cannabisnews.com: Amendment 44 a Cloud of Smoke










  Amendment 44 a Cloud of Smoke

Posted by CN Staff on October 22, 2006 at 06:20:14 PT
Editorial 
Source: Denver Post  

Colorado -- It's the shortest proposal on this year's statewide ballot, but Amendment 44 touches on a host of thorny legal, social and health issues and has garnered a fair measure of national attention. If passed, it would change state law to allow people over 21 to possess an ounce or less of marijuana without legal penalty. The Post recommends a "no" vote.
That said, we agree that the issue of marijuana decriminalization has many shades of gray. An estimated 25.4 million Americans use marijuana at least once a year, and about 97 million are believed to have tried it at least once. (About 120 million Americans regularly drink alcoholic beverages, which is legal, though drinking carries many of the same risks as marijuana.) Nearly half a million Coloradans have used marijuana in the past year, according to federal statistics. Given such significant use, it's reasonable to think that the "drug war" isn't working as far as marijuana is concerned. But, marijuana use has declined steadily for many years - the peak was in 1979 - and anti-drug advocates also point to dropping teen marijuana use as a sign that enforcement and anti-drug campaigns are working. The debate is highly charged, full of clashing studies and fiercely held philosophies about protecting young people on one side and personal freedom and adult choice on the other. Note: Amendment 44, which would legalize possession of a small amount of marijuana, should be rejected. It's a national issue, not a state one. Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_4525473Newshawk: Global_WarmingSource: Denver Post (CO)Published: October 21, 2006 Copyright: 2006 The Denver Post CorpWebsite: http://www.denverpost.com/Contact: openforum denverpost.com Related Articles & Web Site:Safer Choicehttp://www.saferchoice.org/ Safety of Drug Incorrect & Irresponsible Argumenthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22313.shtmlNo Logical Reason To Punish Adults for Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22312.shtmlMarijuana Use a Safer Choice Than Alcohol http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22310.shtml

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Comment #46 posted by potpal on October 25, 2006 at 14:53:10 PT
whig 
Thanks for the tip!
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Comment #45 posted by carla on October 25, 2006 at 10:14:15 PT:
the nurse's office
Ritalin is indeed used to pacify hyperactive children. How much better it would have been if those children I sent to the nurse's off had gone to a room where everyone was puffing and playing for a few minutes. Then they would have come back to my science class in a REALLY good mood. I would have liked that! :) It's too bad pot use is down.
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Comment #44 posted by whig on October 23, 2006 at 17:03:06 PT
potpal
The Volcano is amazingly good. Expensive relative to most of the other vaporizers but we decided it qualified as a durable medical expense. I don't know where the best prices are, you'd have to look around.
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Comment #43 posted by potpal on October 23, 2006 at 16:45:44 PT
vaporizer
Anyone have a link to a good one that works well?Carla, welcome, 1953 be the year I found my way here too!
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Comment #42 posted by PublicBulldog on October 23, 2006 at 16:31:19 PT:
meth use is up
But, marijuana use has declined steadily for many years - the peak was in 1979 - and anti-drug advocates also point to dropping teen marijuana use as a sign that enforcement and anti-drug campaigns are working. Drug testing has created more meth and cocaine abuse.
Because the "whiffs' are out of your system in 24-72
hours.
Now "whiffers" can pass a drug test,but pot smokers can't.
The numbers on Marijuana use are down because drug testing and"whiff"use is up.
Also, "Huffing" paint fumes and camera lens cleaner is up too.
These are signs that the drug war is failing.They keep thinking all we need is a bottomless trough,and prohibition will work
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Comment #41 posted by Dankhank on October 23, 2006 at 12:29:28 PT
Talking last night ...
to my sounding-board, and mate for life ...There is research ongoing with results stating that Ritalin can help preschoolers, down to three-years-old. This is an issue of "control" that pits the government wanting a malleable population against those who recognise that Cannabis opens the mind, demanding thought about many things the government would want ignored.Welcome Carla.A quick and dirty ...Cannabis likely helps just about anything and if you don't think you should smoke medicine ... Vaporize!!
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Comment #40 posted by whig on October 23, 2006 at 11:17:15 PT
carla
Well you've found the motherlist now. :)
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Comment #39 posted by Publicbulldog on October 23, 2006 at 11:06:05 PT:
INDEX NOT INCLUDED
Good thing You get it,I charge extra for the index.
PROGRESS PEOPLE PROGRESS!
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Comment #38 posted by FoM on October 23, 2006 at 10:56:58 PT
Carla
Welcome to CNews.
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Comment #37 posted by carla on October 23, 2006 at 09:04:55 PT:
Reading
I've been reading since yesterday. I'm not sure why but just this year, the year I turned 53, I lost all my doubts about the benefits of pot. I consider the benefits considerable. Are there risks? The decision to live life fully is a definite risk. Taking a risk may shorten your life. Only by staying in your rut (a grave with open ends) will you be "safe" and live a long life: a very... very... long life *snore 
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Comment #36 posted by potpal on October 23, 2006 at 05:16:09 PT
The man behind the curtain
Snatched this like off of the Coloradolib...The pro-44 argument has never seemed that persuasive to me. But the anti-44 arguments are absolutely ridiculous. Over the past few months, we've been subjected to non-stop lying, intimidation, politicking and abuse of taxpayer dollars. And now Colorado Confidential reports that there is little if any Colorado opposition to 44. It's all been a show from the federal government.
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Comment #35 posted by lombar on October 23, 2006 at 01:39:31 PT
From the WIKI
OD? I have OD'ed on the total crap that prohibitionists spew! It is generally considered to be impossible to achieve a lethal overdose by smoking cannabis. According to the Merck Index, 12th edition, the LD50, the lethal dose for 50% of rats tested by inhalation, is 42 mg/kg of body weight. That is equivalent of a 165 lb (75 kg) man ingesting all of the THC in 21 one-gram cigarettes of high-potency (15% THC) cannabis buds at once, assuming no THC was lost through burning or exhalation. For oral consumption, the LD50 for rats is 1270 mg/kg and 730 mg/kg for males and females, respectively, equivalent to the THC in about a pound of 15% THC cannabis. Only with intravenous administration — an unheard-of method of use — may such a level be even theoretically possible. [41] Also, there is no practicality of overdosing, and virtually no chance of accidental overdose while smoking cannabis, considering the ratio of cannabis required to saturate cannaboid receptors to the amount of cannabis required to have a fatal over dose is 1:40,000.There has only ever been one recorded verdict (although not ultimately upheld) of fatal overdose due to cannabis. In January 2004, Lee Maisey of Pembrokeshire, Wales was found dead. The coroner's report stated "Death due to probable cannabis toxicity". It had been reported that Maisey smoked about six joints a day. Mr. Maisey's blood contained 130 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml) of the THC metabolite THC-COOH. However, the validity of the finding did not stand up well under review. As reported on 2004-01-28 in the Neue Züricher Zeitung, the Federal Health Ministry of Switzerland asked Dr. Rudolf Brenneisen, a professor at the department for clinical research at the University of Bern, to review the data of this case. Dr. Brenneisen said that the data of the toxicological analysis and collected by autopsy were "scanty and not conclusive" and that the conclusion "death by cannabis intoxication" was "not legitimate."[42]
Wiki: Cannabis Lethal Dose
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Comment #34 posted by mayan on October 23, 2006 at 01:05:27 PT
Max
It remains to be seen if the democrats will win anything, let alone clean any mess. If they take the reins it will be intersting to see their stance on the 9/11 inside job. I predict they won't have one. Here's an interesting read...Defeat looms for embattled Bush:
http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1563502006From the above linked article..."If the vote were today, we would not hold the House," said Congressman Mark Edward Souder, a Republican in Indiana who held his own seat with 69% of the vote two years ago but expects a much closer race next month and fears that a Democratic landslide might even imperil his own seat. Even the entrenched Souder could lose his seat. Darn!
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Comment #33 posted by whig on October 23, 2006 at 00:57:29 PT
Welcome Carla
I wonder if we are so close now that people who have long been reading are feeling safe to emerge. It's good to see, whatever the reason.It occurs to me that good wine can be spiritual, for some people. I think strong spirits are probably destructive for the most part, but I wouldn't say that all alcohol necessarily turns off your mind. It makes it function differently, and with some impairment of motor functions, but if it isn't too strong or too much it probably isn't a bad thing for most people.But cannabis is clearly safer.
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Comment #32 posted by carla on October 23, 2006 at 00:21:16 PT:
Amendment 44
"Drinking carries many of the same risks as marijuana" ?There's no argument that drinking to excess is dangerous. People die all the time from ingesting too much too fast. Marijuana use, on the other hand, is both educational and beneficial. And you can't overdose, because you'd simply get distracted by something interesting and let your joint go out. To say the risks are the same is misinformed.Alcohol is a depressant that turns off your mind. Marijuana turns your mind on and stimulates creative and divergent thinking. Now we come to the most important reason it's illegal. Authority feels threatened when people think for themselves. 
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Comment #31 posted by Max Flowers on October 23, 2006 at 00:08:29 PT
Ch-ch-ch-ch-cha-changes
I am amazed by what I'm seeing on CNN the past few days. I thought they were a cog of the neocons, Rupert Murdoch etc., but they are now saying blatantly honest things... liberal-oriented, common sense things...?! There is a show called "Broken Government" where the host, Jack Cafferty, is saying "if you're tired of incompetence and corruption, vote every last damn incumbent out." I was astonished. What's happening, did they see that Olbermann is getting increasingly better ratings and only now, on that extremely superficial basis, are they coming around? Saving the country from ruin could not motivate the CNN programmers, but competing with MSNBC can?! This is like the Twilight Zone... one day CNN is a bastion of republican garbage-spewing, the next day it's a responsible, balanced outlet? I don't get it. Not that I'm complaining. It's just that change happening that fast makes me dizzy.The rumors are flying fast now about the elections. I'm reading reports that repugnicans in D.C. are already muttering defeatist things and a pall has fallen on all their offices. They're mentally defeated already, in other words.I think there is a landslide coming, a historical housecleaning, and everyone knows it.All I can say is, if the democrats are victorious, they damn well BETTER get to the business of fixing a lot of this grevious damage immediately, or they will lose all credibility very quickly.Interesting how that works: the repugs get to screw up, break everything, commit crimes and plunge the country into chaos and then the Dems have to come in behind them and clean up their mess...
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Comment #30 posted by mayan on October 22, 2006 at 22:45:18 PT
Just Say No To The Post
It's a national issue, not a state one.So if 44 passes, weed will be legal everywhere? Great!Mason Tvert has all of the prohibitionists running around like decapitated chickens. They are all trying to hide their conflicting interests, but there is no place for them to hide. I can't help but think that the Coors Brewing Co. is paying for articles like this one. Their drug is being exposed as unsafe and it's strange how we haven't heard from them. Maybe Pete Coors' DUI is the reason for the silence? 44 can't be ignored. The Post sucks and blows simultaneously. THE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...BYU Scholar, Sept. 11 Theorist, Resigns: 
http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds/ap/2006/10/21/ap3109618.htmlSteven Jones Takes Early Retirement from BYU:
http://911blogger.com/node/3942SPEAKERS TO DISCUSS EVIDENCE AND CONSEQUENCES
OF GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT IN 9/11 ATTACKS:
http://www.dc911truth.org/
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Comment #29 posted by BGreen on October 22, 2006 at 21:36:19 PT
Welcome to CNews.com, Synesthete
The more people willing to add their voice to our cause is another step closer to victory.The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #28 posted by BGreen on October 22, 2006 at 21:33:27 PT
Welcome to CNews.com, publicbulldog
I wonder if anyone else will get your "evening wear, day wear" reference? LOLI saw that they used a man to portray the stereotype of a Soviet woman in that hilarious commercial.The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #27 posted by publicbulldog on October 22, 2006 at 21:23:27 PT:
Colorado is not the bible belt
The post is plugging for those Government service union jobs we really don't need anymore, unless you live in the bible belt or the deep south.
if you live in the Deep south or the bible belt vote no.
If you don't want to use a flashlight for evening wear and a beachball for summer wear vote yes for progress.
Sure will miss the dare corvette though.
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Comment #26 posted by freewillks on October 22, 2006 at 21:17:48 PT
make up your mind denver post!
when denver passed 1 Oz or less the Post came out and said it should be a state thing not a city one.
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Comment #25 posted by whig on October 22, 2006 at 20:41:25 PT
Synesthete
Hello, thanks for posting here. I'm really glad to see so many new people recently participating.I agree that cannabis prohibition is unconstitutional. Of course the constitution has been largely unenforced for a good while now, so the question is going to be whether it gets enforced soon or whether this country ceases to exist.
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Comment #24 posted by Synesthete on October 22, 2006 at 20:22:22 PT
Prohibition
Federal prohibitions are unconstitutional. They are, in no way, "necessary and proper" for the functioning of Congress. It is also unconstitutional for a state to "engage in an unnecessary prohibition", so I think the Framers were trying to say it's a person's choice what they put into their own bodies...my two cents.
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Comment #23 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on October 22, 2006 at 19:00:27 PT
Funny thing, alcohol is a state/local issue.
Colorado could pass alcohol prohibition without being trumped by federal law, and depending on state law, cities and counties can do the same.There are still dry cities and counties in the US.Why shouldn't there be green ones?
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Comment #22 posted by ekim on October 22, 2006 at 18:30:49 PT
Synesthete keep posting your good ideas
Oct 26 06 KBPI 106.7 FM's The Uncle Nasty Show 03:00 PM Norm Stamper Denver CO USA 
 LEAP speaker and advisory board member Norm Stamper is interviewed on The Nasty Show. LISTEN LIVE! Oct 26 06 SAFER Press Conference 01:00 PM Norm Stamper Denver Colorado U.S.A 
 Retired Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper to speak at the SAFER press conference at the Wellington E. Webb Municipal building at 201 W. Colfax Ave in Denver. 
Oct 27 06 Fundraiser for SAFER 07:00 PM Norm Stamper Denver Colorado U.S.A 
 Retired Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper, to speak to the members of Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER). Brown Room at the Wynkoop Brewing Company in Denver. from www.drugwarrant.com 
http://www.sd4mm.blogspot.com/
 the South Dakota for Medical Marijuana blog.
http://www.leap.cc/events
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Comment #21 posted by Synesthete on October 22, 2006 at 17:03:06 PT
44 a bit incomplete
I think it should pass, but they really should have made it legal to buy, sell, and grow. Otherwise, you just give the Black Market an even BIGGER market...Oh...first post, by the way. I always read these articles and figured it's time I contribute.
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Comment #20 posted by charmed quark on October 22, 2006 at 15:09:33 PT
Yes to 44
Contrary to what some editorials have claimed, most studies have shown no correlation between the severity of cannabis laws and usage by teens or adults. While few people end up in jail for any significant time for simple possession, 100s of thousands of adults across the USA have gotten criminal records because of possession convictions. These criminal records follow them throughout their lives, making it difficult for them to get decent employment and to take care of their families.This is what 44 will change in Colorado.
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Comment #19 posted by global_warming on October 22, 2006 at 14:06:50 PT
A YES Vote
Is the Lightening that will be heard round the world.Not only from Colorado,A jolt from "Free" citizens,Who respect freedom and justice,It is time for changeYES44 and to the future of the United States.
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Comment #18 posted by Celaya on October 22, 2006 at 13:21:18 PT
Passing the Buck and "for the children"
This country needs a revolution badly. Powerful, corrupt vested interests have seized the avenues of redress and have thrown those struggling for truth, justice and freedom to the margins.The initiative process is one of the few remaining paths the people have of expressing their will. These "journalists" want to obscure that fact and make it seem like the U.S. congress actually represents the people. So, they try to convice the people that local initiatives aren't "appropriate" and that instead, they should go butt their heads against the brick wall of federal corporatism some more.Oh, and add in a little "for the children" just to cloud things up. Never mind this country is designed for ADULTS. And never mind the Federal Accounting Office has shown the propaganda is totally ineffective and that marijuana use patterns are dependent on other factors. Focusing on children is only for the purpose of making them better ADULTS. One of the secret fascist agendas is to give all the "common people" the status of children. IE - Tyranny!¡Viva La Revolución!
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Comment #17 posted by goneposthole on October 22, 2006 at 13:11:42 PT
It's a national issue
not a state one. Apparently, the Denver Post feels as though the citizens of Colorado aren't capable of voting for what they want or don't want. Maybe because they fear it is what the state of Colorado's citizens really do want, legal cannabis.The Denver Post is all for passing the buck. In other words, let's not let people decide the issue at all. By 'national' they mean the US Congress, the one that is bought and paid for by bribery and deceit, along with the hopelessly corrupt US government.Something smells bad in Denver. It isn't dead, rotting fish.Just say 'no' to the Denver Post's bunkum and bosh. Feel free to vote 'yes' on amendment 44.Even the Denver Post is against freedom. Un-freaking-believable 
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Comment #16 posted by global_warming on October 22, 2006 at 12:44:38 PT
time is our playing field 
To Glory and Justice and to God
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Comment #15 posted by whig on October 22, 2006 at 12:39:34 PT
gw 
It will take time, you know. We have a lot of things to do and it is going to take all of us working together to fix it.
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Comment #14 posted by whig on October 22, 2006 at 12:38:42 PT
nuevo mexican
Here you go...http://cannablog.wordpress.com/2006/10/22/google-gives-money-to-child-molestors/
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Comment #13 posted by global_warming on October 22, 2006 at 12:36:28 PT
did you know
whiggerThere are so many prisoners,Do you have comfort?It is time to change.YES44 is a message, that will be heard around the planet.
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Comment #12 posted by global_warming on October 22, 2006 at 12:29:02 PT
whig
did you know there is a war on good human beings?
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Comment #11 posted by whig on October 22, 2006 at 12:21:30 PT
nuevo mexican
Did you know Google is contributing to Heather Wilson's campaign?
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Comment #10 posted by global_warming on October 22, 2006 at 11:45:55 PT
Expect the worse
For "all" the cogs in the wheelCannot resist their diseaseThey cannot resist their diabetic addictionsSugar and Oil, power and pomp,Is like when you reward a child before Christmas,Nice to feel special"WE are "all" special,In mind and soulIf you use CannabisA yes vote in ColoradoWill send a messageThat "WILL" be heard around this planetIt is time to change It is time to embrace goodnessIt is time to make this worldA special jewel in the eye of GODEternity is our place
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on October 22, 2006 at 11:26:53 PT

nuevo mexican 
I really hope that change is in the air. I am afraid to believe that they won't throw a wrench in it before the election but hopefully people will see thru it. I am keeping my eyes on my state and so far it looks good. I want DeWine out and sure don't want Blackwell as Governor. I think I'll be holding my breath until elections are over and the votes counted ( we better win by a large margin or we know what could happen). The larger the separation in the poll numbers the better I feel. 
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Comment #8 posted by global_warming on October 22, 2006 at 11:17:23 PT

re: slaves of capitalism 
We' are everywhere and where going to punch through the "vail" of confusion, a simple yes vote in Colorado 44 is enough of a message, a testament of our time.YES44 
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Comment #7 posted by nuevo mexican on October 22, 2006 at 11:10:53 PT

Implications for New Mexican Cannabis politics....
We're next FOM, New Mexico will have successful legislation in the coming year, due to the changing of the guard, so to speak! Come on down, Mason Tvert, of SAFER, lot's of Coloradans in my town, 50 miles south of the Colorado border! Everyone is ready to go into legislative action, as we had it in the bag this year, and the Agriculture Comittee killed it when it had overwhelming support, especially from Bill Richardson.New Mexico's Heather Wilson, the Republican antidote for former Republican Pro-Cannabis Govenor Gary Johnson, and her husband, caught red-handed, ewwww.....gross, these pedo-predators have got to go, her departure will pave the wave for Cannabis reform in New Mexico, as she is a re-located, bush plant closet case! She hid her husbands' file, and now she's likely toast, though the sychophantic corpo-media refuses to cover it, as the news station is guilty of pulling the video of her lying at YOUTUBE.com. It is now at RawStory.com now, so we are making progress, thought you might like to catch up on how National and local politics are being affected radically!Cannabis prohibition is the cornerstone of Neo-Con prison planet mentality, where compassion, euphoria and healing are bad words, concepts to be denied to the slaves of 
capitalism , us, by the fuedal lords of the corpocracy!
 
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2433838
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Comment #6 posted by global_warming on October 22, 2006 at 10:42:53 PT

re: thorny legal, social and health issues
You could say thorny legal issues, when those gung-ho paramilitarised law enforcement officers break down your door for having some of that Mexican Lettuce, you could say social issues when people in a free society are being tyrannized by some large government subsidized agency, you could say health issues when the people who "WE Have Elected no longer respect the people, but serve themselves to a healthy portion of disgrace.The wheel turns slowly.
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Comment #5 posted by MikeEEEEE on October 22, 2006 at 10:42:46 PT

4Q denver post
A small post from small minds.

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Comment #4 posted by John Tyler on October 22, 2006 at 09:07:26 PT

Pass 44
I agree that this issue has many shades of gray and is a national issue also. But conversely I think Amendment 44 should pass. The Federal government has refused to listen to the voice of the people on this issue. There have been numerous studies recommending at least decriminalization and they have been ignored. We have been rebuffed in administrative hearing and largely in the courts. This avenue of approval is legal and was designed to do just what is being done. If enough states approve similar initiatives the Federal government will have to listen. We are right to seek the legalization of cannabis. All of the opponents of legalization are simply “blowing smoke”. 
 
I would like to thank all people who have worked so tirelessly on these cannabis liberation issues. You are surely gaining merit on the big Karmic scoreboard. Keep up the good work.

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Comment #3 posted by Wayne on October 22, 2006 at 09:04:27 PT

a cloud of smoke, indeed
It's funny how every anti-44 article has the author hiding behind the 'Editorial' curtain."Note: Amendment 44, which would legalize possession of a small amount of marijuana, should be rejected. It's a national issue, not a state one."Umm, when 99% of the 800,000 people arrested for marijuana possession last year were put there by state and local law enforcement, it most certainly IS a state and local issue.
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on October 22, 2006 at 08:06:45 PT

Off Topic
We were watching Meet The Press. Senator Obama was on and I hang on to every words this man says. He really does give me hope for a better tomorrow. 
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Comment #1 posted by potpal on October 22, 2006 at 06:59:38 PT

SAFER alternative

Proponents somewhat 'disingenuously'(facts to prove it) argue that smoking dope(marijuana) is safer than drinking booze(alcohol), so marijuana use by adults ought to be decriminalized. Opponents, including law-enforcement types, have sometimes(always) veered toward "reefer madness" territory in their arguments. "...Congress could allow marijuana use to be regulated by states, as happened with alcohol when Prohibition ended."
And like Prohibition I, Colorado was the first state to repel it.
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