cannabisnews.com: Group Sues Over Law on Pot Bus Ads 





Group Sues Over Law on Pot Bus Ads 
Posted by CN Staff on February 23, 2004 at 09:18:32 PT
By Anna Christine Gorski, The Capital Times
Source: Capital Times
Washington -- An alliance of civil liberties and activist groups filed suit last week in federal court, challenging a federal law that threatens to deny funding to local transit systems that display ads challenging marijuana laws. "That's just ridiculous," said Britta Stunkard, president of the University of Wisconsin-Madison's chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy. "You have to hear both sides of any story. Because an ad is critical is not grounds for full-out censorship."
Though the lawsuit involves the Washington Area Metro Transit Authority, the law applies to any local transit system in the United States that relies on federal funding. The American Civil Liberties Union and three drug policy reform organizations - Marijuana Policy Project, Change the Climate, and the Drug Policy Alliance - sought an injunction Thursday against the Washington Transit Authority and the U.S. Department of Transportation after the authority rejected an ad that claims marijuana laws are a waste of tax dollars. The ad depicts a crowd of men and women behind bars. It reads: "Marijuana laws waste billions of taxpayer dollars to lock up nonviolent Americans." The ad calls for "more realistic marijuana laws." It may be viewed online at: http://www.drugpolicy.org/The law that prohibits such ads is called the "Istook Amendment" after Rep. Ernest Istook, R-Okla., who added it to the massive omnibus spending bill passed last month. Istook dismissed the suit as off-the-wall. "These are fanatics who seek attention by making threats and filing lawsuits," Istook said. "Congress has the clear right and also the responsibility to place strict conditions on how we use taxpayer dollars." The provision states that after Feb. 1, federal funds are to be withheld from local transits "involved, directly or indirectly, in any activity that promotes the legalization or medical use of any substance listed in the schedule I of section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act." Istook noted that the federal government would spend more than $12 billion this year to discourage illegal drug use. "It makes no sense to use federal dollars or federal property to undercut this effort," Istook said. The Madison Metro Transit System has never been confronted with the choice of whether or not to run an ad advocating marijuana law reform, according to Metro spokeswoman Julie Maryott-Walsh. But Metro would have to proceed carefully, Maryott-Walsh said, "We do receive a good deal of funding from the federal government." Federal funding provided slightly more than 10 percent of Metro's total funding in 2002. Figures for 2003 have not yet been calculated. "Boy, this is disgusting," said Cheryl Rosen Weston, a former Wisconsin ACLU vice president who lectures at UW-Madison. Weston pointed to the 1998 U.S. Supreme Court case, Arkansas Educational Television Commission vs. Ralph P. Forbes, which defined the parameters of public debate. "You can limit speech in a lot of ways, but the criteria cannot be based on the content of the speech," Rosen Weston explained. This ad is not suggesting viewers break the law or commit a crime, Weston explained, rather it is suggesting viewers reconsider the law itself. Stimulating examination and discussion "over matters of public policy inherent to democratic debate," said Rosen Weston. "It's no different than saying you can put "re-elect Bush" ads and not "elect Kerry" ads in the subway. I don't think they'd like it if Congress passed that," Rosen Weston said. Note: Fed funds would be deniedSource: Capital Times, The (WI)Author: Anna Christine Gorski, The Capital TimesPublished: February 23, 2004Copyright: 2004 The Capital TimesContact: tctvoice madison.comWebsite: http://www.captimes.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:MPP: http://www.mpp.org/SSDP: http://wwwssdp.org/ACLU: http://www.aclu.org/DPA: http://www.drugpolicy.org/CTC: http://www.changetheclimate.org/Suit Targets Ban on Pro-Pot Ads http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18362.shtmlFeds Face Lawsuit in Censorship Fight http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18359.shtmlACLU, Marijuana Rights Groups Sue U.S. http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18358.shtml 
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Comment #3 posted by Universer on February 24, 2004 at 08:24:15 PT
Bumper Sticker?
Do you think it would be plausible to obtain a bumper sticker from the ACLU which is the exact replica of the denied advertisement? I for one would gladly display it.
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Comment #2 posted by ekim on February 23, 2004 at 11:56:21 PT
time for a smile --dont know who wrote this
Research Announcement
 
A major research institution has recently announced the discovery of the heaviest chemical element yet known to science. The new element has been tentatively named Governmentium. 
 
Governmentium has 1 neutron, 12 assistant neutrons, 75 deputy neutrons, and 224 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312.These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons. Since governmentium has no electrons, it is inert. However, it can be detected as it impedes every reaction with
which it comes into contact. A minute amount of
governmentium causes one reaction to take over 4 days to complete when it would normally take less than a second.Governmentium has a normal half-life of 3 years; it does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places. In fact, governmentium's mass will actually increase over time,
since each reorganization will cause some morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes.This characteristic of moron-promotion leads some scientists to speculate that governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a certain quantity in concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as Critical Morass.
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Comment #1 posted by ekim on February 23, 2004 at 11:26:50 PT
Mar 4 04 Students for Sensible Drug Policy 
http://www.leap.cc/events/events.phpMar 4 04 Students for Sensible Drug Policy Debate 07:00 PM Howard Wooldridge Albuquerque New Mexico USA 
 Speaker Howard Wooldridge will debate Finn Selander, Demand Reduction Coordinator for the DEA. Location: University of New Mexico, Student Union Building, Lobo rooms A & B. The sponsoring group is the SSDP UNM Law School Chapter. 
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