cannabisnews.com: NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - September 4, 2008
NORML's Weekly News Bulletin - September 4, 2008
Posted by CN Staff on September 04, 2008 at 16:31:43 PT
Weekly Press Release
Source: NORML
Hawaii: Big Island Voters To Decide “Lowest Law Enforcement Priority” Initiative September 4, 2008 - Hilo, HI, USHilo, HI: Hawaii County voters will decide this November on a local initiative that seeks to make marijuana law enforcement the county's "lowest priority."
The County Council voted 5-4 to let voters decide the issue after proponents of the measure failed to gather a sufficient number of signatures from registered voters to place the proposal on the November ballot. The measure would direct law enforcement to make activities related to the investigation and arrest of adults who possess up to 24 ounces of cannabis and/or 24 plants their lowest priority.Passage of the measure would also forbid the County Council from accepting government funding to promote federal marijuana eradication efforts on the Big Island.Voters have enacted similar 'deprioritization' initiatives in Seattle, Washington; Oakland, California; Columbia, Missouri; and Denver, Colorado.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7692 United Kingdom: Pot Potency Fell Following Cannabis Downgrade September 4, 2008 - London, United KingdomLondon, United Kingdom: The average potency of THC in seized samples of British cannabis fell 25 percent between 2004 and 2007 - following Parliament's decision to downgrade the drug's possession to a non-arrestable offense, according to data collected by the UK's Forensic Science Service and published by The Guardian newspaper.Marijuana's THC content fell from 12.7 percent in 2004 to 9.5 percent in 2007 the newspaper reported.In May, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith announced plans to upgrade cannabis possession to an arrestable offense punishable by up to five years in jail, claiming that the drug's potency had increased "nearly threefold." Just prior to Smith's announcement, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown claimed, "[T]he cannabis on the streets is now of a lethal quality."Smith's decision contradicted the recommendations of Britain's Advisory Panel on Drugs, which noted that marijuana use by young people had fallen approximately 20 percent since 2004.A spokesperson for the Forensic Science Service claimed to The Guardian that the agency did not analyze enough samples to accurately gauge the average potency of British cannabis.In June, a University of Mississippi report alleged that US potency had grown to record levels. However, a close analysis of the report revealed that the average THC in domestically grown marijuana - which comprises the bulk of the US market - is less than five percent, a figure that's remained unchanged for nearly a decade.For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500 or Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7691Ingestion Of Commercially Available Hemp Products Unlikely To Trigger Positive Drug TestSeptember 4, 2008 - Rockville, MD, USRockville, MD: Commercially available ingestible hemp products, such as oils and nutrition bars, are unlikely to contain significant enough quantities of THC to trigger a positive drug test, according to findings published in the July/August issue of the Journal of Analytical Toxicology.Investigators at the Armed Forces Medical Examiners Office in Maryland assessed 79 separate hemp products for the presence of THC. (THC found in manufactured products is present via contamination from resin produced in the leaves and buds that come in contact with the seed shell.)Products that were aqueous based (such as hemp tea or hemp beer) possessed trace levels of THC present (below 2.5 ng/ml) while several hemp oil products tested positive for higher amounts. However, these amounts, on average, were far lower than the levels of THC detected in similar products 10 to 15 years ago - when their ingestion was linked to positive drug test results.More than half of the products tested possessed no detectable levels of THC."Results of the hemp products tested indicate the amount of THC present in commercially available products is significantly less in products available today than those reported in the past," authors concluded. "As a result, the probability that these products will produce urine THC metabolite levels greater than the [US federal guidelines] confirmation cutoff of 15 ng/ml is significantly reduced and should not be considered as a realistic cause for a positive urine analysis result."Similar analysis conducted prior to 2001 found that certain hemp oil products contained sufficient THC levels to result in a positive drug test. Following these results, the Hemp Industries Association instituted so-called "Test Pledge" standards, a self-regulation program lowering trace THC levels in their products to levels that would no longer interfere with workplace drug testing regulations.For more information, please contact Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500 or Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director. Full text of the study, "Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol content of commercially available hemp products," appears in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology.DL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7690Source: NORML Foundation (DC)Published: September 4, 2008Copyright: 2008 NORML Contact: norml norml.org Website: http://www.norml.org/CannabisNews NORML Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/NORML.shtml
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Comment #63 posted by Hope on September 09, 2008 at 08:41:06 PT
The Cannabis plant is.
"It's nutritious "meat". You can build with it... paper, bricks, fabrics, etc.. You can use it for all kinds of medicine for the human and animal body and mind, healing, curing, as well as palliative, including as a balm against deadly infection. You can fuel a lamp or torch for light with it. It's good for the soil and air it grows in. It's good for the animals and birds. You can wear it. You can make a dang rope and twine with it. You can use it for fuel to run machinery and equipment. You can make machinery and equipment out of it. It's lovely to look at."The destruction of the amazing plant, cannabis, and the people who use it or wish to use it... is true and profound wickedness and true stupidity and ignorance on a truly monumental level.
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Comment #62 posted by Hope on September 09, 2008 at 08:37:11 PT
:0) Ekim
Ain't it the truth though?"it might be mentioned in one of the great books handed down thru the ages -- and would even be mentioned on the first page i bet."It's nutritious "meat". You can build with it... paper, bricks, fabrics, etc.. You can use it for all kinds of medicine for the human and animal body and mind, healing, curing, as well as palliative, including as a balm against deadly infection. You can fuel a lamp or torch for light with it. It's good for the soil and air it grows in. It's good for the animals and birds. You can wear it. You can make a dang rope and twine with it. You can use it for fuel to run machinery and equipment. You can make machinery and equipment out of it. It's lovely to look at.How amazing does it have to be to please the powers that be?
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Comment #61 posted by ekim on September 08, 2008 at 21:12:11 PT
seems like if plants were so good for us
it might be mentioned in one of the great books handed down thru the ages -- and would even be mentioned on the first page i bet.i wonder what the Gov from Alaska has to say about it--does she feel that people have a right to plants that have been given the nood from the voters or does she feel that the Gov't should have the say so.
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Comment #60 posted by Hope on September 08, 2008 at 18:38:13 PT
It's got to be the most amazing plant in the world
. Or nearbouts for sure.And they still reject it?And they cruelly punish those who feel they must or need to or want to use the plant?There's something very wrong with that and I can't imagine how it is allowed to continue.
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Comment #59 posted by Hope on September 08, 2008 at 18:33:33 PT
Flesh eating disease?
"In other words, there’s something in there that works against the nastiest of bacteria, those resistant to all current antibiotics, the skin-eating kind, but we’re not quite sure what it is."excerpt from http://healthcare.zdnet.com/?p=1324
http://healthcare.zdnet.com/?p=1324
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Comment #58 posted by Hope on September 08, 2008 at 18:24:03 PT
Comment 57
People really need to read that article and click on the clickables in the article and check them out, too.http://healthcare.zdnet.com/?p=1324
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Comment #57 posted by FoM on September 08, 2008 at 07:41:52 PT
How Pot May Win The War Against Super-Bacteria
September 8, 2008http://healthcare.zdnet.com/?p=1324
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Comment #56 posted by Hope on September 08, 2008 at 04:45:28 PT
MRSA, Alzheimers, MS, Cancer... etc.
I can't help but suspect that prohibitionists, Joyce, Calvina, John, etc..... just grit their teeth and tremble at news like this and hope against hope that scientists fail in realizing the extraordinarily good things given to us in cannabis.They probably truly would wish no good in discovery of health help if it comes from cannabis. They'd probably rather not have it or have anyone else have it if it has any thing to do with cannabis.Unreasonable anger and spite. Let if flow, prohibitionists. I know you will. You always have. Maybe soon, prohibitionists, you'll be empty of all that spite, vicious superstition, hatred, fear, and anger and will, once you stop producing it or run out of it... just float away with your lightness to the prohibitionist old age home where you can be pumped full of big pharm's pharmaceuticals to your heart's content, and pass quietly into the loving arms of the Creator of cannabis.
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Comment #55 posted by Hope on September 08, 2008 at 04:35:02 PT
Here's another article about MRSA
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/120477.phpMarijuana Ingredients Show Promise In Battling Superbugs - Journal Of Natural Products(Thank you, Kay Lee)
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Comment #54 posted by afterburner on September 06, 2008 at 23:51:54 PT
Election Tactics : Changes Are Coming
The USA and Canada both soon will be voting in federal elections. Medical cannabis IS an issue. It should be brought forward to the voters, so that informed representatives can steer the way to cannabis peace.Palin Pick Makes Medical Marijuana a Problem Issue For McCain.
Posted in Chronicle Blog by Scott Morgan on Thu, 09/04/2008 - 4:32pm
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle_blog/2008/sep/04/palin_pick_makes_medical_marijuaMedical Marijuana Edible Maker Receives NO PRISON Sentence in Federal Court!
by Rebecca Saltzman (05 Sept, 2008) A great day for the Martin family and the medical cannabis movement
http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/5265.htmlCN ON: PUB LTE: Fear For Safety, Ottawa Citizen, (05 Sep 2008) http://www.mapinc.org/newstcl/v08/n840/a08.html?176
Russell Barth
"If Stephen Harper's Conservatives get a majority, I sincerely fear for the life of my epileptic wife. Even a minority Conservative government could seriously affect her health, as she uses medical marijuana, for which she has a licence from Health Canada."Be Going To Pot, Lethbridge Herald, (05 Sep 2008) http://www.mapinc.org/newstcl/v08/n840/a10.html?176
{
Legalizing The Use Of Marijuana Will Be An Election Issue If Proponents Across Canada Listen To Neil Magnuson. In Lethbridge as part of the "2008 Freedom Tour" on Thursday, the long-time activist said three of the four national parties have spoken out in favour of decriminalizing the recreational drug. For the Green Party, he said, it's one of the key issues. "If Elizabeth May is allowed to take part in the debate, she'll talk about it." May, the party's leader, is battling the reigning Conservatives' efforts to keep her out of the televised debates. Magnuson, in Alberta as part of the movement's annual trek to the House of Commons in Ottawa, said he'll be urging legalization advocates to take full part in the upcoming election. Pro-pot websites, Facebook and other vehicles will be used to urge advocates to speak up during the campaign and then vote for candidates who support their cause.
}
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Comment #53 posted by E_Johnson on September 06, 2008 at 23:23:29 PT
About MRSA
People in jail get MRSA and people in jail can't smoke pot. Could be a coincidence. Could be more.As an experiment, they could let half of the LA County jail population smoke weed every day, and see whether that half gets less MRSA.Ha ha ha if only science was that open-minded.
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Comment #52 posted by FoM on September 06, 2008 at 21:35:14 PT
Hope
I think Biden will be ok about drug treatment and maybe marijuana and he said he would stop the raid on medical marijuana. I see the glass as being half full instead of half empty. I don't have any faith in Palin with drug policy issues. It really is about McCain and Obama though.
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Comment #51 posted by Hope on September 06, 2008 at 21:11:04 PT
"Struck by lightening".
Or if he hasn't been, maybe he will, as Martha hopes, learn something new, for him, and true.
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Comment #50 posted by Hope on September 06, 2008 at 21:08:51 PT
Biden
Maybe he's been "Struck by lightening", as Tom Green put it about Bob Barr.:0)
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Comment #49 posted by Hope on September 06, 2008 at 21:06:24 PT
The indomitable Kay Lee
reminded me of it this time on the DPFT list.It bears repeating."Chemicals in Marijuana May Fight MRSA"
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Comment #48 posted by Hope on September 06, 2008 at 21:02:06 PT
It's very important to me...
I'm very, very sensitive to some antibiotics. I'm sensitive to cannabinoids, too... but in a good way. A very good way. Instead of some sort of hideous killing powerful poison pharmaceutical way... like getting floxxed is... it would be so nice to know this was thoroughly investigated and some steps are made towards some implementation of these relatively gentle medicines, at least for some people.Ah. But there's some kind of foolishness afoot. Prohibition.
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Comment #47 posted by Hope on September 06, 2008 at 20:56:13 PT
Apparently,
you say it "Mersa". I'd never heard it said before, I don't think, before that day in the waiting room, but I started making connections. Absolutely amazing.
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Comment #46 posted by Hope on September 06, 2008 at 20:54:25 PT
MRSA
I knew someone here had said something about it. Maybe several people. But it hit home for me when I heard from a victim's family member. It's hideous rough.
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Comment #45 posted by paul armentano on September 06, 2008 at 20:48:11 PT
Biden and drug policy
Obama's Biden Pick Signals 'More of the Same' Stupid Drug PoliciesBy Paul Armentano, AlterNet. Posted September 6, 2008.http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/97810[Excerpt]During his 35 years in Congress, political observers note that no Democrat has sponsored "more damaging drug war legislation" than Joe Biden. Biden led the charge in the Senate for passage of the 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act, which -- among its numerous notorious provisions -- re-established mandatory minimum sentencing for drug crimes, expanded the use of federal asset forfeiture laws, and established the racially biased 100-to-1 sentencing disparity for the possession of crack versus powder cocaine. (During the mid-'80s, it was hardly unusual for "liberals" such as Biden to endorse punitive drug policies, which at the time enjoyed virtually unanimous support from Congress.) Biden recently offered a mea culpa regarding his former support for the disproportionate sentencing provision, rationalizing, "Our intentions were good, but much of our information was bad."Biden was also a key architect of the 1988 Anti-Drug Abuse Act, which enacted mandatory sentences for minor crack cocaine possession (five years in prison for possession of more than 5 grams), redefined low-level drug mules as drug "conspirators" (allowing these defendants to face the same penalties as drug kingpins), instituted random workplace drug testing programs for public employees, and established the multibillion-dollar anti-drug propaganda wing of the White House known as the Office of National Drug Control Policy (the federal agency responsible for creating the television ads that claimed that pot smoking sponsors international terrorism -- or at least makes you pregnant). The executive director of the ONDCP, dubbed by Biden as America's "drug czar," was eventually elevated in 1993 to that of a presidential Cabinet position -- arguably the only U.S. Cabinet position that, by law, is mandated to lie to the American public.
http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/97810
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Comment #44 posted by paul armentano on September 06, 2008 at 20:45:28 PT
Pot and MRSA
More people die from MRSA annually than from HIV/AIDS.This is actually quite a significant study, and the conclusions are unusually supportive.I actually wrote about this study a couple of weeks ago here. (Unfortunately, few people read it.) Glad to see that Web MD and now even the New York Times have picked up on the story:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-armentano/pot-versus-the-superbug_b_121292.htmlPot Versus 'The Superbug'
stumble digg reddit del.ico.us news trust mixx.com
Posted August 27, 2008 | 08:21 PM (EST) According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, colloquially known as MRSA or 'the superbug,' is now responsible for more annual US deaths than AIDS. Yet despite this sobering statistic, it's unlikely that either JAMA or anyone in the mainstream US media will report on the findings of a just published Italian study -- you didn't actually think I was going to say that this took place in America did you? -- demonstrating that compounds in cannabis possess "exceptional antibacterial activity" against multi-drug resistant pathogens, including MRSA."Although the use of cannabinoids as systemic antibacterial agents awaits rigorous clinical trials, ... their topical application to reduce skin colonization by MRSA seems promising," the study's authors write. "Cannabis sativa ... represents an interesting source of antibacterial agents to address the problem of multidrug resistance in MRSA and other pathogenic bacteria."(An abstract of the study, entitled "Antibacterial Cannabinoids from Cannabis Sativa: A Structure−Activity Study," appears online here.)Ironically, the study's investigators note that preparations from cannabis were "investigated extensively in the 1950s as highly active topical antiseptic agents." Predictably -- in yet another 'victory' for pot prohibition -- authors declare that little, if any, research into this potential clinical application has taken place since.Several years ago, when I first began writing the booklet Emerging Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids, I mused about what sort of advancements in the treatment of disease may have been achieved over the past 70+ years had U.S. government chosen to advance -- rather than stifle -- clinical research into the therapeutic effects of cannabis.Now, more than ever, this is a question that our elected officials -- both Republican and Democrat -- must be forced to answer.
http://blog.norml.org/2008/09/04/web-md-chemicals-in-marijuana-may-fight-mrsa/
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Comment #43 posted by Hope on September 06, 2008 at 19:55:52 PT
Small excerpt from article:
The scientists note the cannabinoids kill bacteria in a different way than traditional antibiotics, meaning they might be able to bypass bacterial resistance.
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Comment #42 posted by Hope on September 06, 2008 at 19:52:03 PT
I've been seeing this around... here, too, I think
Chemicals in Marijuana May Fight MRSAhttp://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=92425I'd never heard of MRSA until the other day. There is a patient in the ICU where my grandmother is that's suffering from it. I learned about it from a relative of that patient while we were all waiting in the ICU waiting room.
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Comment #41 posted by FoM on September 06, 2008 at 19:47:54 PT
Hope
I'm glad you liked it. It was as perfect a communication as I've ever seen between a horse and rider.
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Comment #40 posted by Hope on September 06, 2008 at 19:31:08 PT
Wesfall's ride.
What a beautiful tribute to her father.
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Comment #39 posted by Hope on September 06, 2008 at 18:01:08 PT
Westfall and her mount...
Wow.
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Comment #38 posted by Hope on September 06, 2008 at 17:59:10 PT
Stacy Westfall
I haven't been able to get the entire video to load yet... but what I've seen is so beautiful.
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Comment #37 posted by FoM on September 06, 2008 at 16:43:32 PT
Hope
Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner. I think it will be fun to do together as a family. I haven't been to the Congress for over 15 years but before that it was a yearly event. It's a horse person's paradise if you live in my state.
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Comment #36 posted by Hope on September 06, 2008 at 15:07:50 PT
Great Great!
That's twice as Great!That's 2XGreat... I think is the way it's put in some genealogical discussions.
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Comment #35 posted by Hope on September 06, 2008 at 15:05:37 PT
They can be tiring and trying on occasion...
but they can bring joy to your very soul as well.Most of us become tiring or trying on occasion. We probably all need a nap.Or a horse, or dog, or cat we love and trust and find solace in it's companionship.
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Comment #34 posted by FoM on September 06, 2008 at 15:01:41 PT
Hope
Her name is Grace and she would be my great great niece. My niece is only 7 years younger then me.
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Comment #33 posted by FoM on September 06, 2008 at 14:59:39 PT
Hope
We all should find joy in seeing the world through a child's eyes. Unless we become....
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Comment #32 posted by Hope on September 06, 2008 at 14:54:35 PT
Perhaps...
A young protegee in horsemanship, or horsewomanship, right there in the family.
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Comment #31 posted by Hope on September 06, 2008 at 14:52:03 PT
That is just so wonderful.
Bringing a little, or a lot, of joy into anyone's life is a good thing. A delightful thing. A right thing and a blessed thing. It's born of mercy and love.:0)
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Comment #30 posted by FoM on September 06, 2008 at 14:50:03 PT
Hope
I saw a video of Stacy from Ellen's show. Ellen went to LA's big equestrian center and rode the horse. They brought the horse on her show too. The horse is from the town that my niece and her family lives in. That's cool.
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Comment #29 posted by FoM on September 06, 2008 at 14:47:14 PT
Hope
I met her at Christmas. She was so quiet until I mentioned horses. She lit up. My nephew and his wife are looking for a farm because they know that she will have to have a horse. My nephew rode bulls in the Rodeo and now is a nurse. That sure is different! LOL!
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Comment #28 posted by Hope on September 06, 2008 at 14:44:24 PT
She's one of those people
that look like they were born on a horse when they ride.
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Comment #27 posted by Hope on September 06, 2008 at 14:29:11 PT
Stacy Westfall - Bridleless - Bareback - Reining
This promises to be fantastic.This is one of those rare times when one delights in a slow loading video.
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Comment #26 posted by Hope on September 06, 2008 at 14:23:52 PT
She eats, drinks and dreams about horses.
How could I have missed that?I see it now. Wonderful!
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Comment #25 posted by Hope on September 06, 2008 at 14:20:43 PT
FoM
That's wonderful that you would step up and do that for the child. It will mean something to her forever. Looks like you are going to be doing something very resembling grand parenting, after all. My siblings and I had a special grand aunt that we loved very much. We were felt "close" to her in our hearts and love. She was dear to us.Family can be lovely at times like this... and then they can be not so lovely. But that gesture seems a very lovely thing to do, to me.Unless she absolutely hates horse shows or it turns out you have a little monster on your hands! Let's hope not, for sure. :0)
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Comment #24 posted by FoM on September 06, 2008 at 13:57:09 PT
Hope
If you can watch this video I know you will like it as much as I do. The girl in the video dedicated this performance to her father who just passed away from cancer. We are taking my one niece's 6 year old granddaughter to the All American Quarter Horse Congress next month. She eats, drinks and dreams about horses. This will be fun.Stacy Westfall - Bridleless - Bareback - Reining Horseback Ridinghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxUGEN9kS9oThe AAQHC: http://www.oqha.com/congress/index.php
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Comment #23 posted by Hope on September 06, 2008 at 13:12:31 PT
Excerpt from Can Illegal Drugs Help Depression?
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v08/n805/a07.html?1263Cannabis will also come under the microscope. Dave Nutt, a neuropharmacologist at the University of Bristol, will use brain-imaging techniques to measure the biological basis of the marijuana "high". No one understands why some users find cannabis appealing, and in some it provokes the opposite reaction: anxiety. Because cannabis has potential as a medicine for conditions such as multiple sclerosis, but is not well tolerated by many people, clinicians want to find out why such reactions occur. The brain scanner experiments may reveal whether different parts of the brain are activated.Another study at the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, will compare the effects of two of the principal components of cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol ( THC ) and cannabidiol ( CBD ). The ratio between the two chemicals in the cannabis plant is thought to affect whether users experience a pleasurable high or the cosmic heebie-jeebies. This is a first in the UK - previous research has been limited only to the direct medical applications.
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Comment #22 posted by Hope on September 06, 2008 at 13:04:59 PT
I'll try to be very careful
not to give any one of them more or less credit in my consideration of him or her than he or she is due. I thought more of Bill Clinton at one time than he deserved.I love what a poster called "Red Green" said about Bob Barr in the comments on Paul Armentano's piece over at alternet.
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Comment #21 posted by Hope on September 06, 2008 at 12:52:17 PT
What I'm looking for....
A certain "Greatness"... of a very noble sort. Perhaps it's wisdom based on sound knowledge and understanding. Do I feel that he is being honest or relatively transparent with me about who he is and what sort of President of government of these United States he would be? It's just a feeling. But how do I feel about that? That, though you might call it "Emotional", is of some importance to me, personally.Humility is good because it helps one stay in touch with deep and basic realities.Does he or she want to "Rule" this country's people with a heinous big stick?These are all things I consider when I consider the candidates.Does he show self control and reasonable cautiousness in his opinions and dealings with people in even difficult situations? Would I like to know he is a thinking person and not just a ranting person? Certainly I would.I see things that concern me in all the candidates.
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Comment #20 posted by Hope on September 06, 2008 at 12:36:44 PT
Indeed.
"But Yashua's rendition of 'being human' is certainly the best guide I've seen yet."
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Comment #19 posted by FoM on September 06, 2008 at 12:35:54 PT
Hope
I see humility in Obama too. He said he fights against being too full of himself and that must be a battle. I think his wife helps check him too.A humble person is a moldable person in my opinion.
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Comment #18 posted by museman on September 06, 2008 at 12:15:35 PT
Hope
I see something in Obama that is still somehow 'clean', uncontaminated. I'm not sure if that's humbleness or not. He may be something more than just 'the lesser of two evils though' and that possibility is in itself a big hopeful.'Knowing Yashua' is a personal thing, and from my prespective I kind of have the perspective of "You know the Father, you know Yashua." A concept many fundamentalists can't wrap their heads around.But Yashua's rendition of 'being human' is certainly the best guide I've seen yet.
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Comment #17 posted by Hope on September 06, 2008 at 12:06:23 PT
Museman Comment 14
I agree. If you see God as mean and spiteful and full of hatred and rage towards mankind... you might think McCain "God like".I think of the Christ, the man Jeshuah, Jesus, Yeshua... what ever you call him.... you know who I mean (even if it's weak-minded of me... or you) I think of him and his teachings as God in the flesh. He lowered himself that much is how I'm seeing it at this point in my life. You know Jesus... You know The Father.I see humility in Obama. I think that's very good.
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on September 06, 2008 at 11:20:08 PT
OT: Interesting Article
The Vanishing Republican Voterhttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/magazine/07Inequality-t.html
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on September 06, 2008 at 10:59:33 PT
museman
I think that's true.
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Comment #14 posted by museman on September 06, 2008 at 10:56:40 PT
and here's the most important line;
"We're lookin' for a leaderWith the great spirit on his side"Lookin real hard.....
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on September 06, 2008 at 10:41:01 PT
Hope
I think that we have visions of the America we want and everyone of us might vary on our own personal vision. That's what makes us a diverse country and not a country that marches to the beat of the same drum.
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Comment #12 posted by Hope on September 06, 2008 at 10:30:58 PT
Like or dislike of McCain or Biden,
in my case, has to do with their politics. It's not them as people that I like or dislike. It's their politics and what they "Do unto others" and their basic wisdom and vision in matters of national policy.As people, they can be as big a horses' asses as they want to be. That's the problem of their family and friends and I rather pity people like that... I won't force them to think or live their lives according to my likes or dislikes. It's their politics and what effect they have on a nation and her people.
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on September 06, 2008 at 10:30:35 PT
Hope
I agree and that is why it is so important to get more Democrats elected so those in the Party won't be stopped before they ever begin. It takes a majority to bring change. Like Neil Young sang about. From Looking For a Leader:***Yeah we've got our electionBut corruption has a chanceWe got to have a clean winTo regain confidenceAMERICA is beautifulBut she has an ugly sideWe're lookin' for a leaderIn this country far and wideWe're lookin' for a leaderWith the great spirit on his side
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Comment #10 posted by Hope on September 06, 2008 at 10:24:50 PT
And we have to remember....
Please correct me if I'm wrong... I don't think a President can just change a law or laws, even if he wants to. I think he could pardon cannabis and drug war prisoners... which direly needs to be done, but I don't know, and doubt, if he has the power to singlehandedly end the ongoing injustice of cannabis prohibition. We've got to get a bunch of people to see the light and not allow ourselves to think that we can put all our hopes in one or two men or women. It's the bulk of the legislators that have to come around to the truth of the bad thing that cannabis prohibition and the drug war, as we know it, is.
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on September 06, 2008 at 10:16:57 PT
Hope
I don't have a problem with Biden. I never have. He seems like a nice man with sincere reasons as to why he feels the way he does. I think he will change as he learns more. His teacher this time will be a younger more worldly wise man.I don't dislike McCain but I think he is stuck in a slight time warp.
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Comment #8 posted by Hope on September 06, 2008 at 10:11:28 PT
About Biden and McCain?
Whew. Shooo.I get a sickening feeling on thinking about Biden or McCain. Intuition if you will. But their general attitude and policies give me a sickened feeling. That means, "Yuck". That means somethings wrong. That's a warning from deep within me to me. "Yuck".
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on September 06, 2008 at 09:19:58 PT
Barack Obama Supports Marijuana Decriminalization
When Obama said this in 04 I believe he meant it. I don't know if he feels exactly how he did but I am sure he hasn't moved far away from this opinion. Does anyone know if McCain has said anything positive about marijuana reform?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQr9ezr8UeA
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on September 06, 2008 at 08:43:11 PT
Granite Staters
I find the reviews sensible from Granite Staters. Drug policy issues would be political suicide for anyone running for President. http://granitestaters.com/candidates/
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Comment #5 posted by Hope on September 06, 2008 at 08:37:40 PT
What I think?
Dang.They won't make it easy.Down and dirty?I feel that Obama may be a bit more sympathetic for people who struggle harder to survive than McCain's circle even have a real clue about.I know Obama's a super wealthy person too. But I sense a slightly more sympathetic heart in him. I think it's easier for him to love and understand than it is for McCain.He's calm and assertive (hat tip to DW). He's not flexing his jaw all the time like he's gonna double up his fist and hit you.Very good work, Paul. Thank you. Lot's of valuable information there.I keep remembering..."We won't be fooled again."Maybe, at least this time, with all this good information, we'll at least know it's not really showers they want us to take.
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on September 06, 2008 at 07:37:10 PT
potpal
This is something I am doing during these last days until elections and that is not reading what Republicans say about Democrats. I will read what a Democrat thinks about an issue of concern to me though. Fear and hate have caused us to be in this mess and that isn't the way to bring constructive change to our country in my opinion.
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on September 06, 2008 at 07:29:08 PT
potpal
I wonder if anyone will write an article about Palin not being for marijuana decriminalization. http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/Sarah_Palin_Drugs.htmhttp://www.ontheissues.org/2008/Joe_Biden_Drugs.htm
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Comment #2 posted by potpal on September 06, 2008 at 06:58:32 PT
whachaathink?
fyihttp://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/97810/obama%27s_biden_pick_signals_%27more_of_the_same%27_stupid_drug_policies/
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on September 05, 2008 at 17:35:46 PT
New Mexico: Medical Marijuana Hearing Monday
September 5, 2008State public health officials will hold a hearing Monday in Santa Fe to gather public comment on proposed rules that will further streamline two aspects of the use of medical marijuana in the state: the licensure, distribution and manufacture of medical marijuana and patient identification cards.More information about the hearing, which begins at 9 a.m. at the Harold Runnels Auditorium, 1190 St. Francis Drive, is available at this Department of Health site.The department says the objective of the rules is to ensure the "safe production, distribution and dispensing of marijuana for the sole purpose of medical use" and allow for its safe use, as allowed under the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act.The only qualifying conditions under the act, which was enacted in the 2007 legislative session, are cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, spinal cord damage with intractable spasticity and HIV/AIDS. In addition, any patient in hospice care could qualify.The Health Department rule proposals note that although federal law currently prohibits any use of marijuana:
"... the laws of Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington permit the medical use and cultivation of marijuana. New Mexico joins this effort to provide for the health and welfare of its citizens ... to allow for the beneficial use of medical cannabis in a regulated system for alleviating symptoms caused by debilitating medical conditions and their medical treatments, while at the same time ensuring proper enforcement of any criminal laws for behavior that has been deemed illicit by the state."
Written comments will also be taken through Monday, and should be sent to melissa.milam state.nm.us.The Drug Policy Alliance of New Mexico, an advocate of the program, offers a summary of the law and the recommendations it is submitting on its Web site. http://www.newmexicoindependent.com/view/medical-marijuana
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