cannabisnews.com: Part II: Kerry and Marijuana Policy Part II: Kerry and Marijuana Policy Posted by CN Staff on February 29, 2004 at 21:26:29 PT By Al Giordano Source: Big Left Outside This is Part II in my ongoing memo, John Kerry and Drug Policy 101, attempting to get past the superficial treatment that the Commercial Media and some activist groups (especially those of the "beautiful loser" category who fear they'll be out of business when we finally win) alike offer when it comes to the nexus of electoral politics and drug policy.Part I - Kerry and Medical Marijuana - discussed the position of the likely Democratic Party presidential nominee regarding medical marijuana, compared to those of his rivals. That's an easy one, or should be, for most pols, given the back to back victories in every state and entity where medical use of the herb has ever faced a referendum vote.But the larger question - how the law will treat every other marijuana user who doesn't have a doctor's note - has, historically, been avoided by politicians: especially those who have a chance of becoming president of the United States.Dennis Kucinich and Ralph Nader have very enlightened positions, and I cheer them for it. But I'm mainly interested in how someone who has a real shot of occupying the Oval Office stands on the matter.First, let's look at what one organization that monitors the candidates says. Norml - the National Organization for Reform of the Marijuana Laws - maintains a Report Card for each of the candidates, online.Here's what it says, specifically, about Kerry:US Senator John Kerry (D-MA) is on record voicing mild support for decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana for personal use… However, when asked whether he supported decriminalizing the possession and use of marijuana as a public policy, he replied: "No, not quite…"Norml is referring to a recent Rolling Stone interview with Kerry. Here's the full relevant passage, here….RS: You have talked in the past of smoking pot when you returned from Vietnam. What do you think of the way the pot laws are prosecuted today?JK: We have never had a legitimate War on Drugs in the United States, ever, and we won't until we have treatment on demand for addiction and until you have full drug education in our schools. The mandatory-minimum-sentencing structure of our country is funneling people into jail who have no business being there.RS: And every year, the number of people arrested for marijuana offenses goes up.JK: I've met plenty of people in my lifetime who've used marijuana and who I would not qualify as serious addicts -- who use about the same amount as some people drink beer or wine or have a cocktail. I don't get too excited by any of that.RS: Would you favor decriminalization?JK: No, not quite. What we did in the prosecutor's office was have a sort of unspoken approach to marijuana that was almost effectively decriminalization. We just didn't bother with small-time use. It doesn't rise to the level of nuisance, even. And what we were after was people dealing with heroin and destroying lives, and people who were killing people. That's where you need to focus.So, kind readers: Is the glass half empty or half full?Well, that depends on whether the glass has had anything but hot air inside it for decades... which it hasn't.A major league candidate for president, with a real chance at the White House, is openly suggesting - and he needs to be pushed to be more specific on this point - that a good policy would "not bother with small-time use." In other words, he likes a de facto decriminalization that would not even need to wait for Congress to drag its collective rear end to vote on it: By simple executive order to US attorneys, stating the prosecutorial priorities, and to the DEA, stating the enforcement priorities, of the executive branch, this could conceivably be accomplished.Marijuana reform organizations need an attitude adjustment from what has historically been an "all or nothing" approach. What is wrong with some activists that they can't get excited when, for the first time in a generation, a candidate who might well become president says it's not a priority for him to prosecute marijuana smokers? Not only that, but he says aloud that marijuana smokers are akin to people who "drink beer or wine or have a cocktail."Rolling Stone reporter Will Dana, who conducted the interview, later said on CNN:DANA: Yes, well I mean this guy (Howard Dean), I mean he might be exciting that sort of Nader fringe of the party, but he is not Ralph Nader by any stretch of the imagination. I mean you should see -- we asked him about his possessions on marijuana.O'BRIEN: What was that like? What did he say there?DANA: He takes a hard line. You know he doesn't want to budge from what the laws are now. Whereas John Kerry told us, you know, that he doesn't think marijuana's that big a deal…Now, what's the real story? Are some marijuana reform activists or hemp protagonists gonna miss being demonized and persecuted so much that they can't get excited about that? Or have they grown addicted not to a non-addictive plant, but, rather, to what they fantasize is their "cool" outlaw status so much that, deep down inside, they don't want the big change to come?Many obviously would rather end a lifetime of persecution and toke from a pipe that is half full. But I have my doubts about some of them.In the days leading up to January's Iowa Caucus, another incident demonstrated Kerry's lack of uptightness on the matter of marijuana and its users. Some political reporters called it "The Puff Incident."Ed O'Keefe of ABC news said this about it…On Saturday, Kerry kicked off a 4-day Iowa swing which is fast becoming the Peter, John & Caucus tour as folk music legend Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul & Mary travels with the Senator as his activist event opening act…This vote-seeking, folk-singing tour took an unusual turn Saturday night as Kerry and Yarrow dropped by a party held by the Story County Democrats in Ames, IA.Moments after the Senator's arrival, none other than Howard Dean walked in the door, prompting one partygoer to debate, Should I talk to Dean in the kitchen or Kerry in the living room?The Governor strummed a tune with Yarrow then quickly exited stage porch. Kerry listened from the kitchen and cringed as his friend called him forth to the center stage den for a group rendition of Puff the Magic Dragon.As the folk star began his signature song with an unintended double meaning, Kerry mouthed a few words then took his index finger to his thumb, pursed his lips, and feigned a marijuana toke.Even the rightwing Fox News, backed by the observations of a political consultant and a Washington Post reporter commenting on The Puff Incident, shrugged its shoulders at something that, not too long ago, would have caused a sensationalist media scandal…The song, while seemingly a children's tune, is better known among the '60s set as a tribute to the leafy drug. Making an apparent reference to the true meaning of the song, Kerry, in front of cameras, raised his fingers to his mouth as if toking on an imaginary marijuana cigarette.The motion drew loud laughs from guests at the house party, but barely a murmur from analysts, who say the former use of marijuana by the presidential candidates is barely as scandalous as in the days of Clinton's candidacy."This generation makes jokes about smoking marijuana. They make jokes about being stoned. How many times in a conversation have you said to somebody 'Is he stoned'? So, I think it's just something that is of the times, I don't think it means anything," said Democratic strategist Ellen Kamarck."This was a light moment, this was not any sort of serious campaign business," said Washington Post reporter Ceci Connelly, a Fox News contributor who was one of the media mavens at the house party.Asked about critics' complaints that regardless of whether Kerry -- a Massachusetts senator and Vietnam veteran -- smoked marijuana, the gesture doesn't look presidential and makes him lose respect on the world stage, Connelly said she hadn't heard any complaints."There are such bigger issues that the campaigns are fighting about right now. I have not heard that comment from anyone in Iowa. I just don't see it as being an issue to voters out here," she said.In fact, Connelly said Kerry's motion is just one example of assertions from within and outside his campaign that he is starting to enjoy the race.So, kind readers, you decide…Have we arrived?Are we, at least, at the gates of arrival?Would you like to swing on a star?Or would you rather be... arrested?Well, if you would rather remain an outlaw for life (and can't think of better reasons than pot smoking to make yourself one), you can still be "pure" and vote for Nader in November. There are many issue concerns that obviously make Nader attractive. And, as this memo will demonstrate in future chapters, various drug war issues in which Kerry needs a lot of work.But if your top issue is that you don't want to be persecuted for smoking a joint, and you're not excited about the possibility of having a guy in the White House who doesn't hate you and want to lock you up for doing so... dude, Darwin's gonna get you first.Note: "I've met plenty of people in my lifetime who've used marijuana and who I would not qualify as serious addicts -- who use about the same amount as some people drink beer or wine or have a cocktail. I don't get too excited by any of that."John Kerry - December 2003: Rolling Stone Interview -- http://www.rollingstone.com/features/nationalaffairs/featuregen.asp?pid=2454Source: Big Left OutsideAuthor: Al GiordanoPublished: February 27, 2004Copyright: 2004 Al Giordano Contact: al bigleftoutside.com Website: http://www.bigleftoutside.com/Related Articles & Web Site:NORMLhttp://www.norml.org/John Kerry and Medical Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18324.shtmlKerry: End Medical Marijuana Prosecutionhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18114.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #25 posted by FoM on March 01, 2004 at 16:27:18 PT sukoi I did read the comment and it was good. I don't mind you posting a link to John Kerry's Board. I believe being connected is a good thing! Keep up the good work! [ Post Comment ] Comment #24 posted by sukoi on March 01, 2004 at 16:16:38 PT FoM, I hope that you don't mind me posting this here (I normally wouldn’t), but there was a post just entered at the Kerry forum from an active duty soldier that is moving and speaks volumes:From: http://forum.johnkerry.com//index.php?s=6519b769fe589979ee6fa09a6ee691a1&showtopic=8035&st=90Author: Stopthewod“Sandy, knowing you are a moderator of this forum, I would submit to you most respectfully, that the reason this particular topic is the most active on John Kerry's reelection site is because people are really concerned about this issue. Unless you are censoring responses from the opposition - I don't see a whole lot of opposition to what we are all proposing, which is to end the war on drugs, to end the war on the American People. I for one am not for legalizing all drugs as I see it, if it has to be processed it's a drug, if it's consumed naturally, then it's nature. And that's the issue here I think, is that the government has declared war on nature and the people who enjoy it. Can you tell me one other naturally occurring thing (plant or animal) within our boarder that the American government has spent so many billions of dollars trying to eradicate? It's usually quite the opposite. And no, I'm not a pot smoking hippie. I'm an active duty soldier in the U.S. Army for 10+ years shedding sweat, blood and tears to protect the right to vote, the right to privacy, the right to civil liberties, the right to freedom of speech, the right to privacy and among other things the right to persue happiness. I see what this has done to my country, to my family, to my people, and I'm ashamed and disgusted. The Nazi's concentration camps are Americas Jails for the marijuana smoker. But I will continue to serve proudly because of my love for the people I serve and the hope for change and a better tomorrow.”You should read it all, it is inspiring! [ Post Comment ] Comment #23 posted by kaptinemo on March 01, 2004 at 12:24:42 PT: Draft related...and bloody scary stuff No Hijackers For 911 Repentant arms dealer reveals disgruntled U.S. military on the verge of revolt http://www.rense.com/general49/no911.htm*"Back in May 2003, a journalist in Portugal reported on a sensational, marathon meeting of a group of U.S. pilots that issued a report concluding that the story told by the U.S. government about what happened on Sept. 11, 2001 was improbable and unlikely. Except for several notices on the Internet, that story was basically never reported in the U.S., and largely debunked when the reporter flubbed the name of the organizer, creating disbelief in the minds of many readers. The record was corrected in stunning fashion Feb. 25 on Alex Jones' Prison Planet radio program when former Pentagon arms salesman Donn de Grand-Pre, author of three books that allege 9/11 was an inside job, set the record straight, because he was the man who organized that conference. That 72-hour non-stop symposium by a group of military and civilian pilots concluded the flight crews of the four passenger airliners involved in the 9/11 tragedy had no control over their aircraft. de Grand Pre, a retired Army colonel, is the author of "A Window on America," "Confessions of an Arms Peddler" and his latest, "Barbarians Inside the Gates." His thesis in the third book "is that the wars we have engaged in for whatever reasons since the end of World War II have not only been unconstitutionally waged, but have caused a net loss in political power. Each war was waged to divert our attention away from the true enemy within, and toward a contrived enemy outside our borders."This is not the first time something like this could have happened. It almost happened in 1932, and I am proud to say a distant relative had a hand in stopping it.But it may also have happened more recently: http://www.rense.com/general3/warbegun.htmLike I said in a earlier post, it's to keep the economy going...no matter what the cost. [ Post Comment ] Comment #22 posted by Sam Adams on March 01, 2004 at 11:00:03 PT Kerry I can see the point you guys are trying to make: maybe we could make Kerry's spinelessness work in our favor. It is possible! Certainly more with him than Bush. He's still an awful person though.Election night '04 will certainly be a tense one! I can still remember the shock that I felt in 2000 as I realized how many of my fellow Americans were voting for Bush, it seemed incomprehensible at the time.As for the draft, I think bringing it back would be the quickest and best way to get this country back on the right track. Think about it. What is our biggest problem? Apathy. Believe me, the draft would cause this country to lurch to the left FAST. I could drone on and on about why, but reading the first few chapters of "High in America", the book on Keith Stroup, would be a lot more instructive:http://www.druglibrary.org/special/anderson/highinamerica.htmThe author talks about how the draft caused it to become "cool" for an entire generation to want to go to law school and then take a $30,000 per year socially conscious job. That was the coolest thing a young person thought they could do in the mid to late 60's.Many countries in Europe maintain a 1-year mandatory service for everyone, and that's why they're neutral or anti-war every time. One or two years with no videogames, no 5 hours of TV every day, no house filled with tons of useless shit from Walmart - how about sleeping in a tent for a year? That would do our 18 year-olds a hell of a lot of good. All those people that sit in front of their TV saying "Yeah man! We should be over there in the Mideast, we need to teach those Islamic people a lesson, etc, etc." Let's see how they feel when little Jane and Johnny head off to Parris Island for some basic training.As for the troop shortage, did you know that right now we have 75,000 troops stationed in Germany? 25K in Italy? 25K in England? It's ridiculous. [ Post Comment ] Comment #21 posted by mamawillie on March 01, 2004 at 10:43:17 PT Here we go again..... Found this on yahoo.com I'll bet Bush feels he needs some major victories/achievements in Iraq to boost his re-election campaign:Middle East - AP 4 Major Guard Units Alerted for Iraq Duty 52 minutes ago By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer WASHINGTON - Four major Army National Guard units have been placed on alert for possible deployment to Iraq (news - web sites) late this year or in early 2005 as part of a larger force rotation, officials said Monday. The units are the 42nd Infantry Division headquarters from the New York National Guard, the 256th Infantry Brigade from Louisiana, the 116th Cavalry Brigade from Idaho and Oregon, and the 278th Armored Cavalry Regiment from Tennessee, according to several officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. The alert notifications were expected to be publicly announced later Monday at the Pentagon (news - web sites). The exact number of Guard members who would be mobilized is unclear; the number could change depending on the security situation in Iraq during the course of this year, but they likely would total several thousand or more. The four units have not been formally mobilized; those orders likely would come in several weeks. The alerts were issued well in advance in order to give the Guard members adequate time to prepare for the likelihood of being mobilized and sent to Iraq for 12-month tours. Many Guardsmen and some members of Congress complained that earlier mobilizations for Iraq came with little advance notice. The Pentagon is relying heavily upon Guard and Reserve troops in Iraq. Three Guard brigades — from Arkansas, North Carolina and Washington state — are part of the current troop rotation, which is in midcourse. They will spend a full year in Iraq, to be replaced by the newly alerted Guard units, if the Pentagon's current projection of troop requirements remains steady. The troop rotation now under way is substituting about 110,000 active duty and Guard troops for the approximately 130,000 who have been in Iraq for a full year. The subsequent rotation, which is scheduled to take place roughly one year from now, is likely to involve about 100,000 more troops. The active-duty units tapped for the 2005 rotation have not been publicly identified. [ Post Comment ] Comment #20 posted by FoM on March 01, 2004 at 10:30:53 PT Max Flowers I wish I could be sure about my father in laws age when he was drafted. It could have been the late 20s. He had a job and family but it didn't matter. I wish someone with military experience would shed a little light on this for us. My husband isn't here so I can't ask him now. [ Post Comment ] Comment #19 posted by Max Flowers on March 01, 2004 at 10:23:29 PT Drafting men 25-35 years old? Good luck! The obvious problem with that is that men of that age are older and wiser, and are not as gullible and malleable as 18-24 year olds. At 25-35 (especially as they get closer toward 35), they have begun to take on some of the healthy skepticism that a lot of us end up with eventually. They've figured out that they're mortal. They will be a lot less willing to go risk life and limb and leave their families husbandless/fatherless for disingenuous and flawed foreign policies.This president will not inspire obedience to the draft any more than Nixon did. Get your Bic lighters ready... [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by FoM on March 01, 2004 at 10:16:39 PT mamawillie That is interesting to know. They could make the draft age older. Maybe they feel that many of that age group didn't do any military service and they'll start with them. I wish I could remember and this is a guess but my father in law was in is late 30s when he was drafted in WW II. I could be wrong and if I find out that I am I'll post it. [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by mamawillie on March 01, 2004 at 10:07:48 PT FoM, funny you should mention the draft I'll have to ask my hubby to reiterate what he heard, but they were talking in the doctor's lounge and one doc said he heard the draft is coming back, but something about older men... like 25-35 years old will be subjected to it. Hummm... I'll have to ask again what that story was..... [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by FoM on March 01, 2004 at 09:21:34 PT I'm Watching The News on MSNBC They are talking about how the troops are spread thin. I bet soon we will see the Draft return. I just sense it's getting close. [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by JoeCitizen on March 01, 2004 at 09:16:03 PT Kerry: Lesser of two evils I don't love John Kerry, I don't even think I like him. But I hate George W. Bush. I am desperately afraid of Bush. I feel very strongly that if he is elected to another four year term, he may well damage the political system to the point that there will NEVER be a free election again. Not in our lifetimes, anyway.With Kerry, I feel that the march toward fascism will go on much more slowly, as it did in the Clinton era. Not this doubletime toward the cliff that Bush has us doing.And I am ANGRY that I have to vote for a Democrat. I am strong believer in libertarian values, and that's how I've voted the last eight years. But Bush MUST BE DEFEATED AT ALL COSTS. He is the biggest threat to American Democracy since Joe McCarthy.So I'll grit my teeth and vote for Kerry. 'Cause he ain't Bush, and right now that's enough. First stop the bleeding, then we can start rebuilding the body politic.Kap is right, though, Kerry is a purely political creature, and he will respond to politcial pressure and organized voters. We have the numbers, we just need to be an organized force, and he WILL listen.JC [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by ekim on March 01, 2004 at 09:03:27 PT Fresh Air NPR radio now on NPR about needle exchange in Vancover [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by FoM on March 01, 2004 at 08:45:51 PT My Opinion All I know is Bush must go. I think Kerry can beat him. I don't like Kerry but I really don't like Bush. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by ekim on March 01, 2004 at 08:41:18 PT Med Cannabis could save US money not cut SS cks got a email today that someone is asking why Alan Greenspan is asking congress to cut SS cks because of lack of tax receipts. The emailer goes on to say what about the black market in drugs no taxes being collected. Moreover what about the offshore tax havens that have been tagged at the hundreds of billions that never get put on the rolls here maybe the Trillions. But no the SS cks must be cut back. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by kaptinemo on March 01, 2004 at 08:14:04 PT: Lest anyone misunderstand me I hold *all* pols to be 'guilty until proven innocent' in their actions regarding not only MMJ/MJ but *everything else* they do in the name of the Republic. I, like many of us here, have been bitterly disappointed too many times to ever naively accept anything they say at face value.I am willing to give Mr. Kerry the benefit of the doubt...but with caveats of my own. Given what has been and continues to be done to us, we have bloody good reason. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by ekim on March 01, 2004 at 08:12:49 PT Law Enforcement against prohibition LEAP has anyone seen anything in print on the Toronto police charges. Mar 2 04 Cultural Baggae Radio Show 10:00 AM Jack Cole Houston Texas USA Dean Becker of radio station KFPT 90.1 FM, hosts a Round Robin Panel of LEAP Speakers on Race and Drug Prohibition. The Houston Press on 9-25-2003 stated "Becker monitors the drug war like Fox News monitors the war on terrorism." Mar 2 04 CBC's "Disclosure" Program 09:00 PM Walter McKay Speaker Walter McKay will be interviewed in regards to the Toronto police officers currently being charged with corruption. http://www.leap.cc/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by Sam Adams on March 01, 2004 at 07:49:45 PT I find Kerry sickening Watch as he jokes about MJ, then actively supports barring high school and college kids who smoke from getting an education. Poor students, who haven't had the backing of rich family following them like a guardian angel through life. That's right, I've got a letter right here, signed by Kerry, indicating his strong support of the HEA of 1998 anti-drug provision. He's the only Congressman from Massachusetts to support it.Does anyone seriously believe that once he gets in the Oval Office, he's going to do anything to cut or reduce the presence of government in our lives? He's going to tell his prosecutor and LEO friends that he's taking away 700,000 arrests from them? What a joke. I just can't believe people like Al Giordano are gullible enough to fall for this crap! Doesn't anyone remember Clinton's campaign in '92? He promised to stop persecution of gays in the military, and then backed down right after taking office. He promised to halt old-growth logging in the Northwest. Shortly after election, he went out there and brokered a pact that basically ordered the logging companies to slow the logging of old-growth so that it would take 30 years to wipe out the virgin forests instead of 10. Need I go on? Who refused to sign the Kyoto treaty for 8 years, after campaigning with a VP who wrote a book on it? Anyone? Anyone? Buehler? [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by goneposthole on March 01, 2004 at 07:34:38 PT get me a bag, please scratch that, get me a stock tank.John Kerry has the unbelievable oppurtunity to set a double standard. A "do as I say, not as I do' total hypocrite. He can be an outlaw president who will be able to mercilessly persecute his partners in crime. You can do 'er, John. We'll bring you roses. I don't know. It's a tough call. I'll remain cynical in the powerbarf realms.. Seems like a no brainer, though. On the lighter side, I was at a Kerry forum where he is referred to as Lurch. Kerry Lurch... If that isn't funny, you have no sense of humor.A test grid is on the television. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by darwin on March 01, 2004 at 06:50:25 PT Kap and Kerry I got the same impression from the Kerry board as Kaptinemo. I really want to support Kerry but he has yet to show me any reason to trust him and his prosecuting attorney past. Will he disregard us as Gore did? Or will he swing left, back to the true democratic base? Silence on the issue is an answer itself. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by BlakNo1 on March 01, 2004 at 06:30:37 PT: absolutely right Yeah, the song has its humorous points, but E Johnson is absolutely right. It's actually a pretty sad song if you allow yourself to think about it too much.The writer of this article is also correct. What we get with Kerry may not be 100% clear, but we already know what we'll get with Bush, which is nothing. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by kaptinemo on March 01, 2004 at 05:06:05 PT: It's like trying to shoot craps while walking a tightrope.The problem as we all know it is that pols are fickle creatures that would turn on their supporters in a heartbeat if they thought they could get just one second's worth of advantage.Having seen this bait-and-switch take place on cannabis for the last 32 years (I remember reading the local newspaper carrying the AP Wire about the Shafer Commission's recommendations to Tricky Dick about cannabis decrim in 1972; I said I was old, didn't I?) I am highly suspicious of anyone who plays this cute little dance. I have been to the Kerry board and read quite a few of the comments, and enjoyed nearly all of them, but have also noticed something disquieting.The moderator of that board, when people posting there are quite vociferous about *their* suspicions, usually drops in to pat the posters on the head, stroke them, and tell them that they *do* care about the poster's concerns...and VOTE FOR KERRY, YAY!!! cheerleader fashion.It's obvious what's happening.They are not taking us seriously, and it's not out of fear of endangering Mr. Kerry's position amongst the candidates, as he has practically been crowned The Dem this year.We're being asked, yet again, to vote for someone who *might* move a little bit towards some half-assed decrim, who *maybe* will stop attacking patients, who is 'taking it under advisement' that law enforcement has better use of their talents than chasing down and busting mainly harmless people while real monsters are loose on our streets.Notice all the qualifiers and caveats? I can't be the only one who has.The Dems *must* be made to understand that what they are viewing on that Kerry board is actually REAL POLITICAL MUSCLE that stands ready with hot determination borne out of decades of anger to deliver a Dem to the White House. But that there will be Hell to pay if after doing so, we are short-shifted again by 'business as usual'.Yes, we've heard Mr. Kerry about his 'stand' on cannabis. It's no different from what I've head these last 32 years. Once again we are being asked to 'buy a pig in a poke' (a poke is a closed, opaque bag, friends). What we need to do is let the seller know that if the bag's much too light to hold that pig, or the pig ain't breathing, we'll be *mighty* displeased. Too many patients are literally running out of time...and none of us are getting any younger. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by OverwhelmSam on March 01, 2004 at 04:29:21 PT: The Politics of Toking. It could be that the Bush Campaign attacks Kerry on his loose policies surrounding marijuana use. kerry could easily counter by saying that at least he didn't fry his brains on cocaine. "Just watch Bush the next time he speaks in public." That should put an end to the Bush regime nicely. Still, I would like to be able to run out and pick up a five pack of special swisher sweets, but a little bit of something is better than a whole lot of nothing.One only has to consider what Bush would be like for another four years with nothing to lose. Now that's scary. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on February 29, 2004 at 22:29:42 PT Puff The Magic Dragon For me I never really thought much about the song other then I liked Peter, Paul and Mary but John Kerry simulating puffing on a joint and then showing it on tv was good because it might help us on down the road if Kerry becomes our next president. Peter Yarrow is a life long friend of John Kerrys too. That's why I like it. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by E_Johnson on February 29, 2004 at 22:18:14 PT I really disagree with this Puff business Puff the Magic Dragon is a somber tale about growing up. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on February 29, 2004 at 21:34:55 PT Puff? - John Kerry Political Cartoon http://www.iowapresidentialwatch.com/cartoonarc/puff.htm [ Post Comment ] Post Comment