deadlinediva's Blog

Hi Caron,

Where've you been? I believe it's been illegal since the 1920's. Through the 70's and 80's certain states laws were lax, including NC. Yet, now you could get your hands on some in less than 12 hours if you're my age and probably an hour, if the age of your kids. Every large outside concert arena reeks of it at every show. Go to a party in the best of neighborhoods and there will be a small group that sneaks away to partake. Let's make it legal, if for no other reason than to empty our jails of casual users. How often do you hear in court from an officer: "I pulled him over after observing him traveling at a high rate of speed" NEVER! The billons of dollars spent on the "war on drugs" has apparently lined someone else's pocket, because we are no closer to eradication than we ever were. Take out the criminality of possession and growing and you'll take the profit margins away from the element that sells it. Tax it. People get high anyway, with alchohol and any manner of prescription medicine. "Medical" is the first step in decriminalization. Federal laws however supercede those of the states. California allowing medicinal marijuana has not stopped federal authorities from arresting people for growing it, even for medical reasoning.

I think this is a good idea for the people who deal with pain all the time such as cancer patients, aids patients and Fibromyalgia patients. This needed to be done years ago.

To clarify, cannabis (marijuana) has been used as a medicine for thousands of years -- by MILLIONS of people -- WITHOUT A SINGLE CREDIBLE ACCOUNT OF AN OVERDOSE, which is mind-boggling, especially considering our lab-tested, far superior FDA-approved medications kill TENS OF THOUSANDS of people PER YEAR -- even when they are properly prescribed and properly taken FDA-approved medication (Source: JAMA - Incidence of Adverse Drug Reactions in Hospitalized Patients - A Meta-analysis of Prospective Studies. Jason Lazarou, MSc; Bruce H. Pomeranz, MD, PhD; Paul N. Corey, PhD; JAMA.1998; 279:1200-1205).

In the U.S. cannabis was one of the leading ingredients in U.S. medicines (behind alcohol & opiates) from the mid-1800s to 1937, when "The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937" was passed for mostly RACIST/non-scientific reasons, despite strong objections from the American Medical Association.

Until the bogus/fraudulent "Marihuana Tax Act of 1937," well known pharmaceutical companies -- like Eli Lilly & Co; Merck; Parke-Davis & Co (today known as Pfizer, Inc); Squibb & Sons (today known as Bristol-Myers-Squibb); and Sharp & Dome (today a part of Merck & Co.) -- all made cannabis tinctures that were many times more potent than any cannabis strain grown today.

Though these tinctures could "knock you out" (put you into a deep sleep) if abused, these tinctures never killed from toxicity, despite being quite potent.

Knowing that you'd wake up after taking a cannabis tincture was a huge plus! I wish I could have the same confidence in FDA-approved medications: Vioxx all by its lo

caffiene kills 300 people a year. alcohol kills 50,000 people a year. tobacco kills another 400,000 a year. marijuana has never killed anyone in over 5,000 years and it's illegal. stop beating around the bush already. marijuana in every state is one of the top ten cash crops. get the money out of the drug dealers hands and start taxing it already. it's an herb. grown naturally. visit norml.org marijuana has many uses and is completely safe. I say give everyone a safe legal alternative to the lethal drugs the government allows.

JUST HOW LETHAL ARE FDA-APPROVED MEDICATIONS?

According to an alarming 1998 J.A.M.A. report (a meta-analysis of 39 studies conducted over 30 years):

“Perhaps, our most surprising result was the large number of FATAL ADRs [adverse drug reaction]. We estimated that in 1994 in the United States 106,000 hospital patients died from an ADR [adverse drug reaction].

Thus, we deduced that ADRs may rank from the fourth to sixth leading cause of death."

REFERENCE: JAMA - Incidence of Adverse Drug Reactions in Hospitalized Patients - A Meta-analysis of Prospective Studies. Jason Lazarou, MSc; Bruce H. Pomeranz, MD, PhD; Paul N. Corey, PhD; JAMA.1998; 279:1200-1205

Approx. 100,000 people-acting-as-guinea-pigs for the pharmaceutical industry (PGPs) die each year from properly taking properly prescribed medication; and OUR federal government denies us the right to use an ancient herbal that has never killed (from toxicity).

"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." - Voltaire

I have yet to find a legitimate reason for marijuana to be illegal. The major argument is that pot is a "Gateway Drug". However, marijuana is not an addictive drug, while the drug subculture is. It seems that they are more addicted to acting like a stoner than actually being addicted to pot, unlike the addictive properties of tobacco and alcohol.

Here is a question:
Marijuana has been used since the beginning of human history and often for religious reasons. Has any lawsuit ever been brought up in the US, that the Criminalization of Marijuana violates the First Amendment for religious reasons? For instance, Rastafarians or even New Age religions that focus on a Spiritual Experience than on Religious Doctrines.

GATEWAY MYTH

For many medical marijuana patients, marijuana is a "terminus" or a way to REDUCE dependence on opiates, not a gateway to them.

“Marijuana has not been proven to be the cause or even the most serious predictor of serious drug abuse. It is also important to note that the data on marijuana’s role in illicit drug use progression only pertains to its non-medical use.” -- American College of Physicians

write your congress men and women to legalize. You will not be investigated or arrested for utilizing your right to free speech. The more people writing and talking about this means the more likely people will see the truth and not the propaganda. norml.org will give you all the information you need to contact our elected officials.