MONTEL WILLIAMS SLAMS CONGRESS-Marijuana Laws

[Speciesamused]

Run time: 04:41 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00XZ_XgeIq4   Posted on YouTube: June 27, 2008 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: June 27, 2008 By DU Member: Speciesamused Views on DU: 7271

 
I can understand his frustration with the U.S. Government taking payoffs
from the Big Pharmaceutical companies, while people are in severe pain.
They control what we are allowed to put in our own bodies.
It is control of the masses and the money. Bravo to Montel for standing up.
Peace

[cbc5g]

1. Thanks for the vid...marijuana should be made available medicinally and should be decrim'd

for everyone in the united states. I don't want to have to move to one of the 12 states where its legal just to treat my crohn's disease. It should be available legally now.

[earth mom]

2. I believe that Marijuana should be legalized but only for medical reasons.

Wow, but Montel is powerful in that video! No doubt he is considered dangerous to the powers that be. Stay safe Montel!

[Speciesamused]

3. Thats all we are asking.

The pharmaceutical companies will not have it.
They would lose billions. Thanks

[kimmylavin]

18. Why only for medical reasons?

I can legally get drunk, which I find incredibly unpleasant, but if I'd like to smoke a joint with my husband after a long day at work, I'm risking jail time?

How does this make sense to you?

[earth mom]

22. I watched my 3 brothers go down the drain with drugs starting with pot.

From my personal experience it's a gateway drug.

Which of course will piss off many people around DU who believe otherwise.

But I have too many bad, ugly and sad memories to change my feeling about it.

edited to add that I don't agree with the how stringent the laws are either.

[bertman]

25. It's not a "gateway drug" any more than caffeine is.

That gateway drug b.s. is just one more of the propaganda tools used by the authoritarians to keep the masses under control. More laws, more cops, more prisons, more corruption, more profits for the top producers and distributors of the illegal substances, and less competition for Big Pharma.

If all the tight-asses out there in the world knew how many professional, honorable, honest, tax-paying citizens smoked pot or smoke pot but don't do any other drugs except maybe drink alcohol, it would totally blow their minds. But, who would risk telling those uptight, I-want-everybody-to-believe-what-I-believe types? Nobody who sees the drug hysteria going on around them.

Do you honestly believe that your brothers wouldn't have found some other way to start their journey "down the drain"?

INSTEAD OF STIGMATIZING THEM AND CRIMINALIZING THEM and other drug users, let's put our money, compassion, medical research and brain power into helping people find ways to treat those among us who are unfortunate enough to be addictive personality types who use drugs as their crutch.

I'm sorry your brothers have had such an unfortunate life, but I'm sick and tired of people attributing ruined lives to marijuana use.

[RNdaSilva]

26. Absolutely....

and I've known many, many in the group that you've alluded to.

[Deliphus]

44. No gateway drug

The entire "gateway" argument is based on using the stats backwards.

The way they use them is: how many heroin addicts used marijuana. Well, if that's the gauge then how many drank milk???? Uh, that would make milk as much of a "gateway" as marijuana.

The proper way to find the possibility would be: how many pot smokers went on to use heroin. That percentage would be so low that the argument could not be made.

But this is how they operate. It's up to us to point this out whenever possible.

[Schema Thing]

34. Well it's sad that they did that. But that really doesn't say

anything about why pot should be illegal.


Where it not illegal, a hell of a lot of money would be available for treatment of people who have addiction and behavior problems (who somehow manage to find something to abuse, including one of the worst: alcohol).

[Politicalboi]

35. To me the only

Logical reason your brothers did other drugs is because they went to a house that sold other drugs. If pot was legal like booze you go into a store and buy it. The guy behind the counter probably isn't going to whip out a mirror and offer you a line. That is how pot is related to "Gateway Drug". It is your surroundings that make the difference.

[AlbertCat]

36. OH MY GOD! The Gateway Drug!!!!!!!

Hey....I wonder what would happen if I didn't have to go to an illegal drug dealer to buy pot..... hmmmmm....

And exactly how does pot "make" someone try cocaine? The 2 are completely different in form and effect. What does LSD have to do with pot? I wonder if your 3 brothers had a drink before trying pot. Why isn't booze a "gateway drug"? Because it's legal?

[Bluenorthwest]

51. Booze is not a gateway

to that poster, because that poster uses booze. Just a guess, based on much personal experience.

[earth mom]

63. WRONG! I rarely drink. See my post to you below.

p.s. You have a LOT of nerve throwing accusations like that around! :grr:

[immoderate]

40. Did they have the same parents? Go to the same schools?

Why blame marijuana? Most marijuana smokers don't get into dangerous drugs. How do you explain that?

--IMM

[earth mom]

59. It was the late 60s and my oldest brother was the leader and the other 2 followed him.

We all had the same parents who were hard working good people who didn't deserve the crap that ensued. I was the goody two shoes who read books and got good grades for myself but also for my parents because I felt sorry for the hell they had to put up with.

[immoderate]

60. My point is it's hard to assign causality...

I know many people who are regular marijuana users. Some are doctors, lawyers, others with advanced degrees, or who have made fortunes. Should we give marijuana the credit for their success, as you give it the blame for your brothers' failures? Maybe they'd have been alright if they had never smoked it, but you really don't know.

One thing I'm sure of -- it doesn't rob you of your free will, and it's a rare person who cannot stop. I find it helpful for some types of activities. It harms nobody and I don't want to be considered a criminal for it.

--IMM

[earth mom]

66. Sorry but-Marijuana is addicting and so are hard drugs. I've seen it with my brothers & others. nt

[immoderate]

67. Remains to be seen.

It is not physically addictive for most people -- not like nicotine or heroin. Deprived of it, most people do not suffer withdrawal.

--IMM

[kimmylavin]

43. I'm sorry about your brothers...

But it seems its more a problem of addictive personalities than marijuana itself.

I've been smoking pot for about five years now, and I've NEVER wanted to try anything harder.
Heroin, cocaine, meth, etc just seem like some expensive, painful ways to ruin your life.
Pot just makes me want to eat Twinkies.

[Bluenorthwest]

49. But of course, your brothers

Drank alcohol. Every time I hear this line of crapola, the people who 'went down the drain' were drinkers and druggers. I'll bet you money that your brothers drank before they smoked pot, and yet you don't blame the drinking. Your experiences are false, your brothers' problems did not spring from pot but from drinking and hard drugs. Nobody's life goes down the tubes from smoking some pot, and that is just a fact.
What you need to do is get honest about your brothers, the drinking and the hard drugs. You know, I know a ton of people who had horrible life problems who first went to chruch. Is church a gateway?

Question number one: do you,yourself, drink alcohol of any kind, in any amount? If you do, then you are pulling wool over your own eyes.

[earth mom]

62. Two of my brothers are DEAD from drug use & crazy life styles. The other is mentally ill

from frying his brain with drugs and is homeless and nowhere to be found. I am basically the last one left out of a family of 6.

FYI-

My brothers didn't booze it up, they were druggies. They started in the late 60s with pot and experimented with other stuff-like pills, acid, mushrooms and heroin. But they always used pot at the same time.

Our family didn't go to church growing up although we were allowed to explore religion which we all did in our own way. I'm agnostic now.

I only drink wine or beer on Xmas & New Years-I still have half the bottle of wine left from last december in the fridge. But I never could drink a whole lot because I get queasy very easily plus I have a family of my own to take care of.

Obviously I was the goody two shoes of the family and tried to be the good kid for my parents who were good hearted and hard working people who didn't deserve the crap my brothers put them through. They also tried to help their sons but they didn't have a clue how to really-especially back in the 60s & 70s because there really weren't how to manuals or treatment facilities back then like there are now.

So how does this match up with your dime store psychology? NOT!

Obviously the ONLY one pulling the wool over their eyes is YOU. Sounds like you're living in DENIAL about YOUR drug use-big time. :eyes:

[Speciesamused]

55. Do you know how many people in this country

smoke weed? Millions and alot of them are spectacular Doctors and
the list is long of other spectacular people who get high rather than get drunk.
I am sorry for your brothers. But you are blaming a PLANT that has been utilized for thousands of years
on HUMAN actions. Someone is not taking responsibility for what they
choose to do in their life. Peace and Prosperity

[ikojo]

32. Marijuana is not legal because it'd be difficult to maintain

corporate control over it Almost anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of gardening can grow it. Corporations cannot control and thus make huge profits from it.

It's all about the greed.

Greed is what motivates most Americans.

[WilyWondr]

39. I do agree with that

being a reason for those corporations to put alot of money into keeping it illegal in the same way police/prison unions do. I have not noticed any corporate brewers being hurt by homebrewing even though that was legalized in 1979.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homebrewing

In November 1978, Congress passed a bill repealing Federal restrictions on the homebrewing of small amounts of beer. Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States, signed the bill into law in February 1979, and many states soon followed suit. However, this bill left individual states free to pass their own laws limiting production. For example, homebrewing is still illegal in the state of Alabama.

[Deliphus]

45. Almost anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of gardening can grow it.

That's all well and good but we all know that given the choice between growing it or getting it at a store, packaged and destemed and deseeded dried and already rolled for your convenience, the vast majority of Americans would just go buy it.

Then it could be taxed, and MAYBE put a little dent in the deficit. Now THERE is a REAL solution.

[Speciesamused]

54. It dosent, but with the current religious right wings running our country

we are trying work slow. I am for legalization period.
If you have never read The Emperor wears No clothes you should. Peace and Prosperity
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?p=7505D19FCB5396D9&index=15&feature=PlayList&v=OmX3UQIbfXI>

[kimmylavin]

58. That's so funny!

I ordered that book a few weeks ago, and it literally arrived yesterday!
I'll check out the video, but I must sleep now... :)

[fascisthunter]

4. Waste of Tax Money. Decriminalize it....

locking people up for this just fucks up people's chances to make a decent living. Punishing people like that doesn't do any good, it makes matters worse and it frickin' expensive to us tax payers.

[WilyWondr]

9. Not to mention

it takes time away from catching and locking up real criminals that are hurting/robing/raping/killing people.

[fascisthunter]

48. excellent points

[Zachstar]

5. Too bad Congress is nothing but a bunch of fucking cowards.

If our democratic leadership had any kind of courage they would at once legalize hemp production and start a massive nationwide campaign for opinions and scientific research of the uses of it as a drug. So that we get SENSIBLE laws where Pot is taxed ONLY by the US gov and not robber barron states that put insane taxes on tobacco.

[wildbilln864]

6. *k&r! nt

[AtheistCrusader]

7. Yarp

That was an informative video.

[WilyWondr]

8. Thank you Montel

We need more people like him speaking the truth.

:applause:

[Seldona]

10. Even beyond the medical issue,

there is the issue of those that wish to use it just like the majority of Americans use alcohol, responsibly. Why should one man be allowed to get drunk legally, and another go to jail for smoking a joint? And I am talking about responsible use in your own home.

There is no logic behind it. Legalize one or ban the other as far as I am concerned. The origins of the drug war lie in racism as it is.

[Ahpook]

12. Yes:)

And for fucks sake, it is just a weed after all.

I am extremely upset today with all this shit in our country. Hartmann is in Denmark this week. Just hearing how progressive they are hurts me

We can do all those great things here, and more..

I am sick and tired of being called a hippy for wanting a decent country THAT WE ALL CAN ENJOY.


WHAT IS WRONG WITH BEING HAPPY AND HEALTHY?

On edit: It's not just the drug thing, it's all of it.

Healthcare, schools, you name it, we could have it!

[unapatriciated]

23. don't forget Breast Cancer

and helps to shrink tumors.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071123211703.htm

http://www.alternet.org/story/9257/

My son has suffered from an autoimmune disorder since he was thirteen, he started using medicinal marijuana after his first Chemo treatment. Today it helps control his daily pain and muscle spasms, this makes it possible for him to attend The Art Institute of San Francisco in hopes that someday he will be able to support himself as a graphic artist. The Federal Government is always interfering with state's such as California, that have passed medical marijuana laws but Rush gets a free pass for oxyicotin.

[iamthebandfanman]

11. cannabis

is one of the greatest plants on earth. its versatility alone should count for something.
clothing, paper, not to mention its oxygen production.
industrial hemp would help millions of farmers with no viable cash crop and revive the american textiles industry.

[shanti]

20. yes, hemp!

they won't even allow hemp, let alone cannabis, proof of how powerful this plant is. if they were smart, they'd diversify.

[JDPriestly]

29. I'm not interested and don't need to use marijuana, but I have a funny memory about it.

Back in the second half of the 1960s, when frankly, I had not yet heard much about marijuana, I went to visit my grandmother who had lived on farms and small towns in rural Iowa most of her life. She was laughing about the fact that she had seen hemp plants growing wild in Iowa all over the place all her life and now young people were making such a big deal about it.

Marijuana and solar energy are anathema to big business because consumers don't need big business as an intermediary to obtain them. There are no big profits to be made on solar energy or marijuana. Big business can sell alcohol for huge profits. They can sell coal for huge profits. But marijuana and solar power are things people can produce for themselves.

Americans who want to become and less dependent on big business and money should start gardening and using as many home remedies for what ails them as possible. Chamomile tea is commonly used in Europe for mild stomach upsets. The hospital in Austria gave my oldest daughter (an incredibly healthy person) chamomile tea as the first drink of her life. And, when she was just a few months old, my German doctor told me to give my daughter chamomile or fennel tea if she was still hungry after she ate. (At one point, she was gaining weight too quickly.) Fennel tea can also make adults feel less hungry. Ginger is good for a mildly upset stomach. Without pain killers, exercises, in my experience, can relieve a lot of back pain including pretty bad arthritis. A tea of thyme can reduce swelling in a sore throat. There are so many good home cures for small ailments. Pharmaceutical products should be used only for serious or intractable problems.

I don't know about the medicinal value of marijuana, but assuming it does have medicinal value, it is just one of many home remedies that people should learn about.

[shanti]

56. there are many

medicinal uses for marijuana, and it's even used in a tea too. my thing is that because hemp looks like cannabis, it's ALL banned, which is pure idiocy. it's really a miracle plant, wisdom weed, and the healing of the nations.

[windoe]

13. Plants that naturally grow on the Earth should not be banned.

Just speaking my truth.

[shanti]

21. that is

exactly what i think too! :thumbsup:

[AlbertCat]

38. Well, hell....pass the poppy seeds!

[bamacrat]

14. It should be fully legalized and regulated.

It is the most natural pain reducing, stress relieving, appetite stimulating, mind opening plant known to man. It is perfect, and with the obvious potential for making money and jobs, I cant believe it is still illegal. I like Montel a little more now.

:smoke: :patriot:

[ShaneGR]

15. It's all about profit for big Pharma....

Marijuana is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known. No one has ever died from an overdose, and it has a wide variety of therapeutic applications:

* Relief from nausea and increase of appetite;

* Reduction of intarlobular ("within the eye") pressure;

* Reduction of muscle spasms;

* Relief from chronic pain.

Marijuana is frequently beneficial in the treatment of the following conditions:

Marijuana is frequently beneficial in the treatment of the following conditions:

* AIDS. Marijuana can reduce the nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite caused by the ailment itself and by various AIDS medications.

* Glaucoma. Marijuana can reduce interlobular pressure, thereby alleviating the pain and slowing -- and sometimes stopping -- the progress of the condition. (Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness in the United States. It damages vision by increasing eye pressure over time.)

* Cancer. Marijuana can stimulate the appetite and alleviate nausea and vomiting, which are common side effects of chemotherapy treatment.

* Multiple Sclerosis. Marijuana can limit the muscle pain and spasticity caused by the disease, as well as relieving tremor and unsteadiness of gait. (Multiple sclerosis is the leading cause of neurological disability among young and middle-aged adults in the United States.)

* Epilepsy. Marijuana can prevent epileptic seizures in some patients.

* Chronic Pain. Marijuana can alleviate the chronic, often debilitating pain caused by myriad disorders and injuries.

[indepat]

16. I'll tell you why Montel: corruption, venality and mendacity with a big dash of greed

:D

[DaveJ]

17. Intellectually dishonest...

Pharmas are allowed to distribute THC pills. Problem solved????

It's not an issues of right/wrong as Williams describes it. It's an issue of personal rights vs the right of corporations to control our behavior. He glossed over that but he didn't directly address it.

[1776Forever]

19. Thanks to Montel from a mother of a son with progressive MS - Wish it on no family!

Believe me if you or your loved one has Progressive MS that is attacking your or their bladder, kidneys, eyes, or brain and atrophying them then you have no idea what the person or the family are going through when you see your loved one in pain! There should be absolutely NO infraction on an MS patient for using this if it helps them!

Thank you to Montel for speaking out!

Blessing to all those who suffer with MS or other chronic illnesses!

:pals:

[CadenBlaker]

24. Ridiculous!

It is ridiculous to jail someone over possession and/or use of marijuana. It's ridiculous to jail anyone for drug use. That being said, I've never done an illegal drug, never even smoked pot, and I'm 32. However, I'd never tell someone else they could or could not smoke it.

[Karl_Bonner_1982]

27. All the money we spend trying to eradicate pot

And yet the drug is now the number one cash crop in the nation. I think this is plenty of evidence that prohibition isn't working.

There's also the dishonest propaganda that comes from both sides of the aisle: that marijuana is either devil's weed or a gift from God. Where's the middle ground? Fact is, too much marijuana IS harmful to health -- but NOT as bad as heavy alcohol consumption.

We should make it legal for anyone over 21 and tax and regulate all commercially sold stock for purity and honesty (i.e. THC content). The tax revenue should be earmarked for education and drug/alcohol treatment programs.

[RNdaSilva]

28. To save these tired old digits from typing...

it saves time by picking posts that I agree with and that make sense.

Agree.

Copied and pasted.

[proud patriot]

30. been the number one cash crop in California for over a century

:patriot:

[NM Independent]

31. Thanks Montel

We appreciate your respected voice on this issue.

P.S. 12 Oxycontin in 6 hours? Wouldn't that kill you?

[WilyWondr]

41. Just ask rush

http://www.bradleyreport.net/commentary/StonedRush.htm

Here is what the record to date shows: Mr. Limbaugh’s housekeeper, Wilma Cline, approached Florida media and Florida authorities to reveal that she had acted as Rush Limbaugh’s drug buyer for years, purchasing "more than 30,000 hydrocodone, Lorcet and OcyContin pills," and she reports he "took as many as 30 OxyContin pills a day.

I am sure it depends on the strength of the pill too. OxyContin is supplied in 10 mg, 20 mg, 40 mg, 80 mg, and 160 mg tablet strengths.

[dapper]

33. My Garden

I enjoy growing Cilantro, Basil, Spearmint, Peppermint, Lavender, Chamomile... but I don't smoke it :-) In fact, I don't drink or smoke. I really do not enjoy mind altering substances.

However, plants do have their uses. There are many different medicines that are made from plants, aromatherapy,...etc. I find it great coming home from a stressful day of work and sitting in my "zen" garden. I can remove a leaf from one of my plants such as my spearmint plant and sit there and enjoy the aroma.

I think the issue is, people tend to abuse mind altering substances and tend to ruin it for the rest of us. I will add, if you live in an area where drug use is an issue or work near one... you certainly would want it regulated. And if you knew my brother in law, you'd want to ban alcohol too! :-)

Dap

[ooglymoogly]

37. Thanx for speaking out about the ignorance.

[carlyhippy]

42. It makes me sick that these people in pain have no control over what medication they use

the big pharmaceutical companies are more than happy to put these folks on synthetic drugs, which are phenomionally expensive, that they know are habit forming, knowing these folks can be hooked on them and they will be more than happy to supply more...at a price....

Marijuana should be legalized, big pharmecuetical companies should be outlawed.

Carly

[Enthusiast]

46. I have health & pain issues

Recently a friend gave me some marijuana to try for my neuropathy and pain. I had smoked marijuana for years, but that was a long time ago. So I made a bong. Best way to smoke it, imho. I do two hits. OMG! I was high for two days. I could not function at all. I was too messed up to read or respond to an e-mail. I completely forgot about the pain issues, however. Actually I found it very unpleasant.

[cbc5g]

47. Damn I can see how it was unpleasant..bong hits after a long time not smoking..whew lol

a couple hits from a pipe is all you need, or use a vaporizer. I can see how bong hits after a really long time not smoking can really give you some bad anxiety.

[RainDog]

50. two days?

this is the first time in my life that i have every heard of anyone being high for two days from two hits off a bong.

Is this even physically possible?

If you had something that powerful, it would have put you to sleep, it would seem.

I'm not trying to be mean, but I do question something like that since it is the first time ever, in my entire life, that I have ever heard of such a long-term effect.

do you know of anyone else who has had that experience? does anyone else know of anyone else who has had that experience?

all a bong does is cool the smoke. a bong's bowl is the same as a chillum bowl, and since I know ppl who have used those and have never been high for two days...

anyway, just questioning this b/c it seems really counter to what I know from my past experience.

[Bluenorthwest]

52. That person

may have an allergic reaction, or a psychological trip going on. Two days high is impossible physically and chemically. It is just not true, although personally I wish it was!

[Enthusiast]

57. It was as powerful as the authentic Panama Red

I had in the 1970s. And it is physically possible, because that is what happened. I smoked pot for many years, as I said. And it did put me to sleep, after a while. Actually I could still detect the effects three days later. I know all about bongs. As I said, I made it myself. I've made hundreds. Cool smoke is denser and more concentrated, nothing like the hot stream coming from a Chillum. And yes, I've smoked a chillum. With pot one builds a tolerance, I no longer have any tolerance. Believe as you wish.

[Pastiche423]

61. Then you are an oddity

Or there was more than marijuana in that bong. I too smoked many years ago, beginning in the 70's. I did not build up a tolerance then and I haven't since I began again a few years ago for spastic paralysis.

[Enthusiast]

64. Nope. I could find the source

The source was local. Nothing "in it" but bud. I noticed being high 'the next day' several times in the past, in the 1970s. After smoking for several years I could no longer distinguish this. But, all your arguments mean nothing, as I know what happened to me. Oh, my wife experienced the very same effect.

[AmericanDrugWar]

53. Marijuana is the poster child...

for who's in charge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkTmbi2LGTg

[drexel dave]

65. If you believe in criminalizing weed at all - WHY DO YOU HATE GOD?

really.