day...far more than go to the prohib sites.
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Comment #26 posted by kaptinemo on December 31, 2003 at 10:28:18 PT:
PATRIOT Act 2 - Lite; some things just won't die
WITH A WHISPER, NOT A BANG By David Martin 12/24/2003 
Bush signs parts of Patriot Act II into law — stealthily 
http://www.sacurrent.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10705756&BRD=2318&PAG=461&dept_id=482778&rfi=6I hope this answers the question...pardon me, but I am all out of anti-emetics, and must retch, again...Oh, America...what do you think you're doing???????????
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Comment #25 posted by FoM on December 31, 2003 at 10:25:12 PT
SoberStoner
Here's an article about the new Patriot Act.http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=15541
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Comment #24 posted by SoberStoner on December 31, 2003 at 10:17:15 PT
Hmm..I missed something
What parts of Patriot 2 got signed in? I have been so busy lately I havent had much time to to keep up with it (plus I never saw anything about it after it 'leaked')I keep debating running against the prohib representative we have in our district, just to actually make him answer the question "Why is cannabis illegal?"Sad thing is, I've contacted him about this issue a few times, and he even told me that his parents had cancer and he was still against Med-MJ. What a sad existance to deny your parents some comfort in their final days. Hopefully, we'll see more people donate some of their airtime this year to getting real cannabis issues addressed instead of pushing the same old 'throw em in a cage and throw away the key' approach.I'd like to see Dennis Kucinich make this a real issue and present the savings of funds from eliminating prohibition as a surplus to use to help our states recover from the financial crises they are going through. SS
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Comment #23 posted by FoM on December 31, 2003 at 10:09:42 PT
kapt
Good explanation. Zone Alarm won't work with a satellite. Maybe it does now but I know it didn't before and they recommended not trying to use it.
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Comment #22 posted by kaptinemo on December 31, 2003 at 10:06:23 PT:
Think of your box as a house
In the house are different rooms. Each room has a purpose. Each room is connected to other rooms by a central room called the /localhost room. Get into the /localhost room, and you can get anywhere in the house. And ransack it.Churchill once described the Sov Union as being like a burglar, walking down a hotel corridor and trying all the knobs to see if they are locked. That's what it sounds like happened to Jose. Someone trying to see which doors are locked, and which aren't. The problems with a Windows box is that many of those doors, appropriately labeled as 'ports', are wide-effin'-OPEN. It's why firewalls like ZoneAlarm are not just nice to have but actually necessary if you intend to keep snoopers out.Go to a US Guv site anymore, and you are almost certainly being scanned to see if your ports are open. Open ports are an invitation to mischief. And does anybody here think for a moment that Uncle wouldn't sneak a peak...when he already has the authority courtesy of the *first* PATRIOT Act?Go here to get the free version of ZoneAlarm: http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/freeDownload.jspOnce you have it on, you won't believe how many people out there are testing your doorknobs to see if the doors are locked.
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Comment #21 posted by FoM on December 31, 2003 at 10:04:21 PT
JR a Question
You said you got DSL but you said you have a satellite dish. I didn't know that DSL needed a satellite dish. I have a 2 way Direcway satellite but I don't think it is called DSL. This is just a question of curiosity. Thanks.
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Comment #20 posted by FoM on December 31, 2003 at 09:02:56 PT
kapt and Jose
I don't understand what you mean? I am not up on techy stuff. What do you mean? I am aware of the patriot act though. I had something weird happen a month or more ago. I had downloaded a satellite picture of Iraq and I went to delete it and it said I couldn't delete it. I changed the name of the picture and then it deleted fine. That was weird.
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Comment #19 posted by kaptinemo on December 31, 2003 at 08:57:22 PT:
Your /localhost drive?
Sounds like the ONDCP trying to rifle your hard drive's contents. Remember, folks, PATRIOT Act 2-Lite has been passed already...very, very quietly. Bush signed it last Saturday.I never go to government sites anymore, as the swine will try whatever they can get away with until they get caught. But by then their crocodile tear apologies are too late and the damage - to you - is already done.
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Comment #18 posted by goneposthole on December 31, 2003 at 08:50:51 PT
Food Enforcement Administration
Watch out sugar beets and corn. These two plants are destined to be BANNED!Jail for overweight people in violation of overeating legislation. Bill Bennett will be exempt.FEA agents will arrest fat people. A&P, Piggly Wiggly stores will have FEA agents furtively stationed so fat people can be hauled off without writ of habeus corpus.Fat people move to underground locations. Fear FEA swat teams.Senator Orrin Fatch declares: "It is illegal for fat people to overeat."Wendy's fastfood restaurants are closed nationwide.Source: apochryphatimes.justkidding
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Comment #17 posted by jose melendez on December 31, 2003 at 08:33:35 PT
localhost?
not sure why this ad on:http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,107059,00.html tries to access my (localhost) drive, maybe it's just a webmaster error . . .the ad is for the antidrug, and the link, as copied:http://oas.foxnews.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/foxlife.foxnews/story/column6/111959/1448089771/Middle/ONDCP_Dec03_300x250_Paid2/P_potfacts_rev_paid_300x250.gif/http://oas.foxnews.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/foxlife.foxnews/story/column6/111959/1448089771/Middle/ONDCP_Dec03_300x250_Paid2/P_potfacts_rev_paid_300x250.gif/31383439383964383366393330366130(combine the above seven lines for the link, if you really want to risk ondcp snooping your explorer cache) winds up leading to:http://www.theantidrug.com/drug_info/drugs_marijuana.htmlMaybe it's a browser conflict. Maybe it's not. Either way, drug warriors are spending tax dollars to influence legislation, ignoring laws they are sworn to uphold.drug war violates:unreasonable search and seizurepursuit of happinessequal protectiondue processmonopolyantitrustnot to mention:restraint of tradecommon senselaws.
fight real crime
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Comment #16 posted by Virgil on December 31, 2003 at 08:29:16 PT
Is organization a bad thing or what?
Wow, the Washington Post breaks their silence. The do not demonize cannabis, but they somehow manage to badmouth people that know the cannabis laws suck.They say-"But there is a vocal, and very organized, subset, who are there to push an agenda. Well, what is wrong with being organized and what is wrong with having an agenda when things need changing in the worst possible way? I do not even agree with a very well organized attack on the dreadful cannabis laws. It is much more of individual effort by people wanting the same thing and that would be freedom and a government whose main characteristic is corruption. Look at Dankhank and Weedman from NJ.The Washington Post breaks their silence while still guarding their precious ink on the subject. A high school paper could have written something better than this. This is just embarassing to the Post to print such crap as this.People want answers to real questions instead of the questions allowed that yield to boilerplate answers. Is that really news. The news is that the Washington Post completely ignores the fact that the treasonous war criminal in Residence does not speak on the issue or allow questions at his prestaged press conferences where he can recite to the best of his limited ability the answers he practiced for a week at his ranch in Texas that his daddy's coattails bought for him.The article is nonsense and is an embarassment to what journalism should encompass.
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on December 31, 2003 at 07:52:03 PT
JR Enjoy DSL
I have a Direcway satellite because we can't get DSL or cable where I live and I love it. It costs more money then dial up but I have found it is well worth the extra money for the speed I gain. My computer doesn't act up like it did with dial up either.Happy New Year 2004!
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Comment #14 posted by jose melendez on December 31, 2003 at 05:55:10 PT
yes, but is his medicine legal yet?
Congratulate Todd McCormick here:mailto:todd737 yahoo.com
STILL throwing stones?
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Comment #13 posted by jose melendez on December 31, 2003 at 05:53:34 PT
yes, but is his medicine legal yet?
I missed it too, JR. A half-way house is not free.http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/18/thread18023.shtml#17
throwing stones?
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Comment #12 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on December 31, 2003 at 05:43:13 PT
Me again?
I promised myself like two minutes ago that I was hogging the board here and would shut up for a while. But then I saw on the front page of the NTL site something which sent me searching to verify, and it's true!!Todd McCormick is OUT OF PRISON!!! As of December 10th!!!!Was this posted here? Did I miss it? Nevermind - this news is extremely welcome, especially after this morning spent contemplating my new DSL line and sattelite dish...
Todd McCormick released from prison
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Comment #11 posted by mayan on December 31, 2003 at 05:41:50 PT
JRBD...
You must have missed it! Here ya' go...White House To Ban Ephedra, Sources Say:
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread18066.shtml
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Comment #10 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on December 31, 2003 at 05:37:59 PT
Another thought
Here's an idea which might not be practical in an election year (with everybody so busy) but should someday be reality. I've got the page from Granite Starters rating the nine Democratic presidential candidates with letter grades and a paragraph about why. (They gave an A+ for Kucinich, B for Clark, C for Dean, D- for Kerry, an I for Sharpton and a ? for CMB... that's all I can remember). Perhaps a similar thing for corporate America? "Comcast: D-. Blocked MPP's ads while giving $50M in free ad time to PDFA. Would get an F, except they do not censor the internet, even allowing surfers to watch Pot-TV." It's worth a thought. The only similar thing that comes to my mind is the National Non-Testers List, for companies that do not drug test:
http://www.nontesterslist.com
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Comment #9 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on December 31, 2003 at 05:10:36 PT
Ephedra and a LTE
FoM, why have we not seen a story here about this new ban on Ephedra? I know it's not cannabis-related, but it looks like Ephedra will now become another (un)controlled substance. I hope this doesn't become the methamphetamine of the next generation. Or did they pull it because it's an ingredient in meth? I don't know - I don't like people putting dangerous things in their bodies, but I know enough that a government ban won't stop people who really want to - they'll either do it somehow or find an alternative which is probably worse. (Like those Eskimo kids who can't get pot so they huff gasoline.) And given our government's track record, any time anything else is added to the roster of prohibition, it makes me shudder. Here's the LTE I just fired off to the Chicago Tribune:Sirs,  So Ephedra is linked to 155 deaths, and that's reason to take it off the marketplace?  Alcohol kills over 100,000 every year. Cigarettes, close to 500,000. All illegal drugs combined kill less than 5,000 per year. And there has not been one death directly attributable to marijuana in recorded history.  So obviously, there's more to the legal status of a substance than its body count. I wonder if there are reasons for banning Ephedra which are not being discussed publicly?
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Comment #8 posted by jose melendez on December 31, 2003 at 05:03:27 PT
live free or die
from:http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/story.jsp?story=477114"I'm very honoured, although it still feels strange. I feel like quite an ordinary person and so the good news is that it does happen to ordinary people who work on things that happen to work out, like the web,"Tim Berners-Lee
Yes, Sir. Drug war IS crime!
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Comment #7 posted by mayan on December 31, 2003 at 05:01:18 PT
Screw Comcast!
JRBD, that's great about Forchion. He is a fighter and we need more like him.Here's more on the raid on the B.C. legislature...Targets of B.C. raid had ties to Martin: report
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1072789599242_68198799/?hub=TopStoriesB.C. shocked by raid on legislature offices:
http://www.cbc.ca/stories/2003/12/30/bcleg031230The way out is the way in...Who Made The AA 'Put' Options The Days Prior To 9/11?
http://rense.com/general46/911.html"Bush Knew" Ad by Global Free Press:
http://www.bushin30seconds.org/vote/view.html?ad=JM6Rzg1CwMUcDuCfx1bSVnZpZXctMzANew Allies: THE NEW PEARL HARBOR -- Was the Bush Administration Complicit in 9/11?
http://www.911citizenswatch.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=34&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0Another 9/11 Sign in Canada:
http://www.deceptiondollar.com/news/911sign.htm9/11 Visibility Project:
http://www.septembereleventh.org/
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Comment #6 posted by The GCW on December 31, 2003 at 04:41:08 PT
And 
This news item is very encouraging.I wonder if there are any cannabis prohibitionist types asking things like: If elected President will You promise to build more prisons to cage cannabis users longer?This story rated: 420.And if You are a cannabis prohibitionist, You may not like Dennis Kucinich.
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Comment #5 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on December 31, 2003 at 04:34:09 PT
Phone 'em!
Perhaps it would be a good idea just to -call- Comcast. We could organize a massive campaign and have everybody call on the same day. I'm sure most of the entry-level Comcast phone-answering staff are unaware of this issue, or if they are, they are unaware how MAD it has made so many of us!
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Comment #4 posted by The GCW on December 31, 2003 at 04:33:28 PT
Castcom
I will help insure friends and family know Castcom is a cannabis prohibitionist bunch. Avoid Castcom.Castcom supports caging Our brother for using what We have been given.No4204CASTCOMKucinich will end cannabis prohibition.In case You 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  Please spread this word nation wide! This catches people's attention!
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Comment #3 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on December 31, 2003 at 04:19:31 PT
Ed is already suing 'em!
Newsbrief: NJ Weedman Sues Comcast, Asks $420,000 3/21/03   Ed Forchion, the marijuana legalization advocate freed from jail in January after a federal judge found that New Jersey officials had unlawfully violated his parole for speaking out on a public policy issue -- legalizing marijuana -- has filed a $420,000 lawsuit against the state's largest cable TV provider. The suit charges that Comcast Communications censored pro-legalization ads he planned to run and libeled him in the mass media.   Forchion entered into a contract with Comcast last summer to broadcast political issue ads, but Comcast dumped the ads and told the media Forchion was advocating the illegal use of drugs. In an interview with Preston Peet's Drug War news web site (http://www.drugwar.com), at time of Forchion's arrest for parole violation last August, Comcast vice-president of corporate communications told Peet the cable giant did run commercials by drug prohibition outfits, such as the Office of National Drug Control Policy and the Partnerships for a Drug-Free America, but that it would not run Forchion's ads because they "promote the use of habit forming drugs or drug paraphernalia."   But Forchion's advertisements are available online (http://www.crrh.org/hemptv/misc_weedman.html) and clearly show that he is advocating a public policy position, not the use of marijuana.   Comcast had no comment on the suit. The lawsuit is assigned for trial to US District Judge Joseph Irenas. No trial date has yet been set.   Visit Forchion's web site at http://www.njweedman.com to learn more about the New Jersey Weedman.-=-=-=-=-=-=-=This article is dated March - the latest story is much more interesting, he's running for a House seat. Here's an excerpt:And it all ties together, Forchion told DRCNet. "I'm running for the House to expose the issue," he said, "but by doing so, I will be able to make Comcast run my ads. They will be political campaign ads now. In fact, I'm going to being submitting the same ads, except at the end they will say 'paid for by the US Marijuana Party.' What Comcast is doing is outrageous. The largest cable provider in the country has decided what political viewpoints are acceptable." The whole story:
http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/317/weedmansback.shtml
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Comment #2 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on December 31, 2003 at 04:05:20 PT
Comcast indeed
Latest e-mail from MPP:Dear Friend:Comcast, the largest cable TV provider in the nation, has told the Marijuana Policy Project that it will not run any kind of marijuana policy reform ads, including medical marijuana ads. This national policy, which Comcast refuses to put in writing, was brought about by MPP's campaign in New Hampshire.MPP was seeking to spend approximately $10,000 on "issue ads" in mid-January to pressure the presidential candidates to strengthen their medical marijuana positions before they leave the state on January 27 (the date of New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation presidential primary election).We are fighting back. As a short-term solution, a congressional candidate in New Hampshire said he is willing to run MPP's medical marijuana message in his own TV ads. (Under federal law, TV networks and cable TV providers cannot refuse advertising money from federal candidates!)As a long-term solution, however, MPP must sue Comcast. Would you please visit http://www.mpp.org/donate to help get this unexpected lawsuit off the ground? If you so choose, your donation can be tax- deductible.For the long-term health of MPP and the marijuana policy reform movement, it is absolutely crucial that we change Comcast's policy. If we do not, we will not be able to purchase the necessary airtime to pass ballot initiatives, pressure elected officials, and educate the public about the need to end marijuana prohibition.This year alone, the White House drug czar's office is spending $145,000,000 of taxpayer money to run anti-marijuana scare ads. And, in the meantime, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America is receiving $50,000,000 worth of free airtime to run its own untruthful TV ads. Yes, that's right ...To add insult to injury, Comcast recently announced it is donating $50,000,000 worth of free airtime to PDFA. Please see http://www.mpp.org/releases/nr122203gsmm.html for MPP's news release, which features our protest outside of Comcast's Manchester office on December 22.We have been researching our legal options, and it's pretty clear that the case law makes it very hard for us to win a broad-based lawsuit against Comcast.However, we have a fighting chance in court if (1) Comcast has a virtual monopoly in a geographic region, and (2) this monopoly has been granted by a local or state government (as opposed to a voluntary lack of competition by other companies). In addition, in order to strengthen our First Amendment argument, we plan to sue Comcast in a state where a marijuana policy reform initiative is likely to appear on an upcoming ballot.Please consider visiting http://www.mpp.org/donate to help pay for the MPP staff time and legal fees associated with this lawsuit. Given what's at stake, we absolutely must file this lawsuit -- and soon.One added benefit of this lawsuit is that it is sure to generate a substantial amount of free media coverage. This media coverage will be enormously positive for MPP and the forces of medical marijuana. Newspaper editorial boards across the nation -- which almost universally oppose censorship and support a free and open political debate -- will run editorials against Comcast and in favor of MPP.We are playing to win in court. But, even if we lose in court, we might be able to cause Comcast to buckle because all of this free media coverage will (1) be bad for their business, and (2) help promote a political cause they oppose.To supplement this barrage of publicity, MPP is now also calling for a nationwide boycott of Comcast. The boycott starts with me, as I will be signing up with Starpower at home instead of Comcast in a couple of days.Please visit http://www.mpp.org/donate to fight Comcast's censorship of the marijuana policy reform perspective.Comcast's ban is particularly chilling when one considers that Congress is poised to enact a law banning all marijuana policy reform advertising on public transit systems that receive federal money (which is almost all of them). See http://mpp.org/DC/news_5704.html for details.If you are one of the 31,500 people on this e-mail list who have never donated to our work, your donation to the lawsuit will automatically make you an MPP member. If you are one of the 8,800 supporters who have let their MPP memberships lapse, your donation today will renew your membership.If you are one of MPP's 5,000 current members ... which includes 158 Lifetime Members who have donated $1,000 or more in one calendar year ... as well as 515 people who make automatic credit card donations each month ... thank you, thank you, thank you.Would you please make a year-end donation at http://www.mpp.org/donate so that we can launch our lawsuit against Comcast as soon as possible? Thank you in advance for considering this request.Sincerely,Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.P.S. To mail in a check, please direct it to "MPP" or "MPP Foundation" at P.O. Box 77492, Washington, D.C. 20013. Donations to MPP are not tax-deductible, while donations to MPP Foundation are tax-deductible.-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=So, does anyone know a website or two where I can explore alternatives to my current broadband ISP and cable TV provider? It'd be a major hassle to switch, but they get a lot of my money every month, and if they're going to be mis-spending it, then I'd like to go with a less political ISP.I wonder how many people use their Comcast accounts to watch Pot-TV?
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Comment #1 posted by TroutMask on December 30, 2003 at 23:17:56 PT
Comcastholes
Anyone seen the latest Comcast Loves Partnership for a Drug-Free America commercials yet? How about the fact that Comcast has refused to run any marijuana policy reform ads?? If you can do without, do without! If you can get DSL, get DSL! It's often faster, cheaper and easier than cable anyway! www.speakeasy.net is a great place.I hope I didn't break any rules posting this, but I just placed my order for 1.5 mbit DSL and will cancel my cable as soon as the DSL is connected.Propaganda-mongers!-TM
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