cannabisnews.com: Reefer is Worth Getting Mad About










  Reefer is Worth Getting Mad About

Posted by CN Staff on August 05, 2006 at 19:24:22 PT
By Antonio Maria Costa 
Source: Globe and Mail 

Vienna -- Supporters of the legalization of cannabis would have us believe that it is a gentle, harmless substance that gives you little more than a sense of mellow euphoria.Sellers of the world's most popular illicit drug know better. Trawl through websites offering cannabis seeds for sale and you will find brand names such as Armageddon, AK-47 and White Widow. "This will put you in pieces, then reduce you to rubble -- maybe quicksand if you go too far," one seller boasts. This is much closer to the truth.
In Canada, as in most parts of the world, cannabis is by far the drug of choice. An estimated 4 per cent of the world's adult population -- that's about 162 million people -- consume cannabis at least once a year, more than all other illicit drugs combined.Does that matter? I firmly believe it does, because the cannabis now in circulation (like Canada's BC Bud) is many times more powerful than the weed that today's aging baby boomers smoked in college. The characteristics of cannabis are no longer that different from those of other plant-based drugs, such as cocaine and heroin.Evidence of the damage to mental health caused by cannabis use -- from loss of concentration to paranoia, aggressiveness and outright psychosis -- is mounting and cannot be ignored. Emergency room admissions involving cannabis are rising, as is demand for rehabilitation treatment. These health problems are increasingly being seen in young people.North America is the world's largest cannabis market and most of its cannabis is homegrown. The U.S. market alone has been valued at more than $10-billion. As Canadians are starting to discover, a market that size inevitably attracts organized crime. So cannabis is a security threat as well as a health risk.Amid all the libertarian talk about the right of the individual to engage in dangerous practices, provided no one else gets hurt, certain key facts are easily forgotten.Firstly, cannabis is a dangerous drug, not just to the individuals who use it. People who drive under the influence of cannabis put others at risk. Would even the most ardent supporter of legalization want to fly in an aircraft whose pilot used cannabis?Secondly, drug control works. More than a century of universally accepted restrictions on heroin and cocaine have prevented what would otherwise have been a pandemic. Global levels of drug addiction -- think of the opium dens of the 19th century -- have dropped dramatically in the past 100 years. In the past 10 years or so, they have remained stable.Cannabis is the weakest link in the international effort to contain the global drugs problem. In theory, it's a controlled substance. In practice, it's running rampant. It grows under the most varied conditions in many countries, a high-yielding plant that can be grown indoors. This makes supply control difficult.But we can tackle demand, particularly among the young. That need not mean sending them to jail. Young people caught in possession of cannabis could be treated in much the same way as those arrested for drunk driving: fined, required to attend classes on the dangers of drug use and threatened with loss of their driving licence for repeat offences. Prison would be a last resort. Schools and universities should apply zero tolerance.National policies on cannabis vary and sometimes change from one year to the next. The experience of countries that were more tolerant of cannabis use is ambiguous and not persuasive. The distinction between "soft" and "hard" drugs is, at best, artificial, especially with such a damaging psycho-active substance as modern-day cannabis. Even some advocates of cannabis as a "soft" drug are now reconsidering as they observe the devastating health consequences of abuse.Canada was a pioneer in introducing systematic anti-smoking policies, which are now being copied around the world. Their success demonstrates that preventive measures can help to change attitudes. Similar policies are needed to prevent cannabis use getting completely out of control.Let's draw the right conclusions. Cannabis is dangerous. We ignore it at our peril.Note: Today's marijuana isn't the stuff baby boomers toked, says the UN's Antonio Maria Costa. Pot's characteristics now aren't that different from other plant-based drugs -- like cocaine and heroin.Antonio Maria Costa is executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)Author: Antonio Maria CostaPublished: August 5, 2006Copyright: 2006 The Globe and Mail CompanyContact: letters globeandmail.caWebsite: http://www.globeandmail.ca/CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml

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Comment #182 posted by FoM on August 11, 2006 at 18:41:10 PT
Divorce and Republicans
When a person finally gets to a point that they know they want a divorce promises of change come pouring out of the offending person. Most people feel sorry and give them one more chance and in no time they are back being the way they are and it becomes too late to fix. That's how I see Republicans. They are afraid right now and will say they'll change. They say we'll be good. No they won't change. 
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Comment #181 posted by Hope on August 11, 2006 at 18:19:21 PT
Comment 179 Good News, Indeed!
A "personality transplant"? Bit late for that, probably. I certainly hope so.How can he imagine that he's represented the people of Alaska?
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Comment #180 posted by FoM on August 11, 2006 at 11:52:17 PT
whig
Thank you for such excellent news.
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Comment #179 posted by whig on August 11, 2006 at 11:33:15 PT
OT: Murkowski losing
http://tinyurl.com/ng5xn
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Comment #178 posted by FoM on August 11, 2006 at 11:04:45 PT
whig 
Once again I agree with you. 
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Comment #177 posted by whig on August 11, 2006 at 11:02:39 PT
FoM
People gay bash if they think they have some attraction to the same sex and they hate themselves for it. People always hate their own perceived weaknesses. People hate hippies and people like ourselves because they see us as disobedient, and they want to be disobedient too but they hate that tendency in themselves. They have been taught to hate since they were born, they have been taught to obey and to walk the straight and narrow path, and those who do not do so are clearly people giving in to evil temptation. They are following hate and think that hate is God, and God is hate.
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Comment #176 posted by FoM on August 11, 2006 at 06:28:11 PT
Islamic Fascist
They just showed Bush calling people Islamic Fascists on CNN and it has offended the Muslim community. How can Bush use the word Fascist? That's what they have made our country.U.S. Muslim Group Irked by `Fascist' Termhttp://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0608110164aug11,1,4477084.story
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Comment #175 posted by Hope on August 11, 2006 at 06:19:46 PT
Remembering something else...
There was a lot of talk about "Propaganda" in the "shows". I remember thinking at the time, when I grasped what "Propaganda" meant, that what I was watching was "Propaganda". 
I did learn to watch out for "Government Propaganda" because of those films and literature. Ooooh...we "The People" have become as dangerous as some elite predicted to other elite.We have the Bible. We have the right to arms. We are educated. We think.How much more dangerous can the little people be than that?:0)
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Comment #174 posted by FoM on August 11, 2006 at 06:03:22 PT
One More Comment
I want to mention how much I appreciate all of you and this thread. I had totally forgotten anything about communism being taught in school. Talking about it has brought some memories back to me. I don't remember fear of communism but being taught awareness of communism so it wouldn't slip in and take over our democracy. Just like in animal farm it has happened to us now in the USA. It doesn't have the name Communism but it is what the neo-cons are. It seems the ones that fear the pinko commie hippie types are the ones that have become what they thought we were. It's like people who gay bash. When I see people bash gays I wonder why.
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Comment #173 posted by Hope on August 11, 2006 at 04:54:40 PT
"The Red Threat"
Everything they warned us about turned around and got us all. Ony it wasn't Red. (Remember "Better Dead than Red"?)We have everything they warned us against only it's all dressed up in Red, White, and Blue and it came rolling in under guise of the War on Drugs. We got, in the War on Drugs, exactly what The Red Threat was supposed to be.Exactly! That Red Threat...it was more cunning than we thought.
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Comment #172 posted by FoM on August 10, 2006 at 22:12:03 PT
Nite Ekim
I have two sisters and one has 7 children and the other has 8. The rhythm method didn't work very well. LOL! They all went to Catholic school. They were able to stay home with them which was nice. I know some moms couldn't but what we see now is it is almost expected that a woman works in a career. 
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Comment #171 posted by ekim on August 10, 2006 at 22:03:34 PT
ya there were a lot of us kid to send too
my mom was a teacher and she filled in for the sick nuns all over town. my dad did not want her to work so she took the money out as payment for all six of us kids.nite
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Comment #170 posted by FoM on August 10, 2006 at 21:47:36 PT
A Correction
Dare didn't exist at that time but when it started I recalled what you said. There I feel better.
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Comment #169 posted by FoM on August 10, 2006 at 21:40:30 PT
Ekim
Now that you said that I can vaguely remember being told something like that too. I also thought of Dare. I guess I forgot. Something else I recall now is that mothers and fathers would have to work and the children would be taught in schools for them. I thought why would a mother leave her children and go to work when raising a child was the most important job she could possibly have.
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Comment #168 posted by FoM on August 10, 2006 at 21:35:33 PT
ekim
You went to Catholic school too? I don't remember talking about Communism but we had to read Animal Farm.
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Comment #167 posted by ekim on August 10, 2006 at 21:30:55 PT
cant we just live together
I can recall the nuns telling us how communism would have the kids telling on there parents. I still remember that cause we were little kids when i heard it. and we have dare --for all to see-- how many kids were told the same. ratting is not a national trait
http://www.drugwarrant.com
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Comment #166 posted by FoM on August 10, 2006 at 21:24:56 PT
Hope
Even when Kennedy got elected there was no push for him to become president by Catholics. It made Catholics feel proud when a Catholic was elected and that was a nice feeling but politics weren't talked about. Basically what will be will be was how we believed. They wanted us to have a strong moral value. To love God and humanity. To find our way in life and do the best we can with the talent God gave us. That was the purpose of school.
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Comment #165 posted by Hope on August 10, 2006 at 21:18:05 PT
Ah! That's the reason, right there!
"....money from the Government..." Mine were public schools.The only thing I can remember of them is something about somebody hiding behind a tree in a park and popping out to do the heinous deed of giving me some Communist literature. That maybe wasn't in it at all...but that's all I seem to sort of recall...and of course, it never happened to me or anyone I knew so we pretty well ignored it all.
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Comment #164 posted by FoM on August 10, 2006 at 21:10:50 PT
Hope
We were a private school and the nuns and priests were proud to tell us that because they refused to take any money from the Government they couldn't tell them how to teach us. I am glad we didn't have any government in our school.
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Comment #163 posted by Hope on August 10, 2006 at 21:08:03 PT
That would mean it stopped
around the time Kennedy was elected...I guess.
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Comment #162 posted by Hope on August 10, 2006 at 21:06:21 PT
Seems like it started in about the fifth
or sixth grade and went on through Junior High... or maybe just seventh grade and then it stopped. I don't remember such "assemblies" happening in high school.
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Comment #161 posted by Hope on August 10, 2006 at 21:02:51 PT
Guess the powers that were
didn't worry that the Catholic School children would be vulnerable to the hideous Red Threat.Sometimes there was literature, too. Wish I'd kept some of that stuff.
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Comment #160 posted by FoM on August 10, 2006 at 19:52:32 PT
Hope
This is what we were taught in school. This was my high school.http://www.cchsbc.pvt.k12.pa.us/mission_and_vision_statement.htm
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Comment #159 posted by FoM on August 10, 2006 at 19:11:47 PT
Hope
We never talked about it in school. I went to Catholic school and they had missionary nuns in about every country. We never were taught that our country was better then any other country. Russia was mentioned but not often at home. I was told we were fighting communism by being in Vietnam. I didn't understand that either because they didn't seem like violent people just people trying to not be killed in their land by us.
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Comment #158 posted by Hope on August 10, 2006 at 18:59:05 PT
That's odd
"I never heard anything in school about communism that I can remember." We had to go to the auditorium once or twice a year and hear about "The Red Threat".
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Comment #157 posted by FoM on August 10, 2006 at 17:34:03 PT
whig
That's good stuff you're saying.
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Comment #156 posted by whig on August 10, 2006 at 17:29:53 PT
FoM
The thing is I thought I was pretty smart. I knew everything about everything and that's precisely why I was so dumb because I didn't really know anything but what I'd been told. You just can't understand some things unless you've got some experience.I think that's why most people are conservative, by the way. Lack of experience. People are afraid of the unknown and think they already know everything they need to know about it, and then speak with authority on it based on what they've been told. Drugs are bad, cannabis is a drug, therefore cannabis is bad. Follow the logical syllogism. Let your words think for you and you are quickly lost in the maze of logic. But the assumptions are unfounded, the words not representative of the truth, and the real understanding does not come without the experience.
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Comment #155 posted by FoM on August 10, 2006 at 16:39:51 PT
whig 
Conservative, stupid kid. That's hard for me to believe but I believe you. You see now with your eyes wide opened. 
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Comment #154 posted by whig on August 10, 2006 at 16:26:33 PT
The '80s...
Those were my teenaged years, as well. I was a straight-arrow, conservative, stupid kid. I never smoked pot then. Not once. It passed me by, I would have believed it was as bad as they claim, or that I wanted to preserve my ability to say I had never used it if I wanted to run for office. I was very self-involved and self-conscious but so was everyone I knew.
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Comment #153 posted by FoM on August 10, 2006 at 16:24:42 PT
rchandar 
I understand. The 60s were the best and worst of times not at all unlike now. So even though you were born a little later you still will experience what is going to happen one more time. Getting back to the garden is necessary for our very survival I believe. This is really becoming a long strange trip but one that is also fascinating as we put things back together again. We are the world.
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Comment #152 posted by rchandar on August 10, 2006 at 16:16:44 PT:
FoM
no, quite often, especially in the 80s, "WHY?" was an important question. As in, "why wasn't I born into your generation instead of mine?"
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Comment #151 posted by FoM on August 10, 2006 at 15:36:03 PT

rchandar
I can imagine that it was way different for you growing up. I was part of the generation that questioned so many things. I was born and my first word out of my mouth was probably WHY! Not really but I have always asked why.
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Comment #150 posted by Dankhank on August 10, 2006 at 15:20:01 PT

Ideas
Afterburner said:"We need to have sit-ins, smoke-ins, love-ins, peace-ins, walk-outs, shut-downs, state stopping gatherings..."Add to that "flash" gatherings by instant messaging, email and cell phone.------------------I wonder how useful it would be to emulate the organization called "Act Up?"They were instrumental in making people hear about AIDS/HIV when no one wanted to hear ...http://www.actupny.org/documents/CDdocuments/CDindex.html
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Comment #149 posted by rchandar on August 09, 2006 at 21:39:50 PT:

FoM
at least you're not from such a cheesy generation as mine. My formative years were spent watching "Friday Night Video," Reagan, and the imaginative popular music such as the "South Florida Sound" which preached important essential values such as material wealth, mindless conformity, and promiscuous anti-artism.
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Comment #148 posted by FoM on August 09, 2006 at 15:41:03 PT

rchandar 
I very seldom heard about Communism in my home when I was young. Russia was the one country that I was told was a concern but that's all. I was raised catholic and I never heard anything in school about communism that I can remember. If the draft comes back young people will get involved like my generation did. Sometimes it takes staring death in the face for something you don't think is right to wake a person up. The draft was the catalyst. 
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Comment #147 posted by FoM on August 09, 2006 at 15:19:22 PT

A Great Song

One of the most prominent "message songs" was For What It's Worth by Buffalo Springfield. The song has been used in many documentaries and television specials that chronicle the 1960s. It is also on the soundtrack of two movies --- Forrest Gump and Born on the Fourth of July. The group included Steven Stills (who later formed Crosby, Stills, and Nash) as well as Neil Young (who frequently joined CSN and also formed the group Crazy Horse).For What Its Worth http://tinyurl.com/hldse
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Comment #146 posted by rchandar on August 09, 2006 at 15:18:06 PT:

FoM
give the kids time, it's possible. Your generation had been inundated since childhood about Communism, for example. These kids have just begun to evaluate a complex world situation defined by a common enemy. in some respects, though, you're right. Today's teens are, by and large, happy with American society. But the differences could promote action--yours was a generation at the beginning of Pax Americana, at the opening moment of American involvement with the world. Theirs is a generation of decline and eventually something will click beyond traditional or popular "liberal" avenues. And I'm real encouraged by the number of young adults at antiwar protests--I think it's something that may not expand much, yet remains constant and tenacious.
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Comment #145 posted by FoM on August 09, 2006 at 15:03:07 PT

Toker00 
I will check later on tonight.
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Comment #144 posted by Toker00 on August 09, 2006 at 14:20:37 PT

Right on, JustGetnBy.
I figured it probably had to do with the size of the crowd. You are right to think they are making it harder. First I heard about not being able to leave the "Free Speech Zone" without being arrested, though. That is troubling. I'll see if I can stop that bill. lol. Bush had/has so much security for the same reason any criminal needs his "boys". They KNOW someone will get to them sooner or later, if they don't, so they try to be prepared.FoM, I am going to e-mail you a very important message. It may not be there until later tonight, but it will be in your mail tonight. I look forward to meeting you just as much. Absolutely, afterburner. I will talk to my organizers and see how we can incorporate "flash" gatherings in our area. Cool.Toke. 
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Comment #143 posted by JustGetnBy on August 09, 2006 at 11:51:47 PT

Free Speech Zones
Toker00I'm sorry I guess I wasn't spcefic enough. Yes I was talking about demonstrations when Political Royalty visits your fair city.
Pres, VP, Pres Candidates, etc, thats when the Feds pull out all the stops.I don't think the felony law for leaving the area has been passed yet, but is in the process. They can and will arrest if you leave a free speech zone without their permission. 
I don't have any recent experience with protesting, but gathered this info from the web and newspapers. You are spot on about making them respect us by sheer numbers and direct action, what I am saying is that they have rigged the game so that isn't likely to happen, but when it does I hope to participate.
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Comment #142 posted by afterburner on August 09, 2006 at 10:13:16 PT

Toker00 #139
"We need to have sit-ins, smoke-ins, love-ins, peace-ins, walk-outs, shut-downs, state stopping gatherings..."Add to that "flash" gatherings by instant messaging, email and cell phone. 
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Comment #141 posted by FoM on August 09, 2006 at 10:00:10 PT

Toker00
They put people in Free Speech Zones where the tv cameras could really show what is happening. They use the cages in New York City mostly where it is very congested. I am not sure about Washington, DC. The closer you get to a large volume of people and the closer to the politicians that's when you will have Free Speech Zones. They wanted the protests by the Mexicans shown so we would hate them.
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Comment #140 posted by FoM on August 09, 2006 at 09:55:37 PT

Toker00
I can't wait to meet you and hear what you have to say. 
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Comment #139 posted by Toker00 on August 09, 2006 at 09:37:27 PT

JustGetinBy
I guess I just don't live where they have these FREE SPEECH ZONES. Every protest we have done has been walking on the sidewalks, through the streets, gathering directly across from Chimpking's Propaganda Social Security Bash at the UTMB medical branch in Galveston, (although once I left the area, they would NOT let me back in)where we had direct contact with the people attending this event. And we have always gathered right outside the halls which house the local governments, including the DEA in the Federal Building, downtown Houston. We have gotten very loud and visual. Are you saying, in your area, you cannot legally assemble where you can speak directly to Power? How can our protest laws be so different in different areas? Maybe that happens when there is a very large protest. Our numbers remain under four hundred for the most part. What about all the Mexican Immigrants who stormed our cities? Were they in a Free Speech Zone? No. What happens if a crowd outgrows the Free Speech Zone? Are protesters turned away? Just curious. I only know what we do in this part of the country has not been in any restrictive "zone", other than the prearranged (by us during the permit stage) parks, or city blocks. I know Bush's bash in DC had those zones. I thought there was something very, very wrong with that.What needs to happen is, people need to lose the fear which these authoritarians have instilled in most of our society. We need to have massive SPONTANEOUS protests which really DO tie up traffic and get media attention. We need to have sit-ins, smoke-ins, love-ins, peace-ins, walk-outs, shut-downs, state stopping gatherings of, guess who? The American Workers. We have to come up with ingenious ways of stopping the operation of the state peacefully, but firmly. Do you think the people back in the seventies were not afraid when they saw the pigs coming with their billy clubs and tear gas? Those people were brave. That is what we are all going to have to do to stop the state. And I mean the STATE OF FASCISM in America.I'll let you know if we run across any Free Speech Zones during our coming protests.Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!   
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Comment #138 posted by FoM on August 09, 2006 at 09:26:43 PT

JustGetnBy 
I know what you are saying. They really fear anyone or any group that are making waves. We as a youth culture back then helped change the direction we were going and they never want people to have that much impact again. That's why they hate the 60s. We wanted to change the world and make it a better place and that's just not on their agenda.
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Comment #137 posted by Hope on August 09, 2006 at 09:12:14 PT

JustGetnBy
"I'm not willing to step into the machine to be destroyed for naught."Nor should you be. That's what the problem is in the first place...all the people getting ground up in "the machine". We've got to put a stop to it, somehow...not increase it...because it's wrong.
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Comment #136 posted by Hope on August 09, 2006 at 09:08:09 PT

The Rainbow and Law Enforcement video
rainbows defeat the Gestapo without guns or violenceWow.That's amazing.I think I heard a Chihuahua barking in there.Horse analyzing was fun, too.
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Comment #135 posted by JustGetnBy on August 09, 2006 at 08:56:14 PT

"Free Speech Zone"
PS: I might add , my fear of being ground up in their machine is exactly how the planned it
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Comment #134 posted by JustGetnBy on August 09, 2006 at 08:49:13 PT

    " Free Speech Zone"
  The Feds learned a whole lot from the Vietnam demonstrations. They learned to tie you up in the justice system so badly that it would be a major problem in your life.  If you got arrested in in Veitnam ere you simply paid a fine ( a few hundred dollars) and you were on your way to the next demonstration.In todays orwellian justice system, you are put on probation, attending another demonstration or any encounter with police is a violation of probation. That violation is a new crime, with enhanced penalties, etc, etc. During Vietnam protesters could demonstrate on the public sidewalk where the politician had to see and hear them. The demonstraters were also on the evening news, so all of America saw and heard their demonstration. Today the Feds have created "FREE SPEECH ZONES". They are chain link enclosures located blocks away from the person or event you wish to protest. Protesters will not be seen or heard by anyone but themselves and the thugs guarding them.  The Feds are working on legislation to make it a felony to leave a "Free Speech Zone" without permission.  Folks, it's gonna take a big event with a whole lot of people all at oncewilling to stand up to these bullies.A martyr I am not, but I have a lunch packed,and am ready to follow when I see my neighbors packing a lunch too..Our cause is worth fighting for, but I'm not willing to step into the machine to be destroyed for naught.

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Comment #133 posted by Hope on August 09, 2006 at 07:06:11 PT

Lol...gently....Ooohhh...gw
"i hope she is not a guy,"
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Comment #132 posted by rchandar on August 08, 2006 at 20:25:51 PT:

ekim
anslinger was a real d#%khead. Let's see. He promoted criminalization with ideas such as "weed makes 'darkies' think they're as good as white people" and promoted the idea that cannabis was tantamount to murdering, psychosis, derangement, violence. Promoted the idea that cannabis was the by-product of "evil" jazz. Later he "apologized" and said, "I'm not saying marijuana is the product of black subversion against white people, but it makes people introspective. What if we have to fight a war and our young men are introspective?" Later, in the 1950s, Harry supplied morphine--a good, fat "prescription" to Senator Joseph McCarthy. I hate him much more for the Singel Convention, though. Until then, lots of countries had not outlawed cannabis, you could go there and immerse yourself in a traditional culture and outlook. JFK fired Anslinger the next year. Apparently he had decided to "legalize" marijuana in his second term. We never got that far. JFK may have had the right intentions, but then he didn't stop Anslinger from getting the UN to produce and endorse such a ridiculous document.There are a lot of good websites that list the history of prohibition. It's a matter of poking around. One last thing; interestingly, America was "late" in the West in banning cannabis. UK, 1928. Netherlands (!!)1919. Italy, 1919. Germany, 1919. The last country to outlaw cannabis in the world was Nepal, 1973 (Nixon paid the Nepalese king $50 million).
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Comment #131 posted by whig on August 08, 2006 at 16:18:22 PT

museman
Yeah, I understand. I'll keep you informed about what I know, and I expect I'll be talking about this festival alot here in the next few months.
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Comment #130 posted by museman on August 08, 2006 at 15:56:48 PT

g_w
I would enjoy that too.
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Comment #129 posted by museman on August 08, 2006 at 15:55:47 PT

whig
Well, here's what I mean;In terms of playing in a band, one has to know the conditions of the gig; the relative size of the playing area, what eqipment is necessary to haul the distance, and what is not. If we actually manage to get a/the band all the way down there, it would be real disappointing to not get to play, I'd never hear the end of it.Without committing the total energies of a band, it's fairly easy to be more open to whatever, but when I am managing (and that's what it would be) the equilibrium of multi- sensitive people (musicians) information saves a lot of grief.I prefer the band. I have a lot more fun, and feel a lot more 'empowered' as an artist, but as I prefer live musicians over digital substitutes, the equipment it takes to stage a performance takes up more space. I've gotten my own stage down to what I can carry in my minivan, but I still can't carry all of the band members in the same vehicle as the equipment.On the other hand, an acoustc setup fits in the trunk of my sons Honda.So, I can't come down there and discuss it. My trip is going to hinge on what I can find out from here.

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Comment #128 posted by museman on August 08, 2006 at 15:42:03 PT

From me to SF
About 410 miles. Nine hours depending on road conditions, and weather. There is a longer but faster route down I-5, but the trade-off isn't worth it in this case.Sure bears talking about with folks.
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Comment #127 posted by whig on August 08, 2006 at 15:37:46 PT

museman
Okay, I'm not in much of a position to tell you much more than I have because I've only been to the meeting last night which was basically a public outreach for volunteers, and I don't know exactly when or what I'll be doing with this. It's definitely something good and the people here are some that a lot would recognize their names but it's just friendly and non-heirarchical and nobody makes a big deal about who they are.
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Comment #126 posted by museman on August 08, 2006 at 15:31:36 PT

whig
I would like to play. I am a volunteer. As far as FAM -well I'd need to get some concise info and the connect to talk with about. I also play in another band too. And then there is always solo acoustic. I have to discuss it. Put me in the possibles.
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Comment #125 posted by global_warming on August 08, 2006 at 15:22:36 PT

is this the making of a gathering?
if i can get a new car, i would enjoy such a meet, maybe mbc might show up, i hope she is not a guy,
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Comment #124 posted by FoM on August 08, 2006 at 15:15:06 PT

Whig and Museman
How far is it to San Francisco from where Museman lives? I guess Museman should answer that one.
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Comment #123 posted by whig on August 08, 2006 at 15:12:32 PT

museman
October 28 and 29. 11am-7pm each day. San Francisco's Golden Gate Park at the Hall of Flowers near 9th and Lincoln.2 stages of music, herbal consultants, medical consultants, forums & speakers, comedians, massage, cannabis culture, demonstrations, contests, glass gallery, history and human rights.They want performers to come and play, too. I don't know what the timeslot situation is and whether they have an opening for you but I can ask and if Fam wanted to come down and play it might be doable. I do know there is no budget to pay performers, they are asking for people to play for free.
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Comment #122 posted by museman on August 08, 2006 at 14:51:48 PT

whig
Always interested, not always able. San Fran is a good days drive from here, but not undoable. When in Oct.?
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Comment #121 posted by whig on August 08, 2006 at 14:37:44 PT

museman
Any interest in coming to San Francisco for the Wonders of Cannabis Festival in October?
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Comment #120 posted by museman on August 08, 2006 at 14:34:07 PT

FoM
It's been there for a long long time. It's just that now it is getting so large and omnipresent that a lot of the insulation of American opulance is getting thinner. People came here to escape it originally, but we carry it within us, so there is no escape.It is our fear. Fear of poverty, fear of dis-ease. Fear of loss. Fear of rejection. Fear and mistrust. Jeolousy.
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Comment #119 posted by FoM on August 08, 2006 at 14:15:48 PT

museman
How did this much hate become the major factor in how our country functions? What happen to being able to dream and smile and have hope for the future. I use to like hearing America The Beautiful but when I hear it now on LWW I have to turn it off. It makes me feel really bad.
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Comment #118 posted by museman on August 08, 2006 at 14:10:19 PT

FoM #115
They learned everything we taught them about tactics. They don't have to shoot, they can taser you, then haul you off, and charge you with some violation or another which costs you much time and money, marks you so that you are the first to get 'picked up' again in any future actions, as well as being denied services and opportunities like a good job because of it. Probation, urine testing. Court costs. Social stigma. They can't make money off you when you're dead. If they think they can't make money off you at all, or it costs to much to allow you to continue to exist - accidents happen quite often.The question is whether we are being policed by 'people' or by 'professionals.'During VietNam they used the military as buffers to the protests, and a lot of those military were guys like me, who listened to the same music, in a lot of cases smoked pot together with the long hairs, and were of the same generation. VietNam was all about our generation. The military was as likely to switch sides as not.Times have changed. Our domestic police force is better armed, better armored, and better trained, than the Armed Forces combat units currently in Iraq.In such a confrontation, any violence could easily be later justified as 'provocation.'We have professional, or MERCENARY forces as cops, BLM, and Homeland Security. We have to deal with them in some bold new ways.
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Comment #117 posted by FoM on August 08, 2006 at 13:58:53 PT

museman
I believe that our country needs to be tolerant of people who aren't like what they think is normal. Normal is what is comfortable with different groups and individuals. We need to mend the great divide between the cultures or our country will self destruct from within. No outside force will be our downfall. 
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Comment #116 posted by museman on August 08, 2006 at 13:54:55 PT

FoM
This is not to say that ALL people in the 'justice' system are corrupt, or 'bad' people, but the majority are empowered to be just that, so they are.Near the end of my stay, a group of local sheriffs patrolled the gathering. As they were walking by, amidst the warning cries of "six-up" (which was our code this year for preparing folks for their presence) a group of folks called out, "We LO-OVE you!"Amazingly, the small group of cops called back. "We love you too!"A lot of humor, but enough sincerety to brighten ones day.
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Comment #115 posted by FoM on August 08, 2006 at 13:45:57 PT

museman
What would happen if people marched on Washington like they did during Vietnam? Would they shoot people now?
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Comment #114 posted by museman on August 08, 2006 at 13:43:43 PT

FoM
There were over 1,000 law enforcement personnel on site and manning the road block. Every single one of them was armed, and armored. This is our future unless we stand up in peace and firmness. They had a small army capable (by their own reckoning) of subduing a population of up to 50,000 basicly un-armed citizens.I drove by a caravan of 100s of LEO vehicles on the way in. Fortunately for us they were all going the other way, but it was a scary sight.
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Comment #113 posted by FoM on August 08, 2006 at 13:31:56 PT

museman 
Yes the language of the cameraman was angry. I have heard all those words before and he was just so angry he was blowing off steam but he probably is a very nice person. Those where big guns. 
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Comment #112 posted by museman on August 08, 2006 at 13:23:00 PT

Fom
I made me kind of 'proud.' I believe in this kind of magic (maybe not the language of the camera-man) and to see it at work sends chills up my spine.It's about reality, and deciding when enough is enough.No one was shot because only one side had guns - and it was being videotaped. This was happening while I was debating even going or not. I believe that when those horses had to backup, along with the rest of the cops, a victory for the rainbow was won. Unfortunately that kind of solidarity of faith and belief (not ritual or religion) does not happen often in other places. At least we know it can.
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Comment #111 posted by FoM on August 08, 2006 at 13:11:09 PT

museman
It made me cry.
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Comment #110 posted by FoM on August 08, 2006 at 13:07:43 PT

museman
I am watching it now. I am so afraid of guns. Oh my!
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Comment #109 posted by museman on August 08, 2006 at 12:53:56 PT

OT: American patriotism
This I think is an example of a power that a lot of people don't believe in, called "Standing up."It also shows the real nature of the man.
rainbows defeat the Gestapo without guns or violence
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Comment #108 posted by FoM on August 08, 2006 at 09:54:48 PT

Hope
I think our speciality breeding of animals has weakened them. We have Quarter Horses that look like beef cattle but have tiny feet. We have Thorougbreds that are highly explosive and hot headed. Nature will weed out the weak and the strong will survive. Sometimes I think that Republicans think of people like the way that natural selection is a good thing in animals. If the weak can't survive then it's best that they don't. I don't believe that about human beings but it makes sense in animals.
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Comment #107 posted by Hope on August 08, 2006 at 08:22:12 PT

Hidalgo
was a wild mustang until caught and trained by a good and loving trainer. There naturally would be an iffy lineage. An American Mustang could carry Arabian blood. Anything that escaped or wound up abandoned for one reason or another and left to breed in the wild with other horses in the same situation. Obviously some good, hearty, fast...want to win blood.Could be a Thoroughbred, Arabian, Morgan, Paso, Plow Horse, Wagon puller, Cow Horse, Mill Horse mix that came up a sturdy little "Full House".
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Comment #106 posted by rchandar on August 08, 2006 at 04:05:49 PT:

Wayne
..that could be a bad thing as easily as a good thing. Seems absurd that it could, but I worry that the younger, less educated and more propaganda-brained politicals that will take up the charge may be more ruthless instead of more welcoming and reasonable. that's just a theory, borrowed from the history of Soviet Russia....let's hope it doesn't turn out that way.--rchandar
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Comment #105 posted by FoM on August 07, 2006 at 22:27:55 PT

afterburner
Ohio is the top protest song. That is the best song to me too.
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Comment #104 posted by afterburner on August 07, 2006 at 22:23:42 PT

FoM: OT: Q107 Top 5 Weekend 
Q107 Top 5 Weekend 
Aug.4-7.2006
http://www.q107.com/features/top5_lists.cfmI'm sending the lists in an email in case you can't access the website. 
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Comment #103 posted by FoM on August 07, 2006 at 21:42:41 PT

WEEDS Now on MySpace.com
http://www.myspace.com/weedsonshowtimeVideos on YouTube.comhttp://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=32B5E9E9BAAEB70D
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Comment #102 posted by b4daylight on August 07, 2006 at 21:23:42 PT

123said
maybe he should try banning oil. In America we consume 400 million gallons of gas a day. That is a toxic substance which his UN gives me to breathe. Those cars they support kill 42,00 people a year USA..get a clu and get my life back./
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Comment #101 posted by FoM on August 07, 2006 at 21:20:22 PT

Hope
We missed the first half an hour so I didn't know it was based on a true story until the end. I found it interesting that it was in the middle east and mentioned Baghdad and Iraq. They are very dedicated to their breed. The Arabian is by far the strongest little horse in the world. It is the foundation stock for the Thoroughbred. They are classified as the most beautiful horse in the world. For the little pinto horse to win the race was remarkable.http://www.arabianhorses.org/home/Gallery/Index.asp
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Comment #100 posted by ekim on August 07, 2006 at 21:07:10 PT

--rchandar-- farout
do you mean that in 1961 what ol harry did wriledup ol jfk and he was the one to take the power away from asslinger.someone wrote a book but i dont know anymore than that.for a body of world leaders to sign a peice of paper saying that no human can have Cannabis anywhere on this earth is a disgrace to the human race. it is to go against every society that has been helped by this great plant.oil is at 77 bucks------- here on Sept 20and 21 in Lansing a big Bio-fuel show will take place. These shows are being held all over the country. Cannabis will help in making ethanol now.
http://www.hempology.org
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Comment #99 posted by Hope on August 07, 2006 at 20:54:05 PT

Comment 97
Glad you enjoyed it, FoM. It's one of my favorites. While they obviously took a bit of license...it is a true story...or at least based on a true story. 
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Comment #98 posted by Wayne on August 07, 2006 at 20:13:06 PT

reefer
I think the word 'reefer' needs to be expunged from our vocabulary. It's so outdated, anyone who uses it might just as well have "ignorant" tattooed on their forehead.Marijuana IS worth getting angry about, but only when the long arm of the law wants to take away your freedom because of it. As for Mr. Costa, he most certainly is NOT worth getting angry about. He has officially had his 15 minutes, and he will be dead soon enough, along with all the other dinosaurs of his era. Costa, Walters, Bennett, Rumsfeld, Cheney... the whole lot of them, will soon pass into extinction.
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Comment #97 posted by FoM on August 07, 2006 at 19:44:09 PT

Off Topic: Hope
We just watched the movie Hidalgo. It was very good. Thank you for recommending it to me.
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Comment #96 posted by global_warming on August 07, 2006 at 17:32:16 PT

costa is a pig
and a brother and sisterin this troubled worldlike you and mewho enjoy this creation, or world as some say,gather and proclaim your place, your politics,your food and wateryour religion, do you have a soul?
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Comment #95 posted by rchandar on August 07, 2006 at 17:21:50 PT:

reply to global warming
i don't get it. a while ago, you called Costa "a pig". Now he loves his children? That he cares about the right path? It's good to teach peace rather than war, but a lot of people suffer for Costa's right to "care" about "the right path". I despise these UN f #kers. I want the whole bloody UN to be dissolved and never rear it's head again. No poem: the UN must be ended. Not destroyed, ended by unilateral agreement among free people. These people are horrible butchers, don't defend them. These are the men who raped and pillaged cities in Africa, violated women, stole relief food from the starving. Nothing excuses Mr. Costa or his henchmen. Nothing.
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Comment #94 posted by global_warming on August 07, 2006 at 17:12:29 PT

receive 
 Eternal FreedomThe One who has given his lifeLiberty and UnderstandingDied on that merciless hot day, on that disgusting cross,To give light to our frightened souls
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Comment #93 posted by global_warming on August 07, 2006 at 16:54:23 PT

you getting there
your hand is on the button
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Comment #92 posted by global_warming on August 07, 2006 at 16:38:38 PT

cmon
just a little bit further on Monday Night,do you feel trappedhas big government become in your peaceful soul?We all will pass into the unknownthose portals of unforgiving have ' W e those people an understanding?terms and complex and so completeyou gettin there
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Comment #91 posted by global_warming on August 07, 2006 at 16:10:02 PT

Costa is an old man
filled with genuine good feelings,he is a child like you and me,who try to find that path,towards a good understanding,There is so much moreIn our green filled world,
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Comment #90 posted by rchandar on August 07, 2006 at 14:57:27 PT:

one last thought...
...the biggest problem with Costa and the UN is that their "international treaties" essentially preclude world governments from adopting sensible social policies. Because of the UN treaties, there is not even one country in the world (not even the Netherlands) that doesn't, for some amount, for some stage of the issue, retain criminal penalties for either possession, cultivation, distribution. Holland, Italy, Germany, Britain, Belgium have simply depenalized use and instituted "tolerance" for either small-scale growing or dealing. But many people, even in these countries, caught up with cannabis merits criminal status. As for the US, many states have "decriminalized" pot, but for the Feds it is clearly written: criminal offense. Jamaica and Canada wanted to "decriminalize," but, according to the UN (with the US playing the UN card), it was impermissible. Mexico, too, and Vicente Fox had repeatedly come out in favor of legalization.My problem with this: sovereign governments are responsible to the values and the wishes of the people who elected or entrusted them with the governance of the country. The UN should have no right to tell ANY government what they can and cannot do: it's absurd. Basically Anslinger got this Singel treaty document to the floor of the UN, and it was his personal mission to legislate marijuana as illegal forever, for everyone. That's his contribution, and none of the "representatives" at that august 1961 meeting dared to challenge him. It can never come up for a vote again since the "permanent" members on the UN Security Council--the US, Russia, China--are all strongly prohibitionist and maintain veto power. So in some form or other, all advocates and constituencies favoring legalization fight against men like Mr. Costa. the countries of the EU have come a long way, but I know they would go a lot further if the UN wasn't cracking it's whip in anger against them. But the issue isn't Mr. Costa, it's this standard of "world government" which is meaningless except in upholding prohibition. In the US, Canada, Mexico, and Latin America, this treaty prevents, time after time, meaningful and just social policy changes. If the US Government isn't willing to legalize pot, it isn't just the building of the police state. It's that men such as our Presidents feel they have to take this treaty seriously.But it's ridiculous. Where, indeed, does the UN represent the concerns of ordinary citizens in "free" countries? What voice do we have in the legislations they pass? Who are the people that "represent" us at this body? I can tell you, they are not people who have even had to campaign for our votes, who even superficially profess interest and concern for our daily lives. They are all appointees, divorced forever from public society. It must end. And all indications are that a lot of Europeans feel this way; they may, at some point, withdraw from the Singel Convention. We should, too. Yet it is more than that. The issue is accountability; nothing in the UN is accountable, yet this issue is referred indefinitely to the UN's "international treaties". More importantly, there is no basis for retaining prohibition; Mr. Costa knows it. Marijuana was outlawed forty-five years ago at this convention mostly because almost nothing was known about it by Americans, that knowledge about properties and effects were explained at that time by "beatniks" such as William Burroughs. A few years ago, a UNODC representative was asked why cannabis remained illegal. He replied, "we already have alcohol and tobacco legal, and cannot add to the list of legal drugs." Unbelievable as it sounds, it is true. For many peoples of the world--not minorities, whole societies--cannabis has been a traditional sacrament. Basically the rep's dictum was, it's ok for Muslims for whom scripture has forbidden alcohol to drink alcohol, and governments may comply, but it's not ok for cannabis, which has been in the Islamic tradition for millennia, to be allowed. These are absurd distortions of the idea of covenant.Quit Singel Convention. End the War on Cannabis.--rchandar
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Comment #89 posted by Hope on August 07, 2006 at 10:45:42 PT

Another load of "crap"....
Rearranged. Put on a different platter. Same "cooks". Same "crap".http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n1040/a08.html?397
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Comment #88 posted by Hope on August 07, 2006 at 10:34:51 PT

Codfish Comment 63
That's good! I like it."They should all go hunting with Dick Cheney."
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Comment #87 posted by Kozmo on August 07, 2006 at 09:00:19 PT

I don't even
have to read these articles anymore. Once I see the article title I know exactly what will be said in the body. Marijuana is way more potent that it used to be blah blah blah, lots of kids checking in to rehab blah blah blah, marijuana is dangerous blah blah blah, etc,etc,etc ..... we have no evidence to back up these assertions yada yada yada.These distributed talking points are getting old folks. 
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Comment #86 posted by FoM on August 07, 2006 at 06:33:23 PT

SystemGoneDown
Please don't threaten people. I am against violence and if you really believe in violence then this is the wrong web site for you. I try to think that you don't know how to express yourself without expressing angry comments. Are you on our side? Do you care about us here who really care and want those who read CNews to know we aren't mean and crazy people but concerned citizens? Self control is important for the sake of this very good community. 
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Comment #85 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on August 07, 2006 at 04:46:43 PT

Truth to power
I agree - threats against anyone should have no place here. Speaking truth to power is a slow process, especially when the power in question has a vested interest in maintaining the lie. But how persuasive is a threat? A threat will only push someone away from your position, and closes their mind to any further persuasion. That's the last thing we need.Back to the article... "Would even the most ardent supporter of legalization want to fly in an aircraft whose pilot used cannabis?" This is a complete non-argument. Pilots can get as falling down drunk as they want as often as they want, as long as they comply with the 24-hour bottle-to-throttle rule. Perhaps cannabist pilots should have a similar rule: "24 hours from lift-off to take-off"? Besides, a pilot would never be considered a criminal for merely having a liquor cabinet at home, unlike cannabis. Should it be served on airplane flights like liquor? Probably not the smoked variety, since the second-hand smoke could drift towards the cabin. However, most of the incidents of air-rage I've read about result from someone who's had too many drinks. Airports already have little well-ventilated rooms where tobacco smokers can go before the flight, and then they are forbidden from smoking during the flight. The same system could easily apply to cannabis.
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Comment #84 posted by Larryh on August 07, 2006 at 04:03:05 PT:

Don't stress
This idiot is a part of the UN... the UN , as everybody knows, is a collection of morons. I 
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Comment #83 posted by mayan on August 07, 2006 at 03:50:29 PT

Re: Comment #20
Global warming, if Lieberman loses (he's trailing by 10 pts. in latest polls) he says he will run as an independent in November. That would likely give that Senate seat to Republican nominee Alan Schlesinger, which would be fine by Lieberman as that seat would remain pro-bush and pro-war. Lieberman could possibly win as in independent if riggable Diebold or Triad electronic voting machines systems are used. He has the support of the military industrial complex and the Zionist lobby. Those folks can pull some serious strings.If Lieberman loses this primary it could signal the beginning of the end of the PNAC agenda, on which the neo-cons have bet all of their marbles. It seems that the only thing that can salvage their sinister stranglehold is another "terror attack".  Conn. Race Could Be Democratic Watershed: Loss by Lieberman May Embolden Critics of War:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/05/AR2006080500963.htmlFalse Flag News: Saving the world one drill at a time:
http://falseflagnews.com/
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Comment #82 posted by Toker00 on August 07, 2006 at 03:45:12 PT

Whig and sgd
What sgd said is what many, and I mean many, of us feel. Yes even us here at C-News. But, we are not going to cross that threshold. There are other ways to beat the Prohibians. It isn't cowardice that keeps us from striking back violently. It is committment to what we believe in. We believe in the good things in life. We resist the bad. How long do you think it would take the Feds to round up enough of us "Jews" to convince the others to give up? We barely have a voice now, with millions on millions of us fighting. Violence would end even that small voice. Which, by the way, is much louder than it was ten years ago.Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITITION NOW! 
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Comment #81 posted by whig on August 06, 2006 at 23:09:24 PT

FoM
Another thought I had is that I think everything we say here is intended in some hopeful sense to be read even by the targets of our criticism. So if we are saying that we think someone is wrong we want them to know we think that. But if someone like Antonio Maria Costa were to read what SGD wrote he wouldn't think it was a criticism or a joke at all, and nobody deserves to be put in fear of being murdered by anyone here. I hope I'm not pushing you too hard on this but I really feel strongly that violent threats have no place here, even though I'm just a guest myself so it's just my opinion however strongly I may hold it.
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Comment #80 posted by whig on August 06, 2006 at 22:57:12 PT

FoM
I understand and I don't think Mr Costa is being seriously threatened, but I can definitely see how our opponents could take something like SGD's comment and use it against us somehow, especially because it does name a particular person and talks about specific harmful acts. I think SGD is not someone we should welcome here any more unless he or she retracts that and stops the violent rhetoric. That's just my opinion.
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Comment #79 posted by FoM on August 06, 2006 at 22:43:48 PT

whig
I understand why it upsets you. I very seldom delete a comment. I don't like to do that. I believe that most people that read CNews know we as a group are non violent. 
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Comment #78 posted by whig on August 06, 2006 at 22:37:30 PT

FoM
I'd like you to consider deleting message #64 as it contains a death threat and that is a very bad thing to have here. Thank you. You can delete this message too if you want to.
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Comment #77 posted by whig on August 06, 2006 at 22:33:15 PT

SystemGoneDown #64
I dislike your violent rhetoric. Please don't do that here. I'm not the person in charge, I just participate and I like being where people are peaceful. If you are going to talk about killing people and being violent then you are not someone I want to talk to. Also please keep in mind that threats like that, even made without any serious intention behind them, may be taken seriously by some people. We are being watched here all the time, this is not a private place but a public board, and what we say reflects on all of us and if you keep acting like a provocateur then I have to say you are putting us in unnecessary danger.
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Comment #76 posted by afterburner on August 06, 2006 at 22:27:32 PT

Sinsemilla Jones #70
Nice! Ram Dass is correct. Fundamentalism is like the shell of an egg, to protect the developing chick from outside reality until sHe is ready. When the chick pecks through the shell, sHe discovers a larger world outside the constraints of the shell. Fearfully clinging to the eggshell, "never straying too far from the sidewalk," stunts hir growth. Even Dr. Timothy Leary said, "I die so hard." Ego destruction precedes ego transcendence. We must love our enemies to forgive them. We must listen to encourage them on their own journeys of self-discovery and merging with others into oneness. The planet Earth, or "Spaceship Earth," has a shell too, according to Buckminster Fuller. Inside the shell is the petroleum and other fossil fuels that have been used to develop our technology. As enlightened seekers peck through the shell of industrial society, they discover the future realities of renewable energy, ecology, co-operation, spiritual growth and outer/inner space exploration. ________________Rosetta stone (legend), courtesy of Dr. Leary:sHe = he or shehir = him or her
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Comment #75 posted by rchandar on August 06, 2006 at 22:16:19 PT:

observer
The part of Mr. Costa's reasoning that you quoted is unbelievable political rhetoric mired in Western certainty. It assumes that the entire world experiences the same prosperity and moral kindness earned in the prosperous West. I think Mr. Costa might visit some jails in Morocco, or Ghana, and try to stomach the kind of grisly humiliation and murder that he's encouraging. As for his comment about fining/education being a good solution, that's just pure hypocrisy designed to pacify us. Year after year, the UN has viciously criticized the governments of Europe for "experimenting" with "decriminalization," that it "sends a bad message to the world".Why? Is there some moral right in locking first-timers up with murderers and rapists? Is it natural for human beings in desperately poor countries to give full allegiance and trust to obviously corrupt heads of state rather than to family, to tradition, to friends? What irks me most is that Mr.Costa, unlike even Mr. Bush, doesn't appear to have thought out what he is trying to say: he has no accountability for world social policy, and the document is an unmistakable fakehood. People today are so stupid--they ignore the very clear and obvious fact that for Third World countries, much more so than for us (though it is an issue for us)--this is a cornerstone issue of human rights and justice. And apparently the UN is bent on giving the blank check for injustices in countries where people do not have all the things we have. But then, the UN's record on human rights was always dismal, their punitive ability to stop injustices always incredibly pale and weak. Yet we in the most prosperous countries still have to bow our heads to this stupid man's "international treaties," when in reality we--and they--could do just fine without his paternalizing help.Quit UN. Simple.--rchandar
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Comment #74 posted by goneposthole on August 06, 2006 at 21:56:18 PT

another great day
"The U.S. market alone has been valued at more than $10-billion."With the price of cannabis at 250 dollars per ounce, the market is booming.. Sixteen times two hundred fifty equals 4000 dollars per pound.Ten billion divided by four thousand equals 2.5 million pounds of cannabis bought and sold each year in the US.That's 1.25 thousand tons of cannabis each year that is available for smoking on a daily basis.That's 100 hundred semi-truck trailer loads with 25,000 pounds of cannabis in each one.The cannabis market is doing fine.Mr. Costa worries too much. He should smoke a joint, get some sleep, and find something else to think about.Like legalizing cannabis. That would be a good start.The cannabis market just isn't going to go away. A nine thousand year history isn't going to go up in smoke. No way, no how, no nothin.
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Comment #73 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on August 06, 2006 at 21:45:58 PT

"And all cops are doctors, doncha know?"
That's catchy, afterburner, I feel a song coming on.....---------------------------------------------------I think Doctor Copper and I'm proudI'm part of a fundamental crowdAnd if you look around these daysThere seems to be a Dr. Copper crazeI'm a Copper, he's a Copper, she's a CopperWouldn't you like to be a Doctor, too?Be a Doctor, think like a CopperBe a Copper, think like a Doctor(repeat)
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Comment #72 posted by mayan on August 06, 2006 at 21:30:46 PT

U.N. Crooks
The characteristics of cannabis are no longer that different from those of other plant-based drugs, such as cocaine and heroin.That's all I needed to read to know that Antonio Maria Costa has zero credibility. The United Nations isn't uniting anything, it is dividing this world! The U.N. is a criminal organization which seeks to destroy the sovereignty of all nations.
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Comment #71 posted by FoM on August 06, 2006 at 21:26:18 PT

afterburner
That is really nice to read.
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Comment #70 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on August 06, 2006 at 21:20:46 PT

SystemGoneDown
...One concern of mine is the rise of fundamentalism in the world. To this Ram Dass replies, "Fundamentalism is one of the last stages of enlightenment." I am so surprised to hear this (from my own place of spiritual superiority). He explains: If one is in this place of rigid righteousness that is fundamentalism and then falls, it "is so terribly humbling that it breaks open and frees the soul." How should we respond to fundamentalism? "With our intuitive hearts," he says. "Pull ourselves out of our egos and our spiritual roles and listen with care and compassion." It is responding from this place that will begin to soften the hearts of the fundamentalists....http://www.ramdasstapes.org/article%20the%20issue%20by%20alan%20davidson.htmI found that while reseaching psychedelic therapy potential.
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Comment #69 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on August 06, 2006 at 20:53:08 PT

The theraputic potential of psychedelics....
....In one study in the late 1950's, Dr Humphry Osmond gave LSD to alcoholics in Alcoholics Anonymous who had failed to quit drinking. After one year, around 50% of the study group had not had a drink -- a success rate that has never been duplicated by any other means........(Dr. Timothy) Leary began conducting experiments with psilocybin in 1960 on himself and a number of Harvard graduate students after trying hallucinogenic mushrooms used in Native American religious rituals while visiting Mexico. His group began conducting experiments on state prisoners, where they claimed a 90% success rate preventing repeat offenses....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_LSD....The use of peyote in a structured religious setting, with the guidance of a socially sanctioned healer, has been reported by some authors to be a powerful treatment for alcoholism among Native Americans and a way of bringing balance back into the lives of its participants.Unfortunately, to date there have not been any controlled studies of the use of peyote in this setting to treat alcoholism or other addiction disorders. Most of the literature has consisted of anecdotal accounts of its effectiveness (Albaugh & Anderson,1974; Bergman, 1971; Pascarosa, & Futterman, 1976; Pascarosa, Futterman & Halsweig, 1976). The closest research that has been done in this area is with LSD back in the 50s and 60s. Virtually all double-blind controlled studies that have been done with LSD in the treatment of alcoholism have met mixed reviews by the scientific community. There has been short term or "afterglow" improvement in patients which diminishes with time (Halpern, 1996). It is important to note that most of these studies only measured drug effect with no appropriate clinical direction and support. (Smart & Strom, 1964; Hollister et al., 1969; Ludwig et al., 1969; Mottin, 1973).The Native American Church, on the other hand, offers a combination of elements that used in conjunction with one another, form the basis of a holistic treatment model that takes the entire individual into account. Peyote is seen as a medicine by the native peoples who use it. They believe that the controlled religious use of this medicine will allow them to see the truth about their lives and that the peyote spirit is able to give them guidance and direction....http://www.maps.org/news-letters/v07n4/07403mcc.html
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Comment #68 posted by afterburner on August 06, 2006 at 20:42:11 PT

FoM #31
"I would love to sit around a campfire and share poems, prayers and promises and things that we believe in. Thank you John Denver."I may have told you this before, but my daughter and I danced to that John Denver song at her wedding before the symbolic passing her to her husband.
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Comment #67 posted by afterburner on August 06, 2006 at 20:30:42 PT

Sinsemilla Jones #56
"And just what makes this guy a drug expert? 
Mr. Antonio Maria Costa (Italy) was appointed in May 2002 Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)"In other words, he's a cop, an international cop. And all cops are doctors, doncha know? Except LEAP members, of course! 

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Comment #66 posted by observer on August 06, 2006 at 19:56:54 PT

Would be? Who's Costa fooling? 
But we can tackle demand, particularly among the young. That need not mean sending them to jail. Young people caught in possession of cannabis could be treated in much the same way as those arrested for drunk driving: fined, required to attend classes on the dangers of drug use and threatened with loss of their driving licence for repeat offences. Prison would be a last resort. Schools and universities should apply zero tolerance.Could be?Would be?Prison would be a last resort?I'm not sure what kind of dream-world Costa lives in, but here on planet earth where the prohibitionist USA is world-hegemon, jailing cannabis users is a growth industry for government at all levels. Prison would be a last resort? Here in reality, the sole the purpose of government is to railroad pot smokers into jail, fining them, enslaving them, and brainwashing them. At one time, government was for other things, but these days, every part of government is preverted to the end of jailing the marijuana smoker and punishing him in every way possible for his disobedience. Prison is the first resort in the USA for pot smokers. Especially ones that rock the boat and refuse to be cowed by lies. 
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Comment #65 posted by ekim on August 06, 2006 at 19:48:19 PT

please resist --truth will win out with debate
allow speech dont be afraid
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Comment #64 posted by SystemGoneDown on August 06, 2006 at 18:45:14 PT

Radical Article!!!
This is a discrace to any sane person reading it. It is a shame that anyone has to read it. If I saw this asshole in the street, I would'nt hesitate to beat his ass to a pulp, then urinate on him. There's the saying Ignorance is bliss. Well, with Orwellien prohibition advacates like this guy, he is defaming marijuana just to collect a paycheck. It's people like him that deserve to die. D-I-E. Pot smokers have always been the passive peaceful type. But I'm telling you C-news nation, if we don't start thinking radical, people like us will essentially be genocided from society. Free Thinkers are getting blown by wind slowly over time and we have no more time. It is 2006 and it is about time we forced our cause down THEIR throats for once.  Death to Antonio Maria Costa. 
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Comment #63 posted by codfish4 on August 06, 2006 at 15:09:03 PT

DEA, FDA etc.
Get a real job, you are a big waste of time and money. All the while you have gotten killed or injured 40,000 american troops on the so called war on terror. It is not a war by definition. It is a police action. I am so sick of the conservative republican party judgements. Who do we believe? jhon ashcroft w/his kkk ties, tom delay,lol how about rush limbaugh. You should all go hunting with dick cheney for all the wisdom you have shown. also stay out of israel's business or we will get more natural distruction. You were told by many a pastor to stay outta of gaza but bush did not and 40 days later katrina hit. Jesus is for real.
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Comment #62 posted by codfish4 on August 06, 2006 at 14:52:43 PT:

mmj
The only harm proven from pot is the jail time behind it, we must isolate the conservative republican party so it can never come to power again. they are our own american taliban
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Comment #61 posted by FoM on August 06, 2006 at 14:45:08 PT

Sinsemilla Jones 
First I want to say sorry afterburner. I was going too fast. I don't know if Cannabis could eliminate all those negative things but it might help. As far as the other substances I really don't know.
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Comment #60 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on August 06, 2006 at 14:34:55 PT

FoM, that was afterburner, but....
I wouldn't mind seeing a Joint Session, either.But I wonder if pot could cut through the powerful, heavy duty, real drugs our World Dictators are already on.Alcohol, Pills, Money, Power, Perks, and Ego.Sounds like a job for Mushrooms.
Or Peyote.After a few Special Joint Mushroom Sessions and Peyote Summits, then regular Joint Sessions to maintain sobriety.
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Comment #59 posted by FoM on August 06, 2006 at 14:33:33 PT

Whig
I just thought of something else Cannabis is. Cannabis is a comforter. In a war like the one going on now with Israel and Lebanon they both have unbelievable pain and loss. One person can be working thru it while another is still putting things in order and full of anger. Both could be brought into a similar frame of mind and that would be a good beginning.They allow Cannabis in Israel or were talking about it to help the soldiers with PTSD.
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Comment #58 posted by whig on August 06, 2006 at 13:57:29 PT

FoM #57
You aren't kidding. If we could get all the different groups that have been fighting one another to send representatives and smoke the peace pipe together, we could resolve all our conflicts. It would still take time and it would take a lot of work but it would be possible. The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations, you know.The Cannabis Conflict Resolution Protocol.
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Comment #57 posted by FoM on August 06, 2006 at 13:50:32 PT

Sinsemilla Jones
Glad you liked the joint meeting. Can anyone imagine if they really could sit down in a big circle and smoke a peace pipe how it might help solve some of problems they have with each other. Peace is better then war.
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Comment #56 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on August 06, 2006 at 13:24:44 PT

And just what makes this guy a drug expert?
Mr. Antonio Maria Costa (Italy) was appointed in May 2002 Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Director-General of the United Nations Office in Vienna (UNOV). He holds the rank of Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations.Mr. Costa was born on 16 June 1941 in Italy. He holds a degree in political science from the University of Turin (1963), a Degree in mathematical economics from the Moscow State University (1967), and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley (1971).From 1969 to 1983, Mr. Costa served as senior economist in the United Nations Department of International Economics and Social Affairs in New York. He was subsequently appointed Under-Secretary-General at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris where he served until 1987. He was a member of the OECD Working Group for financial transactions (later called FATF), a Member of IMF/World Bank Interim Committee and of the G-10 Group for the coordination of economic policy.Between 1987 and 1992, Mr. Costa served at the Commission of the European Union as Director-General for Economics and Finance. In that capacity he served as EU Sherpa for the G8 meetings. He then joined the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD, in London) as Secretary-General where he oversaw political issues, institutional affairs, corporate governance and questions relating to shareholders.Mr. Costa easily speaks a number of languages, including Russian.Mr. Costa is married with three children, adopted from Italy, Colombia and Ethiopia.http://www.unodc.org/unodc/leadership.html----------------------------------------------------------I wonder what mathematician/economist Costa would think of someone with no education in math being put in charge of UN math education and arguing that even though some claim 1, 2, and 3 are lower than 6, 7, or 8, that all numbers are numbers and therefore the same, but that number 2 has now become number 9, and addition and subtraction are too dangerous and complicated for individuals to be allowed to solve, so all equations equal what some career UN bureaucrat says they do?
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Comment #55 posted by afterburner on August 06, 2006 at 13:24:20 PT

'a *joint* meeting with world leaders' --FoM #28
Good idea, FoM! 
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Comment #54 posted by afterburner on August 06, 2006 at 13:16:33 PT

I Watched the 2000 New Year's Celebrations on CNN
"I believe in cultural diversity." --FoM #27We all watched in dread and anticipation as we wondered if the Y2K bug would meltdown civilization. 
My brother commented, "I didn't know that the earth had so many cultures," as 1.January.2000 "dawned" around the world. "kissy kissy lovey dovey Republican" --FoM #21.That's almost mean for you, FoM. It's funny though! 
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Comment #53 posted by afterburner on August 06, 2006 at 12:44:00 PT

Blah Blah Woof Woof
{ Firstly, cannabis is a dangerous drug, not just to the individuals who use it. People who drive under the influence of cannabis put others at risk. [Untrue, many studies indicate that experienced cannabis drivers are actually safer. I won't repeat the studies again here for brevity, but do a search here on cannabisnews and you will find them.] Would even the most ardent supporter of legalization want to fly in an aircraft whose pilot used cannabis? [This question is impossible to answer as to my knowledge no scientific studies have evaluated the effects of cannabis on the complicated task of flying an airplane. However, I would rather have a pilot with cannabis in hir system than "high on cocaine," or "go pills."]Secondly, drug control works. ... [Turning addicts into criminals is not a successful campaign. It is cruel and medically unsound!]... The distinction between "soft" and "hard" drugs is, at best, artificial, especially with such a damaging psycho-active substance as modern-day cannabis. Even some advocates of cannabis as a "soft" drug are now reconsidering as they observe the devastating health consequences of abuse.
[Would you mind naming some of these so-called advocates? Your theory seems to be based on the high potency argument which also has been debated here frequently. Search this site for details.]Antonio Maria Costa is executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. }
[As soon as I saw his name I recognized him as a force behind the UN's recent bogus study that has been roundly attacked as unscientific propaganda!]

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Comment #52 posted by mai_bong_city on August 06, 2006 at 12:41:36 PT

well, shoot.
i guess i won't be applying to the UN for compassionate asylum to The Netherlands - the only way an oppressed American can get in and be protected if they don't have a fortune to sustain them on their own.
if i could not be sick and work i would, gladly. if i could use the medicine i need to make me strong enough to work, i would, gladly. but i can't - because the medicine that makes me well enough to be productive makes me an illegal drug user that is shut out of almost any opportunity to earn a living or even volunteer with children, despite the fact there are so many in need and i've proven myself to be a worthy caregiver.
i can't even give credence or response to this a**hat's spew, it's so old already....they don't want anyone to use their own minds, apparently....that's the biggest reason they are after the 'enlightened-up'.
g warming, how does canada sound? ;)
a row of blueberry, a row of jack, a row of inca spirit? a field of white widow?
to sleep....perchance to dream.
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Comment #51 posted by global_warming on August 06, 2006 at 12:27:52 PT

re: Eternal Justice
Every breath which has caught a glimpse, in that twinkle, marches along, peace is better than global annihilation, cannabis is better than alcohol, understanding is better than dogma and old beliefs,it is your place and judgemet, be wise.
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Comment #50 posted by global_warming on August 06, 2006 at 12:14:37 PT

over and over again
can you see?
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Comment #49 posted by global_warming on August 06, 2006 at 12:09:08 PT

re:Costa
he is old, and soon to meet his maker,Costa will soon enough find his Eternal Justice,
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Comment #48 posted by global_warming on August 06, 2006 at 12:02:19 PT

Costa is a pig
Costa is for larger prisons
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Comment #47 posted by observer on August 06, 2006 at 11:56:42 PT

Costa: Prohibitionist, Jailer
[1]
Vienna -- Supporters of the legalization of cannabis would have us believe that it is a gentle, harmless substance that gives you little more than a sense of mellow euphoria . 

(Sentence 1) re: "euphoria" - Prohibitionist propaganda claims that horrible dangers are caused by "drugs." (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 ) 
 
 
[11]
Evidence of the damage to mental health caused by cannabis use -- from loss of concentration to paranoia, aggressiveness and outright psychosis -- is mounting and cannot be ignored . 

(Sentence 11) re: "damage", "paranoia", "psychosis" - Drugs, the prohibitionist explains, are a wicked bane on modern man. Why if not for the noble drug war (i.e. jailing drug users), exclaims the propagandist, then people will run amok, and violence, death, psychosis, and plague shall cover the land. (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 ) re: "cannabis use" - Prohibition propaganda claims that all use of any "drug" is abuse. (Use is Abuse (propaganda theme 4) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme4.htm#alluseisabuse ) 
 
 
[13]
These health problems are increasingly being seen in young people . 

(Sentence 13) re: "young people" - "Since the Harrison Act of 1914, the user and the seller of illicit drugs have both been characterized as evil, criminal, insane, and always in search of new victims, the victims are characterized as young children." [W.White,1979] (Children Corrupted (propaganda theme 5) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme5.htm#5 ) 
 
 
[14]
North America is the world's largest cannabis market and most of its cannabis is homegrown . 

(Sentence 14) re: "America" - Prohibitionists assert that the survival of the community, society, the nation, the world, etc. are at stake. Only continued and increased punishments for drug users can be contemplated, because, say prohibitionists, society will otherwise fall apart. (Survival of Society (propaganda theme 3) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme3.htm#3 ) 
 
 
[16]
As Canadians are starting to discover, a market that size inevitably attracts organized crime . 

(Sentence 16) re: "crime" - Prohibition propaganda rarely misses an opportunity to link crime, violence, and insanity with "drugs". The propagandist insinuates that prohibited drugs cause evil, and if it weren't for "drugs" bad things would not exist. (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 ) 
 
 
[17]
So cannabis is a security threat as well as a health risk . 

(Sentence 17) re: "health risk" - Drugs, scream prohibitionists, cause all bad things in life: crime, violence, insanity, etc. If not for prohibition (i.e., jailing drug users), then criminality, violence and psychotic behavior would explode upon the land, the prohibitionist assures us. (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 ) 
 
 
[18]
Amid all the libertarian talk about the right of the individual to engage in dangerous practices, provided no one else gets hurt, certain key facts are easily forgotten . 

(Sentence 18) re: "hurt", "dangerous" - Prohibitionists claim any use of currently illegal drugs cause death, illness, lunacy, mania, melancholy, and all means of sin and degradation. (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 ) 
 
 
[19]
Firstly, cannabis is a dangerous drug, not just to the individuals who use it . 

(Sentence 19) re: "dangerous drug", "dangerous" - It is prohibition, claim prohibitionists, that saves people from drug crazed, whacked out, high flying drug users. (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 ) 
 
 
[23]
More than a century of universally accepted restrictions on heroin and cocaine have prevented what would otherwise have been a pandemic . 

(Sentence 23) re: "pandemic" - Prohibitionists demonize the use of drugs and claim the use of drugs is "epidemic." Images of "war" are used by the prohibition propagandist to help whip up emotions. (Demonize, War (propaganda theme 6) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme6.htm#6 ) 
 
 
[24]
Global levels of drug addiction -- think of the opium dens of the 19th century -- have dropped dramatically in the past 100 years . 

(Sentence 24) re: "addiction" - Prohibitionist propaganda claims that horrible dangers are caused by "drugs." (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 ) 
 
 
[33]
Young people caught in possession of cannabis could be treated in much the same way as those arrested for drunk driving: fined, required to attend classes on the dangers of drug use and threatened with loss of their driving licence for repeat offences . 

(Sentence 33) re: "dangers of drug", "dangers" - The rhetoric of prohibition asserts that insanity, crime, and violence are caused by drugs, or are controlled by prohibition. (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 ) re: "drug use" - "This strategy equates the use and abuse of drugs and implies that it is impossible to use the particular drug or drugs in question without physical, mental, and moral deterioration." [W.White,1979] (Use is Abuse (propaganda theme 4) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme4.htm#alluseisabuse ) re: "Young people" - Prohibitionist propaganda continually whips up parental fear, invoking lurid images of children corrupted by drugs. (Children Corrupted (propaganda theme 5) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme5.htm#5 ) 
 
 
[35]
Schools and universities should apply zero tolerance . 

(Sentence 35) re: "zero tolerance" - Any mention of lessening the harshness of drug laws is portrayed as a sinful "legalization". Only total prohibition (or more jailings) will be righteous. (Total Prohibition or Access (propaganda theme 7) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme7.htm#7 ) 
 
 
[37]
The experience of countries that were more tolerant of cannabis use is ambiguous and not persuasive . 

(Sentence 37) re: "cannabis use" - Prohibitionists try to hammer in the idea that 'all use is abuse.' The rhetoric of prohibition needs to deny that many people can use currently illegal drugs without abusing them. (Use is Abuse (propaganda theme 4) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme4.htm#alluseisabuse ) 
 
 
[42]
Similar policies are needed to prevent cannabis use getting completely out of control . 

(Sentence 42) re: "cannabis use" - The rhetoric of prohibition will assume that "use" and "abuse" are identical. (Use is Abuse (propaganda theme 4) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme4.htm#alluseisabuse ) 
 
 
[48]
Antonio Maria Costa is executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime . 

(Sentence 48) re: "Crime" - Drugs, scream prohibitionists, cause all bad things in life: crime, violence, insanity, etc. If not for prohibition (i.e., jailing drug users), then criminality, violence and psychotic behavior would explode upon the land, the prohibitionist assures us. (Madness,Crime,Violence,Illness (propaganda theme 2) http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/pg/propaganda/theme2.htm#2 ) 
 
 

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Comment #46 posted by global_warming on August 06, 2006 at 11:55:23 PT

It is Time
To see and gather understanding,
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Comment #45 posted by global_warming on August 06, 2006 at 11:20:56 PT

"Eve of Destruction"
 The eastern world it tis explodin',
violence flarin', bullets loadin',
you're old enough to kill but not for votin',
you don't believe in war, what's that gun you're totin',
and even the Jordan river has bodies floatin',
but you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.Don't you understand, what I'm trying to say?
Can't you see the fear that I'm feeling today?
If the button is pushed, there's no running away,
There'll be noone to save with the world in a grave,
take a look around you, boy, it's bound to scare you, boy,
but you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.Yeah, my blood's so mad, feels like coagulatin',
I'm sittin' here, just contemplatin',
I can't twist the truth, it knows no regulation,
handful of Senators don't pass legislation,
and marches alone can't bring integration,
when human respect is disintegratin',
this whole crazy world is just too frustratin',
and you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.Think of all the hate there is in Red China!
Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama!
Ah, you may leave here, for four days in space,
but when you return, it's the same old place,
the poundin' of the drums, the pride and disgrace,
you can bury your dead, but don't leave a trace,
hate your next-door-neighbour, but don't forget to say grace,
and you tell me over and over and over and over again my friend,
ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.Recorded by "Barry McGuire"
Written by "P.F. Sloan"
Album: "Eve of Destruction"http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/lyrics/eve_of_dest.html
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Comment #44 posted by FoM on August 06, 2006 at 11:04:16 PT

global_warming 
You too! Oh My! LOL!
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Comment #43 posted by FoM on August 06, 2006 at 11:01:20 PT

Oh My Dr Ganj 
That's too much.
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Comment #42 posted by global_warming on August 06, 2006 at 10:51:07 PT

I got one called
george bush, it makes you look like a smiling chimp.

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Comment #41 posted by Dr Ganj on August 06, 2006 at 10:48:40 PT

New Strain Name
I've developed a new strain that is so strong, it turns the user into a complete, and total moron, who drools and attempts to communicate through speech. No matter how hard the user tries to talk, or make coherent thoughts, it is futile. I have decided to name this strain: Antonio Costa
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Comment #40 posted by FoM on August 06, 2006 at 10:29:12 PT

cannabliss
Cannabis Classic that is a cool name. I didn't understand all the hoop jumping that people did over types of plants. 
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Comment #39 posted by global_warming on August 06, 2006 at 10:23:06 PT

peeking is not allowed
http://tinyurl.com/rlwdx"More to the point, "Burning Rainbow Farm" is a cautionary tale about the murky middle ground where citizens and government collide."
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Comment #38 posted by global_warming on August 06, 2006 at 10:07:15 PT

Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867)
‘The brain and organism on which hashish operates will produce
only the normal phenomena peculiar to that individual – increased
admittedly, in number and force, but always faithful to their origin.
A man will never escape from his destined physical and moral
temperament: hashish will be a mirror of his impressions and
private thoughts – a magnifying mirror it is true, but only a mirror.’http://tinyurl.com/l3tdrCheckout the pdf below the quotehttp://www.release.org.uk/store/download.php?id=2
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Comment #37 posted by FoM on August 06, 2006 at 09:59:48 PT

Thanks Global_Warming
That was a good article. To save bandwidth I didn't re-post it though.http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22009.shtml
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Comment #36 posted by unkat27 on August 06, 2006 at 09:59:37 PT

Costa: Vampire or Vulture?
My guess is this guy Costa has large shares of Exxon or some other really huge oil company and plans on having a really lucrative retirement, like the purchase of an island in the carribean or south pacific... so he doesn't want legal cannabis to downgrade his stock anytime in the future.
List of Vampires and Vultures 
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Comment #35 posted by FoM on August 06, 2006 at 09:56:37 PT

kaptinemo
As far as drug laws go I haven't paid much attention to them but Cannabis has been demonized because they associate it with hippie types. It really is a substance that makes people enjoy talking about everything under the sun so it is mind expanding in a sense. Hippies are just people who don't want war, care for the earth, care for the needy and don't like a lot of fussing over unimportant things like Wall Street. Wall Street types remind me of people who would snort coke. I am prejudice when I see John Travolta types. They wrecked it for us.
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Comment #34 posted by global_warming on August 06, 2006 at 09:46:38 PT

WAR ON MARIJUANA COSTLY FOR NO REASON 
http://tinyurl.com/oftstSource: Herald Democrat (TX)
Copyright: 2006 Herald Democrat
Contact: mail herald-democrat.com
Website: http://www.herald-democrat.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2710Author: Jim HightowerNote: Jim Hightower, a native of Dension, is a radio talk show host, former
agriculture commissioner of Texas, and author of "Thieves In High Places:
They've Stolen Our Country And It's Time to Take It Back." (Viking Press)WAR ON MARIJUANA COSTLY FOR NO REASON"Excuse me for a moment while I vent about the mind-boggling stupidity of the autocratic, bureaucratic, right-wing, neanderthal numbskulls who keep pushing an insane, inane, and inhumane holy war against marijuana - which is after all, a weed.The most embarrassing thing for these holy warriors is that the weed is winning!"Mr. Hightower, I agree.
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Comment #33 posted by kaptinemo on August 06, 2006 at 09:45:44 PT:

My fault for being wordy
Essentially what I am trying to say is that the kinds of diversity you mention - like the 'hippies' - since they are not being rammed down people's throats but are simply offered as alternative ways of doing things, are acceptable. The choice remains with the individual...as it should.Even though I provide technical support to the 'business suit' culture, I own only one suit, and all too often it's only worn at funerals. I don't subscribe to business culture doctrines because I know first hand how destructive corporations can be to the environment, and to indivdual rights and liberties. Were I able to earn my daily bread in an environment more akin to my beliefs, I'd quit this job in a heartbeat and do so. Unfortunately, right now, such conditions don't exist.In my posts here I'm railing against the idea that most laws (the drug laws in particular) are based upon prejudices, not facts and reasoned debate. Most prejudices are excused as "That's the way we've always done it." and some people like the True Believer DrugWarriors get incensed when you ask the simple question of "Why?". People like Mr. Costa don't want their precious beliefs challenged, and insist upon uniformity in conforming to their belief system to the point they're willing to destroy you to achieve it. Think of it as 'cultural cleansing' as opposed to the ethnic variety. That's what I object to so strongly. It's people like Mr. Costa who, in the most raw and bitter irony imaginable, given his position at an international body supposedly concerned with human rights, can't stand diversity.
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Comment #32 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on August 06, 2006 at 09:34:27 PT

Lieberman
Stephen Colbert had a funny throw-away line about Lieberman the other night, something like, "I've invited my favorite Republican, Democrat Joe Lieberman, to the show..." 
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Comment #31 posted by FoM on August 06, 2006 at 09:24:27 PT

kaptinemo
I'm not sure I totally understand what you mean but I look at life a little differently. I love diversity of cultures. I don't like the wall street type of people as far as socializing with them in some capacity. The hippie culture is what I love. I would love to sit around a campfire and share poems, prayers and promises and things that we believe in. Thank you John Denver. I have no use for stuffy suits and tie type people (my Dad was cool but he was a suit and tie type person). I didn't like his friends though. I don't like cigar smokers either. I guess it's ok that Kinky smokes a cigar though. I am mentioning this because we all have special things that make us happy and everyone including the hippie types need the right to be who they are.
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Comment #30 posted by cannabliss on August 06, 2006 at 08:46:20 PT

Everything old is new again
"The characteristics of cannabis are no longer that different from those of other plant-based drugs, such as cocaine and heroin."For over 50 years this lie was told; then, when it became just too absurd, a new approach was taken.Now, apparently "Cannabis Classic", the kind enjoyed by home-owning and voting boomers isn't so bad, but "New Cannabis" is on the scene, so we can recycle 1940s era propoganda against it.Of course, the prohibitionist doesn't realize his hidden admission. "Cannabis Classic" is really OK. Therefore, let's legalize "Cannabis Classic". I look forward to his support. 

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Comment #29 posted by kaptinemo on August 06, 2006 at 08:41:24 PT:

FoM, I have nothing against diversity
So long as that diversity isn't rammed down my throat but is voluntary. For example, I occasionally work with a deaf man, a US citizen, who originally came from Ethiopa. Because of his double disability (English was his second language after his native Amharic), he has difficulty communicating his technical problems, and I have spent a lot of time, at his office and sometimes at his home, to assist him. I do the latter voluntarily, as I believe it is only right to help the less fortunate when able. Call it my code of spiritual ethics if you want to, as I subscribe to no religion. My point is to illustrate that we all come from somewhere, but here in the US, we are working towards what amounts to common purpose. The methods might differ and we might argue as to their usefulness, but we are all Americans. You know part of my past and where I've been; I cannot be called a bigot because of my extensive travels have caused my face to be rubbed in the reality of how much of a 'minority' Americans are in this world.  My concern is with not so much about diversity, but in how laws are, all too often, not arrived at reasonably but through the basest of human emotions.The sad fact is, most laws come about, not because of reasoned debate, but because at one point or another a cultural predilection for a certain behavior, that was widely accepted before being socially challenged, is then enshrined into law to prevent further challenges. The drug laws of this country are perfect examples. For over a century, it was no concern of the Federal Government what you put into your body. It was just hunkey-dorey that White folks could 'handle' their drugs, as well as their 'likker'. But when the social converntions regarding minorites (that it was just fine to discriminate against them) were being challenged, a new means had to be found to "keep the ___________________ (fill in the blank with the favorite racial or ethnic slur of the time) in their places". Along comes hysterical nonsense like "Cocaine makes Negroes bulletproof!" or ""Give one of these Mexican beet field workers a couple of puffs on a marijuana cigarette and he thinks he is in the bullring at Barcelona!" And so, cultural prejudices become enshrined into law...with, as the lawyers say, 'malice, aforethought'.The intent was evil from the get-go.And the poison tree (the drug laws) has borne equally poisonous fruit (incarceration rate amongst the originally targeted minorities, exactly as intended). Prejudice...canonized into law. And we're still doing it...
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Comment #28 posted by FoM on August 06, 2006 at 08:08:36 PT

John Tyler
I like that. Why is being mellow such a bad thing in their eyes? Mellow doesn't mean lazy or lacking motivation. Mellow is well mellow. Pleasant, reasonable, kind, open to others opinions etc. It could solve the war problems if people had a joint meeting with world leaders.
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Comment #27 posted by FoM on August 06, 2006 at 08:04:32 PT

kaptinemo
No matter how we look at it whether it is from our religious upbringing or looking at the world without religion it isn't good. I believe in cultural diversity. I believe the differences make the world a great place. I don't want us to be the same. That isn't the way it should be.
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Comment #26 posted by John Tyler on August 06, 2006 at 08:00:49 PT

another thought
Looking over this article again and the title “Reefer is worth getting mad about” I think reefer is a funny sounding word. It’s also funny how prohibitionists get mad, as in insane, and cannabis users get mellow. Maybe there should be rehab for prohibitionists to get their minds right. Maybe the title should have been “Cannabis is worth getting mellow about”. And this quote, “In Canada, as in most parts of the world, cannabis is by far the drug of choice. An estimated 4 per cent of the world's adult population -- that's about 162 million people -- consume cannabis at least once a year, (more than all other illicit drugs combined).” 
Could this be because everybody likes it? It’s a plant. It’s good. It works for them. Leave them alone. Antonio, you and your pals need to get your collective heads together and do something useful. 

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Comment #25 posted by kaptinemo on August 06, 2006 at 07:56:00 PT:

FoM, my objections to world government stem
from other reasons.When you look at how diverse Humanity is regarding what's accepted cultural practices in some places (like female circumcision, forever removing any pleasure involved in the act of lovemaking and turning a woman into a breeding machine) and then consider that, using the democratic power of blocs of nations voting on such things can force signatories to such a world government into canonizing such cultural practices into national law, the danger is clear. We have enough madmen of our own dictating their prejudices into law. We don't need any more.
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Comment #24 posted by FoM on August 06, 2006 at 07:46:03 PT

kaptinemo
Good point. I never wanted a one world government. I was taught in church that would usher in the anti-christ. For having right wing religious fundamentalists in the republican party you'd think they would shy away from it too.
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Comment #23 posted by kaptinemo on August 06, 2006 at 07:36:06 PT:

Another reason to quit the UN
Of course, many of our prohibitionists, no lovers of the idea of world government, and who have nothing but scorn for it, become quite voluble in the defense of this aspect of that proposed world government when it comes to maintaining their own little enterprise of drug prohibition.That is what the UN is meant to be, people, the Biblical 'old wine' of the League of Nations in a 'new wineskin' which was rightly rejected by the US Senate so long ago when it was first proposed for daring to dissolve the sovereignty of the US into a mess of internationalist pottage.Mr. Costa should be thanked for his efforts, for he reminds us of the dangers involved in providing any support for such internationalist schemes. The UN drug laws were the last hurrah of Harry Anslinger, who sought to permanently solidify all of his national efforts in saddling following generations with his madness and preventing reform by having the US become a signatory to the Single Convention Treaty, thus overriding US law with an international treaty. This makes Anslinger a traitor to the United States in my eyes, and his corpse should be dug up and deposited on the UN's doorstep for his perfidy. It doesn't belong where it presently remains, poisoning American soil. 
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Comment #22 posted by Hope on August 06, 2006 at 07:07:08 PT

Article is an open sore...oozing lies.
1. "Supporters of the legalization of cannabis would have us believe that it is a gentle, harmless substance that gives you little more than a sense of mellow euphoria." Supporters of prohibition would have you believe that prohibition and enforcement of said prohibition is a "gentle and harmless" act of government.2."This is much closer to the truth." (Describing colorful evocations of cannabis strength...i.e....a sales pitch.) (Marc Emery came up with the idea of "B.C. Bud"...as a sales pitch. A darn good one, too...obviously.)3. "...the cannabis now in circulation (like Canada's BC Bud) is many times more powerful than the weed that today's aging baby boomers smoked in college. The characteristics of cannabis are no longer that different from those of other plant-based drugs, such as cocaine and heroin." The author has no knowledge of the truth and swallows whole the lies of prohibition.4."Emergency room admissions involving cannabis are rising, as is demand for rehabilitation treatment. These health problems are increasingly being seen in young people." They "involve" cannabis if it's mentioned in the interview. The demand for "treatment" (also known as "re-education" or "brainwashing") is driven by prohibitionists and the courts and provoked hysteria. Prohibitionists make a fine penny treating you with the drugs they "push" for the pharmeceuticals and everyone the pharmaceutical industry owns (i.e. just about everyone in our government) are pushing.4."...a market that size inevitably attracts organized crime. So cannabis is a security threat as well as a health risk."Is the soft drink industry run by organized crime? How about the automobile industry? The oil industry? The pharmaceutical industry? The prison industry? They're BIG. They are.Prohibition attracts and breeds and enables organized crime.5."...cannabis is a dangerous drug,..." Obviously Antonio Maria has never seen a "dangerous" reaction to a "drug". Cannabis doesn't come even close to what many drugs can do to the human body and mind. Leviquin can reduce some people to a sack of snot and make their skin fall off as though burned. 6."Secondly, drug control works. More than a century of universally accepted restrictions on heroin and cocaine have prevented what would otherwise have been a pandemic." You could say "it works"... for some people....especially those who profit from it. 7."Cannabis is the weakest link in the international effort to contain the global drugs problem."Prohibitionists are the "weakest link" in dealing with anything. 8. "Prison would be a last resort."When? Yeah, it should be...but that's just not the way it is.9. "Schools and universities should apply zero tolerance."Goose Creek comes to mind.10. "The experience of countries that were more tolerant of cannabis use is ambiguous and not persuasive. The distinction between "soft" and "hard" drugs is, at best, artificial, especially with such a damaging psycho-active substance as modern-day cannabis. Even some advocates of cannabis as a "soft" drug are now reconsidering as they observe the devastating health consequences of abuse." Obviously, lying about the Netherlands, in this paragraph. A change in government brought out the unfulfilled and neglected prohibitionists there, a couple of years ago...but the facts, that the Netherlands plan of "control" is truly better are completely ignored...to suit the prohibitionist. Of course.11. "Similar policies are needed to prevent cannabis use getting completely out of control." We need policies to keep the prohibitionists from "getting completely out of control". 12. "Let's draw the right conclusions. Cannabis is dangerous. We ignore it at our peril." In fact, we ignore the dangerous lying prohibitionists in sheep's clothing ...at our "peril".
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Comment #21 posted by FoM on August 06, 2006 at 07:01:19 PT

Global_Warming 
I sure agree with that! He is a kissy kissy lovey dovey Republican in my opinion. He just is a card carrying member of the Democratic Party.
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Comment #20 posted by global_warming on August 06, 2006 at 06:58:28 PT

Gallup: Lieberman Now More Popular With Republican
Gallup: Lieberman Now More Popular With Republicans Than Democrats http://tinyurl.com/e7j6fYou heard it here first folks..August 8 2006, will see this entrenched bushlicker fall, bye bye Lieberman.
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Comment #19 posted by FoM on August 06, 2006 at 06:53:22 PT

Just My Thoughts
I don't believe we have a big global drug problem because most people can get the drugs they want from their doctor. Rush Limbaugh is an example. Cannabis is popular in every age, country, religion and social class of people. It's popular because it is a pleasant substance and doesn't have any sneaky side effects to come around and bite a person in the back. Changing the laws on Cannabis would stop the drug war because the money is in chasing cannabis folks. That's just my opinion.From The Article: Cannabis is the weakest link in the international effort to contain the global drugs problem.
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Comment #18 posted by Had Enough on August 06, 2006 at 06:50:15 PT

Mr. Costa
Is a social engineer for the New World Order. He marches to the beat well. I’ll bet he is really full of himself. I wonder what his Komrades think of him in private.

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Comment #17 posted by Had Enough on August 06, 2006 at 06:35:58 PT

Mr. Costa
is a social engineer. He has done it all his life….From gw’s link“From 1969 to 1983, Mr. Costa served as senior economist in the United Nations Department of International Economics and Social Affairs in New York. He was subsequently appointed Under-Secretary-General at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris where he served until 1987. He was a member of the OECD Working Group for financial transactions (later called FATF), a Member of IMF/World Bank Interim Committee and of the G-10 Group for the coordination of economic policy.Between 1987 and 1992, Mr. Costa served at the Commission of the European Union as Director-General for Economics and Finance. In that capacity he served as EU Sherpa for the G8 meetings. He then joined the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD, in London) as Secretary-General where he oversaw political issues, institutional affairs, corporate governance and questions relating to shareholders.”He even went to school in Russia. He speaks Russian well, according to the link. Imagine that!!! No wonder he likes Czars.

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Comment #16 posted by Had Enough on August 06, 2006 at 05:36:07 PT

United Nations
has failed, miserably, in all it’s endeavors.

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Comment #15 posted by global_warming on August 06, 2006 at 05:15:37 PT

re: Mr. Costa
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/leadership.htmlIt makes me wonder how this guy got this job. His only credentials seem to be based on economics. Oh I forgot, cannabis prohibition is biG Business..
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Comment #14 posted by Toker00 on August 06, 2006 at 03:37:06 PT

Propaganda wrapped in Fascism and Satanism.
"Would even the most ardent supporter of legalization want to fly in an aircraft whose pilot used cannabis?" That depends. Pilots have been arrested lately who use alcohol just before flying. Now, these are just the ones CAUGHT using alcohol. I'm sure many others make the flight, undetected. Since several studies suggest that people who DRIVE after smoking cannabis are safer drivers, then I would assume they would be safer fliers, or pilots, as well. So, we have all probably been on flights with cannabis using and alcohol using pilots. If I had to choose, I would pick the canna-pilot over the alco-pilot, any day. I know some uptight straight pilots who I would choose a slightly canna-buzzed pilot over, too."Even some advocates of cannabis as a "soft" drug are now reconsidering as they observe the devastating health consequences of abuse."Where is the devastation of health among those of us who have toked incessantly for over 35 years? During this time frame, we have smoked every strain, from every geographical location, in every potency that cannabis achieves. To this day, I have never had a life-threatening, health changing, or injury causing situation involving cannabis. Now let's talk about alcohol and tobacco. Alcohol robbed me of my young adulthood just as sure as if it had put a gun to my head and demanded my livelihood. For twenty-five years I suffered under this excruciating addiction, racking up a DWI offense and losing too many good relationships, until cannabis set me free. Tobacco robbed me of my life absorbing lung capacity just as sure as if it had surgically removed portions of my lungs. For twenty-five years I suffered under this excruciating addiction, coughing up blood and wasting thousands of dollars, until cannabis set me free. "Global levels of drug addiction -- think of the opium dens of the 19th century -- have dropped dramatically in the past 100 years. In the past 10 years or so, they have remained stable."Well, you would think this author would be appreciative of a SAFER ALTERNATIVE TO BOOZE AND HARD DRUGS. Perhaps hard drug use is down and cannabis use is up, because many people have realized the rehabilitative powers of cannabis. "Emergency room admissions involving cannabis are rising, as is demand for rehabilitation treatment. These health problems are increasingly being seen in young people."The increased potency may have something to do with this, but my take would be that most of these cases are forced by outside influence, or the newby toker experiencing "paranoia". We all know the increase in rehabilitation is from STATE FORCED treatment."Canada was a pioneer in introducing systematic anti-smoking policies, which are now being copied around the world. Their success demonstrates that preventive measures can help to change attitudes. Similar policies are needed to prevent cannabis use getting completely out of control."Preventive measures? Surely you mean Oppressive measures? As far as out of control goes, you're too late. You've already said: " In theory, it's a controlled substance. In practice, it's running rampant." In other words, you are telling us out of one side of your mouth drug control works, and saying cannabis is running rampant out of the other side. Why do you think similar policies (Like those for tobacco) would work for cannabis (In your opinion)? Or even other drugs? We already have oppressive controlled substance laws which include beatings, torture, terror, jail and even death, yet you yourself admit cannabis is "running rampant". How can you believe similar policies to Canada's "Smoking" policies would work any better than torture, etc.? People are stopping smoking because of the awareness of the DANGERS of the chemicals artificially inserted into tobacco. Remove the chemical fillers and sorcery from tobacco, and I'll fight for the use of it just like I do cannabis.Another Fascist attempt to protect Pharmaceutica while demonizing Mother Nature. Give it up.Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW! 
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Comment #13 posted by museman on August 06, 2006 at 01:28:08 PT

All Hype No fact
S.O.P. Truth making the WOD look bad? Lie louder!!!! 
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Comment #12 posted by rchandar on August 06, 2006 at 01:18:40 PT:

and it's stupid, stupid, stupid...
comparing cannabis to heroin and cocaine. Haven't really seen any "cannabis junkies" starving and begging for hits lately. Didn't see any welfare mothers selling their kids for kilos anytime over the past few weeks. looks like peace, love and understanding are still popular themes with young potsmokers--and evaluating their world. No, Mr. Costa, I fail to see it. Where's the evidence? Is it simply that pot today gives a stronger kick? Why don't you turn squarely on drinkers who drink "hard" alcohol, may we make the comparison there?No, Mr. Costa, I forgot. You're a pencil-pushing idiot paid and honored to spawn this unresearched and useless lie. But, we can sell hard liquor in the Islamic countries; it's "cool" with the UN.--rchandar
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Comment #11 posted by rchandar on August 06, 2006 at 01:13:32 PT:

Dr.Ganj...
...and he's desperate to be heard. The UN is a total sham, disgraced by every world crisis that they haven't the reason or the nuts to solve. Europe makes him especially mad, since they've all liberalized cannabis and are still prosperous countries. All over the world, even governments are openly contesting cannabis prohibition. Costa should get another job; him and Kofi can mow the lawn in some suburban ditch for all I care.
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Comment #10 posted by rchandar on August 06, 2006 at 01:03:20 PT:

what he really wanted to say...
hi!
I'm Antonio Maria Costa, the UN Drug Control Chief. Yes, it's all my fault. You can blame me for it. I know you don't want to hear my opinions about cannabis, but since I'm in charge and screw you, you're going to hear it anyway!
I'm here to make sure you can't enjoy your privacy, your views, your knowledge derived from cannabis. 
I am power. I am money. I am the schoolteacher that took your candy away. Ha ha ha ha! Screw you, we uphold unjust laaaawwwws!that's my freestyle on the matter. What a dips #$t who deserves to be ignored. Honey, I'm breaking the law again.--rchandar
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Comment #9 posted by The GCW on August 06, 2006 at 00:28:33 PT

An observation that is off topic but related some.
This observation may be a stretch but...I was reading this story "Lack of nursing instructors worsens nurse shortage" in Summit County's, Summit Daily newspaper, 
http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20060804/NEWS/108040058about how there is a shortage of nurses and it is growing. The article speaks of a reason that causes the shortage but I think there could be another reason.Most nurses are women and while the prison industry is growing, the largest percentage of prison growth is incarcerating (caging) women. And many of the women caged are due to drug or cannabis related issues.If society cages more and more women and there is a shortage of nurses, could some of that shortage be due to more women being caged and taken out of the job market????Could other job markets that have shortages be due to the same scinario?What is the loss to society when productive and innovative citizens are placed in cages so one group (the prison industry) profits?
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Comment #8 posted by lombar on August 05, 2006 at 23:48:33 PT

Oh that one deserved a letter...
I wrote a LTE for that one. Short and to the point. His two asertions, underlying premises that cannabis is a dangerous drug and that prohibition works are demonstrably false by simple observation of reality. If drug prohibition worked to reduce drug use then why are there more and cheaper drugs available? They can't even prevent drug usage in prison. If relative 'danger' is to be the yardstick by which we determine if the little people are allowed to have it, then Mr. Costas and his pals have a lot more drug users to demonise... beer drinkers, ciggarette smokers(oops they are!), drivers, ...Organisations that are founded upon the premise of ending war should not be spewing out propaganda to support a war that only the police and politicians actually want. Or to support any war... Until the UN recognises that the global 'war' on drugs is actually a 'war' which is actually against its own principles, they too are just hypocrites.PREAMBLEWE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED
to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, andUnless it's to insure nobody dare use mother natures herbto reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, andUnless they use some illicit drugto establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, andUnless it involves some illicit drugto promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,Freedom to be defined in committee date 2010...and unless you use some illicit drugAND FOR THESE ENDSto practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours, andunless you use some illicit drug in which case you are condemned...SINNER!to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, andby propping up a global war on some drugs, allowing vast sums to be accumulated in the black market that can then be invested in further mayhem by all kinds of unsavory typesto ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest, and ahem... unless you are a cannabis user, then force may be used against you. what common interest does that serve again? prison building, guards, and police?to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples,except for the cannabis users, the witches.
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Comment #7 posted by Dr Ganj on August 05, 2006 at 22:35:52 PT

Blah Blah Blah......
Hard for me to comprehend that a person could write such nonsense.
I shouldn't even bother to respond. I won't type anymore. 
This retard doesn't deserve my time.
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on August 05, 2006 at 21:29:49 PT

John Tyler 
The last named Cannabis I can remember was in the 70s and was called Panama Red. I don't know if it was from Panama but it was red. 
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Comment #5 posted by The GCW on August 05, 2006 at 21:06:32 PT

Friends,
Antonio Maria Costa’s comparison of cannabis (marijuana) to Cocaine and Heroin is disturbing and disappointing.---CN QU: Extradition Refused In Bedford Pot CasePubdate: Fri, 04 Aug 2006Source: Montreal Gazette (CN QU)http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n1030/a03.html?397 EXTRADITION REFUSED IN BEDFORD POT CASE 11 Residents Wanted in U.S. After Bust A Quebec judge has shut the door on a U.S. request to extradite 11 residents of the Bedford area of the Eastern Townships to face charges after a massive marijuana bust there last year. "We're evaluating the decision, still, and are going to explore our options once we fully do that," Tristram Coffin, assistant U.S. attorney for the district of Vermont, said yesterday from his Burlington office. "I can't comment beyond that." CONT.
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Comment #4 posted by ekim on August 05, 2006 at 20:40:38 PT

anyone like 3-d
love all the colors-- seems this one stands out 
http://www.magiceye.com/3dfun/stwkdisp.shtml
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Comment #3 posted by John Tyler on August 05, 2006 at 20:35:49 PT

rubbish
What a pile of rubbish. This guy is the top UN prohibitionist. This is his job and he makes plenty from it too I’ll bet. His comments about some cannabis sobriquets were off the mark and showed a lack of real knowledge. I presume that an aide either gave him some information or that this was written by an aid for him. I doubt if he wrote this all by himself. If he wants to judge by something’s name... I was in a huge wine and beer store today. Some of their beers had names like Grog, and Hell Bound. Does this mean that all alcoholic beverages are out to destroy you? No, of course not. Neither is cannabis. Probably 99% of all cannabis consumed is simply called poor, OK, or good. I haven’t seen any fancy name cannabis since Colombian thirty years ago. 
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Comment #2 posted by ekim on August 05, 2006 at 20:13:38 PT

Hopefully this will be a precedent setting case
Aug 7 06 Medical Activist Marijuana Trial 10:00 AM Jay Fleming Las Vegas Nevada USA 
 Speaker Jay Fleming will be talking with people at the trial as well as on the Vegas strip. He will be discussing LEAP's mission, what's wrong with our nation’s drug policy, and what can be done to end drug prohibition. Currently Nevada medical marijuana patients have no where to get their medicine. Hopefully this will be a precedent setting case, allowing dispensaries in Nevada. Federal medical marijuana patient Elvy Musikka, as well as others will attend. Location: Las Vegas Distric Court Dept.21, Regional Justice building, 200 Lewis Ave. Aug 12 06 5th Annual Peace Fest 12:00 PM Greg Francisco Jonesville Michigan USA 
 Given the violence upon fellow citizens that is caused by the drug war, LEAP Speaker Greg Francisco will attend the 5th Annual Peace Fest, sponsored by Hillsdale County Coalition for Peace and Justice. Greg will be talking with other fest goers and discussing LEAP's mission to end the wasteful policies of drug prohibition. Location: Fast Park 

http://www.leap.cc/events
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Comment #1 posted by ekim on August 05, 2006 at 19:58:54 PT

Prohibition Lies then Freedom Dies
what a wicked web you weve when you decieve.
you lie like a rug. "mental health caused by cannabis use, paranoia, aggressiveness and outright--- psychosis "Why no mention of the Millions of Lives destroyed by such as this author.Why no mention of the loss of Tax Revenew of this insane Drug War."The U.S. market alone has been valued at more than $10-billion"yes by all means treat it like beer and regulate Cannabis,
but that is not what you mean is it." Zero tolerance."Canada listen up loud and clear -----"Similar policies are needed to prevent cannabis use getting completely out of control."
A Prison Building Budget that will strip you of your man and woman hood.
http://www.Leap.cc/events
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