Marijuana Decrim Bill To Be Introduced in Congress Tomorrow

[High Plains]

Barney Frank will introduce his bill.



Drug Policy Alliance
www.drugpolicy.org

Media Advisory: For more info:

July 29, 2008 Bill Piper – 202-669-6430

Tony Newman – 646-335-5384

Wednesday: Press Conference with Rep. Barney Frank to Announce Introduction of First Marijuana Decriminalization Bill in Congress in Decades

Nearly 700,000 Marijuana Possession Arrests per Year in the U.S. (and Climbing) at an Annual Cost of Nearly $7.6 Billion to Taxpayers; Enormous Racial Disparities in Enforcement, Despite Nearly Equal Use Rates

When: Wednesday, July 30, at 10 a.m.

Where: 2220 House Rayburn Office Building, Washington, DC

What: Press conference announcing introduction of HR. 5843, a bi-partisan bill to remove federal penalties for the personal use of marijuana by responsible adults.

Why: Police make more than 1.8 million drug arrests every year (nearly 700,000 for nothing more than marijuana possession). Those arrested are separated from their loved ones, branded criminals, denied jobs, and in some cases prohibited from accessing public assistance for life. The estimated criminal justice costs of marijuana arrests are as much as $7.6 billion a year; an average of over $10,000 per arrest. Despite similar use rates, African Americans are arrested for marijuana possession at a rate almost twice that of white marijuana smokers. Twelve states have decriminalized marijuana, but most states still incarcerate people for possession of marijuana for personal use.

Who: Speakers to include Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), author of the bill; fellow Congressional co-sponsors; and representatives from the Drug Policy Alliance and other organizations working to eliminate criminal penalties for nonviolent marijuana law offenses.

“In both fiscal and human terms, our nation cannot afford to continue arresting and incarcerating hundreds of thousands of people each year for nothing more than possessing small amounts of marijuana for personal use,” said Bill Piper, director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance. “Rep. Barney Frank should be commended for stepping forward with a sensible plan to save taxpayer money, reduce racial disparities in incarceration and focus federal law enforcement agencies on major criminals and drug cartels.”

[High Plains]

1. Go, Barney, Go!

How many Democratic representatives will co-sponsor or vote for this?

Or is it going to be just Barney and Ron Paul?

[redqueen]

8. Kucinich very well could.

He's been talking about the need for this for a long time.

[High Plains]

14. Yes. Can't forget Kucinich.

Maybe Bobby Scott (D-VA) or Bobby Rush (D-IL), too.

And what about those Northern California congress critters? They could acknowledge local reality.

[Jackpine Radical]

61. I think Tammy Baldwin (D-Mad City) would be in deep shit at home

he didn't support decrim.

[RNdaSilva]

59. Boost...

[comtec]

75. What Annoys me about the 'pro-pot' bunch is they nearly always ignore hemp products

Here in the Netherlands, i think you're allows up to 5 plants per person - 10 total for me n my wife.
I'm considering it because I want to grow hemp to make material out of.
I could honestly care less about pot, and agree with LEGALIZING AND TAXING IT!
If nothing else it's a (pardon the pun) un-taxed income stream.
I think that green cigs should be made available, and pot/tobacco (VERY popular) cigs should also be made available, and taxed up the ass and out the mouth!
I feel the same about prostitution. Legal, safe, and TAXED and Regulated!

I wish more people would use the hemp argument while talking about decriminalizing the usage of a very old plant. Hemp is still the strongest fiber for it's type, with only spider silk beating it in tensile strength!

Nylon ropes are known to actually be inferior in every way, and I believe reviving the hemp industry in the US (because it grows EVERYWHERE!) would do wonders for our national economy. ANYONE with a bit of land, or even an apartment with a window that faces the sun can grow HEMP plants, which IIRC is NOT smokable, or intoxicating/hallucinogenic.

You could have hundreds, of thousands of mini growers that sell their hemp leaves to local fabric houses, that then make cloth, then then sell those to closing manufacturer IN THAT SAME AREA, which would thus revitalize the fucked economy of the us.

Cotton is also nice, and could easily be grown in a similar fashion!

Basically this country started with 3 cash crops (one which is ignored because of the law in history classes) Cotton, Tobacco, and hemp! in fact , IIRC it was REQUIRED BY LAW that if you had ANY land you MUST grow hemp on X% of it.

Basically, we'd go back to being an agrarian society, to an extent, hell we NEED to, because it seems that everything ELSE we've tried lately hasn't worked anymore :( We have GIVEN, WHOLESALE ALL OUR JOBS AWAY!

We created the technology, but we have given it away, so someone else can profit from it. what madness is that!?

Basically, my main complaint about the entire 'pro-pot' movement is that you only ever see the pot-heads saying "yeah man, make MJ legal", which honestly is stupid. put them in a closet, and push the economic argument, you'd be surprised how much faster you can get it decriminalized and legalized. People don't like or trust pot-heads, that's just a fact (people being the mob), but put on a suit, look nice, and sell it as an economic solution, and POOF they love you...

after all that's how it became illegal in the first place! they went after the (mis-used) drug, NOT the economic side of it.

[Bluenorthwest]

88. Misinformed.

The decriminalization and legalization movements have been the most vocal groups backing the growing and use of hemp for fiber and fabric uses. Those movements are why you know about it. Those movements are why some steps forward have been made regarding industrial hemp. Books have been written on the subject, read by millions.
So perhaps you are looking in all the wrong places. And the way it became illegal was in fact all about money. The need to sell synthetic sewing machine oil instead of hemp oil, for one. You have many of your 'facts' confused and conflated.
Things are very different in the Netherlands. But here the 'pro-pot' people are in fact the hemp people, talking about money and industry and saving the planet. Same folks you say only say 'yeah man' made the movement you are claiming. All the 'pot heads' I know in fact wear suits, run businesses and or are world known artists. Poof indeed.

[comtec]

91. I signed and helped with the legal medical pot prop IN California

so don't tell me what I don't know!
I know the face that is out there!
I KNOW that the major source of damage to the cause is done by it's proponents!
WE are damaging our OWN cause!
IF there as as many business persons as you say, where the hell are they!?

Willie Nelson is probably the WORST person we can put up there!
He's a self admitted dope head.
He doesn't hurt anyone, and he makes decent music still, great

HE

HURTS

THE

CAUSE

When it comes time to draw support (as ever other year we do in California] THAT is who the sheep majority are going to see, NOT the respectable business owners, NOT the sick and dying, NOT the average person who would benefit greatly from a strong home-grown economy in textiles... they see the doped up image of Willie Nielson, and Ganga man, and the rest!

IF we are going to win, we have to work at changing the image of hemp, and we can start by dropping all the cute names for it. ONLY refer to it as cannabis, and hemp. And call those RW shows with facts, and try to keep the stoners off the lines :)

It sounds harsh, and it is. But it's perception that has driven the 'drug war' and it's perception that will being it back to earth, and legalize the cannabis plant again.

[Seldona]

110. Willie Nelson is probably the WORST person we can put up there?

Wrong! You are aware he owns a truck stop/gas station that makes it's very own bio-diesel right on sight. They sell out constantly, mainly because it is cheaper.

http://www.biowillieusa.com/

Granted they are using soybeans atm, since industrial hemp is still ILLEGAL. But that man puts his money where his mouth is. You can bet the day Hemp is legalized the switch will be made. Why wouldn't they? Again, it is cheaper by far than using foodstocks.

And do some research into cotton vs. Hemp. It's not even close. We can make everything from building materials to medications to fuels to food, which happens to be a BYPRODUCT of the biodiesel process when Hemp is used, as well as clothing every bit as soft as cotton that you could pass on to your children.

Believe me there are tons of people who want to see this pass. It would change our economy nearly overnight.

[meow2u3]

111. Ah, c'mon--you don't want to put poor pot dealers out of business, do you?

They have to feed their two or three families, too :sarcasm:

[High Plains]

2. This would bill would have little direct affect on arrests...

...since the vast majority of pot possession arrests are done by state and local police under state laws.

But, man, would it be a big symbolic victory that could pave the way for decrim or legalization in the states.

[EOTE]

18. Why is that?

This would be a federal bill. If the federal law is that possessing marijuana is not a criminal offense how could states override that federal law?

[redqueen]

22. Good question!

The federal laws were used to overrule local laws in order to prosecute users ... maybe they can only be used to overrule laws if the goal is to prosecute... and not if the goal of overruling the law is to spare citizens from prosecution?

Curious.

[High Plains]

26. All the state laws would remain on the books.

The only way I can see the state laws all invalidated is if the Supreme Court were to rule they were unconstitutional, and I'm not holding my breath waiting for that.

We could end up with a patchwork quilt of differing state laws, say legalization in California, prohibition in South Carolina, sort of like the liquor laws.

[Occulus]

29. If Federally decriminalized, think interstate commerce

Just like alcohol that way.

Any sitting President could order the head of the DEA to reschedule cannabis with the stroke of a pen. That's all that's really needed- we just need a President with the guts to do so.

Another option could be for the President to issue a daily, blanket pardon to each and every person arrested the previous day for possession. That won't happen, either.

I don't see this being passed, and I don't see it meaning much if it were. Cannabis prohibition will require Presidential action as a remedy, and I just don't see that happening in my lifetime.

More than 90 years. Think about that. Cannabis prohibition is an American atrocity that will not end, period.

I won't mention why this is suddenly an issue near and dear to my life..... :cry: :cry: :cry:

[RNdaSilva]

60. Send a note to President Obama...in January.

[spag68]

66. Pot

The mere fact that they are going to talk about it is a huge step forward. The times are changing, just not as fast as we want them too'

[pattmarty]

78. Well, not to pour cold water on this, but.....................

.....the times were changing in the 70's too. In the early 70's I was predicting that in 5 yrs Marijuana would be legalized. AND, what happened? Believe it or not, we are at a much worse place today than we were then. Barney Frank is cool as shit, and I applaud his doing this, but we all know it won't pass (even with the expected larger majorities in Congress) it'll just be symbolic, but at least a start.

[Hawkeye-X]

30. That would make Denver legal

if the feds pass the marijuana discrim laws.

It's legal here in Denver to hold 1 ounce or less of weed - and Mayor Hickenlooper has ordered the police to put it on its lowest priority arrest list. When they *do* pick up pot dealers, it's usually for federal laws, so this will make it legal to have pot dealers here.

Hawkeye-X
(ex smoker)

[aspergris]

81. sort of like MOST laws

look at age of consent. it's ranged from 14 to 18 in various states.

i have no idea what it is on federal reservations, etc. but it has NO bearing on the states.

i used to live in a state where it was 14.

others it's 18.

[Dogtown]

97. Concur, High Plains

Would not affect state laws unless the Supremes declare specific state laws unconstitutional.

*Would* probably affect the enforcement of those laws in some states, or lead to copycat state-level decrims.


Isn't going to pass, though.

:cry:

[aspergris]

79. because they could

murder (except in very specific circ's) isn't illegal under federal law.

states have lots of laws that aren't on the federal books.

only if the scotus ruled that possession of mj was a constitutional right, would that restrict the states

this is a democratic republic. states can criminalize any behavior, as long as it is consistent with the constitution

[Prophet 451]

49. It's a start though

Don't misunderstand me, I'd like to see pot reclassified on the same schedule as booze (i.e. a mild intoxicant with age restrictions but otherwise legal) and a blanket pardon for anyone in jail for possession alone but we both know that's not going to happen.

This is an important first step though, it sends the message that prohibition isn't written in stone, it can be legalised. Some areas (Cali, for example) might legalise entirely.

[aspergris]

82. alcohol is NOT

scheduled.

the schedules are 1 to 5. alcohol is on none of them

[Prophet 451]

117. Transatlantic misunderstand there

I was using the word "schedule" to mean "regulated", I forgot that in American law "schedule" is a class of drug.

What I mean is that I'd like to see pot legal under the same restrictions as booze: Age limits, a license to sell (although you can brew/grow your own quite legally) and so on.

[spanone]

3. thank you barney!!!!

[RNdaSilva]

86. Bump...

[ProgressiveFool]

4. medicinal users and sellers in California should finally be left alone, then

since it was only the feds going after them.

[Bluenorthwest]

89. Not just in California

But also in Oregon and Washington and the several other states with strong medical marijuana laws. There are I think, 12 such states.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

5. It'll never happen.

It's one of the easiest, most convenient control mechanisms the cops have on average folk. They'll never give that stick up. NEVER.

[Wizard777]

10. It could. We have a new boogeyman now. Terrorists!

It used to be that politicians ran on a platform of being able to beat up the drugies better than the other guy. Now they have to be able to beat up the terrorists better than the other guy. As far as national security goes. We need to start protecting the drug supply before users are exploited by terrorists. If a drug shipment is tainted with biological agents. They could turn users into walking biobombs. They could spread the disease to nonusers. I think the risk far outweighs the mandate to just say no. It's not that easy. It's no where near reality. We need to just be saying, yes well protect everyone.

[aspergris]

83. many cops support decrim

believe me. i know. i am one.

i know several DEA agents who do. needless to say they keep their opinion to themself.

[90-percent]

6. rec #5 here

having done a report on why marijuana was made illegal in the thirties for my DUI class, it is AMAZING how illegal pot came to be.

It's origins have to do with Randolph Hearst's paper making and forest holdings (hemp is direct competition with wood on making so many products) and it was a great new tool to further discriminate against blacks in the late thirties.

There is no scientific basis for any public health issues being the cause! It was all some frustrated bureaucrats wet dream that made illegalization happen!

-90% Jimmy

[redqueen]

9. It's not "fast and bulbous"?

In your sig, there.

[Lance_Boyle]

12. yes it is.

;-)

[90-percent]

36. Point of clarification

My sig line is written the way I think the Captain would want it. He was pretty phonetic and feral after all.

But, thanks for noticing. The Captain was always for people who found Frank too mainstream.

-90% Jimmy

[RadiationTherapy]

32. THAT'S RIGHT, The Mascara Snake, FAST AND BULBOUS!

bulbous also tapered.

[Greyhound]

23. Yep, Hearst, DuPont, & Dow, with assists from Anslinger and the pharmaceutical industry.

It was a real coup for them and reinforced the foundations fro their absolute rule over the sheeple.

[Ghost in the Machine]

34. I think your report was a little bit wrong. Marijuana was first outlawed in 1915 in Utah..

"However, the first state law outlawing marijuana did so not because of Mexicans using the drug. Oddly enough, it was because of Mormons using it. Mormons who traveled to Mexico in 1910 came back to Salt Lake City with marijuana. The church was not pleased and ruled against use of the drug. Since the state of Utah automatically enshrined church doctrine into law, the first state marijuana prohibition was established in 1915. (Today, Senator Orrin Hatch serves as the prohibition arm of this heavily church-influenced state.)

Other states quickly followed suit with marijuana prohibition laws, including Wyoming (1915), Texas (1919), Iowa (1923), Nevada (1923), Oregon (1923), Washington (1923), Arkansas (1923), and Nebraska (1927). These laws tended to be specifically targeted against the Mexican-American population.

When Montana outlawed marijuana in 1927, the Butte Montana Standard reported a legislator's comment: "When some beet field peon takes a few traces of this stuff... he thinks he has just been elected president of Mexico, so he starts out to execute all his political enemies."

In Texas, a senator said on the floor of the Senate: "All Mexicans are crazy, and this stuff is what makes them crazy."

http://www.congressunderfire.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=106&topic_id=2&mesg_id=2&page=

[RNdaSilva]

57. Discrimination!

Give Democrats a Break

If Democrats smoke pot do they morph into Republicans?

[pattmarty]

84. Was that Senator Cornyn or hutchison?

:sarcasm:

[FreepFryer]

7. The prison industry and right-wing politicians won't undo Nixon's 'illegalization' of pot. (nt)

[EOTE]

19. Nixon?

Pot criminalization goes back a lot further than Nixon. To the 20s or 30s if I recall correctly.

[FreepFryer]

24. Nixon made pot a 'Schedule A' drug, primarily because his political opposition was pot-smokers.

Washington, DC: "We need, and I use the word 'all out war,' or all fronts . . . ." That was Richard Nixon's reaction to his national commission's recommendation that marijuana no longer be a criminal offense, according to Nixon's Oval Office tapes. The year after Nixon's "all out war" marijuana arrests jumped by over 100,000 people.

<...>

The Nixon White House tapes from 1971-1972 demonstrate that the foundation of the modern war on marijuana was Nixonian prejudice, culture war and misinformation. CSDP's Doug McVay spent several days at the National Archives listening to the Nixon White House tapes to find conversations about drug policy, especially regarding the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse ("the Shafer Commission"), appointed by President Nixon. He found: Nixon blaming calls for marijuana legalization on Jews; Nixon blaming the decline and fall of ancient Rome, and of the Catholic Church, on homosexuality; and Nixon criticizing the CBS sitcom "All in the Family" as a show which promoted homosexuality.

More importantly, Nixon made clear several times that he wanted a report which supported his views and 'tough on crime' policies, no matter what the facts might be. To his credit, Governor Shafer delivered instead an honest report, with conclusions based on all the evidence -- even though at the time he was being considered for a federal judgeship (needless to say, he didn't get it).

"At a critical juncture when the United States decided how it would handle marijuana, President Nixon's prejudices did more to dominate policy that the thoughtful and extensive review of his own Blue Ribbon Commission," observed Kevin Zeese, President of Common Sense for Drug Policy. "If we had followed the advice of the experts rather than Nixon's prejudices we would have less marijuana use, be spending less money on marijuana enforcement and many million less people would have been arrested." Since the Commission issued its recommendation that marijuana offenses not be a crime, fifteen million people have been arrested on marijuana charges.

Highlights of Nixon comments on marijuana:

- Jews and marijuana: "I see another thing in the news summary this morning about it. That's a funny thing, every one of the bastards that are out for legalizing marijuana is Jewish. What the Christ is the matter with the Jews, Bob, what is the matter with them? I suppose it's because most of them are psychiatrists . . ."
- Marijuana and the culture wars: "You see, homosexuality, dope, immorality in general. These are the enemies of strong societies. That's why the Communists and the left-wingers are pushing the stuff, they're trying to destroy us."
- Marijuana compared to alcohol: marijuana consumers smoke "to get high" while "a person drinks to have fun." Nixon also saw marijuana leading to loss of motivation and discipline but claimed: "At least with liquor I don't lose motivation."
- Marijuana and political dissent: ". . . radical demonstrators that were here . . . two weeks ago . . . They're all on drugs, virtually all."
Drug education: "Enforce the law, you’ve got to scare them."

http://www.csdp.org/news/news/nixon.htm

[FreepFryer]

25. Also -

Since 1972, U.S. taxpayers have spent well over $20 billion enforcing criminal marijuana laws and 16.5 million people have been arrested. It's time to put an end to this waste.

Thirty-five years ago this month, a congressionally mandated commission on U.S. drug policy did something extraordinary: They told the truth about marijuana.

On March 22, 1972, the National Commission on Marihuana (sic) and Drug Abuse -- chaired by former Pennsylvania Gov. Raymond P. Shafer -- recommended Congress amend federal law so that the use and possession of pot would no longer be a criminal offense. State legislatures, the commission added, should do likewise.

"he criminal law is too harsh a tool to apply to personal possession even in the effort to discourage use," concluded the commission, which included several conservative appointees of then-President Richard Nixon. "It implies an overwhelming indictment of the behavior, which we believe is not appropriate. The actual and potential harm of use of the drug is not great enough to justify intrusion by the criminal law into private behavior, a step which our society takes only with the greatest reluctance.

"... Therefore, the commission recommends ... possession of marihuana for personal use no longer be an offense, casual distribution of small amounts of marihuana for no remuneration, or insignificant remuneration, no longer be an offense."

Nixon, true to his "law-and-order" roots, shelved the report -- announcing instead that when it came to weed, "We need, and I use the word 'all out war' on all fronts." For the last 35 years, that's what we've had.

http://www.alternet.org/rights/49597/it%27s_been_an_%27all_out_war%27_on_pot_smokers_for_35_years/

[Xithras]

11. Few people are charged with possession under federal law anyway.

The feds usually reserve their prosecutions for those caught producing and distributing marijuana, which would apparently still be the case even if this action were to pass. Those nearly 700,000 arrested for possession are almost always charged under state or local laws and are imprisoned in state penitentiaries or county prisons. A revocation of the federal governments ability to prosecute end users will do nothing to reduce arrests and incarceration.

[High Plains]

13. That's right. But it would be a huge symbolic move.

If federal marijuana prohibition were to fold, the states would feel emboldened. Who would legalize it first? California? Vermont? Hawaii? Colorado? Nevada?

[Xithras]

21. Not California

The government has pumped too many dollars into their anti-drug, "pot is evil" marketing over the past 20 years, and too many state employees are dependent on revenue from continued pot prosecutions, to simply let it become legal overnight. I think it would eventually become legal, but it would be a slow process.

[High Plains]

27. Does California want to solve its budget crisis?

http://www.progress.org/2007/drc72.htm




The Marijuana Economy is Tax-Free

Marijuana Dealers Offer State of California One Billion Dollars


This news release comes from LetUsPayTaxes.com and is being circulated by our friends at stopthedrugwar.org


A coalition of California marijuana growers and dealers has offered Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger one billion dollars to solve the current state budget crisis. The group, calling itself Let Us Pay Taxes, makes the offer through its web site LetUsPayTaxes.com. The offer comes at a time when the California legislature is deadlocked on a new budget and California has stopped issuing checks for vitally needed social services. Legislators are currently arguing over which programs will be cut in order to balance the budget.
"It is ridiculous that California can't pay its bills," said spokesman Clifford Schaffer. "It is a tragedy that they will cut badly needed services and programs such as medical care for the elderly and prison drug treatment when the money to fund all these programs and more is there and available. Everyone who is currently waiting for a check from the state should be enraged at this foolishness."

Regulation and taxation of marijuana could produce six billion dollars in additional tax revenue, according to economic studies linked from LetUsPayTaxes.com. In addition, it could save up to ten billion dollars in enforcement costs. "That is a conservative estimate," said Schaffer. "By other estimates, the revenues could be five times that. The economists are with us all the way on this one. Marijuana prohibition is an economic disaster."

"Let's face reality," Schaffer says. "Marijuana legalization is inevitable. The situation is already beyond control in California. The state and local authorities have offered safe harbor for medical marijuana use and the Federal Government simply doesn't have the resources for effective control." More importantly, says Schaffer, the operators of the medical marijuana clubs are no longer afraid of the Federal Government. "If you talk to them, you will find that they know they are going to win this battle. They know that the DEA is vastly outnumbered and can't begin to prosecute all of them. The few that are prosecuted are accepting their fate as martyrs because they know that what they are doing is right. They are willing to sacrifice themselves to make the point that the Federal Government has just gone too far in interfering with very personal and private decisions. There is no way the DEA is going to win this battle. At this point, it is all over but the counting of the money -- and the victims of the DEA."

Schaffer went on to say that the national market for marijuana has been estimated from a low of ten billion dollars per year to more than fifty billion dollars per year. "The first states to regulate and tax marijuana will receive an economic bonanza bigger than the original California Gold Rush," says Schaffer. "Some states will get rich like the Saudis." Schaffer predicts that it will not take long for some local areas to wake up to the economic possibilities. "We are talking potentially big bucks here," he said. "The Canadians are already starting to take note of a cannabis-fueled economic boom in some areas. Politicians can't resist fresh cash, especially when it is coming to their local community. There will be big winners and losers here. The winners will be the ones who recognize the foregone conclusion first."

The group also cites foreign terrorism as a reason to regulate and tax marijuana. "Drug Czar John Walters is being dishonest when he says that marijuana money goes to criminals and terrorists. The only reason any of that money goes to criminals or terrorists is because of the prohibition that Walters supports," said Schaffer. "Marijuana prohibition makes criminals rich just like alcohol prohibition did. The criminals are now so rich and powerful that they can challenge the legitimate governments of their own countries. There is no reason to send billions of dollars per year to foreign criminal gangs when patriotic Americans make the best products in the world. There is no reason to suffer such a huge foreign trade deficit when that money could be providing jobs and funding badly needed services right here in the USA."

Let Us Pay Taxes calls upon all US citizens to sign their petition at their web site http://LetUsPayTaxes.com and press the issue with their lawmakers. "Take the money, please," said Schaffer. "These people want to contribute. Now it is up to our politicians to tell us why they want to send those billions to foreign criminal gangs rather than to their own voters."

[RNdaSilva]

51. Sense and sensibility.

But...

[Kaleko]

71. Brilliant. Thanks for posting that.

Here's the link to the petition again: http://druglibrary.org/taxes/ in case someone else wants to sign.

:)

[Dogtown]

100. Done, Kaleko

And tx for the link!

:hi:

[Hawkeye-X]

33. Colorado would already be the first legal state to do this

To be specific, Denver is legal. We passed an ordiance in 2004 or 2006 making possession of marijuana 1 ounce or less legal.

Colorado, however, failed to pass a state-wide legality law last year. SAFER may be emboldened to try again for 2009.

Hawkeye-X

[Seldona]

114. Actually Wisconsin's AG issued a decriminalization decree

for one ounce or less. That would only leave cops to enforce local ordnances. No criminal charges will be brought. So basically here all we would be subject to is local ordinance for an ounce or less.

It is a start anyway. We are wasting far far to much taxpayer money locking up, in most cases, otherwise productive citizens for possession, sale, growing, etc. I am all for legalization with legal penalties like alcohol. The amount made on taxes alone would be phenomenal.

[maxsolomon]

15. in places where state laws are in front of federal laws

i.e. california, alaska, oregon, seattle, it will remove a huge barrier to decriminalization.

but, let us assume it passes the house. then sen. coburn gets to put a hold on it, then bush gets to veto it.

only solid, veto-proof dem majorities & a dem president will affect this change, and it remains to be seen whether they have the cojones to risk their re-election for a bunch of stoners. :sarcasm: at the end, there.

[a la izquierda]

85. sure, sure

blame the Okies for tom coburn.:)

[Bluenorthwest]

90. I'm the last guy to say anything nice about Republicans..

but the fact is that some of the strongest backers of medical marijuana in the House are also crazed right wingers like Dana Rorbacher of CA. Dana will speak in favor of this bill. He has spoken in favor of medical marijuana publically many times.

[carlyhippy]

16. go barney!!!!!

if they don't legalize marijuana, then they should ban alcohol, I could deal with a laid back stoned person far better than with a mad drunk.

[awoke_in_2003]

47. I am actually a laid back drunk

I am very mellow when drinking. But I do get your point- they are both drugs, and should both be legal or legal.

[the other one]

17. A Passage to Bankok

Our first stop is in bogota
To check columbian fields
The natives smile and pass along
A sample of their yield
Sweet jamaican pipe dreams
Golden acapulco nights
Then morocco, and the east,
Fly by morning light

Were on the train to bangkok
Aboard the thailand express
Well hit the stops along the way
We only stop for the best

Wreathed in smoke in lebanon
We burn the midnight oil
The fragrance of afghanistan
Rewards a long days toil pulling into katmandu
Smoke rings fill the air
Perfumed by a nepal night
The express gets you there

[Kazak]

20. Bravo!

Where do I sign?

[High Plains]

28. Only one other co-sponsor listed: Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)

But advocates told me today they have nine. We'll see tomorrow, I guess.

[Faux pas]

31. We all know that if they would legalize it and tax it the national

debt would be non existent pretty fast. Hell, it could be our biggest export.

[Occulus]

35. Virtually every pot smoker I've ever encoutered throughout my life

would have no problem with a 100% tax.

ONE. HUNDRED. PERCENT.

And I know because I've asked over the years, and not one of them has ever had a problem with that.

[napoleon_in_rags]

50. Right. Well how much does the stuff actually cost to produce?

I mean if we were to "feather down" from the current prices, they would start with a tax that's a lot more than 100% methinks. If they stabilized around $40 a quarter ounce for good stuff, they'd still have more than 100%. I say do it, do it because the conservatives who are against it in the first place gave us this massive debt. Use it to pay off the debt. Or, ban the tobacco and give us this in return. The country would be healthier, and they could make more.

[lonestarnot]

69. It is wrong to have pot smokers clogging up jails and prisons. Just wrong.

[Faux pas]

72. Same here.....and none of them were even loaded at the time.

LOL

[BreweryYardRat]

46. A-fucking-men. n/t

[Faux pas]

73. Thank you.

[aspergris]

37. go barney

I'm in law enforcement myself, and you'd be surprised how many of us support decrim/legalization.

I'd rather catch real bad guys than deal with this stuff

[RadiationTherapy]

48. I decided not to become a cop because of the drug war.

[aspergris]

55. to quote gilbert and sullivan

that's a fair cop!

:)

[YOY]

112. You know I passed a cop smoking a joint in his patrol car once.

He didn't look like a dick so I guess you are not alone.

I guess you guys see how many real crimes are actually perpetrated by "desperate stoners" out for a fix.

I've laughed my ass off at some people's complete ignorance to the harmlessness of the drug.

[proud patriot]

38. Congress please please

the war on pot is so expensive , stop it .

[Occulus]

39. kick n/t

[pleah]

40. K&R Go BF go!

[Broadslidin]

41. The cutesy lil Pipe is the way to go, Phoooey with rollin'...

Blowin' sweet :smoke: smoke in defiance of this
stinkin' money corrupted government.

[trof]

42. GFL

Good Effing Luck
War On Drugs and all that, dontcha know.
:eyes:

[dlfuller]

43. Go Barney Go!!!!!

Thank you Barney..it doesn't make up for your problems with banking regulation...but it's nice anyway

[DUlover2909]

44. Legalize it. Yeah!

Pot pot smokey tokey puff puff cough. Gimme some sticky ickey so I can get off!

[walldude]

45. In an election year?

Yeah good luck with that :eyes:



While it's a step, that's all it will be this year. We still have a few more years before we are finally rid of all the old guard. There are still too many people in power who actually thought Reefer Madness was a documentary.

[RNdaSilva]

56. "Reefer Madness"

If you've never seen it it can be viewed here in it's entirety.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6696582420128930236

It was produced in 1936 but still makes its rounds on one of the independent TV channels on DirecTV.

Back in the good ol' days it was shown to high school students, a "documentary" on the evils of marijuana. I watch it about once a year, one of my favorite comedy shows.

Legalize and tax pot...same laws applicable to alcohol. I have a few soap box issues, this is one of them. I'm no spring chicken but have experimented, long ago...not one of my favorite bad habits. Prefer a beer now and then. However, if one is over twenty-one what business is it of anyone to infringe upon their likes. Prove to me that it's more dangerous than smoking and/or alcohol. All are bad habits but the choices are mine. At least they should be. I've known many "respected" and "prominent" individuals who have, and do...

LEGALIZE and profit by taxes

[mdmc]

52. Go, GO! Go Barney GO!

:patriot:

[bamacrat]

53. Thank you Barney, you are a great one.

It is time our government started treating us as adults, intelligent and able to make our own decesions.

[frog92969]

54. What the hell, it's worth a try

Bu$h won't like it, weed makes God and Big Pharma mad.
And what about all those nice new prisons.

But by all means give it a shot.

[ooglymoogly]

58. The pug retards will never let this bill pass

Their entire power structure rides on "war on drugs". It was the precursor to all the mayhem we now live in....and lets face it folks they control congress whether it is under democrats or pukes. It is all smoke and mirrors.

[defendandprotect]

64. Just what I was goling to say....GOP still controls when Dems are majority --- !!!

change = no change!

[Zhade]

62. Another step toward freeing this BENEFICIAL herb.

Go Barney!

[defendandprotect]

63. Which are the twelve states . . . ????

My rep is useless Repug --- Mike Ferguson!!

Let's put it this way, we can't afford this phony Drug War anymore . . .

Obviously, it also leads to high level corruption in government and police enforcement ---

Overturn the war on marijuana ---

[Bluenorthwest]

93. The states in question

Oregon, Washington, Alaska, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, and Maryland.

[defendandprotect]

96. ...and you can use possess marijuana for your personal use there . . . ???

[High Plains]

101. Only for medical purposes as specified by the state laws.

Most are very restrictive and have few patients. Oregon's is less so, and they have about 20,000 patients. California's is wide open and they have an estimated 200,000 "patients."

[defendandprotect]

104. So none of our states permits marijuana for personal use only . . . ???

THANK YOU --- !!!!

[High Plains]

109. Alaska does. You can possess up to a quarter pound at home.

Thanks to the Alaska Supreme Court and the Alaska Constitution.

[Pushed To The Left]

65. Good for Barney! It's hard to believe this country still has laws against marijuana

What's really sick is that this bill is still considered controversial in 2008. This country is still way too far to the right, but it won't be that way forever!

[iconicgnom]

67. heh. Very quixotic

[ooglymoogly]

94. The legalization of Maryjane is not a windmill. nt

[iconicgnom]

115. hehe. Well, they slapped Rove's hand, today. Perhaps Pelosi will even allow a final vote!

Now, that's quixotic!

Sorry if I'm not in tune with the pot bill - tho' a bit of sense would be nice - but this is a gov't which still allows black sites and torture, and is putting on a kangaroo court military commissions charade for the world's eyes, thinking that'll somehow validate gitmo, renditions, and the works. Like, I'm blinking, fast, and my head is spinning, and I'm seeing red and my blood boils over in rage at it all. But OK, an attempt to pass a bill legalizing pot is...

Nah. There's rather a long way to go before the US is ready for that!!!

[silverweb]

68. Excellent.

I don't expect it to get very far on this go-round, but at least it's opening up the discussion.

Go get 'em, Barney!

[quidam56]

70. FDA SHOULD HAVE APPROVED MARIJUANA A LONG TIME AGO

At least my weed doesn't cause tenderness or swelling of the breasts, cause me to get in my car and drive at 3 in the morning and not even know, cause constipation or diarreah, frequent urges, shortness of breath or less semen..... Plus my blood pressure is the best it's been in a decade. It's better than the ten prescriptions I get at the pharmacy for fibromyalgia.

http://www.caringbridges.org/visit/timmullins

[texastoast]

103. And I bet you have great eye pressures too

That's another health benefit.

[Alexander]

74. K&R! Go Barney!

[Karl_Bonner_1982]

76. Primary goals

What I'd really like to see go is the FAFSA clause that suspends financial aid for students caught smoking pot. That is one of the most heinous excesses we have today.

[defendandprotect]

98. We need more people helping the organizations working to overturn these

draconian laws --- !!!

[awoke_in_2003]

77. And Cheech and Chong

just announced a reunion tour. Coincidence? :)

[comtec]

92. OH god, they're the LAST thing we need!!!

Doesn't anyone else understand, it's the PERCEPTION of pot users that is damaging any reasonable laws from being written!

When I was in college, the first time the med. law was getting signatures, th people sitting at the tables were your run of the mill stoners... NOT THE PEOPLE WE WANT TO REPRESENT THIS CAUSE!!!!!

They may well be the most informed, one way or another, but this games is WON or LOST by perception, and we are REALLY LOOSING that battle!

[awoke_in_2003]

116. That is what I meant...

C&C just reinforces the image in peoples' minds.

[EstimatedProphet]

80. Oh yeah. That's gonna pass.

[Torn_Scorned_Ignored]

87. Thank you Congressman Franks!

B-) :smoke:

[AngryAmish]

95. I think smoking pot is childish

I tried it a few (20ish) times when I was younger. Not my cup of tea.

Being around stoned people kinda sucks most of the time. (I drink and get drunk - and I'm sure if I were sober I would hate me).

However, outlawing it is stupid. The ban should be repealed.

[TNOE]

99. Childish?

To each their own I guess - but I don't see anything childish about it. Its healing properties are amazing. Now they are talking about it being good for Parkinsons' patients.

95 Recommends. That says alot.

[texastoast]

102. It is a wonderful medicinal herb

It's recreational use threatens the alcohol industry. It's medicinal properties threatens the pharm industry. It's industrial use threatens the textile and other industries.

That's why pot is illegal.

Meanwhile, it could almost single-handedly save the planet if the population were reasonable.

[RadiationTherapy]

105. I think eating fast food is childish. As is getting drunk or losing one's composure and dignity.

nt

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

106. Teetotalers suck.

Just saying.

[crankychatter]

108. I like to mix my whiskey - pot IS boring

the problem is I like to mix it with amphetamines and felonious conduct

pot just makes me thirsty

[crankychatter]

107. Pot laws are the best example that corporations, not people, control our legislators NT

[Courtesy Flush]

113. Why now?

Why toss up a bill for Bush to veto? That makes no sense to me. Why not wait until Obama is president?

Sorry, but I don't understand the timing of politics. I don't understand why people pushed for gay marriage when we had the most gay-unfriendly government possible. Why wait until Clinton is out to ask for gay marriage, and why a marijuana bill under Bush?

Am I the only one who thinks you should introduce liberal policy during liberal administrations? The Republicans seem to understand how to get their laws passed -- do it when you have a sympathetic ear!

(forgive me for describing Republicans as sympathetic, but you know what I mean)

[carlyhippy]

118. any more news after he introduced the bill?

I am curious if the bill was ignored or what happened

[cannabis_flower]

119. It now has 7 co-sponsers

Rep Baldwin, Tammy - 5/20/2008
Rep Blumenauer, Earl - 6/24/2008
Rep Clay, Wm. Lacy - 4/24/2008
Rep Lee, Barbara - 6/25/2008
Rep Lofgren, Zoe - 5/22/2008
Rep McDermott, Jim - 6/5/2008
Rep Paul, Ron - 4/17/2008

[carlyhippy]

122. good for them

Carly

[cannabis_flower]

120. It now has 7 co-sponsers

Rep Baldwin, Tammy - 5/20/2008
Rep Blumenauer, Earl - 6/24/2008
Rep Clay, Wm. Lacy - 4/24/2008
Rep Lee, Barbara - 6/25/2008
Rep Lofgren, Zoe - 5/22/2008
Rep McDermott, Jim - 6/5/2008
Rep Paul, Ron - 4/17/2008

[cannabis_flower]

121. It now has 7 co-sponsers

Rep Baldwin, Tammy - 5/20/2008
Rep Blumenauer, Earl - 6/24/2008
Rep Clay, Wm. Lacy - 4/24/2008
Rep Lee, Barbara - 6/25/2008
Rep Lofgren, Zoe - 5/22/2008
Rep McDermott, Jim - 6/5/2008
Rep Paul, Ron - 4/17/2008

[riverdeep]

123. This bill is asking America formally "are you really this stupid?"

Are you really stupid enough to still keep pot illegal? To which America will soon reply- yes, yes we are.