cannabisnews.com: If The Voters Plant It, Will It Grow?





If The Voters Plant It, Will It Grow?
Posted by CN Staff on October 01, 2004 at 10:09:34 PT
By Amanda Coyne
Source: Anchorage Press 
Had he been invited to a recent kickoff party for the Proposition 2 initiative to legalize marijuana, even Wev Shea - former U.S. Attorney for Alaska and notorious anti drug-crusader - wouldn't have felt too out of place. Sure, there were the usual suspects - some dread-locked bongo drummers, the occasional tie-dye-clad college student, a girl wearing a pot garland and a spacey smile - the dopers, as Shea is fond of calling them.
But probing deeper into the crowd, as well as inside the circles behind the Say Yes on 2 campaign to legalize pot, Shea would have seen many people of his ilk: Ken Jacobus, former lawyer of the Alaska Republican Party; Ray Metcalfe, founder of the Alaska Republican Moderate Party; Dr. Tim Hinterberger, an associate professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage's biomedical program; Bill Parker, former commissioner of the Alaska Department of Corrections; as well as more than a few motherly types who actually looked like motherly types.When Parker gave a speech, he said, “I don't even recognize myself.” Everyone laughed. This “dream team” of pot advocates, as some have called it, is a far cry from the people who promoted a similar initiative on the 2000 ballot, a radical proposal that called for massive reforms, including granting amnesty and possible restitution to those serving time for pot crimes.That initiative didn't pass, but neither did it fail miserably. Forty-one percent of the voters approved it.Some who voted against it said they want pot legal but didn't think convicted dealers should be freed from jail. Others said they didn't vote in favor of the 2000 initiative because it would have allowed anybody above the age of 18 to smoke dope, rather than making the legal age 21.Now, four years wiser, the pot advocates are back. They look better than they did in 2000, and they have done away with words like “amnesty” and “restitution.” They've also set the age limit at 21. But the objective is the same. Voters will be asked to approve the legal sale, consumption and possession of marijuana in Alaska. The idea, supporters say, is to allow the regulation of marijuana, just like the government regulates tobacco and alcohol.It's impossible to tell where Proposition 2 stands with voters. As of Tuesday, September 28, there hadn't been an official poll done on it. Critics like Wev Shea have been slow to respond to the initiative; although he said he recently spoke to officials at the national drug czar's office, and they are “on it.” The White House has been known to come in during the last two weeks of state pot legalization campaigns and swarm the airwaves with anti-drug commercials.But organizers of the Yes on 2 campaign say they're ready for the fight. They claim to have some big financing behind them, including from the Marijuana Policy Project, a national pro-pot group, which has paid for slick TV commercials that talk about legalizing and regulating pot. They've also got that dream team, some of whom are advocating the cause on radio talk shows, saying that prohibition has only made it easier for kids to get marijuana. The pot advocates are talking about the government taxing marijuana sales. They say this could free up police to respond to more pressing issues, like Anchorage's high rate of sexual assault. As it is now, marijuana arrests account for two-thirds of all drug arrests in Alaska, according to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report.But what the Yes on 2 campaign doesn't have yet are answers to some niggling questions. If the initiative passes, Alaska will become the only state where it's legal to smoke, buy and sell pot. How would it work? How would the state regulate marijuana? How would the Republican-dominated Legislature react?And perhaps the biggest question, how would the federal government respond?In 2000, Alaska Libertarian Al Anders dusted off a 1993 pot initiative that had never made it on the ballot, got the required signatures, and ran around the state gathering support. His people were everywhere: on downtown street corners, in the Dimond Mall parking lot, outside Moose's Tooth. From the way they were dressed and their general comportment, it didn't take a second look to figure out what they were fighting for.Not only did Anders' crew look like pot heads, most were pot heads. The sweet smell of Mary Jane permeated the campaign headquarters in Spenard, and getting baked was almost a prerequisite at their rallies.To make matters worse, Anders, a usually astute man, was saying things in debates like, “People drive better stoned than sober,” and “Let's end the war and bring the POWs home.”“It was a mess,” said Linda Ronan, a coordinator who joined the Yes on 2 campaign on the condition that it wouldn't be run like it was in 2000. “We've taken great pains to make sure that it's not like that this time.”Not only did the 2000 initiative fail, but it also turned pot into a counter-culture debate, which made some in the national marijuana movement shudder. They want average Americans to think pot smokers are like anybody, just regular, law-abiding citizens. Which is why Keith Stroup, director of the National Organization of Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), flew to Alaska during the 2000 campaign and tried to convince Anders and his group to drop the initiative. Frustrated by what he saw, Stroup threw up his hands and left.Four years later, the campaign has a more respectable face. The initiative itself is also different. They've gotten rid of the amnesty clause and they've raised the legal age to 21. Here' s how Proposition 2 will read on the November 2 ballot:This bill would remove civil and criminal penalties under state law for persons 21 years or older who grow, sell, or give away marijuana or hemp products. State or local governments could not require a permit or license for personal cultivation or distribution of marijuana, but could regulate marijuana like alcohol or tobacco. It removes existing state restrictions on prescription of marijuana by doctors for all patients, including children. It allows for laws limiting marijuana use in public and to protect public safety.In Nevada recently, a similar initiative (which won't appear on that state's ballot because of signature snafus), resembled Proposition 2, but it was much more detailed and less permissive. The Nevada initiative would have limited possession to an ounce per person. It would have directed the Nevada Legislature to establish licensing for the distribution of pot, including specific punishments for those who didn't obey the law. And it called for spending money raised from taxing weed on treatment centers and substance abuse education in schools.Proposition 2 in Alaska is long on the definition of hemp, but short on details. The most direct passage in the text states: “Nothing in this bill prevents the regulation of hemp intoxicating products in a manner similar to alcohol or tobacco.”David Finkelstein, a Prop. 2 organizer and a former state representative, defends the initiative. He believes that when initiatives get too detailed, they become unfair. “People just vote on concepts anyway,” he said. Besides, he said, his four terms in the Legislature taught him that no matter how detailed the initiative, lawmakers muck with it anyway.In the case of Proposition 2, Finkelstein said, lawmakers could water it down to such a point that it wouldn't look much different than current pot laws in Alaska.Alaska has a long, tangled history with weed. One chapter played out this past month when the Alaska Supreme Court reaffirmed Ravin v. State - the famous 1975 case that allows Alaskans to legally possess up to four ounces of dope in their homes.Attorney General Gregg Renkes was upset that the court chose not to review the case. He and Governor Frank Murkowski are looking for a legislative “fix” to close the loophole in letting Alaskans smoke pot in their homes. But when Renkes is asked what he or the state would do if voters pass Proposition 2, he says “there will be nothing lawmakers could do.”“If it's the law, it's the law,” Renkes said. “There will be no local control. It will be a legal mess.”But it's not like Proposition 2 doesn't give the state options. The initiative says the state may regulate pot, even tax it. It would be up to lawmakers to decide how the regulation would work.Regulation is one thing, but Larry Persily, a special assistant at the Alaska Department of Revenue, says that anybody who thinks Alaska can tax marijuana is “smoking too much of it.”“Why would anybody file a (tax) return?” Persily asked. “If, perhaps, marijuana became legal federally, then it would be a potentially huge source of income. But we've got a president now who won't even support stem cell research.”Indeed, how could a state tax a drug the federal government has declared evil?Marijuana would remain illegal under federal law if voters passed Proposition 2 because federal law almost always trumps state law when the two conflict. And by the way, the Ravin decision means nothing to the feds.But it might not be the best PR move to arrest someone for breaking a federal law that's legal under state law. Bill Satterburg is a Fairbanks lawyer who argued the recent case that affirmed the Ravin decision. If Proposition 2 passes, he predicts a showdown between the feds and the state, perhaps not much different than in California during the late 1990s, when voters legalized pot for medicinal use.Tim Burgess, U.S. Attorney for Alaska, won't say what he'd do if Proposition 2 becomes law, but said he does have the power to put his foot down. Burgess, Renkes and John Novak, state chief assistant District Attorney, go to great pains to say the government isn't in the business of busting people for simple possession. The government is going after dealers, they say. But numbers from the FBI Uniform Crime Reports belie those statements. From 1998 to 2002, there were 5,695 marijuana arrests in Alaska. Of those arrests, only 599 were for selling and growing pot. In other words, about 90 percent of the arrests were for possession only.Still, at a time when pot advocates nationwide are making legalization inroads through the medical marijuana fight, would this kind of battle be good for the movement? “You've (Alaska) already got the best marijuana laws in the country,” said Keith Stroup, of NORML. “Why push it? It's still a crime in 38 states to possess a small amount of marijuana. Why not use some of that money and energy to change those laws down here?” But other groups are very supportive and excited. At any given time, 700,000 people are in prison for pot nationwide. An estimated 96 million people say they've tried it at least once. Pro-pot people say that the country's marijuana policy isn't working. They believe it's time to try something new. And if Alaska breaks new trail, perhaps other states will follow with their own laws.In California, for example, selling and buying marijuana for medical use is still illegal under federal law. Although the feds have busted some grow operations, cities across California have passed laws taxing and regulating pot. And they didn't have any master plan when they started. “Given that prohibition has been such a colossal failure, and eighty percent of kids say they can get marijuana if they want it, why not give something else a try?” said Bruce Mirken of the Marijuana Policy Project. “Regulation gives society some control. In tobacco stores, you see signs that say 'We ID.' You ever see a drug dealer carrying around those kind of signs?”At a Yes on 2 organizational meeting in the group's new offices on Northern Lights Boulevard, about 15 people sat in a circle, watching Ray Metcalfe read from a commercial script:“Over thirty-five years ago, I moved to Alaska in search of the new freedom of the last frontier. A place where people don't tell you how to live, how to act and what to think. Personally I don't care for marijuana. But I recognize that if I want to keep on enjoying the freedoms of the last frontier, it's important for me to stand shoulder to shoulder with my fellow Alaskans and say no when brother government will be knocking…”E”Everybody loved Metcalfe's script, especially compared to the current commercial airing on television, produced by the Marijuana Policy Project. The current ad, which shows what looks like young adults smoking pot, seems dark, a little less than uplifting. Metcalfe's ad would take the issue out of the realm of the pot smoker, tugging on the heartstrings of the anti-government sentiment that runs far and deep in Alaska.After Metcalfe presented his ad, an organizer began a brainstorming session with the group. Michelle Wilson said she wanted to look at questions people have about Proposition 2.How would pot be taxed, regulated, distributed? How would the new state law conflict with existing federal law? A few people chimed in, offering possible scenarios. But Wilson wasn't looking for answers. She just wanted to pose the inevitable questions, to anticipate how people might react.The answers will come soon enough. “If this passes,” Wilson said, “then the work will really begin.”Note: Pot advocates are back with an initiative to legalize dope in Alaska, and it's not as half-baked as it was four years ago. Source: Anchorage Press (AK)Author: Amanda CoynePublished: Vol. 13, Ed. 39 September 30 - October 6 2004Copyright: 2004 Anchorage Publishing, Inc.Contact: info anchoragepress.comWebsite: http://www.anchoragepress.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:NORMLhttp://www.norml.org/Alaska H.E.M.P.http://alaskahemp.org/Court Chooses Privacy Over Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19488.shtmlAlaska Court Narrows Marijuana Search Law http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19406.shtmlAlaskans to Vote on Pot Legalization in '04 http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18067.shtmlAlaska Court: Drug Ban Unconstitutionalhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17184.shtml 
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Comment #21 posted by afterburner on October 30, 2004 at 23:00:49 PT
Renee Boje News
Renee Boje fights extradition to US 
by Chris Bennett (29 Oct, 2004) US woman facing med-pot charges trying to stay in Canada with her husband and child.
http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/4052.html
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Comment #20 posted by The GCW on October 12, 2004 at 14:41:28 PT
I don't know anything about this paper, but
It seems as though it is an alternative paper. 
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Comment #19 posted by Hope on October 11, 2004 at 19:07:02 PT
The GCW
http://www.anchoragepress.com/archives-2004/lettersvol13ed40.shtmlIs that a counter culture or underground paper or something? I've never seen some of that language printed in a wide circulation newspaper?Some of them have great articles. The Austin Chronicle is one that comes to mind.Do you know anything about this particular paper?
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Comment #18 posted by Hope on October 11, 2004 at 17:42:10 PT
 The GCW
Wonderful!
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Comment #17 posted by The GCW on October 11, 2004 at 14:37:29 PT
LTE's in the Anchorage Press 
Smoke and bongs420Please don't stone me420Deal breaker420And the gods said...420Psyched for Sykeshttp://www.anchoragepress.com/archives-2004/lettersvol13ed40.shtmlComing soon to MAPhttp://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/
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Comment #16 posted by MikeEEEEE on October 02, 2004 at 13:36:14 PT
Spin masters hard at work
If you turn on the media you'll hear the spin all the way up to the election.It's a sad day when fear is used against the America people, what's sadder, they buy into it.
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Comment #15 posted by mayan on October 02, 2004 at 07:08:27 PT
WHAAAAA!!!
“If it's the law, it's the law,” Renkes said. “There will be no local control. It will be a legal mess.”Local control? I bet Renkes won't tell Walters to get his pompous ass on back down to DC when he shows up(and you know he will) because "this is a local issue". I love it when these prohibitionists cry and squirm! 
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Comment #14 posted by siege on October 01, 2004 at 19:16:08 PT
Sentencing Reform, Drug Policy
Battles Over Criminal Justice Policies Loom Large in 2004 Supreme Court Term; Early Docket Includes Cases on Sentencing Reform, Drug Policy and the Death Penalty
	
September 30, 2004http://www.aclu.org/court/court.cfm?ID=16611&c=286Cannabis Cure From The Greens
Thursday, 30 September 2004, 3:49 pm
Press Release: GreenCross Medicinal Cannabis Support Grouphttp://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/PO0409/S00288.htmWhy medicinal cannabis for Idaho?BY TIM TEATER
SPECIAL TO THE ARBITER
September 30, 2004 http://www.arbiteronline.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/09/30/415be2ff54c702006 on the Marijuana Party ticket and who is facing a possible two-year jail sentence for marijuana possession herselfttp://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/356/birmingham.shtml British study links cannabis to psychosishttp://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=14&click_id=117&art_id=qw1096610401217B216Medical marijuana distributors turn to Fremont clinicshttp://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82~1726~2439011,00.html
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Comment #13 posted by ekim on October 01, 2004 at 18:41:08 PT
Howard speaks to 106 at AL. Pub. Defenders Assoc.
CATEGORIES:S-Speaker\,S-Wooldridge
DESCRIPTION:When: Wednesday\, September 29\, 2004 7:00 PM-10:00 PM
 (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada).\nWhere: Talkeetna Alaska Lodge\,
 Talkeetna\, Alaska\n\n*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*\n\nFINAL RESULT: 106
 attended\, xxx well received\n\nSpeaker: howard\nGroup: Alaska Public
 Defenders Assoc.\n\n900 W 5th Ave Ste 200\nAnchorage\, AK 99501
http://www.leap.cc/events/events.php
Oct 2 04 South Brevard Democratic Women's Club 11:15 AM Eleanor Schockett Melbourne Florida USA 
 The South Brevard Democratic Women's Club welcomes Board Member Judge Eleanor Schockett for a lively discussion on the failures of drug prohibition. Oct 6 04 Kwantlen College Class Presentation 02:00 PM Walter McKay Surrey British Colombia 
 Board Member Walter McKay holds a class presentation on the failure of the war on drugs and its impact on society as a whole. Oct 10 04 Unitarian Universalist Ocean County Congregation 10:30 AM Martin Haines Bayville New Jersey USA 
 The Unitarian Universalist Ocean County Congregation welcomes Speaker Judge Martin Haines to discuss the failures of drug prohibition. Oct 14 04 National Latino Peace Officers Association Conference 08:00 AM Howard Wooldridge Miami Florida USA 
 The National Latino Peace Officers Association Conference welcomes Board Member Howard Wooldridge and Speakers Marshall Franks and Ethel Rowland to give an alternative view to America's failed war on drugs. Oct 14 04 Where is Plan B? 05:00 PM Jack Cole Syracuse New York USA 
 Executive Director Jack Cole will attend the Syracuse Council Hearings in response to calls for changing local drug policy. Mr. Cole will explain the failure of prohibition and offer alternative strategies that the city of Syracuse can enact. Oct 15 04 Mabuhay Lions Club 07:00 PM Peter Christ Anchorage Alaska USA 
 The Mabuhay Lions Club welcomes Board Member Peter Christ for discussion of alternatives to America's failed war on drugs. 
http://www.aammi.org
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Comment #12 posted by Sam Adams on October 01, 2004 at 16:27:56 PT
Alaska: the good news
Don't forget, should the iniative fail, Alaska is still a place where you or I or Joe Schmoe can grow & possess up to 4 ounces of cannabis in our homes and it's 100% legal, to the point where the piggies can't even get a search warrant."Attorney General Gregg Renkes was upset that the court chose not to review the case. He and Governor Frank Murkowski are looking for a legislative “fix” to close the loophole in letting Alaskans smoke pot in their homes. But when Renkes is asked what he or the state would do if voters pass Proposition 2, he says “there will be nothing lawmakers could d"I can't wait to see what these two good 'ol boys come up with - NOTHING! They've been spanked in the courts again and again, there's not a damn thing they can do except sit down and shut up!
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Comment #11 posted by E_Johnson on October 01, 2004 at 15:44:12 PT
About Rene
If the worst happened in Canada and she was sent back to Los Angeles for prosecution, I seriously doubt that she would end up with any time.I heard everything the judge had to say during the LACRC case and I really believe that we've seen the end of medical marijuana martyrdom in the 9th District.
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on October 01, 2004 at 15:35:07 PT
Heads Up: Upcoming TV Programs
DPFCA: Ashcroft v. Raich on ABC Good Morning America, NBC's Nightly News & NBC's Today Show   
Hello Everyone,Sunday, October 3 -- Good Morning America - Weekend Edition on ABC will be airing a story about Ashcoft v. Raich interviewing Angel.From the NBC Reporter: "The Supreme Court preview stories, which will mention your case among the others the court will hear this term, are scheduled to run Sun, Oct. 3 on NBC's Weekend Nightly News and Mon, Oct. 4 on NBC's Today Show.As it stands, we're using Diane's interview in the Weekend story and you're on the Today show."Compassion and Justice,Angel McClary Raichangel raich-v-ashcroft.comDownload the major pleadings from our litigation 
(Raich v. Ashcroft) at: http://raich-v-ashcroft.com and
http://angeljustice.org or http://angeljustice.com
Angel Raich vs. Ashcroft News
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Comment #9 posted by goneposthole on October 01, 2004 at 14:44:02 PT
Tok, Alaska
pronounced 'toke', short for 'Tokyo Camp'http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tok%2C_AlaskaDistances between towns and hamlets in the farflung reaches of Alaska are so great, an extraordinary effort is required to arrest someone for cultivation or possession. You have got to be a dedicated prohibitionist to do your part up there. All Amanda Coyne can really do is write about it, and that's about it.http://www.nationalreview.com/nordlinger/nordlinger200410010114.aspMaybe Mr. Bush doesn't want to be re-elected."Frustrated by what he saw, Stroup threw up his hands and left."Had it been an apprehended Colombian drug lord, Mr. Stroup would have stayed and defended the drug lord for big bucks.The supporters of legalization in Alaska weren't interested in Mr. Stroup hanging around trying to convince them otherwise. They're well aware of his shtik. Mr. Stroup has made his bed, he can sleep in it.
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Comment #8 posted by dr slider on October 01, 2004 at 14:36:12 PT:
The plight of Renee Boje
My imagination bends and twists in agony at the thought of Canada refusing Renee her petition. She's the mother of a homegrown Canadian citizen after all. What would her child think of her nation?
Kaptineno, your words moved me so, that the heading of the next comment was like a bucket of cold water in its violent contradiction. It can do naught but good in the Minister's hands. Thank you.
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on October 01, 2004 at 14:33:27 PT
afterburner
Thank you for the link. I hope it works out for Renee. I have to believe it will. The longer it takes the better it could be. If we get a new administration I don't think it will be pushed like it is now. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
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Comment #6 posted by Druid on October 01, 2004 at 13:41:36 PT
oops link to story didn't post
http://www.rgj.com/news/stories/html/2004/09/28/81526.php
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Comment #5 posted by Druid on October 01, 2004 at 13:41:03 PT
OverGrow Nevada Now!
Sorry if this has already been posted.The important part is highlighted in red:Carson-area pot bust highlights problems in prosecutionA marijuana bust described as the largest in recent Northern Nevada history has produced a misdemeanor conviction and possible deportation of one man but no other charges.Law enforcement said it has run into a couple of problems prosecuting people they think are connected to 460 marijuana plants found in a remote canyon east of Carson City near the Lyon County line, including Nevada legislators taking marijuana cultivation out of the list of state crimes.“I’d like to see legislation drafted that would help law enforcement prosecute these outdoor grow operations,” said Lt. Mark Jackson of the Tri-NET Narcotics Task Force. The marijuana was worth between $500,000 and $2.5 million.A hiker notified authorities in August of the marijuana growing in the area east of Carson City investigators call North Canyon.Tri-NET coordinated a 15-member surveillance team that spent about 400 to 500 hours watching the site before Leobardo Martinez-Rojas, 29, of Carson City, was arrested there Aug. 25.Martinez, also known as Antonio Nava, had a court hearing scheduled Tuesday on a felony marijuana possession charge. But he settled the case by pleading guilty Sept. 21 in Carson Justice Court to a misdemeanor count of possession of illegal drugs to introduce into interstate commerce. Martinez was sentenced to time served and was ordered to be turned over by Oct. 8 to immigration officials who wanted to review his immigration status.“The investigation is continuing, and we’re still trying to develop some additional intelligence information,” Jackson said. Since it happened on Bureau of Land Management property, federal authorities also are investigating. A BLM investigator could not be reached for comment Tuesday.Jackson said that while the Nevada Legislature was rewriting Nevada’s drug laws in 1999 to crack down on methamphetamine production, it mistakenly left out wording that makes marijuana cultivation illegal.Carson City Chief Deputy District Attorney Anne Langer agreed the law needs to be fixed.Another problem, Langer said, is connecting the people they believe are growing the marijuana to the plants.“You would literally have to have their hand wrapped around a plant that (weighed) more than an ounce,” Langer said.Still, she noted, 460 marijuana plants were taken out of circulation.
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Comment #4 posted by E_Johnson on October 01, 2004 at 13:10:13 PT
A clever monkey who can write but not feel
Some day this witless women will gain some wits -- maturity and experience will do that -- and then she will realize how morally callous she sounded in this article when she rejects the idea of postwar amnesty as ridiculous and half-baked.
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Comment #3 posted by kaptinemo on October 01, 2004 at 12:53:21 PT:
I wish I could do more...
This is my missive to the Minister; I hope many of us will follow suit. I've met her, though she and her husband would not recall the event; Ms. Boje is about the most inoffensive person you can imagine. Like nearly all of us, she doesn't deserve to reside in a cage.Dear Minister,I am an American citizen writing to you regarding the plight of a fellow American citizen named Rene Boje who is currently residing in the Province of British Columbia and is married to a Canadian citizen and has borne his child.As I am sure other such letter writers have made you aware of the situation regarding Ms. Boje, I will not belabor the issue of the US government's claim for her extradition. I would instead beg your indulgence for a few moments to consider this missive as a plea for clemency for a reason not often made public: the frightful prison conditions that Ms. Boje could expect to experience should you not show mercy towards her. Conditions that have but one goal: dehumanization. The recent revelations concerning the US military's abuse of detainees in Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq are not events that have no prologue; on the contrary. Those Reservists staffing that prison who engaged in the heinous acts of torture and murder had not been ingénues at this. Quite the opposite, as they had been prison guards in the States prior to mobilization. Their conduct was not anomalous, but 'standard operating procedure' practiced in many US prisons. What was demonstrated at Abu Ghraib was a matter of habit, not exception.Such treatment would be analogous to what Ms. Boje would receive if forcibly repatriated...all for having been observed watering cannabis plants for a deathly ill medicinal cannabis patient unable to do so himself. (That said patient himself died because of the Draconian strictures placed upon him courtesy of the vindictiveness of Federal officials preventing him from utilizing that herb in attending to his own illness encompasses just how sadistic this matter has become.)In my former profession, I have dealt with many criminals. Having become familiar with this case and having had the opportunity to meet with Ms. Boje and her husband and young son personally, I feel quite safe in stating unequivocally that this kind, gentle and loving mother is of no threat to either of our nation's societies. Hence, I would petition for such clemency as you are allowed to confer, and to let her remain with her new family - in a nation known internationally as an exemplar in championing human rights.For to do as the US government desires in this case would not only lead to her unwarranted degradation, but her likely extermination. A fate that, in my humblest opinion, she most certainly does not deserve. Sincerely,
(Me)I hope it does some good...
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Comment #2 posted by afterburner on October 01, 2004 at 11:46:19 PT
Off Topic, FoM, You Were Wondering about Renee
Irwin Cotler to make a decision on Boje "Reefer Refugee" case
— The Drug War Witch Hunt Strikes Home! http://www.pot-tv.net/archive/shows/pottvshowse-3059.html' The Canadian Justice Department has just released Disclosure on the US Extradition case against Renee Boje, meaning Justice Minister Irwin Cotler is eager to make a decision on the 5 yr old case in the next few months. Renee faces a Federal ten year mandatory minimum for allegedley watering plants at a state approved California medical grow. Since fleeing to Canada, Renee married the Canadian manager of Pot TV, Chris Bennett, and they have a two year old boy Shiva Sun. Please write Justice Minister Irwin Cotler and ask him to allow this family to stay together and Renee to remain in Canada.
Hon. Irwin Cotler, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, 284 Wellington Street, Ottawa ON K1A 0H8 -- cotler.i parl.gc.ca . Please cc emails to rboje hotmail.com and jconroy johnconroy.com '
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on October 01, 2004 at 10:23:58 PT
An End To Marijuana Prohibition
This article is the same one that was in National Review so I archived it. Here is the link!http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread19581.shtml
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