cannabisnews.com: Stupidest Drug Story of the Week










  Stupidest Drug Story of the Week

Posted by CN Staff on April 27, 2007 at 16:41:29 PT
By Jack Shafer 
Source: Slate Magazine 

Washington, DC -- Why don't the hacks who cover the illicit-drug beat just turn their keyboards over to the drug-abuse industrial complex and let them write the stories? This week, Reuters moved a story based on a government press release about marijuana potency issued by the Office of National Drug Control Policy—the office of "drug czar" John P. Walters. The press release and the Reuters story state that marijuana potency has reached its highest level since the government started monitoring it in the late 1970s.
The average levels of THC in marijuana now stand at 8.5 percent. (THC is the primary active ingredient in marijuana.) This compares to a little less than the 4 percent measured in 1983.Headlined "U.S. Marijuana Even Stronger Than Before: Report" on Reuters' Web site, the piece quotes nobody outside of government as it channels drug warrior hysteria. As this drug-czar chart shows, the average percentage of THC in cannabis samples analyzed by the ongoing Marijuana Potency Monitoring Project at the University of Mississippi has increased over the years. Assuming for just a moment that these findings accurately reflect marijuana potency, I've got a question: So what? Back in 2002, when Czar Walters warned of the dangers of stronger pot in a San Francisco Chronicle op-ed, drug scholar Mark A.R. Kleiman of UCLA responded with this item in his blog: What matters isn't how strong the material is, but how intoxicated the users get. And there's lots of evidence that marijuana users tend to have a target level of intoxication and learn how to titrate dosage to reach that level. Studies that ask marijuana users to roll a joint have found that the average size has halved, from about half a gram to about a quarter of a gram, and there's anecdotal evidence that sharing a single joint has become more common.So much for the inherent dangers of superpotent weed.But how accurate are the government's measurements of average THC? Writer Brian C. Bennett notes that the number of drug samples tested in the government study has varied widely, making meaningful comparisons of increased (or decreased) potency difficult. The collection of samples doesn't appear to be as scientific as it does anecdotal. The czar's press release asserts that two-thirds of the samples analyzed in the most recent study came from law enforcement seizures and purchases, and the rest from domestic eradications.Bennett writes that the kinds of marijuana seized and tested vary from year to year, also. In 2000, sinsemilla, the extra-potent flowering tops of the marijuana plant, constituted 3.66 percent of the tested samples. In 2004, 18.39 percent of the samples were sinsemilla. Guess which year produced a higher average measure of THC? In 2000, the figure was about 5 percent. In 2004, about 7 percent.The Reuters article also conveys the views of a National Institute on Drug Abuse official in reporting that "60 percent of teens receiving treatment for drug abuse or dependence report marijuana as their primary drug of abuse." Kleiman's blog puts the treatment numbers in perspective by pointing to the University of Maryland's Center for Substance Abuse Research, which reports (PDF) that the increase in marijuana treatment admission is driven by the increase in criminal justice referrals. Marijuana arrests "have roughly doubled over the past fifteen years," Kleiman writes in his blog, "with the vast bulk of those arrests … for simple possession. Other studies show that for juveniles, most non-criminal-justice referrals reflect parental pressure." None of this is to champion the use of marijuana. I just want journalists to stop regurgitating whatever the drug warriors tell them. Bennett catalogs some of the most ridiculous claims about marijuana potency made by officials and published in the press during the last 40 years. If you take these statements at face value, a single joint rolled from today's marijuana should carry a bigger punch than several tons of yesteryear's Mexican grass. ******I've never smoked marijuana and I don't advocate its use. For compelling health reasons, kids should avoid it, and many seem to do just that. According to a Monitoring the Future study, the number of high-school pot smokers remains flat or down over the last decade. (E-mail may be quoted by name unless the writer stipulates otherwise. Permanent disclosure: Slate is owned by the Washington Post Co.) Note: Is Reuters drinking bong water?Source: Slate Magazine (US Web)Author:  Jack ShaferPublished: Friday, April 27, 2007Copyright: 2007 Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive Co. LLCContact: letters slate.comWebsite: http://www.slate.com/URL: http://www.slate.com/id/2165198/Related Article: U.S. Marijuana Even Stronger Than Beforehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22921.shtml

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Comment #77 posted by FoM on April 30, 2007 at 10:31:54 PT
Hope
I don't think she can change who she is unfortunately. I always want to believe that people can have a profound revelation and admit they were wrong and feel really bad about it and change their way but that's not what I think. When money is involved I just don't trust motives. 
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Comment #76 posted by Hope on April 30, 2007 at 09:29:11 PT
Thanks, FoM
Thought maybe Ms. Barthwell had claimed to change her ways.
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Comment #75 posted by FoM on April 30, 2007 at 08:59:44 PT
Hope
Not that I know of. 
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Comment #74 posted by Hope on April 30, 2007 at 08:51:02 PT
Comment 54 Bob Barr and Andrea Barthwell
Has Andrea Barthwell done something lately?
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Comment #73 posted by FoM on April 30, 2007 at 06:40:46 PT
Dankhank 
We watched The Summer of Love and it was really good. It showed the good and how it turned bad in the end. You have a wide screen monitor. That's cool. 
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Comment #72 posted by FoM on April 30, 2007 at 06:09:48 PT
Off Topic: New York Times
Colombian Seeks to Persuade Congress To Continue Aid http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/30/world/americas/30uribe.htm
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Comment #71 posted by potpal on April 30, 2007 at 06:04:15 PT
the truth is
Prohibition corrupts the prohibitionists. Johnny Pee is not Eliott Ness. There are no untouchables. Corruption ran rabid with just 10 years of alcohol prohibition. Hence, the need for the untouchables. Imagine, well, witness some of the corruption that 70 years of drug prohibition/war can/has churn/ed up. Now imagine living 92 years and this is how your life ends. Murdered by someone paid by you and supposedly there to protect and serve you.Makes me feel ill.
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Comment #70 posted by Dankhank on April 30, 2007 at 05:04:06 PT
now we know the truth ...
cops lied and killed her ...http://alternet.org/drugreporter/51151/
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Comment #69 posted by The GCW on April 29, 2007 at 22:44:56 PT
Police summer hats are made of hemp.
Police summer hats are made of hemp.http://www.siegelsuniforms.com/?link=details.php&subcatid=85$69.95-0-I saw this at: Strange but true...Police summer hats are made of Cannabis/Hemp/Marijuana!http://www.jackherer.com/(near bottom of page)Hemp Required Agency Specifications!Louisiana State PoliceOhio Highway PatrolPennsylvania State PoliceSmokey the Bear too!
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Comment #68 posted by Dankhank on April 29, 2007 at 22:14:18 PT
on PBS for latenighters ... or DVR
American Perspective tonight is about the "Summer of Love" in San Francisco 1967ps sorry for the wide post ...I use a widescreen monitor, now and have to adjust ...
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Comment #67 posted by Dankhank on April 29, 2007 at 20:47:21 PT
another 420 story ...
Loretta Nallhttp://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AL_ACTIVIST_CLEARED_ALOL-?SITE=ALMON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-04-20-16-26-01
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Comment #66 posted by FoM on April 29, 2007 at 19:07:29 PT
Texas: State Bill Could Legalize Medical Marijuana
April 29, 2007 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
A proposed bill in the state Legislature is pushing to legalize marijuana for legitimate medical illnesses. The drug would act as a pain reliever.One Texas organization supports the idea. "Tomorrow evening we are holding a shadow hearing for House Bill 1534 because we have not been able to get a regular public hearing scheduled so we are having our own to create a space for patients, family members and the public to really learn more about this issue and why it's important to Texans," said Noelle Davis with Texans For Medical Marijuana.A public hearing is scheduled for Monday at 6:45 p.m. inside the capitol.Copyright: 2007 WorldNow and KXANhttp://www.kxan.com/Global/story.asp?S=6443600
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Comment #65 posted by whig on April 29, 2007 at 18:06:43 PT
Driving stoned
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLmHL7YznUI
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Comment #64 posted by user123 on April 29, 2007 at 16:10:04 PT:
Stats
Stats for college age students dying from alcohol poisoning comes from Security on Campus.http://www.securityoncampus.org/
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Comment #63 posted by whig on April 29, 2007 at 14:12:26 PT
Dankhank
I really like Dennis Kucinich. Who says we can't endorse multiple candidates? I would endorse Dennis, as well as Mike Gravel and Bill Richardson. All of them have come out in favor of ending cannabis prohibition.
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Comment #62 posted by FoM on April 29, 2007 at 14:03:32 PT
Dankhank
Thank you. The interview was good.
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Comment #61 posted by Dankhank on April 29, 2007 at 13:55:35 PT
and this ...
http://mofchat.com/articles/106
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Comment #60 posted by Dankhank on April 29, 2007 at 13:50:03 PT
found this ...
re college alcohol deaths ...http://archives.cnn.com/2002/fyi/teachers.ednews/04/09/us.college.drinking.ap/the influence of alcohol on assault is troubling ...
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Comment #59 posted by Dankhank on April 29, 2007 at 13:46:00 PT
Dennis K on PI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lcg1xQJnow
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Comment #58 posted by Truth on April 29, 2007 at 11:43:07 PT
college deaths
Where did you get that alcohol poisoning data from? 
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Comment #57 posted by user123 on April 29, 2007 at 11:25:47 PT:
Double Standards
3,200 college students die from alcohol poisoning each year! Can you imagine the headlines if this many or even half died from cannabis? We'd never be hearing the end of it, but since it's good ole legal alcohol, oh well.
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Comment #56 posted by charmed quark on April 29, 2007 at 06:53:17 PT
opiates plus tylenol
The DEA is not about safety, it's about "controlling" drugs. So medications that combine opiates with Tylenol have a lower DEA schedule than pure opiates. The combined drugs are less abusable than the pure drugs due to the liver damage that will result.I've wondered how the main character of "House" is able to pop so many Vicodains and still have a functioning liver.
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Comment #55 posted by FoM on April 29, 2007 at 05:45:50 PT
Dankhank
I'm glad you had a nice vacation. We don't have any movie channels so I didn't see Kucinich. Maybe it will show up on Youtube.
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Comment #54 posted by FoM on April 29, 2007 at 05:44:22 PT
Bob Barr and Andrea Barthwell
afterburner, No no no no I can't take it no more! 
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Comment #53 posted by afterburner on April 29, 2007 at 01:11:32 PT
mayan
"Sorry, Johnny Pee. Your half-baked propaganda has backfired once again!"Yes, it needs to be "fully baked." Then, maybe he will join the growing ranks of Bob Barr and Andrea Barthwell. 
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Comment #52 posted by Hope on April 28, 2007 at 23:50:58 PT
Thank you, Mayan!
I didn't have a clue.Willie's voice was very deep and solemn when he started singing..Thanks again. I've abeen listening closely and I haven't heard it again.
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Comment #51 posted by Hope on April 28, 2007 at 23:44:44 PT
Peculiar radio station. 
"Pancho Villa is looking for a key to my Durango...lookin to fund a revolutionary war."It's really a really cool song most Texan's can understand.I'm hearing stuff on this station that I can't seem to find any where on Google.Strange.
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Comment #50 posted by whig on April 28, 2007 at 22:43:05 PT
Tylenol is dangerous
Here's the thing, Tylenol is very easy to fatally dose.If someone takes a prescription drug containing Tylenol, the dose is set accordingly. If someone is not aware they are taking Tylenol at all, how is the dose set?
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Comment #49 posted by whig on April 28, 2007 at 22:41:31 PT
Sensemilla Jones
You're right. I was given Percocet for my post-operative hip pain. It's Oxycodone and Tylenol.There are several possibilities, one is people are just crushing up Percocets and selling it as heroin.
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Comment #48 posted by Dankhank on April 28, 2007 at 22:35:17 PT
back in OK ...
well. I'm back from Denver, had a great visit and met some good people ...Am watching stuff DVR'd in my absence ...anyone catch Dennis K on Bill Maher show this past Friday?I just watched it, and it was a good one ...
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Comment #47 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on April 28, 2007 at 22:33:58 PT
Cut The Cheese
Opiates + Tylenol = Vicodin, Percoset, etc.Nice to know that those without scripts can now get the liver damage to go with their opiate high.So do people snort, shoot, smoke cheese, or do they throw it on a hamburger?
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Comment #46 posted by BGreen on April 28, 2007 at 22:26:27 PT
How many of those ingredients are the capsule?
They don't count the paper used to roll a joint, so maybe we shouldn't count all of the ingredients whose only function is to keep the synthetic THC encapsulated.Besides, the titanium dioxide is just there for an internal sunscreen. LOLLook at the ingredients in a bottle of "100% Aloe Vera" and you'll see all kinds of other chemicals listed.Look at a can of Minute Maid 100% Juice and try to figure out how they can include high fructose corn syrup, which is a 100% unnatural and laboratory manufactured derivative of a natural corn syrup.The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #45 posted by lineman on April 28, 2007 at 21:33:07 PT
Marinol
Marinol is not 100% thc - It also contains iron oxide red and iron oxide yellow, gelatin, glycerin, sesame oil, and titanium dioxide.
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Comment #44 posted by The GCW on April 28, 2007 at 21:20:30 PT
Cheese and thoughts...
US TX: Police Keep Eye On Dallas As Heroin Mix Spreads, Deaths Risehttp://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n532/a03.html?397"...The deaths of at least 18 teenagers, ranging from ages 15 to 18, have been linked to the mixture of black tar heroin -- a less refined form of the drug -- and Tylenol PM tablets ground into a powder. ..."-0-Government’s reefer madness, cannabis prohibition has had the ill-effect of creating contempt for any and all drug news from government.It is the persistent persecution and prohibition of cannabis that has created a gateway to drug abuse, making the Federal government directly responsible for increasing hard drug addictions continuing to grow in America, with younger children being victims.Does lying to youth about cannabis compromise hard drug messages? Has America made a mistake by not being truthful with Youth? !!!the Federal government directly responsible!!!
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Comment #43 posted by whig on April 28, 2007 at 19:22:56 PT
Murder
The only reason to cut heroin with tylenol.
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Comment #42 posted by ekim on April 28, 2007 at 19:14:38 PT
Rusty White 
has dam good piece on cheese
"In our zeal and ignorance we have let people force their fear and bigoted agendas into our schools and laws. It is clear that one of the driving forces behind the use of such dangerous substances as "cheese" is to avoid being caught with pot in their system. "
http://blog.leap.cc/
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Comment #41 posted by whig on April 28, 2007 at 18:48:20 PT
Someone said "site supremacy"
We have that.
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Comment #40 posted by whig on April 28, 2007 at 18:47:16 PT
rchandar
My survey of the progressive blogosphere is that support for ending cannabis prohibition is close to 100%.
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Comment #39 posted by whig on April 28, 2007 at 18:41:03 PT
mayan
Herbs should be regulated by the USDA, not the FDA.
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Comment #38 posted by rchandar on April 28, 2007 at 18:33:33 PT:
Taylor121
Well, I wish I could share your optimism. Wish, wish, wish...As a lot of us know, the US Government routinely ignores the facts, the research, the human need, and finally, the will of the people, when it comes to drug policy. Nixon is a good example, so was Carter's abortive measure in 1978. A few people get indignant, get emotional, and the whole process stops. Plus: A lot of people would lose their job. That mafia that sells it to you? Against it, fundamentally. The young dudes who sell pot are very much for legalization, but the big men who make the big money are dead set against it.And the atrocities. The media--aided by the government, sponsors a "divide and conquer" strategy when obvious breaches of law and sanity are enacted by the police. Stop showing the TV article. The attorneys get in and censor the material, or make it so the people who see it are always either "unimportant" or are briefed in a pro-prohibition manner so as to dilute their anger. No, I still feel that our only bet is an aggressive media campaign to arouse public indignation, and throw up politicians who sincerely and authoritatively endorse our platform. That's not easy; we're a minority. I believe there is hope for legalization, and that it should come from the US first--mostly because it was we who started the whole prohibition for the world. A lot of things would have to be publicly, nationally discredited--most recently, this "potent pot" stuff which attributes addiction and psychosis to cannabis. An "open forum" or a "town meeting" would be a good place to start; the last time such an idea raised its ugly head was 1992, in the presidential debate. All three candidates offered emotionalized endorsements of the Drug War. Somewhat, we have to be lucky in doing this: there should be a convincing advocate who can communicate our human rights issue to the everyday man who doesn't smoke and who trivializes its importance.
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Comment #37 posted by FoM on April 28, 2007 at 14:34:19 PT
mayan
Thanks!
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Comment #36 posted by mayan on April 28, 2007 at 14:10:19 PT
Outlaws Lyrics
http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Outlaws-lyrics-Los-Lonely-Boys/2ABBF85DC0D4C91A482571C2004517BF
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Comment #35 posted by FoM on April 28, 2007 at 13:48:03 PT
mayan
Thank you. I wonder who did the song Hope mentioned? It sounds interesting.
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Comment #34 posted by mayan on April 28, 2007 at 13:43:11 PT
FoM,Hope 
This article is a couple years old... Lonely Boys Hit the Road - Texican rockers play for Farm Aid and Stones, launch twenty-date tour: 
http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/neilyoung/articles/story/7586977/lonely_boys_hit_the_road
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Comment #33 posted by mayan on April 28, 2007 at 13:38:36 PT
Comment Deadline Extended
FDA's attempts to slip its CAM Guidelines under the radar fail; deadline for public comment extended to May 29:
http://www.newstarget.com/021810.htmlIn other news, the fascists are VERY afraid...NY Police Report Bomb to Frame Activist as Terrorist:
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/april2007/280407reportbomb.htm
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Comment #32 posted by FoM on April 28, 2007 at 13:18:58 PT
Hope
If you find out who is singing it please let me know. I checked and Los Lonely Boys seem to have a song close to that. 
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Comment #31 posted by Hope on April 28, 2007 at 12:43:37 PT
Willie Nelson!
Just heard the most amazing song on the radio."This one's for the outlaws.Take some and pass it on."Just some of the words I recall. Someone else was singing and Willie sang with him. It was AMAZING GOOD and WONDERFUL!
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Comment #30 posted by FoM on April 28, 2007 at 11:17:51 PT
Taylor121
Very good idea.
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Comment #29 posted by Taylor121 on April 28, 2007 at 10:50:38 PT
Let's keep progress going forward
Send your message to Congress to decriminalize pot:http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=9532756
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Comment #28 posted by FoM on April 28, 2007 at 10:33:15 PT
Taylor121
Progress is so slow but any progress is better then two steps backward.
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Comment #27 posted by Taylor121 on April 28, 2007 at 10:24:04 PT
A reason to be hopeful
I was just thinking that we have a lot of reasons to be optimistic. America supports legalization at around 36-40%. In Europe support for legalizing the drug is around 22% or so Europe-wide (with The Netherlands support the highest). The American public supports legalization at higher rates than Europe. Progress.
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Comment #26 posted by Taylor121 on April 28, 2007 at 10:21:31 PT
Coffee shops
Yes I agree with that. Coffee shops are while away though. We can't even get laws passed that let us take the stuff home. Step by step I guess. I personally don't think that marijuana use in public will ever be tolerated, but I think that coffee shops might be one day just like bars are.
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Comment #25 posted by FoM on April 28, 2007 at 10:20:20 PT
Taylor121 
That's a shame if they don't let him in the debate. Maybe people will raise a fuss and they will.
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Comment #24 posted by FoM on April 28, 2007 at 10:18:25 PT
Taylor121
I know what you mean. I meant what cultural changes would happen? If coffee shops were allowed to have Cannabis to be consumed what would flow from those coffee shops? A smile, a good feeling, hope, appreciation of beauty? Things like that.
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Comment #23 posted by Taylor121 on April 28, 2007 at 10:17:56 PT
Fire starter, haha
Yeah he is isn't he? I enjoyed him a lot up there. I was disappointed that I heard he may not be involved in the CNN debates coming up because CNN won't let him. That makes me pretty angry.
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Comment #22 posted by FoM on April 28, 2007 at 10:13:48 PT
 Taylor121 
I really liked him too. He made me laugh and he made good points. He's an older, alive and totally in tune person. Bless his heart.He's a great fire starter! 
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Comment #21 posted by Taylor121 on April 28, 2007 at 10:12:05 PT
FoM: World being different if legal. My thoughts
I don't think things would change all that much if cannabis is legalized for adults. I don't think drug use would increase as much as some people think. Sure, it may increase slightly, but I don't think it will increase that much. By and large, the people that want to use cannabis are already doing it imo. I also believe that for many people, cannabis isn't pleasant. Some people just don't like the feeling, and it affects people in different ways. For some it makes them too anxious so they cease use right after trying it. That's why I don't think things would change all that much.
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Comment #20 posted by Taylor121 on April 28, 2007 at 10:08:53 PT
OT: Sen. Gravel got my attention at the debate
I know he has no shot to win the nomination, but I thought he was rather entertaining at the Democratic debates. Check him out:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gMlHv2lDqAAccording to wikipedia and some places on the net, Sen. Gravel supports decriminalizing marijuana. 
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Comment #19 posted by akira- on April 28, 2007 at 09:47:14 PT:
hah
#16.. so what if he was drug-free.. he was chinese.. slanted eyes.. chinese are permanently high (on drugs).. where us american people.. have to smoke weed to get them slanted eyes :) LOL.. thats why they're so smart.. arent all us american people smarter when we are high? hehe :P
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on April 28, 2007 at 09:10:27 PT
What Would The World Be Like?
How would things be different in a world where Cannabis is legal? What would be so wrong in a world like that? Would Cannabis help the rage that seems to fester in people's hearts and then violence happens? How would the world be transformed I wonder?We are watching The Moody Blues Live at Red Rocks and these are thoughts that came to me.
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Comment #17 posted by Truth on April 28, 2007 at 08:57:21 PT
Cho
Someone should have shown Cho that happiness is a warm bong.
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Comment #16 posted by rchandar on April 28, 2007 at 08:43:28 PT:
In Addition
Chung Seung Cho, the mass murderer of Virginia Tech, was DRUG-FREE.Kinda shoots a hole in that harm theory, don't it?
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Comment #15 posted by rchandar on April 28, 2007 at 08:34:44 PT:
My Comment
Nothing of any value in this "analysis." Hashish was widely available in the 1960s and 70s, its THC content was around 12-26%. No records showing huge numbers of hippies committing suicide, getting treatment, or going to hospitals then, huh?Let's try and figure that out. Maybe because treatment wasn't widespread in the 1960s and 70s. And hospitals and treatment centers are recording in many cases their first official data. But let's go for the throat. Why is this a problem? People are getting higher, and they're confronted with hysterical, armageddon-style propaganda and confrontations that teach that MJ only is dangerous, has no value. To say that it has no value is ludicrous since lots of people derive meaning from the experience. You put weed in the hands of a teenager--parents divorced, no job, mother suffering from alcoholism--and it becomes more important. But what's wrong with getting high? Anyways alcohol produces much, much more psychosis than MJ--by a considerable amount, it produces distorted behavior, delusions of grandeur, violence, far more often than cannabis. To say that marijuana is now "an addictive drug" is a huge oversimplification and they know it. All that means is that a smoker smokes more frequently--doesn't mean the amount is so much more. Are these "skunk junkies" committing armed robberies? Robbing the grocery store? Killing people by the hundred? No, they aren't. Are they cringing and sick when they're dry? No, they aren't. "Addiction" presumes a set of behaviors which are dysfunctional and dangerous; with that in mind, there's just no basis to compare MJ with heroin, cocaine, or meth--none.What really rankles in their minds--and what they want us to not know--is that cannabis CULTURE teaches values, teaches perspective, teaches identity. These are meant to structure the pot-smoker and give him/her a strong point of reference. That's what they really hate about us--we defy their expectations.--rchandar
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on April 28, 2007 at 07:07:21 PT

The GCW
How could anything that wasn't made by man be bad? Nothing in the natural world is evil. Even what we might see as bad in the natural world serves a purpose that we might not understand. How can nature be illegal?
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Comment #13 posted by The GCW on April 28, 2007 at 06:48:14 PT

FoM,
I'm sitting here reading: US: It's Not Your Father's Pot( http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n530/a12.html?397 ) and I'm realizing,since Christ God Our Father indicates He created all the see bearing plants saying they are all very good on literally the very 1st page of the Bible; cannabis is in fact, Our Father’s “Pot.”-0-And that reminds Me to pray and thank Him... Which I do.
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Comment #12 posted by goneposthole on April 28, 2007 at 06:45:36 PT

Potent Cannabis
A good friend of mine owned a gas station in Chicago in the earlier part of the 1970's. One day he was working on an auto on the undercarriage. The car was on the hoist and up in the air. The owner of the car, a regular, would always remain in the vehicle when he brought it in for repairs. While my friend the mechanic was working on the customer's car, he thought he smelled cannabis. Sure enough, the owner of the vehicle was smoking maryjoowanna while he waited in his car. The gas station owner finished his work on the man's car and after he lowered the vehicle to the garage floor, he asked him what he was doing up there while his car was being repaired.The man, about sixty years old back then, was a medical marijuana patient. The US government issued medical cannabis to him in packs of reefers, much like a pack of cigarettes. He was smoking his medical cannabis in his car while it was being repaired at my friend's garage. The customer offered him one of the joints."Here, have one," he said. My friend said, "... and, boy, was it good."That powerful weed has been around for a long time.Forget about the US government, it's the blind leading the dumb. They don't know if they are afoot or horseback.Keep smoking cannabis, it's medicine.
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Comment #11 posted by OverwhelmSam on April 28, 2007 at 06:41:27 PT

Deminishing Returns
Interesting to note that with marijuana, the stronger the THC content the less dangerous it is to health, because when consumers have stronger pot, they smoke less. I know that I have often obtained weed by luck that was so strong I only had to take one draw of marijuana smoke. Really saves my lungs when the weed is stronger. If anything, weak weed is more dangerous to health than strong weed.
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on April 28, 2007 at 06:36:29 PT

The GCW
This is an excellent link. http://www.cchr.org/
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Comment #9 posted by The GCW on April 28, 2007 at 06:30:32 PT

US CO: LTE: Mind Drugs Are The Problem
US CO: LTE: Mind Drugs Are The ProblemPubdate: Thu, 26 Apr 2007Source: Boulder Weekly (CO)What needs to be looked at to "solve" the problem of school shootings is the role that psychiatric drugs have had on the killers. Columbine. Virginia Tech. What school will be next? I invite you to view CCHR's website. Think psychiatric drugs are safe? Think again. www.cchr.org http://www.cchr.org/will show you the hard, cold facts. Bottom line: We get psychiatric drugs away from people, and we have less crime. Less insanity. Fewer psychiatrists makes a saner world. But does anyone want that? Drug makers will deny any links between antidepressants and the violence we face. Despite a most recent JAMA report, which downplayed the risks, any sign one of these pills may have contributed to the shooter's mindset could open a whole new chapter on the controversy. Keep looking. You won't like what you've been believing all this time. Prevent our kids, our elderly, our sane from becoming insane. Say no to psychiatric treatment. http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n531/a12.html?397
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Comment #8 posted by mayan on April 28, 2007 at 05:04:05 PT

freewillks
From the article you linked to..."When the data show a brief rise in cocaine prices, the drug czar holds a high-profile press conference," said Adam Isacson, an analyst at the Washington-based Center for International Policy. "But when the trend goes back down again, the drug czar sends it in a letter to one senator. Why is that?"I'll tell you why. It's because John P. Walters is a lying sack of sh*t, especially when it comes to cannabis! If he had any guts he would let the great debate begin but he is too much of a coward. If there are any DEA or ONDCP folks out there reading would you please come by and debate us on cannabis (medicinal/recreational/industrial)? Bring a whole damned army, we don't care. We will keep it civil and polite and debate only the facts. I am not counting on anyone picking up the gauntlet because they never do. We have achieved site supremacy. You just can't beat the facts. 

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Comment #7 posted by BGreen on April 28, 2007 at 02:56:45 PT

Schedule III means no written prescription needed
Prescriptions for all drugs except schedule I and schedule II can be phoned in directly to the pharmacy by the doctor's office.That means people are scoring the most potent THC available on this earth (albeit VERY expensive) without any real concerns for the health of the patients.If 100% THC isn't dangerous, can somebody please explain to me how 8.5% THC is so damned threatening?The Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #6 posted by whig on April 27, 2007 at 20:54:04 PT

BGreen
Well, if pure synthetic THC is 100% potent, then Marinol is as potent as it can get. Marinol is so much more dangerous than cannabis that it is Schedule 3, whereas cannabis is only Schedule 1.What's that you say? Schedule 3 doesn't mean more dangerous?
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Comment #5 posted by freewillks on April 27, 2007 at 19:29:41 PT

The fall of J Pee Walters?
I just found this on MSNBC. I think the days of fake numbers for ONDCP are over.Snipped:"We've given this program a chance to work and clearly this is not producing the results we were promised," McGovern said. "Cocaine is priced as low and purity is as high as it was before Plan Colombia began six years and $5 billion ago."Rafael Lemaitre, a spokesman for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, told the AP that Walters would not comment on the letter but Lemaitre described it as "an accurate reflection of our agency's thoughts on the issue."In November 2005, Walters announced that cocaine prices had risen by 19 percent and purity had dropped by about the same. He touted the development as a sign that the United States had turned the corner in the drug war. Drug policy experts rejected his assertions at the time, and Grassley called for his dismissal.Snipped:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18355447/
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Comment #4 posted by BGreen on April 27, 2007 at 19:12:11 PT

Brian Bennett's *40 years of Marijuana Potency*
This is a MUST READ page, as mentioned in the last paragraph of the above story.Marijuana Potency Through the YearsHow Potent Can It Possibly Get?http://www.briancbennett.com/history/excerpts/thc-content.htmThe Reverend Bud Green
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Comment #3 posted by mayan on April 27, 2007 at 18:19:46 PT

Par For The Course
Studies that ask marijuana users to roll a joint have found that the average size has halved, from about half a gram to about a quarter of a gram, and there's anecdotal evidence that sharing a single joint has become more common.So much for the inherent dangers of superpotent weed.Sorry, Johnny Pee. Your half-baked propaganda has backfired once again!Unrelated, yet very interesting...Internal Carlyle Group Memo: Market Good For 12-24 Months:
http://infowars.com/articles/economy/carlyle_group_memo_market_good_for_12_to_24_months.htm This is grand...Barrett Heading to Morocco to Apprehend Suicide Hijacker:
http://911blogger.com/node/8162
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Comment #2 posted by potpal on April 27, 2007 at 18:02:25 PT

Thanks
Smartest Drug Story of the Week
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on April 27, 2007 at 16:44:48 PT

Jack Shafer
Thank you.
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