cannabisnews.com: Forest Service Chief Says Pot Farmers Daunting





Forest Service Chief Says Pot Farmers Daunting
Posted by CN Staff on August 07, 2007 at 08:39:08 PT
By David Benda
Source: Record Searchlight
California -- U.S. Forest Service chief Gail Kimbell, the second top federal official to visit Shasta County this summer, got an aerial view Monday afternoon of the region's timber country and marijuana removal efforts.It was Kimbell's first trip to Northern California since taking over the Forest Service this year. Kimbell, the first woman to hold the job, succeeded Dale Bosworth.
On Monday, Kimbell lamented about the sheer determination of pot growers and the danger they present for firefighters, Forest Service employees, and the public."It's not all about marijuana. It's about the resource damage and public safety," Kimbell said during an afternoon press conference at the Redding Forest Service office.The ingenuity of people who can cultivate anything on a steep slope is daunting, she added.Kimbell's trip comes a month after John P. Walters, President Bush's drug czar, came to Redding for an update on the "Operation Alesia" marijuana-removal effort.The campaign destroyed 52 gardens that had been identified and an additional eight discovered after the assault began. All told, 283,397 plants were pulled from gardens in the Shasta County woods. Nearly 65 percent of the pot gardens found were on Forest Service land.Some 400 law enforcement officers were used in the effort, which wrapped up in late July.Still basking in the success of "Operation Alesia," forest service special agent Ron Pugh said Monday that three more law enforcement officers will join the marijuana fight in Shasta County next year. They're among 50 additional cops the state will bring in 2008 to help remove marijuana gardens, said Pugh, who heads up the Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Region.California is getting $5.5 million in federal funds to help pay for the beefed-up effort, Pugh said.Monday's aerial tour was arranged by north state Congressman Wally Herger, R-Chico. But flight delays in Atlanta and Los Angeles caused him to miss the event, said Fran Peace, Herger's district director.The Forest Service chief's visit came three days after her agency released a study on the Angora Fire, which burned more than 250 structures near Lake Tahoe in June. The agency said areas near subdivisions where defensible space and fuel-reduction plans were implemented provided havens, which prevented more homes from burning.Many homes burned in the Angora Fire were sparked by fuels generated from other burning homes -- and not from trees and other wildland fuel, the report said.Kimbell, who was on the road last week and has not seen the Angora Fire report, said history shows that managed tree stands suffer much lower mortality rates than do forests that are left alone."It allows firefighters to be more effective," Kimbell said of managed forests.Complete Title: Alesia Inspected: Forest Service Chief Says Area Pot Farmers DauntingSource: Redding Record Searchlight (CA)Author: David BendaPublished: Tuesday, August 7, 2007 Copyright: 2007 Record Searchlight Contact: letters redding.comWebsite: http://www.redding.com/Related Articles:Operation Alesia is Another Exercise in Futilityhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23215.shtmlShasta County Pot Eradication Operation Beginshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23173.shtmlWhite House Drug Czar Highlights MJ Cultivationhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23166.shtml 
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on August 07, 2007 at 19:39:41 PT
Agog 
Please stop by more often if you can. It's good to see you. 
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Comment #14 posted by paul armentano on August 07, 2007 at 16:20:35 PT
Just posted: Interpreting Hazy Warnings About Pot 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-armentano-and-mitch-earleywine/interpreting-hazy-warning_b_59543.htmlInterpreting Hazy Warnings About Pot and Mental Illness
 Posted August 7, 2007 | 07:05 PM (EST)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-armentano-and-mitch-earleywine/interpreting-h
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on August 07, 2007 at 15:56:44 PT
herbdoc215 and Agog
That article made good sense to me. Thanks. 
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Comment #12 posted by herbdoc215 on August 07, 2007 at 15:33:37 PT
FoM, sorry...here is link to the story 
http://www.counterpunch.com/gardner08042007.html
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Comment #11 posted by Agog on August 07, 2007 at 15:17:18 PT:
FOM - Fred Gardner Link for you
Hi FOM,I haven't stopped in lately....Here is a link where you can find back issues of O'Shaugnessy'sFred has also written for a couple of other local papers in Central and Northern California. I think one is the Grass Valley Gazette or Advertiser ... something like that.I hope this finds you and the rest of the community here doing well... or at least as well as can be.R/
Agog
California Cannabis Research Medical Group
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Comment #10 posted by Agog on August 07, 2007 at 15:01:16 PT:
He Definitely "Gets It"
Fred Gardner is a wealth of knowledge and a real asset to the medical cannabis community. I've had the pleasure of meeting him in person as well as hearing him speak on the issue. His knowledge, historical perspective and viewpoints are tremendously valuable. O'Shaugnessey's is first rate too!  Part academic journal, part clinician tool and part social commentary.... He's definitely unafraid to call it like he sees it....Agog
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on August 07, 2007 at 15:00:39 PT
 herbdoc215 
Do you have a link. I can't read it.
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Comment #8 posted by herbdoc215 on August 07, 2007 at 14:47:58 PT
Here is a column I think written by one of the 
couple of reporters whom "get it" and realizes what medical cannabis means and how desperate the patients are....this is a VERY wise man speaking here and I believe many here should at least give this some thought or we are doomed to keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again with more patients suffering and sitting in jail as a result!Weekend Edition
>August 4 / 5, 2007
>Pot Shots
>Write Off Your Congressman
>
>By FRED GARDNER
>
>The medical marijuana movement is a case study in how a potentially
>radical movement -- a challenge to corporate power and the disconnect
>from nature -- gets contained and transformed into a prop for the status
>quo. The two outfits most responsible for the containment are the
>Marijuana Policy Project ($6.5 million annual budget, about half from
>Peter Lewis of Progressive Insurance) and the Drug Policy Alliance ($8
>million, about half from financier George Soros).
>
>Having billionaire backers enables these two outfits and their
>subsidiaries to efficiently dun the rank-and-file with mailings and
>e-mail pitches. The effect is to divert resources from grassroots
>projects in California and elsewhere to lobbyists in Washington, D.C.
>(themselves).
>
>In recent years the focal point of their appeals has been a measure
>called the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment, which would ban funding for
>DEA raids on marijuana growers and dispensaries protected by state law.
>As the vote on Hinchey-Rohrabacher approached in late July, the
>fundraising appeals intensified. A hysterical one from Tom Angell, the
>"Government Relations Director" of Students for a Sensible Drug Policy,
>was headed "Don't let the feds arrest my mom for medical marijuana." Tom
>explained that his mother uses marijuana as medicine under Rhode Island
>law and is therefore subject to arrest by the feds.
>
> "People like my mom need you to take action now and tell Congress
>to respect states' rights to protect the seriously ill. To make it as
>easy as possible for you, our allies at the Marijuana Policy Project
>have created a prewritten letter that you can quickly edit and send to
>your member of Congress. All you have to do is click over to
>http://www.ssdp.org/hinchey/
>
> "This amendment has been voted on for the past four years and it
>keeps getting more and more support. Last year, we got 163 votes out of
>the 218 we need. We can pass the amendment this year and finally stop
>the federal government's war on medical marijuana patients - but not
>without your help.
>
> "My mom and other people suffering from serious illnesses need you
>to take action today."
>
>Hinchey-Rohrabacher was voted on by Congress July 25 and lost, 262-165,
>garnering only two more votes than it did last session, despite the
>influx of Democrats. Rob Kampia of MPP promptly sent out a letter
>spinning the dismal defeat as a reason to send more money his way.
>
> "Although we lost, this evening's vote was a record showing of
>congressional support, in part because of the more than 24,000 letters
>that MPP members and allies sent to their U.S. representatives in the
>last few weeks ...
>
> "Congressman Rohrabacher spoke of the deaths of his mother and
>brother from cancer, stating, 'If marijuana would have helped them, it
>would have been a horrible thing to think that federal agents would have
>come in and interfered with that, if their doctor had recommended it.'
>
> "Leading up to the vote, the MPP staff and our lobbyists had dozens
>of meetings with House members. The addition of former Congressman Bob
>Barr (R-Ga.) to our lobbying ranks this year gave a boost to our efforts ...
>
> "MPP coordinated an open letter to Congress from health and medical
>organizations and helped draft the text of the amendment. And in the
>last few weeks, we distributed decks of cards - with the title, "The
>Deal on Medical Marijuana: 52 Reasons Why You Should Support Medical
>Marijuana Access" - to every House lawmaker. The cards were extremely
>popular and garnered positive media attention ...
>
> "Now that the amendment has received 165 votes, in the next year
>we'll be targeting a smaller number of districts to pick up the
>remaining 53 votes we need to reach a 218-vote majority. The momentum is
>on our side, and we'll keep fighting until Congress listens to the
>American people ... If you support the work that MPP is doing - work
>that tonight forced each member of the U.S. House of Representatives to
>take a public stand on the question of arresting and imprisoning
>seriously ill patients - please help us continue by making a financial
>contribution today. We need you standing with us as we continue the fight.
>
> -Rob Kampia,
> Executive Director,
> Marijuana Policy Project
> Washington, D.C.
>
> P.S. As I've mentioned in previous alerts, a major philanthropist
>has committed to match the first $3.0 million that MPP can raise from
>the rest of the planet in 2007. This means that your donation today will
>be doubled."
>
>Last month Kampia got a $400,000 grant from Soros, who, till then, had
>donated exclusively to Ethan Nadelmann and the Drug Policy Alliance.
>There's no apparent ideological difference between the two brands.
>
>Both were busy during the 2006 campaign voicing support for the "War on
>Terror" and kissing rightwing butt (hobnobbing with Grover Norquist,
>etc.), which may explain why they've made so little headway with the new
>members of Congress. They zigged when they should have zagged.
>
>The real meaning of "write your member of Congress" is "pull your pud."
>The concerned citizen gets the satisfaction of having taken political
>action and thanks the reform group for enabling him or her to do it with
>just a few keystrokes. The implicit premise, reinforced with every pitch
>to write your member, is that we live in a functioning representative
>democracy -which we don't. Approximately one in 30 "representatives" is
>swayed by their mail on one in 30 votes -in other words, it's only one
>in 900 emails that might have any impact whatsoever. (Margin of error = ±2%)
>
>The medical marijuana movement would be much stronger today if a
>fraction of the money Kampia's MPP pissed away in Nevada alone -millions
>on failed ballot measures!- had been spent in California organizing
>teach-ins on every campus and bolstering the credibility of our serious
>pro-cannabis MDs. Sour grapes from the editor of the doctors' unfunded
>journal? Yes, but true nonetheless.
>
>Fred Gardner edits O'Shaughnessy's, the journal of cannabis in clinical
>practice. He can be reached at fred plebesite.com
 
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Comment #7 posted by Agog on August 07, 2007 at 14:00:46 PT:
Another Angle Offered
For all the kind readers here,You may enjoy this link and the message. Even though a press release was issued the silence has been deafening.Agog
http://www.letuspaytaxes.com
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on August 07, 2007 at 12:55:19 PT
whig
I know and I mean that our political leaders like China. It easier to get something from China then to check products that are made here because it would cost the companies money and money is all that matters to some of them.
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Comment #5 posted by whig on August 07, 2007 at 11:44:38 PT
FoM
A lot of Chinese food products and children's toys have turned out to be dangerous. Also a lot of animals died from pet food that was adulterated with melamine.
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on August 07, 2007 at 09:38:08 PT
Sam
I thought that China was communistic but we love them it seems. It is really very confusing to me. Thanks.
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Comment #3 posted by sam adams on August 07, 2007 at 09:32:23 PT
communism
Communism was the Cold War that kept the military-industrial complex fat & happy for 40 years! And we're still fighting that dreadful godless enemy, Cuba, for being communist.Of course, like the war on drugs, hatred can be turned on & off at will. We still hate Cuba for being commies, but not our closest partner, China. We arrest 800,000 marijuana users, but advertise beer through sports for boys from when they're infants.
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on August 07, 2007 at 09:17:59 PT
Sam
I understand what you are saying but I don't see anything about communism being fought by anyone. I know that I don't follow issues but what do you mean about communism? 
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Comment #1 posted by Sam Adams on August 07, 2007 at 09:03:55 PT
government loving it
You can see why the government loves to fight Islamic terrorism, marijuana, Communism - you can spend INFINITE amounts of money and never put a dent in them! They are the perfect things to declare war on.You could declare war on fires, but you'd eventually get enough firemen to put them all out. 
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