"Marijuana gardens are a terrorist threat"

[The Midnight Rambler]

Posted by CN Staff on July 13, 2007 at 06:22:43 PT
By Dylan Darling
Source: Record Searchlight

ONDCP California -- The nation's top anti-drug official said people need to overcome their "reefer blindness" and see that illicit marijuana gardens are a terrorist threat to the public's health and safety, as well as to the environment.

John P. Walters, President Bush's drug czar, said the people who plant and tend the gardens are terrorists who wouldn't hesitate to help other terrorists get into the country with the aim of causing mass casualties. Walters made the comments at a Thursday press conference that provided an update on the "Operation Alesia" marijuana-eradication effort.

"Don't buy drugs. They fund violence and terror," he said.

After touring gardens raided this week in Shasta County, Walters said the officers who are destroying the gardens are performing hard, dangerous work in rough terrain. He said growers have been known to have weapons, including assault rifles.

"These people are armed; they're dangerous," he said. He called them "violent criminal terrorists."

Walters, whose official title is director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said too many people write off marijuana as harmless. "We have kind of a reefer blindness,' " he said.

No arrests have been made so far in the four days of raids, the opening leg of what Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko has promised will be at least two straight weeks of daily raids.

He said suspects have been hard to find because their familiarity with their terrain makes it easy for them to flee quickly.

Although crews doing the raids are using Black Hawk and other helicopters to drop in on some of the gardens, Bosenko said they don't want to give the growers any warning of a raid.

"We try to move in under stealth," he said.

As of Thursday morning, Operation Alesia raids had resulted in the yanking of 68,237 young marijuana plants from public lands in Shasta County. Raids already have been conducted in Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, as well as on land managed by the U.S. Forest Service north of Lake Shasta and other public land near Manton.

The operation is being led by the sheriff's office and has involved 17 agencies, including the California National Guard and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. It's believed to be the largest campaign of its kind in the state, Bosenko said.

The operation is named after the last major battle between the Roman Empire and the Gauls in 52 B.C. That battle was won by the Romans.

With the blitz of marijuana gardens around Shasta County, Bosenko said officials hope to not only get rid of the pot, but also win back the land for the public that owns it.

"These organizations are destroying our lands and wildlife," he said.

Bernie Weingardt, regional forester for the Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Region, said the 28,000 acres believed to house illegal marijuana grows on national forest land throughout the state would cost more than $300 million to revive.

"These lands must be cleaned and restored," he said.

His estimate is based on a National Park Service study that found it costs $11,000 per acre to pull the plants, clear irrigation systems, reshape any terracing and replant native vegetation, said Mike Odle, Forest Service spokesman.

While Walters didn't give specific goals for Operation Alesia, he said anti-drug agencies aim to cripple the organized crime groups that he said are behind the marijuana cultivation.

"This business we intend to put into recession, depression and put its leaders into jail," Walters said.

Note: Federal official calls marijuana growers dangerous terrorists.

Source: Redding Record Searchlight (CA)
Author: Dylan Darling
Published: July 13, 2007
Copyright: 2007 Record Searchlight
Contact: [email protected]
Website: Redding.com : Redding, California, News, Business, Homes, Jobs, Cars & Information

The Midnight Rambler Reviewed by The Midnight Rambler on 07-14-2007. "Marijuana gardens are a terrorist threat" Posted by CN Staff on July 13, 2007 at 06:22:43 PT By Dylan Darling Source: Record Searchlight ONDCP California -- The nation's top anti-drug official said people need to overcome their "reefer blindness" and see that illicit marijuana gardens are a terrorist threat to the public's health and safety, as well as to the environment. John P. Walters, President Bush's drug czar, said the people who plant and tend the gardens are terrorists who wouldn't hesitate to help other terrorists Rating: 5

[Staurm]

"Don't buy drugs. They fund violence and terror," he said.
[/url]

He has got a point. I'd estimate that around 1 pound in every packet of cigarrettes goes towards funding the Iraq invasion.

[Maggz]

I'd be more worried of the "terrorists" contaminating my water supply rather than my drugs lol

[Narf!]

I see a propaganda commercial in my minds eye. This is how it goes "My name is John Smith and I'm a terrorist". "My choice is to overgrow the dealers and big pharma". "Every plant I grow takes food from mouths of doctors children". "Every plant I grow contributes one less day to a pharmacutical executive's golf vacation in Bermuda"."I am a real piece of shit". "P.S. I am a bad person and a worthless human being." Video fades to two plants growing in the guy's basement.

[Gatekeeper777]

i have2 plants in the wild. I have one for myself and one for a sick friend. Am i a terrorist? YOU BETCHA!

I am taking my friends money that he would normally spend on a prscription and letting him save it. So in effect i am an ecconomy terrorist.
Do i supportthe taliban? no
Do i want to blow something up? Yes
IGNORANCE!

[HighTillIDie]

well it has all been said by now, but damn...

syndicate involved marijuana sucks anyways... it is almost always cheap shit...

legalize the shit and what's the problem???? it will work itself out...

i really really really hate the fact that our government keeps misinforming, or misguiding the US about marijuana. i mean, yes i don't think it is harmless, but yall know what i mean.

[Mr_Green]

The only people that help and fund terrorist is our fuckin government... i mean shyt they give terrorist millions of guns and in return they just use it right at our army... aint that some shyt... and with marijuana they should sell it in stores cuz remember back in the day when they stopped drinking and people started to make moon shine and shyt and then they brought it back in the store and no more killing and violence so why not do the same with marijuana...fuck our government and the whole 9/11 thing... our government did that shyt... just to put fear in our people but i see past that and i know our government is scared of the people that really run this fucking country... we are the ones that pay the taxes that are used for nothing but to make the rich richer...The Revolution is coming...

[mfqr]

This is exactly the kind of fear-mongering that was used after 9/11. Terrorists? Pfft.
Now our government can say anything they have an agenda against supports terrorism, since now so many people are afraid of supposed terrorists. Suddenly so many people are so willing to give up their freedom for security. Conspiracy theory? I think not. Conspiracy, yes.

"Terrorism" is often used by governments as a form of propaganda to support a particular cause (usually in the government's/elite class' favor). It's to instill fear in whoever reads it, so that support of the cause becomes "apparent," through deception. Markass is right, too. We were originally supposed to go to Afghanistan. Yes, we're still there, in small forces. However, 95% of our attention is in Iraq. Why? Because we already owned Afghanistan to fuck, and we are not after any "terrorists." Osama Bin Laden? As far as I know, and our government knows, Osama Bin Laden is not a terrorist as much as he is/was a CIA operative (fought the soviets in Afghanistan, and it is a known fact that he was a CIA operative at the time).

So, what is my point? This propagandist, Walters, is only a "drug czar" because it gives him credibility to the masses; thus, anything he says about drugs is supposed to be correct. Of course, most of what he says is a lie. This is because he has to gain support for the War on Drugs, which we all know is totally and utterly stupid. So, he says buying drugs supports terrorists/terrorism. I would have to say that it supports drug dealers, and organized crime. But like everyone has already said here: if you take away the criminal aspect, the 'criminals' cannot make a profit.

Who are the real criminals, though? We go into other countries and kill thousands of people. We divert attention from Afghanistan to Iraq, to secure natural resources, set up a puppet government, and allow the international bankers and ruling elite class to get even richer... through death and destruction! Our government is the real problem, not cannabis, or any drug.

The War on Drugs is a total scam, and it also serves a purpose to divert attention from our real problems!

[txbuddz]

That WOULD be a hell of a start!

anyone one who paid attention in history class is familiar with the term "gerrymandering"

its when people from a certain party... not naming any names here... redistrict areas with an abundant population of part A members are mixed in with an area with a stronger abundance of party B. basically making party A's vote not matter at all. we need to quit that shit

[Chronisseur]

its amazing looking at all the bigots that we elected.

we need to solve this by doing away with the electoral college and going to a straight tally.

That WOULD be a hell of a start!