Norml's Cannabis Clip Contest Winners

These are some very fine and entertaining videos. Enjoy.

Winner.

Honourable Mentions.

Chong for Drug Czar

I found this via Pete.

Tonight is a special night because I am announcing (to
my friends) that I am running for the office of Drug
Czar of America. Now i realize that the office of the
Drug Czar is an appointed one by the winning party in
the White House but because my chances of being
appointed are very slim and almost non-existant I am
actually going to campaign like every other politician
and ask for your votes. Now your votes will be
symbolic but the media will pick up on this so your
votes will be counted and reported over every media
outlet so actually your votes will be noticed.

Tommy Chong is SO COOL! How could a stonermom resist? It simply can't be done.

I guess she never heard of budmail

MURRAY, Ky. - A middle school teacher trying to buy pot was arrested after she sent text messages to state trooper instead of a dealer, police said.

Trooper Trevor Pervine was at dinner with his wife and parents celebrating a birthday when his phone started buzzing with messages about a marijuana purchase.

At first, Pervine thought the messages were from friends playing a joke, Kentucky State Police spokesman Barry Meadows said. But a couple of phone calls put that idea to rest, and Pervine responded to set up a meeting, Meadows said.

Authorities say Ann Greenfield, 34, arrived at the meeting point and found Pervine and other law enforcement officers waiting for her.

"She learned her lesson. Program your dealers into your phone," Meadows said.

Another teacher getting railroaded by our stupid drug laws. A damn shame. No wonder people are so paranoid about talking about marijuana on the phone.

Medical Marijuana vs. Ritalin

I thought about the following newscast today when I was at work. I heard about a student with ADHD that had bad side effects from taking Ritalin and I remembered a newscast from a few months back about a doctor that recommended the use of medical marijuana to treat ADHD. Marijuana certainly doesn't have as many side effects as Ritalin. But the reefer madness runs so deep that I don't think I could ever favorably mention the use of marijuana to treat ADHD. Besides, the only way a kid could get treated for ADHD with marijuana would be with black market weed. No doctor in Saskatchewan would prescribe it for a kid with ADHD, even though it is much less likely to lead to negative side effects. And that's a damn shame.

I know for a fact that if one of my kids had ADHD I would try marijuana if I thought it would help. The law really is an ass. Anyway, I thought this was kind of interesting.

How did this guy get to be a Mayor?

Lauzon was quoted in The Times Argus' Saturday edition saying, "People who are dealing crack and dealing heroin have zero social value and should be put to death."

Saturday night he reiterated that belief.

"What social value do they have? They are dealing crack and heroin to young people, knowing full well what the effects will be," the mayor said. "What purpose do they serve in society other than to destroy lives, to destroy families?"

First he makes this insane statement, then he goes on to promote legalization of marijuana.

He went on to say that by legalizing marijuana, fees on the production and sale could be used for drug prevention and treatment efforts to get at the core problem – drug usage in Vermont.

Lauzon acknowledged that his views would be controversial, but he said the state needs to confront the fact that Vermont is losing the war on drugs.

Did John Walters hire this guy to make all drug policy reformers look bad?

How to Make Medicine

Step 1: Invent a disease.

Step 2: Find a drug that already has FDA approval and use it to treat the imaginary illness.

Step 3: Get a bunch of experts to say how many peoples' lives will be improved after their imaginary illness is cured.

Step 4: Test the treatment of the imaginary illness on some unsuspecting dopes. Or non-dopes. Whatever.

That is how the treatment for "marijuana addiction" was born! Now studies will be conducted to "help people be cannabis-free". I learned a lot of really cool things about marijuana addiction.

Did you know...

That cannabis is the most widely used illegal substance?

That some people may become dependant on cannabis?

That the reason that people are unaware of the existence of cannabis addiction is because there is no recognized treatment for it?

"It's more of psychological addiction; the more you enjoy the effects so you want more of them," one expert said.

Smoking pot may effect your ability to learn! We interviewed some college kids on campus and they can't be wrong!


I am surprised that the most widely used illegal substance could be addictive and nobody would realize this until they came up with a medicine to treat it. Is that how it worked with Viagra? Men didn't know their boners were broken until Viagra came along?

There are a lot of other substances, besides marijuana, that I enjoy on a regular basis, such as coffee, junk food, pop, ibuprofen, alcohol and chocolate. I wonder how long it will take for a Good Doctor to cure me of my need to use all of these enjoyable crutches.

PS: If you want to learn more about marijuana addiction, check out this article and the attached video. It is quite educational.

When Drug-Testing Goes Wrong

We have the sordid tale of Kiana Crayton, a young single mother and a student on the road to becoming a certified nursing assistant. At least she was until she tested positive for cocaine after submitting to a drug test administered by the nursing home where she was receiving her training. After being booted out of the program after her positive test for cocaine, she immediately went to a clinic to retake the test. After two drug tests tested negative for cocaine, Ms. Crayton reasonably expected that the school would recognize that a false positive had occurred and she would be re-admitted into the program. Unfortunately, she was wrong. The school refused to listen to her when she insisted that she is not a drug user and the test was wrong.

Drug policy reformers weighed in with their views about the follies of drug-testing. Between two to four percent of all drug tests return false positives. The tests are far from infallible and without the appropriate measures in place, negative consequences can and do occur.

You would think that the officials responsible for this horrendous snafu would rectify this situation by apologizing to Ms. Crayton and allowing her to resume her training. Instead, the powers that be chose to shut down the program and leave 15 students in the lurch. Which prompted this concerned citizen to weigh in with the following letter to the editor, which illustrates quite nicely everything that is wrong with American society:

Bethany Home is getting negative press ("Nursing home cancels training," Feb. 7, Page A-1) that isn't deserved. Kiana Crayton is acting like a spoiled child who didn't get her way, claiming racism. Bethany Home is doing an admirable thing by drug testing anyone who comes in contact with their patients. Bethany Home has to go by the test results they did in their lab. They aren't affiliated with other labs and have no control over their tests.

Now, Bethany Home has canceled its program. Crayton should have thought about her fellow students before she blew this up in the media. I don't work for Bethany Home or the school.

LISA HAVEN

Ripon

We have victim-blaming and racism all wrapped up in less than 120 words. Why do you suppose the paper would choose to publish this letter? Does this reflect the sentiments of the newspaper and its' readers? Are there no people sentimental to the plight of a railroaded single mother? The gulf between Canada and our neighbors to the south continues to widen. I left the following comment to this story:

It is inexcusable that the nursing home is not being criticized for its' unfair railroading of Kiana Crayton. She did nothing wrong and was only trying to stay in school. She had every right to try to clear her name and she made a very valiant attempt. Calling her a spoiled child and blaming her for her plight is unbelievably bad form.

The editors of this newspaper should be ashamed of themselves for the bad judgment they showed in publishing this example of small-minded, racist, finger-pointing. Now I understand why African Americans are so over-represented in the criminal justice system. Even with all the overwhelming evidence that Kiana Crayton is not a drug user, we still have people willing to send judgmental letters to the editor.

Cannabis Poses Less On-Road Risk Than Alcohol, US Crash Data Says

Pay attention, Tories!

Thunder Bay, Ontario: US drivers involved in fatal crashes who had trace levels of cannabis in their blood or urine are less likely to have engaged in risky driving behavior than drivers who test positive for low levels of alcohol, according to case-control data published in the current issue of the Canadian Journal of Public Health.

More on John Walters

OTTAWA (CP) — The American drug czar who once blasted Canada for safe-injection sites and for exporting “the crack of marijuana” to the U.S. was much more mellow Thursday during his first visit here in two years.

A new roster of Conservative officials bent on tougher anti-drug laws had something to do with it.

“The United States appreciates Canada’s renewed focus on disrupting organized criminal activity, and reducing illicit drug use and trafficking,” said John Walters, director of U.S. National Drug Control Policy.

“I’ve seen terrific consensus here in my visit so far,” he told a news conference. “I think the debate that has been a source of friction has been obviously less under the current administration.”

This is just sad. John Walters appreciates Canada? That is a bad, bad sign.

Response to Pete's Couch

Remember those really stupid ads uploaded on youtube by the ONDCP? Remember how they didn't allow anyone to comment on their videos or post video responses? Well, I found a youTuber that found a way to respond. Sit back and enjoy!

Canada must not follow the U.S. on drug policy

Ethan Nadelmann of the Drug Policy Alliance has a delightful editorial appearing in the Ottawa Citizen advising Canada not to fall for John Walters' propaganda. This article is printed on the very day that a press conference is being held at the Charles Lynch Room, Centre Block of Parliament Hill in Ottawa by The Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy and the Drug Policy Alliance to oppose the American model of drug control.

The press conference will feature four distinguished speakers who will challenge the continuing criticism of Canada's drug control efforts by Mr. Walters, and discuss pressure by the US Administration on the Government of Canada to follow the American model of drug control, which is based heavily the use of the criminal law, policing and incarceration ("criminal prohibition").

Speakers at the press conference will also address the failure of US drug control policies in the United States, the misleading rhetoric by the US Administration about Canada's contribution to US drug problems, and the damaging effects of US drug control policies on Canada, including the risks US poppy eradication policies pose for Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan.

via CC

New Study Shows Medical Value of Marijuana

Alternet has another great article about medical marijuana. Rob Kampia discusses the latest research on the effectiveness of medical marijuana for treating nerve pain in AIDS patients. Really interesting stuff. Maybe this will make me forget about Lou Dobbs. Grrrrr.

Vomit-Worthy Reefer Madness from Lou Dobbs

Lou Dobbs continuing coverage of “The War Within” managed to top yesterday’s level of reefer madness. Considering how bad the previous segment was, this is quite an accomplishment. Smacking down all the lies, glaring omissions and outright propaganda is going to take a while but I will give it a shot.

First of all, they mention the fact that ten states allow medical marijuana and that ten states are considering allowing legal medical marijuana. They make sure to mention that the American Cancer Society does not endorse medical marijuana because of the cancer causing properties of marijuana. This is a strange stance when you consider that marijuana can be eaten, vaporized or smoked in a bong to reduce or eliminate the impact of burning plant material. THC does not cause cancer. Then they have an obnoxious voice-over spewing the oft-repeated straw man that all marijuana activists want to legalize everything. I guess they take debating lessons from the same dudes that argue that all feminists are man-hating, ugly lesbians that can’t get a man and hate sex. There are many viewpoints within the drug legalization movement and painting all activists with the same brush is a great strategy because everybody falls for it.

They do make a quick mention of a recent study that showed that AIDS patients do get pain relief from medical marijuana. But they quickly follow up with concerns about impaired cognitive functioning, respiratory infections, anxiety, impaired memory and concerns about increased cancer risk.

Dobbs introduces his interview with Stephen Dewey by stating that marijuana is a dangerously addictive, mind-altering drug and its’ long-term effects are still being studied. Again Dobbs states that activists believe that marijuana is completely harmless and non-addictive. Dewey compares cigarette-smoking to use of marijuana. Dobbs continually asks stupid questions. He asks whether the cancer-causing properties of marijuana are caused by the THC or the smoke. Dewey has no idea about the alleged cancer-causing properties of marijuana and does a good job of covering his misinformed ass.

Dewey pushes the gateway theory although he is careful not to say the words gateway theory. He makes sure to state that marijuana-smoking adolescents are more likely to use hard drugs than non-marijuana-smokers. They mention that 30% of grade 12 students have used marijuana. Dewey talks about kids that are proud of their marijuana smoking, as if teenage rebellion were a new thing. I guess he hasn’t been around teenagers enough to know that they want to shock authority figures. Going on CNN and clutching your pearls is exactly the response that they want. I guess he didn’t read the latest report that teenage marijuana use has gone down while raiding the medicine cabinet has gone up. Does Dewey consider teenagers switching to much more dangerous and addictive prescription drugs to be a good thing? Here is a clue: the reduction in marijuana use has absolutely nothing to do with education. It’s a trend just like anything else.

Just when I thought the reefer madness had reached its’ peak, it manages to get even worse. When Dobbs asks why the research about marijuana is so inconclusive, despite the fact that marijuana has been around for thirty or forty years. I guess Dewey doesn’t know that marijuana use has been around for hundreds of years in the United States and was a widely used medicine before we started the war on drugs. Dewey answers with so many mind-bogglingly stupid assertions. He claims that it is difficult to find people that only use marijuana, that the majority of users are also using other drugs such as LSD, cocaine, methamphetamine and alcohol. Apparently all marijuana users are “poly-drug-users”. I suppose that is true. I personally am a poly-drug user. Just today I ingested caffeine and ibuprofen. There were probably some other chemicals in that pop that I drank. Do you think that the ingestion of those substances would invalidate any contributions that I could make to a marijuana study? Funny thing though, just like the majority of my pot-smoking friends I didn’t have any LSD, cocaine, meth or alcohol. Just in case you are not a fan of anecdotes, read some facts about marijuana users instead of relying on trumped up reefer madness.

As far as Dewey’s so-called scientific research goes, if we have a scientist leading these studies that knows literally nothing about drug reform activism or the cannabis culture, that research is going to have no credibility at all. It’s like trusting a flat-earth creationist to study geology.

The thing that pissed me off the most about this segment was how these two blowhards kept telling us that marijuana activists all want all drugs legalized and all of us believe that marijuana is completely harmless. It is true that the majority of us repeat the facts that marijuana has never caused an overdose death, is about as addictive as caffeine and is not linked to cancer. I would also like to say that even if all the trumped up reefer madness claims made about marijuana were true, it does not justify the continuing prohibition of marijuana. It does not justify the needless deaths caused by no-knock raids, the jails over-flowing with non-violent offenders or the subsidization of criminals and thugs.

Prohibiition gets another one of the good guys

From CC:

A horrible murder caused by prohibition shocks the cannabis community

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of medicinal marijuana activist Ken Gorman of Denver, Colorado. On Saturday night, February 17th, Ken was killed in his home by armed intruders. There will be a Sunset Vigil in honor of Ken Gorman on Wednesday, February 21st in Washington Park in Denver. Everyone is welcome to attend in the garden area which is located near Downing and Kentucky. For updates on the story and to read comments, please visit the CC Forums discussion thread.

Ken will be sorely missed by the cannabis community. I was a bit stung by the coverage of Ken's death by CBS4Denver. Why did they need to include this?

A CBS4 employee recently approached Gorman with a hidden camera and told him he only wanted marijuana to get high. Gorman then filled a form designating CBS4's employee as one of his caregivers.

"When we passed the law we passed a great, great law," Gorman said to the CBS4 employee. "There are so many holes in it that for us, the patient, police can't do anything."

See? See? This is proof that medical marijuana is just a hoax so that hippies can get high! They can't cover a tragic untimely death without including the requisite dose of reefer madness. It wouldn't do to let the reefer madness take a two minute vacation while the cannabis community mourns a tragic loss.

Besides, doesn't CBS4Denver have anything more important to report on than the fact that a few peole may be bending the medical marijuana laws? After all, prohibition of this useful weed for any purpose is a horrible travesty. Why doesn't CBS4Denver report on the ruthless murders of people and family pets that are justified by this ridiculous WAR ON DRUGS? That is a story. A bunch of hippies getting high without the governments' permission is not. As much as you may hate hippies and stoners and medical marijuana patients, it does not justify murder.

Rest in peace, Ken.

Lou Dobbs: The War Within

Tune in for some nauseating reefer madness. Find out about the well-funded marijuana lobby that is trying to promote drug use to children. Find out how legalization advocates are undermining THE WAR ON DRUGS. After watching this video you might end up in the shower scrubbing yourself frantically with bleach while reciting passages from the Bible. It's that evil. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Winnipeg Sun: Drug Profits and the Big Picture

I was shocked to read such a sensible article about drugs in the Sun. Really I am completely blown away. This was my favorite part:

Many Conservative voters see drug legalization as another left-wing cause that would erode Canada’s social fabric — and Harper’s unequivocal position no doubt reflects that thinking.

Legalization, however, does not mean condoning drug use. It means, first of all, striking the hardest blow possible against organized crime.

Isn’t that the theme of Harper’s “law and order” stance?

I hope Harper is listening. I wish people would realize that when a Conservative says "Get tough on crime" it really means "Lock up all the potheads."

I also saw an interesting read via Pete entitled "Why I am no longer a Republican (and never was a democrat)."

Cannabis Culture loves us

They have an article up about the SKMP's participation in the Martensville by-election.

YAY! We're getting attention.

Hey Teachers!: We don't pay you to think

Thayer Verschoor, Republican majority leader of the Arizona State Senate, has decided to do whatever he can to stop teachers from having filthy liberal opinions. He introduced a bill last week that would "discipline, fine or fire educators for speaking about elections, legislation, judicial action or 'a social, political or culture issue that is a matter of partisan controversy,'"

Imagine trying to teach a Social Studies, History or English class while not being allowed to have a controversial opinion. What issue is not a subject of 'partisan controversy'. Every Bible-thumper, creationist, Flat-Earther, every-sperm-is-sacred pro-lifer, drug-prohibitionist and islamochristojudeofascist will love this. Teach my kid about birth control? Teach my kid about evolution and science? Use drug-dealing to teach kids about math? You do these things and you will be stripped of your teaching certificate.

Luckily, there are smart editorialists in Arizona that see the folly of muzzling teachers and keeping teenagers from thinking. I found this article via Top Ten Conservative Idiots. This was the best part:

Incidentally, the bill would also make it illegal to "hamper or impede the lawful access of military recruiters to campus." Combine that with Verschoor's assault on critical thinking and it's pretty clear that he does not view schools as places from which young people can gain an education, but as factories for teenage cannon-fodder.

AMEN!

Drug War Roundup - Rehabilitation

thehim has an amazing drug war roundup over at Daily Kos. He included pretty much everything that has gone down in the drug war blogosphere over the past week and it's excellent reading. This will give me ample time to recuperate from a miserable head cold that has me sneezing and whining in a most pathetic way.

This blogging thing can be so addictive. As I am writing this post I am extremely annoyed that my head hurts too much for me to construct a couple of posts, one about how the war on drugs is providing more soldiers for the war in Iraq. As well, some feminist bloggers are covering the crack baby myth. The crack baby myth is one of the most pervasive lies that the media has put out that has probably harmed more children than their mother's drug use. I promise to come back soon and finish my thoughts on those things. Until then, enjoy thehim's roundup. I am going to be linking to it from now on.

How the War on Drugs Creates Soldiers for the War in Iraq

I found this story at a bird and a bottle. In case you are uninformed, federal aid is denied to American students that have a criminal record for use or possession of drugs. We have the bloviating Mark Souder to thank for that. So even though poor people are denied a college education because of a drug conviction, they can still go into the military. The war is so unpopular that they will take any warm body that they can get.

From the AP:

The military routinely grants waivers to admit recruits who have criminal records, medical problems or low aptitude scores that would otherwise disqualify them from service. Overall the majority are moral waivers, which include some felonies, misdemeanors, and traffic and drug offenses.

The number of felony waivers granted by the Army grew from 411 in 2003 to 901 in 2006, according to the Pentagon, or about one in 10 of the moral waivers approved that year. Other misdemeanors, which could be petty theft, writing a bad check or some assaults, jumped from about 2,700 to more than 6,000 in 2006. The minor crimes represented more than three-quarters of the moral waivers granted by the Army in 2006, up from more than half in 2003.

As Bean points out, these are the same people that have lost their right to vote in elections due to their felony convictions. Go read the whole thing.

This is your brain on drugs

Go SKMP!

Our first publicity piece. We so rule.

Lou Dobbs continues covering the Drug War

Our coverage of the war on drugs in America continues on Monday. There is a deep-pocketed lobby that wants to legalize pot in this country. Who are marijuana's backers and what do they want? A special report.

Deep pockets? John Walters went on a reefer madness tour during the last election on the tax-payers dime and we have deep pockets? Any drug policy reformer that is too successful at raising money for the cause gets smacked down by the DEA. With an intro like that, you can be sure that this will be totally biased.

Stupidity from the World of Education

First via Scott Morgan, we have the story of a teacher that mentioned drug-dealing during a math lesson and is now in deep doo-doo.

Teacher Will Klundt’s question reads: “Smoky J. sells meth. Smoky’s source says he has to sell a G’s worth of meth by the end of the month. If Smoky sold $245 the first week and $532 the second week, how much money must Smoky still make if he wants to avoid the beat down from his connection?”
...
[Moriarty High School Principal] Marshall refused to discuss what, if any, disciplinary action will be or has been taken against Klundt.

The reason this math question caused so much controversy is it is a straight-forward illustration of why the war on drugs is such an abject failure. It shows exactly why drug-dealing is such an easy way to make money. It is such a wonderful and subtle anti-drug war message. This teacher should get a raise, not disciplinary action.

There is an interesting teacher story via the EFSDP mailing list. Here is the sordid tale of a meth-addicted resource teacher getting busted and the predictable calls for random drug-testing of teachers.

Meanwhile, Knudsen said, DOE and the teachers union are negotiating rules that would allow the testing of teachers in cases where cause could be established.

Currently there is no compulsory drug testing of new DOE hires and no random drug screening of teachers.

But there is generalized agreement, said Knudsen, to attach a "drug-testing for cause" agreement to the new collective bargaining contract now being negotiated between the Hawai'i State Teachers Association and the DOE, covering around 13,000 teachers.

I wonder what they mean by cause. How can you tell that someone might be a user of illegal drugs? So many times when I casually mention my love of the demon weed I am immediately told "But you don't look like a drug user." I guess I should make sure to wear my pothead uniform, consisting of bell-bottoms, peace signs and unshaven armpits.

There were a few objections of note:

The DOE has opposed a measure now moving through the Legislature that would require random drug testing of teachers, public school employees and public library employees.

Sakamoto said any kind of measure agreed on — either through legislation or something in the collective bargaining contract — would require personnel in the schools to be trained to spot someone suspected of drug use. Training generally costs about $35 per person, he said, and the drug test itself costs $35 to $45.

"I'm not wedded to a bill versus collective bargaining," Sakamoto said. "What I am wedded to is how do we increase the confidence that there are mechanisms in place to eliminate drug use in the people we should trust in our schools?

I would suggest that they read what EFSDP has to say about drug testing. I realize that these objections are directed at reasons to oppose student drug testing but this is also applicable to drug testing in general. I would also like to point out that there is a reason why drug tests are referred to as "intelligence tests for drug-users". Teachers unions voice their objections to drug testing in West Virginia.

Interesting Discussion on Refusing Consent

I'm almost sorry that I called Barry Cooper an asshole and that a google search of "Barry Cooper is an asshole" points to my little blog. I wasn't angered by his advice so much as I was angered at his accusing Loretta Nall of being jealous of men. Such sexism should be called out as often and as loudly as possible. Anyway, in case Mr. Cooper reads this, consider this an olive branch. Just make sure not to bring wee-wees and hoo-has into a serious debate ever again.

The debate over his video has been a very enlightening one and reading all these reviews has been a very educational experience for me. I have never even had a traffic ticket so all this is new to me. I have always made it a policy to never, ever drive around with weed in my car so that if I ever was stopped, I would have nothing to fear. But everybody should read these posts. One from Scott Morgan at Flex Your Rights that proposes some additions that should be made to Barry Cooper's video. Barry Cooper responds in the comments. There is more from Mark Draughn at WindyPundit.

Cooper is doing a great job of responding to the concerns put forth by drug policy reformers and that is wonderful to see.

Parents are urged to learn about today's marijuana

This absolutely terrible bit of reefer madness propaganda is being smacked down quite easily today and I am feeling the need to join the fray. It's like these drug warriors have the same stupid talking points that are absolutely devoid of facts. Instead of debunking these lies directly, I am merely going to link to articles that prove my point for me, thus saving me time that can be better spent ignoring my children.

But today's marijuana is not yesterday's marijuana.

Marijuana is not only harmful, but addictive and potentially deadly.

It is scientifically proven to lead to the use of harder drugs.

According to the National Institutes of Health, someone who smokes five joints per week may be taking in as many cancer-causing chemicals as someone who smokes a full pack of cigarettes per day. Smoking one marijuana cigarette deposits about four times as much tar into the lungs as a filtered tobacco cigarette.

Finally, marijuana is called a "gateway" drug. Among marijuana's most harmful consequences is its role in leading to the use of other, harder drugs.

The Federalists "Drug War"

I found this at D'Alliance

Marijuana and Mental Health: "Quitting Pot Eased Mental Illness"

Maggie Trudeau's reefer madness tour is being promoted by the ONDCP's propaganda blog. Learn how quitting her addiction to marijuana was instrumental in her recovery, even though marijuana can be used to treat mental illness. As Pete points out, the ONDCP isn't going to let a little thing like facts get in the way of spewing forth propaganda.

Remember, boys and girls. When learning the facts about drugs, anything from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the White House and Health Canada is probably lies, exaggerations and glaring omissions.

More thoughts about Margeret Trudeau

I'm sure all my fabulous readers, all twelve of you, remember the other day when I complained about Margeret Trudeau's reefer madness tour. There was an angle that I hadn't considered. The medical profession is positively infected with reefer madness. A few years back when I was depressed and seeking help for it, I was handed a prescription for pharmaceuticals. I have taken Zoloft, Paxil and Effexor until the side effects got the better of me. Pharmaceuticals made me numb, emotionless, have no appetite, lose twenty pounds and go broke. Prescription drugs are so expensive! Imagine how pissed the pharmaceutical industry would be if we could all self-medicate with a cheap, common weed instead of paying hundreds of dollars for medicine that doesn't work.

When I mentioned that I occasionally smoke marijuana for fun, I was told that I was "self-medicating" and that I had to stop immediately. You know, because self-medicating is a bad thing. I self-medicate when I take Neo Citran for my cold symptoms so why the double standard? She never told me why marijuana was dangerous or bad for my health. Just that I had to quit. Funny thing, that in all the times I have smoked marijuana I have never suffered from side effects. I suspect doctors are the worst kind of drug-pushers.

So Maggie Trudeau's opinion about marijuanas' contribution to her mental breakdown has to be highly suspect. You can be positive that doctors have been blaming the demon weed for her problems ever since she was hospitalized. Doctors are very biased against marijuana and it shows.

Rape is only funny if it happens to an incarcerated man

The other day Ezra Klein posted about prison rape. As a result, the blogosphere has erupted in almost unanimous support of putting a stop to rape in prison. It is incredibly rare to see an issue that gets support from liberal bloggers as well as blogs that link Stop the ACLU. Amp has a great blog round-up of the various reasons to support ending violence in prison.

I felt this was significant in light of the recent report on Alternet entitled "Pot Prisoners Cost Americans $1 billion per year".

According to the new BJS report, "Drug Use and Dependence, State and Federal Prisoners, 2004," 12.7 percent of state inmates and 12.4 percent of federal inmates incarcerated for drug violations are serving time for marijuana offenses. Combining these percentages with separate U.S. Department of Justice statistics on the total number of state and federal drug prisoners suggests that there are now about 33,655 state inmates and 10,785 federal inmates behind bars for marijuana offenses. The report failed to include estimates on the percentage of inmates incarcerated in county and/or local jails for pot-related offenses.

This amounts to more than 40 000 non-violent offenders being locked up for the "crime" of using, possessing or selling a plant that kills less people than baby aspirin. I wonder how many of them suffer the indignity of rape as well as incarceration? Instead of recognizing that rape is a horrible crime, we respond with apathy and bad jokes about dropping the soap. Cultural references that make light of references to prison rape are rampant. It's interesting that we can make light of prison rape and yet it is not OK to make light of rape against women.

My favorite quote from Amp's round-up comes from Brendan Nyhan reads as follows:

If you asked me what issue Americans will see in retrospect as the greatest unacknowledged barbarity of our time, I would nominate prison rape, which is not only tolerated but frequently encouraged within our prisons and is still the subject of jokes in popular culture and politics.

UPDATE: Make sure to watch this video of Rodney Hulin's story. It is very sad. Make sure to check out the report put out by Human Rights Worldwide. The abuse of prisoners is one more good reason to object to the war on drugs, which is filling jail cells with non-violent offenders.

Lou Dobbs: We're Losing the War on Drugs

I am glad that at the very least Dobbs sees through the lies and BS spewed forth by the Bush administration.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- We're fighting a war that is inflicting even greater casualties than the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and, incredibly, costing even more money. We're losing the War on Drugs, and we've been in retreat for three decades.

That statement may come as a surprise to John Walters, Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, who spent last week trumpeting the Bush administration's anti-drug policies. He claims these policies have led to a decline in drug abuse and improvements in our physical and mental health.

While Walters focused on a marginal decline in drug use, he made no mention of the shocking rise in drug overdoses. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week reported unintentional drug overdoses nearly doubled over the course of five years, rising from 11,155 in 1999 to 19,838 in 2004. Fatal drug overdoses in teenagers and young adults soared 113 percent.

More than 22 million Americans were classified with substance abuse or dependence problems in 2005, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Nearly 8,000 people are trying drugs for the first time every day -- that's about 3 million a year. The majority of new users are younger than 18, and more than half of them are female.

Obviously, John Walters and I are not looking at the same statistics. There is simply no excuse for permitting the destruction of so many young lives.

It's too bad that Dobbs fails to make the connection between the ongoing war on drugs and the increased use of drugs. As Peter points out, he does not get to the "how". Dobbs has a long history of missing the point. Just check out this OpEd Dobbs wrote that was published in the New York Daily News a few years back and Ethan Straffins' response.

Also via Peter is an interview between Lou Dobbs and LEAP speaker Terry Nelson. It must be so frustrating to do an interview that begins like this:

DOBBS: Now, you may think, and certainly I do, that we are in the grips of a mass idiocy when it comes to failure to secure our borders and our ports. The U.S. Border Patrol says drug seizures of cocaine and marijuana are up sharply this year. President Felipe Calderon, of Mexico, continues to target drug cartels, to his credit. But despite the idiocy that surrounds border security, there is another idiocy rising up.

A group of law enforcement agents now say that effort is actually fueling drug trafficking and violence, and they say the answer is to end the war on drugs.

It's very frustrating the way that the well-thought out arguments of drug policy reformers can be smacked down like this. Wanting to end the war on drugs makes you an idiot, maintaining the failed status quo isn't, no matter what facts we bring to the table. This really sucks.

Reefer Madness from Margaret Trudeau

See, this is a perfect example of why people need to quit listening to celebrities. Being the ex-wife of a dead former Prime Minister does not validate your worthless opinions. Maggie Trudeau's reefer madness tour is a case in point.

Quitting cannabis has been an important part of her recovery from mental illness, Margaret Trudeau said Monday at a press conference in Vancouver for the Canadian Mental Health Association's upcoming Bottom Line Conference.

Trudeau, who suffers from bipolar disorder, spoke openly with reporters about her experience with depression and the effect of her long-term marijuana use.

"I loved marijuana. I was a hippie in the '60s," Trudeau said with a laugh.

"I started smoking at a young age. I took to it like a duck to water. Strawberry Fields Forever and all that."

Trudeau, who will be the keynote speaker at the Vancouver conference on March 7, said one of the difficulties in seeking help is the stigma associated with mental illness.

What works for Maggie must work for everybody, right? If smoking marijuana was a factor in her mental illness, then quitting was certainly the right thing to do. But to imply that this advice applies to everybody is foolish. Some people even use marijuana to treat their mental illnesses. I'm sure the Vancouver Sun will get right to work publishing their stories.

Barry Cooper redeems himself?

He doesn't succeed at redeeming himself but he gives it a try.

I like this pic.

It reminds me of small-town Saskatchewan. I don't know why I like this pic but I just do.



via Saskboy

BUSTED Clips

With all the fuss about Barry Cooper and the fun that the blogosphere has had pooping all over him for his terrible advice, I am feeling the need to link to the BUSTED clips, just in case you haven't seen them. They are aimed at an American audience but the advice applies to Canadians as well. I wonder if there are any Canadian versions of this video anywhere. If anybody knows of any, please link in the comments.

More on Barry Cooper

There are a whole lot of bloggers that reviewed the snake-oil salesman's DVD and have given their two cents. Scott Morgan at Flex Your Rights tells us why consenting to searches during a traffic stop is an exceptionally bad idea. Mark Draughn at Windy Pundit also weighs in and advises against following the advice about searches in the video. Excellent commentary from these bloggers, they saved me and a whole lot of other people from wasting their money.

I also found Mr. Cooper's response to Ms. Nall's scathing review highly entertaining. Make sure to read that too. His underoos are all bunchy, now that he is going to lose some profits and an opportunity to bust some more potheads. Hey Barry, don't quit yer day job, dude. Us potheads aren't quite as stupid as you thought.

UPDATE: I hadn't actually read Loretta's entire rebuttal of Barry Cooper's response to Loretta's review. I have to say that Barry Cooper is an unapologetic, sexist, petty asshole who isn't even good enough for Ms. Nall to wipe her feet on. Look at some of these prize quotes:

My wife is good at discerning woman and states Loretta is a failed politician who is jealous of my work. I have to agree. Loretta's review so far is the ONLY negative review we have gotten outof 102 reviews. Maybe this is why she never gets voted to office...she has a few followers but can't get past anybody accomplishing more than her.

Since Cooper can't even figure out how to use spell check, I suppose that expecting him to understand that winning is not the only thing that can be accomplished by running for office, would be too much to ask. She has some fantastic ideas that are not being aired in the current Democratic/Republican two-party system. Running for office in the heart of the Bible belt took a lot of courage and is an inspiration to all drug policy reformers.

My wife and office manager, another wise woman, thinks Loretta is not comfortable being a woman and wrongly attacks strong men. We have dealt with people like this before.

WOW! You read Loretta's review of your shitty advice and the best you can do is call her a man-hater? "Oh boo-hoo the mean lady is jealous because she has a hoo-ha and wishes she had a wee-wee." Why waste your time refuting her points, that consenting to a search will get you busted or that your DVD is poorly packaged? That would be difficult and make your brain hurt. The best tactic for Barry is to fall back on misogyny. Maybe Barry is jealous because he has a winkie and he wishes he had a doodle. What a complete, illiterate garden tool. As Madcox would say, "Did you type your email with your penis?" You are pretty proud of it.

You were born with a Y chromosome! Congratu-fucking-lations! You are just like 50% of the population.

The Loretta's of this world are haters who will fade away. I am here to stay and am about to release a never tried plan that will come closer to ending this war then any plan tried so far.

This is too easy. Barry has a secret that he isn't going to tell us because we were mean to him and said potty no-no words about him and now he won't share his cookies anymore. We will be sowwy, fo shizzle.

Barry, just answer the questions that we are asking. That's all that we ask. Sending emails like this just makes you look stupid. You can try to knock Loretta down a peg or two but you will never succeed. Cut it out. You're an embarassment and I hope that whatever shred of credibility that you ever had is gone.

A crackdown on Pot Parents in West Virginia

If this bill passes, it will be a felony to possess any controlled substance, including marijuana, if a child is present in the building. State sponsored kidnapping based on marijuana use or possession is unacceptable. There are enough kids in foster care as it is. Read the full story at Cannabis Culture.

Don't Show this to my Co-Workers

I don't think they would get the joke.

Seriously though, don't people have better things to do than make lame Spongebong Hemppants movies? How dare they desecrate my favorite spongy nice guy!

Barry Cooper is a Snake-Oil Salesman

My fave drug war blogger, (sorry Pete!) Loretta Nall has a review of Barry Cooper's Never Get Busted DVD on her site. Unfortunately, it sounds like the DVD is full of information that every pothead already knows. For example, here is Mr. Cooper's advice about stashing:

Concealing your stash:

Wear latex gloves when hiding your stash in your automobile.

Never hide your stash on the exterior of the vehicle.

Never keep it in plain sight. DUH!

Never hide stash in easy to find locations like the ashtray or glove compartment.

Never conceal your stash in an overnight bag.

Hide your stash in hard to find places such as way underneath the dash where there are lots of crevices.

WOW! I sure don't need to pay good money to receive this advice in the mail with the words NEVER GET BUSTED boldly displayed on the package. In short, don't buy Barry Cooper's video. He sounds like a narc.

Watch a Drug-Prohibitionist Get Owned on MSNBC

This video was very entertaining, especially the part where Carlson asks Tucker about the number of deaths from marijuana overdoses.

Carlson: ... and how many people died from marijuana overdoses last year?

Souder: Uh, if you count the, uh, uh, amount of crime associated with marijuana...

Carlson: No, no, just marijuana overdoses. Just the drug itself, which you said is like cocaine now. How many people died from it?

Souder: Uh, I don't, I don't, uh. 65 percent of emergency room admissions for drug abuse are marijuana.

Carlson: Huh. OK. But did anyone die that you know of?

Souder: Uh, presumably so, thousands have died, the only question is, you said "overdose" --that isn't even most of the deaths related to prescription drug or to cocaine or heroin -- there's a whole range of drug crimes and so on. I don't know the number of overdose. Marijuana is often managed ah, with meth -- no drug user is a single drug user so marijuana is often in the mix of most deaths so it would be very hard to separate what's what. A marijuana user is very seldom just a casual marijuana user, ah, except in the early stages, they're often gonna polydrug.

Carlson: Yeah. OK. I'm not endorsing drugs, but I know a lot of casual marijuana users, so, that's wrong.

But I appreciate you coming on. Thanks a lot, Congressman.

Souder: Thank you, Tucker.

Souder knows all the lying prohibitionist talking points:

-Marijauna is a gateway drug and most marijuana users go on to use stronger drugs.

-Marijuana is highly addictive.

-Marijuana is dangerous because it is related to emergency room visits. I wonder how many emergency room visits are related to caffeine, skateboards or food.

Via Drug War Rant.

Mouse Party

I found a cool game via Grrl Scientist that shows the effects of different drugs. Marijuana causes a "perpetual" high. So I sure got a great deal on that weed, since I am perpetually high! Like, dude, that is like totally.... I sure am hungry.

Why does every single cool thing in the universe have to be tainted by reefer madness?????

Politics Sucks!

Especially when it leads you to assume responsibilities that nobody else wants, such as bookkeeping for a small, grass-roots political organization, that requires you to pore over receipts with a small child whining in the background, "Mommy when will it be swim time" and you have to freeze your buns off picking up signs for said politicial party and then you get so tired and cranky that blogging is a chore.

Blogging a chore? I am a bloviating windbag that can never, ever shut up. Everybody knows that. If blogging has become a chore, than the world has surely gone crazy.

Anyway, Peter is much more entertaining than my blogular naval gazing, at any rate. He, like, makes fun of the DEA for trying to be cool and he has a bunch of excellent links to press releases. So smoke a bowl for me and go nuts. I am either going to strangle my child, go back to bookkeeping or give in and take her to the swimming pool. Either way, there will be no bowl-smoking for me for a while. *sigh*

Cops pass test for illegal drug use

Urine samples were taken from the unit's investigators shortly after the department discovered two weeks ago that the crack was missing from a pending case. A subsequent audit revealed the drug was missing from the evidence in three other cases.

Sources briefed on the investigation say each vice squad investigator tested provided a clean urine sample.

So where did the cocaine go if they didn't ingest it? You only get three guesses.

We're the Government--and You're Not

I made the mistake of accepting a half-time contract with the school board so now I have every morning to waste on frivolous nonsense like posting on my blog. I shouldn't complain but I have to say that three hours of work every day just isn't enough for me to do. *ZzzzZZzzz* I suppose I will just have to spend my free time working on the Martensville by-election. It's too bad that reading the elections act gives me a bigger headache than smoking all the schwaggy weed in Mexico.

I found the following video via Loretta Nall, the former gubernatorial candidate in Alabama. It is a great video and it coincides with some thoughts I had last night about the state of Canada-U.S. relations.



Yesterday, as I was listening to the teacher discuss culture during a social studies class, she got on the subject of ethnocentrism. She discussed with the kids all the harms caused by the Europeans' attempts to assimilate Native people into their culture. Native children were taken away from their families and sent to residential schools. They were not allowed to speak their traditional languages or participate in their cultural ceremonies. The abuse inflicted on Aboriginal peoples' is a scar on Canadian society. This is not much different than what I was taught as a young'un about the history of relations between Aboriginal people and the Europeans they welcomed with open arms.

But then the teacher asked the class for another example of ethnocentrism. A student raised his hand and said, "What about the United States invading Iraq?". The teacher was impressed by his insight and went on to explain that the people in the United States feel that their way of life and government is the best way to live. They have invaded other governments to impose democracy on them and there have been a lot of negative consequences. "Iraq is a mess."

This takes me way back in time when I was a young, impressionable grade 8 student learning about the world. I recall learning that Canada and the United States have the World's longest undefended border. Having friendly relations with a world superpower was part of being Canadian. Because we consume and are part of the same popular culture as the States, we have a lot in common. I remember thinking that that was a great part of being Canadian. The times sure have changed. Sitting in a class with a teacher discussing the failings of the States openly and not mentioning our "friendly relationship" made me kind of sad.

I want to go back there! I don't want to live next door to the George Bush Americans, invading and blowing things up. I don't want to be "friendly neighbours" with a country that cares more about what their politicians and citizens do with their wee-wees and hoo-has than foreign policy, health care or education. I just hope that if any Americans are reading this that you will do your best to make me proud to be your neighbour again. Fight the system and make your voice heard.

Martensville, SK By-election called

This is going to be so much fun! This will be our first go at running for office. So far, the only registered candidate in the Martensville riding is our very own Nathan Holowaty of the SKMP. I am so freaking happy. Of course, I am also freaked out because there is so much to do.

Walker Appeals Murder Conviction

Even though I believe that Kim Walker committed a crime when he murdered James Hayward, I do agree that the judge made an error when she instructed the jury that they had to find Walker guilty. I just hope that when all is said and done, Walker will still be found guilty.

According to his notice of appeal filed Friday in the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal, Walker is appealing on the grounds that the trial judge erred in law in not placing the defence of self-defence before the jury for consideration.

Walker is also appealing on the grounds that Pritchard erred in instructing the jury to return a conviction only on one of three charges, that she failed to instruct the jury that it could return a verdict of not guilty and that she erred in not granting the defence motion for a mistrial after failing to instruct the jury that it could return a verdict of not guilty.

This case has resulted in a flood of LTE's in Saskatchewan newspapers and is very controversial. Links to the LTE's are here, here, here, here, here, here, here and one by yours truly.

Barry Cooper Video: Never Get Busted

Some excellent tips on how to avoid getting pulled over. None of this is news to me but it might help some people out so here it is.



I have another excellent youTube that I had to put here that has nothing to do with drugs but it is just plain awesome. This is a rap video called "Extian" by a young man named Greydon Square. It is amazing to see an atheist rap video and it's great to see a rap video that has nothing to do with slapping bitches and doing drugs.

Mommy Wars

I try my best not to pay a lick of attention to the "Mommy Wars" because, quite frankly, the level of stupid makes my brain hurt. It's the blogular equivalent of women folk stripping down to their thong bikinis and wrestling in a pool of chocolate pudding. But I just stumbled upon a MommyBlogger (who knew such a thing existed) who is forced to defend herself on the Today show against a judgmental PhD known as Dr. Janet Taylor. Dr. Taylor is a highly successful and loving mother of four! So her opinion must be more valuable than Melissa Summers, blogger. Melissas' Today show appearance basically consisted of Dr. Taylor, highly successful mother of four and judgmental know-it-all, lambasting Melissa for neglecting her motherly duties. Now what horrendous crime did Melissa commit? Did she neglect to put her child in a baby seat? Was she growing mary-jew-wanna in her basement?

No, she actually has the audacity to drink alcohol in front of her children! Oh the horror, of children being exposed to moderate drinking.

In the end I showed up on a show with Dr. Janet Taylor, well trained media machine who was not discussing drinking in moderation but was instead talking about women as children who have no clue how to drink in moderation and can not be trusted.

I was told this was going to be a 'lighthearted' discussion. I pictured talking about how no one is talking about 'Kids And Keggers!', I pictured discussing drinking as a social activity many adults do, I pictured discussing how my husband and I often drink as a social activity at kid centered activities and not a single reporter or television has ever called to ask my husband "what that glass of beer means to him". I wanted to emphasize how silly it is to call this a trend. I wanted to emphasize how mothers are raising children, they are not children themselves.

I was not at all prepared for a debate between "Melissa Summers, blogger!" and "Dr Janet Taylor, psychologist with impressive resume and four kids." I was especially not prepared for a debate which involved Dr Janet Taylor repeating the same thing over and over like a very tall robot.

"Mothers must find healthy ways to relieve stress." Really Dr Janet Taylor? Like doing Yoga, meeting friends for dinner, going out with my husband, spending a few alone hours at the coffee shop or the bookstore browsing? Like that? Oh, good because those are things I do as well and I just pointed them out and I may as well have been talking to my hand because you heard none of it.

A mom just can't win! Apparently as soon as the little spawn spew forth from our uteruses we give up our individuality and we must, must, must revolve our world around making sure the little darlings never have the teensiest, eensiest bit of strife. Seeing mom drink a glass of wine must be the most terrible thing for a child. This whole thing is so stupid, it's making my eyes bleed. Anyway, at the risk of being labelled a mommyblogger*, I am going to link to some interesting reading that proves that a mom can't win. Then I am going to tell you why I chose to dive into this stupid, writhing pool of chocolate pudding in the first place.

It is no secret to all three of my regular readers, that I have a love for certain smokable herbs, known as marijuana. I love marijuana so much that I have decided to make pushing for the legalization of my favorite recreational activity a full-fledged hobby. I am now the Chief Official Agent of the recently created SKMP and I am considering running as a candidate in the next provincial election in order to lambast our cowardly politicians for their insistence on supporting the highly misguided war on drugs. The reefer madness that passes for drug education in our schools, the unnecessary deaths due to no-knock raids, and the infridgement of our civil liberties angers me enough that I feel the need to speak out about this issue.

However, I am also a mother and this means that I am a mother that uses illegal drugs. I wonder how bad I would be made to look if MSNBC decided to write an article judging me for my parenting skills. I doubt they would take into consideration that marijuana is a safe recreational substance causing no overdose deaths or cancer. Nope, I would be condemned as a bad parent for smoking marijuana, despite the fact that my little darling ankle-biters have never once seen me with a joint in my hand. I suppose I would be judged for the act of stepping outside to smoke a joint and leaving the little darlings unsupervised for a few minutes. What if they tumble out of bed and bleed to death in the time it takes to smoke my demon weed? My poor children even know what marijuana smells like, thanks to my dirty, nasty habits!

* I love my children, this should be obvious. But I am not a Mommyblogger. The last thing I care about is what a bunch of strangers on the internet think of my parenting skills. I use the internet to escape motherhood. I teach children at work and I spend scads of time parenting my children. The absolute last thing I want to do in my spare time is blog about motherhood.

First-Ever "Enlightened" Employee Marijuana Policy

I thought this was wonderful.

In the last few years, more and more companies, large and small, have contacted NORML wanting to implement a more tolerant and enlightened workplace drug policy, especially for those employees who may use cannabis for medicinal and/or recreational purposes.

In response to this growing trend, a major business software company named Jian recently contacted NORML and requested us to provide them with a new and updated 'Substance Abuse' policy for their best-selling 'Employee Manual Builder' software. They requested NORML to draft a HR policy that treats employees who responsibly consume cannabis the same as responsible alcohol, tobacco and pharmaceutical-consuming employees.

It's great to see that members of the business community see through the government lies and propaganda and are able to implement sensible policies about drug use and testing in the work place. There are many drug testing companies out there and it's nice to see that they won't get any business from Jian or the companies that use their human resources software. It's always nice to see something positive, especially in these dark days of inflicting the pee po-lice on American kids. I am so glad I am Canadian.

Since I'm too Lazy for Blogging

Or Boogin as JimmyBob sez, I am going to link to a really excellent letter written by none other than Russell Barth. It amazes me, how many letters he manages to write. I could make excuses like "But I am too busy taking my children to the pool and pretending to be a SeaCow looking for a nice tasty bunch of lettuce to snack on to write LTE's". But nobody likes it when I play the Mommy card. In all honesty I am just lazy. In the meantime, read this.