An Open Letter A Long Fight
I was watching a video someone posted on here yesterday about how drug task forces have no funding so they are completely funded by seizures from busts. I watched the pigs take $55 for a man that was smoking crack in an alley, and then they put him in jail and prosecuted him. What that man needs is help for his drug addiction, not to be robbed and locked up by the same people that are supposed to "serve and protect."
This kind of shit needs to end. What good is voting if it doesn't change anything? States that vote to legalize marijuana, whether for medical or personal use, still hold no weight? Since when!? The problem is the that people are afraid of the government, rather than the other way around. Either that, or people just don't know, or maybe they just don't care, but something is definitely wrong here.
People need to learn that marijuana was made illegal because of racism and mexican immigration in order to keep the mexican immigrants under control. Now, the War on Drugs has turned into a war on poor people. Until 1940, marijuana was listed in the pharmacopia as a legitimate medicine. Then, Harry Anslinger used marijuana to keep the Mexicans and blacks under control and demonized marijuana use. Since then, we have learned a lot about the realities of the plant.
Marijuana is a relatively harmless drug. Its technically not even a drug, its an herb that grows from the ground naturally, even without human interaction. True, some people may become addicted to marijuana, but it is less likely than getting addicted to drinking pop every day, which is actually worse for you than smoking weed! We need to legalize marijuana, regulate, and tax it in the same way as alcohol, and then use some of the money gained from taxing it to pay for drug addictions for REAL drugs that are a detriment to society. I know I'm preaching to the choir here but it seems like the people that know all the shit I'm talking about are the people that aren't speaking up! This needs to change if anything is ever going to be different. There is really no way you can rationally argue against marijuana when things like alcohol and tobacco are legal and killing hundreds of thousands of people annually while marijuana's death toll is still at zero since the beginning of recorded history. Drug abuse and addiction is a very real thing, but people with drug addictions don't need to go to jail, they need to get medical help for their problems. Taxing it and regulating it could easily pay for that help, among other things.
I think everyone that visits this board NEEDS to speak up! I'm not saying put on your marijuana shirt and go post flyers about the positive aspects of marijuana and start a cold call campaign, but when the topic comes up, inform people! Also, no one wants to listen to some kid in a tie-dyed shirt hitting a bong and waving the finger screaming "LEGALIZE IT!" We need to stay rational, informed, professional, eloquent, and most of all, strong. Don't back down or accept anything but the truth.
Until all that happens, expect more shit like this.
:stoned:
An Open Letter A Long Fight
Quote:
Originally Posted by Weedhound
Let me put it this way.....i doubt the color of his skin is a plus in Corona CA. ;)(again....speaking from 10 years ago......)
You are probably right, I just hate to think that is true.:mad:
An Open Letter A Long Fight
Quote:
Originally Posted by dejayou30
I was watching a video someone posted on here yesterday about how drug task forces have no funding so they are completely funded by seizures from busts. I watched the pigs take $55 for a man that was smoking crack in an alley, and then they put him in jail and prosecuted him. What that man needs is help for his drug addiction, not to be robbed and locked up by the same people that are supposed to "serve and protect."
:stoned:
Serve and protect seems reserved only for the innocent. heh. Before someone says.. no I don't believe that makes a country great. ;-)
It's good to finally see this thread has got some attention :thumbsup:
Just so it's clear, I don't think 8182kush's friend has done any wrong whatsoever. I think he is innocent, and in the very least it is his governments job to protect his freedoms until found guilty in a court of law.
Peace,
denial
An Open Letter A Long Fight
Quote:
Originally Posted by denial102
Serve and protect seems reserved only for the innocent. heh. Before someone says.. no I don't believe that makes a country great. ;-)
It's good to finally see this thread has got some attention :thumbsup:
Just so it's clear, I don't think 8182kush's friend has done any wrong whatsoever. I think he is innocent, and in the very least it is his governments job to protect his freedoms until found guilty in a court of law.
Peace,
denial
Thanks for the support, and thanks to everyone here at Cannabis.com, I know in the political section I am kind of a dick, but really like someone else has said, "the tie dye hippie, government hating, stereotype that has plagued people that have our intrests has done nothing but hurt this movement." I am really happy that this thread is getting some attention, even if it only serves to tell a story, it's worthwhile for anyone involved to read. I almost think that if he was targeted to an extent because he was a threat. He is a man that does not fit the stereotypes, succesful, black, REPUBLICAN, conservative, church going, civics minded, formerly the owner of 2 other businesses that he started years before the clinic. I doubt the fed wants people to think that you could be all these things and use marijuana. He contradicted everything that the fed says about people involved with marijuana. Please, help after you read this, tell 4 or 5 people you know, the more that know the better!:thumbsup:
An Open Letter A Long Fight
Quote:
Originally Posted by llama shack
Wouldn't it be easy for them to stack the jury in Fed favor?
Maybe in Riverside County, not in L.A..
An Open Letter A Long Fight
Well, maybe he's not saying "go put on your marijuana shirt", I SAY GO PUT ON YOUR MARIJUANA SHIRT, AND CAP. We ended the WAR in Nam because we made our feelings known. I'm getting tired of fighting this WAR so politely. One thing you ALL need to remember, VOTE VOTE VOTE. Get registered, you only have to do it once, you get a new card every year for the rest of your life. GET OFF OF YOUR FAT LAZY STONER ASSES AND VOTE VOTE VOTE
An Open Letter A Long Fight
Even if this crime was not racially motivated, playing the race card may perhaps be Ronnie's last hope of getting some justice out of this. Obviously the Fed does not give a shit that he is the model citizen, the succesful American dream.
Unfortunately the Constitution has this fool clause that whenever a state law conflicts with a federal one, the federal law is supreme. Because of this, MMJ states will never be safe. Even if these type of cases make it to the supreme court, there is little hope of interpreting that clause any different, as it is pretty much cut and dry. Unless the fed changes their law, cannabis is technically illegal everywhere.
This is so fucking sad.
Fuck regulating and taxing weed, it is a damn plant. It was here before we were. How can we make judgement on this superior elder?
Just let the shit grow and allow the free market to take over, no regulations or import or other special taxes. I don't get taxed on the fucking apple trees I planted in my front yard. And the only tax I pay on the apples I buy at Wal-Mart is sales tax.
So yea, they can sales tax weed for people buying it in stores. But if I want to buy an apple from a friend, I don't have to pay tax, so why should I if I buy weed off the street?
No regulation would also lower prices. Dealers would have to figure out how high their shit was priced before people just said screw it, I'll grow and the dealers couldn't sell for any more like they do now, as many are too scared to grow.
All of us need to meet out there in Riverside and blaze that shit up and protest like all the big protests for John Sinclair back in the day...
FREE RONNIE signs and everything.
An Open Letter A Long Fight
Quote:
Originally Posted by melodious fellow
Even if this crime was not racially motivated, playing the race card may perhaps be Ronnie's last hope of getting some justice out of this. Obviously the Fed does not give a shit that he is the model citizen, the succesful American dream.
Unfortunately the Constitution has this fool clause that whenever a state law conflicts with a federal one, the federal law is supreme. Because of this, MMJ states will never be safe. Even if these type of cases make it to the supreme court, there is little hope of interpreting that clause any different, as it is pretty much cut and dry. Unless the fed changes their law, cannabis is technically illegal everywhere.
This is so fucking sad.
I think you make a great point. I don't know how or even race will play, or if it will be remotely an issue, I suspect not.
You are so right about the "fool clause". It is shitty, Ronnie was very naive, he really thought that they fed would focus on the more unscrupulous clinics, and didn't take into account that they would go after "low hanging fruit". The really fucked up part is that there are "some" very shady places that do things that the vast majority of this community as well as any "law abiding" citizen would oppose, and they actually have a better chance of sustaining in the short term because they are more underground or under the radar if you will. Some don't even bother filing proper licenses, what have you. It's pretty damn easy to track you down when your name is on the business license issued by the city government, or seller's permit from the county, or whatever. Like I said, he had 2 OTHER legit businesses that he was running years before this even was a thought, so when he went to set this clinic up, (because no matter what you think it is a business) he did it by the book. This makes you low hanging fruit. If you are involved in money laundering, other illicit sales, then you likely aren't going to be as easy to track down, hence those operators continue to conduct their business. Yeah it's good because people can still get relief for what they need, but long term it will destroy the MMJ movement from the inside out, once all the low hanging fruit is gone, what will you be left with, the rotten fruit that fell on the ground.:( There will come a time while trapped in this "false MMJ Debate" that the fed will say "ok, everyone involved is .....insert bad things here......" And proponents on our side won't have good examples left.That is check mate for marijuana prohibition, (this mind you is all just my dillusional and paranoid opinion.) This in the long term will lead to patients again, not having "safe access" as well as anyone else that would choose to use marijuana. I think that the public in general has been baited and trapped into the "medical marijuana" argument, and unless we change gears, any percieved progress will be lost and it will be 1981 by 2012.:(
Now sure there will always be a handful of people that will continue to carry more than their fair share in providing for others, but in general, the perception will soon be that it is generally "bad guys" that are involved with marijuana. Kind of like how you never hear stories about how citizens carrying firearms come to the rescue and save lives, but you hear stories about Billy shooting himself in the teeth with Daddy's gun. I think it is this way to a certian extent all ready. It is sad.
If that sounded confusing then just hit whatever you have close and read it again, that post may require a translator.:D:stoned:
An Open Letter A Long Fight
Thats the price you pay for having a high profile life that revolves around cannabis.
Unfortunetly.
An Open Letter A Long Fight
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beefer86
Thats the price you pay for having a high profile life that revolves around cannabis.
Unfortunetly.
I wouldn't say he was "high profile" just because he was young and black and had a nice home and a nice car. He wasn't traveling the world or cruisin around in a Ferrari. He had the home that he is still in prior to starting the clinic. He didn't go buy a mansion or hide money in off shore accounts. But he always knew there were risks involved, he of all people doesn't blame America, nor the government, it's not like the law hasn't been what it is forever, but he is going to fight none the less, because he does not believe he did anything wrong.:cool:
