cannabisnews.com: Drug Expert Says Law Would Increase Marijuana Use










  Drug Expert Says Law Would Increase Marijuana Use

Posted by CN Staff on October 02, 2006 at 18:08:06 PT
By Nick Bonham, The Pueblo Chieftain  
Source: Pueblo Chieftain  

Colorado -- Tom Gorman, a former undercover narcotics detective from California, said drug use in America is on the decline and voting to legalize an ounce or less of marijuana in Colorado would drive it back up. Gorman, local director of the national High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area organization, brought that message to Pueblo last week.Even though no one attended the night event at Pueblo Community College, Gorman, who now lives in Denver, discussed with Pueblo Police Chief Jim Billings what he sees as the problems of Amendment 44 which seeks to legalize possession of small amounts of pot.
"It's a bad law," Gorman said. "Drug use is down and this could have a reverse effect. I have spent my career trying to comfort families who have lost loved ones in accidents and deaths from people who were stoned."Even if Colorado voted to legalize pot, federal law still classifies the drug illegal. The problem with the federal law, Gorman said, is enforcement."Oh, we have federal law, but it's not going to be enforced," Gorman said. "The federal government doesn't have the manpower. The DEA deals with tons and kilos of marijuana. They won't be able to enforce on these smaller amounts," of marijuana.Gorman and Billings said that Pueblo is on law enforcement's drug-trafficking radar because of its location on Interstate 25 and its close proximity to ever-growing Colorado Springs.The last large drug bust came in Oct. 2004 when Pueblo police played a role in toppling an international drug ring. Pueblo and Peyton, near Colorado Springs, were said to be hubs for a drug ring that stretched from El Paso, Texas, to Chicago and New York.Code named Choque (Spanish for "crash"), the bust confiscated 5,000 pounds of cocaine and $11 million in suspected drug money from a ranch in Peyton. Twenty-nine federal indictments were handed out in the operation, lauded as one of the biggest drug investigations of that year.Gorman said drug traffickers aren't the sole supporters of Amendment 44."It's people who have a real liberal view, who want government to stay out of their life," he said.According to a handout produced by Guarding Our Children Against Marijuana, drug use among teenagers is down 20 percent from 2002, and drug use has dropped almost 50 percent from its popularity in the 1960s and 70s.On The Net: Stop Amendment 44: http://www.stop44.org/ Complete Title: Drug Expert Says Proposed Law Would Increase Marijuana UseSource: Pueblo Chieftain (CO)Author: Nick Bonham, The Pueblo Chieftain Published: Monday, October 02, 2006 Copyright: 2006 The Star-Journal Publishing Corp.Website: http://www.chieftain.com/Contact: newsroom chieftain.comRelated Articles & Web Sites:Safer Choicehttp://www.saferchoice.org/Safer Coloradohttp://www.safercolorado.org/Adults Should Be Allowed To Choosehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22225.shtmlMeasure Threatens Drug-Use Declinehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22223.shtmlPossession of Pot Object of Amendment 44http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22222.shtml

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Comment #18 posted by mayan on October 03, 2006 at 17:42:21 PT

No Support For The Fascists
Gorman, local director of the national High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area organization, brought that message to Pueblo last week.I'm sure the police chief had already heard that bogus message. It's a shame that absolutely nobody else showed up to hear it! 
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Comment #17 posted by Hope on October 03, 2006 at 09:22:13 PT

Wonderful, too. From this article.
"Even though no one attended the night event at Pueblo Community College, Gorman, who now lives in Denver, discussed with Pueblo Police Chief Jim Billings what he sees as the problems of Amendment 44 which seeks to legalize possession of small amounts of pot." Especially "...no one attended the....event..."
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Comment #16 posted by Hope on October 03, 2006 at 09:19:36 PT

Comment 12
Wonderful!An excerpt: "We don't live in a perfect world, and often we don't have ideal choices, but we look to find the lesser evil," Hanusa said. "Part of our call to be good stewards of our community's resources requires us to recognize that. The current policy is overkill and does not promote the common good. Controlling marijuana through regulations makes more sense."
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Comment #15 posted by dongenero on October 03, 2006 at 07:48:08 PT

Gorman comment
Gorman said drug traffickers aren't the sole supporters of Amendment 44."It's people who have a real liberal view, who want government to stay out of their life," he said.This is an interesting statement because prior to the Bush administration, it was always the Republican platform to oppose government meddling in individual freedom....oh yeah, except with regard to cannabis. 
Now that the Republicans are married to the religious fundamentalists, it's all about the government trying to impose fundamentalist, religious morality.The other big Republican platform?....Fiscal conservatism, and we all know how that one is going.What do the Republicans have left to run on???....."Republicans, we may be incompetent, but we're bat sh*t crazy, so don't f*ck with us. I figure that's about it.
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Comment #14 posted by Nausicaa on October 03, 2006 at 07:44:02 PT:

Found this gem on the stop44 website...
I found a little snippet on the drug warriors website with the headline, "Marijuana gumballs can pack enough THC to kill a small child!". I'll refrain from posting the entire article, but I encourage you all to go read it. This sounds like something the prohibitionists like Anslinger would have said in the 30s! Absolutely absurd.I mean, the fact is, until it does kill a small child (which it won't), who the hell cares? I could go to the grocery store right now and buy enough alcohol to kill thirty children if I so desired.And why are LEOs always referred to as "drug experts"? I wasn't aware they had such extensive knowledge of pharmacology, chemistry, and physiology
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Comment #13 posted by whig on October 03, 2006 at 05:52:51 PT

Choice quote
"Even though no one attended the night event at Pueblo Community College"
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Comment #12 posted by global_warming on October 03, 2006 at 03:03:21 PT

Religious leaders unite on marijuana initiative
A dozen Northern Nevada religious leaders plan to announce today they support the initiative to legalize marijuana.http://tinyurl.com/ndcuy
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Comment #11 posted by greenmed on October 02, 2006 at 22:34:44 PT

Omega-3 redux
The direct link doesn't seem to work without a nytimes.com account, but the link "Take Your Fish Oil" on the main page may still work.
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Comment #10 posted by greenmed on October 02, 2006 at 22:26:54 PT

O.T. - omega-3 fatty acids
Hemp (seed oil) has high levels of Omega-3 fatty acids, and although this article references fish oil, hemp seed oil offers the same benefits:http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/03/health/03fish.html---In Europe It’s Fish Oil After Heart Attacks, but Not in U.S.By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
Published: October 3, 2006ROME — Every patient in the cardiac care unit at the San Filippo Neri Hospital who survives a heart attack goes home with a prescription for purified fish oil, or omega-3 fatty acids.“It is clearly recommended in international guidelines,” said Dr. Massimo Santini, the hospital’s chief of cardiology, who added that it would be considered tantamount to malpractice in Italy to omit the drug.In a large number of studies, prescription fish oil has been shown to improve survival after heart attacks and to reduce fatal heart rhythms. The American College of Cardiology recently strengthened its position on the medical benefit of fish oil, although some critics say that studies have not defined the magnitude of the effect. But in the United States, heart attack victims are not generally given omega-3 fatty acids, even as they are routinely offered more expensive and invasive treatments, like pills to lower cholesterol or implantable defibrillators. Prescription fish oil, sold under the brand name Omacor, is not even approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in heart patients.-- snipped -----The article goes on to mention that Omega-3 fatty acids are thought to act by stabilizing cell membranes.
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Comment #9 posted by legalizeit on October 02, 2006 at 21:52:44 PT

Why is it....
... that drug warring imbeciles always come out and flap their traps whenever a progressive pot law is up for a vote?This brainless excuse for a human has made its livelihood sending otherwise innocent people to jail for growing or possessing plants. What would you expect it to say? And worse yet, the media is just a mouthpiece for this lunacy. The article couldn't be more one-sided. It's written in standard news-article style but might as well be an editorial. Where's the quote from the local LEAP chapter or pro-44 group to counter all the trash from the anti side?And no, sorry, the "liberal trashing" stance won't work, either -- remember, the patron saint of conservatism was nailed for popping OxyContin and, unlike you or me, got a slap on the wrist instead of forced rehab or a lengthy prison stay and stays on the air trashing "librools" as if nothing ever happened.If wanting government off my back brands me a liberal, so be it. Not to sound like our sorry excuse for a world leader, but I'd rather spread truth and freedom than a pack of old, worn-out lies and exaggerations.
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Comment #8 posted by Wayne on October 02, 2006 at 21:09:24 PT

hey Tommy boy
"Even though no one attended the night event at Pueblo Community College, Gorman, who now lives in Denver, discussed with Pueblo Police Chief Jim Billings what he sees as the problems of Amendment 44 which seeks to legalize possession of small amounts of pot. 'It's a bad law,' Gorman said. 'Drug use is down and this could have a reverse effect. I have spent my career trying to comfort families who have lost loved ones in accidents and deaths from people who were stoned.'"What, all 6 of them? No one attended your event, Tommy boy, because no one wants to celebrate human tragedy."Gorman said drug traffickers aren't the sole supporters of Amendment 44. 'It's people who have a real liberal view, who want government to stay out of their life,' he said."That's right, Tom, it's also people who utilize common sense and know a problem when they see it. Go ahead and call me a 'liberal' if it helps you to sleep better at night. Do I want the federal government out of my life? You're GODDAM RIGHT I DO!!!

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Comment #7 posted by taylor121 on October 02, 2006 at 21:01:40 PT

Support SAFER
Don't let these guys win. They are extremely insincere in their arguments.Donate to SAFER to legalize the possession of one ounce or less of marijuana.http://www.safercolorado.org/donate
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Comment #6 posted by kaptinemo on October 02, 2006 at 20:55:50 PT:

(Raucous laughter) 
Gorman said drug traffickers aren't the sole supporters of Amendment 44.(Laughing uncontrollably) Dru-drug deal-deal-ersssss want to passs this-sis-sis? Heheheheheh! Cough! Garg!Let me get my breath (Getting control, again) Say what? They want to cut their own throats? They want their highly lucrative market share to evaporate? They want to be reduced to becoming the equivalent of liquor store proprietors? Actually have to get a real job?Yeah, right. Suuuure they do. Uh-huh. I'd be inclined to examine more cloesly the contributors to the prohib organizations; how much of the money is coming, not only from groups like alcohol brewers, distillers and purveyors, but from illicit drug dealers themselves? They have as much to lose as Mr. Gorman. His bunch have to be really desperate to pull this one out of their dark-and-smellies...
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on October 02, 2006 at 20:36:18 PT

freewillks
I agree with you about Weeds. It has been a really entertaining series.
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Comment #4 posted by potpal on October 02, 2006 at 20:35:15 PT

no one attended the night event...
Nobody likes to be lied to.
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Comment #3 posted by freewillks on October 02, 2006 at 20:12:03 PT

OT: Weeds
Milf weed, did not think the show would get much beter. But then the slams on Drug free zone, and then calling alcohol A drug and chanting drug user was just to much. Ending was kinda somber though.Go Weeds!! 
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Comment #2 posted by ekim on October 02, 2006 at 19:54:13 PT

please someone from Pueblo Community College
invite a Leap speaker to your event.find out what former Judges, state police, local police, corrections officers, have to say about the failed war on drugs.see the look in these sad eyes that have had to cage a human for smelling of a plant. Speak CO its your fifteen minutes of fame.
http://www.leap.cc/events
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Comment #1 posted by schmeff on October 02, 2006 at 19:02:03 PT

Even though no one attended the event...
The Pueblo Chieftan is trying really, really hard to pretend an event where no one shows up is news. Pretty pathetic. So this 'drug expert' is left to explain his position to another member of the choir, and the Chieftan tries to report this live press release as news. Ha, ha, ha.The law enforcement community has NO credibility on the issue. That's why no one attended the event.
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