cannabisnews.com: Government Needs To Re-Evaluate Drug Policies





Government Needs To Re-Evaluate Drug Policies
Posted by CN Staff on October 03, 2007 at 10:01:42 PT
By William Kammer
Source: Daily Sundial
California -- There's a huge hypocrisy going on in this nation and it's costing us billions of dollars. It's a war we've been fighting for years, but can't seem to win. We pump billions of dollars and resources into it, but we can't seem to find a way to make the money win our battle. Many Americans have lost their freedom or their lives for the cause, but for some reason the problem only seems to get worse. A lot of the country doesn't even support the cause, while others are confused as to what that cause even is anymore.
And for the people who stay and fight for the cause, it only gets harder because their enemies are constantly creating new chemicals compounds and other ways to get high. The war on drugs is a war we lost years ago, but no one who supported the war wants to admit it. They don't realize it's hard to stop a nation from using illegal drugs when similar addictive substances are forced down our throats in hospitals and doctor's offices or able to be bought at local convenience stores by the bottle or pack. The fact that some of these substances are legal and some of them aren't starts getting confusing when our government starts lying to us about the "why." We've been lied to for decades about the effects of illegal and legal drugs. The government used to say marijuana could kill you or cause you to go medically insane, and said that cigarettes were safe to smoke. Every time an inaccurate study is conducted or a misleading commercial is put on TV, it's costing the taxpayers money. And while the government spends so much time, effort and money to battle illegal drug dealers and users, we forget how harmful the legal drug market is in our society. What do you think is more harmful: 25 shots of tequila or 25 hits from a bong? Which of these has even the slightest chance to kill you? Which one of these will land you in jail? Shouldn't the substance that kills you be the one that's illegal?Scenarios like these cause confusion among the American people. When the government spends money on ads to prevent hard drug use like heroin, but then prescribes people OxyContin or liquid Morphine, it's hard for us to see why one drug is illegal and the other drug isn't. Some Americans require logic in their laws, and drug laws are beginning to border on illogical. I don't mind that there are laws on drugs. I believe that there needs to be laws regulating drugs. Sometimes people don't know what's best for them and will ruin their lives just to feel good for a while. The problem arises when some drugs are legal, but others aren't and there don't seem to be logical reasons why.If we need some drugs to be legal for medical purposes then that's fine. Of course, the drug that cures a disease or prevents it should be legal. But when it comes to painkillers, the laws are all wrong. There's a reason why Californians in pain are fighting so hard to have marijuana legalized. They don't like the pills pharmacies give them. Taking Valium or Vicodin is too heavy-duty for some people who still need to function while dealing with pain. For others who are prescribed painkillers for long periods of time, they gain resistance to the chemical formulas and have to find relief elsewhere.Side effects also come into consideration while looking at how harmful the drug market is. Side effects of legal drugs are comparable to those of illegal substances. Both markets can provide pills that cause death or brain damage, and both will suck up all of your money in the process.It's time to take a good hard look at what's going on with drug laws in this country because right now it's all mixed up. People are spending years in prison for marijuana use while other people addicted to OxyContin are able to walk around and keep killing themselves. Vomiting up blood while drinking myself to death isn't a crime, but if I smoke marijuana to help reduce the nausea, which the drug has been known to do, and prevent the bloody vomit, they'll lock me up and throw away the key. Complete Title: U.S. Government Needs To Re-Evaluate Ineffective Drug PoliciesSource: Daily Sundial, The (CA Edu)Author: William KammerPublished: October 3, 2007Copyright: 2007 Daily Sundial Website: http://sundial.csun.edu/Contact: opinion sundial.csun.eduCannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on October 04, 2007 at 10:02:16 PT
whig
I agree we don't need to think the same on all the issues. That's what makes having a free will so good.
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Comment #17 posted by whig on October 04, 2007 at 09:59:44 PT
FoM
It's okay for us to disagree on the best choices sometimes, because we can make different ones. :)
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Comment #16 posted by whig on October 04, 2007 at 09:57:34 PT
FoM
I think maybe our strategies are different, you think Barack Obama is a better chance to remove Republicans. I respect that you support him. I like Bill Richardson but I know he won't be president in 2008, or Dennis Kucinich. It's just too hard for either of them to be taken seriously by the media and they don't have the money to buy serious coverage either.
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on October 04, 2007 at 09:55:48 PT
whig
I think I get how you feel and I hope you get how I feel.
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on October 04, 2007 at 09:54:46 PT
whig
I like her too. I have read where people would like an Obama - Edwards ticket. Edwards could represent the southern states well and Obama the northern states I think.
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Comment #13 posted by whig on October 04, 2007 at 09:53:10 PT
FoM
I'm not sure if you know how I feel about this election. I want the Republicans taken out of power. Do you disagree?I think Hillary Clinton is practically a Republican. She is supported by Rupert Murdoch.
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Comment #12 posted by whig on October 04, 2007 at 09:51:13 PT
FoM
I have to say I really like Elizabeth Edwards. I know she isn't running but she is a good person, I believe.
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on October 04, 2007 at 09:49:53 PT
whig
I respect how you feel about voting. I don't think like you maybe because I feel this is my real last chance to help get the Republicans out of power. 
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on October 04, 2007 at 09:47:17 PT
Toker00
I really like Dennis but he can't win. I like all of the candidates that are running in the Democratic Party except Clinton. The reality is at this late date only the top 3 from each party can win. I am not a gambling person so in my reality I want to know as much as I can about the top 3 in both Parties. Dennis would be a great asset and would probably get a good position of power under the Democrats or at least under an Obama Presidency. 
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Comment #9 posted by whig on October 04, 2007 at 09:42:25 PT
FoM
It looks like Edwards, Kucinich and Richardson all signed the pledge as well. I could vote for any of the Democratic candidates except for Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden.
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Comment #8 posted by Toker00 on October 04, 2007 at 09:36:40 PT
FoM
You are so so right to not want the Ghoul. He is mafiated from head to toe. Long time associate with bottom feeders and such. He won't make it. I haven't decided who for or even if I will vote this time. I keep watching Kucinich and hoping for small miracles. Time will tell...Toke. 
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on October 04, 2007 at 06:31:05 PT
Toker00
I'm glad Senator Obama signed it. I don't want Senator Clinton to win and I hope Obama wins. I am afraid to get my hopes up too much because I was totally crushed when Kerry lost and it took me quite a while to get over it. I know I do not want Giuliani though.
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Comment #6 posted by Toker00 on October 04, 2007 at 04:05:11 PT
Let's protect the constitution. What do ya say?
After all, some of us swore to do that and all of those who wear a military or police uniform also swore. Let's see if the Politicians who signed on will back up that pledge...Hilary is not one of them by the way...http://www.americanfreedomcampaign.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=63&Itemid=Toke.
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Comment #5 posted by Toker00 on October 04, 2007 at 03:42:59 PT
Hey, guys.
Mr. Nadelman is asking us to ask our local papers to reprint this article so we can keep the debate going. I'm going to do this. Will you?http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3932Want to make a list of papers we send this article to and then post the papers that print it? Just asking...sounds like a great idea to keep the debate on the front burner.I'm sending it to Galveston Daily News to test the waters. There are many others.Toke.
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Comment #4 posted by afterburner on October 03, 2007 at 20:04:42 PT
Too Bad Canada Govt Can't/Won't Read this Article
Canada: Get-Tough Plan on Drugs Doomed, Experts Say, Globe and Mail, (01 Oct 2007) 
http://www.mapinc.org/newstcl/v07/n1130/a04.html?176
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Comment #3 posted by OverwhelmSam on October 03, 2007 at 19:38:13 PT
Just Let People Take Drugs 
People should be held accountable for what they do, not for what the paranoid imagination thinks they will do. If I get too drunk to drive and ram into a car killing a driver, I should go to jail for manslaughter. It sucks that I took a drug that made me do that, but I should be held accountable regardless of what drug I may or may not be taking.I think it will end when the Mexican Cartels start hiring snipers to kill border control agents from a distance. It sucks that Americans decided to be government drug control agents (law enforcement), but they should be held accountable for their actions regardless of their hateful beliefs.
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Comment #2 posted by ekim on October 03, 2007 at 13:10:00 PT
see a Leap event near you
Oct 20 07 25th Annual Conference of Mothers ... Howard Wooldridge Portland OR 
 LEAP shares its ideas with MAMA conferrees at 5217 SE 28th Avenue. 503-233-4202 http://mamas.org Oct 24 07 Damage Done at United Nations Associaton ... Palo Alto California 
 Hosted by Stanford University. This year's theme is "The Camera as Witness." October 24-28, 2007 Oct 29 07 Kansas State University Presentation Manhattan KS 
 LEAP shares their ideas on ending prohibition with the Sociology of Criminal Justice System class, 254 Waters Hall. Sponsored by KSU Sociology 361 class. http://www.ksu.edu CONTACT: Travis Linnemann 
http://www.leap.cc/events/
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on October 03, 2007 at 12:43:05 PT
Medical Marijuana is Subject of Presentation
October 2, 2007Oregon -- Mothers Against Misuse and Abuse (MAMA) will give a presentation, "America and Drugs - Still Crazy After All These Years," at noon Monday at the Cannery Cafe, No. 1 Sixth St. This event is part of a statewide tour to celebrate MAMA's 25 years dedicated to reducing the harm from drug use. MAMA Executive Director Sandee Burbank will discuss how America's approach to drugs can be improved to better protect people. MAMA's program is based on personal responsibility and informed decision-making, with respect for human dignity.Burbank, who is also the chairwoman of the Oregon Department of Human Services Advisory Committee on Medical Marijuana, will be accompanied by patients registered in the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program who are eager to discuss why they and 17,000 other Oregonians have turned to medical marijuana for relief from their qualifying conditions. Medical marijuana is still surrounded by controversy and conflict between federal and state law. An initiative has been filed that, if it succeeds, would eliminate the OMMP. For information about MAMA, go to http://www.mamas.orgCopyright: 2007 The Daily Astorianhttp://www.dailyastorian.info/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=395&ArticleID=45735&TM=86159.48
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