cannabisnews.com: War on Drugs Conference: Legalize Marijuana

function share_this(num) {
 tit=encodeURIComponent('War on Drugs Conference: Legalize Marijuana');
 url=encodeURIComponent('http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/25/thread25023.shtml');
 site = new Array(5);
 site[0]='http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[1]='http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit.php?url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[2]='http://digg.com/submit?topic=political_opinion&media=video&url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[3]='http://reddit.com/submit?url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[4]='http://del.icio.us/post?v=4&noui&jump=close&url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 window.open(site[num],'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=620,height=500');
 return false;
}












  War on Drugs Conference: Legalize Marijuana

Posted by CN Staff on September 23, 2009 at 06:22:50 PT
By Ramon Bracamontes, For the Sun-News 
Source: Las Cruces Sun-News 

El Paso -- Legalizing marijuana in the United States would weaken Mexico's powerful drug cartels, panelists at a War on Drugs conference said Tuesday. "If you take away half of their money, it will hurt them," said William Martin, a sociology professor at Rice University who studies drug abuse and government policy. "You are not going to break them, but you will hurt them."
Martin was one of the speakers at the two-day conference in El Paso that ended Tuesday. The conference examined America's 40-year-old War on Drugs and attempted to begin a national discussion on whether marijuana should be legalized. Martin said selling marijuana as a legal, controlled product might keep smokers from trying other drugs. "If you are not going to a dealer to buy marijuana, you are less likely to go after harder drugs," he said. Ethan Nadelmann, the founder and executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, said people should not assume that decriminalizing marijuana would lead to more people using it. His organization helped push through a law in California that allows for small amounts of marijuana to be used for medical purposes. But he acknowledged that getting people to consider legalization would be a tough task. "Talking about the medical marijuana issue is the way to start," Nadelmann said. "In California, we had hoped that the medical issue discussion would lead to talks about legalization, but it hasn't." El Paso County Attorney José Rodríguez said politicians do not even like to broach the subject of legalizing marijuana because anything they say will be misconstrued by some voters."Even if 75 percent of the people support this, there are still some who don't," Rodríguez said. "In the atmosphere that we are in, this is something you don't want to comment on." During the two-day conference, speaker after speaker said that the United States was as much to blame for the violence in Juárez as was the Mexican government. Now that Mexico is trying to rid itself of the drug cartels that have killed thousands of people in the past 20 months, the United States should have an honest debate about drug policies that have done nothing to lessen demand, panelists said. El Paso city Rep. Beto O'Rourke said those who attended the conference are now armed with information. "We can now exert public pressure on our elected officials to develop public policy that is best for this community because the drug policies we have now do not work," O'Rourke said. "As evidence, I point to the 3,200 people who have been killed in Juárez." Source: Las Cruces Sun-News (NM)Author: Ramon BracamontesPublished: September 23, 2009Copyright: 2009 by Mid-States Newspapers Inc. Contact: letters lcsun-news.comWebsite: http://www.lcsun-news.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/lDEjBqCUCannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml

Home    Comment    Email    Register    Recent Comments    Help    
     
     
     
     





Comment #40 posted by FoM on September 25, 2009 at 08:40:23 PT
Hope
It is a 26 inch choker chain. I can barely get it over his head. He is almost 27 inches at his back. He has been so good for the both of us. People are healthier they say if they have a dog and I agree with that. We won't be gone more then a couple of hours. He loves riding in the car which makes it easy. Have a great day.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #39 posted by Hope on September 25, 2009 at 07:41:49 PT
Have a fun day!
Take care of that pony/dog. Outgrew his collar already? 
That's great.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #38 posted by FoM on September 25, 2009 at 07:39:39 PT
Hope
We have to take our new big puppy for a ride to a pet place to get food and a new collar. I have learned so much from the forum I have been reading. He is on a 6 star (the best rating on dog food analysis.com) holistic dry dog food now and he is blooming. We have to get his nails clipped but maybe I should just call a blacksmith! LOL! We'll be back later on today. http://ourrott.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=53329966
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #37 posted by Hope on September 25, 2009 at 07:27:51 PT
At the Mall
Peace Signs on jewelry, purses, clothing... and Hippy Chic everywhere. It's pretty amazing. Only now I'm being told, "If you wore it the first time around... you aren't allowed to wear it this time." (Fashion Police)
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #36 posted by Hope on September 25, 2009 at 07:25:43 PT
Thankfully... lots of the trend these days
is to Hippie Chic. Seen any Peace Sign jewelry lately, anyone?:0)
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #35 posted by FoM on September 25, 2009 at 07:18:17 PT
Hope
No way! I'm an old hippie chic! LOL!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #34 posted by Hope on September 25, 2009 at 07:11:01 PT
FoM!
Do you mean to tell me you aren't keeping up with the latest trends in makeup, trends, and fashion?:0)
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #33 posted by Hope on September 25, 2009 at 07:09:19 PT
Marie Clare is a mainstream women's magazine
Like Glamour Magazine.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #32 posted by FoM on September 25, 2009 at 06:58:18 PT
Hope
I don't know who she is. Is she in movies?
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #31 posted by Hope on September 25, 2009 at 06:56:57 PT
One word keeps coming to my mind....
Shortly.http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shortlyMain Entry: short·ly 
Pronunciation: \ˈshȯrt-lç\
Function: adverb
Date: before 12th century
1 a : in a few words : briefly b : in an abrupt manner
2 a : in a short time  b : at a short interval 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #30 posted by Hope on September 25, 2009 at 06:51:12 PT
Little excerpt from the Marie Clare article
""I hate the term pothead—it connotes that I'm high 24/7, which I'm not," Pelham says, wincing. "I don't need it to get through my day. I just enjoy it when my day is over." Her nightly ritual costs only $50 a month, a pittance compared with the cost of her monthly gym membership or a Saturday night out with her fiancé, an investment banker, who occasionally smokes with her. At 5'4", slim and athletic—she ran three miles a day while in law school—Pelham insists that pot is the ideal antidote to a hairy workday: It never induces a post-happy-hour hangover and, unlike the Xanax a doctor once prescribed for her anxiety, never leaves her groggy or numb. "Look, every female attorney I know has some vice or another," Pelham shrugs, tucking her long brown hair behind her ears, her 3-carat cushion-cut engagement ring catching the light. "It's really not a big deal."Most of us know someone like Jennifer Pelham, a balls-to-the-wall career animal whose idea of decompressing after a grueling day isn't a glass of Chardonnay but a toke (or three) of marijuana—not just every now and again, but on a regular basis—the type who stashes a pack of E-Z Wider rolling paper in the silverware drawer or keeps a pipe at the ready next to a pile of bills. According to a recent study by The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an estimated 8 million American women smoked up in the past year—a lowball figure that reflects only those willing to cop to it. Among them is the upper-middle-class Pottery Barn set: One in five women who admitted to indulging in the previous month lives in a household earning more than $75,000 a year. They cut a wide swath across the professional spectrum, including lawyers, editors, insurance agents, TV producers, and financial biggies, looking nothing like the blotto hippie teens of Dazed and Confused or the unemployed, out-of-shape schlubsters who are a staple of the Judd Apatow canon. By all outward appearances, they are card-carrying, type A workaholics who just happen to prefer kicking back with a blunt instead of a bottle."
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #29 posted by Hope on September 25, 2009 at 06:48:22 PT
Hey Hey Hey
Look what I found over at DrugWarRant...This bodes well... I think.Stiletto Stonershttp://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity-lifestyle/articles/living/female-stoners
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #28 posted by tintala on September 24, 2009 at 21:14:43 PT:
the problem with LEGALIZING
It will take the money out of the pockets that the lobbyist give to congress and pres administrations , timber,oil,dupont,tobacco , cotton aaaand pharma. Cannabis STILL poses a huge threat to these industries that have the monopoly that comes with prohibition.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #27 posted by museman on September 24, 2009 at 10:31:20 PT
I hate having to correct myself,
but, I think its important, so;The '2000 year' figure is definitely incorrect. The 'church' I am referring to began with Constantine in the 4th century AD. So its only been roughly 1700 years.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #26 posted by FoM on September 24, 2009 at 09:39:55 PT
museman
You're welcome. He threw out the money changers from the Temple. He changed water into wine for His first miracle. He rebuked the religious leaders. He disobeyed the Sabbath. I'm sure there are many more but that's what just came to mind.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #25 posted by museman on September 24, 2009 at 09:37:43 PT
revolution
Y'shua said, in one of the most important pieces of info ever to come into our collective awareness;"The Truth shall set you free!"The church, and all its collection of fractured humanity, has taught its peasant, sheep-like, 'followers' that the 'bondage' we need to be 'free' of is metaphorical, and internal, a hypothetical situation 'we' created through 'sin.' The Truth is, that the bondage is a real, physical manifestation. Mankind was in bondage to its masters 2000 years ago, and it still is. The church, at the direction of corrupted spirit, established by the personage of emperor Constantine, has spent the last 2000 years perfecting their twists and turns on the truth, attempting to shore up the holes that Yashua drilled in their justifications and catch 22's. Yashua said; (paraphrased) "If the heart of the tree is rotten, wherefore is its fruit?"The 'tree' of xtianity is rooted in the corruption of power as exemplified by the Roman Empire. It is not rooted in the truth, regardless of the bits of truth the church has allowed in to enhance appearances. All branches of that tree are just as rotten as the roots. One must have some sincere desire for truth to actually find it, because even though it is literally in plain sight, the ruling factions have dedicated centuries to misdirection, misinformation, and great 'works' to keep intelligent minds from discovering the naked emperor, and the man behind the curtain.If people are looking for signs of the 'antichrist' they need look no further, that false authority has been proclaiming itself as 'Gods' (and 'jesus's') authority on earth for 2000 years.LEGALIZE FREEDOM
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #24 posted by museman on September 24, 2009 at 09:05:46 PT
FoM#20
Thanks for pointing that out for folks to think about.Once, a long time ago someone told me, "The Bible - specifically the New Testament, is the most concise Handbook for Revolution ever written."Yashua ben Yoseph, IMO was the greatest revolutionary in the history of man. (I encourage all truth seekers to investigate the name, I believe it is important to separating the truth from the religion.)FREE KANEH BOSM FOREVER
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #23 posted by FoM on September 23, 2009 at 19:31:52 PT
ekim
I missed it but thank you. I think the movie is going to be another really good movie by Michael Moore.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #22 posted by ekim on September 23, 2009 at 18:01:38 PT
larry king
has on michael moore now
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #21 posted by Sam Adams on September 23, 2009 at 17:41:40 PT
philosophy
bgreen you bring up good questions - I guess they would dispute that someone is being healed by cannabis, similar to refusing to admit that the sun does not revolve around the earth.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #20 posted by FoM on September 23, 2009 at 16:51:18 PT
BGreen
Jesus was a rebel not a follower. Some people of faith don't think about that but He was.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #19 posted by FoM on September 23, 2009 at 16:49:39 PT
BGreen
I'm on the same page as you are. I don't know if this is a Scripture but I believe this. All good things come from God.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #18 posted by BGreen on September 23, 2009 at 16:33:08 PT
 A philisophical question
If you believe all healing comes from God, isn't that healed person healed by God regardless of the method used?If, then, people are being healed by a certain method, regardless of an understanding of WHY this method is effective, is it not still a healing from God?Therefor, if God is the healer, isn't it up to God to decide what method should be used and shouldn't the determinant factor in allowing certain methods and techniques to be used be based solely on their effectiveness?By their very definition of healing, if you're healed it was because of God. However, the method God must use to heal is solely at the discretion of the Catholic church.What a bunch of disobedient Christians.Boy, it's a good thing Jesus wasn't a Catholic or else He wouldn't have accomplished a whole lot of healing here on earth. :)The Reverend Bud Green
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #17 posted by BGreen on September 23, 2009 at 16:14:55 PT
What do you expect? re: comment 14
The Catholic church has also rejected cannabis, a gift directly from their God for the healing of the nations.If it ain't butchering through surgery or poisoning with pharmaceuticals, it just ain't alright with God.What a joke!The Reverend Bud Green
[ Post Comment ]

 


Comment #16 posted by FoM on September 23, 2009 at 16:10:12 PT

Sam
In the Catholic Church they don't want people to think on their own. The thing is the more they tell a Catholic not to think on their own the more they do! George Carlin comes to mind. Catholics don't follow very well like a lot of Fundamentalists still do.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #15 posted by FoM on September 23, 2009 at 16:06:59 PT

Hemp Activist Herer Still in Critical Condition

By Anne Saker, The OregonianSeptember 23, 2009Jack Herer, a nationally known activist for the return of hemp and the legalization of marijuana, remained in critical but stable condition at Legacy Emanual Medical Center after a Sept. 12 heart attack at Portland's pro-pot Hempstalk festival.The 70-year-old author and lecturer collapsed on stage after delivering a speech to the festival at Kelley Point Park. Herer is the author of the 2000 book "The Emperor Wears No Clothes," a history of marijuana and hemp prohibition in the United States.Herer fell into a coma shortly after he was stricken and has not awakened from it. He is in an Emanual intensive care unit.Herer's family said anyone wishing to contribute to Herer's medical costs can go to any USBank and make a donation in the name of Jack Herer.-- Anne SakerCopyright: 2009 Oregon Live LLC.URL: http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2009/09/hemp_activist_herer_still_in_c.html
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #14 posted by Sam Adams on September 23, 2009 at 14:45:25 PT

Reiki ban
The Catholic Church has issued a "fatwa" on Reiki! Thought this was unbelievable, especially the comments about God directing doctors.....http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2009/09/22/reiki_banned_from_roman_catholic_hospitals_as_neither_science_nor_medicine/But the Rev. Robert McManus, bishop of Worcester and a member of the committee on doctrine that drew up the guidelines, says the bishops research concluded there is no medical proof that reiki promotes healing. “And I think there was a concern on some level that this type of new age philosophy of life . . . as a spirituality, lets say its lacking. The Christian tradition also holds that all healing comes from God, who chooses intermediaries - doctors and nurses - to carry it out, McManus adds.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #13 posted by Hope on September 23, 2009 at 12:37:53 PT

That's too horrible to contemplate.
To think that anyone would want this to go on another second... on purpose.Another second is another second for another life to be ruined, damaged, or lost to prohibition. The list of loss and sorrow and grief is very, very long already.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #12 posted by Sam Adams on September 23, 2009 at 11:52:47 PT

complicated
it is complicated, this particular statement may have been altered or taken out of context. I hope so. As we speak, a medical dispensary owner in CA is taking the money from medical MJ sales and putting it into a legalization referendum.So saying that medical MJ hasn't even led to discussions of legalization is way off.What it has led to is legalization efforts that are funded separately from DPA and MPP, who have controlled the vast majority of dollars spent on MJ reform for 10+ years now.Not anymore. I think this is exactly why the feds immediately went after Tod McMormick and Steve McWilliams and the other political leaders of med MJ reform in Califoria after Prop 215. They knew once medical MJ became legal the reform movement would have a huge source of revenue and be self-funded in the future. In this country money = political power.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #11 posted by FoM on September 23, 2009 at 11:23:46 PT

Sam
I know it all confuses me. I have always looked forward to the day when this particular format of CNews wouldn't be needed anymore. I hope that is the case with those who get pay checks.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #10 posted by Sam Adams on September 23, 2009 at 11:20:13 PT

what???
"Talking about the medical marijuana issue is the way to start," Nadelmann said. "In California, we had hoped that the medical issue discussion would lead to talks about legalization, but it hasn't." wow, this seems totally wrong. Not only has medical MJ led to Gov. Arnold talking about legalization, it's also caused a complete collapse of prohibition in LA. It didn't just start talks, it actually legalized there.In fact, medical MJ led to legalization SO fast in California that it caused the two well-funded national groups (DPA and MPP) to back off from Prop 215.  Both organizations have been backing away from Prop 215 every year, and as result cannabis prohibition is taking a lot longer to defeat.Some have gone so far as to theorize that DPA and MPP avoided doing more Prop 215's precisely because it would end prohitibion so soon their jobs with it.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #9 posted by FoM on September 23, 2009 at 10:13:09 PT

Ekim
Thank you.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #8 posted by Hope on September 23, 2009 at 09:36:44 PT

HempWorld Comment 5
Well... yeah. Of course.I guess I wonder about the Sembler's power too much.Occasionally I get a bit too theoritical about it all.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #7 posted by HempWorld on September 23, 2009 at 09:30:18 PT

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a huge hero!
THE NEW WORLD (DIS) ORDER ------------------------"The first truth is that the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in essence, is fascism - ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling power."Among us today a concentration of private power without equal in history is growing."-- President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1)
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #6 posted by ekim on September 23, 2009 at 09:28:25 PT

worth repetting
http://www.examiner.com/x-20151-Manchester-Gluten-Free-Examiner~y2009m8d25-Hemp--A-replacement-for-common-food-allergens
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #5 posted by HempWorld on September 23, 2009 at 09:25:18 PT

Hope
Dear Hope, are you serious? You should know them by now. Just from reading CNews, c'mon, you know, or are you pulling my leg?Ok, let me name a few, in sum, the entire military-industrial-pharmaceutical-complex; DuPont, Eli Lilly, GE, ATT, All the Banks, All Major Public Media Companies, DEA, Prison Guard Unions, Drug free organizations, Pfizer, and all the companies in this piece in the link below.
All Companies Responsible For The Current Prohibition Here!
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #4 posted by Hope on September 23, 2009 at 09:13:09 PT

HempWorld
"corporate masters"Sembler and Co.?Is it Mel Sembler? Who is it? Who are they? How do they have this kind of power?
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #3 posted by HempWorld on September 23, 2009 at 08:33:40 PT

Legalize it, but you can't talk about it ...
Because our corporate masters don't want us to ...But I thought the US always touted itself as the biggest democratic country in the world. However, it is certainly not more democratic or free than say, the Netherlands. Motto: If we find something you have been putting in your body, we don't like, we will lock you up and take your kids and career away.
Legalize All Drugs!
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #2 posted by Hope on September 23, 2009 at 08:03:20 PT

So we have to have a hundred percent in this case?
"Even if 75 percent of the people support this, there are still some who don't," Rodríguez said. "In the atmosphere that we are in, this is something you don't want to comment on." Apparently so.:0(
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #1 posted by FoM on September 23, 2009 at 07:32:13 PT

5 Things the Corporate Media Don't Want You...
5 Things the Corporate Media Don't Want You to Know About CannabisBy Paul Armentano, AlterNetSeptember 23, 2009URL: http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/142815/
[ Post Comment ]





  Post Comment