cannabisnews.com: State Committee To Hear Testimony on Medical Pot 





State Committee To Hear Testimony on Medical Pot 
Posted by CN Staff on October 04, 2004 at 07:47:17 PT
By Jim Ritter, Health Reporter 
Source: Chicago Sun-Times 
Once or twice every day, Julie Falco breaks the law to relieve her multiple sclerosis symptoms. Eating illegal marijuana brownies, she says, allows her to stand up straighter and walk more easily.But Falco worries about getting busted, and she believes the stress can worsen her symptoms. So today she plans to testify in favor of a bill that would legalize the medical use of marijuana in Illinois.
The bill would allow a patient with a "debilitating medical condition" to legally possess pot.The House Health Care Availability and Access Committee is holding the 1 p.m. hearing at the Thompson Center. The committee shelved the bill last March, but the measure likely will be re-introduced next year.Ten states allow the medical use of marijuana, said Matthew Atwood of Illinois Drug Education and Legislative Reform. He and other supporters say marijuana can help relieve nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy, appetite loss from AIDS, muscle spasms from MS and pressure in the inner eye associated with glaucoma.Opponents say legal drugs are safer and more effective, especially when taken under the direction of a doctor. "You don't want to leave management of a disease to episodic smoking of a weed," said former deputy drug czar Dr. Andrea Barthwell. "It is not the best that 21st century medicine can offer."Barthwell notes that the prescription drug Marinol, which contains a synthetic version of the active ingredient of marijuana, treats chemotherapy nausea and AIDS wasting. Side effects include dizziness, exaggerated happiness, paranoia, drowsiness and thinking abnormally.Under the bill, a doctor would have to certify that a patient has a medical condition that could be helped by using marijuana. The state then would issue an identification card permitting the patient and his or her primary care giver to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and six marijuana plants. Barthwell said six mature plants could yield as many as 1,000 joints.Opponents say pot contains many harmful substances that could, for example, weaken the immune system and increase the risk of lung infections.Moreover, the legislation would send the wrong message to young people who might conclude that if pot is used to treat patients, it must not be very harmful. "It undermines our prevention efforts," Barthwell said.Opponents also believe medical marijuana is the opening wedge in a campaign to eventually legalize pot for recreational use, which they believe would be disastrous. They cite studies showing that more young people are in treatment for marijuana dependency than for alcohol or for all drugs combined.But Atwood denied that medical marijuana would be the first step toward legalization."It's about protecting patients from arrest and imprisonment," he said.Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)Author:  Jim Ritter, Health Reporter Published: October 4, 2004Copyright: 2004 The Sun-Times Co.Contact: letters suntimes.comWebsite: http://www.suntimes.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:IDEAL Reformhttp://www.idealreform.org/Illinois NORMLhttp://www.illinoisnorml.org/Marijuana Bill Set Aside Before It Gets Hearing http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18436.shtmlLawmakers Lobbied To Back Marijuana Plan http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18435.shtmlMedical Marijuana and Its Witless Enemies http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18415.shtml
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Comment #43 posted by Hope on October 05, 2004 at 13:45:16 PT
abnormal thinking
Dr Slider...that sprang more than a few of my hackles, too.
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Comment #42 posted by dr slider on October 05, 2004 at 09:49:11 PT:
abnormal thinking
This "side effect" has got to be quite disturbing to the status quo. You gotta be careful with these people who won't keep their thinking in the box. If we could just keep the birds focused on the hole.
Imagination, long recognized as a tool for change and now understood as a function of endocannabinoids has been hailed by abnormal thinkers from Einstein to Lennon.
So, if you find yourself questioning authority, caring about the planet, acting out of compassion instead of greed, "seeing" much more than meets the eye, or losing the drive to produce and consume at exponential rates, off to treatment for ya. All hail the norm!
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Comment #41 posted by FoM on October 05, 2004 at 08:39:10 PT
Related Article from WBBM780 
Pros, Cons Of Legal Medical Marijuana Laid OutTuesday, October 05, 2004Disease sufferers said they need marijuana and drug opponents said no one needs it, ever, as the U.S. House Health Care Availability and Access Committee held a hearing Monday at the Thompson Center on a bill that would legalize the medical use of marijuana in Illinois. WBBM Newsradio 780's John Cody reports… LISTEN HERE: http://www.wbbm780.com/upload/AUDIOdaily/1005medpot.mp3The committee shelved the bill last March, but the measure likely will be re-introduced next year. Ten states allow the medical use of marijuana, said Matthew Atwood of Illinois Drug Education and Legislative Reform. He and other supporters say marijuana can help relieve nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy, appetite loss from AIDS, muscle spasms from MS and pressure in the inner eye associated with glaucoma. Opponents say legal drugs are safer and more effective, especially when taken under the direction of a doctor. "You don't want to leave management of a disease to episodic smoking of a weed," said former deputy drug czar Dr. Andrea Barthwell. "It is not the best that 21st century medicine can offer." Once or twice every day, Julie Falco breaks the law to relieve her multiple sclerosis symptoms. Eating illegal marijuana brownies, she says, allows her to stand up straighter and walk more easily. But Falco worries about getting busted, and she believes the stress can worsen her symptoms. So today she plans to testify in favor of a bill that would legalize the medical use of marijuana in Illinois. The bill would allow a patient with a "debilitating medical condition" to legally possess pot. Barthwell notes that the prescription drug Marinol, which contains a synthetic version of the active ingredient of marijuana, treats chemotherapy nausea and AIDS wasting. Side effects include dizziness, exaggerated happiness, paranoia, drowsiness and thinking abnormally. Under the bill, a doctor would have to certify that a patient has a medical condition that could be helped by using marijuana. The state then would issue an identification card permitting the patient and his or her primary care giver to possess up to one ounce of marijuana and six marijuana plants. Barthwell said six mature plants could yield as many as 1,000 joints. Opponents say pot contains many harmful substances that could, for example, weaken the immune system and increase the risk of lung infections. Moreover, the legislation would send the wrong message to young people who might conclude that if pot is used to treat patients, it must not be very harmful. "It undermines our prevention efforts," Barthwell said. Opponents also believe medical marijuana is the opening wedge in a campaign to eventually legalize pot for recreational use, which they believe would be disastrous. They cite studies showing that more young people are in treatment for marijuana dependency than for alcohol or for all drugs combined. But Atwood denied that medical marijuana would be the first step toward legalization. "It's about protecting patients from arrest and imprisonment," he said. http://www.wbbm780.com/includes/news_items/news_items_more.php?section_id=9&id=4998 
 
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Comment #40 posted by FoM on October 05, 2004 at 07:58:11 PT
Hope
Isn't it ironic that I heard something might be wrong with the flu vaccines that we get from another country but they don't want people to get cheaper drugs from Canada? This is one weird world! 
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Comment #39 posted by FoM on October 05, 2004 at 07:54:54 PT
Dankhank
I didn't understand your comment. Isn't Ohio considered a swing state? Maybe swing state isn't the right word. 
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Comment #38 posted by kaptinemo on October 05, 2004 at 07:47:21 PT:
"Set ups" and the "Unwitting"
Thank you, Hope; you jarred a memory loose.I once worked at racehorse training facility, and was told by a horse owner that if you took a racehorse and a cart horse to the edge of a cliff and tried to spook them, the cart horse would stand his ground, but the racehorse would jump over the cliff. That's Bush, right there. The problem is that we are all in a wagon hitched to that crazy racehorse, and we're going over the cliff with him. I've been of the impression for a long time, well before the 2000 election, when W was crowned the Republican 'choice', that he was a throw-away. A fungible. Human toilet paper. Something meant to be used and then discarded.Use implies user...or users. Even the NeoConservative cabal surrounding him have proven to be as inept as he is. They never were the real power, just the mask. The real power is still at work behind the scenes, AS IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN, using whatever facade is handy to cover the actual operations.As to 'unwitting'...well, just looking at Bush in his unguarded moments, he's shown a propensity for facial gestures that might make one question his level of mentation. He and many of his supporters are perfect examples of what the late Supreme Court Justice Brandeis categorized as 'men of zeal, without understanding'. Just like those racehorses, easily spooked into doing something stupid and/or lethal.
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Comment #37 posted by Hope on October 05, 2004 at 06:14:49 PT
FoM....stress
I even dreamed about Bush last night. Actually...it was "night terrors"...which I'm prone to. It was like two dreams...first a sad, scary dream showing all the failures in an everyday version of what his life and others lives around him might be like and a second dream...like a rerun...only revealing why he and others in the dream made the mistakes they made. It's like they didn't know about all the behind the scenes little things that made them go the routes...the wrong routes, they took. Some of the wrong routes were actually "set ups" by more scurrilous characters that purposely routed the unwitting to make the wrong choices. It was awful and vivid and real...as all night terrors seem.
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Comment #36 posted by Hope on October 05, 2004 at 06:04:13 PT
cheated
Thinking of it as voting for the Electoral College vote that we get assigned makes me feel a little better about it.It puts the lid back on another "can of worms" anyway. 
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Comment #35 posted by Hope on October 05, 2004 at 05:43:47 PT
The Electoral College
makes me feel cheated out of my vote. Are there any other countries that use a system like the Electoral College?
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Comment #34 posted by Dankhank on October 05, 2004 at 04:35:30 PT
Swing State ....
is what Ohio is not.
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Comment #33 posted by Hope on October 04, 2004 at 22:38:02 PT
FoM
The end of the power line? You are in the boonies! Sounds wonderful though.
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Comment #32 posted by FoM on October 04, 2004 at 21:17:19 PT
siege
This is the exact wood stove we heat our house with. We bought it in 79. You can cook on it if you need too. How do you like your generator? We were thinking we should get one too. We could live without electric except we would need a generator to pump water up from the well. Thanks.http://www.oldtimerwoodstoves.com/
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Comment #31 posted by siege on October 04, 2004 at 21:00:57 PT
         Hope
I'M on the end of the power line and when it's go's out it will be out from 60 to 90 days in the winter so gas is the way to go. I have just got a 25 KW generator this summer.  
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Comment #30 posted by FoM on October 04, 2004 at 16:59:40 PT
sukoi
I understand and I will vote accordingly.
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Comment #29 posted by sukoi on October 04, 2004 at 16:54:30 PT
For what it's worth...
I'll be voting for Badnarik; since I live in Texas, it's pretty much a given that Bush will win the electoral college vote (which is all that matters) so I am voting to get our voice heard but I would encourage anyone in a "swing state" to vote for Kerry; he can't be any worse than Bush!!! Sorry for the politics FoM but I believe that we have a much better chance for our cause under a Kerry administration and another four years of Bush is more of the same but quadrupled!!!
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Comment #28 posted by FoM on October 04, 2004 at 16:39:08 PT
sukoi
I'm with you and really don't believe our issue will be mentioned. It's not important enough in the over all big picture to risk it. If it wasn't so close then it might have been brought up but it's just too close.
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Comment #27 posted by sukoi on October 04, 2004 at 16:25:16 PT
FoM
I wish that it would be a “town meeting” scenario but it won’t. It will be just as scripted as the first debate and that’s what the candidates’ want and Bush needs. What WE want and need is more like a press conference where reporters are allowed to ask pretty much anything; if the general public were allowed to do that then the cannabis question would certainly come up, at least if I or any of us were there. As long as it is censored and scripted, I doubt that the cannabis issue or the WOD will ever be brought up! I don’t mean to bring you or anyone else down but that’s the way that I see it!
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Comment #26 posted by FoM on October 04, 2004 at 15:59:23 PT
sukoi 
Thank you. I hate to even think this but it might be up to whoever is our next president to change the law. A dream I wish would come true is in the town meeting with Kerry and Bush this Friday the question would be brought up but it's such a close race I don't think it will.
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Comment #25 posted by sukoi on October 04, 2004 at 15:53:34 PT
SCOTUS
FoM, here is the relevant part of the second article that I posted:"California will be affected more directly by the medical marijuana case, which will determine whether the federal government has the authority to enforce its drug laws against patients and their suppliers in states that have approved the medical use of marijuana. Two Northern California women, Angel Raich of Oakland and Diane Monson of Oroville (Butte County), want the courts to bar federal interference with their doctor-approved use of marijuana as therapy for Raich's brain tumor and wasting disorder and Monson's back seizures. A federal appeals court ruled that the Constitution, which authorizes Congress to regulate interstate commerce, does not allow enforcement of the federal ban on marijuana against patients who obtained the drug without charge from plants grown within a state where they live and where its medical use is legal. The Supreme Court, which upheld federal shutdowns of California medical marijuana clubs three years ago, has agreed to hear the Bush administration's appeal of the Raich case. The court now must decide whether its doctrine of protecting the states against federal encroachment, championed by Rehnquist and other conservatives, extends to the war on drugs. The case "forces conservatives, who have favored a restrictive reading of the commerce power, to confront its implications for a federal policy that many conservatives are likely to support,'' said Mark Moller of the libertarian Cato Institute. Moller and most other commentators have predicted a federal government victory in the marijuana case."I certainly hope that Mr. Moller is very, very wrong about his last statement but he is indeed right about the first!
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Comment #24 posted by FoM on October 04, 2004 at 15:42:50 PT
Thanks sukoi
I am so anxious to know how things are going. They just said on The Abrams Report that the Supreme Court won't rule in our favor. The one person who said it was Ken Starr and I don't remember the other man's name.
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Comment #23 posted by sukoi on October 04, 2004 at 15:34:37 PT
A couple of articles...
that I thought may interest others (I hope that the second URL isn't too long):Debatable: Should our marijuana laws be reformed? 
http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2004/10/04/local/iq_3140550.txt
 Nuts-and-bolts term anticipated for Supreme Court 
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2004/10/03/MNGLM933GT1.DTL 
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Comment #22 posted by FoM on October 04, 2004 at 15:28:13 PT
Thanks Druid
I'll go try to find something on CNN about feedback. 
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Comment #21 posted by Druid on October 04, 2004 at 15:21:40 PT
FoM
I dunno :(My wife told me about it. I have been at work all day and she called and told me that CNN wanted email feedback from people concerning MMJ and that CourtTV has been talking about MMJ and ASA. 
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Comment #20 posted by FoM on October 04, 2004 at 15:10:45 PT
 Druid 
Thank you. Was it good? I never check out Court TV so I missed it. 
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Comment #19 posted by Druid on October 04, 2004 at 15:06:08 PT
Court TV
Has been talking about the supreme court case and ASA today.
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Comment #18 posted by Hope on October 04, 2004 at 15:05:35 PT
Seige
Those heated floors have always fascinated me. They sound wonderful...except of course when something's wrong with them.
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on October 04, 2004 at 15:02:53 PT
Heads Up: The Abrams Report on MSNBC
They just mentioned the medical marijuana case. I hope they talk about it. I might not be able to watch it. They talk about Laci Peterson and stories that I don't care to watch. I'll probably miss something good.
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Comment #16 posted by Hope on October 04, 2004 at 14:54:41 PT
seige
Sorry about the price of butane...dang. Gotta keep those grandkids warm, though.About thirty five years ago when I was renting a house with the biggest butane tank I ever saw...I think the whole neighborhood may have been tapped into that thing...the bills were killing me...I went all electric when we built. I have a pretty big electric bill, but at least I don't have a huge butane bill to go with it. It is nice heat though.
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Comment #15 posted by siege on October 04, 2004 at 14:52:26 PT
heat
I use Hot water to heat with a pool heater it cost about $ 10/12 a mo. I have a concrete floor with 2000 feet of pipe in it . at times it gets to hot open the windows it is set at 76/77 degrees but it runs up to about 88/93 degrees I think the people that put it in messed up. I'm bring the floor up know let it run in for about a week then have the electrician down the road fix it.
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on October 04, 2004 at 14:41:28 PT
Hope
Thank you. I voted! I haven't seen Yahooka for a long time. I have it on my web site but I don't get around to sites much anymore. It's good to see they are still keepin on! 
Freedom To Exhale 
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Comment #13 posted by Hope on October 04, 2004 at 14:30:54 PT
Another place to rate CNews
http://l1.itechgroup.com/scripts/rate.cgi?ID=365
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Comment #12 posted by FoM on October 04, 2004 at 14:00:40 PT
siege
That is terrible. We know how bad it has gotten since my husband's Semi Truck uses diesel fuel. He gets 5 miles to the gallon. The fuel prices will hurt so many people. We heat with wood so we don't get hit by fuel increases for our home. We've talked about quitting using wood because it is dusty but we can't' afford to quit burning wood. It would be too hard for us since his trucks fuel is getting so high.
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Comment #11 posted by siege on October 04, 2004 at 13:49:24 PT
    Off Topic FoM
The Propane man just delivered I did not ask whit it cost, last time it was $1.25 a Gal. $500.00 had
him full the tank 400 Gal.'s it was $ 680.00 it socked it to me. $1.70 a Gal. And he say it was going higher. Safe Families TV. is Ch,12 CBS.
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Comment #10 posted by Druid on October 04, 2004 at 13:33:32 PT
Good Article from Reason.com
http://www.reason.com/0410/cr.me.open.shtmlOpen Secrets
How the government lost the drug war in cyberspace.
Michael ErardFor 36 years the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) quietly published a quirky monthly newsletter called Microgram for a small audience of forensic chemists. It was "law enforcement restricted," which meant you could obtain it only if you were a law enforcement official, a government investigator, or a forensic scientist. As far as the public was concerned, it was a secret. In January 2003 DEA officials started to make Microgram publicly available via the Web (at www.usdoj.gov/dea/programs/forensicsci/microgram/bulletins_index.html), where it joined a vast sea of information about illicit drugs: how to get them, how to use them, why to avoid them, why laws controlling them should be either tightened or reformed.Microgram’s release was mostly unnoticed, and its reception has been subdued -- so subdued that even the chemical underground, where people in years past might have found in the newsletter a wealth of knowledge about how to synthesize and distribute psychoactive substances, has hardly noticed it. Yet the seeming nonevent is worthy of attention because it reflects the government’s recognition that their strategy to control drug use by controlling drug information has failed.-----snipped----------
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on October 04, 2004 at 13:10:21 PT
JustGetnBy 
I'll explain how to post a link. I know I was so happy when I learned how. First click on the article. Then go to the address bar and copy the link in the address bar. Bring it here and paste it in a comment. That's all there is too it. I hope this helps and if it doesn't tell me where you get hung up and I'll try to explain it a little better.http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-10-04-drug-program_x.htm
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Comment #8 posted by JustGetnBy on October 04, 2004 at 13:04:36 PT
      A Question FOM ?
  I have limited computer skills, so don't know how to post a link. There is a national news story on the news feature of the GOOGLE web page that I think deserves some attention from our community. 10-04-04  The states of Illinois and wisconson are starting programs to allow their citizens to purchase prescription drugs from Canada, United Kingdom and Ireland. This political action flies directly in the face of Federal Laws that PROHIBIT these actions.  Seems to my simple mind that this ties in to our cause in many ways.  Sorry if this was not the correct way to introduce a subject, my intentions are good.  
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on October 04, 2004 at 12:06:03 PT
Oregon Editorial from Snipped Source
No on Looser Marijuana Law: http://www.oregonlive.com/editorials/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1096718598270530.xml
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Comment #6 posted by Hope on October 04, 2004 at 11:18:52 PT
FoM....me, too! But I'm excited and hopeful, too!
 "I just think we are so close to serious changes in marijuana laws that I'm nervous about it all."
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Comment #5 posted by dongenero on October 04, 2004 at 10:57:45 PT
2.5 million
There is something sick about the Federal Government using $2.5 million in tax dollars to fight the tax payer's own voter initiatives.
I would say that is a sign of Federal Government out of control.
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on October 04, 2004 at 10:53:37 PT
News Brief from The Associated Press
US Drug Czar to Visit Oregon Today, Tomorrow
 
 PORTLAND, Ore. The director of National Drug Control Police and President Bush's "Drug Czar" will visit Oregon today and tomorrow.John Walters says he will discuss the harms of marijuana and the threat of legalization in Oregon. He will also talk about a new, comprehensive approach to reducing methamphetamine production and use in Oregon.Walters will also announce the award of over two-and-a-half (m) million to 30 community anti-drug coalitions throughout the state.He will be in Portland today at 12:30 at Helensview High School. Tomorrow he is scheduled to be in Salem at the Marion County Court House.Copyright 2004 Associated Presshttp://www.kptv.com/Global/story.asp?S=2383020
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on October 04, 2004 at 10:16:25 PT
Two Articles Worth a Look
Marijuana Club Markets Medicine and Music: http://www.orion-online.net/vnews/display.v/ART/2004/10/04/4160996001209Last Court Date with Mary Jane: http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2004/10/04/rachel_show/iq_3141255.txt
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on October 04, 2004 at 09:39:01 PT
goneposthole
Last night my husband and I were talking about all that is happening right now in the news. It's great that our issue is in the news. This week could get very interesting. I just think we are so close to serious changes in marijuana laws that I'm nervous about it all.
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Comment #1 posted by goneposthole on October 04, 2004 at 09:34:20 PT
whadda ya know?
Kind of tough to kill the messenger, Julie Falco, when it's the messenger's own message. Not some forged document from some dubious source. That's tough to do. The true story strikes fear into any propaganda apparatus. It is life threatening to that feckless, superfluous inhumane entity; a death knell. Smoke and mirrors don't work when truth be told. The message from the ONDCP is blared all of the time on tv and the radio. You don't kill the messenger when it kowtows to your every whim. No matter how ridiculous the message like, 'this is your brain on drugs'. You won't hear that kind of message concerning gambling and its problems. Bill Bennet wouldn't hear it anyway. He's too busy spending those bucks he collected from the ONDCP. He's bulked from the steroid called 'money'. There is no 'Office of National Gambling Control Policy'. More digression: Let's feed livestock all kinds of growth hormones. It will improve the 'industry'. Let's do it. It will be a boon for business in every sector of the agricultural economy. It will be great.Same goes for cannabis versus marinol.You can 'dope' the barnyard animals, but not olympic athletes. You can use steriods,too, if you desire. There are places online where one can buy anabolic steriods. The message is out there, bogus documents and all. It's all like a freak show, to be blunt.Set up Dan Rather, bump him off, not just kill him. The dern fool took the bait. A perfect oppurtunity to kill the messenger. He just won't kowtow, we'll get him. Takes the heat off of the inglorious, shameful mistakes of the Bush Cabal. The dern fools.The Bush Cabal's broken record cites the same scare tactics all of the time. If it isn't terrorists coming after you, it's the dangers of cannabis or phen phen or some other bogey man to conjure for the more improved protection racket called 'homeland security'. I digress.If the message isn't the correct one, kill the messenger. Dan Rather, Jonathon Magbie, Tom Crosslin, it just doesn't matter. Who is it that isn't getting the message?Whadda ya know.
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