cannabisnews.com: This War Is Worth Fighting

This War Is Worth Fighting

Posted by CN Staff on June 16, 2005 at 08:41:07 PT
By George F. Will
Source: Washington Post

Washington, D.C. -- Exasperated by pessimism about the "war on drugs," John Walters, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, says: Washington is awash with lobbyists hired by businesses worried that government may, intentionally or inadvertently, make them unprofitable. So why assume that trade in illicit drugs is the one business that government, try as it might, cannot seriously injure?
Here is why: When Pat Moynihan was an adviser to President Richard Nixon, he persuaded the French government to break the "French connection" by which heroin came to America. Moynihan explained his achievement to Labor Secretary George Shultz, who said laconically: "Good."Moynihan: "No, really, this is a big event."Shultz, unfazed: "Good."Moynihan: "I suppose that you think that so long as there is a demand for drugs, there will continue to be a supply."Shultz: "You know, there's hope for you yet."Walters understands that when there is a $65 billion annual American demand for an easily smuggled commodity produced in poor countries, and when the price of cocaine and heroin on U.S. streets is 100 times the production costs, much will evade even sophisticated interdiction methods. And, Walters says, huge quantities of marijuana are grown domestically, for example, in California, Kentucky and West Virginia -- often on public lands because the government can seize private land used for marijuana cultivation. And particularly potent strains of the drug are grown indoors. Marijuana possession, not trafficking, accounts for most of the surge in drug arrests since 1990. Critics suggest an armistice on this front in the $35 billion-a-year drug war.Marijuana's price has fallen and its potency has doubled in the past eight years. So say David Boyum and Peter Reuter in their new book, "An Analytic Assessment of U.S. Drug Policy," from the American Enterprise Institute. They say that although the number of people incarcerated for drug offenses on any given day has increased from 50,000 in 1980 to 450,000 in 2003, the inflation-adjusted prices for cocaine and heroin are half of what they were 25 years ago.So, should there be an armistice on this front, too? Walters responds that the bulk of the demand for illegal drugs is from addictive users. Of the 19 million users, 7 million are drug-dependent. Marijuana use is a "pediatric onset" problem: If people get past their teens without starting, Walters says, the probability of use is "very small" and the likelihood of dependence "much less."Use of marijuana by youths peaked in 1979, hit a low in 1992 and then doubled by the mid-'90s. The age of first use of marijuana has been declining to the early teens and lower. Often, Walters says, the "triggers" for use are "cultural messages" -- today, for example, from rap music. Nevertheless, teen marijuana use has declined 18 percent in the past three years.Because marijuana is, unlike heroin and cocaine, not toxic -- because marijuana users do not die from overdoses -- its reputation is too benign. The 5 million users in the 12-to-17 age cohort are, Walters believes, storing up future family, school and work problems and putting their brain functions at risk with increasingly potent strains of marijuana. Many of these strains -- and perhaps one-third of the total U.S. marijuana supply -- come from Canada. A few years ago police estimated that there were 10,000 growers in the Toronto metropolitan area.Last year 400 metric tons of cocaine were seized worldwide, but at least 200 entered the United States. However, some seizures, by causing abrupt shortages in some metropolitan areas, cause addicts to seek detoxification. Walters says that breaking the French connection did that in New York in 1972. Even Prohibition, he says, for all its bad effects, changed behavior: After repeal, per capita alcohol use did not return to pre-Prohibition levels until the 1960s.Walters says the data do not support the theory that society has a "latent level of substance abuse" -- that if one problem declines, another rises commensurately. And he thinks indifference to drug abuse, which debilitates the individual's capacity to flourish in freedom, mocks the nation's premises.Having studied political philosophy at the University of Toronto with the late Allan Bloom, Walters describes the drug war in Lincolnian language: "There are certain requirements of civilization -- to keep the better angels of our nature in preponderance over the lesser angels."Fighting terrorists, he says, is necessary even though it is like seeking a needle in a haystack. Illicit drugs -- millions of pounds marketed to millions of Americans -- are at least not a needle-in-a-haystack problem.Source: Washington Post (DC)Author: George F. WillPublished: Thursday, June 16, 2005; Page A29Copyright: 2005 Washington Post Contact: letterstoed washpost.comWebsite: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ CannabisNews Justice Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/justice.shtml

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Comment #33 posted by jose melendez on June 25, 2005 at 15:34:50 PT
tips work
" . . . join Steve and other LTE writing friends of MAP this Sunday evening at 9pm EDT for a roundtable discussion of how to write LTEs that get print(ed) and specifically how to best respond to this Focus Alert. We'll also be talking about LTEs directed at Opinion items concerning the Raich decision from the Supreme Court.See: http://mapinc.org/resource/paltalk.htm for all details on how you can participate in this important meeting of leading minds in reform.Discussion is conducted with live Voice (microphone and speakers all
that is needed) and also via text messaging. The Paltalk software is
free and easy to download and install.The password for this gathering will be PW: welcome-pal (all lower
case) "http://www.mapinc.org/alert/0311.html
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #32 posted by jose melendez on June 25, 2005 at 15:27:34 PT
from DrugSense Weekly, June 24, 2005 #405
To Orchestrate a Peaceful Coup: Stay on the Same Sheet of MusicThis is an enemy that will be defeated. Here's why:"Please consider writing at least one succint Letter to the Editor and sending it to the newspaper closest to your hometown. A similar letter with some minor modifications, can also be sent to other newspapers which carried the column, thus increasing your chances of being printed."http://www.mapinc.org/alert/0311.html"Do it NOW. Three sentences will do.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #31 posted by afterburner on June 18, 2005 at 10:03:33 PT
Welcome Back to Canada, Renee. Struggle On!
'Marijuana refugee' granted bail
Last updated Jun 17 2005 02:46 PM PDT
CBC News
http://vancouver.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=bc_boje-marijuana20050617
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #30 posted by afterburner on June 17, 2005 at 22:35:16 PT
Boje free – for now [More details]
Boje free – for now
by Pete Brady, Special To Cannabis Culture (17 Jun, 2005) Famed activist-refugee faces late September court hearing
http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/4419.html
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #29 posted by FoM on June 17, 2005 at 11:18:23 PT
CP: Pot Refugee Granted Bail in B.C.
June 17, 2005Vancouver -- A California woman who has been denied refugee status and ordered to return to the United States to face marijuana charges was granted bail on Friday as she fights her extradition.Renee Boje's case was adjourned until Sept. 30 in B.C. Supreme Court.Ms. Boje, who fled to British Columbia in 1998, lives in Vancouver with her Canadian pot-activist husband Chris Bennett and their child.She said Justice Minister Irwin Cotler had ordered her to surrender to authorities for deportation.The California charges relate to a growing operation for a medical marijuana patient.Ms. Boje said the Justice Minister rejected her position that she was the victim of political persecution and would suffer cruel and unusual punishment in the U.S.Mr. Bennett, who runs the website Pot TV, has said his wife could be jailed for a minimum 10 years because of her association with medical marijuana.Copyright: 2005 The Canadian PressCannabisNews -- Canada Archives:
http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/Canada.shtml
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #28 posted by FoM on June 17, 2005 at 09:21:57 PT
CBC: 'Marijuana Refugee' Faces Deportation
June 17, 2005 VANCOUVER – The federal government has denied refugee status to an American woman who faces drug conspiracy charges in the U.S. for her role in a marijuana grow-op. Renee Boje of Vancouver has been ordered to surrender to Canadian authorities in B.C,, to be deported to the U.S. to face the drug charges. Boje says she will comply with the order, but will continue to fight her extradition. Eight years ago, Boje was arrested and charged in California. A year later she arrived in Canada, where she applied for refugee status.And she has been fighting to remain here ever since, claiming she had been helping a man produce marijuana for medicinal purposes. If convicted, she could face a sentence of up to 10 years. Now she has received a decision from federal Justice Minister Irwin Cotler, denying her refugee status and ordering her to surrender to authorities. In the decision released on Thursday, Cotler dismissed Boje's claim she would suffer "cruel and unusual punishment" at the hands of U.S. authorities. He also dismissed her claim that she was the victim of political persecution. Boje has a three-year-old son, and worries she may not be able to see him if she ends up serving time in a U.S. jail. "It would be devastating for him to have his mother ripped away from him and imprisoned in another country where I don't think he would be able to come and visit me even because my husband who is also Canadian is a very high-profile cannabis activist." Boje's husband, Chris Bennett, runs a pro-marijuana website called "Pot TV". He began to rally support for his wife as soon as he learned of Cotler's decision. "We're hoping that we can have some more justice in the courts that we've seen from Irwin Cotler."
CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites. External links will open in a new window.

Comment #27 posted by jose melendez on June 17, 2005 at 07:32:22 PT
send letters to editors!
The above article was published across the country, under various and conflicting headlines:http://news.google.com/news?&q=pessimism+walters&filter=0WRITING WORKS!Read the article carefully, and answer the objections.Keep it simple, stick to the subject, and be sure to enclose your name, address and phone number or most publications will not publish your letter.Here are a few talking points:The Partnership for a Drug Free America and Office of NAtional Drug Control Policy are constructs in restraint of any legal cannabis trade.ElSohly's 15 acre farm is a monopoly. Consumers are cheated by pharmaceutical manufacturers that suppress evidence of greater harm in collusion with officials sworn to uphold and defend us.Price supports are against World Trade Organization rules. Drug manufacturers financially support false claims via PDFA and ONDCP advertising that leads to authorizations of payments under Medicare and Medicaid, even as they make billions covering up harm from dangerous and defective products that kill over a hundred thousand citizens every year. Under the Commerce Clause, consumers and producers alike are supposed to have free access to every market as protection against such exploitation.Freedom and justice are rights, not talking points. Drug war is crime. Any questions?Jose Melendez
Communications Director
Concerned Citizens Coalition to Criminalize
Prohibition
http://www.CCCCP.org
888 247-8183
The pen is mighty . . . NOW DO SOMETHING!
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #26 posted by FoM on June 17, 2005 at 07:24:29 PT

Renee Boje
I really feel bad about Renee. I think there isn't anyone that knows anything about her case that isn't worried. I don't want to say too much until we know if they will let her stay in Canada or not. One thing that really upsets me is her child. Children need and love their Mother. I see a precious child that could be seriously hurt by losing his Mom even if it isn't for a long time. I'm sure she will get the best lawyers if it comes to that. I am sad, worried and trying very hard to keep my hopes up. We'll know more very soon.
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Comment #25 posted by Max Flowers on June 17, 2005 at 01:06:30 PT

Regarding Renee Boje
Terrible news, but we should remember that a trial here doesn't *automatically* mean she is going to lose at the trial. It may be likely, unfortunately, but it is not a certainty by any means.If she has to go to trial, her attorney will (should) fight very hard to make sure the evidence is allowed that the grow she was involved in was a medical grow, so that there isn't another Ed Rosenthal type of situation. I've met Renee, she's really sweet and harmless and I can't even imagine her in a federal prison separated from her child.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #24 posted by b4daylight on June 16, 2005 at 22:27:16 PT

34567890
Walters responds that the bulk of the demand for illegal drugs is from addictive users.well under his defination everyone is abusing drugs.Fighting terrorists, he says, is necessary even though it is like seeking a needle in a haystack. Illicit drugs -- millions of pounds marketed to millions of Americans -- are at least not a needle-in-a-haystack problem.this is a bad article gibersh so if it is not a haystack problem then what the F**k is it.. ooo wise one...Second why are you not fixding the problem you know so well..
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #23 posted by SoberStoner on June 16, 2005 at 17:56:28 PT

sigh
First the SC case comes, then the amendment, now Renee..more unneccessary victims in the war..I feel for her and her family and hope that she can avoid coming back.As for Mr Will's brown-nosing to his corporate masters..bleh..I've never liked his articles and this is a perfect example why.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #22 posted by Jose Melendez on June 16, 2005 at 16:39:11 PT

hope
You could write several different letters to the papers that ran George Will's oped on Walters' deceptive and corrupting claims.I'm pretty sure it was the same Pierre that called me and reminded me to suggest I point out the many polls, all in favor of MMJ.Remember, it took 100 years for Congress to reluctantly offer apologies for keeping anti-lynching laws off the books.You know, they do say that the best way to kill a bad law is to enforce it . . . maybe "they" are trying to do so without looking, well . . . liberal.One more thing, onebox.com has an email service that allows for faxing, which might be more effective than emails in some cases.After reading the laws myself, I'm still baffled that anyone still thinks drug war is legal. It's not:http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/21cfr/21usc/801.htm (5) Controlled substances manufactured and distributed intrastate cannot be differentiated from controlled substances manufactured and distributed interstate. Thus, it is not feasible to distinguish, in terms of controls, between controlled substances manufactured and distributed interstate and controlled substances manufactured and distributed intrastate.http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/health/generic.htm ". . . each state has a law that lets pharmacists substitute less expensive generic drugs for many brand-name products."Standard practice and most state laws require that a generic drug be generically equivalent to its brand-name counterpart. That is, it must have the same active ingredients, strength, and dosage form—pill, liquid, or injection. The generic drug also must be therapeutically equivalent—it must be the same chemically and have the same medical effect.http://www.stolaf.edu/people/becker/antitrust/summaries/175us211.htmThe power to regulate interstate commerce, and to prescribe the rules by which it shall be governed, is vested in Congress, and when that body has enacted a statute such as the act of July 2, 1890, c. 647, entitled "an act to protect trade and commerce against unlawful restraints and monopolies." any agreement or combination which directly operates, not alone upon the manufacture, but upon the sale, transportation and delivery of an article of interstate commerce, by preventing or restricting its sale, thereby regulates interstate commerce to that extent, and thus trenches upon the power of the national legislature, and violates the statute.http://www.4lawschool.com/conlaw/healy.htm The Commerce Clause also limits the power of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to adopt regulations that discriminate against interstate commerce. Thus, state statutes that clearly discriminate against interstate commerce are routinely struck down ... unless the discrimination is demonstrably justified by a valid factor unrelated to economic protectionism.http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/conlaw/hood.htmlOur system, fostered by the Commerce Clause, is that every farmer and every craftsman shall be encouraged to produce by the certainty that he will have free access to every market in the Nation, that no home embargoes will withhold his export, and no foreign state will by customs duties or regulations exclude them. Likewise, every consumer may look to the free competition from every producing area in the Nation to protect him from exploitation by any. Such was the vision of the Founders; such has been the doctrine of this Court which has given it reality.- - -The False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. § 3729 et seq., provides for liability for triple damages and a penalty from $5,500 to $11,000 per claim for anyone who knowingly submits or causes the submission of a false or fraudulent claim to the United States. The statute, first passed in 1863, includes an ancient legal device called a 'qui tam' provision (from a Latin phrase meaning 'he who brings a case on behalf of our lord the King, as well as for himself'). This provision allows a private person, known as a 'relator,' to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the United States, where the private person has information that the named defendant has knowingly submitted or caused the submission of false or fraudulent claims to the United States. The relator need not have been personally harmed by the defendant's conduct.http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/pae/Documents/fcaprocess2.pdffrom: http://www.taf.org/top20.htmSince 1986 False Claims Act judgments and settlements against fraud feasors have totaled over $12 billion.Top False Claims Act Recoveries include pharmaceutical, health care and drug precursor chemical firms:HCA, Taketa-Abbott Pharmaceutical, Abbott Labs, Fresenius Medical Care of North America, SmithKline Beecham Clinical Laboratories Inc., HealthSouth, National Medical Enterprises, Gambro Healthcare, Gambro Healthcare, Schering-Plough, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, Bayer Corporation, First American Health Care of Georgia, First American Health Care of Georgia, Pfizer/Warner-Lambert, Blue Cross Blue Shield Illinois, Shell Oil Company . . .Follow the MoneyTop Partnership for a Drug Free America funding sources include some of THE SAME pharmaceutical, health care and drug precursor chemical firms:http://www.drugfree.org/Portal/About/Partners/list.aspx - - -We all have some understanding of the nature of fraud. When a person deliberately uses a misrepresentation or other deceitful means to obtain something to which he or she is not otherwise entitled, that person has committed fraud. However, under the False Claims Act, fraud has a much wider and more inclusive meaning.Under the Act, the defendant need not have actually known that the information it provided to the Government was false. It is sufficient that the defendant supplied the information to the Government either:(i) in "deliberate ignorance" of the truth or falsity of the information; or(ii) in "reckless disregard" of the truth or falsity of the information.The False Claims Act has been used to successfully recover for fraud against the Government in many areas, including defense procurement fraud, Medicare/Medicaid fraud and fraud against HUD by builders of federally subsidized housing.In fact, claims may arise in virtually every area in which federal Government money is spent, such as education, welfare, social security and purchases by any federal government department or agency.http://library.findlaw.com/2000/Nov/1/130252.html - - -The Outrage "The FBI failed to seize at least five opportunities to intercept two 9/11 hijackers before the attacks, including two instances in San Diego County when the terrorists lived with an FBI informant* and were befriended by a subject of a previous FBI investigation.According to a report released yesterday by the Justice Department's Inspector General, the FBI office in San Diego erred by focusing too much on drug investigations before Sept. 11, 2001."Despite the fact that FBI headquarters had established counterterrorism as a top priority of the FBI in 1998, the San Diego field office was continuing to pursue drug trafficking as its top priority in 2001" the report stated.The San Diego FBI office emphasized pursuit of drug traffickers, white collar criminals and violent criminals at the expense of pursuing counterterrorism leads as requested by FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., the report said.Dan Dzwilewski, chief of the San Diego FBI office, was traveling yesterday and could not be reached for comment."(snip)http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n929/a06.html?397 - - -U.S. Constitution, Article III, Section 3.Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/article03/ - - -I strongly urge all federal employees to exercise your rights under the Civil Service Reform Act (5 U.S.C. § 2303) and the Whistleblower Protection Act (5 U.S.C. §§ 2302(b)(8)& (b)(9)), and immediately investigate and publicly disclose the alleged breaches of restraint of trade, monopoly and other U.S. laws.
Finally, I do seek and will require the sharpening of said issues at trial and invite or otherwise engage the reasoning, intellectual honesty, genuine and good behavior of any Uncompromised Judge or Judges in any Court without prejudice or conflict of interest, deference to anyone Corrupted by Sellers or Distributors of or the Use of far more harmful foods, supplements, medications or intoxicants and with equitable jurisdiction over such matters and Rights long and Historically deemed most Basic and Inviolable by our Constitutional and common Laws.Jose Melendez
CCCCP
888 247-8183
DeLand, FL(The Concerned Citizens Coalition to Criminalize
Prohibition was formed to expose collusions and
devices in restraint of legal trade in cannabis, coca
and poppies. - Drug war is crime. We have proof.)*REMEMBER: It is a criminal offense to threaten any person who seeks to report federal crimes.Title 18 U.S.C. û 1513. Retaliating against a witness,
victim, or an informant. (a) Whoever knowingly engages in any conduct and thereby causes bodily
injury to another person or damages the tangible property of another person, or threatens to do so,
with intent to retaliate against any person for(1) the attendance of a witness or party at an official proceeding, or any testimony given or any record, document, or other object produced by a witness in an official proceeding; or (2) any information relating to the commission or possible commission of a Federal offense ...Title 18 U.S.C. û 1512. Tampering with a witness/informant. Applies to anyone who (b) uses intimidation or physical force, or threatens another person,or attempts to do so, or engages in misleading conduct toward another person, with intent to(1) influence, delay or prevent that person's testimony in an official proceeding;
(2) cause or induce any person to (A) withhold testimony; or withhold a record from an official proceeding; (B) alter, destroy, mutilate, or conceal an object with intent to impart the object's integrity or availability
for use in an official proceeding;
(3) hinder, delay, or prevent the communication to a ... judge of the United States of information relating to the commission or possible commission of a Federal offense, ...ûû 1512. Tampering with a witness, victim, or an informant
(b) Whoever knowingly uses intimidation or physical force, or threatens another person, or attempts to do so, or engages in misleading conduct toward another person, with intent to
1) influence, delay or prevent the testimony of any person in an official proceeding: shall be fined ... or imprisoned ... or both.
[1988 amended reading]Title 18 U.S.C. ß 4 (misprision of felony)."Whoever, having knowledge of the actual commission of a felony cognizable by a court of the United States, conceals and does not as soon as possible make known the same to some judge or other person in civil or military authority under the United States, shall be fined not more than $500 or imprisoned not more than three years, or both."TITLE 15 > CHAPTER 1 > § 15§ 15. Suits by persons injuredRelease date: 2004-05-18
(a) Amount of recovery; prejudgment interest
Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, any person who shall be injured in his business or property by reason of anything forbidden in the antitrust laws may sue therefor in any district court of the United States in the district in which the defendant resides or is found or has an agent, without respect to the amount in controversy, and shall recover threefold the damages by him sustained, and the cost of suit, including a reasonable attorney's fee.The court may award under this section, pursuant to a motion by such person promptly made, simple interest on actual damages for the period beginning on the date of service of such person s pleading setting forth a claim under the antitrust laws and ending on the date of judgment, or for any shorter period therein, if the court finds that the award of such interest for such period is just in the circumstances.In determining whether an award of interest under this section for any period is just in the circumstances, the court shall consider only:
(1) whether such person or the opposing party, or either party's representative, made motions or asserted claims or defenses so lacking in merit as to show that such party or representative acted intentionally for delay, or otherwise acted in bad faith;
(2) whether, in the course of the action involved, such person or the opposing party, or either party's representative, violated any applicable rule, statute, or court order providing for sanctions for dilatory behavior or otherwise providing for expeditious proceedings; and
(3) whether such person or the opposing party, or either party's representative, engaged in conduct primarily for the purpose of delaying the litigation or increasing the cost thereof.(b) Amount of damages payable to foreign states and
instrumentalities of foreign states (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), any person who is a foreign state may not recover under subsection (a) of this section an amount in excess of the actual damages sustained by it and the cost of suit, including a reasonable attorney s fee. (2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a foreign state if : (A) such foreign state would be denied, under section 1605 (a)(2) of title 28, immunity in a case in which the action is based upon a commercial activity, or an act, that is the subject matter of its claim under this section; (B) such foreign state waives all defenses based upon or arising out of its status as a foreign state, to any claims brought against it in the same action; (C) such foreign state engages primarily in commercial activities; and (D) such foreign state does not function, with respect to the commercial activity, or the act, that is the subject matter of its claim under this section as a procurement entity for itself or for another foreign state.
(c) Definitions
For purposes of this section :
(1) the term "commercial activity" shall have the
meaning given it in section 1603 (d) of title 28, and
(2) the term "foreign state" shall have the meaning
given it in section 1603 (a) of title 28.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #21 posted by FoM on June 16, 2005 at 13:36:39 PT

This Is a Big Problem
Both Texas and Canada are big beef producers and Renee's case is just one small case to those in power on both sides of the border. They are going to need to figure out how to save this big industry. They won't buck each other now. This is only my opinion but one I have given much thought too.Suspect U.S. Animal May Have Rare Mad Cow Strainhttp://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=8814790
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #20 posted by FoM on June 16, 2005 at 13:27:35 PT

Hope
I don't think anyone can fight this administration. People aren't important only money and power these days. I know it hurts. It hurts me and so many others too.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #19 posted by Hope on June 16, 2005 at 13:22:27 PT

This is sickening.
We're forced, once again, to identify with the sheer helplessness and frustration of any normal, sane people, that might have existed at the time, that had to watch the zealous fanatics drag people off to the witch trials and the Inquisitions.This hurts. It hurts bad.Are there none among us with the power or influence to save these people?
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #18 posted by FoM on June 16, 2005 at 13:12:15 PT

Hope
Yes but with Bush in power I don't think she stands much of a chance.There are big issues right now with Mad Cow in Texas and the one or two that were in Canada and it's hurting the meat producers and the oil issue. Canada has lots of oil and we need their water too. Big issues!
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #17 posted by Hope on June 16, 2005 at 13:07:16 PT

Renee Boje
According to the last paragraph in the news alert, she will be able to "challenge" this. Is that right?
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #16 posted by FoM on June 16, 2005 at 13:02:43 PT

Medical Marijuana Activist Arrested After Raid
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/lv-crime/2005/jun/16/518915104.html
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #15 posted by FoM on June 16, 2005 at 12:50:29 PT

Important News Alert
SEND OUT TO ALL MEDIA IMMEDIATELY!!!In a heartless decision, and unlike 3 preceding Justice Ministers, Irwin Cotler released a negative decision yesterday in the Boje Extradition case. Renee Boje, who is married to a Canadian citizen and is the mother of a Canadian son, is being sent back to US authorities to serve a ten year to life sentence for her involvement in a medical marijuana growing operation in California, shortly after the state of California legalized medical use of marijuana. Cotler's decisicon is available on line at http://americanmarijuana.org/boje/ Mr. Cotler, a purported champion of human rights, ignored evidence that Ms. Boje would be subject to cruel and unusual punishment and treatment at the hands of US federal authorities. Mr. Cotler also ignored the fact that Ms. Boje will be prevented from arguing that her actions were legal under California law and that the marijuana being grown was for medical purposes. Finally, the decision fails to even mention the recent US Supreme Court decision allowing federal prosecutions against persons who were legally entitled to grow marijuana under state law and the US government rhetoric in the wake of that decision expressly claiming that marijuana had no medical value. Renee Boje's trials and tribulations began after California medical marijuana activist Todd McCormick was arrested growing thousands of cannabis plants in a rented Bel Air home in the summer of 1997. Inspired by the recent passage of Proposition 215 that effectively legalized medical marijuana in the state, McCormick began growing the plants as part of his research for a book he was working on, "How to Grow Medical Marijuana." Renee was initially arrested along with a number of other people on the premises, but her charges were later dropped. In 1998, Renee's lawyer advised her that the charges against her were about to be reinstated so she fled to the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia and eventually filed for refugee status. Renee offered to return to the US and stand trial if the former US Attorney General Janet Reno would drop the charges against co-defendant Peter McWilliams, who was dying of AIDS. Tragically, the US Federal authorities denied Peter his legal right to use medical marijuana, a proven powerful anti-nauseant, and Peter died alone in his apartment from choking on his own vomit. The other defendant, cancer survivor Todd McCormick, was convicted and spent 4 years in jail without access to the only medicine which eased his pain from his medical condition. Disallowing any differences in Canadian and US Law, Irwin Cotler has rendered a decision that has devastated Mrs. Boje and her Canadian family. With the current ban on all things marijuana related from the US, Boje's Canadian husband, who has no criminal record, cannot even travel into America purely based on his association with cannabis activism and his wife's high profile case. If Renee is extradited, she will be effectively cut off from her family, based solely on their political and religious beliefs. Mrs Boje, her husband Chris Bennett and son Shiva will be appearing at Vancouver Federal Court House, 800 West Smithe St at 8:30 am to surrender herself to the authorities, the decision will be read in court at 9:30 am and the Boje family and their lawyer hope to see bail granted while they challenge this unjust and devastating decision. Contact Chris Bennett
work (604)682-0039
home (604)612-8785 Renee's Lawyer, Sarah Roach (Conroy and Co.) (604)852-5110
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #14 posted by FoM on June 16, 2005 at 12:39:14 PT

PDF File
http://americanmarijuana.org/boje/Boje.Decision.pdf
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #13 posted by afterburner on June 16, 2005 at 12:27:54 PT

Canadian Justice Minister, Irving Colter: No Angel
Appalling that the mis-named *Justice* Minister would wait until now -- after the US Supreme Court issued its bungled ruling and the US House of Representatives once again refused Compassion in favor of Prejudice and Superstition -- before ruling that Rene, who Canadian Immigration insisted could receive a fair trial in the USA, is ordered deported! Cruel and unusual injustice flourishes, even in Canada, the world's first country to legalize medical cannabis.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #12 posted by Hope on June 16, 2005 at 12:08:14 PT

About those "Better angels of our nature".
"HUMANENESS, COMPASSION, GOOD WILL, TOLERANCE, and other good things" are the "better angels" of this political philosophy.I was right. Walters didn't pay enough attention to his teacher and doesn't have a clue what the "better angels" really are.This term was made famous by Abraham Lincoln when he said it to close his first inauguration speech."The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."
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Comment #11 posted by Hope on June 16, 2005 at 11:58:58 PT

What and who are the "better angels"?
"What and who are the better angels of our nature? Lincoln was suggesting these were humaneness, compassion, good will, tolerance, and other good things."http://www.unc.edu/depts/diplomat/archives_roll/2002_04-06/palmer_angels/palmer_angels.html
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Comment #10 posted by Hope on June 16, 2005 at 11:55:55 PT

Very sad news...
indeed.
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on June 16, 2005 at 11:39:18 PT

Speaking of Angels
From The Kubbys:Very sad news.American refugee Renee Boje has just been ordered to turn herself over to Canadian court officials for deportation back to the USA to stand trial. This action is the result of Renee's appeal being denied by the Canadian Justice Minister, Irving Colter.URL: http://americanmarijuana.org/boje

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Comment #8 posted by Hope on June 16, 2005 at 11:33:50 PT

Better Angels
I've never seen one of the "better angels of our nature" being
evident in Walters' words or actions. Oh...I get it now. His "Angels" statement is nothing more than a thinly veiled swipe at Angel Raich."There are certain requirements of civilization -- to keep the better angels of our nature in preponderance over the lesser angels."
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Comment #7 posted by jose melendez on June 16, 2005 at 11:28:08 PT

clumsy fingers lead to new acronym
CAZAR: Corrupt Ad Zealots Act Reprehensibly
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Comment #6 posted by jose melendez on June 16, 2005 at 11:23:02 PT

Mr. Cazar Opens Mouth, Inserts Foot, AGAIN!
First, it should be noted that editors generally choose titles, not the author.Second, Walters leaves himself open to several flaws in his post prohibition claims and haystack analogy.Certainly, per capita regular and daily use of opiate based medications increased during alcohol Prohibition, thanks to simple substitution in the market availability of medications and intoxicants, and this pattern continues today thanks to the availability of "approved" but dangerous and deadly products.Although cannabis has been scheduled as unlawful on the grounds that it is deemed harmful to youth, far more teens and preteens have used pot than ever before its currently (and I maintain unlawfully) scheduled status.

Moreover, the federal government admits that the largest increases in heroin use by eighth graders followed the crackdown on marijuana users.Therefore, if finding terrorists is like finding a needle in a haystack, then waging war on citizens over medications and intoxicants is analogous to burning that haystack, while ignoring the needle, under all of that word's meanings.I give Mr. Czar a C- for effort, and an F for his fraud and misleading claims. - - -The above is yet another deception debunked by C-News .Newspaper editors might not want to
publish the truth on this issue, but the whole world is watching!

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Comment #5 posted by Hope on June 16, 2005 at 11:19:15 PT

It is weird
Maybe Will is trying his hand at irony. If so, he's not good at it. This column just comes across as contradictory and confused. Or maybe it's some sort of attempt at fence straddling...trying to be on both sides at once. It's a tall barbed wire fence, Will. That can't be comfortable.
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Comment #4 posted by runderwo on June 16, 2005 at 11:15:56 PT

yup
"Fighting terrorists, he says, is necessary even though it is like seeking a needle in a haystack. Illicit drugs -- millions of pounds marketed to millions of Americans -- are at least not a needle-in-a-haystack problem."Yes. Because this has always been a war on DRUGS and not a war on drug USERS. Tell us another one, Mr. Walters.
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on June 16, 2005 at 10:42:47 PT

kaptinemo
I didn't understand this article. I think in a way that is simplier and this type or article doesn't make sense to me.
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Comment #2 posted by kaptinemo on June 16, 2005 at 10:18:17 PT:

Having a hard time here
Granted, that's a complaint common with Mr. Will's past efforts, but this is really odd. Is he saying, as the title implies, that he believes this is a 'war worth fighting'? I would think a 'dyed-in-the-wool-conservative' (he's really a mouthpiece for NeoCons) would immediately question the efficacy of using the government to combat drug usage. And would hold government officials like Walters suspect for having the temerity to make outrageous statements about how much progress has been made 'fighting drugs'. (The severing of the 'French Connection' he mentioned merely caused the heroin trade in South Central and Southeast Asia to explode; classic balloon squeeze maneuever.)Will's position amongst the punditocracy must be slipping if this is any indication of his latest thought. It looks like it was copied from an ONDCP handout.
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Comment #1 posted by mayan on June 16, 2005 at 08:56:40 PT

This War Is Lost
Fighting terrorists, he says, is necessary even though it is like seeking a needle in a haystack. Illicit drugs -- millions of pounds marketed to millions of Americans -- are at least not a needle-in-a-haystack problem.The illicit drugs are the "haystack" and the amount the government seizes is the "needle". This war is lost. Just drive down the streets of any major inner city. Illicit drugs are everywhere because they have been made worth their weight in gold. Johnny Pee doesn't want to have to look for a real job though!
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