cannabisnews.com: Ease Marijuana Rules At Own Risk





Ease Marijuana Rules At Own Risk
Posted by CN Staff on March 08, 2008 at 05:28:57 PT
By John Hilferty
Source: Burlington Free Press
Vermont -- Slowly but surely, the progressive forces that control the power in the Vermont Legislature are doing what they can to weaken the quality of life that makes Vermont a unique place to live. With their support of the marijuana decriminalization bill, their attitude seems to be that smoking pot is such a casual indiscretion there is no harm in letting users have their way with it.
Perhaps this could be added to the legislation: The warning to teenagers that smoking pot is OK, but when your concentration levels fall to the point where your grades in school suffer, or if you are out on your own and can't keep a job, then you should know where your problems have originated. One of the most persuasive arguments against marijuana use is that teenagers, in particular, learn to avoid stress through the calming benefits of pot. Thus they fail to cope with the challenges of gaining adulthood and become forever locked in arrested development --- inability to focus on school or an occupation. Marijuana is the swamp where the drug culture breeds. An example of the insidiousness of the practice is Vancouver, British Columbia, a liberal-minded city where marijuana-growing and its use are winked at. The acceptance has led to an influx of criminal gangs competing to control what has become a $7 billion industry in British Columbia. The figures are not mine, but come from The Economist magazine (Feb. 9-15, Page 41), supported with studies by the British Columbia Organized Crime Agency and the Fraser Institute, a think tank. British Columbia and Vermont have similar attributes of natural beauty. Both rely on tourism, except in the Canadian province, backpacking pot smokers and other drug seekers from all over the world will soon outnumber the skiers and other visitors. The Economist stated that Vancouver has become Canada's new center for drug-related violence "thanks to its importance as a hub for the production and export of marijuana." Are we witnessing an identical movement in Rutland, where out-of-state drug dealers are flocking to take advantage of Vermont's increasing acceptance? Here is what Narcanon Vancouver, a drug rehabilitation agency in British Columbia, says about the problem: Soft marijuana laws create fertile ground where "drug pushers produce more drug addicts because of an expanding market into which they can push drugs." Vermont legislators favoring the soft approach toward marijuana should be made to consider who benefits the most from their actions. According to Narcanon Vancouver, "drug dealers, pot growers incapable of supporting their habit, criminals, pimps, pushers, organized crime, drug companies, opium traders, drug crop land owners are all financially gaining from a product (marijuana) that has but one true result: oblivion, forgetfulness, destroyed ambition, apathy, slow death of an entire future generation." The Democrats and Progressives who hold the power in the state Legislature consistently ignore reforms central to the state's problems: the need to reduce taxes and promote business, jobs and affordable housing. They can't put aside their time-consuming fixations on laws that strengthen various lifestyle acceptance. All of us as voters who love Vermont and wish it well should push the majority members of the Vermont Legislature to institute meaningful tax reform, to create jobs through nonpolluting industry and make housing affordable to working families. Focusing on marijuana legislation that can only lead to the destruction of lives is not the way to go. John Hilferty lives in Moretown. Source: Burlington Free Press (VT)Author: John HilfertyPublished: Saturday, March 8, 2008Copyright: 2008 Burlington Free PressContact: letters bfp.burlingtonfreepress.comWebsite: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/ Related Articles:Senate Panel To Consider Drug Issueshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23607.shtmlWhy is Pot Cultivation for Personal Use Illegal?http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23583.shtmlIt's Time To Decriminalize Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23578.shtml 
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Comment #37 posted by Hope on March 09, 2008 at 19:20:29 PT
Runruff
You're a mighty and passionate man. I respect that. I'm thankful for you.
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Comment #36 posted by Hope on March 09, 2008 at 19:06:26 PT
Nixon's gift to this country... to the world.
There were some doozies... but the DEA has probably been the most destructive.Nixon. What a legacy he left.
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Comment #35 posted by runruff on March 09, 2008 at 18:48:21 PT:
Don't tread on me!
When I was a little kid I was very sweet spirited and timid. On the flip side I was also very stubborn. What happened was I got tired of giving in. As I grew older I grew tougher. At some point I decided some things hurt worse than pain. On April 12, 2003 I died. I was revived. I found the death is not so bad. It is nothing to fear. My experiences are not unique but they are unusual. Anyway, I do strongly identify with the founding fathers and the revolutionary spirit that created the foundation for a great nation. It sickens me to see the political philosophy and the high ideals this country was built on being trampled on by a bunch of gun toting lowlifes sucking from the public trough, killing, pillaging and trampling our rights to freedom and our liberties. I'm a believer that there are some ideals that people should live by that are worth fighting for even to the death. Speaking up to them is to let them know that daybreak is dawning. Bring the snakes and the spiders out into the daylight. These creatures hide in the shadows. In daylight they are more easily vanquished.
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Comment #34 posted by Hope on March 09, 2008 at 18:04:49 PT
"Forty of them"
How horrible. Think they were going for intimidation?I'm so glad you stood up so well to it, my friend.
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Comment #33 posted by Hope on March 09, 2008 at 18:01:16 PT
I agree, too.
"I have been told that I am fearless to a fault. I agree."Speaking up is what I try to do. But speaking to them does no good at all, that I can see.It's that box of spiders thing... and poking at a snake.
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Comment #32 posted by runruff on March 09, 2008 at 16:04:54 PT:
Live free or die!
Dear hope,Step not lightly into yon darkness! Be thee bold of mind and spirit.I've gotten into plenty of trouble speaking my mind. Call me a fool, it is the way I prefer to be.I have been told that I am fearless to a fault. I agree.I will tell the ONDCP and the DEA what I think of them anytime any place. I met with two team leaders out of our local DEA office during my sentencing interview. They didn't quite know what to do with me. I spoke to them with the same deamenor and authority as they spoke to me.I was at one time surrounded by 40 of the psycopathic idiots, not only did I tell them what I thought of them, I pulled my toke pipe out of my pocket out of pocket and lit up right in front of them. What were they going to do arrest me?Tyrants are counting on people staying quiet and not speaking up. I am not afraid to die, what more can they do to me.Namaste
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Comment #31 posted by Hope on March 09, 2008 at 13:23:55 PT
Runruff
Be careful. Are you sure you can't antagonize them with letters or email? They are dangerous beings. I don't want them to hurt you, or any of us, more than they already have. And they have hurt us badly. That's why we are here. They are hurting a lot of people very, very badly and we are doing what we can to stop them... but they are dangerous and cruel and we are not.
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Comment #30 posted by FoM on March 09, 2008 at 12:36:23 PT
fight_4_freedom 
Let us know when you need to get away. We really are country people. We both spent our young life in the country and I think it made us want to stay in the country. We have a small type ski boat that needs more motor work but if the guys get it fixed we will go out on the lake again this summer.
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Comment #29 posted by fight_4_freedom on March 09, 2008 at 12:08:20 PT:
FoM #25
Well I know where I'm going when I need to get away :)
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Comment #28 posted by FoM on March 09, 2008 at 11:06:44 PT
runruff
We watched American Drug War yesterday too. It was good. I knew most of what they were talking about but we have been at this for years now so we aren't surprised.
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Comment #27 posted by runruff on March 09, 2008 at 10:51:22 PT:
Send a little love note.
The URL at the ONDCP:http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/articles/war_84882___article.html/drug_drugs.html
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Comment #26 posted by runruff on March 09, 2008 at 10:48:49 PT:
Showtime's,"The American Drug War."
My wife and I saw it yesterday. It should be mandatory viewing for every American citizen.I set a URL to the ONDCP comment box and rudely pointed out what lying monsters they are.I also sent them a URL to my video. I told them that the cat is out of the bag.Namaste
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Comment #25 posted by FoM on March 09, 2008 at 10:37:37 PT
fight_4_freedom
We live within a couple of miles of a State Park that has a big lake that is about 12 miles long with a lodge, golf course, horseback riding trails, and rental cabins. It's unlimited horse power so sometimes they have hydroplane races. 
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Comment #24 posted by fight_4_freedom on March 09, 2008 at 10:26:36 PT:
Sounds like a wonderful place
What kind of water access do you have near you? Lake, River?I haven't seen a cardinal since back in my country days. What a beautiful creature.
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Comment #23 posted by FoM on March 09, 2008 at 10:20:18 PT
fight_4_freedom 
We like it. We built the house in 79. We have to drive about 2 miles to hit an asphalt road. It is great horseback riding country or for boating.We just saw a cardinal in the snow. It made it's color really stand out.
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Comment #22 posted by fight_4_freedom on March 09, 2008 at 10:11:34 PT:
600 feet
Shoveling definitely doesn't seem like an option with a lane that long.lol Sounds like you two have quite the place though.Thank God for the tractor!
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Comment #21 posted by FoM on March 09, 2008 at 10:04:41 PT
fight_4_freedom
I just asked my husband how long our lane was and he said about 600 feet. No tractor no go! LOL!
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Comment #20 posted by fight_4_freedom on March 09, 2008 at 09:44:26 PT:
I'm glad the trusty tractor was working 
for you. God knows you guys would be digging for days if you had to shovel everything after that storm. lol
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Comment #19 posted by fight_4_freedom on March 09, 2008 at 09:28:07 PT:
Medical Marijuana Poll
from the Kalamazoo Gazette. It's at 85% for the initiative out of 14 votes right now.http://blog.mlive.com/kalamazoo_gazette_extra/2008/03/what_do_you_think_add.html
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Comment #18 posted by Sam Adams on March 09, 2008 at 08:35:04 PT
McCain
Interesting article - now we know why McCain is so militantly against medical MJ - he's a stoolie for the alcohol industry:http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/03/09/alcohol_industry_ties_may_test_mccain/Interesting that the Boston Globe chooses to attack him on lowering the drinking age, one of the biggest civil rights travesties in this country, the only western country in the world with a drinking age above 18.The "liberal" Globe wants to make sure 18-21 year old ADULTS are punished and have their freedom taken away over a beer. Another interesting item from the article - guess which Senator took the MOST money from the alcohol industry after McCain? Hillary Clinton. 
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Comment #17 posted by Toker00 on March 09, 2008 at 08:14:27 PT
Forgot one.
CANNABIS PROHIBITION WAS AN INSIDE JOB!:)Toke.
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Comment #16 posted by Toker00 on March 09, 2008 at 06:44:39 PT
Cannabis Prohibition Conspiracy Theories
And from a state that wants to arrest Bush and Cheney for war crimes. What about the Drug War Crimes, Hilferty?CannabisTruth.orgPilotsforCannabisTruth.orgCannabisProhibitionblogger.comLet'sROLL.comArchitechsandEngineersforCannabisTruth.comDavid Ray Griffins new book: Cannabis Prohibition: Distortions and OmissionsCannabisTruth will set you free!CannabisTruth ends the War! Cannabis Conspiracy TheoristsThe Greatest Trading commodity in the world doesn't just commit suicide! It was brought down with carefully placed PROHIBITION.Anslinger was a Nazi.So is Bush.So is Clinton.So is McCain.So is Walters.So is anyone who supports Bush or Clinton. Or at least Nazi sympathizers. Read SHADOW OF THE SWATSTIKA.Welcome to Nazi America where 90% of the Republican party are Nazi sympathizers and 90% of the Democrats are held at bay with Anthrax and other Nazi tools of the trade. If we don't defeat the Nazies we will never get out Republic back and Cannabis will never be re-legalized. Toke. 
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on March 09, 2008 at 06:14:57 PT
fight_4_freedom 
It really is pretty. The guys had fun playing in the snow yesterday. I was happy that the tractor started and worked like it did. The dogs love it too.
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Comment #14 posted by Paint with light on March 08, 2008 at 22:34:03 PT
echos of lies
I knew this article was going to be really bad when the third sentence switched the argument from adults to children.It is clear these are the echoes of drug lies from long ago.I did enjoy the phrase, "Marijuana is the swamp where the drug culture breeds."Picture frogs sitting on a log saying, "Buds-are-wiser".Guess I'll go swampin'.FoM, I'm jealous of the snow. Ours was gone by the time I got up at the crack of noon.Equal with alcohol is all we ask, for now.
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Comment #13 posted by fight_4_freedom on March 08, 2008 at 20:56:16 PT:
I'm jealous
Wow!!! 15 inches?? Now that's what I call a snowstorm. What a beautiful scene it must be. Especially being that you're out in the country. I miss that.And I bet you have that woodstove packed full :)
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Comment #12 posted by FoM on March 08, 2008 at 20:47:20 PT
fight_4_freedom
Yes we are snowed in. We have about 15 inches of snow. Lots of drifting. My husband and neighbor got our old tractor going and was able to plow our lane but the road is still not plowed. It's beautiful. This is the most snow we have had since 93. 
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Comment #11 posted by fight_4_freedom on March 08, 2008 at 20:07:11 PT:
Are you "snowed" in FoM???
Looks like you guys really got whacked there in Ohio. We had only a few flurries from it early this morning.And I know you'll enjoy that movie.
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Comment #10 posted by Sam Adams on March 08, 2008 at 14:16:16 PT
state of delusion
This guy's writing shows how sheltered he is from the people in his own back yard!  Vancouver's not the only mountainous place full of pot-smoking backpackers - so is Vermont! Vermont is the place with the best herb in the 6 New England states. Vermont is where the herb from Quebec comes in.It's the home of Ben & Jerry and Phish. It's where snowboarding was invented.You should crawl out of your cave more often pal. Vermont is full of liberals! Your battle is long lost.These wacko right-wingers, "conservatives", support the MJ laws because they're so disconnected from reality. It's all dogma to them, reality doesn't have any bearing on their views.Most moral conservatives and many older people have this vision of "drug culture", basically anyone who's ever done any crime or done anything wrong is part of "drug culture".One older man that I know recently confided in me that it's the people who run up big credit card debts & loans that succumb to "drug culture". I had to choke back a laugh, that is absurd. You have to realize that in America with our suburbs & exurbs that many older people lead very sheltered lives & just don't interact with many "strangers" or young people. 
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on March 08, 2008 at 13:06:58 PT
OT: Showtime Playing American Drug War
Showtime is having a free preview weekend and American Drug War is playing now. It's very interesting so far.
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on March 08, 2008 at 13:03:45 PT
Interesting Article from SXSW
SXSW: Super High Me Smokes the First Day of Film ScreeningsSuper High Me Trailer: http://tinyurl.com/ys9t2zBy Jenna Wortham March 08, 2008 URL: http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/03/sxsw-high-lario.html
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Comment #7 posted by runruff on March 08, 2008 at 12:42:45 PT:
Stress? Oh yes!
"Teenagers use it to relieve stress."[1.] When I was a teen I didn't know what stress was.[2.] What is going own in society today that causes teens so much stress anyway?[3.] If cannabis is known as a stress reliever, why do we not have the right to choose it over valiun, xanax, ect.BTY- I bought my first bottle of Cosopt eyedrops yesterday since returning home. It is used to keep the pressure down in my eyes so I won't go blind. It cost $168.00 for 10 milligrams. The very substance I could replace for free with cannabis to treat my gleacoma.I am so tired!
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Comment #6 posted by rchandar on March 08, 2008 at 11:47:47 PT:
Fuming, and other things
It comes down to very simple reason. From what I've studied and experienced, the alcoholic gathering and/or alcoholic event involves an unyielding truth. The people have gotten together; the stupidest and lamest thought, which is in their heads at the exact same time, is the energy upon which they enjoy themselves. Stupidity is key in the alcoholic derangement--anything that makes you feel like an idiot, that's what's "cool." Compare that to MJ. The smoker has beliefs, convictions, agenda, point of view. Inescapably true as far as I've seen. And that's what the government doesn't want you to know.--rchandar
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Comment #5 posted by rchandar on March 08, 2008 at 11:15:03 PT:
Fuming cont'd
that's the kind of stuff that makes me want to scream. According to the government, we're only allowed to buy things and do things which are stupid--where we don't actually learn anything or enjoy anything, everything in this world is window-dressing for a price. Drinking is stupid. It's like saying to the world--look! Be as stupid as you want! We allow this! Look at the products that we are encouraged to buy--food, technology, fashion, cars. None of them contribute in any possible way to our well-being.All this because of the prohibition of a plant, sponsored by a pro-Nazi Cabinet member in 1937 who hated blacks. And our useless "good citizens" today walk around like Anslinger's obsession was the undisputed truth, that it can't be talked about, it can't be understood, it cannot be questioned. Somewhere in hell, Reagan is smiling. It was he, after all, who made these rules about social policy immutable law.rchandar
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Comment #4 posted by rchandar on March 08, 2008 at 11:03:47 PT:
RE Comments on the Board
I agree. Listen, people, and a lot of devout believers have gotten the take too:Alcohol is destructive morally, intellectually, physically, psychically. Alcohol is bad for you, it deranges the senses beyond a point at which you can control. It creates the stupidest kind of behavior in people, and liberates them of their ability to think for themselves.It is time we legalize marijuana, and levy criminal penalties on the sale and manufacture of alcohol.--rchandar
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Comment #3 posted by user123 on March 08, 2008 at 10:58:23 PT:
Pipe Dream
....make housing affordable to working families. Focusing on marijuana legislation that can only lead to the destruction of lives is not the way to go. 
The only way to believe legal MJ would lead to destruction would be by someone who has NEVER tried it. Because once he did, the realization quickly becomes "why is this mild substance illegal? Is this what all the fuss is about? Waht a f*#kin' jackass I've been." Do people like this actually believe that MJ is worse than alcohol? Couple of drinks and you're stumbling all over the place. You can smoke all night & still walk a straight line and I think this is why they secretly hate it - they can't tell if you're on it w/o a piss test or catching you w/possession, or it happens to be your first time getting high. Otherwise, stoners move about us everyday & aren't detected. Makes me think of the famous line from some politician who said to a secretly gay co-worker, "I've never met a gay person." People like John Hilferty just end up just being clueless to the way the world works. 
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Comment #2 posted by kaptinemo on March 08, 2008 at 09:14:59 PT:
Bass-ackwards, as usual
What a banquet! Time to break out the ol' turkey carving knife (Click! Whirrrrrrrrr!)Let's see; how about we start at the legs...what little that are there.An example of the insidiousness of the practice is Vancouver, British Columbia, a liberal-minded city where marijuana-growing and its use are winked at. The acceptance has led to an influx of criminal gangs competing to control what has become a $7 billion industry in British Columbia.As usual, the prohibs refuse to take responsibility for what they've done. It is not the use of cannabis but laws against its' use that has led to the situation Mr. Hilferty decries. The creation of criminal cartels was a natural and wholly predictable result of those laws, one that (clearing throat) anybody with three brain cells to click together would have surmised immediately. All one need do is look at history; it's replete with examples of how similar wrong-headed thinking created problems when previously there were none...like the late and unlamented alcohol Prohibition in this country. But the prohibs still won't accept the (much deserved) credit for this debacle; they keep pointing fingers at others, while forgetting the old rule of 'when one finger points at others, three of your own point back at you'. The cartels are the unacknowledged (but very rich) b*****d children of the prohibs, who, nevertheless, keep showing up at the family reunion with smirks on their faces, and no matter how hard they try, the prohibs cannot deny parentage. It would almost funny...if the prohibs hadn't been responsible for the bloodshed and misery their progeny have produced... 
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Comment #1 posted by John Tyler on March 08, 2008 at 08:40:27 PT
same old agruments
When prohibitionists can’t think of any better reason, they bring up the “what about the children” argument. Here is a factoid to chew on. In 2006, thirteen children died from football related injuries. How many children died from cannabis related injuries… zero. So statically, which is more dangerous? I’m not saying the kids should use cannabis, that’s an adult pleasure, but I am saying, when you strip away the hysteria and self-righteous posturing, cannabis usage is way less “dangerous” than many, many other currently “socially approved” activities.   That other part… is Rutland, VT becoming the new Vancouver East? Cool. Again, prohibitionists purposely miss this important point… it’s not the product that is at fault, it’s the laws against the product. Prohibit any popular product (alcohol, tobacco, or even ball point pens) and the same underground distribution system would develop, with the same set of issues. When products and businesses are legal, disputes and disagreements can be settled in court.The first state or region to legalize cannabis will realized a huge economic upturn.  
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