cannabisnews.com: Medical Pot Backers Picket Federal Drug Czar





Medical Pot Backers Picket Federal Drug Czar
Posted by CN Staff on February 12, 2004 at 08:11:47 PT
By Eric Bailey, Times Staff Writer
Source: Los Angeles Times 
Sacramento — A visit Wednesday to the California capital by President Bush's drug czar prompted a placard-waving protest by medical marijuana supporters angry over the federal government's opposition to use of the drug by the ill.The demonstration by about a dozen activists came as John Walters, director of the president's Office of National Drug Control Policy, met in a downtown office building with members of law enforcement and leaders of the drug treatment effort to discuss the U.S. effort to stem abuse.
"The czar belongs in Russia, not in California," said state Sen. John Vasconcellos, a Santa Clara Democrat who remains one of the Legislature's most vocal supporters of medical marijuana.Walters, who encountered similar pickets during appearances in Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego, said the protesters were part of a broader movement to legalize recreational drugs."It's not the AMA. It's not a major medical group," Walters said. "These are the people who want to legalize drugs."At a news conference before the protest, Vasconcellos and several patients who use cannabis as medicine criticized the federal government's stance against medical cannabis, which in recent years had included the arrests of prominent activists and raids at some of the state's medical marijuana dispensaries.Vasconcellos said "marauding" federal drug agents are wasting taxpayer dollars. He said marijuana was not a gateway drug but instead had been proven to be a worthy medicine for a variety of afflictions."They're frightened by freedom," Vasconcellos said. "They've got no science, no compassion." Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/picket.htmSource: Los Angeles Times (CA)Author:  Eric Bailey, Times Staff WriterPublished: February 12, 2004 Copyright: 2004 Los Angeles TimesContact: letters latimes.comWebsite: http://www.latimes.com/Related Article & Web Site: Americans For Safe Accesshttp://www.safeaccessnow.org/Drug Czar Faces Angry Medical Marijuana Patients http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18328.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
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Comment #24 posted by jose melendez on February 12, 2004 at 15:26:48 PT
sic 'em!
"Walters said no scientifically valid study had determined that marijuana was a safe or effective way to treat pain and other effects of illness and injury."
catch the liar
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Comment #23 posted by billos on February 12, 2004 at 15:23:34 PT:
No J. PEE.....
we are not the people who want to legalize drugs. We are THE PEOPLE. The people who want to stop the persecution by our own government for the non-violent recreational use of cannabis. That's WHO WE ARE. Remember Jonny PEE?? 
WE THE PEOPLE????? P.S. the episode of the Simpsons where Homer gets involved with medical cannabis is on as I write. Hilarious. 
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Comment #22 posted by Virgil on February 12, 2004 at 12:47:35 PT
EJ- sailing into a strong wind
My belief is that if Dean had talked of compassion and care using the public support of Medical MiraclePlant instead of letting angry summarize him, he may well have been president. I mentioned it again today at DU, that Dean was wrong on the issue and he sailed into a strong wind. It may be Dean that calls the wind for support and changes his position. He would change, if he thought it would now revive his chances for glory. The wind made a lesson for all to see in New Hampshire. It is hard to isolate of course, but things would have certainly gone better for Dean if had supported Medical MiraclePlant. It would show he had compassion. It would show he could at least think and could come to a good political decision if nothing else. But no, he chose to sail into a strong wind.
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Comment #21 posted by E_Johnson on February 12, 2004 at 12:15:05 PT
Beware of authoritarian consciousness
If you believe that the President does everything then that creates a mindset where such a situation could be realized.Life is like a Chinese finger puzzle. 
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Comment #20 posted by E_Johnson on February 12, 2004 at 12:12:00 PT
SGD an administration arrests no one
The Carter administration did not arrest even one person.The police arrest people. The police decide whom they are going to arrest.If you conflate words to the point where they lose meaning then so will your point.
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Comment #19 posted by SystemGoneDown on February 12, 2004 at 12:08:19 PT
Virgil
http://www.drugwarfacts.org/marijuan.htmI don't know about the Carter/Reagan years, but it does show that the Clinton administration arrested more marijuana offenders than the Bush administration. Either way the amount less isn't great enough to rightfully say that Repo-ublicans are softer on marijuana than democrats. However, I'd still vote Democrat because Kerry MIGHT have legislation for medical marijuana. MMJ is like slipping the key into the prisoners hands. It will inevitebly make marijuana more available for the "recreational" user. Marijuana use will be more widley commercialized and police, doctors(patients asking them to 'recommend' marijuana)judges, legitimately ill patients, and innocent potheads will put pressure on those in office "for drastic change in the way we as a society deal with this drug"(Dr. Lester Greenspoon).
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Comment #18 posted by E_Johnson on February 12, 2004 at 11:53:21 PT
I can hear it now
In the White House, a deep Taxes drawl:Hey Johnny Boy, an election is coming up and I need to unify the Republican party on my side.So why don't you go out to California and tell the 63% of Republicans out there who support medical marijuana that they're just plain idiots?Yeah that oughta help me stay in this office for another four years.(I am so cracking up right now!!)
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Comment #17 posted by E_Johnson on February 12, 2004 at 11:50:35 PT
Know what Walters just did?
Medical marijuana is supported by 63% of California Republicans.Walters just called them all fools. Including the Governor.We couldn't ask for a better adversary than this man. He does half our work for us just by being stupid.
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Comment #16 posted by Virgil on February 12, 2004 at 11:37:06 PT
Ron Paul on the House floor yesterday
 The video of the Ron Paul speech can be seen with a link on the rights side to a February 11th video- http://www.house.gov/paul/ Paul would speak to the issue of the drug war in point 5 of his speech and mention marijuana. He would later mention the drug war near the end of his speech. He would say 84% of all federal prisoners are held because of non-violent crimes. It was a kick butt moment for the Constitution and freedom as we would like it.There is one thing he mentioned that might seem unusual to some. If we take the Constitution as defining the limits of federal power and the 10th Amendment as clear language to its intent, there is an opposing view. When we read the words of the commerce clause, it is really quite clear what is meant and intended. The argument for going around such plain language is that the Constitution is a living document. It means it changes as the federal government and times change and that the words of 1793 are just a framework to hang modern thinking/justice/power on. Ron Paul mentions it in his speech.
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Comment #15 posted by goneposthole on February 12, 2004 at 11:20:11 PT
IHow deep are the ruts?
The ruts from Oregon Trail are still visible to this day. Such was the desire of those early pioneers willing to endure the hardships to have a new start away from the old world ways of Europe.The ruts of the cannabis movement are just as deep and just as indelible.Take heart, old man John P. Walters, the end of your days will be filled with regret if you do not change. Never too late to change your mind about what you do. Back when freedom was still alive (50's and 60's). you could feel it, taste it, live it. Now, it is something to yearn for. Such a pity.No science, no compassion... means no brains. 
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Comment #14 posted by Virgil on February 12, 2004 at 11:19:40 PT
SCG, no it is not credible
It could well be that under Carter arrest averaged less than 8 years under Reagan. Now that you mention it, I would like to know the exact numbers. I do not accept it as a common knowledge even if it were somehow true. Clinton would put 100,000 policeman on the street and arrest for MiraclePlant would go up over Bush the Elder. In 2001 arrest under Bush would reach new heithts with about 734,000. In 2002 they would report a slightly lower number that could still be represented by 2000 arrest a day.Democrats and Republicans both support the Perpetual Drug War. In the late 70's and early 80's nobody I knew worried about cannabis use. You could smoke it in concerts at the Charlotte Colusiem and joints would pass down the rows. It could well be that when Carter would toughen up there were more easy targets to arrest. But Carter surely was not the Drug Warrior Reagan was, no matter what the arrest records truly are.Over 24 years, numbers do not tell a good story anyway as there could be 50 million more people. It would be nice to know if cannabis use per capita is up. It could be well over an ounce per person per year. If it is, it is time to crack down on all this freedom and throw some tough justice on some people. This pot smoking has to stop. There are widgets to make. Well, maybe not making- There are widgets to buy.
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Comment #13 posted by E_Johnson on February 12, 2004 at 11:14:45 PT
SGD I think the analysis is flawed
You can't say that Democrats arrest more marijuana smokers than Republicans because you can't do an experiment where both Democrats and Republicans get to have been in power in the nineties when alternative culture and the medical marijuana movement both took off.Which party takes which position on marijuana depends on a lot of things. The REpublicans are always tough on crime except their own of course and the Democrats always end up in a fight over how to respond in order to win the next election.Crime news used to be very big in the media and I think that has a lot to do with Clinton being elected on a Drug War platform.I mean -- there weren't exactly two competing Drug War platforms in the 1992 election, were there? The Democrats never promised NOT to arrest marijuana users. They promised the opposite -- the promised to be as tough on crime as Republicans.Alternative culture had just started growing then so what enlightened drug war pundit was going to join the Clinton administration and bring their policies into line with common sense?Everyone in the drug reform movement at that time had politics that most Democrats considered to be ultra right wing!!!!Richard Cowan -- a right wing hardliner as far as the average DEmocrat was concerned.No way was the Clinton administration going to listen to anyone in the drug reform movement during his term.What we have done since then is build a more broadly based political movement and we have gained from scientific revelations about marijuana's healing powers.And we have finally grabbed some footholds in traditional liberal politics. We finally have the attention of the Democratic Party.The INternet has made the news smarter. Journalists have to be accountable to a wider public and better informed sampling of readers than ever before.This is our time to start winning finally. 
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Comment #12 posted by FoM on February 12, 2004 at 11:13:47 PT
Ashcroft and Steroids Bust
Feds Charge Four in Steroids Schemehttp://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2004/02/12/ap/Sports/d80lslpg0.txt
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on February 12, 2004 at 11:08:22 PT
George W. Bush's Lost Year in 1972 Alabama 
I was looking for news to post and found this article about Bush and drug use.Excerpts from Article:The gap in Bush's military records for 1972, and his lack of a full answer to the question about his drug use, generated stories during the 2000 campaign. Bush refused for months to say whether he had ever used illegal drugs. Then he changed his stance, according to the Boston Globe, saying he had not used illegal drugs "since 1974."Many of those who came into close contact with Bush say he liked to drink beer and Jim Beam whiskey, and to eat fist-fulls of peanuts, and Executive burgers, at the Cloverdale Grill. They also say he liked to sneak out back for a joint of marijuana or into the head for a line of cocaine. The newspapers that year are full of stories about the scourge of cocaine from Vietnam and China, much of it imported by the French. (Remember the French Connection?)http://www.axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/article_5089.shtml
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Comment #10 posted by ekim on February 12, 2004 at 10:56:23 PT
Meet other supporters across from the Bob Hope Dr
Somebody have a Loretta Nall sign Thursday, February 12Burbank, California
2:20 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. PT
Cheer for Dennis on his way into the NBC studios to be on the Tonight Show!
Meet other supporters across from the Bob Hope Drive entrance to the NBC Studios at 3000 West Alameda.Burbank, California
2:00 - 5:00 p.m. PT
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
(Program airs 11:30pm ET, MT, PT; 10:30pm CT)
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Comment #9 posted by jose melendez on February 12, 2004 at 10:47:49 PT
Loretta is getting railroaded.
URGENT!  
 US Marijuana Party President Loretta Nall is being railroaded; found guilty with questionable evidence and malicious prosecution including perjury, omission of material facts, and a sleeping judge!  
 Both as president of the U.S. Marijuana Party and as an anchor on pot-tv, Loretta Nall supported Dennis Kucinich.  
 
 
 Now she needs someone to speak up to the press and ask why drug warriors can't fight real crime instead of going after a single mom.  
 
 
 Dennis Kucinich, please speak out on Leno and elsewhere for people to investigate this long - documented vindictive prosecution.  
 here is what happened, in Loretta's own words:  
 "The first piece of evidence entered was a USPS envelope that the prosecution 
 and police had mistakenly labeled a "FedEX" envelope. This is supposedly where they found the pot.  
 McCain was holding it in his hand and my lawyer asked him to identify it for 
 the court. McCain said "It's a FedEx envelope." My lawyer asked him to look at it again and he did and still said it is a 
 FEDEX envelope even though there was a large eagle on it and it clearly said 
 USPS Priority Mail.  
 My lawyer pointed out to the judge that McCain and incorrectly identified 
 this piece of evidence even though he was holding it in his hand. The DA 
 snatched it from McCain and looked at it as though he had never seen it 
 before in his life. Then they both conceded that it was a USPS envelope and 
 not a FedEX as they had thought.  
 They have had this piece of evidence since November of 2002."  
 There should be more at: http://my.marijuana.com/comments.php?sid=8550&tid=32703&mode=nested&order=0&thold=0  
 Contact her directly at:  
 http://usmjparty.com  
 
 Drudge outed Kerry with an intern affair, and the FCC is pulling a Ken Starr on Janet Jackson.  
 Meanwhile, 600,000 Americans die from legal poisons and about 700,000 more are persecuted for using far safer marijuana.  
 We the People must speak out, and no longer tolerate war on US!FOLLOW UP: I contacted the nice people over at kucinich.us, Linda Hayes in Alabama recommended that if someone from the Kucinich campaign were to "give 
an
opinion on this, it needs to come directly from the national campaign 
office
in Cleveland, OH. If you wish to contact them, the telephone number is 
(866)
413-3664."I also posted something over at the Discuss section on the lower left side of Kucinich.usNot sure why the my.marijuana.com link is not working, maybe they are changing something in their servers.
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Comment #8 posted by kaptinemo on February 12, 2004 at 10:30:16 PT:
The fat man and the anorexic
The fat man, grossly obese by 300 pounds, turns to the anorexic and says that he eats too much.This is the Federal government, with 40 Billion of our tax dollars to play with each year in pursuing this Snark Hunt of a DrugWar, saying to organizations like MPP who have received a comparatively microscopically smaller sum courtesy of men like Soros, that they are using their funds to unfair advantage.Who has the almost inexhaustible supply of taxpayer money? Who has the guns? Who has the police? The judges? The prosecutors? The other drug industries (booze and Big Pharma) backing so-called 'parents movements'? the prison gaursd and their unions? Who has UNICOR? Sure ain't the MPP, DrugSense, or Change the Climate, Johnny-me-lad. Yet they've done wonders on shoe-string budgets. Enough that you, like that fat man, points the finger at the painfully thin fellow and says he's making a pig of himself.As Kevin Zeese said to some sacrificial lamb that had been trotted out by the ONDCP a few years ago on C-SPAN, when said (royally) 'burnt offering' was attempting to play that card, that the organizations trying to reform the laws would love to have JUST THE P.R. BUDGET FOR THE DEA , ALONE to fund themselves with. Projection, for sure, and that's all his comments are. 
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Comment #7 posted by kaptinemo on February 12, 2004 at 10:05:35 PT:
Looks like Johnny Pee is suffering 
from a bad case of Freudian 'projection'.Definitions of Freudian projection: http://www.longstoryshortpier.com/archives/paralitticisms/000239.htmlOne of them seems to fit ol' Johnny Pee perfectly;
*Projection is the opposite defence mechanism to identification. We project our own unpleasant feelings onto someone else and blame them for having thoughts that we really have.To quote dear ol' Johnny:* He said that a small group of wealthy businessmen led by billionaire financier George Soros, one of the most aggressive foes of President Bush heading into the 2004 election, was using the medical marijuana movement to promote efforts to legalize recreational drugs."They are using the sick and suffering as a prop for political action," Walters said. "I think that is immoral and improper. I think this con has gone on long enough."*Yes, Johnny, but are you aware that it's a mirror you are addressing? 
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Comment #6 posted by SystemGoneDown on February 12, 2004 at 10:01:10 PT
CNews people.....
There's this thing on pot-tv by "Underground Indiana" and he's basically how Democrats arrests more marijuana smokers than Rebublicans. The numbers don't lie.... Jimmy Carter arrested more marijuana than Reagan. Clinton arrested more than either George Senior or George Junior...Is this a credible revelation? Help me out guys.
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on February 12, 2004 at 09:21:41 PT
Dave
I sure hope he talks about our issue while he has the chance. I'll watch Jay Leno tonight and will keep my fingers crossed. Thanks for the heads up.I know some are interested in how it went for Loretta Nail. Here is a link.http://www.al.com/newsflash/regional/index.ssf?/base/news-5/107657034230531.xml
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Comment #4 posted by Dave in Florida on February 12, 2004 at 08:56:48 PT
DK on Jay Leno tonight
Dennis will be on Jay Leno tonite. He is going to be playing "the dating game" looking for a first lady..
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Comment #3 posted by SystemGoneDown on February 12, 2004 at 08:44:23 PT
To quote Jesse...
"It's not the AMA. It's not a major medical group," Walters said. "These are the people who want to legalize drugs.""CUZ THEY WOULDN'T DARE GO AGAINST YOU GUYS!!!!, THE GOVERNMENT"
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Comment #2 posted by Truth on February 12, 2004 at 08:37:58 PT
the truth
The truth is John Pee Walters is a liar.
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Comment #1 posted by BigDawg on February 12, 2004 at 08:22:42 PT
"They've got no science, no compassion."
.
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