cannabisnews.com: Reefer Madness 





Reefer Madness 
Posted by FoM on September 04, 2000 at 13:02:50 PT
By Timothy Sandefur
Source: Orange County Register
The insanity over drugs has got to end. Tuesday, the United States Supreme Court voted 7-1 to suspend a federal court ruling which permitted an Oakland 11 "cannabis club'' to distribute marijuana to people suffering from illnesses such as cancer and AIDS. The justices may hear oral arguments in the case next term. Californians adopted the medical marijuana law in 1996, by an overwhelming majority, and similar laws have passed in states from Alaska to Maine. Yet the mad zeal of some - who believe they have the right to tell us what we may and may not put into our own bodies - continues unabated. 
The most ridiculous case occurred in Washington, D.C. in 1998, when voters overwhelmingly approved a measure to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. But Representative Bob Barr was able to prohibit the government from even counting the votes in that election. As one writer put it, "137,523 votes were nullified by the Congress of the United States.'' Drug Czar - and how right that term is - Barry McCaffrey said that "These initiatives in Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Nevada, Oregon and Washington state are deceptive and dangerous. Allowing a purported medication to circumvent federal approval does a great disservice to the American public." What is "deceptive" and "dangerous" about letting people use a drug if they want to - even if that drug might make them high? Cough medicine contains a good deal of alcohol, and yet if a state were to ban cough medicine, federal legislators would probably throw a fit. Turn it around and let a congressman like Georgia's Bob Barr tell Californians whether they may smoke marijuana - and that's acceptable? Cancer and AIDS can be incredibly painful, and yet the treatments for these diseases cause so much nausea that patients vomit up pain medication in pill form. Marijuana smoke could relieve their pain. Kaiser Permanente, the American Cancer Association, and the National Institutes of Health all advocate studying marijuana's possible medical uses. But legislators who think the "betterment of society" is more important than relieving the pain of these terminal diseases demonstrate their compassion by calling such measures "deceptive'' and defrauding people of the right to vote. Just last June, medical marijuana activist Peter McWilliams choked to death on his own vomit while taking a bath. A poet and publisher, McWilliams used marijuana to relieve the pain caused by his AIDS. William F. Buckley called him "a wry, mythogenic guy, humorous, affectionate, articulate, shrewd, sassy." But Federal Judge George King called him a criminal. McWilliams was being tried for raising weed, and King prohibited him from mentioning Proposition 215 in his defense - or even from telling the jury that he had AIDS. He also prohibited McWilliams from using marijuana while on bail. What sort of madness condemns a man like Pete McWilliams to such a gruesome death, prohibits scientific studies on possible new medicines and even forbids voters in Washington, D.C. from having their votes counted? The Drug War is just that - a war. Only this is a war, merciless and brutal, against our own citizens. And what is the result of war? James Madison said, "Of all the enemies to public liberty, war is perhaps the most to be dreaded.'' And freedom has suffered a great deal. Customers at pharmacies may only purchase a certain number of Sudafed capsules. Students in public schools are forced to take drug tests. In Ohio, a new ordinance requires people purchasing five kegs of beer to sign a waiver five days before the party, giving police permission to search the premises without warning. In Albuquerque, the city may seize your house, not only if you sell drugs there, but also if you serve alcohol to minors. If you go away for the weekend, and your teen-ager throws a party - watch out. You can't even smoke in a bar in California, even if you own it and all your waitresses smoke. This is insanity. As Jacob Sullum writes, "Republicans favor federalism - but not when they're trying to distance themselves from Big Tobacco. Then they're happy to support a national tobacco policy for which there is no constitutional authority. Democrats defend freedom of speech - but not for people who make cigarettes. They'd rather see Nazis march through Skokie than see the Marlboro Man ride across a billboard. Republicans are suspicious of overreaching government - but not when it comes to 'public health.' Democrats insist on a woman's right to control her own body - but not if she's a smoker." Like most Americans, I hate drugs, and I've never taken them. But like many Americans, I also think people should be allowed to decide this for themselves - especially when the result of our current policy is pain, suffering and tyranny. Note: Mr. Sandefur is a law student at Chapman University. He lives in Rialto. Published: September 4, 2000 Source: Orange County RegisterCopyright: 2000 The Orange County RegisterContact: letters link.freedom.comAddress: 625 N. Grand Ave., Santa Ana, California, 92701Website: http://www.ocregister.com/libertyPeter McWilliam's Memorial Pagehttp://homepages.go.com/~marthag1/Peterm.htmCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by howard on September 05, 2000 at 16:52:35 PT:
The Empire must fall
One reason why the Empire fights cannabis with such insane zealotry, is because the whole freakin' charade is based on a multitude of lies that stem from racism, corruption, and greed. The Empire would, now, have to admit to 80 years of lies, collusion and conspiracy in the most infamous of all public deceptions, the Reefer Madness scare. They haven't admitted to anything yet, nor do I see it forthcoming. What about all the people sent to prison? Would the Empire ever acknowledge or apologize to those millions of souls who were vicitmized by these draconian and fraudulent laws? Not likely. The entire Empire would have to crumble first.  What can't be stressed enough is the fact that maintaining firm prohibition of marijuana is extremely vital to many of the Empire's vast business interests. Their whole military, prison building, drug testing, pharmacuetical, paper ( I know there's a whole lot more! ) industries are based on marijuana prohibition. The so called "Stock Market" is heavily invested in this. Vast sums of money are made by keeping weed illegal. Since corporations control politicians and public policy, we are not likely to see change anytime soon. Again, the Empire would have to be thoroughly dismantled first.  The MEDIA ( ah, another profiteer! ) continues to spin, lie, and spread propaganda. Meanwhile, sheeplike people, pacified by "Survivor" re-runs, have eyes that go blank when serious talk begins about a war in Colombia or innocent children dying. The whole system runs on prohibition and without it, the system would fall! They know this and THIS is why they will fight to their dying breath to maintain cannabis prohibition. Sadly, I don't see real medical marijuana or even hemp being allowed in this country anytime soon. The Empire's agenda comes first and legal ganja ain't in their evil plan. The cannabis plant is one of the things capable of destroying them and exposing ALL their lies. Of course, they can't let this happen.The Narco police state is in place to see that there will be no change in cannabis policy. 500,000 more cops on the streets are slated for the bush/gore amerika. Right now, peaceful protesters are being arrested and beaten in the streets. Right now, Democratic elections are being overturned with regularity and the will of the people continues to be denied. The Supreme Court's recent decision is the first of many, I believe, that will further restrict and prohibit the herb. Meanwhile, the media continues to brainwash and use propaganda tactics in efforts to mislead the public about the real TRUTH behide marijuana prohibition. Politicians are hypocrites and yet somehow this doesn't matter.  Sheep-like people cheer and follow blindly. Yes, the Empire must fall. I am no optimist, because I know precisely what is at stake for them. I do not see them giving in. I wish I did, but I don't. In fact, I only see them getting worse. On the horizon, I SEE massive arrests, home invasions, increased civil and human rights violations, national guard intervention in monitoring civilians, riots in the street, elections overturned, across the board mandatory citizen drug tests, brainwashing "camps," etc. before THEY budge an inch on cannabis policy. As discouraging as things are, I say don't give up. Let's keep on fighting. There's no turning back! Righteousness will prevail, this I am certain. 
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