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  Grass Roots 

Posted by CN Staff on December 27, 2005 at 08:25:58 PT
By Douglas Brown, Denver Post Staff Writer 
Source: Denver Post 

Colorado -- They car pool in Crestmoor, read bedtime stories in Washington Park, and when they're away from the kids, these Denver moms sometimes retrieve the hidden baggie, pack a pipe or roll a joint, and smoke a little weed. "It slows me down," says a Washington Park 40-something mother of a 10-year-old daughter. "It's a nice, relaxing, low-key thing." One Denver psychologist, the 46-year-old mother of a young child, smokes because it helps her find "that space that is so about me and not about being a parent."
"It helps you stop thinking," says a 37-year-old Crestmoor mother of two, a mildly conservative Republican who, like most of the women interviewed, smokes once or twice a week. "I either can't sleep at night because I'm restless, or I can't get in the mood with my husband because my mind is spinning." Her favorite pot-delivery method? Homemade brownies. It wasn't just the stereotypical pot smoker - the 22-year- old skateboarding slacker who measures his days in bong hits, or the hippie sucking back joints from the back of her 1968 VW Bus - who was among the 58,866 Denver residents the city's election commission says voted in November to pass the Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative. These marijuana-loving mamas helped make Denver the first city to legalize small amounts of pot for private adult use. Under state and federal law, however, possession of marijuana remains illegal, and that is why the women were unwilling to have their names printed. Pundits galore characterized the yes vote on the initiative as merely symbolic. But it didn't lack meaning to these moms. Marijuana, they say, should be legalized, and the vote is an important first step. Among other things, the vote "shows just how many pot smokers there are in this city," says a 37-year-old Park Hill publicist, the mother of two young children. The moms trumpet pot as a safe, healthy alternative to alcohol. Marijuana critics say they're fooling themselves. "They are sending those kids a message that it's OK to get high, and they intend to send that message," says Dr. Mary Holley, the director of Mothers Against Meth-Amphetamine, in Alabama. The physician works to organize mothers against all illegal drugs. "That's an extremely destructive message." Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.denverpost.com/lifestyles/ci_3345338Source: Denver Post (CO)Author:  Douglas Brown, Denver Post Staff WriterPublished: December 27, 2005 Copyright: 2005 The Denver Post Website: http://www.denverpost.com/Contact: openforum denverpost.comRelated Articles & Web Site:Safer Choicehttp://www.saferchoice.org/Speakout: Time Has Come To Legalize Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21300.shtmlDenver Is First City To Legalize Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21260.shtml 

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Comment #25 posted by The GCW on January 03, 2006 at 17:57:19 PT
Similar story in Cal. paper... 
US CO: Moms Use Pot To RelaxPubdate: Wed, 28 Dec 2005
Source: Long Beach Press-Telegram (CA)http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n006/a05.html?397DENVER -- They carpool, read bedtime stories, and when they're away from the kids, these Denver moms sometimes retrieve the hidden baggie, pack a pipe or roll a joint, and smoke a little weed. "It slows me down," says a 40-something mother of a 10-year-old daughter. "It's a nice, relaxing, low-key thing." One Denver psychologist, the 46-year-old mother of a young child, smokes because it helps her find "that space that is so about me and not about being a parent." CONT.
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Comment #24 posted by FoM on December 29, 2005 at 07:34:25 PT
Toker00
The God Party! That sure sounds like a heavy responsibility! LOL!
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Comment #23 posted by Toker00 on December 29, 2005 at 04:38:19 PT
God's Party
From what I see, we are a party of Independent Thinkers. Like we are suppose to be. Most of us don't claim membership in the two major political parties, and there is no clear third party we all agree on. The Independent Party is just too general. What, you're independent, and you don't need our votes? lol.Instead of the GOP, let's form the GOD. Galactic Organization and Development party. Or, Global Organization and Development party. The RNC, the DNC, and the GOD. lol. Who do you think would win?Just a very stoned thought for the morning! Peaceout!Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!  
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Comment #22 posted by FoM on December 28, 2005 at 19:09:56 PT
Whig
I don't mind you posting your thoughts here. I think from what I have seen over the years about the religious aspect of Cannabis has been more of a reverence for Cannabis but no accountability to God for our actions in life. I believe we reap what we sow so we should be mindful of our actions. Some people call that karma but I just call it being accountable. We can find a special place with God while using Cannabis but we can find a special place in other things like the beauty of nature, a new born baby, a setting sun and beautiful ocean etc. 
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Comment #21 posted by whig on December 28, 2005 at 19:01:01 PT
FoM
No offense taken, and I don't consider cannabis to be above God. I think it is one of God's greatest creations, and it is to me a way of connecting myself with God and with everyone else. You don't have to agree and I realize that not everyone seems to have this perception. It's all good. I would never force you or anyone to believe something, and I try to say when I express my own ideas that nobody should ever take my word (or anyone else's) regarding things that they haven't observed for themselves. Unthinking belief is part of why cannabis is illegal, after all, because people don't have any reason to oppose cannabis except that political and "religious" leaders tell them it's bad. People need to decide these things for themselves, and not interfere with other people who decide differently or don't want to decide. I hope you don't mind me posting my thoughts here.
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Comment #20 posted by FoM on December 28, 2005 at 16:40:53 PT
Whig
I don't want you to take my convictions as anything but my convictions. I believe God made Cannabis and all things that are on the earth. I don't believe in putting a creation above the Creator. That belief goes back to my very young years and that is why I can't follow the beliefs of Cannabis being a sacrament. I saw the Catholic Church put Mary above God and that wasn't right to me so Cannabis would be the same.
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Comment #19 posted by FoM on December 28, 2005 at 15:31:33 PT
Whig
I don't look at Cannabis as anything special in God's eyes. It is just a small part of every thing God made. I believe that I should never put anything above God. I have always believed that way about any subject. I don't believe Cannabis is a sacrament. I have strong convictions about this particular belief.
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Comment #18 posted by whig on December 28, 2005 at 15:07:00 PT
FoM
"Why is Cannabis so bad in their eyes other then it will take money away from the alcohol and prescription medicine companies."Because of what cannabis is, and what it means to the established earthly authorities. I know you don't have much to say about the spiritual side of cannabis, and I do not know how you experience it. I can only say how it is experienced by me, and that the accounts of others are similar to my own.
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on December 28, 2005 at 09:39:03 PT
How I Judge an Intoxicating Substance
I was addicted to pain medicine. The withdrawal was pain that I never want to experience again. I also drank and the withdrawal from those two substances could have killed me and almost did. I could smoke a little cannabis and not smoke anymore ever again and I wouldn't get sick. They need to look at a substance that can control people versus a substance that a person can quit with no serious side effects. Why is Cannabis so bad in their eyes other then it will take money away from the alcohol and prescription medicine companies.
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Comment #16 posted by b4daylight on December 28, 2005 at 09:29:13 PT
FOM
"They are sending those kids a message that it's OK to get high, and they intend to send that message," says Dr. Mary Holley, the director of Mothers Against Meth-Amphetamine, in Alabama. The physician works to organize mothers against all illegal drugs. "That's an extremely destructive message." Through their habits, the moms tell their kids that "if he has a problem, he can just go out and get high."Just curious anyone see the The Great American Keg sale Beer ad on this sotry about a third of the way down?This what we are talking about FOM....Here we having the drug lords saying no go suck on some beer instead. That is much better cause it is legal. Complete bs since I think beer sucks. Smoking pot can cause lung cancer, he says, and lead to addiction. (About 8 percent of people who try it become addicted.) Some studies show it can precipitate mental illness, although the incidence is rare. And it does affect judgment and motor skills, he says.Second point we should treat drugs for the short term danger. These are all long term dangers and if some one where to quit down the road they would be saved. Comment #1 posted by FoM on December 27, 2005 at 08:32:25 PT
I agree. I think we would be amazed at who smokes. if they could come out and say it. Comment #8 posted by FoM on December 27, 2005 at 13:13:48 PT
I agree again how can you have Herion and Pot in the same catogery yet not include alcohol? We are confusing our kids that some drugs are legal and safe while others until they try them are dangerous or not. 
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Comment #15 posted by mayan on December 28, 2005 at 02:28:03 PT
Debate? 
Pro-pot group seeks state vote: SAFER will pursue ballot initiative for November:
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_3348830From the above linked article..."If you want to have a debate for legalization of marijuana, then let's have a full-out debate, which I think this initiative will engender," Suthers said.So, the Colorado Attorney General wants a full-out debate? Who want's to wager that if he is challenged to a debate by Mason Tvert he will decline and hide under a rock? These cowards have been ducking us for decades. 
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Comment #14 posted by billos on December 28, 2005 at 02:27:55 PT
              FoM comment #8
I believe it may be similar to the "psychiatrist theory"
You know, the guys in charge of fixing your head are the most disturbed of all...??
You can bet your bottom dollar these guys party like hell.
Look at Ted Kennedy....and the congressman out west who was busted for running a stop sign and killing a motorist a year or so ago. They think he was drunk but couldn't prove it because he evaded...just to mention a few incidents that aren't even the proverbial "tip of the iceberg".
I'll bet johnny pee enjoys a martini.
Rep.Sessenbrenner of Wisconsin, who advocated "squealing" on your buddies for smoking pot or go to jail, sure looks like he enjoys a few. Hell, he can't even walk straight after yelling at everyone on the House floor.
Just watch C-span some Monday morning and you can almost
pick out the comb-overs that have a "red nose" from the 
previous day's martinis.
Martinis in Washington D.C. are a fashion for goodness sake. Designer martinis for all while we sit and discuss the perpetuity of the WoD! ! ! !PS..not to mention the senior managers/owners of businesses that drug test, yet weekends for these guys are a free for all for them.
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on December 27, 2005 at 17:57:09 PT
Pot Legalization Supporters Set Sights on State 
 Contributed By SAFERSAFER to announce filing of 2006 initiative to make marijuana legal for adults under state law. 
 
On Wednesday, Dec. 28, at 11:45 a.m., SAFER will hold a press conference in front of the Colorado State Capitol Building to announce its filing of a 2006 statewide ballot initiative that would make marijuana legal for adults under state law. SAFER successfully campaigned for Initiative 100 this past November, which removed all civil and criminal penalties for private adult marijuana possession under Denver ordinances, but Denver and state police have continued to cite individuals in Denver under state law. WHAT: Press conference to announce filing of SAFER's 2006 statewide ballot initiative WHO: Mason Tvert, SAFER Campaign Director WHERE: Colorado State Capitol Building (on the west side, facing the Denver City-County Building) WHEN: Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2005, 11:45 a.m. Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER) is a Colorado-based non-profit organization whose mission is to educate the public about the harmful consequences associated with alcohol, as compared to the safer--yet illegal--substance: marijuana. YourHub.com is produced by the Rocky Mountain News and distributed by the Denver Newspaper Agency.RockyMountainNews.com // DenverPost.comPowered by Indigio http://denver.yourhub.com/Story.aspx?contentid=39642
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Comment #12 posted by FoM on December 27, 2005 at 17:02:56 PT
Sam
I really didn't absorb the article because I saw the negative comment ( snowboarders and hippies ) and I didn't get past that. It's almost like how we feel when we meet someone new. Once a person goes off in an area that is offensive we step back and don't pay much attention after that. That is the way I was raised and my family looks at it the same way so I know others think like me too sometimes. 
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Comment #11 posted by Sam Adams on December 27, 2005 at 16:35:08 PT
Haters
FOM - I didn't expect too much from this article, we know how bigoted the Post is from their earlier articles on the initiative. However, here they keep comparing cannabis to alcohol, and in doing so, shooting themselves in the foot. If that comparison is made, we win. Without the initiative, there'd be no article at all, so I declare this to be a victory.Too bad they didn't mention that, at 8 percent "addiction" cannabis ranks lower than alcohol, cocaine, heroin, nicotine, and I think caffeine.
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Comment #10 posted by global_warming on December 27, 2005 at 14:43:50 PT
may i say goodnight
good-night
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Comment #9 posted by global_warming on December 27, 2005 at 13:39:02 PT
Do Bears Shit In The Woods?
Martinis and prescription plans, you can bet that drug warriors suffer the same afflictions of 'Life.Some people measure 'Life by the size of a pay check, others measure 'Life by what they have accomplished, towards some goals. Much like those pieces of silver that betrayed a human being to a wooden cross.
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on December 27, 2005 at 13:13:48 PT
I Wonder
Do any drug warriors ever have a Martini or even a Beer? I really would like to know how many don't take any legal prescription mind altering drugs or drink any alcohol. One thing I strongly believe is do as I say not as I do doesn't work in this current time. Young people see right thru it. Drug Warriors need to be honest with themselves and realize what they believe and teach effects many people and the laws. They need to stop hating and figure out why they are so angry.
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Comment #7 posted by global_warming on December 27, 2005 at 12:58:33 PT
Bet She Would
"They are sending those kids a message that it's OK to get high, and they intend to send that message," says Dr. Mary Holley, the director of Mothers Against Meth-Amphetamine, in Alabama. The physician works to organize mothers against all illegal drugs. "Bet she would Love to get her hands on that Mother and Child, so that she and her minions could give them a dose of Hell On Earth.Let us pray for the empty soul of Dr. Mary Holly, for she has eaten too much baloney and all those legal' substances have clouded her 'judgement.
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on December 27, 2005 at 12:37:22 PT
 Toker00 
I think Female Rebels are sexy as hell! Oops. I mean in general.That made me laugh! Thanks! I don't know if my husband would agree that when I get mad that I'm sexy. He would shut up and run and hide when I get really really angry. I usually find him hiding in the closet! LOL!
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Comment #5 posted by Toker00 on December 27, 2005 at 12:20:23 PT

You are so right, FoM. The Anti's Love to Hate.
And that Dark Cloud of a closing paragraph. It's illegal because of the sterile, brainwashed minds of the medical (pharmaceutical) industries' mouth pieces like Dr. Mary Holley, whose "Better Idea" is Frankenmeds. The meds that kill and maim thousands yearly while Whole/Cannabis has treated and cured people for thousands of years with no deaths, and no harm. Cannabis contains Creations Natural Compounds of Compassion, Sympathy, Comfort, Healing and Life, for Spirit, Mind and Body. Thank you Creator for your Wonderful Gift!Hiya, Hope! Missed your posts lately. Here's to a New Year of Hope and Understanding. I'm hoping for an extremely active year for protests. Let's end the madness here and abroad as well. Shift the Power to the People.FoM, I like this article, because it hopefully reassures you that women ARE playing a powerful roll in reform. I'd love to see more Female opinion oriented articles, though. You guys rock when you get mad! I think Female Rebels are sexy as hell! Oops. I mean in general. : ) Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!  
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on December 27, 2005 at 10:05:19 PT

Max Flowers 
Our society uses names to make individuals or groups seem less then an equal. I really resent this anymore. If someone doesn't like me or what I have tried to do with my life that's ok but don't talk down to me. Some people feel superior to others and they aren't at all. It's just wrong.
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Comment #3 posted by Max Flowers on December 27, 2005 at 09:45:18 PT

So-called reporters
I agree FoM, and when you read that part again you realize that this "writer" is actually perpetuating the very stereotypes that he is supposedly "reporting" about!Also, I don't think he realizes that he sounds hostile/derisive to some people (and I doubt he would care either).
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on December 27, 2005 at 08:37:58 PT

One More Comment
A Skateboarder won a gold medal and Hippies from the 60s have created great music and art for everyone to enjoy. Why do they think they are better then anyone else? 
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on December 27, 2005 at 08:32:25 PT

This is Getting Me Very Angry
Why do some of these writers write hostile words about people who are part of the culture no matter what age they are? Who do they think they are? Stop talking down about different types and ages of people. ***Excerpt: It wasn't just the stereotypical pot smoker - the 22-year- old skateboarding slacker who measures his days in bong hits, or the hippie sucking back joints from the back of her 1968 VW Bus - who was among the 58,866 Denver residents the city's election commission says voted in November to pass the Alcohol-Marijuana Equalization Initiative. 
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