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.