cannabisnews.com: If You Want Police Reform, Legalize Marijuana
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If You Want Police Reform, Legalize Marijuana
Posted by CN Staff on June 21, 2020 at 05:56:28 PT
By Brendan Bures, The Fresh Toast
Source: Chicago Tribune
USA -- National leaders and lawmakers have held ongoing conversations around criminal justice reform and racial injustices following George Floyd’s death by Minneapolis police. According to Sen. Bernie Sanders, one obvious place to start is legalizing marijuana.Sanders gave a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday, discussing several solutions to address police violence in the country. He proposed abolishing qualified immunity and establishing a "civilian" core of unarmed first responders. But legalizing marijuana is a key pillar to police reform, Sanders added, especially amid other issues, such as the coronavirus pandemic.
"Finally, and certainly not least importantly, we need to legalize marijuana," Sanders said, as Marijuana Moment first reported. "In the midst of the many crises we face as a country, it is absurd that, under the federal Controlled Substances Act, marijuana is at Schedule I, along with killer drugs like heroin."Just last week Sanders held a virtual town hall meeting with Sen. Cory Booker, where they discussed the consequences caused by the War on Drugs. The Senators stated that marijuana legalization had to include expunging past criminal records for marijuana-related arrests, adding black Americans were disproportionately targeted in marijuana enforcement. It was a theme Sanders continued this week.“State after state have moved to legalize marijuana, and it is time for the federal government to do the same,” he said. “When we talk about police department reform, we must end police officers continuing to arrest, search or jail the people of our country, predominantly people of color, for using marijuana.”Similar conversations have occurred at the state level this month. Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak proposed officially pardoning tens of thousands of marijuana convictions to reverse damages related to the Drug War. In addition, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler announced the city would redirect millions in cannabis tax revenue paid from the Portland police department and instead fund programs supporting communities of color.The Fresh Toast is a daily lifestyle platform with a side of cannabis. For more information, visit: http://www.thefreshtoast.comSource: Chicago Tribune (IL)Author: Brendan Bures, The Fresh ToastPublished: June 19, 2020Copyright: 2020 Chicago Tribune Company, LLCWebsite: http://www.chicagotribune.com/Contact: letters chicagotribune.comURL: http://drugsense.org/url/3c37TFlyCannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml 
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Comment #45 posted by Hope on August 23, 2020 at 12:11:36 PT
Evangelicals and politics. Christians and politics
And man... the pastor/preacher guys I see on Facebook being all unloving and filled with self righteous hate and anger and certainly not peace makers, to put it mildly. There is righteous anger, but I'm pretty sure there is no righteous hatred as any element of the Christian faith. They spread fear, and lies and rumors. They mock and ridicule. They often seem to try to incite people. I'm thinking they aren't inciting people to vote. More like they are inciting people to hate. That says something. Something I'm not quite sure about, but it looks very doubtful to me. It's very disturbing. Nothing new. But still disturbing.
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Comment #44 posted by afterburner on August 19, 2020 at 10:00:49 PT
FoM, Hope, The_GCW as Self-Described Christians
Day before Yesterday I found the best explanation for Trump's Evangelical Support. I read about half of it, fell asleep and lost the link. Yesterday I did a search and couldn't find the link until late last night. I was too tired to piece together a comment until today. Now, I've read about two thirds of the very long article which mentions three recent books on the subject. Below is a link to the article which is one of three samples before you have to commit to a paid subscription. If you are brave enough, curious enough and lucky enough, you might be able to follow the link to the very long article which I personally find to be the best explanation of the strange support this religious group gives to Trump. The Truth About Trump’s Evangelical Support | The New Republic
https://newrepublic.com/article/158539/truth-trumps-evangelical-support-sarah-posner-jesus-john-wayne-book-reviewFascinating!
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Comment #43 posted by FoM on August 18, 2020 at 06:03:11 PT
Jim Belushi
I was watching Seth Meyers and Jim Belushi was on and I am looking forward to watching this short series on Discovery.
  
https://www.discovery.com/shows/growing-belushi
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Comment #42 posted by FoM on August 18, 2020 at 05:59:15 PT
Hope
If people vote Trump back in I am done. What time I have left on this earth will be spent avoiding clutter in my head. The young people I have seen with passion and hope and a smile and dedication will make me smile. 
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Comment #41 posted by Hope on August 17, 2020 at 21:21:33 PT
Just vote...
And we can handle it... whatever happens. Look at what we've been through. We've got this.
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Comment #40 posted by FoM on August 17, 2020 at 05:48:31 PT
Afterburner
I agree about the right for all Americans to voice their opinion. I have made a conscious decision if Trump gets a second term I am retiring from even trying. I will turn off the news and let what will happen happen. I do not believe in going around flaming Trump and I think hate has no place in our country. We will live the rest of our life making sure we can handle what a second term could bring. 
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Comment #39 posted by afterburner on August 16, 2020 at 11:01:58 PT
If Freedom's to Survive 
Watch "Steppenwolf - For Ladies Only ( Lyrics )" on YouTubehttps://youtu.be/gvubzV3PDb0I'm not defending the somewhat sexist lyrics of the song. The part that I relate to:"They've got a right to say it wrong if freedom's to survive"Applied to politics: too much fragmentation the Body Politic by overt and covert moves by political parties and by their vested interests. We are all Americans! Muzzling political dissent on either side is a recipe for disaster. We didn't Declare our Independence from King George to set up hidden agendas that transplant the same intolerance of dissent the leads to an unjust society. Not a criticism of an posters here, just my personal belief in how we can regain the great Spirit of America.
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Comment #38 posted by FoM on August 13, 2020 at 06:55:43 PT
A Song: Looking for a Leader 2020
Neil Young is angry and rewrote this song from a album when Obama was running the first time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFACj_BfFTg
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Comment #37 posted by FoM on August 13, 2020 at 05:40:45 PT
John Tyler
I am so nervously hopeful, knowing how bizarre Trump is, of Dems winning in November. He has so much to lose like his freedom and he will do anything he can to win but if Biden-Harris win maybe I will live to see the day of full Cannabis legalization. 
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Comment #36 posted by John Tyler on August 12, 2020 at 13:41:40 PT
in Virginia
In the last Virginia off year election the voters elected a Democratic Governor, Lt. Governor, and Attorney General in addition to a majority Democratic House and Senate. In July 2020 cannabis was finally decriminalized, and almost all of the old Confederate statues were taken down. This past week in Richmond, the state capitol, the mayor has called for the full legalization of cannabis as a step toward social and racial justice and as a source of revenue to fund the school system. That is quite a lot for a Southern State where “old times there are not forgotten”. Hopefully with the new management team in place the state can keep up its progress. So vote this November as if your future depends upon it. We are so close to making it a reality. Only you can make it happen.
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Comment #35 posted by Hope on July 28, 2020 at 08:56:08 PT
Comment 31 Storm Crow
It does still happen and it still makes me sick. It's horrible, egregious and so ungodly. The mountain is shaking and dribbling into the sea... but it still thunders and roars and hurts people to this day.It's evil to cage people and take their stuff for using this herb. It is truly evil to do so to others. So unbelievably disgusting and uncivilized.
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Comment #34 posted by afterburner on July 28, 2020 at 07:13:13 PT
Tick Tick Tick, As the Election Gets Closer
7 States May Be Voting on Marijuana in November.
Despite the chaos, 2020 could be a banner year for state-level cannabis legalization.Sean Williams.
(TMFUltraLong).
Jul 25, 2020 at 6:36AM
https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/07/25/7-states-may-be-voting-on-marijuana-in-november.aspx
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Comment #33 posted by The GCW on July 26, 2020 at 15:57:23 PT
Alabama.
Read that news.List the last 5 states which will stop caging responsible adults who choose to use the God-given plant cannabis as described on literally the very 1st page of the Bible & alabama will top that list.A pit.I'm certain there are good people in Alabama, however, per capita, they are infested with disobedient Christians. The Christ Jesus, who request (DEMANDS) that We love one another, is not allowed in alabama. You can not love someone and at the same time cage them for using what God created and said is good on literally the very 1st page of the Bible.Devil land.Alabama is BAD.Through the strength of My Father, through The Christ Jesus, I'm going to stop shaking My head to enjoy dinner.The Green Collar Worker
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Comment #32 posted by FoM on July 26, 2020 at 06:53:57 PT
Storm Crow
I remember how paranoid I was when we were trucking if we had to go through southern states. It's so different down there.
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Comment #31 posted by Storm Crow on July 25, 2020 at 16:21:34 PT
But stuff like this still happens! 
"How medical marijuana and air guitar sent this ‘Hurt Locker’ hero to prison" https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/how-medical-marijuana-and-air-guitar-sent-this-hurt-locker-hero-to-prisonThe 2nd paragraph sums it up- "So why is Sean Worsley, a 33-year-old Iraq War veteran and Purple Heart recipient, locked up in an Alabama prison cell for five years? He’s there because of music, medical marijuana, and the racist trap known as cannabis prohibition."There is an address to write to him at the end of the article. It would be nice to flood the jail with a bunch of letters, not only to lift his spirits, but to let Alabama know that this case has NOT gone unnoticed!  
This kind of "stuff" has got to STOP! The use of an effective herbal medicine should not be a crime, even in Alabama! 
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Comment #30 posted by FoM on July 24, 2020 at 19:17:14 PT
Hope
It sure did. They said recently on the news that Nixon and his folks created the war on marijuana as a diversion like we have now with the unmarked police types in Portland they said. It doesn't surprise me but it was something to hear on the news.
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Comment #29 posted by Hope on July 24, 2020 at 14:41:29 PT
The war on cannabis 
brought much violence, death, and loss.It brought prisons. Lots of them. 
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Comment #28 posted by Hope on July 24, 2020 at 13:09:58 PT
The harsh criminalization of cannabis
has paved a heavy road of ill will. There's no doubt of that.
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Comment #27 posted by Hope on July 24, 2020 at 13:07:16 PT
This article is right... and bears rereading...
And John Tyler... about the money. Kaptinemo liked to say this prohibition was like a rich man's fetish. When they ran out of money it would be over. 
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Comment #26 posted by Hope on July 11, 2020 at 16:31:05 PT
Fake stuff... lies are awful.
I poke them and poke them to see if they are real or fake... but this one got by me. On the other hand... another good story. We've seen our Humboldt growers go all through all kinds of hell and hardship over the decades. This is better news.Court rules Humboldt marijuana growers can’t be sentenced under federal law as drug dealershttps://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/Court-rules-Humboldt-marijuana-growers-can-t-be-15400286.php?fbclid=IwAR3AoauaYNZIERHqsj0CC5sOdJlBQ3n8Ap9C04Koq-6YppLSoTZGFfE4nNs
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Comment #25 posted by FoM on July 11, 2020 at 05:59:16 PT
Hope
I can't get over how much fake and I mean real fake news and videos are on the Internet anymore.
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Comment #24 posted by Hope on July 10, 2020 at 12:46:01 PT
When the video was sent to me 
it said 'condor'. Finding it on youtube now... it says eagle. I was Hoaxed. And horrified. It's all good. Go condors, go! 
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Comment #23 posted by Hope on July 10, 2020 at 12:32:17 PT
Maybe the California Condor is not a predator.
The article says it's a scavenger. I saw a video, maybe it was fake, of a condor snatching a child off a golf course. It was unable to fly away with it and dropped it. It could have been faked. But it is amazing to watch them in the air.
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Comment #22 posted by Hope on July 10, 2020 at 12:22:58 PT
Thrilled and terrified
at the news of the California Condor project. Such a majestic bird. I've watched the struggle for it for years. It would have been too sad to lose it. But now that they may make a strong comeback, I am reminded that they are very dangerous predators, too. So, I'm also a bit terrified.
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Comment #21 posted by FoM on July 10, 2020 at 06:12:10 PT
Storm Crow
Wonderful news. We have been giving Mother Nature a much needed break!
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Comment #20 posted by Storm Crow on July 10, 2020 at 04:15:14 PT
A little happy news
"California condors spotted in Sequoia after nearly 50 years"
https://news.yahoo.com/california-condors-spotted-sequoia-nearly-190443837.htmlIn other good news, the sea turtles are having a baby boom! "Sea turtle baby boom hatches amid coronavirus lockdown" https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/sea-turtles-1.5538092. Seems Covid has been very bad for us humans, but great for the rest of the animal species!
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Comment #19 posted by FoM on July 06, 2020 at 09:48:32 PT
Afterburner
Glad you like that song too. Stay safe.
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Comment #18 posted by afterburner on July 04, 2020 at 09:29:18 PT
FoM & Hope - Great Song
That's part of my Virtual Independence Day this year. I couldn't cross the Border right now because of covid without a death in the family. God forbid! Topsy turvy. Love the composer, love the guitars. Just goes to show, You can't take country out of the Country! I'll probably be texting relatives today. Maybe I will get a chance to see some TV fireworks tonight after working late. Y'all have a great day and roll a fatty if you've got some (essential service). I'll join you tonight after work.
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on July 04, 2020 at 05:17:46 PT
Hope
Have a wonderful 4th of July. I wish I could share a picture of my masks. Stay safe and enjoy the day. Here is a song for how things are these days. 
              
Roger McGuinn and Marty Stuart - You Ain't Goin' Nowherehttps://youtu.be/0VwmyItsU-4
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Comment #16 posted by Hope on July 03, 2020 at 23:17:50 PT
Lol! That's great!
"I even bought 2 Wood Stock Masks!"
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Comment #15 posted by Hope on July 03, 2020 at 23:10:03 PT
Lol!
It's the Fourth of July for a while already here in Texas!
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Comment #14 posted by Hope on July 03, 2020 at 23:07:54 PT
Blessed Fourth of July, C-Newsers!
You all sound safe and blessed. I love that. I'm thankful for that. Afterburner, I enjoyed your description of virtual Canada Day. About exactly ten years ago this summer I was in treatment for cancer. Yes. It's been ten years. One of the things I expressed a few times to my medical team was that I just wanted to feel "normal" again. Cancer treatment is rough, but I was told on more than one occasion, "This is normal now. Your new normal." There are always new normals, great and small, throughout our lives... and what we are living through right now is, obviously, a big new normal. It hasn't got itself sorted out yet, by any means. It's still new. It wasn't exactly wonderful to hear that from my treatment team, but it was true. Also, somehow, I think realizing and accepting it did give me another foothold on courage. It wasn't the old normal, but it was still normal... just a new normal.Happy Independence Day! Happy Day of celebrating our country's Independence from the greatest world power of that era, Great Brittain and King George and taxation without representation! I love you guys.Peace, you'll!
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on July 02, 2020 at 15:21:36 PT
Afterburner
Happy Canada Day. It sounds like it was fun. Life as we have known it might never be like it was before Covid. Even though we only go to get groceries or a doctor's appointment or tests at the hospital for my husband we are content to just stay home. I order what we need and have it delivered and soon our local Walmart with have grocery pick up so no need to go into Walmart in the coming future. This is not going to be over for a long time so live in the moment and enjoy life safely. I even bought 2 Wood Stock Masks! LOL!
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Comment #12 posted by afterburner on July 02, 2020 at 08:35:05 PT
BTW, Yesterday We Celebrated a Virtual Canada Day
With Public gatherings still restricted, we listened to Canadian musicians on TV and radio, watched reruns of past sporting events and just exchanged those deep family conversations about friends, family and events. Some people watched virtual fireworks 🌌🌋🎆.
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Comment #11 posted by afterburner on July 02, 2020 at 08:22:53 PT
FoM, Thank You 
I also enjoy responding to the beauty of Nature in my own yard, in the yards of clients and driving by parks, even if they are temporarily closed due to the pandemic. Love is all around. The animals and plants shine in their dedication to life. "Swimming in an ocean of Love," as the song says. 
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on July 02, 2020 at 05:29:46 PT
Afterburner
Thank you. I am so grateful that I have 8 Rottweilers and nature all around us. I enjoy watching the hummingbirds that visit all day long to the feeder I have for them on our front porch and watching the birds of all kinds feeding from their feeder under our big oak tree.
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Comment #9 posted by afterburner on June 30, 2020 at 16:25:11 PT
John Tyler and All
With all we've been asked to sacrifice in order to save lives, many things that we depend on to keep our spirits up have been cancelled or postponed. Social distancing has reduced our usual social events to limit the contagion by a deadly hidden virus. When social distancing, or physical distancing, was first announced, my first impression was that many people would suffer mental illness, loneliness and confusion, especially those without access to cannabis. My wife's many years of working with people's emotional problems, no doubt influenced my perception. Imagine the world without concerts, dances, movies, restaurants, parks and church services. Where do today's youth take a date? I know you don't need to imagine it, with hourly Covid-19 warnings on all media. As an essential worker, I'm thankful for the radio and those inspiring songs of days gone by. One that really rings true now is Making Contact by Bruce Cockburn. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNaJFHufWks 
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on June 30, 2020 at 05:06:20 PT
Lean on Me ~ Black Lives Matter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCsl_wij9Xs
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on June 30, 2020 at 04:56:25 PT
Dr. Lester Grinspoon
Rest in Peace. What a wonderful legacy he leaves for us.
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on June 30, 2020 at 04:54:50 PT
John Tyler
I agree. I hope we see some new protest songs but the classic ones have a renewed life during this time in history.
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Comment #5 posted by Hope on June 29, 2020 at 22:08:27 PT
You're right about that music, John.
I've been thinking the same thing. 
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Comment #4 posted by Hope on June 29, 2020 at 22:04:40 PT
Rest in Peace, Professor Grinspoon.
Lester Grinspoon, Harvard psychiatrist and early champion of marijuana reforms, dies at 92https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/06/27/marijuana/lester-grinspoon-harvard-psychiatrist-early-champion-marijuana-reforms-dies-92/
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Comment #3 posted by John Tyler on June 29, 2020 at 10:58:22 PT
calling all musical people
This is a call for the musical people, or those of you who know musical people. We are living through a moment in history. We are in a global pandemic, an economic downturn, a crisis of presidential leadership and renewed cries for social and economic justice. The nation needs the musical people to come up with some really great music to set it all in perspective. During the times of other great social movements we had great music. (We Shall Overcome, We Shall Not Be Moved, If I Had a Hammer, come to mind immediately.) I know you can rise to the occasion. Get to work. We need you.
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on June 28, 2020 at 09:41:29 PT
 John Tyler
It is like Karma.
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Comment #1 posted by John Tyler on June 28, 2020 at 08:29:37 PT
another reason
I saw this on Politico’s website. Although California has had a legal cannabis retail market for a number of years, it seems that many municipalities have chosen to not allow cannabis retail outlets in their areas. Now that the coronavirus has caused such an economic downturn these same municipalities are reconsidering their previous positions in order to make up for lost revenue. https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2020/06/26/california-cities-begin-embracing-cannabis-in-desperate-search-for-cash-1293671It is a money thing. They were against cannabis retail outlets until they could not afford to be.A win is a win, and we will take it. It is almost like Karma.Best Wishes to all.
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