All Indicators Point to a Softening of America's Harsh Marijuana Laws

All Indicators Point to a Softening of America's Harsh Marijuana Laws

By Alexander Zaitchik, AlterNet. Posted June 3, 2008.

With key medical marijuana ballot initiatives likely to pass, and a more pot-friendly majority in Congress, there is room for optimism.


You have to hand it to the Republican National Committee: Those guys really know how to pick the wrong fight.

John McCain, already running against the public opinion grain in support of the Iraq War and Bush tax cuts, received no help from headquarters last month when the RNC made medical marijuana a campaign issue. After Barack Obama told an Oregon weekly that he would end federal raids on medical marijuana users and providers in states with compassionate use laws, the RNC pounced. Obama's position, said an RNC statement, "reveals that (he) doesn't have the experience necessary to do the job of President (and) lacks the judgment to carry out the most basic functions of the Executive Branch." Because the Supreme Court has ruled that federal drug laws trump state drug laws, the RNC reasons that halting federal raids would be tantamount to ignoring the law.

They're right. But the RNC might want to get some new pollsters. What they and their candidates don't seem to realize is that a steadily shrinking minority of Americans oppose the controlled medicinal use of cannabis -- around 20 percent, according to the last Gallup poll. It's a safe bet that an even smaller number considers paramilitary raids on the homes of peaceful cancer patients to be among the "basic function of the Executive Branch." During the New Hampshire primary, every Democratic candidate recognized this political reality by promising to end federal harassment of state-approved medical marijuana facilities and users. Republican candidates Tom Tancredo and Ron Paul pledged the same.

And John McCain? When pressed by activists from the group Granite Staters for Medical Marijuana, the Arizona senator responded in lockstep with most of his GOP peers, sounding less like a maverick than a Reagan-era after-school special. "I do not support the use of marijuana for medical purposes," McCain said. "I believe that marijuana is a gateway drug. That is my view, and that's the view of the federal drug czar and other experts."

Given current trend lines, it may not be long before it's possible to count McCain's "other experts" on two hands. In February, the 125,000-member American College of Physicians, the second-largest physicians group in the country, published a position paper endorsing the merits of medical marijuana and recommending the end of marijuana's classification as a Schedule 1 drug. "The ACP endorsement is massive," says Bruce Mirken of the Marijuana Policy Project, a Washington, D.C.-based lobbying group. "It blows to splinters the assertion that the medical community doesn't support medicinal cannabis."

more...

http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/86982/?page=entire

with cancer,glacoma, and muscle pain. I'm sure other here can make a better list. Let's get this plant where it belongs in the hands of those who need it.

pain than the more addicting opiates they peddle.

addiction really isn't an issue.

If it's OK for sick people to use then why persecute healthy people for using it?

No, I didn't just start getting her stoned on a whim. I did lots of research after she accidentally ingested some last year. I noticed her seizure rate dropped significantly after the accident, now I give her a small amount once a month as a preventative measure.

She used to have multi-day cluster seizures every month (if you know about epilepsy you know cluster seizures are extremely scary and stressful), now she only has one short seizure every 60 days. Cannabis has improved her life dramatically.

I'd trade my 'poor man's cocaine' Ritalin anyday for marijuana. To keep a job, I had to trade a superior medication for a legal one.

oxycontin, ambien, viagra, felafel, and kool-aid.

Clean up the ugly republicon drug habits...

I haven't done any in so long... my kids don't partake, but they are the right age to to help me score. I know they would if I asked them to... It really ought to be legalized.

(all nostalgic here)

....sorry, couldn't help myself :bounce:

K&R DECRIMINALIZE NOW!!!

My parents never knew that I smoked. ;)

these anti-science "conservatives" think reality will automatically become what they *think* it should be, regardless of the actual facts that are proven over & over & over again

The Barr+R.Paul group will be calling for an end of the drug war.
Nader+McKinney will be doing the same thing from the left.
The Corporate candidates will muddle along the middle. Barack "I don't know what decriminalization" Obama and John "I thought people smoked that in the 60's" McCain will stay the course.

If we acknowledge the failure of the drug war (or the stupidity of outlawing this medicine) we will need to hold those that supported this idiocy for so long accountable.

bring us the *best* news! :applause:

:woohoo: :bounce: :woohoo:

surprises from this man. ;)

:shrug:

Howard University last fall...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kurt-schmoke/obama-not-completely-sile_b_103122.html

In an address at Howard University last fall he said the following:

"I think it's time we also took a hard look at the wisdom of locking up some first-time, non-violent drug users for decades. Someone once said that '...long minimum sentences for first-time users may not be the best way to occupy jail space and/or heal people from their disease.' That someone was George W. Bush - six years ago. I don't say this very often, but I agree with the president. The difference is, he hasn't done anything about it. When I'm president, I will. We will review these sentences to see where we can be smarter on crime and reduce the blind and counterproductive warehousing of non-violent offenders. And we will give first-time, non-violent drug offenders a chance to serve their sentence, where appropriate, in the type of drug rehabilitation programs that have proven to work better than a prison term in changing bad behavior. So let's reform this system. Let's do what's smart. Let's do what's just".

We were pleased that Senator Obama made the comments at Howard University because that is the host institution for the National African American Drug Policy Coalition. This is a coalition of over twenty five organizations of black professionals representing such diverse fields as law enforcement, health care and education who believe that the current war on drugs is misguided and destructive. The goal of the Coalition is to change national drug policy to make the war on drugs a public health battle rather than a criminal justice war.

The idea for the NAADPC arose from the work of attorney Clyde Bailey, 61st president of the National Bar Association. He recognized that the "drug problem" was not a singular problem but a multifaceted matter of crime, addiction and AIDS. Bailey had spoken to doctors and nurses who talked about the health issues of addiction and AIDS and who felt prosecution was not an appropriate or effective response to those issues. He spoke to public school teachers about their difficulties in educating children impacted by substance abuse. Social workers talked about family disruption and dysfunction and how the sins of one generation continued to affect the next because of the revolving door impacts of the criminal justice system. From these discussions, a clear picture emerged of the need for the people of diverse professions to come together to help move the country into a more positive and productive direction with respect to the War on Drugs. So in 2003, the NAADPC was established, and since that time its members have worked with local, state and national officials to implement more rational and humane drug control policies.

...McCain said. "I believe that marijuana is a gateway drug."

Sheesh!

Medical marijuana is a gateway drug to what, John? Being able to keep a meal down and live for another day?

Shut the fuck up John!

"I believe that marijuana is a gateway drug. That is my view, and that's the view of the federal drug czar and other experts."

Yeah, John, How ya' gonna keep 'em down on the reservation, now that they smoked some Weed?

Just had to make a bad joke-Forgiven?.

An interesting topic. I have written about the situation on Marijuana classification in the UK with quite some detail, so it is interesting to find out how different states in the US hope to legislate this matter in years to come.

Personally, as a liberal I believe all drugs that pose no immediate threat to someone should be available for people to choose. People have the right to choose if they wish to experiment or use a substance, especially when there are little to no negative side effects as with Magic Mushrooms, LSD and Marijuana. Furthermore, as television commercials ram alcohol down the throats of America and the rest of the world, we are forced to consider the legitimacy of alcohol when posed against other drugs.

I am not advocating a ban on Alcohol, but simply a legalization, or softening on the illegal nature of other drugs that pose far less dramatic and negative effects than alcohol: a legal, profit making substance.

The only real danger of smoking pot is that it may increase the risk of cancer like cigarettes, so if made legal, like cigarettes, the TAX would pay for the treatment of people effected by this... like cigarettes. The same can be said for the mild mental effects on the mentally ill.

In more political terms however, I feel that it would be impossible to pass any legislation weakening the illegality of any drugs, especially marijuana. America, and indeed the Democratic Party to some extents are still conservative, and no matter how many Democrats congress manages to obtain; it'd be a bold and controversial vote for any American Congress(wo)man to support such legislation.

Sadly, you are fighting the Prison Industrial Complex, in addition to decades of media brainwashing. Imagine if all of a sudden 50 percent of the people in jail were released. A lot of government fear is produced from drugs and prison danger, and we all know they thrive on one type of fear or another. I'd be for legalization of marijuana, perhaps coke if it were closely regulated. I have to admit, the thought of a cokehead driving around at 80 mph thinking he's got God's reflexes and power makes me a bit uncomfortable, seeing as how I drive out there too. Now a guy going 35 in a 45 mph zone, well, that's just a bit irritating, but not as lethal.

One of the hopes of the second Clinton administration was that he may try to push some lighter drug laws. But nothing, Nada. It was just another way that showed me most Democrats aren't much better than most Republicans on this issue.

I'd love to see the libertarian wing of the republican party take hold. That would go a long way to making this stuff legal. But it seems weaker than the Greens in the Democratic Party.

Of course, it isn't a secret that the alcohol and tobacco, and much of big Pharm (dare I say the Pharmaceutical Industrial Complex, Oh why not) don't want them to be legalized either, since let's face it, they are in direct competition with these drugs. It'd hurt their business.

for Big Pharma. Big Pharma and Big Tobacco didn't get Big by being charitable or promoting a weed that almost anyone could grow most anywhere.

The republicans do shit like this all the time with gay marriage or illegal immigration. Why are democrats incapable of bring up a wedge issue such as marijuana decriminialization? Put that on the ballot and young people will come out in droves.

Soft on crime, soft on crime, soft on crime,...ad infinitum.

Were you around in 1980? We heard this so many times. I think they never developed an effective argument to the right-wingers saying this. Jimmy Carter, to his credit, said he didn't think the punishment for any drug should be more severe than the effect of the drug itself. We see where it got him, well, that and other stuff.

But times have changed, and one could say "I'm not soft on crime, I just don't think a person choosing to smoke a joint should be a criminal." "Our prisons are filled with potheads who are learing all sort of other crimes, then they come out of jail, and engage in much worse crimes, since it is hard to get a job once you've been in the system."

Just an idea. It doesn't lend itself well to a sound-bite, like "Soft on Crime, Soft on Crime" does.

poll after poll have shown that americans on both sides of the asile are for decriminalization. So I don't see how soft on crime could play in to this, I could be wrong.

-ree now for so long - given the collusion of the state/corporate nexus power structure here in the states - that it would be be a rather major upheaval indeed to have the establishment debate actually reflect majority opinion, as opposed to shaping and obfuscating it, as is the case with everything else here.

We can bitch about it all we want but it's about time we do something. We do not need any national help to get marijuana on the ballot, this can be done locally in every state. Just takes some organization which no democrats seem to have.

I just find it amazing that even if most americans agree on something nothing changes. Yes, the corporate ownership of everything in this country is a huge problem, but if we can't get this issue on the ballot in each state locally then we have only ourselves to blame.

What are they going to do now?

In claiming Marijuana has no medical uses.

I don't know the hard numbers, but I bet there would be enough of them to help us make the case to Congress.