The War on Pot Is a War on Young People

[veggii]

The War on Pot Is a War on Young People
By Paul Armentano, AlterNet. Posted October 17, 2008.
The War on Pot Is a War on Young People | DrugReporter | AlterNet
74% of all Americans busted for pot are under 30 -- it's long past time for young people to join ranks and help end this drug war.

Paul Armentano delivered this speech at NORMLâ??s 2008 National Conference, "It's Not Your Parents' Prohibition" in Berkeley, Calif.

Young people, in many cases those under 18 years of age, disproportionately bear the brunt of marijuana law enforcement.

Demographically speaking, the above statement is a "no-brainer." Yet this is hardly a fact that we as a reform community like to admit or emphasize. Instead, you'll hear reformers argue that the war on pot is a war on patients -- and at some level, it is. Or you'll hear advocates proclaim that marijuana enforcement disproportionately impacts African-Americans and Hispanics -- and to some degree, it does. Attend enough of these conferences and you'll inevitably hear that our movement needs better representation from women and minorities, both of whom face unique hardships because of the drug war, and that criticism is appropriate too. But, one thing you'll most likely never hear is that our movement needs greater involvement from teenagers and young adults.

But we should -- because for the young people in the audience, the war on pot smokers is really a war on you.

According to a 2005 study commissioned by the NORML Foundation, 74 percent of all Americans busted for pot are under age 30, and 1 out of 4 are age 18 or younger. That's nearly a quarter of a million teenagers arrested for marijuana violations each year. To put this bluntly, we now have an entire generation that has been alienated to believe that the police and their civic leaders are instruments of their oppression rather than their protection.

And the sad fact is: They're right!

Why is this the case? And why, as a community, don't we talk about it?

There are several reasons why young people are far more likely, statistically, to be busted for weed than those over age 30. Most obviously, young people are more likely than their counterparts to smoke pot, and toke more frequently. They're also more likely to indulge in places that will inadvertently attract law enforcement's attention: in parks, dorm rooms, cars, dimly lit parking lots. Let's face it, most teenagers aren't going to go home and smoke weed in their room while their parents are home, though if they did, it's far less likely they'd ever be arrested for it. (Of course, it's possible that their parents might face legal repercussions, but that's another story.)

Young people are also more likely to have frequent interactions with sellers of weed, an activity that also increases their likelihood of one day being arrested. Of course, it's not that young people enjoy hanging around drug dealers, but it's that young people typically have less disposable income, which means they have to buy their pot in smaller quantities on more frequent occasions.

Young people are also more likely to take risks -- and they're also more likely to commit traffic violations. Both these actions, though unrelated to marijuana per se, greatly increase the likelihood that young people will have face-to-face contact with law enforcement, and this contact often ends in a pot arrest.

So why then, if more than 650,000 Americans busted for weed annually are under age 30, don't we spend more time talking about it? Easy: because we've let our opponents hijack the "kids" issue.

There's a saying among reformers that drug law reform is the "third rail" of politics. If that's true, then talking about drugs and kids is the "third rail" of drug law reform. But it's a "rail" we need to start talking about.

Those who favor the continued prohibition of cannabis base their arguments on the false premise that the continued enforcement of said laws "protects our children." This statement is nonsense. In fact, just the opposite is true.

The war on weed endangers the health and safety of our children. It enables young people to have unregulated access to marijuana -- easier access than they currently have to legal, age-restricted intoxicants like alcohol and tobacco. It enables young people to interact and befriend pushers of other illegal, more dangerous drugs. It compels young people to dismiss the educational messages they receive pertaining to the potential health risks posed by the use of "hard drugs" and prescription pharmaceuticals, because kids say, "If they lied to me about pot, why wouldn't they be lying to me about everything else, too?"

Most importantly, the criminal laws are far more likely to result in having our children arrested and placed behind bars than they are likely to in any way discourage them to try pot.

These are the facts, and it's about time we start shouting them from the rooftops.

For three decades now, our opponents have framed this issue from the standpoint that they care more about the health and safety our young people than we do -- that we're just a bunch of self-centered potheads that are willing to sacrifice the lives of our young people so that we can catch a buzz. Well, it's time for us to respond.

Yes, we do favor changing the marijuana laws. We care about protecting the health and safety of our children, too. And by changing the laws, we are protecting the health and safety of America's young people. After all, under prohibition it's America's young people that are being lied to; it's our children that are being approached by drug dealers; it's our children that are smoking pot in cars and putting their lives and others at risk to try to avoid the detection of their parents or the law; and it's our children that are being busted in unprecedented numbers.

Finally, let me close with one final reason why we as a community must begin acknowledging this reality, and that is this: Even though young people suffer the most under our current marijuana laws, they lack the financial means and political capital to effectively influence politicians to challenge them. Young people also lack the money to adequately fund the drug law reform movement at a level necessary to adequately represent and protect their interests.

In short, if we ever want the marijuana laws to change, then we as a community have to better represent the interests of young people, and we must do a better job speaking on their -- and their parents' -- behalf.

We must also do a better job allying with organizations that speak on behalf of youth, particularly urban youth -- who are most at risk of suffering from the lifetime hardships associated with a marijuana conviction. We must do a better job reaching out, engaging and recruiting students to continue to take this issue seriously after they graduate college -- and that includes offering them internships and employment once they've received their degrees. Finally, reformers must do a better job reaching out to the parents of young people and urging them to become active members and financial contributors of the cannabis law reform movement.

They say it's the so-called "parents movement" that derailed the "pot progress" of the 1970s. Well, then, I say that it's high time we recruited our own "NORML Parents" movement to finish the job once and for all.

Paul Armentano is the senior policy analyst for the NORML Foundation in Washington, D.C.



The War on Pot Is a War on Young People | DrugReporter | AlterNet

veggii Reviewed by veggii on 10-25-2008. The War on Pot Is a War on Young People The War on Pot Is a War on Young People By Paul Armentano, AlterNet. Posted October 17, 2008. The War on Pot Is a War on Young People | DrugReporter | AlterNet 74% of all Americans busted for pot are under 30 -- it's long past time for young people to join ranks and help end this drug war. Paul Armentano delivered this speech at NORMLâ??s 2008 National Conference, "It's Not Your Parents' Prohibition" in Berkeley, Calif. Young people, in many cases those under 18 years of age, Rating: 5

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The War on Pot Is a War on Young People | DrugReporter | AlterNet

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The War on Pot Is a War on Young People

By Paul Armentano, AlterNet. Posted October 17, 2008.



74% of all Americans busted for pot are under 30 -- it's long past time for young people to join ranks and help end this drug war. Tools
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Paul Armentano delivered this speech at NORMLâ??s 2008 National Conference, "It's Not Your Parents' Prohibition" in Berkeley, Calif.

Young people, in many cases those under 18 years of age, disproportionately bear the brunt of marijuana law enforcement.

Demographically speaking, the above statement is a "no-brainer." Yet this is hardly a fact that we as a reform community like to admit or emphasize. Instead, you'll hear reformers argue that the war on pot is a war on patients -- and at some level, it is. Or you'll hear advocates proclaim that marijuana enforcement disproportionately impacts African-Americans and Hispanics -- and to some degree, it does. Attend enough of these conferences and you'll inevitably hear that our movement needs better representation from women and minorities, both of whom face unique hardships because of the drug war, and that criticism is appropriate too. But, one thing you'll most likely never hear is that our movement needs greater involvement from teenagers and young adults.

But we should -- because for the young people in the audience, the war on pot smokers is really a war on you.

According to a 2005 study commissioned by the NORML Foundation, 74 percent of all Americans busted for pot are under age 30, and 1 out of 4 are age 18 or younger. That's nearly a quarter of a million teenagers arrested for marijuana violations each year. To put this bluntly, we now have an entire generation that has been alienated to believe that the police and their civic leaders are instruments of their oppression rather than their protection.

And the sad fact is: They're right!

Why is this the case? And why, as a community, don't we talk about it?

There are several reasons why young people are far more likely, statistically, to be busted for weed than those over age 30. Most obviously, young people are more likely than their counterparts to smoke pot, and toke more frequently. They're also more likely to indulge in places that will inadvertently attract law enforcement's attention: in parks, dorm rooms, cars, dimly lit parking lots. Let's face it, most teenagers aren't going to go home and smoke weed in their room while their parents are home, though if they did, it's far less likely they'd ever be arrested for it. (Of course, it's possible that their parents might face legal repercussions, but that's another story.)

Young people are also more likely to have frequent interactions with sellers of weed, an activity that also increases their likelihood of one day being arrested. Of course, it's not that young people enjoy hanging around drug dealers, but it's that young people typically have less disposable income, which means they have to buy their pot in smaller quantities on more frequent occasions.

Young people are also more likely to take risks -- and they're also more likely to commit traffic violations. Both these actions, though unrelated to marijuana per se, greatly increase the likelihood that young people will have face-to-face contact with law enforcement, and this contact often ends in a pot arrest.

So why then, if more than 650,000 Americans busted for weed annually are under age 30, don't we spend more time talking about it? Easy: because we've let our opponents hijack the "kids" issue.

There's a saying among reformers that drug law reform is the "third rail" of politics. If that's true, then talking about drugs and kids is the "third rail" of drug law reform. But it's a "rail" we need to start talking about.

Those who favor the continued prohibition of cannabis base their arguments on the false premise that the continued enforcement of said laws "protects our children." This statement is nonsense. In fact, just the opposite is true.

The war on weed endangers the health and safety of our children. It enables young people to have unregulated access to marijuana -- easier access than they currently have to legal, age-restricted intoxicants like alcohol and tobacco. It enables young people to interact and befriend pushers of other illegal, more dangerous drugs. It compels young people to dismiss the educational messages they receive pertaining to the potential health risks posed by the use of "hard drugs" and prescription pharmaceuticals, because kids say, "If they lied to me about pot, why wouldn't they be lying to me about everything else, too?"

Most importantly, the criminal laws are far more likely to result in having our children arrested and placed behind bars than they are likely to in any way discourage them to try pot.

These are the facts, and it's about time we start shouting them from the rooftops.

For three decades now, our opponents have framed this issue from the standpoint that they care more about the health and safety our young people than we do -- that we're just a bunch of self-centered potheads that are willing to sacrifice the lives of our young people so that we can catch a buzz. Well, it's time for us to respond.

Yes, we do favor changing the marijuana laws. We care about protecting the health and safety of our children, too. And by changing the laws, we are protecting the health and safety of America's young people. After all, under prohibition it's America's young people that are being lied to; it's our children that are being approached by drug dealers; it's our children that are smoking pot in cars and putting their lives and others at risk to try to avoid the detection of their parents or the law; and it's our children that are being busted in unprecedented numbers.

Finally, let me close with one final reason why we as a community must begin acknowledging this reality, and that is this: Even though young people suffer the most under our current marijuana laws, they lack the financial means and political capital to effectively influence politicians to challenge them. Young people also lack the money to adequately fund the drug law reform movement at a level necessary to adequately represent and protect their interests.

In short, if we ever want the marijuana laws to change, then we as a community have to better represent the interests of young people, and we must do a better job speaking on their -- and their parents' -- behalf.

We must also do a better job allying with organizations that speak on behalf of youth, particularly urban youth -- who are most at risk of suffering from the lifetime hardships associated with a marijuana conviction. We must do a better job reaching out, engaging and recruiting students to continue to take this issue seriously after they graduate college -- and that includes offering them internships and employment once they've received their degrees. Finally, reformers must do a better job reaching out to the parents of young people and urging them to become active members and financial contributors of the cannabis law reform movement.

They say it's the so-called "parents movement" that derailed the "pot progress" of the 1970s. Well, then, I say that it's high time we recruited our own "NORML Parents" movement to finish the job once and for all.



See more stories tagged with: marijuana, young people

Paul Armentano is the senior policy analyst for the NORML Foundation in Washington, D.C.



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WAH-RUH AWN DROOOOGS
[Report this comment] Posted by: soowee on Oct 18, 2008 6:58 AM
Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]

The "War On Drugs" has been a perennial monumental, expensive failure, hosted by every spineless or craven President since Richard Nixon nurtured one of his favorite brain-farts in order to take political revenge on all the anti-war, pot-smoking "hippies" gettin' high, having frequent raw sex without benefit of matrimony, and trashing the centerpiece of his foreign policy. Their pot-smoking also deemed them "dumb as Negroes" in order to conveniently invoke racial hatreds.

There is no legitimate distinction at law between "bad" drugs (like "crack" and heroin) and "good" drugs (like pot). The proper inquiry is whether or not any government has the authorized POWER under the Constitution to declare and criminally punish contraband. I do not see that anywhere in Article I or Article II.

The "War On Drugs" has truly been a willful, vicious war on the Constitution and Bill of Rights, not just on young people or minorities. All Americans, stoned or straight, should be alarmed and demand its end now.

H. Watkins Ellerson
PO Box 90
Hadensville, VA 23067
(804) 457-4243

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: WAH-RUH AWN DROOOOGS Posted by: donl51

» RE: but it is so politically expedient Posted by: Lauren

» The WOD has nothing to do with drugs Posted by: Fog

» ditto Posted by: hood1

20-somethings - it is time to start voting!
[Report this comment] Posted by: 100thMonkey on Oct 18, 2008 7:16 AM
Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]

We have been having the pot discussion just this week with our own teenager. In his estimation, at least 60% of the student body in his school smoke pot. There are teachers who smoke pot. The football team is not drug-tested because there would be no football team if they were. Pot, he says, is everywhere.

This is a high-achieving school and the pressures on students to "produce" are constant and overwhelming - they take 8 classes every semester, are expected to be involved in school sports and activities, are required to do so many hours of community service each year, and are reminded daily that every assignment they do has the potential to derail their college plans. Mix this stress with teenage hormones and easy availability of pot - what can we expect?

While we are working with our teen to find other ways to deal with his stress, the threat of arrest hangs over us should he succumb. If the schools cannot keep pot from being so pervasive, then dangling this candy in front of hungry children becomes entrapment.

Of all those arrested in the under-30 age bracket, a good many are voting age. It is time that they take up this charge. I will support them in their battle, but it is their battle.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: 20-somethings - it is time to start voting! Posted by: Lauren

» Kids don't vote Posted by: PaulK

» RE: Kids don't vote Posted by: mtatasmith

» This 20-something hasn't missed an even-year or presidential primary election yet Posted by: SalB

A real snoozer
[Report this comment] Posted by: JPHickey on Oct 18, 2008 7:21 AM
Current rating: 4 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]

Maybe I'm over the hill, at age 66, but personally I still favor legalization of pot. Though I haven't smoked any for about 30 years, I still have fond memories of wonderful moments of feeling high on pot. I consider my consciousness to have been enriched ever since, in though in rather understated ways.

Actually I don't know what sort of penalties are imposed on pot smokers, but I suspect that whatever they are, we can no longer afford needless and expensive waste of our deminishing resources of time and money.

As a life-long advocate of "liberty and justice for all", at least I still have more passion than is expressed in this article.

In a time when convicted felons will soon be if they're not already being released from expensive incarceration, we just can't afford to continue treating pot smokers as criminals!

Set them free!

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: A real heart breaker Posted by: Lauren

» We're 'almost' worse w/ Human RIGHTS Posted by: donl51

» RE: A real snoozer Posted by: donl51

» Amen Posted by: hood1

» RE: Amen Posted by: mtatasmith

Excellent Article
[Report this comment] Posted by: Robert Thompson on Oct 18, 2008 8:20 AM
Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]

One thing I really like about NORML is their habit of making such simple sense. This article is a great example of that.
I also find it amusing the DEA and the other official drug-lords/czars babble the most nonsensical statistics to convince us just how right they are, but then they absolutely can't appeal to actual human experience to justify their cause so they have no choice but to jabber away in the hope that we'll get tired and eventually leave.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: xcellent Article Posted by: Lauren

» RE: xcellent Article Posted by: donl51

» RE: xcellent Article Posted by: Lauren

» RE: Michael Chapman Posted by: Lauren

» RE: Michael Chapman Posted by: Lauren

Then kids would have it too easy
[Report this comment] Posted by: DeaconJ on Oct 18, 2008 8:32 AM
Current rating: 2 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]

What's wrong with a good ole fashioned arrest with uncomfortable cuffs cutting into your wrists as you are sitting in the backseat of the police car. All that pot paranoia hitting maximum overload as the cops in the front tell you your going to jail. Why deny these youths this adrenaline rush experience. It certainly builds character.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: you are a sick bastard Posted by: Lauren

» RE: you are a sick bastard Posted by: Shehova

» RE: Then kids would have it too easy Posted by: donl51

» RE: Then kids would have it too easy Posted by: Lauren

» RE: Then kids would have it too easy Posted by: Suz

» It's called SATIRE! Posted by: soowee

Arresting young people is a draft alternative?
[Report this comment] Posted by: billwald on Oct 18, 2008 8:59 AM
Current rating: 4 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]

These days most of the good, dependable jobs - most government jobs - require a security clearance. Most felons can't get a security clearance or half the government jobs - even teaching jobs.

These days half the military recruits are felons. If the social system didn't produce young, healthy felons, could we fight a war on two fronts without a draft?

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» Good point!..cannon fodder....... Posted by: donl51

» RE: Arresting young people is a draft alternative? Posted by: lively56

Pot
[Report this comment] Posted by: RedFoxOne on Oct 18, 2008 10:00 AM
Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]

Pot is Good, a little pot never hurt noone.

Jiff
Privacy Center

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» search chronicreform at geocities Posted by: chronicreform

make marijuana safe and legal
[Report this comment] Posted by: vasumurti on Oct 18, 2008 12:02 PM
Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]

A pamphlet entitled "10 Things Every Parent, Teenager and Teacher Should Know About Marijuana" produced by the Family Council on Drug Awareness tells us marijuana is not physically addictive. The 1980 Costa Rican study, the 1975 Jamaican study and the 1972 Nixon Blue Ribbon Report all concluded that marijuana use does not lead to physical dependency. The FBI reports that 65 to 75 percent of criminal violence is alcohol-related. On the other hand, Federal Bureau of Narcotics director Harry Anslinger testified before Congress in 1948 that marijuana leads to nonviolence and pacifism.

In a message to Congress on August 2, 1977, President Jimmy Carter insisted: "Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself."

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Law Judge Francis L. Young wrote on September 8, 1988: "Nearly all medicines have toxic, potentially lethal effects. But marijuana is not such a substance. There is no record in the extensive medical literature describing a proven, documented cannabis-induced fatality Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man."

Tobacco kills about 430,700 each year. Alcohol and alcohol-related diseases and injuries kill about 110,000 per year. Secondhand tobacco smoke kills about 50,000 every year. Aspirin and other anti-inflammatory drugs kill 7,600 each year. Cocaine kills about 500 yearly alone, and another 2,500 in combination with another drug. Heroin kills about 400 yearly alone, and another 2,500 in combination with another drug. Adverse reactions to prescription drugs total 32,000 per year, while marijuana kills no one.

A November 4, 2002 Time/CNN Poll found that 80 percent of those polled felt marijuana should be legal only for therapeutic purposes. 72 percent felt recreational users should get fines rather than jail time, which is essentially decriminalization. The complete legalization of marijuana was favored only by 34 percent of respondents, but this figure is twice as large as it was in 1986. Marijuana is safer than alcohol and tobacco, and our drug laws should reflect this reality.

According to a 2003 Zogby poll, two of every five Americans say â??the government should treat marijuana the same way it treats alcohol: It should regulate it, control it, tax it, and only make it illegal for children.â?�

Dissenting from the recent Supreme Court ruling on the suspension of an Alaskan student for waving a banner -- "BONG HITS 4 Jesus" -- at a high school event, Justice John Paul Stevens takes the long view:

"...the current dominant opinion supporting the war on drugs in general, and our anti-marijuana laws in particular, is reminiscent of the opinion that supported the nationwide ban on alcohol consumption when I was a student. While alcoholic beverages are now regarded as ordinary articles of commerce, their use was then condemned with the same moral fervor that now supports the war on drugs...

"...just as Prohibition in the 1920's and early 1930's was secretly questioned by thousands of otherwise law-abiding patrons of bootleggers and speakeasies, today the actions of literally millions of otherwise law abiding users of marijuana, and of the majority of voters in each of the several states that tolerate medicinal uses of the product, lead me to wonder whether the fear of disapproval by those in the majority is silencing opponents of the war on drugs."

The Washington Post, July 26, 2007, reported: "Stevens compared the current marijuana ban to the abandoned alcohol ban and urged a respectful hearing for those who suggest 'however inarticulately' that the ban is 'futile' and that marijuana should be legalized, taxed and regulated instead of prohibited."

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: make marijuana safe and legal Posted by: mtatasmith

Ok? Then why isn't the author mentioning Ron Paul's Hemp Farm Act bill?
[Report this comment] Posted by: maxpayne on Oct 18, 2008 12:02 PM
Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]

That would get more readers to nail their reps and make them support this bill to lead the way to undoing this phony "war on drugs". Oh but wait, can't have that can we? We just gotta have those stupid foam-at-the-mouth culture war industries making money at the expense of the rest of us ! Damn FUCK !

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Ok? Then why isn't the author mentioning Ron Paul's Hemp Farm Act bill? Posted by: Lauren

» RE: Ok? Then why isn't the author mentioning Ron Paul's Hemp Farm Act bill? Posted by: Lauren

» RE: Ok? Then why isn't the author mentioning Ron Paul's Hemp Farm Act bill? Posted by: Lauren

» RE: Ok? Then why isn't the author mentioning Ron Paul's Hemp Farm Act bill? Posted by: Lauren

The under 30 set has no guts!!
[Report this comment] Posted by: jeffrey7 on Oct 18, 2008 12:45 PM
Current rating: 1 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]

Most of the kids that get nailed with a joint will sellout their mothers to keep from going to jail or be on probation. They have no courage to back their convictions. They have'nt the stomach to spend one night in jail,
much less six months to 18 months,depneding on the state you're popped in.

Drug laws are domestic terrorism enacted against the people that don't support the government or it's corrupted systems. The folks under 30 all jumped on the 'pot bandwagon' becvause alot of us elders had the balls to create the marches,the decriminalization organizations,run pro-pot campaigns for elections and down right fight the system tooth ans nail.

These 'children' somehow think they are cool because they can get thei hands on over priced
schwag at $400 and oz. ,split it with their friends and squeal like a stuck pig if they get caught. If they narc off someone else they get paid, how fucking communist can you get. In fact in Russia their citizen's are allowed to smoke pot. The fucking commies have more freedom than us?!!??!

The youngers have'nt been vetted by a senseless war and thousands of their friends and family come home in a box to understand just what it means to stand up against the Beast. Unfortunately they are now. They have'nt learned just how hard it is to be free in America,because their own government is their enemy,but they're learning now.

The biggest thing the youngers don't think about is that while they have their friends and buddies close to their ages that get high so is the guy who is now 60 or over,went to Woodstock,the real one, marched in a Peace rally and laid the groundwork for their good times now. Our generations are'nt different,we're the same,just with an older suit on. If we're going to end this government conspiracy against Peaceful People then we better start thinking of ourselves as a multi-generational group of pot smoking folks that have power and not little dopers waiting to turn in someone else.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: You are being rude and offensive for no reason. Posted by: Lauren

» Keeping Pot Illegal is making them RICH! Posted by: Ottomatic

» Keeping Pot Illegal is making them RICH! Posted by: Ottomatic

» RE: You are being rude and offensive for no reason.No slam just Justice Dept facts!! Posted by: jeffrey7

» RE: The under 30 set has no guts!! Posted by: LeeAnnG

» RE: The under 30 set has no guts!! Posted by: jeffrey7

DEA
[Report this comment] Posted by: Lauren on Oct 18, 2008 3:49 PM
Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]

DEA Programs and operations, EAP? Employee assistance program? That is very suspicious, as is asset forfeiture.

This agency just boggles my mind. Click on money laundering to see a room full of money. Click on cannabis eradication to see them brag about hunting my people.

This is one sick group. How about the page called anti-legalization? I don't see how it is legal for them to lobby.

That sounds like terrorism to me.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: DEA Posted by: Lauren

Keep Pluggin away at the Lawmakers.
[Report this comment] Posted by: don't jolive my olive. on Oct 18, 2008 4:47 PM
Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]

I'm 60, smoke pot and absolutely love it! I have a severely degenerated spine with a host of advanced spinal conditions which results in a chronic pain situation. My doctor condones my smoking pot because it helps me immensely AND it helps handle the nausiating side affects of the Fentanyl and Dilaudid. Not to mention aiding my hunger. Along with my subscribed pain medication my doctor is fully aware of and agrees with my smoking pot to deal with an otherwise miserable, fuckin' existence. You guys down there keep pounding away at the authorities for change and a civilized level of acceptance. I'm from Canada and I can see the day when we take the lead to decriminalize the possession or use of marijuana. After that Oregon will be the first state to sneak in some quiet legislation... I've got the best doctor on the planet!

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let them be free
[Report this comment] Posted by: sirios on Oct 18, 2008 7:26 PM
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Why is almost everyone so afraid of pot and stronger phychotropics. from my experience in the sixties,it is because it can strip away our facades, open us to our lies and force us to look at our fears and most importantly expose the underlying beauty that is our real self. The reason the military gave a thumbs down when it studied LSD was that the soldiers that were administered the drug became individual free thinkers that could not be controlled by the military hierarchy. The govt. religions and anyone deluded by power agreed. This of course also applies to the illusions and lies that our egos concoct to prevent us from decoupling our identities from the relative personality that the ego creates maintains and alters into something more powerful and pleasant,hence the extreme control that is put upon our children to frighten them enough so that they never seek freedom.

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The war of drugs, has always been aimed at the youth
[Report this comment] Posted by: chiefwanadubie on Oct 18, 2008 7:33 PM
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I'll be 50 in 2 weeks, and I have been smoking pot since 1974!!! The cops, have been at war against me, since I took that first toke, I just went to court the other day, for an empty peace pipe!!! I planned on taking it to jury trial, with the hope of getting it to the supreme court, but last time that I attempted that I went to prison for 5 years, and denied the constitution, all together!!!
In 1990, I sent an empty peace pipe to the governor of Missouri, and president Clinton, asking for it to be filled!!! My life has been filled with persecution every since!!! I was kicked out of the governors race, here in Missouri, this year, because the media would have had a hay day with: CHIEF WANA DUBIE vs MATT BLINT/ DUBIE vs BLUNT, would have been the race of the century!!! How dare I make the war of drugs two sided!!!
We are not represented, but taxed to death!!! Prohibition of alcohol, created rich enough gangsters to buy the government!!! Elections, just don't matter if we don't have the right to run!!! The corporate media, controls the elections, with money, and a tainted press!!! We have been priced out of the elections, silenced by the press, lost our free enterprise to gangsters!!! Our democracy, has become a demokery--- mocking our fore fathers, and the constitution!!! There is only one word, for this governmental war against the people---"TREASON"!!!

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» ditto Posted by: hood1

PRISONS, HAVE BECOME HOMOSEXUAL FACTORIES
[Report this comment] Posted by: chiefwanadubie on Oct 18, 2008 8:41 PM
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By feeding the non-violent youth, to the sexual predators, thus turning a whole generation gay, is genocidal population control!!! It also spreads sexually transmitted diseases, that is also genocidal, in proportion!!! If the state tested as many people for aids..., as they do for pot, there would be no "STD,s!!! But since the government has spread this germ warfare, they're not about to end it!!!
This "BRAVE NEW WORLD", has no room for families, and the war against, drugs, drunk drivers, and dead beat dads, has destroyed more families, than Hitler did to the Jews!!!
We are judged not by our outer circumcision, but by our inner circumcision, that issues forth from our heart, through our lungs, and right into our urine!!! Making us a race of people connected by a common urine type: DIRTY!!!
lOCKING UP THE YOUTH: hides the unemployment problem, to cover up the fact, that Americas jobs, have been shipped over seas!!!
LOCKING UP THE YOUTH: lets the children know: CONFORM, OR BE CAST OUT!!! CONFORMIST, BECOME THE MASTERS, WHILE THE CONVICTED BECOME THE SLAVES: is not the war of drugs, just another expansion of slavery??? The creation of a new slave class/ race???
In 5 years in prison, I, met but one black man in there for child support, but he was married to a white chick ( he told everyone that he was locked up for rape and murder, for he wasn't laughed to death!!! ONLY WHITES, can be dead beat dad's???!!! Abortion, is performed on mostly white middle class women!!! Not many blacks... in that line either!!! The "AIDS" medicine line is mostly black, whites, seem to mostly have the other "STD,s", but they're catching us fast!!! Rape injected death sentence!!! These bootie bandits, should not even be in the same prison, as those of victimless crimes, but wait, the government is now the one crying victim, when they terrorize and victimize people for being human!!! That's right: addiction is a human frailty not a criminal act, making the war of drugs a crime against humanity!!! At one time in history, it was illegal to teach, Blacks, women, or Indians!!! potheads/ Hippians/ x-cons, are forbidden equal education, or opportunities, but now it's the Blacks, women, and Indians, that are denying others the same constitutional rights, that they them selves were awarded, because they were minorities!!! SPECIAL PRIVILGE, is the crime here!!! We have become the slaves of the public servants!!! We have become a service nation, because we have become slaves!!! We have given our nation to the "BEAST", OF DIVISION!!! WHAT DEGREE OF NOBILITY DID YOU PURCHASE FROM THE UNIVERSITIES??? The war of drugs, is at the expense of special privilege, because you can't have the "ELITE CLASS", without the slave class!!!
THIS ONLY PROVES TO ME THAT MARIJUANA, IS THE BREAD OF CHRIST, ALCOHOL THE BREAD, and the partakers of these SARCAMENTS, of the last supper, are the Children(SEED) of God!!!
SATAN, is the deceiver, and the war of drugs could not exist, without "DECEPTION"!!!

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» Itâ??d be best to refrain from dipping your joint in PCP. Posted by: Honky the Nihilist

» to chiefwanadubie Posted by: hood1

more of the same
[Report this comment] Posted by: sicntired on Oct 18, 2008 10:48 PM
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The first comment I read and it speaks of good and bad drugs.This was a really good article until it turned into a NORML commercial.I don't care what group you join or what your poison is.The point of this article is well taken.As long as we have prohibition,there is NO control on who does what and where they do it.There's no quality control and if you happen to be unfortunate enough to use one of the "bad" drugs that could mean death.The current prohibition of drugs is doing exactly what the prohibition of alcohol did for booze.It's drawing the gangster element with all that entails and it's a sure fire way of seeing that there are no controls over the distribution or manufacture of drugs.Prohibition not only does not work.It is the worst possible way to handle anything that is popular with the public.Education has done more to discourage tobacco use than anyone thought possible.We are using the dumbest possible tactic to discourage drug use among young people.

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pyhrric defeat
[Report this comment] Posted by: kenhymes on Oct 19, 2008 4:10 AM
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Please read "The Rich Get Richer, the Poor Get Prison," by Jeffrey Reinerman. It's an excellent discussion of the way that institutions and elites, without having to conspire, enjoy the benefits of "pyhrric defeats": circumstances in which failure produces multiple helpful effects for their power and their ideological control. Drugs are a perfect example. The "failure" to control their use results in: an industry of private prisons and "therapeutic" drug programs; a made-to-order excuse for the poverty and disrepair of urban and some rural environments; a wedge issue for social conservatives seeking to retain older voters against their economic interests; a way of dealing with over-production and under-employment.

In West Philadelphia, the 70's were a period when people of all backgrounds had transactions and friendships around weed, its use and its purchase. With the onset of the Reagan era, and its block grants for police departments with drug arrest quotas and property forfeiture powers attached, West Philly was quickly more intensely divided along class and racial lines once again, and the calm, careful middle and lower-middle class dealers were driven out. The power vacuum, and the lack of availability of drugs, was filled rapidly by imported business models from Jamaica, New York, and Los Angeles, and crack largely replaced pot as the drug business of choice. (Being unaware of changes in New York and Los Angeles, I can't speak to what happened in those areas as a result of the crackdown, I only know that the citizenry of the neighborhood did not change, but the personnel of the drug businesses did, and the character of their operations). The violence level went way up, and the social climate was forever altered.

Prohibition has done much more than "not worked," it has destroyed lives, neighborhoods, political movements, and deterred progress on other vital problems. It's long past time to be brave and out of the closet and say that enough is enough.

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WELCOME to The ZONE!
[Report this comment] Posted by: Ottomatic on Oct 19, 2008 6:11 AM
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Look through the looking Glass, beyond the illusion and realize that you will need ever ounce of
Your natural abilities and faculties to get though this mess.
Become a Warrior!
Sure the internal dialogue is oppressive and deafening.
There are many other ways to shut it off without being addicted, bumming out and crashing.
First thing to realize is that:
You are there already.
Drugs are only showing you a glimpse of something that is
Part of you already.

The ZONE

We all live in the Zone,
Whether you know it or not,
It can happen when your driving your car,
Playing a video game,
Listening to and or
Playing Music.

Everyone is Enlightened.
We are just in various stages of development.
How do you get into: The Zone?
Feed your conscious mind enough information that it stops and shuts off the internal dialogue.
Once it is occupied, the true you, your Super Consciousness can shine through.
Do something you like.
Play a Sport.
Take a Walk,
Read or Play.
Notice the gaps and what happens when you go in and come out of them.
The thoughts that interrupt them can decrease with practice.
Noticing a thought when it pops into your mind is the start.

Look into the Sky on a clear starlit night.
Listen to childrenâ??s laughter.
Look into your childrenâ??s eyes.
Children are in a awakened state already:
Naturally open and content.
There are many doorways that lead to
This larger dimension,
Beyond words.
Experience life instead getting stuck in The Translation.
It is like reading the subtitles instead of watching the movie.
Reality is beyond interpretation.
A picture is worth a thousand words and
Reality is worth a thousand Pictures.
Communion
Direct Communication.
WELCOME to
The ZONE

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the United States Marijuana Party posts the movie, Grass, for your viewing pleasure
[Report this comment] Posted by: Lauren on Oct 19, 2008 11:14 AM
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The movie Grass

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» RE: legal defense kit, it works Posted by: Lauren

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN
[Report this comment] Posted by: chiefwanadubie on Oct 19, 2008 6:42 PM
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What was the benefit to the planet, by outlawing the "HEMP PLANT"???
What was the benefit to the American people, by this prohibition???
What would be the amount of jobs associated with the most useful plant on "EARTH"???
What would happen if we made fuel/ gas from "HEMP"???
WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF WE STARTED MAKING PAPER FROM "HEMP"???
What would happen, if we started making plastic, from "HEMP"???
What would happen, if we started making "ROPE, and CANVASS, out of "HEMP"???
What would happen, if we started making clothing, out of "HEMP"???
What would happen, if we started making nylon, out of "HEMP"???
What would happen, if we started making food, out of "HEMP"???
What would happen, if we started using "HEMP", for medicine???
What would happen, if we had free enterprise/ freedom to "GROW"???

JOBS AND FREEDOM

IT HAPPENED,ONCE, IT WAS CALLED THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION!!!

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» RE: WHAT WOULD HAPPEN Posted by: georgiaorwell

» RE: Marijuana and Alcohol In the Same Boat Posted by: Crys_SpadesAlone

The War on California's "Marijuana Economy"is a War on Us
[Report this comment] Posted by: macdon1 on Oct 19, 2008 8:47 PM
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Bush has declared war on us in California including medical marijuana patients. Sick patients using cannabis under a doctor's recommendation still face federal prosecution and in many counties will be held over for federal cultivation charges if they try to save money by growing a few plants under the legal limit. Local police call our compassionate use law "bullshit" and will be much harder on a medical marijuana patient than a common criminal. To them, sick patients are just druggies. My daughter was visiting other disabled friends who were stalked and attacked by home invasion gangsters who threatened their lives while trying to steal their legal plants. When they came back in the middle of the night and attacked the house my daughter fired a warning shot to try to scare them off, fearing for her life and the lives of her friends. One of the gangsters was wounded but not by her. Even though the gangster who was wounded and several of his companions have stated to police it was not her who shot him, she is being vigorously prosecuted and faces a possible 17 years in prison, while all the gangsters go free, given immunity from prosecution by our local DA. I paid over $12,000 of my retirement money for a defense attorney who swindled us and has dragged the case out for over a year. Now my money is gone, the lawyer has to be fired and we stand alone with no money and no one to help us. If marijuana was legal none of this would have happened.

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Don Quixote
[Report this comment] Posted by: Don Quixote on Oct 20, 2008 4:29 AM
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The history of Cannabis in the US is the history of how a democracy was turned into an oligarchy, disguised as democracy, ruled by a few millionaires, who turned the White House, the CIA and the Pentagon into their Sales Department. US elections are just Hollywood entertainment designed to keep people ignorant. The US President is only a puppet/actor. Both parties have the same hidden bosses. See Zeitgeistmovie.com

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Legalize ALL Drugs
[Report this comment] Posted by: left_libertarian on Oct 20, 2008 6:25 PM
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I can't wait - I want to - not only grow my own marijuana without fear of some cop busting down my door.

BUT I also want to buy some quality magic mushrooms, LSD, and MDMA.

Is this asking for too much from Big Mommy Government? MYOB!

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More people Are becoming aware
[Report this comment] Posted by: hood1 on Oct 22, 2008 10:21 PM
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Illegal drugs=used by poor, black, powerless people. Put them in jail to feed the machine!!

Legal drugs=used by people with insurance they must be ok let them do what they want.

want to see a good video check out this site..

AMERICAN DRUG WAR

The War on Pot Is a War on Young People | DrugReporter | AlterNet

[psychocat]

I have to disagree that the war on drugs is a war on young people , I am in my 40's and most of my mates toke , they range in age from thier 20's to thier 50's.
Drugs like youth is just wasted on the young...

The reason youngsters get busted is because they haven't learned how to be discrete, they brag too much , they toke in places where common sense tells you someone is gonna notice.

I know this because I too was once a "stupid" kid. :thumbsup: :wtf: :rasta:

[veggii]

psycho you are entitled too your opinion, but you seem too think I wrote this articile? you want too disagree with me ? go figure "Ignorance is Bliss"

The War on Pot Is a War on Young People
By Paul Armentano, AlterNet. Posted October 17, 2008.

[Esoteric416]

Well Im still not quite 30 years old but I know that the only times I ever got busted (for anything) was before I was 20, yeah kids are dumb.
One of the problems is that these kids getting busted arent activists or even very knowlegable about the war being waged against us all. Most kids around the age of 15-18 are more concerned with how they are gonna get those new shoes, does that cute guy/girl in history class like me, when are mom and dad gonna stop fighting? I could go on and on, but you get the idea. Most kids who smoke (or use any other drug) do it for the escape that it offers from whatever their problems might be, regardless of whether they are real problems or not.
I guess this was my long-winded way of agreeing with the article. :P
Thanks for the post Veggii

[psychocat]

psycho you are entitled to your opinion, but you seem to think I wrote this articile? you want to disagree with me ? go figure "Ignorance is Bliss"

The War on Pot Is a War on Young People
By Paul Armentano, AlterNet. Posted October 17, 2008.

I am anything but ignorant.
I do disagree with the statement that the war on drugs is a war on the young simply because the young aren't the only ones who use drugs.
I also stand by the statements I made regarding the arrest rates for young tokers as opposed to older ones , young tokers are rarely activists and fail to realise that it's no good arguing with plod as they are simply doing thier job and have no power to change laws.
The laws are put in place by politicians and it is there that our attention must be focused , the cops are simply tools of the "justice system".

Teenagers frequently smoke outdoors because of parental objections , this makes them more visible than someone like myself who does most of thier toking in the privacy of my own home.
When toking outside most teenagers do so with a group of friends which can be a problem if the old bill happen to pass by because there will always be one twonk in the group who draws attention by thier totally paranoid reaction.

I hold with the idea that these are the main reasons that more youngsters than old hands get busted.

I was never under any illusion that the articles you posted were your own words , I was simply countering the information with my own view, that's kind of the whole point of forums.
Was the intention only to have those who agree in this thread ?
If so then you're definately going to be disappointed.

[flyingimam]

I am anything but ignorant.
I do disagree with the statement that the war on drugs is a war on the young simply because the young aren't the only ones who use drugs.
I also stand by the statements I made regarding the arrest rates for young tokers as opposed to older ones , young tokers are rarely activists and fail to realise that it's no good arguing with plod as they are simply doing thier job and have no power to change laws.
The laws are put in place by politicians and it is there that our attention must be focused , the cops are simply tools of the "justice system".

Teenagers frequently smoke outdoors because of parental objections , this makes them more visible than someone like myself who does most of thier toking in the privacy of my own home.
When toking outside most teenagers do so with a group of friends which can be a problem if the old bill happen to pass by because there will always be one twonk in the group who draws attention by thier totally paranoid reaction.

I hold with the idea that these are the main reasons that more youngsters than old hands get busted.

I was never under any illusion that the articles you posted were your own words , I was simply countering the information with my own view, that's kind of the whole point of forums.
Was the intention only to have those who agree in this thread ?
If so then you're definately going to be disappointed.

i agree with most of what u say, sounds reasonable, except that when it comes to legislature and the people to work on marijuana laws, its these very very same tools of the justice system and their bosses who start campaigns to keep the laws the way they are, just look at MA & MI for their local proposals and who is opposing them in public, its the DAs and Police unions and departments' chiefs

its crazy aint it? they are neutral law enforcers, until their interest and bread n butter is jeopardized (i know, we got good cops too, but generally speaking they are against any change in favor of marijuana in national and local law)

the savings savings that we chant on taxpayers money if this war stopped is their budget and salaries and raises and bonuses that we want to cut or at least force them to do the real policing on hard crimes and violent ones for the same or lesser thing

[SketchyTom]

The reason youngsters get busted is because they haven't learned how to be discrete, they brag too much , they toke in places where common sense tells you someone is gonna notice.

Agree With You 100% There.
People need to smoke there grade indoors or area's that aint bait

[psychocat]

The police in England are not that anti-pot and many of them believe it is a waste of resources to chase tokers , thier main field of interest are those who distribute class A's.
I believe there are many in law enforcement who think the same way and hopefully this will filter through to those who decide the fate of ganja.

We even have a couple of people legislating along the lines of Hollands blueprint , a legal taxable business.

[flyingimam]

The police in England are not that anti-pot and many of them believe it is a waste of resources to chase tokers , thier main field of interest are those who distribute class A's.
I believe there are many in law enforcement who think the same way and hopefully this will filter through to those who decide the fate of ganja.

We even have a couple of people legislating along the lines of Hollands blueprint , a legal taxable business.

I wish I could say the same about US, there are at best a handful of politicians at national (influential) level who will support such ideas openly.