cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - August 2, 2007





NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - August 2, 2007
Posted by CN Staff on August 02, 2007 at 12:11:34 PT
Weekly Press Release 
Source: NORML 
Failed Pot Prohibition ‘Celebrates’ 70-Year AnniversaryAugust 2, 2007 - Washington, DC, USAWashington, DC: The federal prohibition of marijuana was signed into law seventy years ago today, and stands as one of the government’s greatest public policy failures, NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said today.
On August 2, 1937, then-President Franklin Roosevelt signed the "Marihuana Tax Act" into law, which criminalized the possession and use of cannabis through prohibitive taxation. The legislation received less than one hour of debate by Congress, during which time government witnesses testified to the drug’s allegedly "deadly" nature. Though the American Medical Association (AMA) lobbied against the bill’s passage, both the House and Senate overwhelmingly approved the measure without taking a recorded vote.In 1969, the Supreme Court struck down the 1937 law. However, in 1970, Congress included cannabis as a Schedule I substance under the US Controlled Substances Act – determining that marijuana possessed "a high potential for abuse" and "no currently accepted medical use in treatment." Under current federal law, possession of any amount of cannabis is punishable by up to one year in prison and a $1,000 fine."Without question, the federal government’s seven-decade long criminal prohibition of cannabis has been one of the most destructive and financially taxing public policies of all time," St. Pierre said. "More than 17 million Americans have been arrested on marijuana violations since 1970 alone, and today one in every eight inmates is serving time for pot. Even more disturbing, for seventy years the US government has been deliberately twisting science, thwarting free speech, withholding a legitimate medicine from seriously ill patients, and dramatically encroaching upon the public’s civil liberties – all in the name of it’s futile war on cannabis and cannabis consumers." According to federal government figures, nearly half of the population over aged 12 admits using marijuana. The government further reports that domestic marijuana production has increased ten-fold in the past 25 years from 1,000 metric tons (2.2 million pounds) to 10,000 metric tons (22 million pounds)."By every conceivable measurement, marijuana prohibition has been a catastrophic failure," St. Pierre said. "It’s time to end this seven-decade experiment in futility and enact a legal system of cannabis regulation and taxation."St. Pierre noted that the organization is ‘celebrating’ the 70 year anniversary of pot prohibition by launching a special outreach appeal the to group’s 32,000 supporters on its myspace.com homepage -- http://www.myspace.com/natlnorml -- as well as broadcasting a special August 2nd "anniversary" edition of the NORML’s podcast, the NORML Daily Audio Stash. Since April 1, 2007, more than 1.2 million listeners have downloaded broadcasts of the Audio Stash, making NORML’s podcast one of the most popular audiocasts available on the Internet.For more information, please visit: http://www.normlaudiostash.com or http://www.myspace.com/natlnorml Media inquiries should be directed to Allen St. Pierre, NORML National Director, at (202) 483-5500.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7325NORML Responds To New Rash Of Pot And Mental Health ClaimsAugust 2, 2007 - Washington, DC, USAWashington, DC: The results of a recent British review reporting an association between pot use and mental illness neither implicates cannabis as a cause of psychotic behavior, nor suggests that cultures with abnormally high rates of cannabis consumption have experienced increased incidences of mental ailments, NORML Senior Policy Analyst Paul Armentano said today.The widely reported meta-analysis, published Friday in the British medical journal The Lancet, cites a series of previous published studies that have observed a dose-dependent association between cannabis use and increased incidences of mental illness. However, authors of the study affirmed that this association "does not necessarily reflect a causal relation" between consuming cannabis and triggering psychotic behavior. Armentano said that there are several explanations for the observed correlation. "Individuals suffering from mental illness such as schizophrenia tend to use all intoxicants – particularly alcohol and tobacco – at greater rates than the general population," he noted. "Not surprisingly, many of these individuals also use cannabis."Armentano also noted that many of those patients who use cannabis report consuming the drug to self-medicate various symptoms of their illness, such a depression or mania.Lastly, Armentano emphasized that investigators failed to report any evidence that trends in mental illness have paralleled rising trends in cannabis use around the globe. "Despite the enormous popularity of cannabis in the 1960s and 1970s in numerous Western cultures, rates of psychotic disorders haven't increased since then in any of these societies," he said.Armentano concluded by stating that those concerned over pot’s potential impact on health should support legally regulating cannabis rather than criminally prohibiting its use. "By legalizing and regulating marijuana, public officials would better be able to educate users to its potential risks, and they would also be able to more effectively enact safeguards restricting its use among potentially vulnerable populations, especially young people," he said. "Even if taken at face value, The Lancet’s findings no more warrant the continued criminalization of pot than does the desire that pregnant women refrain from alcohol warrant the blanket prohibition of booze."For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Senior Policy Analyst, at: paul norml.org. Additional information is available in the NORML White Paper, "Cannabis, Mental Health, and Context," available online at: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6798Additional audio commentary on the Lancet report is available on the August 1, 2007 broadcast of the NORML Audio Stash at: http://www.normlaudiostash.comDL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7326Source: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: August 2, 2007Copyright: 2007 NORML Contact: norml norml.org Website: http://www.norml.org/CannabisNews NORML Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/NORML.shtml 
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Comment #21 posted by mayan on August 04, 2007 at 04:05:23 PT
whig
Do you mean for Prez? I would never support her in an election but if Bush & Cheney were removed fom office I would welcome her with open arms. 
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Comment #20 posted by whig on August 04, 2007 at 01:21:12 PT
mayan
Nancy Pelosi?
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Comment #19 posted by mayan on August 03, 2007 at 17:15:45 PT
whig
If the people demand it. We have a once in a lifetime chance to decide who will be our next president instead of having it decided for us. Will we waste that chance?
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Comment #18 posted by whig on August 02, 2007 at 22:51:16 PT
MikeEEEEE
We're all pretty frustrated with the slow pace but I think impeachment is going to happen soon.
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Comment #17 posted by MikeEEEEE on August 02, 2007 at 21:55:26 PT
Best advertisement for demoRats
Don’t expect impeachment. The best advertisement for the demoRats for the next election is bush (chimpanzee) and the gang of lying thieves.The media will let us choose between Repub and Repub-lite, the public will scurry off to the polls like the herd of sheep they are, and nothing changes.Ben Franklin once wrote, “My country is the one that is free.” I believe his statement was more of a warning about the new experiment in democracy called America.Signs the experiment might be failing: Record numbers of Americans are moving to Canada.
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/08/01/2919/Related link:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1589092996/ref=ord_cart_shr/002-5928075-7324820?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance
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Comment #16 posted by The GCW on August 02, 2007 at 20:48:49 PT
impeach? IMPEACH ???
It's Colorado peach season. We're talking sweet juicy yummy yummy.I don't think We should imPEACH evil ones.-0-I just posted something over at http://cannabisnews.com/news/23/thread23231.shtml and I'd like to share the 1st 2 paragraphs."Wow. If George W thought that Scooter Libby got "harsh" punishment for being the Bushites' fall guy, he ought to consider how top Chinese officials treat their scapegoats. Mr. Zheng Xiaoyu, the head of China's food and drug administration, took the fall for the recent scandal of China's exports of shoddy and contaminated products. And, unlike Libby, he didn't just get an 18-month sentence — they executed him! Took him out and shot him in the back of the head. Now that's taking a fall." CONT.Strengthen the FDABy Jim Hightower (I don't condone violence or... but I also don't want to share My peaches with murderers.)Maybe a spankin' would be in order. 
The Green Collar Worker
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Comment #15 posted by whig on August 02, 2007 at 20:07:34 PT
mayan
Do you think the Republican party will allow Ron Paul to be their nominee?
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Comment #14 posted by whig on August 02, 2007 at 20:04:18 PT
MikeEEEEE
It is very important to impeach Bush and Cheney at the same time. If Cheney is replaced first, they will appoint a Gerald Ford. If Bush is replaced first, we get President Cheney (which is different from now how?) Anyhow, Nancy Pelosi doesn't want to be president but I think she should be.
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Comment #13 posted by MikeEEEEE on August 02, 2007 at 18:30:03 PT
Toker00
You have a good point. But perhaps a top-down impeachment approach would would be a better idea, and wishful thinking on my part.
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Comment #12 posted by mayan on August 02, 2007 at 17:55:57 PT
Paul
Thanks a ton! Between your bulls-eye analysis and the swelling anti-Bush backlash, we are winning the battle for the minds of the masses, hands down.Here is some interesting speculation...Fred Thompson Will Drop Out: 
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2007/8/1/125005.shtmlIf there is any truth to that then it will leave Giuliani,Romney and Paul. 9/11 will prove to be Rudy's Achille's heel and Romney is a total flake. With no real competition for Hillary (save the Ron Paul Revolution), the fascists will have a very hard time keeping the polls close and that could open the door for a third party candidate to emerge. Jesse Ventura, where are you???UH-OH...U.S. Terror Attack — 'Ninety Days at Most': 
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,161962,00.htmlComing Soon: The Mother Of All 9/11 Truth Hit Pieces:
http://prisonplanet.com/articles/august2007/020807hitpiece.htmAnalyst: Al-Qaeda Videotapes Digitally Doctored:
http://prisonplanet.com/articles/august2007/020807tapesdoctored.htmTHE FIVE "DANCING" ISRAELIS ARRESTED ON 911:
http://nworeport.blogspot.com/2007/07/five-dancing-israelis-arrested-on-911.htmlMore Ways to Stop the Next 9/11: 
http://mujca.com/insidejob8_1_07.htmDeception: The Dangerous Politics of the Left and Right:
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/08/02/084752.php
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Comment #11 posted by Toker00 on August 02, 2007 at 17:10:58 PT
Domino Effect
We're shooting for all of them. 
Thousands of Americans from around the country will join together to demand the impeachment of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney and insist on the immediate end to the war in Iraq. September 15th is the date General David Petraeus is mandated to make a report to Congress on the progress of the so-called surge. The eyes of the national and international media will be focused on Washington DC at that time. In the coming weeks we will be taking out newspaper ads, producing 500,000 leaflets, flyers, and stickers, and setting up outreach committees for the September 15th March in Washington all over the country. http://www.ImpeachBush.org won't let distractions stop them. Neither should we. Let's get 'em all!Toke. 
 
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Comment #10 posted by Toker00 on August 02, 2007 at 17:04:11 PT
MikeEEEEE
But don't you agree with the logic of getting him first so he can't protect them? That's the part that motivated me.Toke.
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Comment #9 posted by MikeEEEEE on August 02, 2007 at 16:56:30 PT
Toker00
Gonzales is taking the focus off a bush and cheney impeachment. These weasels are experts at using weapons of mass distraction.
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Comment #8 posted by whig on August 02, 2007 at 16:31:08 PT
Toker00
I understand that Patrick Leahy has given Gonzales until the weekend to amend his answers. Impeachment should move forward if and when the solicitor general declines to appoint a special prosecutor, and I believe that the Judiciary Committee in the house led by John Conyers, Jr. will do what they should.
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Comment #7 posted by Toker00 on August 02, 2007 at 16:27:08 PT
And a bit more...
http://www.impeachbush.org/site/PageServerToke.
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Comment #6 posted by goblet on August 02, 2007 at 16:25:09 PT:
paul
yes, thanks much indeed Paul - I see your name popping up all the time, print, norml podcasts, elsewhere. Very prolific. Thanks again.
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Comment #5 posted by Toker00 on August 02, 2007 at 16:24:38 PT
A bit of action...
TELL CONGRESS IT'S TIME TO IMPEACH GONZALES 
The White House has ordered the Justice Department not to prosecute contempt charges against any of its operatives who it had also ordered not to testify in the first place. Gonzales who HAS testified has told so many different stories that were he not himself the attorney general he would be facing perjury charges right now. ACTION PAGE: http://www.usalone.com/impeach_gonzales.php But of course even if he were convicted he would instantly be commuted or pardoned as was Scooter Libby. There is one and only one constitutional recourse left and that is impeachment. The appeal courts have already been stacked with right wing judges and they will not intervene. The solicitor general will not appoint a special counsel. Only through impeachment can Congress demand a return to integrity. On Tuesday, July 31st, Jay Inslee proposed that the Judiciary Committee pursue the possible impeachment of Alberto Gonzales, who tried to browbeat a semi-conscious John Ashcroft into signing off on a patently illegal spying program, who was the point man in doing a legal end run around the laws against torture, who let the White House dictate which U.S. attorneys were not sufficiently partisan in their prosecutions, and who then lied repeatedly under oath about it all. In today's Time magazine online article they examined the reasons Bush still has not dumped such an outright embarrassment of an attorney general, and the number one reason they cited was that "Bush needs someone at Justice who's going to watch the White House's back." Of course this is precisely the reason he must be impeached immediately. If his only purpose is to shield the Cheney White House from investigation and exposure of their own crimes he's the first one who has to go. ACTION PAGE: http://www.usalone.com/impeach_gonzales.php For those focused on impeaching Cheney and Bush we suggest this is not a distraction. Instead it could be an important strategic icebreaker. To just get the word "impeachment" past the lips of some members of Congress has been a major struggle. But our numbers are building fast, and once the dam breaks, it'll be Katy bar the door to the oval office. Please take action NOW, so we can win all victories that are supposed to be ours, and forward this message to everyone else you know. Toke.
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Comment #4 posted by paul armentano on August 02, 2007 at 15:35:57 PT
I'm flattered!
Gee whiz, thanks guys for the kind words... Glad to know that folks are reading and are appreciative.Best to all--Paul
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Comment #3 posted by Hope on August 02, 2007 at 13:54:48 PT
He's REALLY, REALLY Great!
Paul is.We're so lucky, so blessed, so thankful, and so very glad, to have him. 
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Comment #2 posted by whig on August 02, 2007 at 13:09:08 PT
Just saying...
How great is Paul Armentano.
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on August 02, 2007 at 12:53:34 PT
Off Topic: I Think This is a Good Beginning
Senate Approves Greater Disclosure of Pet Projects, Fundraising***August 2, 2007WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate voted Thursday to make lawmakers disclose more about their efforts to fund pet projects and raise money from lobbyists, a move some called the biggest advance in congressional ethics in decades.The ethics bill requires lawmakers to disclose their earmarks 48 hours before voting for them. The 83 to 14 vote, which sends the bill to President Bush, prompted Democrats to claim fulfillment of their 2006 campaign promise to crack down on lobbying abuses that sent some lawmakers and a prominent lobbyist to prison.The bill would require lawmakers to disclose those lobbyists who raise $15,000 or more for them within a six-month period by "bundling" donations from many people. Lawmakers seeking targeted spending projects, or "earmarks," would have to publicize their plans in advance, although critics said the requirements are hardly airtight.Complete Article: http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/08/02/congress.ethics.ap/
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