cannabisnews.com: Burning Questions Burning Questions Posted by FoM on February 21, 2001 at 12:10:13 PT By Matt Smith Source: SF Weekly Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I think I may have orchestrated mankind's first perfect burn. Anyone who attended high school during the 1970s remembers what a "burn" is: the craft of producing an insult so, ahem, deft that it leaves opponents speechless. "I know you are -- but what am I?" is a classic genre standard, as is, "Sphincter said what?" But there are burns with pitches so pure that their songs rise above the chatter of more ordinary retorts. Such burns require preparation; I labored a week crafting an opinion column ripping on potheads, knowing they'd respond with angry letters that would be sitting ducks for burning. And I lay in wait, with an unassailable riposte: "Dude, are you, like, totally stoned? Are you on pot? Hooo! Are you high, dude?" Ha, ha, ha! What a burn! My first correspondent -- spoiling for a fight yet unaware he was heading into a trap -- provided a perfect target. Oh pleeease! Can a week go by without Matt Smith writing something annoying and ridiculously mean spirited? First it was about doing away with rent control, then it moved to defense of corporate media takeovers (aaargh! now that was a particularly shameless and pathetic piece ... But I digress ...), to the rabid rants at, ohmygod, the biggest threat to American Law and Order, the dreaded, disgusting Potheads! Odd, to say the least. I think even small town Texans could find this kind of sentiment a little conservative ... Apoligies for the poor quality of writing and rambling style, but I am writing this at work AND would therefore be grateful if the name were witheld... Dearest pothead,No need to apologize, dude; poor-quality rambling is a natural part of being stoned. I've never written about rent control -- but who's counting? -- you're high! Anyway, while you may be toasted, B---- Z--------, I'm not, which means I'm not buying your promise to be grateful. You've already proven yourself to be a most ungrateful correspondent. Sign me,Ha, ha! What a burn! Our next letter comes from the e-mail address of one Richard Feller. As with many members of a certain pot-addled generation, this correspondent's mind seems to be stuck in college. Hey Matt. You really had me going for a while, you little devil. The article was all about working out the issues you have over not getting any at college. All the girls that shut you down smoked pot, right? Dear Stoner Feller,No, high dude; my college girlfriends were all crackheads and junkies. After all, the coolest people use illegal drugs, right? With kind regards,Matt Smith Next from our mailbag, which filled and then overflowed with strange punctuality, given that potheads wrote the letters -- when potheads become uppity and punctual, don't the Horsemen of the Apocalypse ride? -- anyway, our next letter arrived from Carol Colburn of Meadow Vista, Calif. She took issue with my assertion last week that pot smokers are lame-os. Dear Matthew Smith,I have been to more parties where attorneys, judges, doctors, scientists, school teachers, pilots, business men, politicians, and show business types smoke pot openly. I guess for that type of person, smoking among their elite groups is legal. At least they act like it. There are trays of marijuana and cocaine, along with the canapés and a full bar. Dearest Carol,You make an excellent point, Carol. How could I possibly say pot smokers are lame-os, when there are stoner airplane pilots out there? Nobody with the skill necessary to fly an aircraft while stoned could possibly be a lame-o. My apologies. Stoned airline pilots rock. Toasted schoolteachers are bitchin'. Pothead doctors and judges rule! Sign me,Forgoing air travel for the rest of my life Our next piece of mail comes from a man with a long title, which makes him harder to burn. But I'll try. Dear Mr. Smith,This evening I had the unpleasant task of wading through your invective and slander about medical marijuana and those who support its regulated use. I remind you that Proposition 215 passed overwhelmingly. I do not believe that the majority of California voters are either "potheads," "dope peddlers," nor exclusive members of the "doobie sect" whatever that is. ...The AMMA Medical Advisory Board is comprised of professionals. We do not support drug abuse of any kind. Nor do we feel that medical cannabis is a "miracle drug" useful for anyone with any condition. We support a patients Right under the California Constitution to utilize medical cannabis upon a Physicians recommendation. We further call upon all concerned to adopt reasonable guidelines for medical cannabis cultivation, distribution, possession, and use ... In Faith and Service,Jay R. Cavanaugh, Ph.D.State Recall Coordinator, AMMAMedical Advisory Board, AMMA Dear Dr. Cavanaugh,Are you high, dude? Er, I mean, um, you certainly have an impressive-sounding title. And while you're wrong in suggesting I've ever used the unfair term "doobie sect," your thoughtful tone has made me question my petty, childish attempt to "burn" you and your faithful. If irony is a noble weapon in the battle against hypocrisy and malfeasance, it can also serve ignoble ends. Fearing ignobleness, I decided to pay a visit to the Market Street Club, a Castro District medical marijuana provider claiming to be San Francisco's oldest. After all, as medical marijuana user and mailbag contributor Michael Chudzinski says in a just-arrived missive, "its one thing to write an article in an office after "researching' a subject, but it's an entirely different matter to research real life." There is, after all, anecdotal evidence showing marijuana may be an appropriate treatment for a short list of medical conditions, including AIDS wasting syndrome, glaucoma, and the side effects of chemotherapy. But wouldn't it be, like, a total burn, if the legitimate medical marijuana users were sick and tired of recreational marijuana users -- who seemed to constitute the vast majority of my correspondents -- trying to co-opt the medical pot movement as their own? I arrive at the outer door to the Market Street Club seconds behind a nervous man in white cross-training shoes who's carrying a new manila folder. He peers twice at the small sign describing the club, hesitates as if reconsidering, then climbs a narrow flight of stairs to the club's inner, double-glass doors. Club proprietor James Green, ordinarily an infectiously gregarious man, cracks the door, glances quickly through the visitor's papers, reddens, stiffens, and says, "I'm sorry. Papers from that doctor are dead on arrival here. We receive thousands of prescriptions from him, and as far as I'm concerned, they're invalid." As it happens, much of Green's day is spent like this, reviewing and rejecting papers from a handful of doctors who write piles -- Green says thousands -- of marijuana prescriptions for a flat $200 fee apiece. Green, an AIDS patient who has been prescribed marijuana to combat hunger loss associated with the disease, is infuriated by what he describes as fraudulent "prescription mill" doctors. He's equally angry at marijuana providers who make no effort to discriminate between medical and recreational marijuana users. The way Green sees it, such fraudulent abuse of California's medical marijuana law undermines legitimate patients' access to the drug. "I'm concerned that it will turn into the next massage parlor. Everybody knows "massage parlor' means "hand job.' Everybody will know "pot club' means "drug dealer.' The other clubs are cannibalizing a certain kind of homeless, addictive streetperson. I mean, there's not the cornucopia of documentation that pot is good for schizophrenia as there is for AIDS," Green says. "I would hate to think I'm making a living on the backs of the sick and dying." As it turns out, the explanation of "medical marijuana" disseminated by San Francisco hipsters -- that it's really a noble effort by libertarian types to overturn all marijuana laws, so hipsters can use weed recreationally -- is an explanation that causes some patients to bristle. They are angered by the idea that some doctors might be retailing prescriptions for "medical conditions" for which there's no evidence that marijuana is an appropriate treatment. Darice McKay, director of the cannabis club Marin RX, says this kind of medical fraud is bad for business. "I believe the medical marijuana movement should divorce itself from recreational use, because that muddies the water and makes it look like that was what we were in it for all along," she says. Terry Moore, a 46-year-old glaucoma patient, says she resents the prescription-peddling M.D.'s. "That seems to be some pretty crooked shit. What do you mean? You can pay a doctor to get a goddamned prescription? I have glaucoma, so I went to my doctor, and he gave me a prescription," says Moore, who explains that she was put off by the stoner atmosphere fostered by some of the city's medical marijuana clubs. Grant Magner, a 49-year-old Marin AIDS sufferer, believes phony medical marijuana patients are defrauding California voters, who passed Proposition 215 based on the idea that they were providing compassion for legitimate medical patients. "That's legalized marijuana sales, but that's not Prop. 215," says Magner. "Measure 215 was supposed to provide medical marijuana under the care of your primary care doctor. I have blood tests three times a year, sometimes four. My doctor is constantly aware of my health, and marijuana plays a part in that regimen. Marijuana was never my drug of choice as a young man. I'm 49, and marijuana was never a favorite of mine. However, at this point in my life it allows me to have an appetite, it allows me to cope with the day in, day out drone of living with HIV. "That was what the purpose of 215 was -- for someone such as myself suffering from a debilitating illness. But it wasn't so that you walk up and hand some guy $200." I called the CHAMP (Californians Helping Alleviate Medical Problems) Harm Reduction Center on Church Street in San Francisco, reputed to be one of the city's more stringent pot clubs, and asked if it accepts paperwork from doctors who have reputations as "prescription mills." "We take a letter from anybody. If the doctor is able and that doctor is current, that's all we need," said a woman who didn't want to be identified. Whether a doctor is issuing the paperwork fraudulently is "not our business," the CHAMP employee said. Which makes a certain kind of sense. McKay says she sells "excess" marijuana she grows in an unmentioned Northern California county to cannabis clubs, which reputedly pay $3,500 per pound for pot and charge their clients twice that. A typical cannabis club member buys $100 worth of pot per month; the Marin Medical Marijuana Alliance, whose director, Lynnette Shaw, is leading the drive to recall Marin County District Attorney Paula Kamena, claims 900 members. Simple multiplication totes up a potential monthly income of $90,000. That's a lot of money. And if there were ever a medicine proven effective in inducing lying and hypocrisy, it's money. There is a strain of thought, amply represented in the correspondence I received, that says to properly and fully object to the hypocrisy of America's war on drugs, it's necessary to become an apologist for illegal drug pushers and drug users. But the fact is, they're all part of the same filthy, cynical, downright evil system. I'm against the hypocrisy that underlies most of California's medical marijuana industry, but I'm for legalizing, regulating, and taxing drugs, and then using the resulting revenue for on-demand treatment of addicts and on-demand jobs programs for nonviolent dealers. I could even persuade myself to like the notion of giving addicts free fixes, so there's no profit in it for pushers. I believe the War on Drugs allows us to rationalize sending professional assassination teams into countries such as Colombia to execute civilians. It provides us cynical cover for spending billions to militarize the areas around U.S.-company-controlled oil fields in Colombia and elsewhere. I think the War on Drugs provides an excuse to sell things like peasant-killing Cobra attack helicopters to Mexico, when Mexico has no need for such weapons. This war also provided, until recently, a powerful podium to the most disingenuous man in government, Gen. Barry McCaffrey, a man so skillfully mealy-mouthed I've gone away from two face-to-face interviews with him with the sense that his earthshakingly evil lies were merely prosaic. Last week's column took no position on these issues. That column spoke to a group of cynical, money-grubbing dissemblers who are trying to depose Marin DA Paula Kamena, one of the Bay Area's more progressive public servants, as she tries to weave a conscientious path through contradictions in narcotics law. The potheads didn't seem to understand this at all. Now isn't that a burn? Note: How "prescription mill" doctors and indiscriminate pot clubs threaten the well-being of legitimate medical marijuana patients.Matt Smith: E-Mail: Matthew.Smith sfweekly.com Source: SF Weekly (CA) Author: Matt Smith Published: February 21, 2001Address: 185 Berry, Lobby 4, Suite 3800, San Francisco, CA 94107 Copyright: 2001 New Times Inc Contact: feedback sfweekly.com Website: http://www.sfweekly.com/ Feedback: http://www.sfweekly.com/feedback/ Related Articles & Web Sites:American Medical Marijuana Associationhttp://americanmarijuana.org/Marin Alliance for Medical Marijuana http://www.cbcmarin.com/Californians Out To Recall Anti-Pot DAshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8720.shtmlTaxpayers League Blasts Placer DA and Sheriff http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8703.shtmlSmoke and Smearers http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread8681.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #22 posted by Willy on February 22, 2001 at 20:35:03 PT By the way... I'm an extremely casual user of marijuana ( hardly ever) but whenever I have a hit or two my hair grows back and is longer and I remember how comfortable bell bottoms were. [ Post Comment ] Comment #21 posted by Willy on February 22, 2001 at 20:27:10 PT kaptinemo is right I've been saying this for a long time. Write to state lawmakers, congressmen, et. al. and let them know that you are aware that America is in peril.Clip newspaper articles about the outrageous abuses of power. I know they don't appear very often and when they do the spin is usually in favor of the LEO's but our job is to point out to the lawmakers the absurdity of allowing people in positions of power to abuse their authority.Where I live, a few weeks ago, there were drug raids at 6 in the morning; in my county first and then in the neighboring county the following morning. In both raids at least one house was the wrong house. In the next county the wrong house was the home of a police officer.(oops) In my county the wrong house was one in which their target had not lived for seventeen months. Most of the warrants were for people who were wanted for possession or sale of small amounts of marijuana. In the wrong house case he was a young man that was pressured by an undercover policeman over a period of several months to sell a quarter ounce. He eventually sold the policeman a quarter twice over a two week period and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He wasn't arrested in a timely fashion but, instead was targeted in a pre-dawn raid.These incidents are abuse of power. Totally un-neccessary and designed for the general public to see that the "drug task force" is doing it's job. The police had warrants so the pre-dawn raids were not needed.I clipped the articles and I am sending them to my reps in the state and in Washington along with a letter of protest at this kind of outrageous sabre rattling.Don't wait for 4/20. Do it now.kaptinemo is a smart person. Let's listen!Thanks [ Post Comment ] Comment #20 posted by dddd on February 22, 2001 at 19:31:44 PT dress code Ethan...A tie-dye mind is better than a tie-dye shirt....dddd [ Post Comment ] Comment #19 posted by kaptinemo on February 22, 2001 at 19:17:25 PT: Precisely my point, Dank But what's even worse is that the antis know it, too. And count on it. They count on it. They expect a lot of noise, a lot of monkey-motion, and nothing getting done. They are pee-their-pants scared of true activism. Just look at the effort the major parties expended in re-rigging the ballot access laws to prevent the emergence of third parties.Yes, they are frightened ..and for one simple reason.How many of us are there? Depending upon whose figures you use, there are up to 80 million people who've used cannabis in the US, alone.80 million. Now, cut that number in half...40 million. Now, imagine 40 million pissed off Americans, writing to their Congresscritters and Sin-a-tors. Not necessarily admitting cannabis use, just demanding an end to the DrugWar. Now imagine them all sitting down to their boxes, or just doing it the old fashioned way, pen and paper. And then imagine the impact that it would have on the dunderheads in power if 40 million people each wrote one letter - and then sent it in a two week period.Okay, if 40 million don't want to be free, then cut that number in half, again. Or maybe freedom isn't valued by even that many; halve it again. 10 million people, now. Just ten million people. One-eighth of all stoners. Each writes a letter within a planned two-week period. And sends it by the agreed deadline. Say, by April 20th, 2002. An easy enough date to remember, no matter how baked you are ;)Can you imagine the effect? The postal service would get swamped suddenly. Media outlets would be swinging microphones in the faces of pols, asking for reactions. Spin doctors and 'talking heads' scrambling to 'interpret' this latest outpouring of public sentiment, wondering out loud if this presages a sea change in the American political scene. You would see even more pols like Charlie Rangel, formerly such staunch, vociferous supporters of the DrugWar, turn their coats in the blink of an eye.Oh, sure, the antis will kick up a fuss, and the special interests behind them will pull out all the stops. But the more they squeal and rant and foam, the more it becomes evident who is demonstrating belief in the democratic system (us) and who is trying to subvert it (them). A point that they are already feeling the sharp edge of in the media, with it's still-tentative and hesitant questioning of the DrugWarriors supposed 'victories'. Push the matter too far, and the antis will find that their expected power bases might shift and leave them out in the cold.So simple. So easy. So risk-free. Remember, I said you did not have to admit any illegal activity, just say you think the DrugWar sux (be nice about it, though) and that you as a taxpayer are damned sick and tired of your money being used in chasing harmless potheads when the police have better things to do, like catch murderers.The antis are so afraid that you will discover your power. They have nightmares of what will happen when the single largest potential voting bloc in American society decides to wake up, shake off the dust, and tell the pols the gravy train is over. [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by Dankhank on February 22, 2001 at 17:52:36 PT: cheech and chong In the movies I saw, the boys were pretty upfront about their smoking. Tokin' large dubes in the car ... driving a van MADE out of Pot ... in short ...cheech and chong.Granted, they didn't seem very political ...I have been to lafaytte park in DC on the 4th of july ...it's a hoot ... but I don't think many of that crowd votes ... HEMP n STUFF [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by FoM on February 22, 2001 at 17:12:27 PT Really Made Me Smile I'm a tie-dye shirted, bell-bottomed, bead-wearin' cosmic kind o' guy. I LOVE IT! [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on February 22, 2001 at 17:03:14 PT: Tell 'em, Kap I agree with your sentiments. It is a shame that our society still relies so much an appearances. Stick 19th century-style facial hair in front of 'em, and some modern people freak out, and reach for their guns.That is one reason that when I talk on this subject I'm a doctor strangling myself in a tie even when, in my memory at least, I'm a tie-dye shirted, bell-bottomed, bead-wearin' cosmic kind o' guy. I don't think George Will would have cottoned much to me in the good old days. [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by FoM on February 22, 2001 at 16:42:44 PT ??? Even if he is Gay that wouldn't make a difference to me on how I feel about what he wrote in this article. [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by fasfdsafdfad on February 22, 2001 at 16:33:10 PT asdffasfddsf Look how gay this guy is, he thinks he funny. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by kaptinemo on February 22, 2001 at 14:54:12 PT: Bones to pick Kevin and FoM, many thanks for the kind words. But I'm afraid that many here will still not get the message.In the excellent Ken Burns PBS series on the Civil War, there was a story of a former slave who had bought his freedom and stayed in the South. When he saw his first Union soldier, he is reputed to have said, "If I'd known you gun men was a commin', I'd a saved my money."In other words, he was content to remain a slave, licking Massa's boots, taking Massa's s***, letting someone else do the fighting and dying to free him.I have no respect for that type. A type we have entirely too many of.I've been to my share of rally's: I was at the one in DC on July 4 last year, and will be at the one this year. Thousands of people show up...but how many write their Congresscritters and Sin-a-tors? Lots of speeches are made, lots of hand clapping and rebel yells, and such...but how many are actually working to end this Reign of Terror?For the longest time, the re-legalization movement has been carrying a pistol, locked and loaded and aimed at our own feet. That pistol has a hair trigger, and the slightest bump makes it go off. Worse, it seems that there is an endless supply of ammunition. We keep shooting ourselves in the foot, time after time. Why?Because some of our brethren seem to think that outlandish dress and bizarre behavior will somehow cause the movement to gain respect amongst the very people we need support from: Mr. and Ms. Middle America. Who look at the toms-toms, the peasant dresses, the dervish-like gyrations, parading around in a marijuana-leaf suit, and other strange goings on as just that - strange. Odd. And most important of all, threatening.Just great for the 5 o'clock news...which ignore the messages and focus on the wacko-looking 'messengers' as if they are the represenattives of the rest of us.Contrary to what you might think, given what I've just said, I value diversity of thought and action. Growing up in a multilingual and multicultural neighborhood was a great plus for me; when I visited foreign lands, I was not afraid to venture out. I did my level best not to seem the Ugly American...and it paid off handsomely. But our own countrymen are rarely so open to the new, the strange and (sometimes, wonderfully!) dfifferent. Many American citizens look askance at the antics of some of our more exuberant brethren, mistaking joyful expression as license for 'irresponsible' behavior. The impression is that of (whisper it) the 1960's era. This is like waving a red flag in front of the anti's bull; it only serves to enrage it and double its' efforts. But worse, it also gives them ammunition: "Look at those people over there! Dirty bums! What do they do for a living, sell dope?" (yes, I overheard such comments by passersby last year in Lafayette Park; Joe Sixpack is very much alive and well). But even worse, such as they rarely ever try to change things within the system...which, if you notice, has been exactly how they have been changing. Referendums. Voter registration efforts. And yes, loathesome as it may seem...lobbying. That's what I mean by Cheech and Chong types, lighting up in their closets and their basements, willing to live forever with the threat of the no-knock, battering-ram-served warrant, the guns, the body armor, the jackboots. Thinking they can play the odds, that The Man won't touch them...tonight. Just like that ex-slave. But how about tomorrow night? Or next week? Or next month? The FBI waited a year and a half after my supplier was sacked to visit me. The antis have all the time in the world, all the money, all the resources...all we have is what we have. But it will be enough to free us - if we act.My respect goes to those who are joined in the effort to regain our freedoms...I have none for, as Mr. Smith put it, the real 'lame-o's'. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by FoM on February 22, 2001 at 11:51:45 PT Cheech and Chong Types Cheech and Chong types. That is something that I too have wondered. I have no idea but not everyone really wants the laws to change. Some people will lose their only income if the price would drop. I've thought about this when I was being hacked badly a few years ago. I decided that we don't just have people who are antis that don't like us but there are those that are on our side or say they are that also can give us lots of grief. Appearance doesn't have anything to do with how I feel about what I consider Cheech and Chong types. I like Tommy Chong a lot on the 70s show! [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by Kevin Hebert on February 22, 2001 at 11:40:06 PT: Good call, Kap "I have sought mightily to keep the tone of my posts above the usual devolution of pathetic name-calling so frequently found in newsgroups that deal with this subject, and to raise awareness of both friend and foe alike that there are articulate, rational voices raised against this insane DrugWar, that it is not the sole province of the very Cheech & Chong stoners which unfortunately do exist."That is the hardest part. The people who, for one reason or another, smoke cannabis and get high without even thinking about what they could do to make it legal. I know so many people who think "weed is great", but aren't interested in the political side.For me, the drive to legalize and regulate cannabis is even more important than smoking it. After all, prohibition isn't working to reduce the available supply. Cannabis could be illegal for another 100 years and there would still be plenty of smokers, and plenty of weed.It is discouraging sometimes to talk with people who have no interest in doing anything to change the way things are. People say "why should I do anything? It won't make a difference." But it can, it does, and it will. Anyone have any advice on how to get the "Cheech and Chong" types into this debate, to work for change? [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by Phud on February 22, 2001 at 07:36:25 PT: The profit motive I'm against violence. Rational discussion is a better response. I assume that most people involved in the cannabis compassion movement are motivated by concerns other than profit. Cannabis Compassionators put themselves at risk to help ease the suffering of others.However, Matt Smith's article questions my assumption by arguing that Compassionators are motivated by profit.Does anyone know if his analysis of the economics of compassion clubs is valid? We must rationally respond to Matt Smith's argument that compassion clubs are merely a cloak of legitimacy for street-dealing.If compassion clubs are run as not-for-profit organizations, we should advertize them as such. If they are for-profit organizations, why are they setting the price so close to street prices? Shouldn't they be set according to what marijuana costs to grow? Or are the dangers of bringing quality medical marijuana to market justifiably compensated by the much-greater-than-cost price?Peace,Phud [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by greenfox on February 22, 2001 at 06:50:50 PT End to suffering? Who wants to get together and give this guy a damn good whacking? :)-gf [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by kaptinemo on February 21, 2001 at 18:16:34 PT: I did read it through One of the oldest tricks in the book is "divide and conquer". Which is precisely Mr. Smith's intent.I am one of those people who have had to care for an elderly friend suffering from the twin ravages of cancer and chemo. The experience is indelibly etched on my brain. It is a fate that I would wish upon my worst enemies; the kind of people who would sacrifice a harmless elderly woman's chance for blessed relief upon the dark altar of their false morals. I had to stop for a moment. The rage I felt made it impossible for me to continue.Evil. With all of history behind us, with all we know, we keep making the mistake of thinking that we can easily recognize evil. We keep thinking that evil is some grandiose, towering thing that can overwhelm us in a second, like a nuke blast. But evil has many other forms. Some of them masquerade in forms that we think are so mundane, we pay them little heed.A cop stops you beside the road, and oh so carefully tries to insinuate himself into your good graces...so he can trick you out of your rights as an American by requesting to search your car with no reason.A pharmaceutical company gives money to a 'concerned citizens' organization purporting to be working for the common weal...while that tax-free organization lobbies Congress to prevent the development and usage of a natural medicine with no known side effects beside hilarity and temporarily reduced sucrose levels. A natural medicine which can enable those engaged in a battle to save their lives from deadly diseases a fighting chance without causing more damage than they have already endured.A journalist who, like Iago in Shakespeare's Othello seemingly lives for the pleasure of stirring the pot, and cares not one wit who gets splashed with his malevolent prose. A journalist who seeks to tear apart the coalition which strives to restore both a traditional freedom our Forefather's enjoyed (but was stolen from us under false pretenses) and give hope and very tangible support to those so desperately in need of it.Evil can be as simple and everyday as someone like Mr. Smith deriding a good and noble cause with petty insults.Many of you here have been very kind with your comments about my rants, and I greatly appreciate them. I have sought mightily to keep the tone of my posts above the usual devolution of pathetic name-calling so frequently found in newsgroups that deal with this subject, and to raise awareness of both friend and foe alike that there are articulate, rational voices raised against this insane DrugWar, that it is not the sole province of the very Cheech & Chong stoners which unfortunately do exist. But lest we forget something very important, I will take the risk of seeming pedantic and remind you all that we are at war. We did not begin the hostilities; the declaration was made against us. We did not fire the first shot. Yet many of us have actually died from the wounds inflicted by the other side. We have comrades-in-arms rotting in prison. This is not an intellectual exercise for me and for all those, past, present and future, who have either suffered or struggled to alleviate that suffering. This is, at the risk of seeming melodramatic, truly a battle between good and evil. I already know which side Mr. Smith resides on.The whiff of brimstone emanating from his writing is unmistakable. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by zenarch on February 21, 2001 at 16:36:19 PT I have better things to do! Does anyone know the circulation of the S.F. Weakly?I mean, is it worth our time worrying about this half-wit. He's doing a pretty good job of assinating his own character and intellect in the minds of his readers so why bother? [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by FoM on February 21, 2001 at 14:13:36 PT I didn't get it I don't understand what he is trying to say so I just posted it hoping you all could figure it out! Angry people confuse me. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by J.R. Bob Dobbs on February 21, 2001 at 13:56:03 PT Read the whole thing! For those unfamiliar with Matt Smith, read the earlier piece first, if you can stomach it. The first half of this article sounded like another spew of the same, but once he got a completely calm and rational letter from someone with some credentials, he starts to question his assumptions, and look into the matter. By the end of the article, he says he supports all drugs being legalized and giving them to addicts. I can't wait to read this guy's next article. I hope this is a trend - I'd love it if the most fervent anti actually took a long enough look at the situation to see the truth. I applaud Matt Smith's effort - he didn't have to go to that buyers' club, did he? Of course, the issue isn't whether an adult should or should not smoke cannabis - the issue is whether the state should jail people who do smoke cannabis responsibly. It's such a waste of police resources.>>I'm against the hypocrisy that underlies most of California's medical marijuana industry... Interestingly, I'd always assumed they were the squeaky-clean good guys. But Todd McCormick's appearance on Pot-TV last night raised some interesting questions. If they're selling it - which is not covered under 215 - and all he was doing was growing it for his own medical use - which IS covered under 215 - then why is he in jail and they're still in business? Could it be because they have more money, and thus more influence, than a home grower like Todd? http://www.pot-tv.net/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by dddd on February 21, 2001 at 13:44:02 PT gobble-de-gook It's not your imagination Ethan...I think this guy is a wayward rabble-rouser who is experimenting with various masquerades to try and have cheap fun with anyone he can.It would be eminantly hypocritical for me to severely critisize such modes of behavior,,so I will limit myself to simply furnishing readers with my own personal assessment of Smith; He is a somewhat eloquent turkey,and has done some very effective work in confirming my suspicions that he deserves to be labeled;"asshole".Hope that doesnt sound too harsh.............................sorry.... [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by observer on February 21, 2001 at 13:23:04 PT propaganda themes, techniques craft of producing an insult ... potheads Dude, are you, like, totally stoned? Are you on pot? Hooo! Are you high, dude? ... , etc. [1.] The Drug is Associated With a Hated Subgroup of the Society or a Foreign EnemyThemes in Chemical Prohibition, NIDA, 1979http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/History/ticp.html Needless to say, this piece is an extended excercise in prohibitionist propaganda theme number one, the association of medical cannabis with the "Stoner" or "pothead" stereotype.Why is this done?see:http://www.mcad.edu/classrooms/POLITPROP/palace/library/proptech.html``Name Calling or Substitutions of Names or Moral Labels. This technique attempts to arouse prejudices in an audience by labeling the object of the propaganda campaign as something the target audience fears, hates, loathes, or finds undesirable. Types of name calling: a) Direct name calling is used when the audience is sympathetic or neutral. It is a simple, straightforward attack on an opponent or opposing idea. b) Indirect name calling is used when direct name calling would antagonize the audience. It is a label for the degree of attack between direct name calling and insinuation. Sarcasm and ridicule are employed with this technique.''``Social Disapproval. This is a technique by which the propagandist marshals group acceptance and suggests that attitudes or actions contrary to the one outlined will result in social rejection, disapproval, or outright ostracism. The latter, ostracism, is a control practice widely used within peer groups and traditional societies.''FM 33-1, Propaganda Techniqueshttp://www.mcad.edu/classrooms/POLITPROP/palace/library/proptech.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Dave Rebus on February 21, 2001 at 12:58:18 PT: Matt Smith... ...is a troll. Pure and simple. His point was to deliberately display the kind of one-dimensional thinking and false-assumption-based logic that would stimulate an emotional response in readers. The only way to deal with this is to call it like it is, flame the baiter, and move on. If "Matt Smith" really wanted to say something, perhaps even to sell an idea to the readers, instead of writing like Ed Anger, he would try a little bit of empathetic reasoning, for starters. I feel bad for anyone who was misled into giving his monologue any attention, but I do understand. After all, I used to do the same thing on newsgroups in 1993 by saying "Microsoft Windows 3.0 Rocks!" (and on comp.sys.unix, no less), possibly on my way home through campus from the bar. And I also have to admit that I did send "Matt" a response as well. Spurious statements like his need to be exposed for the trollage that they are, and only responded to because of the fact that they are in a public forum. I'll leave it to someone else to nail this... this... "american" to the wall, though. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo, MD on February 21, 2001 at 12:31:48 PT: All Over the Map Is it my imagination, or this writing so distracted and meandering that the underlying message is indecipherable? Perhaps he merely endeavors to alienate each and every reader. In that, he seems to be most effective. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: