cannabisnews.com: California Cops Go To Pot





California Cops Go To Pot
Posted by CN Staff on October 03, 2005 at 08:17:29 PT
By Marsha Rosenbaum and Craig Reinarman, AlterNet
Source: AlterNet
California -- After decades of trying to make it go away, last month two California law enforcement agencies acknowledged that marijuana is a fact of life.First, the California Highway Patrol announced that they would no longer confiscate marijuana from patients whose physicians have recommended it as medicine. The CHP reversed its policy after Attorney General Bill Lockyer defended California's Proposition 215, the medical marijuana initiative, which voters passed by a large margin in 1996.
Last spring, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Raich v. Ashcroft that federal marijuana laws trump state laws like Prop 215, leaving California's thousands of medical marijuana patients at risk of federal prosecution. But Lockyer ruled that while the feds might arrest people on the basis of federal law, California voters had spoken and the Supreme Court decision did not invalidate 215. Citing his decision, the CHP took the courageous step of announcing that absent other offenses they will leave medical marijuana patients alone.The next day, the Los Angeles Police Department announced that it will no longer automatically screen out job applicants who have used marijuana. The LAPD has a long history of enthusiasm for the war on drugs (former Chief Daryl Gates once said that all drug users "should be taken out and shot"), and it relies on federal drug war funds. So this small step showed a certain amount of courage, too.Obviously, the LAPD is not looking to hire current drug users. Its new policy simply acknowledges the fact that nearly 100 million Americans have used marijuana, 25 million of them in the past year, according to the latest federal government survey. The department deserves credit for recognizing that it is simply unrealistic to rule out a huge swath of the population solely for having once engaged in a common form of drug use that is considered normal in many conventional segments of society.Of course, ardent prohibitionists and pundits will claim that these actions by the Attorney General, the CHP and the LAPD "send the wrong message" and that "flakey" California is going to pot. Is there any reason to worry that these steps will somehow signal moral laxity and encourage marijuana use?The evidence is reassuring. In the 1970s, the Netherlands effectively decriminalized marijuana use. Thirty years later, the Dutch have tightly regulated, tax-paying shops that sell small amounts of marijuana to adults, while last year the U.S. arrested over 600,000 Americans for mere possession of it. Yet national surveys show that the prevalence of marijuana use in the Netherlands has remained about half that in the U.S.In fact, there has never been a clear relationship between policy and use levels. In the 1970s, 11 U.S. states sharply reduced penalties for marijuana possession. Some people predicted the collapse of civilization, but follow-up studies showed that none of these states experienced any more drug use or drug problems than neighboring states that retained harsh penalties.In 2004, England reclassified cannabis use as a minor offense. Last week the U.K. Department of Health reported that its annual survey of over 9,000 youth found cannabis use had declined since the reclassification.The same is true in the U.S. The most recent National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that illicit drug use among youth (most of it marijuana), was down in 2004. Indeed, marijuana use declined in each of the 10 states that have passed medical marijuana laws -- including California, where use among youth was down more than in other states without such laws.It is increasingly clear that neither reducing criminal penalties for marijuana use nor allowing medical marijuana lead to increased use. In short, the "wrong message" approach sends the wrong message. No one wants more young people smoking anything. But a moral crusade against marijuana that denies sick and dying people a medicine they and their doctors have found therapeutic is not only bad medicine but bad morals. California voters said this in 1996, and California law enforcement officials are wisely saying this now.Some will criticize California for its leadership on drug policy reform. But Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis long ago recognized that the individual states were vital "laboratories of democracy" where needed experiments in public policy could be conducted. With all the criticism directed at government these days, it seems only fair to notice when public officials take measured steps toward positive change.Craig Reinarman is professor of sociology and legal studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Marsha Rosenbaum is director of the San Francisco Office of the Drug Policy Alliance. Source: AlterNet (US)Author: Marsha Rosenbaum and Craig Reinarman, AlterNetPublished: October 3, 2005Copyright: 2005 Independent Media InstituteContact: letters alternet.org Website: http://www.alternet.org/DL: http://www.alternet.org/story/26244/Related Articles & Web Site:Drug Policy Alliancehttp://www.drugpolicy.org/Teen Use in Medical Marijuana States is Downhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21102.shtmlCalifornia Patrol Won't Seize Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21075.shtmlCHP Revises Policy on Pot Seizureshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21069.shtml
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Comment #32 posted by FoM on October 05, 2005 at 21:41:07 PT
runderwo
It says it's kbps. I don't know what that means though. Thanks. I don't know how they are going to wrap up Weeds in a half an hour next week. I'm sure it will be very interesting.
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Comment #31 posted by runderwo on October 05, 2005 at 21:20:07 PT
FoM
74 up is pretty bad if that is KBits/s (not KBytes/s). That could be why your BT speeds are slow.I watched Weeds #9 today. It got far more political than the other ones. Unfortunately, I think that came at the expense of the script. The parts regarding the 10-year-old wanting behavior medication and the part regarding Celia's nausea made some good points in the overall political debate, but they did not flow well in the script in my opinion.Also, the campus cop had way more bluster than campus cops do in my experience. Usually they only start pigging out on you if you are threatening them in some way. Even if they are stealing your weed they usually do it in a more reserved fashion.
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Comment #30 posted by Sukoi on October 05, 2005 at 03:26:39 PT
Dankhank and runderwo
Thanks for the info, I've used file sharing before but not this particular one. I'll give it a try. Thanks again!
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Comment #29 posted by FoM on October 04, 2005 at 21:49:24 PT
runderwo
I read your comment and my satellite system is a two way. I just did a speed test from Direcway and got these results.828 down74 up
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Comment #28 posted by runderwo on October 04, 2005 at 21:41:14 PT
FoM
Is your satellite a one-way or a two-way type? If you have a one-way, it has a crappy upload speed which will mean your downloads will get de-prioritized. That is just the nature of Bittorrent in order to keep things fair. The people who are uploading the most "other" parts of the file get first dibs on the bandwidth for downloading what parts of the file they need. If that makes any sense.
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Comment #27 posted by FoM on October 04, 2005 at 21:12:45 PT
Thanks Again Dankhank
I downloaded about 11 performances from Live 8 and I noticed as time went on my download time got slower and slower so I would stop and wait until the next day and it would do fine but the longer I was downloading the slower it got for me. I think it has something to do with the satellite.
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Comment #26 posted by Dankhank on October 04, 2005 at 21:06:28 PT
More ...
Beat this topic to the ground ...torrents work well.It took me 'bout 3 and half days to get (5Gig) Cowboy Bebop episodes 1-26. (The ONLY Anime that I like.)bout the same for all the Firefly episodes ... 5Gig.You can get bout anything you want, I guess, though I need to look again for the new Reefer Madness movie. Haven't looked for a while, but didn't find it earlier.
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Comment #25 posted by Dankhank on October 04, 2005 at 20:56:47 PT
Bandwidth
there are "trackers" out there that manage the torrents.When you hook up to download something, you will hook to as many as 100 or more separate computers, some have the complete file and mainly send data out, some have part of the file and get more from other nodes, as well as sending out bits to others who have less data than they have.If you are a "seed," (whole file holder), and mostly uploading, you may download something else to fill the download bandwith. The "trackers" encourage using the available bandwith as efficiently as possible, and encourage all to try the same.Everyone pays for their own bandwith.
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Comment #24 posted by FoM on October 04, 2005 at 20:49:20 PT
Dankhank
Thank you. I think I will try it one day soon. I have Norton that I could use the way you said. I do that with music and videos and I haven't ever gotten a virus now that you mention it. Somethings are simple and yet I don't see them easily. Thanks again.
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Comment #23 posted by Dankhank on October 04, 2005 at 20:43:07 PT
download safety FAQ
Very simple for me ...viruses and other snooper programs mostly come down in some kind of exe file or zip or any other file that is designed to "do" something, such as install a program.I don't think I've ever got a virus from a .mp3, or .mpg or .avi or any A/V file.Any file that is suspicious for any reason I check with trend micro housecall, online.http://housecall.trendmicro.com/Just down load everything to one folder, first, and have houscall just check that folder whenever you like. You can do it anytime.
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Comment #22 posted by Dankhank on October 04, 2005 at 18:15:52 PT
torrents
I think I was turned on to torrents in here, probably from you, runderwo.In any case, thanks for the information ...peace ...
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Comment #21 posted by FoM on October 04, 2005 at 18:12:12 PT
A Question
I never tried bit torrent because I think I just don't understand it. I would love to have a DVD of some of Neil Young's performances but I don't understand file sharing and I also wonder if viruses can be transmitted that way. I haven't had any trouble with my computer and I have made copies of videos from links and they play on my tv. I just made a copy of PW for my CD player for when I'm working outside so I don't wreck the original. How is the bandwidth paid for? 
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Comment #20 posted by runderwo on October 04, 2005 at 17:50:55 PT
weeds
Yeah, I used bittorrent to download them. Very easy to do.
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Comment #19 posted by Dankhank on October 04, 2005 at 16:56:02 PT
download ...
There's a newish style of downloading activity in the ozone. Maybe you have heard of it ...Bittorrent ...start here ... http://www.mininova.org/ ... at top of page enter Weeds and click search ... you will get a results page and the second last sentence on that page should be a link for the torrent downloader ... BITLORD1.1.before you download a torrent you must have a torrent downloader.it's all fairly easy ...
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Comment #18 posted by Sukoi on October 04, 2005 at 15:29:38 PT
runderwo
Where did you find "Weeds" available for download?
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on October 04, 2005 at 11:59:32 PT
runderwo
It has been a good show. I hope it is brought back for another season.
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Comment #16 posted by runderwo on October 04, 2005 at 11:42:20 PT
weeds
I downloaded and watched the 1st 8 episodes of Weeds last week. LOL! I think episode 3 and 6 are my favorites. The last one was pretty good too. I think they did a great job with the show and I love the characters. I was kind of skeptical at first about the concept (thought maybe they would try too hard to be self-consciously 'edgy') but I think they are doing a great job with it.
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on October 03, 2005 at 21:57:35 PT
BGreen
I'll probably buy it when it is released on DVD too. 
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Comment #14 posted by BGreen on October 03, 2005 at 21:16:12 PT
I can't wait for the DVD to come out
I don't need a movie channel but I sure want to see this series.I'm sure they'll release it before Christmas.The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on October 03, 2005 at 20:41:03 PT
MikeC
I agree that they aren't raving lunatics but they sure are out there! LOL!
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Comment #12 posted by MikeC on October 03, 2005 at 20:30:43 PT
FoM
I'll say this...just doing this show and showing that marijuana doesn't turn you into a raving lunatic can only help the cause. Bravo to all those involved in putting this wonderful show together!
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on October 03, 2005 at 20:16:40 PT
MikeC
I hope so too. I think the ratings have been good. It's really hard to believe that they were allowed to even do Weeds. 
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Comment #10 posted by MikeC on October 03, 2005 at 20:14:04 PT
FoM
I agree...thirty minutes of show is not enough to wrap up this season. I just hope it gets renewed...it really is a great show.
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on October 03, 2005 at 20:04:14 PT
MikeC
I don't know how they will be able to wrap this up with only one more episode. It's been a great series.
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Comment #8 posted by MikeC on October 03, 2005 at 19:53:37 PT
FoM
I agree with Nancy...I like Celia...mostly. I didn't care for the way she treated her daughter regarding her weight early on...but I do like the way Celia has evolved as the series has gone on.
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on October 03, 2005 at 19:42:20 PT
Celia
I really like Celia. She really shines on this show.
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Comment #6 posted by MikeC on October 03, 2005 at 19:40:42 PT
Weeds
Yes...I think Celia will try marijuana next week with positive results. I also hope the kids give Nancy a break. She sure has her hands full.I love that show! 
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on October 03, 2005 at 19:39:56 PT
Dankhank
It was really good again. At $300 a pill I bet you're right! Little boxes on the hillsideLittle boxes made of ticky tacky! 
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Comment #4 posted by Dankhank on October 03, 2005 at 19:31:05 PT
Weeds ...
Amazing, once again ...Shame it's only 30 minutes long, though.Nancy is learning fast about the biz.I bet Celia will try some Medical Cannabis next week ...What dya think?
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Comment #3 posted by Dankhank on October 03, 2005 at 15:37:56 PT
the end
Congrats to Howard ...The 1999 MMM was there and I know how powerful the sight of the Statue of Liberty is to those who fight for freedom.Peace to all who educate ...
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Comment #2 posted by ekim on October 03, 2005 at 13:16:29 PT
Oct 5 05 End of Ride Press Conference NYC
Oct 5 05 End of Ride Press Conference 03:00 PM Howard Wooldridge New York New York USA 
 Board Member Howard Wooldridge brings his cross country horse back journey to an end today when he attends an "End of Ride Press Conference" at Castle Clinton National Monument, with the Statue of Liberty in the background. Howard and his faithful horse Misty (with help from friend horse Sam) have riden over 3,300 miles across America to bring attention to the failure of America's war on drugs. Howard has spoken to thousands of concerned and supportive citizens on this trip and has appeared on numerous TV and radio programs, as well as appearing in many newspapers. Howard and Misty will be joined by Executive Director Jack Cole, Audrey Silk, the Libertarian candidate for Mayor of New York City and supportive citizens to celebrate Howard's successful journey. 
http://www.leap.cc/howard
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Comment #1 posted by runruff on October 03, 2005 at 09:35:16 PT:
The formula for fascism.
I call it the 4-Ps. It is Prohibition=Pay,Perks,Power.
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