Marijuana Politics Hit the Nation's Capitol

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/marijuana-politics-hit-nations-capitol



In the wake of the legalization victories in Colorado and Washington last November, and medical marijuana in Massachusetts, activists are talking about where the next marijuana reform campaigns should be waged and what they should attempt to do. One document that has gotten some discussion is from the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), listing seven states where it would be working to legalize marijuana next. The list includes possible tax and regulate initiatives in Alaska, California, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada and Oregon.

Absent from the list is one jurisdiction that would also appear ripe for a legalization initiative: Washington, DC. The nation's capital has several things going for it.

DC has the initiative process, and activists used it to great effect in passing medical marijuana with 69% of the vote in 1998 (even if, thanks to Congressional action and the glacial pace of the DC government it has taken 15 years to implement it). The District is also overwhelmingly liberal; Obama won with 91% of the vote in November.

Unlike large states like California, the District is small in size and population and would not require a huge expenditure of resources to gather enough signatures to make the ballot. Similarly, it is a relatively small media market, meaning TV advertising would be in reach of all but the most ill-funded campaign.

[Apache Crew Chief 65]

1. No Addiction is a benefit for our country

The banner stretches across the entire store “we are now accepting applicants”. After witnessing this banner over a lengthy time I inquired with the manager on why they cannot fill their vacancies? Apparently the candidates cannot pass a drug screen test required for employment and current individuals on payroll are terminated because of drug use in the workplace.

California is always falling into the ocean because of earthquakes, drugs and alcohol and unchristian like behavior, and the list can go on and on and on because we are the state of milk and honey.

Addictions to marijuana have all the drug dealers living in the lap of luxury today. Addiction to alcohol and all the alcohol related businesses are also living in the lap of luxury today.

I witnessed a large support for legalizing marijuana and I have reservations on the justifications for its merit today or in its future in America for no addiction is a benefit for our country.

[Politicub]

2. Addiction is a public health problem, not a new problem brought about by legalized

or decriminalized marijuana.

The way to deal with it is a sustained approach by society, and bringing substances out of the shadows so that much of the shame and stigma with abuse can be dealt with openly.

I would be interested in reading more about your assertion that California businesses can not fill openings because of candidates returning positive drug screens. I haven't heard about this, and google didn't return any credible studies about this supposed issue.

[Apache Crew Chief 65]

4. Addiction to marijuana

A very good friend of mine must be from out of this world. He lost everything his wife and his family and his home and his employment because of his addiction to marijuana.

As a union representative I managed to get him into the best treatment center available to relieve him of his addiction to marijuana after he failed a mandatory drug screening tests for Southern California Gas Company as a crew leader. He was very well-liked and we all embraced him when he came back to work and within a week he was terminated because of his addiction to marijuana could not be extinguished.

[MindPilot]

7. Sorry about your friend.

But pot is NOT his biggest problem.

[Pryderi]

8. He lost his job because of the drug screening, not the effects of

marijuana.

The problem is the way society treats marijuana use, not the use of marijuana.

[Apache Crew Chief 65]

12. Living in Denial

Living in denial is a byproduct of an addiction.
The drug enforcement agency eradicated in 2010 10,329,185 marijuana plants.
The drug enforcement agency seizes in 2009 2,980,074 metric times of marijuana in 2009.
Drug treatment centers all across America are blooming because the addiction to marijuana or like some people might want to say dependents on recreational use of marijuana or the occasional day of smoking marijuana.

The fact is no employer is willing to jeopardize its reputation and its liability by employing individuals who are under the influence and jeopardizing their judgment.

Do you want to have surgery performed by a medical staff high on marijuana or a medical staff performing the surgery free of any substance to hindered their judgment?

[JTFrog]

16. Probably happens every day.

How common is drug testing done on surgeons? I mean don't we save the drug testing for people like grocery stock persons and maintenance technicians who have a far higher risk of harming someone while working high.

Your posts read like something out of Refer Madness.

[hootinholler]

23. I don't think addiction means what you are using it to mean

As to living in denial, if you've bought into the DARE propaganda, then yes you are living in denial.

Drug treatment centers all across america are booming (if in fact they are booming due to reefer) because when someone has a positive test returned, before an employer can dismiss them, they send them off to treatment.

I'd much rather have a surgeon who has smoked a little pot than have one with an actual addiction to like opiates or amphetamines.

[tridim]

58. I had a oral surgeon friend who was stealing opiates from his practice..

Lots of them, the hardest opiates he could get his hands on. See "Drugstore Cowboy" for reference.

He eventually got caught and unlike the "Pot Addict" described above, he was not fired. It's just sooooo fair!

He also told me that opiate addiction is very common in his field. Especially now, with Oxycontin.

[felix_numinous]

27. You sound like you would also support alcohol prohibition.

Alcohol is very addictive, and no one wants their pilot, brain surgeon or truck driver to be drunk either. The legalization of alcohol allows people to drink on their time off.

There are responsible drinkers and there are addicts. There are millions of responsible pot smokers across this country whose use does not in the least affect their competency on their jobs or the way they raise their children, or the way they drive.

What we are deciding to do is to allow responsible pot users to not be treated like criminals. Legalization will not increase the numbers of addicts, nor change the way drug testing is done. Pilots and surgeons will still have to be straight and sober.

The challenge with drug testing for pot is distinguishing someone who is currently under the influence of the psychoactive effects from someone who may have smoked hours ago, IMHO.

[NoOneMan]

54. alcohol, tobacco, corn syrup, coffee, soda, and throw in chamomile for good measure

For anyone who cars...harm score to drug:

[DisgustipatedinCA]

44. are you aware your story isn't believable?

Just wanted to make sure we're all pointed in the right direction here, which is why I'm explicitly letting you know, nobody believes what you're trying to sell, just in case you thought you were having some measure of success. Hint: 20 posts with a strong agenda is ALWAYS a dead giveaway.

[Mr.Bill]

66. You are making a great arguement

to ban alcohol.

[Nanjing to Seoul]

14. addicted to pot? You're kidding, right?

he was canned due to his smoking pot, not because of addiction to it. stupid concept.

[marsis]

31. Troll,

really?
There is no such thing as a physical addiction to marijuana. Maybe a mental addiction, much like running, or watching too much TV, etc. Nothing like basing your ideals on sound bites, do you watch Fox News? That may explain it.

[Sunlei]

36. he should have been a meth addict, don't use meth for a day and the drug test will be clean.

How much do 'they' pay you to shill the bs?

[farminator3000]

38. tell your buddy to get a medical MJ 'prescription'

and take the assholes to court for firing him.

HAACP, heard of it? can't fire someone for having a 'disease'

particularly when is IS NOT A DISEASE

[Comrade Grumpy]

47. Sadly, if he sued his former employer, he would lose.

This has already been litigated in California. The case is Raging Wire.

[farminator3000]

49. pass my drug test dot com, then

there are THOUSANDS of people doing it every day.

i know a guy who lost his license for a DUI and kept working for verizon without it.

whatever.

marijuana is an herbal medicine, less dangerous than aspirin.

read some medical reports.

http://www.ibtimes.com/%E2%80%98medical%E2%80%99-marijuana-10-health-benefits-legitimize-legalization-742456


Prescription drugs kill about 100,000 people in the world each year. Off the top of your head, do you know how many deaths are caused by using marijuana, either medicinally or recreationally?
‘Medical’ Marijuana: 10 Health Benefits That Legitimize Legalization


Prescription drugs kill between about 100,000 people in the world each year, but marijuana, medical or not, has caused absolutely zero deaths. Weed, pot, ganja, or whatever you want to call it, cannabis has actually been a favorable treatment in the treatment of about 200 different medical conditions. Here are 10 ways marijuana can improve your health, which also act as legitimate reasons as to why legalization should be a serious debate.

"There are no deaths from cannabis use. Anywhere. You can't find one," said Dr. Lester Grinspoon, professor emeritus at Harvard Medical School.

Believe it: In 10,000 years of known use of cannabis, there's never been a single death attributed to marijuana.

Meanwhile, it's a fact that anyone can die from ingesting too much aspirin, or too much coffee, or too much wine. Marijuana, on the other hand, medical or not, is not only non-lethal, but likely beneficial. Several studies, some published as recently as a few months ago, have shown that marijuana can even be good for your health, and could help treat conditions better than the solutions being cooked up in the labs.

The late Dr. Tod Mikuriya, a former national administrator of the U.S. government's marijuana research programs, appeared in a film about the business of marijuana prohibition shortly before his 2007 death called "The Union." (The full movie is available on both Netflix and YouTube.)

"After dealing with about 10,000 patents in the last 15 years, I'd say about 200 different medical conditions respond favorably to cannabis," Mikuriya said.

We won't go through all 200 conditions here, but here are 10 of the most notable, common conditions, afflictions and diseases that marijuana has been proven to help.

[NoOneMan]

53. So he can't work at an earth raping company any more?

If that bothers him, I recommend more pot.

[Mr.Bill]

65. And there are people who have lost everything

from a gambling addiction, too. You know, that same gambling that is legal in 48 states.

[marble falls]

3. All making pot illegal has done is make high paying jobs for criminals. The resorts out here used...

to mandate pee testing. When they could no longer fill positions, they dropped the testing and they now have full staffs. Legalize it, the prices will drop and criminals will will have to find a new game - maybe banking or in the Pentagon supply chain.

[bemildred]

5. Hemp is neither addicting nor harmful, though people DO overindulge.

But they do that with everything.

The problems surrounding hemp all stem from criminalization. Hemp was legal and encouraged for thousands of years, the trouble only started when racists in the US decided to criminalize the intoxicant habits of the underclasses, as they saw it, privileging booze and tobacco (which were big business) over other, cheaper drugs, of which there are many.

And the effect, of course, has been to make the prohibited drugs big business too. Talk about unintended consequences.

[NoOneMan]

52. Hemp is not pot

The terms ought to be separate and their legalization should be completely independent from each other. Both should be legal, but hemp should be without further ado and public discussion, period.

[raouldukelives]

9. The drug laws have made it hard to work for corporations.

As if supporting & profiting from the takeover of our government, the downfall of human enlightenment and our natural world wasn't a hard enough pill to swallow. Now you have to give them your blood as well. Still, if one stays perfectly clean, one can have the joy of working for Chevron and sleep well knowing they are doing all they can to ensure climate change deniers are well compensated.
It's a tough call.

[Uncle Joe]

22. + all that exists.

[cthulu2016]

19. Oh Jesus... that's an asshole employer problem, not a drug problem

Somebody decides to not hire people who smoke pot, and thus pot is indeed a problem... caused by the employer.

Marijuana is one of the less addictive substances out there. It is eerily non-addictive.

Why anyone would hire alcohol users while not hiring MJ users is one of those cosmic mysteries of things clueless assholes do, not an intrinsic problem with MJ.

[farminator3000]

30. that's wonderful, except you forgot about coffee

also an addiction. worse than MJ, which is NOT physically addictive, just psychologically, for 3 DAYS.

Cause of death (Data from 2009 unless otherwise noted)1 Number

All Causes 2,437,163

Diseases of Heart 599,413
Malignant Neoplasms 567,628
Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases 137,353
Cerebrovascular Diseases 128,842
Lack of Health Insurance3 (2005) 44,789
Poisoning 41,592
Drug-Induced2 39,147
Intentional Self-Harm (Suicide) 36,909
Septicemia 35,639 holy shit!!!!
Motor Vehicle Accidents 34,485
Firearm Injuries 31,347
Alcohol-Induced 24,518
Illicit Drugs (2000) 17,000
Homicide 16,799
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) 9,406
Viral hepatitis 7,694
Cannabis (Marijuana) 0

(i'm throwing in aspirin there @ ~ 1000 deaths a year)

not really a problem. IT IS AN HERBAL MEDICINE

[backscatter712]

39. Why didn't you know, you smoke weed, you'll end up like this!

PLAY FASTER!

[farminator3000]

41. how about the AUTISTIC CHILDREN that benefit from MJ?

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/AutismNews/mother-son-marijuana-treat-autism/story?id=9153881

***

you agree with this CRAP?
California Appellate Court Rules In Favor Of Family Who Wrongfully Had Their Child Taken Away

There aren’t many things that make me sadder than hearing stories about parents having their children taken away. Unfortunately, that was the case with a family in California in May 2011. The family was reported for being marijuana consumers with a child in the residence, which resulted in a visit from the California Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). During the visit, the child in question’s parents provided information that they were medical cannabis patients. After a battle with DCFS, the child was placed into protective custody.
http://www.theweedblog.com/california-court-rules-medical-marijuana-is-no-reason-to-take-a-child-away/

***

http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/10/health/medical-marijuana-child/index.html
Medical marijuana helps stem 6-year-old's seizures

[ieoeja]

42. Most drug dealers live in the mom's basement.

You should not confuse movies with reality. A typical drug dealer is a heavy user who met his dealer's supplier then replaced his dealer upon his dealer's incarceration. He buys solely for himself and his only customers are his friends. One of his friends has now met his supplier and, should the new dealer be arrested, his friend will commence buying for himself and his friends.

All that Hollywood crap is well above the level of "dealer" in the supply chain.

[Phlem]

46. Oh Noes!

it's the weed that's going to bring us all down don't cha know!

FFS.



-p

[NoOneMan]

51. Have you ever sucked dick for marijauna?

[Romulus Quirinus]

59. My best friend died of a marijuana overdose..

He had 12, they said. The needle was still in his arm when they found him.

[JesterCS]

61. hopefully this is a joke n/t

[Romulus Quirinus]

63. ;) nt

[sorefeet]

6. I know a guy scamming SSDI

plus he grows and sells pot, calling it medical marijuana. He makes 50 grand a year selling the pot pluis his SSDI. The cops refuse to touch him and they are well aware of it, thats a fact.
It might be put on U tube, how the cops turn a blind eye in this state. The SSDI scam is unbeleivable what he's got going on. He scammed them twice still recives SSDI. Says he knows his rights and does not have to take any test to prove his disability nor does he have to take their medicine, he refuses any kind of treatment. BECAUSE THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH HIM. He has told me he scammed. Lousy doctors,investigators and policy, is all I can say.
This guy tells me the cops don't want him because he is the "little guy".
But of course it isn't unusual to see a drunk on the front page with his 13 DUI in Montana either.

[raouldukelives]

10. I know a bunch of dudes who luandered money for drug cartels.

Who traded with enemies of the US. Who stole billions from the least among us. Who destroy our natural world and ensure it will never be the same again. Who evaded taxation offshore and who openly despise the idea of freedom. The cops refuse to touch them. Lots of folks support them, still, even with the knowledge of what they are profiting from. They tell me the cops don't want them because they are too big to fail.

[cthulu2016]

20. cool story... that has nothing to do with pot

[farminator3000]

32. so he's bribing the cops

turn him in to the feds if you are so upset.

he makes legitimate users of medical MJ (who FAR outnumber him) look like assholes.

and it sounds like corrupt cops. they bust plenty of LEGIT MMJ users, who make NO $$$, why not this dude.

riiight, the $$$.

[backscatter712]

37. A schmuck with 135 posts put it on the Internet, so it must be true!

Next, you're going to insinuate they're lazy, shiftless, and something else?

[NoOneMan]

57. People like this set things backwards

But there are dirtbags everywhere....pot smokers and/or corporate CEOs.

[Romulus Quirinus]

64. See COPYPASTA

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/copypasta

[marmar]

11. Hmm. The drug warriors are out and about upthread this morning.

[sorefeet]

13. I have smoked pot for 40 years

Do you condone cheating SSDI and faking a disease. Is it ok to hide behind medical marijuana.

[ohheckyeah]

40. How did he get doctors to document

his disability? You can't just get SSDI without proof of a disease or disability.

[sorefeet]

67. wanna bet

I have learned a lot about cheating ssdi. This guy is a career criminal. And he has been turned in.

[farminator3000]

43. you should get some better shit, maybe

turn him in if it bothers you.

or don't be his friend. (or buy his shit)

whatever.

[liberal_at_heart]

15. yes the trolls are out in force today I see

[woo me with science]

17. It is unconscionable policy.

It is a racket, and it is nothing short of evil.

You don't have to like marijuana to see how corrupt this policy is. Speaking as someone who has never smoked a joint in my life, I am sickened and outraged by the fact that millions of Americans are imprisoned and serving draconian sentences for smoking a little pot, while bankers who destroyed millions of lives go scott free. Look at the numbers. Just look at them.

It's all about filthy money, as is most policy these days. It's about lobbyists and barrels of cash and protecting the alcohol industry and growing big pharma and the prison industrial complex. It is an obscene waste of tax dollars that are desperately needed elsewhere, destroys countless lives and families, and is morally outrageous as policy.

*Especially* from a Democratic administration.

[Buddyblazon]

18. The Reefer Madness crowd...

are losing their shit over losing control of the narrative. Welp...you had the narrative for eighty years. People don't believe your erroneous propaganda anymore.

And "addiction"? Give me a break. Spoken by another Prohibitionist who knows nothing about the plant and betting people's ignorance. Too late. Your BS doesn't work anymore because people know the truth.

In the end, now that research is finally happening, they'll discover that Cannabis is nothing more than catnip for people.

And just a little bit of truth for the prohibitionists to suck on:

No one in the history of mankind has ever died from ingesting marijuana. Not even water can share that claim.

[woo me with science]

21. It reminds me of Joe Friday:

[Buddyblazon]

24. I quit drinking 15 years ago...

but Cannabis will always be a part of my life.

[woo me with science]

26. Yeah,

there are people I care about very much who I wish would trade alcohol for cannabis. My best to you.

Money and corruption breed sick messages, and even sicker policy.

[farminator3000]

34. good for you

more like 15 weeks on the no booze, and not forever, but,

i'm just too freakin old. arthritis? check. hangover from 2 beers? no thanks!

[Buddyblazon]

25. And that video makes me...

want to line up the writers and slap them all.

[woo me with science]

29. Dragnet is really interesting as history.

Jack Webb was working closely with the LAPD for that show. It is campy as hell now, but a fascinating study in establishment propaganda.

There's a great episode where Joe Friday attends an encounter group-type graduate night school class where nobody is supposed to provide much information about their personal history or occupations...just relate to each other as people. He accidentally sees an envelope of pot in another student's notebook during class, follows the guy down the hall after class, and arrests him. The professor gets very angry about this and has the class vote on whether Joe should remain in the class, and the students vote to expel him.

The grand climax comes when Joe gives a passionate speech about how he was doing his duty for them, as citizens, and the class votes to reinstate him instead.

https://www.youtube.com/verify_age?next_url=/watch%3Fv%3DkI-rm1XjGBY

[Voice for Peace]

28. the problem is, when we legalized catnip at my house,

all the neighborhood cats and their friends and relations
started showing up at all hours.. at the doors, windows,
crying plaintively.. I tell them, "just say no" but they
still cry. I think they can smell the catnip from blocks
away.

[green for victory]

45. "now that research is finally happening..."

That research has taken place, and the Feds took advantage of it, while busting legal dispensaries. They are now awarding the fruits of that research.

People don't seem to be able to process this- just ask yourself how many convictions could the Feds get if everyone knew they were taking out a patent on that which they claim there is "no medical use?"

The entire fiasco would be over next month. But, for some reason, it won't. Go figure.

[Sunlei]

33. I wish they could free the hemp industry. Koch owns the cotton rope industry, hates hemp products.

If Americans were really free to run their own farms, grow what wish.. we could have a real local econemy for all citizens.

Not just those with lobbyists out the wazoo bribing politicans.

[farminator3000]

35. i hadn't made the connect yet

OF COURSE, the KOCKS own rope.

silly me! thanks!

[Comrade Grumpy]

48. Legalize it, DC! Think of the headlines.

[stuntcat]

55. +1 !

DC!

[Recursion]

62. You mean, "House Republicans put DC back into receivership after MJ legalization"? (nt)

[farminator3000]

50. somebody please tell Mr. President to HIT THIS!!!

‘Medical’ Marijuana: 10 Health Benefits That Legitimize Legalization
http://www.ibtimes.com/%E2%80%98medical%E2%80%99-marijuana-10-health-benefits-legitimize-legalization-742456

The late Dr. Tod Mikuriya, a former national administrator of the U.S. government's marijuana research programs, appeared in a film about the business of marijuana prohibition shortly before his 2007 death called "The Union." (The full movie is available on both Netflix and YouTube.)

"After dealing with about 10,000 patents in the last 15 years, I'd say about 200 different medical conditions respond favorably to cannabis," Mikuriya said.

We won't go through all 200 conditions here, but here are 10 of the most notable, common conditions, afflictions and diseases that marijuana has been proven to help.

HEALTHCARE COSTS!!! yoo hoo!

[benld74]

56. Dude, Where's My Car? in 3,2,1,,,,

And then?


And Then?


And then?

[Chathamization]

60. DC needs statehood

I imagine that we could get a measure legalizing marijuana passed in DC, but I wonder about how congress will interfere with it like they did with medicinal marijuana. DC is probably also a good place to push for local single-payer, or at least a public option.

[woo me with science]

68. k&r