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I Feel Like Smoking A Big Fat Kiwi Bud.
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First Roth Army Kiwi To See Van Halen Live 6/16/2012 Phoenix Arizona. -
Im nearing 12 months now of living off rainwater and fresh milk.
Fresh produce and hormone/preservative free meat.
Im sure the clean air helps too, but my digestion system
seems heaps better, my skin looks better, I still knock
back the beers (as you do) but its interesting in just one year
eating fresh meat and fresh water what a difference you feel.
Theres freakin 90 year old dudes up here running several hundred head of
catlle a day ! Those buggers seem like they will live to 150... lol...
The proof is in the pudding, (hope thats an international saying)
Fresh air, water, food....
Thats why I asked the question about city water and preservatives in food.
Maybe our governments know and dont care that we will fall off the perch
earlier ?BABY PANA 2 IS Coming !! All across the land, let the love and beer flow !
Love ya Mary Frances!Comment
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Ha!
I invested in a farm with a friend a couple years ago and we raise all organic meat!
We use no GMO feed or any growth hormones. Everything free-ranges and we rotate the animals to naturally fertilizer the fields. The cows, Belted Galloways, graze the fields first followed by the chickens and then the pigs. They spread the manure while eating the insects and root up the fields. By doing this, every animal on the farm contributes to putting nutrients back into the fields and our hay/alfalfa is amazing. We're able to get 2 cuttings a year even after allowing the animals to graze.
The trade off is it takes a bit longer for the animals to grow but the taste of the meat and poultry is amazing. Pigs are leaner but still taste better than anything store bought. The lambs, ducks, rabbit and turkeys all taste better, too! Fresh creamer in your coffee is to die for
The eggs we have are 1,000 times better than store bought.
This year we've finally broke even, feed costs + land development, and are on pace to make money! Not bad for only starting from scratch three years ago.Originally posted by vandeleurE- Jesus . Playing both sides because he didnt understand the argument in the first place
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Feds Remove Anti-Tumor Cannabis Info After Just Days Online
By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ in Medical, News
Tuesday, March 29, 2011 at 7:10 pm
Just 11 days after adding a section on medical marijuana to its treatment database, the National Cancer Institute has altered the new page, removing any mention of the evidence that marijuana can diminish and even reverse tumor growth.
LINKY
In an edit appearing Monday afternoon, NCI replaced a sentence about marijuana's direct anti-tumor effect with one saying that it is prescribed mainly to control nausea, pain and insomnia for cancer patients, reports Kyle Daly at The Colorado Independent.
LINKY
The original language, published to the Web on March 17, had read:
The potential benefits of medicinal Cannabis for people living with cancer include antiemetic effects, appetite stimulation, pain relief, and improved sleep. In the practice of integrative oncology, the health care provider may recommend medicinal Cannabis not only for symptom management but also for its possible direct antitumor effect.
After being changed Monday, it now reads:
The potential benefits of medicinal Cannabis for people living with cancer include antiemetic effects, appetite stimulation, pain relief, and improved sleep. Though no relevant surveys of practice patterns exist, it appears that physicians caring for cancer patients who prescribe medicinal Cannabis predominantly do so for symptom management.
Information which acknowledges that marijuana has been used medicinally for thousands of years was left on the site, as were statements regarding cannabinoids and their benefits in ameliorating the side-effects of conventional cancer treatments.
Was Big Pharm behind the changes? Were the pharmaceutical companies protecting their profits derived from harsh and often ineffective chemotherapy?
Do we live in a free, science-based society or one where medical research can be deleted and ignored for political reasons?
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300 Economists....some of them Nobel Laureates, say legalizing pot could save our government over 13 BILLION DOLLARS ANNUALLY:
Your plans to celebrate 4/20 this Friday could actually make the government some money, if only such activities were legal. That’s according to a bunch of economists, and some prominent ones too.
More than 300 economists, including three nobel laureates, have signed a petition calling attention to the findings of a paper by Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron, which suggests that if the government legalized marijuana it would save $7.7 billion annually by not having to enforce the current prohibition on the drug. The report added that legalization would save an additional $6 billion per year if the government taxed marijuana at rates similar to alcohol and tobacco.
That's as much as $13.7 billion per year, but it's still minimal when compared to the federal deficit, which hit $1.5 trillion last year, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
While the economists don't directly call for pot legalization, the petition asks advocates on both sides to engage in an "open and honest debate" about the benefits of pot prohibition.
"At a minimum, this debate will force advocates of current policy to show that prohibition has benefits sufficient to justify the cost to taxpayers, foregone tax revenues, and numerous ancillary consequences that result from marijuana prohibition," the petition states.
The economic benefits of pushing pot into mainstream commerce have long been cited as a reason to make the drug legal, and the economists' petition comes as government officials at both the federal and local levels are looking for ways to raise funds. The majority of Americans say they prefer cutting programs to increasing taxes as a way to deal with the nation’s budget deficit -- marijuana legalization would seemingly give the government money without doing either.
Officials in one state have already made the economic argument for pot legalization, but to no avail. California Democratic State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano proposed legislation in 2009 to legalize marijuana in California, arguing that it would yield billions of dollars in tax revenue for a state in dire need of funds. California voters ultimately knocked down a referendum to legalize marijuana in 2010.
Economist Stephen Easton wrote in Businessweek that the financial benefits of pot legalization may be even bigger than Miron's findings estimate. Based on the amount of money he thinks it would take to produce and market legal marijuana, combined with an estimate of marijuana consumers, Eatson guesses that legalizing the drug could bring in $45 to $100 billion per year. Easton’s name doesn't appear on the petition.
Some argue that the economic argument for pot legalization is already proven by the benefits states and cities have reaped from making medical marijuana legal. Advocates for Colorado's medical marijuana industry argue that legalization has helped to jumpstart a stalled economy in cities like Boulder and Denver, according to nj.com.
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Marc Emery's U.S. prosecutor urges pot legalization
John McKay once prosecuted B.C.'s 'Prince of Pot' Marc Emery
CBC News
Posted: Apr 18, 2012 12:12 PM PT
Last Updated: Apr 18, 2012 3:11 PM PT
The former U.S. district attorney who prosecuted B.C. marijuana activist Marc Emery in a cross-border sting is calling for the legalization and taxation of pot in Canada and the U.S.
John McKay, a former U.S. attorney for the western district of Washington State, was joined by Emery's wife Jodie and former B.C. Attorney General Geoff Plant at a lecture in Vancouver on Wednesday.
McKay said he did not regret prosecuting Emery because he broke U.S. law, but he believes the war on pot has been a complete and total failure. He said the laws keeping pot illegal no longer serve any purpose, but allow gangs and cartels to generate billions in profits.
"I want to say this just as clearly and as forthrightly as I can, marijuana prohibition, criminal prohibition of marijuana is a complete failure," McKay said.
McKay said marijuana, like alcohol, should be produced and sold to adults by the government, and that would generate at least half a billion dollars in revenue annually in Washington State alone.
More importantly, he said, ending prohibition would end the violent reign of gangs and drug cartels who are profiting from the situation. He said any prohibition in society requires broad support from the population, and that isn't the case with marijuana.
The appearance was organized by Stop the Violence BC, a coalition of high-profile academic, legal, law enforcement and health experts, which is working to reduce crime and public health problems stemming from the prohibition on marijuana.
The group includes several former B.C. attorneys general, several former Vancouver mayors, a former B.C. premier and a former RCMP superintendent for the province.
McKay, a Republican, was a U.S. Attorney from 2001 to 2007, when he resigned or was fired along with eight other U.S attorneys by President Bush.
He is now a professor in the faculty of law at Seattle University and an avid supporter of the Washington State ballot initiative for the November election to implement a regulated, taxed market for marijuana.
Marc Emery remains in prison in the U.S., serving a five-year sentence for conspiracy to manufacture marijuana through his mail-order cannabis seed business.
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Can one of you guys just rename this thread? Call it something like Hardrock69's Reefer Madness Thread or something? This is going to be an ongoing thing, as there are new developments brewing all the time.
Like THIS:
Connecticut Senate passes medical marijuana bill after lengthy debate
Published: May 5
HARTFORD, Conn. — A bill legalizing marijuana for medical purposes has passed the Connecticut Senate. The state joins 16 others and the District of Columbia in enacting such legislation.
State senators voted 21-to-13 in favor of the measure early Saturday, after nearly 10 hours of debate dominated by bill opponent Republican Sen. Toni Boucher.
Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who has said he supports the measure, is expected to sign the legislation into law.
The bill moves away from the largely criticized precedent set in California, proposing a complex regulated system of cultivation, dispensing and licensing.
The Connecticut bill outlines specific diseases that would be treated under the drug. It requires a recommendation from an individual’s physician and establishes a system of licensing for patients, caregivers and growers.
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Ok...latest update from US News and World Report:
Americans Support Ending Federal Crackdown on Medical Marijuana
Three-fourths of likely voters favor state-level medical marijuana laws,
By Seth Cline
May 17, 2012
A chart showing the results of a poll asking if Americans want the federal government to stop raids targeting medical marijuana.
Americans think President Obama should leave states that have legalized medical marijuana alone, a new poll finds.
In survey of 1000 likely voters, Mason-Dixon Polling and Research found three-fourths of those polled believe President Obama should respect laws in states where growing and selling marijuana is legal for medical purposes. Fifteen percent of respondents favored enforcing federal law, under which medical marijuana use is illegal.
Sixteen states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana, most recently Connecticut. This has not kept individuals and dispensaries from being prosecuted under federal law by the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney's Offices around the country.
The poll found that respondents identifying themselves as Republican and over 65 years old were more likely to support using federal resources "to arrest and prosecute individuals who are acting in compliance with state medical marijuana laws." More than 80 percent of the youngest respondents, voters under 34, favored "respecting state medical marijuana laws," though this age group made up a smaller percentage of respondents.
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Connecticut becomes the 17th state in the US to Legalize Medical Marijunana:
Medical Marijuana Is Now Legal In Connecticut
by Beth Buczynski
June 2, 2012
10:08 am
On Friday, Connecticut became the 17th state in America to legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes. Governor Dannel Malloy signed the groundbreaking legislation that will allow licensed physicians to certify and prescribe medical marijuana for adult patients will qualifying medical conditions.
“For years, we’ve heard from so many patients with chronic diseases who undergo treatments like chemotherapy or radiation and are denied the palliative benefits that medical marijuana would provide,” Governor Malloy said. ”With careful regulation and safeguards, this law will allow a doctor and a patient to decide what is in that patient’s best interest,” he said.
Despite coming out strongly in favor of state’s rights to legalize and monitor medical marijuana when he was on the campaign trail, the Obama Administration has since waffled in his support of the plant’s medical use. In a Rolling Stone interview early this year, the President was quoted as saying “he can’t nullify congressional law.” Fortunately, states have forged ahead in their quest to provide ill citizens with a natural medication that can greatly improve their quality of life.
“By giving patients safe, legal access to medical marijuana, Connecticut joins over a third of the United States in recognizing the plant’s economic and medical value,” said Brad Burge, Director of Communications for the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), a non-profit pharmaceutical development company. “The new law also reminds us how far state and federal attitudes toward medical marijuana have diverged. The Obama administration continues to fight medical marijuana, and the states just don’t agree.”
Under the bill, patients and their caregivers must register with the Department of Consumer Protection. In addition, a doctor must certify there is a medical need for marijuana to be dispensed, including such debilitating conditions as cancer, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis or epilepsy. This is the same or very similar to the way medical marijuana is prescribed in other states.
What sets the Connecticut law apart, however, is that patients will only be able to obtain medical marijuana from pharmacists who are certified to dispense it. The Connecticut law also only allows for the licensing of at least three but not more than 10 marijuana producers statewide. Officials hope this model will reduce instances of abuse and black market dealing that have occurred in states that allow patients or appointed caretakers to grow their own.
Despite these restrictions, Burge says it’s a step in the right direction for patients and more states are likely to follow suit. “The federal government, through a decades-long blockade on medical marijuana research, has succeeded in preventing marijuana from becoming a federally-regulated prescription medicine. In the meantime, getting patients access to the medicine they need will depend on the continued success of state-based medical marijuana policy reform.”
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Marijuana initiative could make or break Obama in Colorado
By Samuel P. Jacobs, Reuters
Jun. 02, 2012 2:06PM PDT
DENVER (Reuters) - Throughout his presidency, Barack Obama hasn't exactly been a friend to marijuana users.
Sure, he has acknowledged smoking pot as a young man, but he has disappointed marijuana advocates by opposing its legalization, regulation and taxation like alcohol.
And the Justice Department's occasional crackdown under his administration on medical marijuana dispensaries, which 17 states and the District of Columbia allow, has angered others.
So now, with Obama facing a stiff challenge from Republican Mitt Romney in the November 6 election, it's ironic that his chances of winning the key state of Colorado could hinge on marijuana legalization, supported by a growing number of Americans.
At issue is whether Obama will get a boost from young voters expected to be among the most enthusiastic backers of a Colorado ballot initiative that would legalize possession of up to an ounce of pot for recreational use - and give the state the most liberal marijuana law in the nation.
The initiative is a reflection of Colorado's unique blend of laid-back liberalism and anti-regulation conservatism that helped make the state the birthplace of the Libertarian Party.
It's a state where people of different political stripes see marijuana laws as an example of government needlessly sticking its nose where it doesn't belong.
It's also a proving ground for advocates who see legalization as a way to ease crowding in prisons, generate much-needed tax revenues, create jobs and weaken Mexican cartels that thrive on Americans' appetite for illegal drugs.
The Rocky Mountain State already allows the use of marijuana for medical purposes such as severe pain relief, and some communities have embraced it enthusiastically.
The prevalence of medical marijuana dispensaries in Denver has moved pot into the mainstream in Colorado's capital city.
In Denver County, home to about 600,000 people, one in every 41 residents is a registered medical marijuana patient, leading to chuckles about the "Mile High City." Denver is roughly a mile above sea level.
The number of places licensed to sell medical marijuana products has reached 400 here, according to the Denver Post. That means there are more dispensaries in the capital than there are Starbucks coffee shops (375) statewide.
A similar bill is on the ballot in Washington, another state that already allows use of medical marijuana. If approved, the initiatives would put the states squarely in the crosshairs of federal law, which classifies cannabis as an illegal narcotic.
PATH TO THE WHITE HOUSE
It's unclear precisely how the U.S. Justice Department - whether led by Obama or Romney - would respond if Colorado, Washington or other states legalize marijuana for recreational use. Both politicians oppose legalizing the drug.
But in a close presidential election in which Colorado could be a tipping point - and with polls showing Obama has up to a 30-point edge over Romney among voters age 30 and under - the state's marijuana initiative could be a factor if it inspires waves of young voters to cast ballots on November 6.
"This is an issue that is really meaningful to young people, people of color, disenfranchised communities," groups that typically lag in registering and showing up to vote, said Brian Vicente, 35, executive director of Sensible Colorado, a group seeking less restrictive marijuana laws.
"Democrats and Obama need these groups to win," Vicente said. "The path to the White House leads through Colorado. We feel we can motivate these groups."
Last winter, Public Policy Polling found that 49 percent of Coloradans favored legalization, while 41 percent opposed it.
As much as some Democrats feel they have the wind at their backs, they are fighting history in Colorado. Obama won the state in 2008, but he was the first Democratic presidential contender to do so in 16 years.
And even though a majority of the delegates at the Colorado Democratic Party's convention last month said they supported legalization, some party officials are skeptical the politically diverse movement will help Obama much this fall.
They note that Colorado voters rejected such a legalization measure in 2006, and that Californians blocked a similar initiative two years ago.
"If they get 40 percent" of voters supporting legalization, "they should throw themselves a party," said Matt Inzeo, spokesman for Colorado's Democratic Party.
Others see more potential in the legalization debate's impact on the presidential race.
Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling said that if the state-by-state race for the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency comes down to Colorado's 9 electoral votes, marijuana "could be a difference maker."
BROADENING SUPPORT
During a recent visit to Colorado, Romney seemed irritated when a local television reporter quizzed him on his views about gay marriage, immigration reform and marijuana legalization.
"Aren't there issues of significance you'd like to talk about?" an exasperated Romney asked.
In Colorado, however, marijuana is significant. And its acceptance hasn't been limited to more liberal areas.
Colorado Springs, home to the U.S. Air Force Academy and the evangelical Christian group Focus on the Family, is one of the most conservative cities in the United States. But the city of 400,000 about 70 miles south of Denver has nearly as many marijuana dispensaries as churches, according to city records.
Supporters of Colorado's initiative point to a broadening coalition of those who support legalization, including local civil rights and union leaders.
Those opposing marijuana legalization often cite the drug's impact on youths.
Roger Sherman, a strategist for the campaign against Amendment 64, said "there's a tremendous amount of enthusiasm and a high level of concern" among those who oppose legalization. His group cites increased drug use among children and increasing cases of impaired driving.
Nationwide polling on marijuana legalization, although sparse, suggests that support now equals support for marriage equality, which just found a new backer in Obama.
In October, 50 percent of Americans said "yes" when asked by Gallup, "Do you think the use of marijuana should be made legal, or not?" When Gallup asked that in 1969, 12 percent said yes.
Last week, a Rasmussen Reports survey said 56 percent of likely U.S. voters favored legalizing and regulating marijuana.
QUESTIONING OBAMA
Supporters of legalization also argue that regulating marijuana - and capturing tax revenue from its sale - could help governments, cities and towns face increasingly tight budgets.
In 2011, taxes for medical marijuana generated $5 million for Colorado. Denver-based political strategist Rick Ridder said that depending upon the cost of an ounce, legalization would likely generate $20 million to $80 million in annual tax revenue for Colorado and local communities.
As designed, Amendment 64 would designate its first $40 million in tax revenue for rebuilding public schools. As part of a bond issue, that amount could turn into a treasure chest for public education funding in Colorado.
Legalization advocates see Obama's crackdown on some medical marijuana outlets as hypocritical, noting that in his memoir "Dreams from My Father" he acknowledged smoking pot as a youth.
"It's really insulting with this president. He actually smoked pot in high school and college. The only difference is he didn't get caught. If he had gotten caught, he would not be president," said Wanda James, 48, whose business, Simply Pure, supplies 300 Colorado dispensaries with edible marijuana.
She tells community leaders that legalization is not just about pot smokers having a good time, legally. She sees it as a way to ease prison crowding, help cash-strapped governments, provide jobs and weaken drug cartels.
Legalization, of course, would mean a larger market for James' indica sesame brittle bars and sativa peppermint cups.
To James, legalizing marijuana boils down to what could be a good slogan for this year's elections: "Jobs, jobs, jobs."
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If Obama came out in favor a legalization now the remaining conservatard heads that DIDN'T explode when he endorsed marriage equality certainly would...
Originally posted by conmee
If anyone even thinks about deleting the Muff Thread they are banned.... no questions asked.
That is all.
Icon.Originally posted by GO-SPURS-GO
I've seen prominent hypocrite liberal on this site Jhale667
Originally posted by Isaac R.
Then it's really true??:eek:
The Muff Thread is really just GONE ???
OMFG...who in their right mind...???
Originally posted by eddie78
I was wrong about you, brother. You're good.Comment
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There would be no going back.
Funny how such an issue at just the right moment could ensure that the Retardlicfucks would be shown once and for all as the regressive, superstitious fools that they truly are......the world is moving forward without them, no matter how much they scream and cry and throw tantrums......
And it is interesting how this issue DOES exist at this particular moment in history in THIS election year with THESE candidates.
Mittens - The man who has no plans for anything, only looks presidential, but like all other Conservafucks wants to live in the 1950s forever.......and that is the only platform he has to run on....
At least he is a Moron, which has got to bother most conservative Christians to no end....
Obama - An intellectual who has a plan for everything. Valid or not, at least he can analyze every issue and create a program to deal with it. And he wants to move FORWARD into the future.
I have no desire to live in the 1950s. The 1960s were no piece of cake either.Comment
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Seems this year there is going to be a lot to post in this thread.
Looks like possession of less than 25 grams of pot in New York is already legal unless it is burning or in "Public view". All cops have to do is ask someone to empty their pockets, and if they have pot, doing so will put it in "public view" and cause the person to be arrested. Governero Cuomo wants to stop the practice.
Cuomo Targets Stop-And-Frisk, Seeks To Lower Number Of Low-Level Marijuana Arrests
Posted: 06/04/2012 9:40 am Updated: 06/04/2012 1:28 pm
Entering the debate over NYPD stop-and-frisks, Governor Andrew Cuomo is proposing legislation that would decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana in public view.
The Governor plans to meet with state lawmakers Monday, The New York Times reports, in an attempt to amend a state law that was the basis for the arrest of over 50,000 people in New York City last year, most of whom were black or Latino.
Under the current law, possession of 25 grams or less of marijuana shouldn't result in arrest unless it's "burning or in public view." The NYPD, however, will often ask the hundreds of thousands they stop on the streets to empty their pockets, and when the marijuana comes out of the pocket, it becomes "in public view," and they can make an arrest.
There are more arrests for low-level marijuana offenses than any other crime in New York City. According to the Associated Press, marijuana arrests in New York account for one out of every seven cases in the city's criminal courts. In 2010, the city spent $75 million to put pot-smokers behind bars.
In September, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly issued a memo, telling city cops, "A crime will not be charged to an individual who is requested or compelled to engage in the behavior that results in the public display of marijuana." The Times reports, however, that the effect of Kelly's order on the number of marijuana arrests has been minimal.
"This proposal will bring long overdue consistency and fairness to New York State's Penal Law and save thousands of New Yorkers, particularly minority youth, from the unnecessary and life-altering trauma of a criminal arrest, and, in some cases, prosecution," a Cuomo official told The Times.
Mayor Bloomberg disagrees with Cuomo's position on marijuana arrests. The Mayor's argued before that the arrests deter other, more serious crimes.
UPDATE: Mayor Michael Bloomberg has come out in support of Governor Cuomo's plan. Bloomberg said Cuomo's plan "strikes the right balance," by allowing cops to still arrest those who are smoking in public. “We look forward to working with legislative leaders to help pass a bill before the end of session,” the mayor said in a statement. Ray Kelly will attend Cuomo's press conference Monday in a show of support of the bill.
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Ok....latest attempt to make it possible for farmers to grow industrial hemp:
Ron Wyden Introduces Industrial Hemp Amendment To Farm Bill
Posted: 06/07/2012 1:46 pm Updated: 06/07/2012 1:57 pm
Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) on Thursday introduced an amendment to the farm bill that would allow farmers to grow industrial hemp.
The amendment, S.3240, would exclude industrial hemp from the definition of "marihuana," thereby allowing hemp farming to be regulated by state permitting programs, bypassing the federal government's long-standing prohibition of marijuana. A sister bill, H.R. 1831, was introduced in the House earlier this session by Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas).
"The federal prohibition on growing industrial hemp has forced companies to needlessly import raw materials from other countries," said Wyden in a statement on Thursday. "My amendment to the Farm Bill will change federal policy to allow U.S. farmers to produce hemp for these safe and legitimate products right here, helping both producers and suppliers to grow and improve Oregon's economy in the process."
Seventeen states have passed pro-hemp legislation, while eight have removed barriers to its production. Still, farmers in these states are at risk of being raided by federal agents and losing their crops.
Vote Hemp, a national nonprofit dedicated to promoting the crop, is encouraging people to write and call their senators in support of the amendment and has received hundreds of supporter emails, according to National Outreach Coordinator Tom Murphy.
The organization's president, Eric Steenstra, said he thinks current hemp prohibitions stem largely from the failure of federal policy to distinguish between oilseed and fiber varieties of cannabis.
"Senator Wyden's effort is unprecedented and totally commendable, but in my view the existing prohibition of hemp farming stems less from current law, but rather the misinterpretation of existing law by the Obama administration," he said.
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Rhode Island is poised to become the 15th state to decriminlize small amounts of marijunana:
Efforts to relax pot rules gaining momentum in US
Published June 10, 2012
Associated Press
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Catharine Leach is married and has two boys, age 2 and 8. She has a good job with a federal contractor and smokes pot most every day.
While she worries that her public support for marijuana decriminalization and legalization could cost her a job or bring the police to her door, the 30-year-old Warwick resident said she was tired of feeling like a criminal for using a drug that she said is far less harmful than the glass or wine or can of beer enjoyed by so many others after a long day's work. Like others around the nation working to relax penalties for possession of pot, she decided to stop hiding and speak out.
"I'm done being afraid," she said. "People in this country are finally coming around and seeing that putting someone in jail for this doesn't make sense. It's just a changing of the time."
Once consigned to the political fringe, marijuana policy is appearing on legislative agendas around the country thanks to an energized base of supporters and an increasingly open-minded public. Lawmakers from Rhode Island to Colorado are mulling medical marijuana programs, pot dispensaries, decriminalization and even legalization. Seventeen states and the District of Columbia now authorize medical marijuana and 14, including neighboring Connecticut and Massachusetts, have rolled back criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of pot.
Rhode Island is poised to become the 15th state to decriminalize marijuana possession. The state's General Assembly passed legislation last week that would eliminate the threat of big fines or even jail time for the possession of an ounce or less of pot. Instead, adults caught with small amounts of marijuana would face a $150 civil fine. Police would confiscate the marijuana, but the incident would not appear on a person's criminal record.
Minors caught with pot would also have to complete a drug awareness program and community service.
Gov. Lincoln Chafee has said he is inclined to sign the legislation.
One of the bill's sponsors, state Rep. John Edwards of Tiverton, has introduced similar proposals in past years but the idea always sputtered in committee. Each year, though, he got more co-sponsors, and the bill passed the House this year 50-24. The state Senate passed it 28-6.
Some supporters of decriminalization say they'd like to go even further.
"America's 50-year war on drugs has been an abysmal failure," said Rep. John Savage, a retired school principal from East Providence. "Marijuana in this country should be legalized. It should be sold and taxed."
Opponents warned of dire consequences to the new policy.
"What kind of message are we sending to our youth? We are more worried about soda — for health reasons — than we are about marijuana," said one opponent, Rhode Island state Rep. John Carnevale a Democrat from Providence.
A survey by Rasmussen last month found that 56 percent of respondents favored legalizing and regulating marijuana. A national Gallup poll last year showed support for legalizing pot had reached 50 percent, up from 46 percent in 2010 and 25 percent in the mid-'90s.
Medical marijuana helped bring marijuana policy into the mainstream back in 1996, when California became the first state to authorize the use of cannabis for medicinal use. Other states followed suit.
"It's now politically viable to talk about these things," said Robert Capecchi, legislative analyst with the Marijuana Policy Project, a Washington, D.C.-based group that supports the reduction or elimination of penalties for medical and recreational pot use. "The public understands that there are substances that are far more harmful — alcohol, tobacco — that we regulate. People are realizing just how much money is being wasted on prohibition."
Colorado and Washington state will hold fall referendums on legalizing marijuana. A ballot question on legalization failed in California in 2010.
This month, Connecticut's governor signed legislation to allow medical marijuana there. Last week, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo proposed cutting the penalty for public possession of small amounts of pot.
Liberal state policies on marijuana have run into conflict with federal prohibition. Federal authorities have shut down more than 40 dispensaries this year in Colorado, even though they complied with state and local law. In Rhode Island, Gov. Lincoln Chafee blocked three dispensaries from opening last year after the state's top federal prosecutor warned they could be prosecuted. Chafee and lawmakers then rewrote the dispensary law to restrict the amount of marijuana dispensaries may have on hand.
Robert DuPont, who served as the nation's drug czar under presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, said Americans should be wary of a slippery slope to legalization. While marijuana may not cause the life-threatening problems associated with heroin, cocaine or methamphetamine, it's far from harmless.
"It is a major drug of abuse," he said. "People ask me what the most dangerous drug is, and I say marijuana. Other drugs have serious consequences that are easy to recognize. Marijuana saps people's motivation, their direction. It's a drug that makes people stupid and lazy. That's in a way more dangerous."
Ha...Robert Dupont is a fucking moron. And I am GLAD they drag him out to get his side of the story, as his opinion is so removed from reality, it only serves to show intelligent people that he has no valid argument.
Marijuana is the most dangerous drug? Dangerous how? A majority of all other illegal drugs cause people to DIE!
So how is it that drugs that cause you to die are NOT more dangerous than a drug that CANNOT cause you to die?
Fucking idiot.
Standard asslicker of the Retardlican party with the standard intelligence level. An IQ that is the same as his shoe size.Last edited by Hardrock69; 06-11-2012, 05:35 AM.Comment
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