Author Archives: Randy

Why Do We Go To War

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A few days ago, as I ate lunch at the park in front of the Hutchinson County Veterans Memorial. I started wondering what we fight for as a nation and individually, and why we send our sons and daughters to war. Words come to mind like, duty to country, honor, national defense, and security. Today our armed forces are all voluntary, but many of the soldiers honored here were drafted into service. Does that change the reasons we fight? Society needs to be able to assemble armies in its defense, even a conscript army if needed. The survival of our nation and way of life may demand such action. We faced real threats to our sovereignty and security in WWI and WII and so did our allies, but what about Korea and Vietnam? Was our sovereignty and security in danger then, or was that just our attempt to stop communist aggression amid the Cold War? Were we able to achieve those goals? I would call Korea a partial success. South Korea is a democratic country with an economy built on free enterprise and it is prospering. But the Korean people are divided, with their kin to the north governed by a desperate and aggressive despot, who rules his people with fear and punishment. And they are technically still at war with a real threat of the violence ensuing again. If we had not maintained a military presence there, it is very likely all of Korea would be under communist control today. None of our goals were met in Vietnam with the communists taking control of Saigon as we were leaving and yet, today they are a united, peaceful people. Who decides when we go to war and what the motivations are? The reasons to go to war are never simple and may cover any variety of considerations from economics to survival but certainly the preservation of our freedom should be one of the reasons we fight. Our nation was born with a struggle for freedom from the rule of England. Our Declaration of Independence lists a number of violations of basic human rights by the King and extols our right to shed that rule in favor of self-rule as all men are created equal with rights granted to us by God and not men. This was an act of treason under English rule and those who signed that document did so knowing that it put their lives and fortunes at risk, yet those brave men and those who fought by their side, did so willingly. Our Constitution goes further describing our rights as a people, by enumerating them in the bill of rights, to ensure that government would not be able to take them away. These are important rights that ensure that we can live safely and securely among others without the worry of being governed by tyrants.

All of our servicemen take an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. But how many of the recent wars we have been involved in were about a threat to our Constitution or the sovereignty and security of our nation? Were we defending an ally from a threat to their sovereignty or security? Certainly if our country is attacked we should respond in defense. Even preemptive strikes against known threats are justifiable, but all acts of war have consequences. Because of the brutality of war, some of our young will always be killed or wounded. And then there are the mental scars from being witness to the horrors of war. The fear of death or injury and seeing your friends killed or injured are hard to imagine, let alone learn to live with. Just the longing for home to reunite with the ones we love tends to wear on most people. And then there is the memory of the killing of others and watching the enemy suffer or die. Is it any wonder that the suicide rate among our servicemen is so great. War is a terrible thing for both sides of any conflict and even when the hostilities end, the painful memories of war endure. War should always be a last resort.

Our Congressmen and Senators also take the same oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic, yet rarely do they face imminent danger in their daily lives. But their responsibility to defend the Constitution is just as important because they write the laws governing all aspects of our lives. They are on the front lines of protecting our freedom in the laws that they vote for or against. Their responsibility to ensure that all laws passed, maintain our freedoms as described in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence cannot be overstated. These  documents should be the guiding principle in all laws passed by Congress or signed into law by our President.

Often as I read the news and study current events I am reminded that not all members of Congress share the same reverence and respect for the Constitution of the United States. The recent debates about the right to keep and bear arms are a perfect example of that. Even before the Sandy Hook massacre, our right to keep and bear arms was seriously infringed and it was all done at the hand of Congress and backed up by past and current Presidents and supported by the Supreme Court. My second amendment right to keep and bear arms should be the same in any state or territory of these United States, yet our Congressional leaders have allowed a patchwork of differing laws governing our rights to bear arms to become the law of the land. Even if we follow the safe passage clause of the Firearm Owners Protection Act, we can still be in violation of state or local laws if we are delayed because of car trouble or if we are too tired to continue our journey. In order to pass through a state with restrictive firearm laws a person must unload and lock the gun in the trunk of their car and are not allowed to stop except for food and gas. Would we surrender our right to a trial by jury or our freedom of speech so easily? What about our freedom of religion? Isn’t our right to self-defense one of those rights granted by God?                          http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/926A                                                                                  And what about the tenth amendment where the powers not delegated to the United States as described in the Constitution are reserved to the states or to the people? Do our Congressional leaders understand that? Where in the Constitution do they get the power to tell states that they cannot experiment with medical marijuana laws or even recreational marijuana laws? Our Congressional leaders should be actively defending our rights, not circumventing state law to keep us under the thumb of oppression. Since Congress authorized the oath of office for all Federal employees, they should know that they are obligated to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, and our rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. We, as Americans, should demand and expect as much from them. Their obligation to preserve our Constitution and freedom should be no less important than that of our sons and daughters that we ask or require to risk life and limb in war.

The Constitution does not provide the wording for this oath, leaving that to the determination of Congress.  From 1789 until 1861, this oath was, “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States.” During the 1860s, this oath was altered several times before Congress settled on the text used today, which is set out at 5 U. S. C. § 3331.  This oath is now taken by all federal employees, other than the President:

“I, _________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.  So help me God.” http://www.supremecourt.gov/about/oath/textoftheoathsofoffice2009.aspx

The Declaration of Independence, The Constitution and the Bill of Rights   http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution.html

http://house.gov/

http://www.senate.gov/

http://www.whitehouse.gov/

Randy Johnson

itsmycountrytoo.org

The $100,000 Challenge by Jack Herer

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In the book “The Emperor Wears No Cloths” by Jack Herer, he presents a challenge for anyone to prove that he is wrong that hemp could meet all the world’s energy needs while reversing the greenhouse effect, stopping deforestation and providing the overall majority of all of the worlds paper and textiles, while reducing pollution, rebuilding the soil and cleaning the atmosphere. What a boastful statement. With the information available to all of us through the world-wide web, it should be easy to gather enough information to claim such a prize, except for one thing. It is very likely true when one considers how versatile and useful hemp can be. Please do not confuse hemp with marijuana in this context, I am only talking about hemp with such miniscule amounts of THC that it would be impossible to be used as a recreational drug, although it is still banned by the Controlled Substance Act and enforced by the DEA. The hemp plant has been used throughout history for cordage, textiles, paper, food and oil. It was grown by Thomas Jefferson and George Washington and was even legal tender for a period of time in the beginning of our nation. Laws were passed requiring people to grow hemp and punishments applied to those who did not comply. Benjamin Franklin started one of America’s first paper mills using hemp as the feedstock so his free press would not have top rely on England as a source for paper. Thomas Jefferson even went to great expense and faced considerable danger when he was envoy to France to acquire hemp seed from China. The Chinese so valued their hemp seed that they were protected from exportation under the penalty of death. The War of 1812 and Napoleon’s invasion of Russia were all about access to hemp. Hemp was vital to the discovery of America and the building of our nation.

Hemp seed has been used as food by virtually all people of the world up until the twentieth century. Hemp seed protein and oils are one of mankind’s most complete single food sources for human and animal nutrition. Only soybeans have a higher protein content than hemp seed, but the protein in hemp seed is 65% globulin edestine combined with albumin and it contains all the essential amino acids in ideal proportions for proper health. Hemp seed are also the highest source of essential fatty acids (linolenic and linoleic acids) in the plant kingdom. These essential fatty acids have been successfully used to treat a variety of maladies from cancer and heart disease to kidney degeneration and immune deficiency by Dr. Johanna Budwig. http://openlibrary.org/authors/OL2108784A/Johanna_Budwig

As a textile, hemp makes warmer,softer, longer wearing fabrics than cotton and does not require the fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides required to grow cotton. Hemp can be grow almost anywhere, on any soil. It is naturally resistant to insects and disease and helps to rebuild the soil. Approximately 50% of all agricultural chemicals (pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers) are used to produce cotton.

As a feed stock to make paper and building materials, hemp is superior because 1 acre of hemp produces the same amount of cellulose fiber as 4 acres of trees. This fiber can not only be made into paper but a variety of building materials such as sheathing to replace plywood and sheet rock, and beams. It can also be made into plastics such as PVC pipe. Henry Ford made a car out of hemp based plastics in the early 20th century that was said to be 10 times stronger that steel when struck with a hammer. It also ran on hemp based fuel. Isochanvre is a rediscovered building material where hemp hurds are mixed with lime and it petrified into a mineral state. A 6th to 8th century bridge has been discovered in the south of France built with this material.

As a fuel hemp can be made into charcoal that has no sulphur, biodiesel, methanol, or gasoline. Hemp is capable of producing 4 to 50 times as much cellulose fiber per acre as corn, kenaf or sugarcane for use as biomass feedstock. Hemp products can be made into virtually anything that can be made of petroleum, such as feedstocks for chemicals, plastics and lubricating oils. It’s slow drying oils were once prized for their use in paints. The results of hemp based fuel production would include the revitalization of agriculture and rural America, while making our country energy independent and reducing our carbon footprint on the earth.

Considering how useful and versatile hemp can be from its known uses and the potential in marijuana’s use as a medicine and a safer recreational drug than alcohol, it is a shame and a disgrace to our country that hemp and marijuana have been banned and its users punished and persecuted, by a prohibition perpetuated with lies and misinformation and built on racial hatred and intolerance. All in the interest of protecting a few rich people from competition with hemp and marijuana. Abraham Lincoln said “Prohibition… goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man’s appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes… A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded.” Just imagine what we could accomplish if we stopped this madness.

The Emperor Wears No Clothes is a fascinating read and is well documented. I highly recommend this book as a reference for anyone interested in the marijuana and hemp prohibition issue. While I can no longer find any reference to the $100,000 challenge, no one has disproved what Jack wrote about in his book. “If all fossil fuels and their derivatives, as well as trees for paper and construction were banned in order to save the planet, reverse the Greenhouse Effect and stop deforestation; There is only one known annually renewable natural resource that is capable of providing the overall majority of the world’s paper and textiles; meet all the world’s transportation, industrial and home energy needs, while simultaneously reducing pollution, rebuilding the soil, and cleaning the atmosphere all at the same time. And that substance is Cannabis Hemp…Marijuana”

Thanks Jack Herer, your dedication to freedom in life will long be remembered in your death.

To purchase this book. http://a1hemp.com/ I also enjoyed the Eminem song/video.

To read this book. http://www.jackherer.com/

Randy Johnson

itsmycountrytoo.org

Meet Michele Leonhart Drug Enforcement Administrator

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This story at rawstory.com by Eric W. Dolan contains a video of The DEA Administrator being grilled about the Federal policy against marijuana.

In a grilling before the House Judiciary Subcommittee, Rep. Jared Polis of Colorado, asked Michele Leonhart if anything is more addictive or harmful than marijuana and she dodged the question several times and kept repeating that all illegal drugs are bad. Please keep in mind this is the person who is directly responsible for determining the schedule that all drugs are in and directly responsible for keeping marijuana in schedule one with heroin and LSD. Her immediate supervisor would be Attorney General Eric Holder. Also keep in mind that she as well as Eric Holder were nominated for their positions by President Obama and their policy will be a direct reflection of his if they want to keep their job. What I’m getting at is that President Obama has the authority and responsibility to stop the raids on medical marijuana that complies with state law by insisting that marijuana be rescheduled. This would also open the door for research into the efficacy of marijuana in the treatment of various diseases. How about it President Obama? Will you give us a serious answer or should we wait for the next puppet show?

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/06/20/top-dea-agent-wont-admit-heroin-more-harmful-than-marijuana/

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

http://www.whitehouse.gov/

Randy Johnson

itsmycountrytoo.org

Will We Ever Learn To Get Along?

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One of the problems we face on the issue of marijuana legalization is that people on both sides of the issue tend to ignore and discredit any information that does not agree with their preconceived notions about marijuana. The anti-marijuana groups, the Federal Government and several major medical organizations including the American Medical Association and the Institute of Medicine readily discount mountains of information about the efficacy of marijuana as a medicine, because as they repeat often, smoking is a crude way to administer medicine and smoking anything cannot be good for our respiratory system. This I might add is a very good argument. Many anti-marijuana groups including our government claim that almost all of the evidence supporting marijuana as medicine is anecdotal, based of the reports of people who use marijuana and that proper dosage can never be determined in a smoked product. This also is a very good argument. But as you read the DEA report titled “The DEA Position on Marijuana” you will find it also peppered with words and terms such as (may cause, could cause,  might cause and could be associated with) and lots of anecdotal information. On the other hand when people say that marijuana has never caused a death or that it is a miracle cure, it can hardly be proven and is hard to believe.  http://www.justice.gov/dea/docs/marijuana_position_2011.pdf

With literally millions of people using marijuana on a regular basis, I would be shocked to find no problems or adverse effects from marijuana use and both sides of the issue have plenty of information to present. One of the misconceptions that the Government uses is the increase in the prevalence of marijuana use, as a reason for drug dependency treatment. It is unclear how much of this is driven by people avoiding prosecution or prison by volunteering for drug rehabilitation or just to save their job. One thing is clear. The evidence presented by the government does not differentiate, but it is worth noting that marijuana dependency treatment increased as drug courts became more available.

Most things we choose to do as people come with inherent risks. When we choose our activities, we weigh those risks against the reasons we chose to participate in those activities. Sometimes we choose wisely and other times we do not. Some people have made careers out of bad decisions and prospered because of it. For example, Evel Knievel, who thrilled Americans with his dangerous dare-devil act of jumping his motorcycle and sometimes crashing spectacularly. How about the Jackass Movies where people regularly do stupid and dangerous things just for public acknowledgement or financial gain? Isn’t it odd that we will cheer someone for jumping buses with a motorcycle or riding a bicycle off a roof and then try to ruin the lives of those who choose to smoke marijuana? Isn’t it also odd that alcohol use is openly advertised and accepted and marijuana use is punished and its users shunned by society? Isn’t it also odd that we still claim to be a free people while seeking new ways to prohibit any activity we deem immoral, unhealthy, dangerous or offensive.

Ban on sack lunches. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-04-11/news/ct-met-school-lunch-restrictions-041120110410_1_lunch-food-provider-public-school

Ban on cloths lines. http://www.care2.com/causes/join-the-fight-to-legalize-clotheslines.html

Ban on large sugary drinks. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21201680?ns_source=PublicRSS20-sa

Ban on tobacco use. http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/ND-measure-would-reimburse-smoking-ban-costs-4217360.php

Ban on home gardens. http://righttruth.typepad.com/right_truth/2009/03/feds-to-ban-backyard-gardens.html

Ban on low rider pants. http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2004-05-16/news/0405150320_1_louisiana-house-louisiana-legislator-ban-low-riding-pants

Ban on raw milk. http://wewantorganicfood.com/2007/10/31/healthy-raw-milk-outlawed-in-california/

Ban on lemonade stands. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2012/05/23/beck-as-crackdowns-on-lemonade-stands-mount-kids-will-learn-to-acquiesce-to-government/

Seat belt and helmet laws. http://www.motorists.org/seat-belt-laws/busybodies

Ban on dietary advice. http://news.heartland.org/newspaper-article/2012/09/21/north-carolina-paleo-diet-blogger-locked-free-speech-fight

Challenge anyone? Type in any activity in BING or GOOGLE search followed by “ban” and see what comes up.

Only when we learn to accept people doing things that we may not like or agree with will we ever be truly free.

Randy Johnson

itsmycountrytoo.org

Will They Try To Confiscate Our Guns?

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In light of the current gun legislation issues, I want to mention that almost all new guns available have been sold and any new arms or ammunition will likely be purchased soon on arrival. I have heard rumblings of resistance to gun confiscation and people are concerned about their freedom. Sheriffs and police across the country have vowed to fight gun confiscation. I also am concerned about my freedom and have been for a long time. How did states ever get the right to take away our Second Amendment right? Would we surrender our freedom of speech, or our right to a speedy trial of our peers for crossing a state line? Why should we have to give up the security of being armed to cross state lines. My right to keep and bear arms should be the same in any state or territory of these United States. I do not believe however that our government would ever attempt to disarm all Americans at one time. First they will begin with people who get caught with illegal drugs or alcohol violations. Then anyone who is involved in any domestic violence or fringe groups like Christians or Constitutionalists. Eventually they would like to completely disarm us, but any attempts of all out confiscation would likely promote an armed response. So goes the story of the frog in the pot. Heat it slowly and it won’t resist.

My sincere hope is that these people who are trying to take our freedom are voted out and replaced with people who honor the Constitution and believe in the rights of the people. However I am also very sceptical that will ever happen. In the last election, Congress had a less than 10% approval rating and yet over 90% were re-elected. I do fear armed responses to gun confiscations by SWAT teams may become a part of our future. The Government does have an alternate plan though. A friend who proudly served in the United States Army told me, in 1989, all soldiers had to swear an oath, that if ordered, they would fire on American Citizens. I wonder if that is still the case and if not when did it begin and end? I guess we can hope I am wrong. Voting them out wouldn’t be near as costly in American lives.

Randy Johnson

itsmycountrytoo.org

President Obama Could Fix the Medical Marijuana Problem

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From what I have been reading, decisions about moving marijuana into a less stringent schedule than schedule 1 are in the hands of the the Attorney General with that authority granted in the Controlled Substance Act. The Attorney General has delegated that authority to the DEA Administrator. So far the DEA has not acknowledged any of the mountains of evidence of the efficacy of marijuana as a medicine. Instead they choose to fight all attempts to reschedule marijuana and ignore all evidence of marijuana’s lack of harm to society and the fact that it is overwhelmingly safer than the two most prominent recreational drugs in America, alcohol and tobacco.

In a Reason.com article written by Mike Riggs on Jan 22nd, http://reason.com/blog/2013/01/22/in-fight-over-marijuans-scheduling-appea

The Washington D.C., U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the DEA acted according to their rules in denying a rescheduling of marijuana. The Court did not consider whether the evidence presented as to marijuana’s efficacy was relevent to the issue but that the DEA had followed its own rules in reaching its decision.

According to the appeals court, the DEA was following its own rules (there are five in all) when it claimed that petitioners for rescheduling marijuana had failed to provide “adequate and well-controlled studies proving efficacy.”

Americans for Safe Access in turn argued “that their petition to reschedule marijuana cites more than two hundred peer-reviewed published studies demonstrating marijuana’s efficacy for various medical uses, and that those studies were largely ignored by the [DEA].”

“At bottom,” the court wrote, “the parties’ dispute in this case turns on the agency’s interpretation of its own regulations. Petitioners construe ‘adequate and well-controlled studies’ to mean peer-reviewed, published studies suggesting marijuana’s medical efficacy. The DEA, in contrast, interprets that factor to require something more scientifically rigorous.”

In other words, The DEA will not reschedule marijuana unless it would meet FDA approval. That is a very unlikely scenario when considering the close ties the FDA has with the pharmaceutical industry. However the decision to reschedule marijuana seems to swing on the opinion of the DEA Administrator of what is considered “adequate and well-controlled” medical studies, and “accepted safety”. Since this authority is delegated to the DEA Administrator by the Attorney General, surely the Attorney General could take that authority back. The office of the Attorney General as well as the office of the DEA Administrator are filled by appointment by the President of the United States. Surely the President would have enough influence over those he appoints to those positions to have them reschedule marijuana, either by Executive action or just replacing them with someone who would. While this would do nothing for the millions of recreational marijuana users. It would stop the raids that deny the sick and dying the medicine they believe improves their lives (palliative and curative), and the punishment of those who supply medical marijuana in compliance with state law. Although the President does not have the authority to legalize marijuana, the responsibilities for the current raids on medical marijuana are all his.

Thanks President  Obama

  • (b) Evaluation of drugs and other substances

The Attorney General shall, before initiating proceedings under subsection (a) of this section to control a drug or other substance or to remove a drug or other substance entirely from the schedules, and after gathering the necessary data, request from the Secretary a scientific and medical evaluation, and his recommendations, as to whether such drug or other substance should be so controlled or removed as a controlled substance. In making such evaluation and recommendations, the Secretary shall consider the factors listed in paragraphs (2), (3), (6), (7), and (8) of subsection (c) of this section and any scientific or medical considerations involved in paragraphs (1), (4), and (5) of such subsection. The recommendations of the Secretary shall include recommendations with respect to the appropriate schedule, if any, under which such drug or other substance should be listed. The evaluation and the recommendations of the Secretary shall be made in writing and submitted to the Attorney General within a reasonable time. The recommendations of the Secretary to the Attorney General shall be binding on the Attorney General as to such scientific and medical matters, and if the Secretary recommends that a drug or other substance not be controlled, the Attorney General shall not control the drug or other substance. If the Attorney General determines that these facts and all other relevant data constitute substantial evidence of potential for abuse such as to warrant control or substantial evidence that the drug or other substance should be removed entirely from the schedules, he shall initiate proceedings for control or removal, as the case may be, under subsection (a) of this section.

  • (c) Factors determinative of control or removal from schedules

In making any finding under subsection (a) of this section or under subsection (b) of section 812 of this title, the Attorney General shall consider the following factors with respect to each drug or other substance proposed to be controlled or removed from the schedules:

  • (1) Its actual or relative potential for abuse.
  • (2) Scientific evidence of its pharmacological effect, if known.
  • (3) The state of current scientific knowledge regarding the drug or other substance.
  • (4) Its history and current pattern of abuse.
  • (5) The scope, duration, and significance of abuse.
  • (6) What, if any, risk there is to the public health.
  • (7) Its psychic or physiological dependence liability.
  • (8) Whether the substance is an immediate precursor of a substance already controlled under this subchapter. http://www.fda.gov/RegulatoryInformation/Legislation/ucm148726.htm#cntlsbb

As for the millions of recreational marijuana users, your best bet is to try to influence your Congressional leaders, or replace them with those in favor of legalization. It is very unlikely the Supreme Court would rule against Congress on the legality of marijuana. Without reasonable attempts to change Congress’ stance on marijuana the Supreme Court would be unlikely to even hear evidence.

http://house.gov/

http://www.senate.gov/

http://www.whitehouse.gov/

Randy Johnson

itsmycountrytoo.org

Whitehouse Response to Legalizing Marijuana

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Official Office of National Drug Control Policy Response to Remove marijuana from the federal Controlled Substance Act and allow the states to decide how they want to regulate it.  and 2 other petitions                                                     

Addressing the Legalization of Marijuana

By Gil Kerlikowske

Thank you for participating in We the People and speaking out on the legalization of marijuana. Coming out of the recent election, it is clear that we’re in the midst of a serious national conversation about marijuana.

At President Obama’s request, the Justice Department is reviewing the legalization initiatives passed in Colorado and Washington, given differences between state and federal law. In the meantime, please see a recent interview with Barbara Walters in which President Obama addressed the legalization of marijuana.

Barbara Walters:

Do you think that marijuana should be legalized?

President Obama:

Well, I wouldn’t go that far.  But what I think is that, at this point, Washington and Colorado, you’ve seen the voters speak on this issue.  And as it is, the federal government has a lot to do when it comes to criminal prosecutions.  It does not make sense from a prioritization point of view for us to focus on recreational drug users in a state that has already said that under state law that’s legal.

…this is a tough problem because Congress has not yet changed the law.  I head up the executive branch; we’re supposed to be carrying out laws.  And so what we’re going to need to have is a conversation about how do you reconcile a federal law that still says marijuana is a federal offense and state laws that say that it’s legal.

When you’re talking about drug kingpins, folks involved with violence, people are who are peddling hard drugs to our kids in our neighborhoods that are devastated, there is no doubt that we need to go after those folks hard… it makes sense for us to look at how we can make sure that our kids are discouraged from using drugs and engaging in substance abuse generally.  There is more work we can do on the public health side and the treatment side.

Gil Kerlikowske is Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/responses

I think this is a very weak response to a cry for relief from prohibition and the assault on personal freedom. I do however agree with President Obama. Congress was key to making marijuana illegal and they should be the first to address the issue. It is going to be an uphill battle though. Even though around 50% of Americans believe marijuana should be legalized, that ratio is grossly understated in Congress where few members will acknowledge a need to end prohibition.

There is a new petition asking the Whitehouse to explain why they have a patent on marijuana. I wonder how they will dodge that question?

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/explain-why-there-government-held-patent-acknowledging-marijuanas-medical-benefit/v1ZVV7wt

http://house.gov/

http://www.senate.gov/

http://www.whitehouse.gov/

Thanks for reading

Randy Johnson

3D Printing May Be The Key To Our Freedom

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As the printing press helped to forge the way for freedom and the increase of knowledge in our history. I believe the 3D printer will usher in a new type of freedom. The freedom to create whatever you may wish or dream up. In light of the recent and current gun ban proposals, Defense Distributed is in the process of creating a sharable file to print a working gun on a 3D printer. They have tested an AR15 that was built with a lower receiver that was printed on a 3D printer. It successfully fired 6 rounds before it broke. While it may seem as though a printed gun is too fragile to be useful, the technology is still new and developing rapidly. Also new technologies are emerging to print in different medias such as different polymers, glass, stone, ceramic and various metals. It will be near impossible to keep guns away from people if they can be printed at home.                                                                             http://defensedistributed.com/about-us/                                               http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2012/12/03/heres-what-it-looks-like-to-fire-a-partly-3d-printed-gun-video/                                                                                                                          These Printers are becoming available to hobbyists for prices ranging from $2200 dollars and up. Larger more expensive 3D printers are being made that will print in more than one media at the same time. As these 3D printers become more widely used, greater capability will be available at lower cost to the home hobbyist, or anyone for that matter. Soon a 3D printer may be as common in our homes as microwave ovens and computers. Similar to the replicators on Star Trek Next Generation, 3D printers will be able to create many household items we currently use, for example you may want to design and print parts for a lamp and assemble it yourself. At least one company, RepRap, plans to build a 3D printer that can print copies of itself, making it a self replicating printer. It is already capable of printing some of its parts and work is underway to complete the task.  Fab@Home printer lists chocolate as one of its printable medias. As this technology evolves, who knows what may or may not be possible. Consider that we may soon be able to print medicines or household chemicals or maybe a part to repair your car. How about a replacement hip where the ball is permanently made into the socket. The possibilities are almost endless.    http://fabathome.com/                         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RepRap_Project             http://www.stratasys.com/Products/Overview.aspx  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_printing

Randy Johnson

itsmycountrytoo.org

Drug Related Violence is Increasing Exponentially

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The Cato Institute is a public policy research organization, a think tank, dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets and peace. Its scholars and analysts conduct independent, nonpartisan research on a wide range of policy issues. Highlighted in this article are a few examples of the violence on Americans at the hand of law enforcement in the failed war on drugs. Increasingly paramilitary no knock raids are used to search homes and businesses in search of illegal contraband. All too often mistakes are made where the wrong house is raided, the information about the occupants is wrong, or police or citizens die in the conflict. We have the right to use deadly force to repel home invasions. If my door was broken down at 2 or 3AM I would be inclined to try to defend my family. The justification seems to be that if no knock raids are not used, the suspects may destroy evidence. Wouldn’t shutting the water off keep people from flushing the evidence just as effectively without all the violence?                                                                                   http://www.cato.org/

In a commentary at CATO Institute written by Radley Balko titled Raiding Reality.

Is it fair to blame Congress for these types of mistakes?

I think so. Here’s why: Since the late 1980s, Congress has made a bounty of surplus military gear available to local police departments, either at steeply discounted prices, or for free. Millions of pieces of equipment have been transferred this way. Once stocked with military-grade weaponry, local police departments look for ways to put their new equipment to use. So they form SWAT teams. More drug-war incentives from Congress-this time in the form of grants for drug arrests-then induce those departments to send the SWAT team out for routine warrant service of nonviolent drug suspects.

The result? An explosion in the number of “no-knock,”forced-entry type raids in the U.S. One criminologist who’s studied the phenomenon estimates that the number of SWAT “call-outs” in the U.S. has increased from about 3,000 per year in the 1980s to more than 40,000 per year today. It’s of no coincidence that this dramatic rise began in the early 1980s, just as we began ratcheting up the War on Drugs. http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/raiding-reality

In this video Mayor Cheye Calvo of Berwyn Heights, Maryland describes the errant SWAT drug raid on his home where his two dogs were shot.                                    http://www.cato.org/multimedia/cato-video/cheye-calvo-details-swat-raid-killed-family-dogs

This interactive map highlights some of the botched paramilitary drug raids in this country which now happen at an estimated rate of 40,000 per year. These no knock drug raids are happening all too often on the homes of nonviolent drug offenders and people mistaken to be nonviolent drug offenders.            http://www.cato.org/raidmap

http://www.cato.org/news-releases/2006/7/17/time-curb-rise-deadly-paramilitary-police-raids

An 88 year old Atlanta woman is killed in a wrong house drug raid where she believed she was being victimized in a home invasion and fired a gun at police officers who quickly shot her to death.               http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/28/us/28atlanta.html?_r=2&ref=us&oref=slogin&

Cory Maye may have escaped the death penalty where he used a gun in what he believed was self-defense in a botched drug raid of his home. http://www.cato.org/blog/cato-policy-analyst-who-may-have-saved-mans-life

Buffalo, New York’s paramilitary SWAT team has found a use for their new toys. “Shock and Awe”. 78 people were arrested, 21 ounces of marijuana was confiscated along with 7 ounces of crack cocaine and 5 guns in the raids of almost 40 homes over a three-day period. This story highlights the way police are increasingly using other government entities such as housing and safety inspectors, Alcohol Beverage Control officers, or Game Wardens to circumvent the need for warrants to raid suspected drug dealers. So much for constitutional guarantees against illegal search and seizure.  http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/buffalos-stampede-against-privacy

Barry Cooper, a former narcotics officer in Texas who has made countless arrests found himself in trouble when he started busting relatives and friends of politicians. He came to realize that the practice of raiding homes of people looking for drugs was wrong and felt guilty about the atrocities involved with the raids he was involved in where Mom and Dad would be dragged to jail and their children taken to Child Protective Services over a bag of pot. He has fought back releasing a video http://www.nevergetbusted.com/  and written a book, “After Prohibition”. Barry is not alone where many law enforcement officers, attorneys and judges have broken ranks and formed Law Enforcement Against Prohibition http://www.leap.cc/.

This article and video from Reason.com highlight the tragedies involved, and lives destroyed by the war on drugs. Please watch. http://reason.com/blog/2011/06/18/reasontv-replay-lindy-no-knoc

I believe it is time to end this war on drugs. Prohibition is damaging our freedom and destroying our relationship with law enforcement. Our politicians seem oblivious to the damage to society from this failed war on drugs where countless lives and families are destroyed. America only has 5% of the world’s population but we have 25% of the planets prison population. Something is terribly wrong with this approach. Please call or write to your elected officials and let them know how you feel.

http://house.gov/

http://www.senate.gov/

http://www.whitehouse.gov/

Randy Johnson

itsmycountrytoo.org

The Disparity of Prosecution in Drug Related Offences is Staggering

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A deal worked out by the Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer has released top executives at HSBC from prosecution in a 1.9 billion dollar deal that allows them to escape prosecution for money laundering charges associated with the Mexican and Columbian drug cartels. Their punishment administered by HSBC is that their bonuses will be partially deferred. What a harsh way to treat those who looked the other way and helped as terrorists and murderers laundered billions of dollars over a decade of time. The Justice Department’s reasoning for allowing the non-prosecution fee (bribe) is that prosecuting top executives at HSBC would destabilize the financial institution causing ripples throughout the financial world. In a press release Breuer announced,  As a result of the government’s investigation, HSBC has . . . “clawed back” deferred compensation bonuses given to some of its most senior U.S. anti-money laundering and compliance officers, and agreed to partially defer bonus compensation for its most senior officials during the five-year period of the deferred prosecution agreement. The New York Times had this to say, “Federal and state authorities have chosen not to indict HSBC, the London-based bank, on charges of vast and prolonged money laundering, for fear that criminal prosecution would topple the bank and, in the process, endanger the financial system.” The most criminal part in all of this is that the Justice Department did exactly the same thing, they took money to look the other way instead of prosecuting the crime. http://neilrockindpcblog.com/2012/12/18/outrageous-hsbc-settlement-proves-the-drug-war-is-a-joke/

For anyone who has ever been prosecuted for any drug violation or had their property confiscated in this failed war on drugs, this is a slap in the face. The poor and people of color are disproportionately prosecuted and persecuted in this failed war on drugs where their lives are destroyed and property taken. http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/p11.pdf

Cornell Hood II was sentenced to life in prison for possesing two pounds of marijuana with intent to distribute in Louisiana. Louisiana is a state with a three strikes and your out policy. Sadly Cornell Hood II is not alone. The organization, http://lifeforpot.com/ has documented and tracked multiple cases similar to Hood’s where people are given extremely long sentences for non-violent marijuana charges. http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/581875/louisiana_man_gets_life_sentence…_for_weed

http://blog.norml.org/2011/05/10/americas-shameful-prohibition-life-sentences-for-marijuana/

 http://lifeforpot.com/

Look what happened to Cameron Douglas, the white son of well-known actor Michael Douglas who was given the longest federal prison sentence ever for simple possession. http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/2012/05/cameron-douglas-son-actor-michael-douglas-given-longest-ever-federal-prison-sentence-im

Or Aaron Sandusky who received a ten-year prison sentence for operating a medical marijuana dispensary. Because he was being tried in federal court, he was not allowed to mention that his activities were legal under California law. So much for “the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth”.                                                http://reason.com/blog/2012/10/12/can-juror-nullification-save-aaron-sandu

http://www.dailybulletin.com/ci_22325286/sandusky-sentenced-10-years-prison

What happened to Chris Williams, a medical marijuana distributor in Montana is equally disturbing. Williams who believed he had done nothing wrong and wanted to challenge federal interference in Montana’s medical marijuana laws was quickly found guilty of all 4 marijuana charges against him because in federal court, evidence suggesting that his activities were legal by Montana law were not allowed. Since the federal government tied firearm possession charges to each of the drug charges, Williams faced 80 years mandatory minimum sentencing on the weapon charges alone, even though he had not handled the firearms. U.S. Attorney Micheal Cotter offered to drop enough charges to allow Williams to serve less than ten years if he would drop his appeal in the case. Williams refused and Cotter came back with a final offer of five years in prison in exchange for dropping all appeals. Since the federal prosecutors had already won their case and were trying to lessen Williams sentence, it would seem that they also believed the mandatory sentencing to be egregiously too harsh. Yet to take five years from a mans life for helping medical marijuana patients acquire their medicine legally under state law still seems wrong to me. But to not allow a defendant to present all evidence relevent to his defense, such as the fact that his activities were legal under state law that was voted in by the citizens of that state is a horrible miscarriage of justice. What is your opinion?                                                 http://reason.com/archives/2013/01/02/plead-guilty-or-go-to-prison-for-life

Randy Johnson

itsmycountrytoo.org

The War Against Marijuana Users Is Based On Lies

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The war against marijuana and its users is based on lies and misinformation. Laws built on lies should not stand.

The National Commission on Drug Abuse was created by law under the Controlled Substance Act of 1970 to study marijuana to see if it really belonged in the schedule one class of drugs with heroin and LSD. The commission consisted of two members appointed by the President of the Senate and two appointed by the President of the House of Representatives and nine appointed by President Nixon. The 39th Governor of Pennsylvania, Raymond P. Shafer was the chairman. When Richard Nixon appointed people to this commission, he had advised them that marijuana should be treated as heroin and it should be demonized, and he made several attempts to influence the outcome of the report. Nixon reportedly told Schafer,”You’re enough of a pro to know that for you to come out with something that would run counter to what the Congress feels and what the country feels, and what we’re planning to do, would make your commission just look bad as hell.” When the report was released titled “Marijuana A Signal of Misunderstanding”, it denied any relation with marijuana use with the crime and violence portrayed in the propaganda from decades past. The report also found little evidence of physical or psychological harm with casual use. It questioned the constitutionality of marijuana prohibition, advocated removing marijuana from the schedule one category of drugs, and asked that criminal penalties be removed for sale and possession marijuana. The report met stiff resistance in Congress and subcommittee hearings were held in 1974. led by Senator James O. Eastland where experts from other countries presented evidence and it was concluded that marijuana is far more hazardous than previously thought. The original report “Marijuana a Signal of Misunderstanding” was buried and marijuana was labeled as public enemy #1 in the war on drugs.

http://www.csdp.org/publicservice/nixon06.htm

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

http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/studies/nc/ncmenu.htm

http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/21cfr/21usc/801.htm

It’s also interesting that marijuana is not listed in the DEA list of drugs and chemicals of concern yet they still claim that marijuana is a danger to society.

http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/21cfr/21usc/801.htm

A U.S. Department of Justice report titled Violence-Related Injuries Treated in Hospital Emergency Departments written by Michael R. Rand reads, “In 14% of the violence-related injuries treated in ED’s in 1994, the ED record indicated that the victim or someone else involved in the incident had been drinking or using drugs. This estimate should be considered a lower bound of the percentage of injuries involving alcohol or drugs. Usually the ED’s did not test patients for intoxication but indicated alcohol or drug involvement if cited by patients or other involved persons or if ER personnel observed the patient under the influence of alcohol or drugs.” “Almost all of the alcohol/drug citations on the hospital records reflected alcohol involvement. Drugs were cited on the hospital record in less than 1% of all violence-related injuries treated.”

http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/VRITHED.PDF

The United States Government also owns a patent (6630507) on marijuana that describes in detail the medical benefits associated with marijuana.

http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6630507.html

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6630507.PN.&OS=PN/6630507&RS=PN/6630507

“If this plant were discovered in the Amazon today, scientists would be falling all over each other to be the first to bring it to market,” said Dr. Donald Abrams, chief of oncology at the University of California San Francisco, which has also found science behind marijuana’s efficacy.

http://patients4medicalmarijuana.wordpress.com/2012/12/28/nbc-news-marijuana-compound-fights-cancer-human-trials-next/

The United States Government has known that marijuana has curative powers over cancer since 1974 yet hid this from the public to continue this failed war on marijuana and its users.

U.S. KNEW IN ’74… AND AGAIN IN ’96!

This wasn’t always the case. In fact, the first ever experiment documenting pot’s anti-tumor effects took place in 1974 at the Medical College of Virginia at the behest of the U.S. government. The results of that study, immortalized in an August 18, 1974 Washington Post newspaper feature, were that “THC slowed the growth of lung cancers, breast cancers and a virus-induced leukemia in laboratory mice, and prolonged their lives by as much as 36 percent.”

Despite these favorable preliminary findings, U.S. government officials banished the study, and refused to fund any follow up research until conducting a similar – though secret – study in the mid-1990s. That study, conducted by the U.S. National Toxicology Program to the tune of $2 million concluded that mice and rats administered high doses of THC over long periods had greater protection against malignant tumors than untreated controls. However, rather than publicize their findings, government researchers shelved the results – which only became public one year later after a draft copy of its findings were leaked in 1997 to the journal AIDS Treatment News, which in turn forwarded the story to the national media.

Nevertheless, in the nearly eight years since the completion of the National Toxicology trial, the U.S. government has yet to fund a single additional study examining pot’s potential as an anti-cancer agent.
Have they no shame or humility?

http://patients4medicalmarijuana.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/marijuana-cures-cancer-us-government-has-known-since-1974/#comment-14964

Please call or write to your leaders in Washington, DC and tell them you want an end to the prohibition of marijuana.

http://house.gov/

http://www.senate.gov/

http://www.whitehouse.gov/

Randy Johnson

itsmycountrytoo.org

Blog From Johnny Hickman

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This is one of the first responses I received after starting this blog. On 7/14/2012 Johnny Hickman posted this under the comments of Legalize Marijuana. It is very well written and has links to a wealth of information. Thanks for sharing.

Randy Johnson

Freedom and cannabis legalization go hand in hand.

by Johnny L. Hickman

It’s time to end marijuana prohibition.  The events and facts I present here are documented in “The Emperor Wears No Clothes” by Jack Herer,  The Congressional Record, The Library of Congress, Medical journals, and other trusted publications.  My opinion, as stated here, is shared by millions of intelligent, productive, tax paying Americans.

Everyone knows that the American Drug War is a total failure. Having spent a trillion dollars in the last 40 years, we now find that marijuana is cheaper, more potent and readily available.  During the last ten years, polls show that public school students say that marijuana is easier to get than cigarettes or alcohol.  Drug dealers don’t ask for ID’s.  Prohibition didn’t work with alcohol and it won’t work with drugs either.

The Drug War is all about greed, power and control… The government and law enforcement lose more credibility every day that they maintain their irrational, narrow minded stance against re-legalization. We The People need to stand up and speak out for full legalization of marijuana and industrial hemp as soon as possible. We need cannabis hemp for medicine, food, fuel and fiber. In spite of common knowledge and widespread scientific support, the federal government has for almost 30 years kept cannabis in Schedule 1, thus denying patients access to medical marijuana.  http://norml.org/library/recent-research-on-medica…

We know an healing herb when we experience it. Marijuana has been to shown to alleviate asthma, epilepsy, PMS, IBS, Crohn’s, migraine headache, chronic pain, spasticity, glaucoma, arthritis and lately, the National Cancer Institute has admitted to having known that it is effective against cancer since 1974!  According to a statement by the National Cancer Institute, March 17, 2011: “In the practice of integrative oncology, the health care provider may recommend medicinal Cannabis not only for symptom management but also for its possible direct antitumor effect.” An illegal cancer cure = genocide!  http://patients4medicalmarijuana.wordpress.com/201…  Here’s another link:  http://bighealthreport.com/1407/government-study-p…

We should be allowed to light up a joint for relaxation and recreation.  It is not nearly as bad for you as alcohol.  What we do in privacy is our own business, not Big Brother’s. Let’s keep cannabis illegal for minors, just like alcohol. No one has ever died from a marijuana overdose; it is not toxic to the human body. Alcohol and tobacco ARE bad for you, and addictive too… but still, they are legal. Think about how many people die each year due to aspirin (7,000), prescription drugs (32,000), alcohol (85,000) and tobacco (435,000). Cannabis is less addictive than coffee! http://drugwarfacts.org/cms/?q=node/28   Do you ever wonder why marijuana is illegal?

Big business was afraid of the competition then and they still are! Greed, yellow journalism, racism, outright lies and vicious, misleading propaganda were used by W.R. Hearst (newspaper publication,timber and paper industry), the DuPonts (plastics made from oil), the Rockefellers (Big Oil, Big Pharma), Andrew Mellon (big money) and our government to get hemp banned in the first place.The Drug Czar in 1937, Harry Anslinger, used lies, racism and underhanded politics to further the agenda of the Rich and Powerful. Every Drug Czar since then has followed in Anslinger’s footsteps. Eighteen billion dollars was wasted during 2011 on cannabis prohibition. Our government forces marijuana prohibition on other nations, causing hardship and increased crime.  Look at what it’s doing to Mexico…

Want to talk about addiction? Our banks and our government are addicted to the profits from the Drug War. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPGWc0eNfpE  It is a sad fact that our own government no longer has the best interests of the American People at heart.

Stand up for your rights. The Powers That Be who are pulling the strings that control our federal government are doing everything they can to keep knowledge about the benefits of marijuana and industrial hemp from you.  The CIA, the FBI, the DEA, the Federal Reserve, along with other Global Banksters (money laundering) and the global corporate/media/industrial/prison/military complex realize that their cash cow (the lost Drug War) is at stake. America has become a prison nation, with 5% of the world’s population and 25% of the world’s prisoners.  Something is very wrong here.

Big Pharma knows that marijuana is good medicine http://weedbay.net/index.php/component/content/art icle/1974 but they don”t want you to have it unless they can control it; they’re after the MONEY. But they can’t patent a natural plant. Many medical organizations agree that marijuana is good medicine.  The American Medical Association has called for rescheduling of cannabis in order to facilitate medical studies of this versatile herb.  Big Brother knows that re-legalization will put power and money back in the hands of the people and they hate the very thought of that happening. They are quite willing to be heavy handed, to use blackmail and to lie to the American public (all documented!) in order to keep marijuana from being re-legalized.

All the men and women who have been incarcerated for cannabis should be released so that they can resume their productive lives. Many of them are young and an inordinate number of them are young men of color.The war on drugs has become a war on the people.

Big Brother fears cannabis hemp.  Widespread production of cannabis hemp will cause them to lose their stranglehold on us and nations of the world. Hemp will grow anywhere, from deserts to mountains to rain forests… It is much better for our environment than other crops.  Farmers will have a way to make a better living. We can stop cutting down our old growth forests.  Canada, Central and South America can finally be allowed to legalize. The drug cartels will lose a huge portion of their business overnight. Crime will decrease. Mexico DID LEGALIZE IT a few years back but backed off quickly from that after much pressure was applied by the U.S. government.

Within three or four years, we can be making enough alcohol from hemp to allow us to wean ourselves away from using gasoline. Fuel prices will go down. Hemp oil is an excellent lubricant and can be used as biodiesel . You can make high quality paper, cloth and biodegradable plastics from hemp. http://www.hemphasis.net/ The federal government’s insistence that we must not grow hemp because there is no way to discern industrial hemp from marijuana is absurd; inspectors in other nations which do grow industrial hemp have no problem figuring out the difference. Hemp seed is the most nutritionally complete single plant food in the world. There’s only a trace of THC in the seeds; eating hemp seeds won’t get anyone high but it can make you healthy.

Inform yourself; study everything you can find out about it. Legalization is the right thing to do.  God put this herb on the earth for us to use. Let’s use it wisely. Cannabis hemp is the world’s premier renewable resource.  Legalize it, regulate it, tax it at a reasonable rate.

If the tax is set too high, it will only drive the market back underground. This new income will provide a much needed boost to our economy. Be wise. Listen to your heart. Then support re-legalization. America needs this. Our damaged environment needs this desperately. Support NORML, MPP, DPA, ASA, SSDP, the TeaPot party and other organizations working for re-legalization. Contact your state and federal legislators and let them know how you feel. It is no longer a question of IF cannabis will be legalized but WHEN…Big Brother is getting desperate, as clearly shown by the Fed’s recent crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries and their legal patients!

Still skeptical?  Please understand that the events and facts I’ve presented here are well documented. The latest Gallup poll shows that 50% of all Americans favor full re-legalization of marijuana and that support is growing.  http://www.gallup.com/poll/150149/Record-High-Americans-Favor-Legalizing-Marijuana.aspx  You need to read “The Emperor Wears No Clothes” by Jack Herer.  You can read it for free, online, at http://www.jackherer.com/thebook/  Fully documented, this book will open your eyes to the truth about marijuana.

Cannabis has been used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years prior to its current status as an illegal substance.  Freedom to use, grow and sell cannabis hemp is just the tip of the iceberg.  It’s always been about more than just that; it’s about all our freedoms that are protected by the Constitution and Bill of Rights.  Those freedoms are under fire right now.  Stand up and be counted for liberty.  Register and Vote!

“If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so.” — Thomas Jefferson.

Abraham Lincoln responded to the kind of repressive mentality that we are seeing now, in December, 1840, when he said “Prohibition goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man’s appetite by legislation and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded.”

“Make the most of the Indian Hemp; sow it everywhere!” –George Washington

“Penalties against possession of a drug should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself.”

—President Jimmy Carter, August 2, 1977

Johnny Hickman (aka Clodhopper)      San Angelo, Texas      Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/johnny.hickman.589

Please Leave Medical Marijuana Alone

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This was mailed to all members of Congress and the President Christmas Eve 2012. I will post replies as I get them.

Thanks and Merry Christmas

Randy Johnson

The continued war against medical marijuana defies logic on so many levels it is very hard to understand why the United States Government has taken its position on this issue. In July of 2011 the DEA ruled again that marijuana is dangerous and has no known medical use, yet past investigations and mountains of evidence refute these claims.

In 1972 NORML petitioned the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs to have marijuana rescheduled from a Schedule 1 drug. After 16 years of stonewalling by the United States Government a hearing was finally scheduled in September 1988. DEA Administrative Law Judge Francis Young after hearing extensive testimony from patients and doctors on the medical benefits of marijuana proclaimed “In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many of the foods we commonly consume. For example eating 10 raw potatoes can result in a toxic response. By comparison it is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death. Marijuana in its natural form is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within a supervised routine of medical care.” It was determined that marijuana was effective in controlling nausea associated with chemotherapy and also pain and spasms associated with Multiple Sclerosis. She recommended that marijuana be rescheduled to a Schedule 2 drug and that still has not happened. (Marijuana Rescheduling Petition Docket No. 86-22)

When the Controlled Substances Act became law in 1970 part of the law authorized a special federal commission to complete a comprehensive study into all aspects of marijuana use to confirm that marijuana should remain a schedule 1 drug. After 2 years of study it was claimed to be the most comprehensive study of marijuana ever done in the United States. On March 22, 1972 Richard Nixon was presented the report from the study entitled “Marijuana; A Signal of Misunderstanding”. The study refuted the claims by politicians and law enforcement of the negative effects and crime associated with marijuana. It claimed in plain language that marijuana use was not associated with violent behavior and even went on to say that it tends to pacify its users. The report stated that there is little evidence of any physiological or psychological damage to individuals from casual use and emphasized the fact that the overwhelming majority of marijuana users do not progress to other drugs. It also recommended that marijuana be rescheduled and that private possession and use should not be criminalized. It even called for Congress to remove all criminal penalties for possession, use, and sale of the drug. These recommendations were ignored by Richard Nixon and Congress who over the next few months declared war on drugs and labeled marijuana “Public Enemy Number One”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Commission_on_Marihuana_and_Drug_Abuse

http://cannabis.net/politics/richard-nixon.html

Justice Gustin Reichbach of the New York state Supreme Court who just died July 14th, had been suffering from pancreatic cancer and he claimed marijuana gave him relief from nausea associated with chemotherapy in a moving op-ed piece in the New York Times this last May. “Because criminalizing an effective medical technique affects the fair administration of justice, I feel obliged to speak out as both a judge and a cancer patient suffering with a fatal disease. I implore the governor and the Legislature of New York, always considered a leader among states, to join the forward and humane thinking of 16 other states and pass the medical marijuana bill this year. Medical science has not yet found a cure, but it is barbaric to deny us access to one substance that has proved to ameliorate our suffering.” http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/17/opinion/a-judges-plea-for-medical-marijuana.html

Dr. Donald Tashkin has done an extensive 30 year study of marijuana on pulmonary function at the University of California and reviewed several other similar studies and come to the conclusion that using marijuana does not increase the occurrence of COPD nor does it increase the risks of head, neck or lung cancer even in heavy use. Video testimony by Dr. Tashkin can be seen at http://mmar.ca/multimedia.html. Dr. Tashkin has also stated that he favors the legalization of marijuana. The DEA is still quoting Dr Tashkin’s original hypothesis about marijuana use from about 20 years ago when he stated that marijuana has many of the same carcinogens as tobacco and believed marijuana may cause cancer. Dr Tashkin no longer believes that is true. In fact marijuana has been shown to have a mild cancer fighting effect.

According to http://www.reuters.com/ an Israeli company named Tikun Olam has developed a strain of marijuana called Avidekel with very low THC content but high in CBD (Cannabidiol) that has anti-inflammatory benefits without the psychoactive effects. Ruth Galily who works for the company and has been studying CBD for more than 12 years said CBD has impressive anti-inflammatory properties and can be used for treating diseases such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, Colitis, liver inflammation, heart disease and diabetes and has no side effects. Marijuana is used in Israel to treat Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, cancer, Crohn’s disease, and post-traumatic stress disorder.http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/03/us-israel-marijuana-idUSBRE8620FU20120703

According to Time Healthland http://healthland.time.com/2012/06/14/10-reasons-to-revisit-marijuana-policy-now/ recent studies conclude marijuana is effective in treating opioid resistant pain associated with cancer, the spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis and post-traumatic stress disorder. Another study concluded CBD another component of marijuana can treat schizophrenia as effective as prescription drugs without the side effects. Also THC and CBD have shown cancer fighting abilities against lung cancer.In the same article studies have found no link to crime associated with medical-marijuana dispensaries and real marijuana is probably far safer than the synthetic cannabinoids sold such as K2 or Spice.

A study titled Ganja in Jamaica- A Medical Anthropological Study of Chronic Marijuana Use by Vera Rubin and Lambros Comitas and sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health Center for Studies of Narcotic and Drug Abuse found no relation of marijuana use to crime except marijuana arrest, no impairment of motor skills, smokers and nonsmokers had identical work records and a battery of psychological test found no impairment of sensory and perceptual-motor performance, tests of concept formation, abstracting ability and cognitive style and tests of memory. Also the study found that the use of hard drugs is unknown among working class Jamaicans. These studies were confirmed by the 1980 Cannabis in Costa Rica- A study in Chronic Marijuana Use which found no discernible damage to the native population’s chronic marijuana users.

The American Medical Association House of Delegates as of October 16th 2011 is calling for the rescheduling of marijuana to allow for research into medical benefits of marijuana. Melvin Sterling, MD a California Medical Association delegate stated “Schedule 1 is very appropriate for heroin and other noxious substances that have no place in medicine, but cannabinoids are useful drugs. There is compelling research that cannabinoids are helpful in treating the spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis and in persistent nausea associated with chemotherapy and they may have other uses yet undiscovered. Why are they undiscovered? Because it’s a schedule 1 drug.” The AMA House of Delegates stopped short of endorsing state-based medical marijuana programs and the legalization of marijuana or admitting marijuana meets standards for prescription drugs.

Amednews.com ran an article by Alicia Gallegos June 16 2012 about a handful of governors petitioning the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to have marijuana reclassified. Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin, Washington State Governor Chris Gregoire and Rhodde Island Governor Lincoln Chefee had signed the petition as of Dec 2011. Colorado Governor John Hinkenlooper’s administration has made a similar request. According to Gregoire, poll after poll shows an overwhelming majority of Americans now see medical marijuana as legitimate with an ever-growing number of doctors telling thousands of patients that they might find relief in the use of marijuana. http://www.amaassn.org/amednews/2012/01/16/gvsc0116.htm#top

According to The Sacramento Bee http://www.sacbee.com/, over a dozen years, California’s historic experiment in medical marijuana research brought new science to the debate on marijuana’s place in medicine. State-funded studies costing $8.7 million found that marijuana may offer broad benefits for pain from nerve damage from injuries, HIV strokes and other conditions. Between 2002 and 2012, 7 completed trials, 5 published and 2 pending show that marijuana does have therapeutic value. According to Dr. Igor Grant a neuropsychiatrist who served as director of the Center for Medical Cannabis Research “ Every one of the studies showed a benefit, The convergence of evidence makes me convinced there is a medical benefit here, and there may be a niche for cannabis.” Grant said the listing of marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug on par with heroin and LSD is completely at odds with existing science.http://www.sacbee.com/2012/07/12/4625608/california-pot-research-backs.html

In an article at http://newsfeed.time.com/ : According to a U.N. report on global drug use, cannabis was the world’s most widely produced, trafficked, and consumed drug in the world in 2010. Marijuana boasts somewhere between 119 million and 224 million users in the adult population of the world (18 or older). And there are no signs to indicate the popularity of marijuana will fall anytime soon. Cannabis is consumed in some fashion in all countries, the report says, and it is grown in most. Though the use of the drug is stabilizing in North America, and Oceania, smoking pot is on the rise in West and Central Africa, Southern Africa, South Asia and Central Asia. In 2010, marijuana use was most prevalent in Australia and New Zealand. The U.S. and Canada came in second, followed by Spain, France, Italy, and the Czech Republic. Nigeria, Zambia, and Madagascar were tied for fourth place.   Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/06/29/marijuana-now-the-most-popular-drug-in-the-world/
With marijuana now being the worlds’ most popular recreational drug and evidence shows that it is far safer than the other most popular recreational drugs, tobacco and alcohol. Why does our government insist on refusing to allow 18 states to continue the medical marijuana experiment without the harassment of otherwise law-abiding citizens? These states voted in their right to access medical marijuana by due process and yet the Federal Government refuses to honor the will of the American people. There is really no good reason to keep marijuana illegal for recreational purposes, let alone forbidding the sick and dying the things that bring them relief. To forbid the sick and dying the things that bring them relief is nothing short of barbaric.

Marijuana prohibition has not stopped or even diminished its use. Many people enjoy using marijuana and historical evidence has failed to show that marijuana has caused appreciable damage to its users or society. While this may still be debatable about marijuana and I believe it is high time we had that debate, the evidence against alcohol and tobacco are no longer in question. Why not give people a safer alternative to the worst recreational drugs on the planet, alcohol and tobacco when considered by the number of people killed by these drugs every year and the damage to society from the violent crime associated with alcohol, and let people choose for themselves the safest recreational drug on the planet that is now the most popular drug in the world. While I am thrilled that people who are suffering find both palliative and curative relief with marijuana, I still believe that needing a doctor’s note to buy marijuana is like needing a prescription to buy beer. People who use and sell alcohol should remember the effect prohibition of alcohol had on America and Americans and be glad their freedom was restored. Our freedom should be no less important.

Beginning this article I mentioned that it is hard to understand our government’s reasons for its stance against medical marijuana use. It is not a lack of evidence supporting the use of marijuana for medical reasons and it can’t be that they are worried about our health, because marijuana is not nearly as harmful as tobacco or alcohol and some of the over the counter medicines available, when considered by the number of fatalities associated with each drug every year. And with millions of people currently using marijuana and scarce evidence of any damage to society or individual users, who and what are they protecting us from? Juvenile use would be easier to control if the people selling marijuana were required to check IDs to make sure customers were of appropriate age.
The only thing that makes any sense to me is that marijuana as a plant cannot be controlled and that our government may be protecting the Pharmaceutical Industry, the Alcohol Industry, the Tobacco Industry and others from competition with marijuana and hemp. These are industrial giants with enormous influence on our elected officials who are supposed to be charged with protecting our freedom. My question to them is, Have We Been Sold Out?

Randy Johnson
itsmycountrytoo.org

Is There Anything That Cannot Be Banned?

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In an article at CBS New York, Great Neck, NY has banned cloths lines in front yards and also is seeking a ban of sofas on front porches. http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/12/06/great-neck-village-board-bans-front-yard-clotheslines/

I’m guessing redneckery will soon be illegal as well. Solar clothes dryers have been illegal in many places in California for a number of years. Obviously some people are offended by the airing of laundry. But people are offended by many things and I don’t believe all things that are offensive should be illegal. Laws against clothes lines are selectively harmful to the poor. Cloths drying machines cost money to purchase and operate, while cloths lines are relatively cheap and cost nothing to operate. And what if the front yard is the only sunny area you have access to? Many local laws are passed because the people of that community are of a like mind and don’t want certain things in their community, such as dry counties and cities where the people have voted not to allow sales of alcohol or bars in their communities. Still in most of those places, it is still legal to possess alcohol for people of sufficient age, and I am fine with such laws. Even laws limiting public consumption are fine with me but some communities in Alaska have outlawed alcohol where it is treated as an illegal drug, such as marijuana or meth, and I believe that is taking the law a little to far, because a person would not be able to transport alcohol to his own home. http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/alaska-state-troopers/

But that is not the point I am trying to make. Communities make laws for innumerable reasons and laws such as the anti-cloths line laws may be directed at protecting property value more than punishing the poor but the results are the same. Free people are denied the full use of their property or rights to benefit someone else.

Our system of laws is constantly changing and growing with new laws added on a near continuous basis. Some laws are good laws, that protect and preserve society in beneficial ways and some are destructive to peace and the order of law. Laws that punish segments of society because of race, income or social status or just because they are different are destructive to peace and the order of law, like the Jim Crow laws following slavery. The same could be said for the laws against marijuana. Prohibition of marijuana is a very unkind thing to do to your neighbors and relatives that use marijuana. But still I am getting off topic. I have been talking about local laws. The state’s rights and people’s rights issues where any authority not granted to Congress is reserved to the states or to the people in the Bill of Rights of our Constitution. State and local law is the perfect place to experiment with laws to find the right balance of law for society to live with, and to allow like-minded communities to prohibit those things which are deemed offensive or to allow things not welcomed in other places. Then the Constitution can be used to prevent states and local governments from taking rights we have because we’re Americans, like those enumerated in The Bill of Rights. http://www.whitehouse.gov/our-government/the-constitution

The Ninth Amendment states that the list of rights enumerated in the Constitution is not exhaustive, and that the people retain all rights not enumerated.

The Tenth Amendment assigns all powers not delegated to the United States, or prohibited to the states, to either the states or to the people.

The federal prohibition of marijuana and hemp is a good example of a bad law that is destructive to a peaceful society and the rule of law. Marijuana prohibition has also evolved over a number of years. At first the only concern was a lengthy prison sentence and fine. Now the use of marijuana makes our second amendment rights null and void without trial or representation and our government requires mandatory drug testing of all employees in any business that does business with the Federal Government making gainful employment difficult. No longer are we secure in our property as seizure of assets has become common for marijuana offenses. Rights against illegal searches are also being whittled away and if we have marijuana around our children, the government could take them away as well. Would people be outraged if children were removed from the parents custody if beer or wine was discovered in their refrigerator? Laws that people believe are unjust will not be followed. Prohibition of marijuana will not work for the same reasons prohibition of alcohol did not work. Prohibition also causes a social barrier between law enforcement and a large segment of society, increasing mistrust and decreasing respect for law. By prohibiting a product that people desire, prohibition forces people to seek illegal means to acquire what they want. This criminal element has no legal means to settle business disputes available which increases violence. While the use of marijuana may be harmful to society to some degree, using prohibition to punish marijuana use only exacerbates the problem. If this were being done at the local level people would at least have the option to vote with their feet, but with Federal prohibition we have nowhere to go. This is our country too. Is America not big enough for all of us? If not, where should we go?

Please call or write to your Congressmen, Senators and President and let them know how you feel. Or print off an article you agree with, add notes and send that to them. Please help end this unjust war on fellow Americans. Please call for an end to Federal marijuana prohibition.

http://house.gov/

http://www.senate.gov/

http://www.whitehouse.gov/

Randy Johnson

itsmycountrytoo.org

White House Responds to Petitions About Legalizing Marijuana

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The White House has responded to several of the petitions to end federal prohibition of marijuana. https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/response/what-we-have-say-about-marijuana-and-hemp-production The response cites sources on their concerns about marijuana use. From the health aspect the White House cites The National Institute of Drug Abuse  http://www.drugabuse.gov/ where the health problems associated with marijuana smoking are discussed such as memory loss, bronchitis, psychosis and the risk of cancer. Also cited are the instance of emergency room treatment in association with drug abuse at.  http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k10/DAWN034/EDHighlights.htm  And voluntary substance abuse treatment at. http://oas.samhsa.gov/TEDS2k7highlights/TEDSHighl2k7Tbl3.htm

The White House also denies that marijuana has any medical use, citing that no sound scientific studies support medical use of marijuana for treatment in the United States. It also states that marijuana is a dangerous drug that belongs in the schedule 1 of the Controlled Substance Act . Reality paints a much different picture where 18 states and the District of Columbia have medical marijuana programs, 2 states have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes and mountains of evidence now support marijuana as a treatment for a myriad of different ailments.

“Marijuana is listed in schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the most restrictive schedule. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which administers the CSA, continues to support that placement and FDA concurred because marijuana met the three criteria for placement in Schedule I under 21 U.S.C. 812(b)(1) (e.g., marijuana has a high potential for abuse, has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and has a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision). Furthermore, there is currently sound evidence that smoked marijuana is harmful. A past evaluation by several Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA), concluded that no sound scientific studies supported medical use of marijuana for treatment in the United States, and no animal or human data supported the safety or efficacy of marijuana for general medical use. There are alternative FDA-approved medications in existence for treatment of many of the proposed uses of smoked marijuana.” http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/2006/ucm108643.htm

The response also claims that marijuana potency has tripled over the last 20 years raising serious concerns about the safety of marijuana use. This argument has little meaning when we consider that most people smoke only to the point where they reach a comfortable high. It is like comparing beer to hard liquor. Would it be reasonable to assume people would drink the same amount of alcohol by volume if they were drinking 3.2% beer or 151 proof rum?                            http://home.olemiss.edu/~suman/potancy%20paper%202010.pdf

The White House also has specific claims to the efficiency of substance abuse treatments.  http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-drug-addiction-treatment/frequently-asked-questions

And the use of drug courts which require the defendant to plead guilty and pay for substance abuse treatment or counseling and submit to periodic and random drug testing also at their own expense for at least 1 year, where any failure will result in the original sentence being administered resulting in incarceration. This also drives up the number of people involved in voluntary substance abuse treatment even if they volunteered to avoid incarceration or just to save their job. http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-drug-addiction-treatment/frequently-asked-questions

It is worth noting that the only sources listed are government-funded and controlled. In the SAMSHA.gov reports about emergency room treatments it is also worth noting that the results are skewed because adult use of alcohol (age 21 and up) is deliberately left out of the results, leaving the impression that emergency room treatment associated with marijuana use is almost as prevalent as that of alcohol. It is also interesting that marijuana is listed alone but alcohol is listed alone and as used with other drugs. It would be a better comparison if all parameters were equal. It is also worth noting that just because the drug was listed as associated with an emergency room visit, it may not be the cause or the reason for the emergency room visit, just that it was noted that the patient was under the influence.

Table 1. Drug-Related Emergency Department (ED) Visits, by Type of Visit: 2009
Type of Drug-Related ED Visit Number of ED Visits* Percent*
Total Drug-Related ED Visits 4,595,263 100.0%
Drug Misuse or Abuse 2,070,439   45.1%
Misuse or Abuse of Pharmaceuticals 1,244,679   27.1%
Illicit Drug Use    973,591   21.2%
Alcohol Involvement**    658,263   14.3%
Alcohol Involvement with Drug Use    519,650   11.3%
Underage Drinking    199,429     4.3%
Adverse Reactions 2,287,273   49.8%
* Because each visit may represent multiple types of visits and multiple types of drugs, the estimates add to more than the total number of visits and the percentages add to more than 100. ** Alcohol involvement includes use of alcohol in combination with other drugs for patients of all ages and use of alcohol only for persons aged 20 or younger. Underage drinking includes both use of alcohol in combination with other drugs and use of alcohol only for persons aged 20 or younger. Source: 2009 SAMHSA Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN).

 

Table 2. Misused or Abused Drugs Most Commonly Involved in Emergency Department (ED) Visits: 2009
Drugs Number of ED Visits Number of ED Visits per 100,000 Population
Alcohol in Combination with Other Drugs*    519,650 169.3
Underage Drinking**    199,429 227.2
Illicit Drugs    973,591 317.1
Cocaine    422,896 137.7
Marijuana    376,467 122.6
Heroin    213,118   69.4
Pharmaceuticals 1,244,679 405.4
Pain Relievers    595,551 194.0
Narcotic Pain Relievers    397,160 129.4
Oxycodone Products    175,949   57.3
Hydrocodone Products    104,490   34.0
Drugs to Treat Insomnia and Anxiety    433,600 141.2
Benzodiazepines    373,328 121.6
Antidepressants    104,940   34.2
* Use of alcohol in combination with other drugs is recorded by DAWN for patients of all ages. ** Underage drinking includes both use of alcohol in combination with other drugs and use of alcohol only for persons aged 20 or younger. Source: 2009 SAMHSA Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN).

The White house also reported that they have increased the funding for the Drug Free Communities Support Program where 7.9 million dollars was added to the already 76.7 million dollar annual funding for organizations such as http://www.drugfree.org/. That is a lot of money that these organizations have available for advertising to keep public opinion against marijuana. If you are tired of the prohibition of marijuana and want change, then we must act. Inaction will always produce zero results. If we do nothing, nothing will change. We must tell our elected officials that we want change and describe what kind of change. We must also raise public awareness of our desires and encourage public debate. The best way to accomplish that is through advertising. Please donate generously so that I can resume advertising. The opposition already has 84.6 million dollars to use for advertising given to them out of your taxes. Also please call or write to your elected representatives and let them know how you feel.

http://house.gov/

http://www.senate.gov/

http://www.whitehouse.gov/

Randy Johnson

itsmycountrytoo.org

Who Wants A Drug Free Society?

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Who really wants a drug free society? Are they serious? Would they eliminate all drugs or just the ones they don’t like? Would alcohol and tobacco be included in the drug ban? What about pharmaceutical drugs that only add value to life and have no curative properties such as Viagra or Celebrex. Would pain medications be forbidden? Should all drugs be given under a doctors advice? What about all the over the counter medications currently available for a myriad of different maladies? Don’t we have the right to self medicate? Isn’t that what over the counter medications are all about?

It is almost impossible to watch television or read a magazine without seeing an ad for some kind of drug. We live in a society where almost any medical complaint we may have, has a drug available to either cure it or at least control the symptoms, drugs to grow hair on our heads and drugs to cure athletes feet and everything in between. It is hard to believe anyone would want to eliminate drugs from society and I do not believe that is the intention of organizations such as. http://www.drugfree.org/   The Partnership at Drugfree.org is a drug abuse prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery resource, existing to help parents and caregivers effectively address alcohol and drug abuse with their teens and young adults. A noble cause I would say. Why would anyone want to give recreational drugs to children? The problem I have with drugfree.org is that they are also prohibitionists who advocate for the elimination and criminalization of all recreational drugs and they consider any use as abuse. All drug use is not abuse. People have been using alcohol and other drugs to celebrate life and self medicate for thousands of years. As long as we can do so responsibly, what is the problem?

One of the problems with prohibition is that it removes the regulatory process where drug sales can be limited as age appropriate like alcohol. With no legal outlet for a product that many Americans want such as marijuana, a black market emerges to supply the demand. This will always happen when things are forbidden that people want. Laws that people believe are unjust will always be ignored and respect for law enforcement is eroded in the process. Crime increases as respect for unjust laws decrease. It becomes a society polarized by public desires and a prohibitionist attitude. Hatred, fear and mistrust grow as each side struggles for the upper hand in this conflict. Prisons are built to house those that are unfortunate enough to get caught and families are torn apart in the process. An honest educational health based prevention process would likely be more effective. When our government says that marijuana is a dangerous drug with no medical use, their credibility comes into question. Reality paints a much different picture where 18 states and Washington DC have medical marijuana programs and 2 states have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes. The people who use marijuana are harmed more by society at the hand of our judicial system than the harm caused by marijuana. I am not saying that marijuana use is harmless, but the harm caused by prohibition far outweighs the harm caused by marijuana use. As adults that choice should be ours. As adults we should be able to celebrate life on our own terms as long as we do so responsibly. To take away that right is at odds with the principles of freedom that our country was founded on. We still have a long way to go to prevent drug use by underage users but I believe honest, health based education is the key. Our children are smart enough to know when they are being deceived.

Randy Johnson

itsmycountrytoo.org

LEAP Urges The Justice Department to Honor the Will of Voters

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In a blog at the Law Enforcement Against Prohibition web site, http://www.leap.cc/, 73 judges, police officers, prosecutors, and federal officers signed a letter sent to Attorney General Eric Holder November 20th, urging him and the Justice Department to honor the will of the voters in Colorado and Washington.

The words of Executive director Neill Franklin say it best when considering the failure of the war against marijuana.

“We seem to be at a turning point in how our society deals with marijuana,” said
Neill Franklin, executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, the
group that authored the letter. “The war on marijuana has funded the expansion
of drug cartels, it has destroyed community-police relations and it has fostered
teenage use by creating an unregulated market where anyone has easy access.
Prohibition has failed. Pretty much everyone knows it, especially those of us
who dedicated our lives to enforcing it. The election results show that the
people are ready to try something different. The opportunity clearly exists for
President Obama and Attorney General Holder to do the right thing and respect
the will of the voters.”

The letter sent to Eric Holder can be read at; http://copssaylegalize.blogspot.com/2012/11/law-enforcement-leaders-ask-department.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LawEnforcementAgainstProhibition+%28Law+Enforcement+Against+Prohibition%29

Please contact your representatives in Washington and let them know you also want an end to marijuana prohibition.

http://house.gov/

http://www.senate.gov/

http://www.whitehouse.gov/

Randy Johnson

itsmycountrytoo.org

We Have Lost a Great Statesman

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As we live our lives as Americans it is worth reflecting on where we came from. Our country started with boundless hope for a better tomorrow and a vast supply of new land and freedom to make our lives into whatever we might choose. We were led by great statesmen such as Ben Franklin, George Washington,Thomas Jefferson and Samuel Adams whose lives were devoted to the principles that all men are created equal and that freedom comes from God and not the will of men. Statesmen who gave us the Constitution as a guide to maintain our freedom and preserve our prosperity.

We have had several bumps in the road to where we are today, some we should be proud of, and others that should bring us shame and a change in our future direction.  Our government has been on the wrong side of many decisions in foreign and domestic affairs.The way our country was stolen from the Native Americans is deplorable as well as the enslavement of African-Americans. As a nation we have formed alliances with and supported the likes of Saddam Hussein, Manuel Noriega and Osama Bin Laden only to find later that the enemy of our enemy is not necessarily our friend. Instead of being a beacon for freedom and democracy we have used our military and wealth to try to buy or force compliance of our will on foreign powers. This intrusion into foreign governments is seen as arrogance by the rest of the world and causes hatred and mistrust of Americans. Only when America promotes freedom and democracy by being a shining beacon of fairness and tolerance for diversity will the rest of the world respond favorably. Consider how you would feel having foreign troops on United States soil in any capacity of authority. Would you not feel as though you were at war or at least resentful? We have no right to push our agenda on any other country. Our military should only be used in defense of our nation or nations in alliance with us, never as a tool to promote our agenda.

This country began with vast untapped riches of timber, iron, oil and agricultural land. With entrepreneurial freedom and the right to own property came a boom of growth and innovation. We quickly became the envy of the rest of the world as a monetary superpower and products made in America were sought throughout the world. Now we have become a nation of consumers of foreign products with an unpayable debt to foreign powers and an economy on the verge of collapse. We have so many regulations governing everything from how much water we can use to flush our toilets to what light bulbs are acceptable it is almost impossible for small business and consumers to comply and only partially enforceable due to the complexity and sheer number of rules and regulations that are currently part of our legal system. We have so many laws our government admits they are uncountable, yet thousands more pages of law are passed every year, and most limit our freedom or restrict business in some way or give special interest an advantage over another party. While it is right and good for government to protect us from fraud and promote an even playing field among business, it is wrong for government to favor one business over another. Interference and regulation drive the cost up for consumers and stifle innovation. Free enterprise can and will solve most economic problems in society if left to self regulate. The better mousetrap will prevail and the consumer will choose the best product at the best price and if a product or service cannot compete it would be replaced with a better more effective product or service. Companies would change with the needs of consumers or be replace with companies more in line with current needs or wants.

Our country was started on the principle that hard work and innovation were the essence of success. The principle that education builds a better society and furthers innovation. People in this country are our greatest asset, but only when they accept responsibility for their own successes and failures. It is not the job of government to take care of those capable of caring for themselves and arguable those that can’t. Before the social welfare systems of today local charities and churches accepted that role and were quite successful. While I would not care to draw a line as to how much social welfare we should maintain as a society, it is worth noting that a large percentage of Americans are not vested in how the government spends its tax revenue. We have a progressive tax structure that heaps the lions share of government expenses onto the wealthiest of Americans and lets the poorest have no income taxes and some even have a negative income tax where they receive more of a refund than they paid. As long as we have people voting on how our government spends tax money that do not pay into the system, we will have uncontrolled spending by our leaders in Washington. The progressive tax also contributes to the idea that those who pay more should have more influence on our representatives. Those representatives who would vote to limit government spending are quickly voted out as being against the poor, yet the money currently spent by our government on social programs is unsustainable. Representatives who do not lend an ear to the wealthiest in society quickly lose funding for relection.This has led us to a fiscal cliff and little hope to survive the economic future with any resemblance to our present prosperity and the entire burden of debt placed on the shoulders of the youngest Americans.

Ron Paul was a visionary who saw these problems in society and tried to fix them. He was an outspoken opponent of government excess and a tireless champion of freedom and the Constitution of the United States. These are the things that led to his popularity as a public servant and to the growing number of people who support smaller government and more freedom. Congressman Paul you are a great statesman and will be surely missed. It is my hope and prayer that you have inspired more people to become statesmen and to further your love for freedom and prosperity in America. Thank you and God bless you Ron Paul for your service to America and Americans.

Congressman Paul’s farewell to Congress speech can be read at :

http://paul.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2025&Itemid=60

Or watched at:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/28/ron-paul-democratic-party_n_2206788.html

Randy Johnson

itsmycontrytoo.org

Petition To End Prohibition of Marijuana

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I just signed a petition to legalize marijuana at the official White House petition site https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/treat-marijuana-alcohol-throughout-us-enacting-hr-2306-ending-federal-marijuana-prohibition-act-2011/KVdSpGP3?utm_source=wh.gov&utm_medium=shorturl&utm_campaign=shorturl

The petition is in reference to the HR 2306 bill introduced by Barney Frank; Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011. When I signed the petition, it had 3,295 signatures and needs 21,705 more signatures to reach the minimum goal of 25,000 in 30 days by December 18th. Apparently anyone can start a petition on any subject as many have recently done on petitions to have their home states to secede from the United States. There are 249 petitions at the time of this post on different subjects. Some of the petitions are serious and some not so serious such as; a petition to require all states to allow concealed carry permits for all law-abiding U.S citizens, a petition to bring back incandescent light bulbs and a petition to transfer funds from the war on drugs to be used for research and developement of the genetic engineering of domestic cat girls.

While I do not support the genetic engineering of cat girls, it would be nice if all states honored the 2nd amendment of our Constitution. It would also be nice to get the Federal Government out of the business of trying to ruin the lives of marijuana users through prosecution and persecution. Please sign the petition and call or write to your elected officials and let them know how you feel. They can be reached at.

http://house.gov/

http://www.senate.gov/

http://www.whitehouse.gov/

Randy Johnson

itsmycountrytoo.org

A Brave New Day Has Dawned

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A brave new day has dawned as Colorado and Washington have legalized marijuana for recreational use. It is too early to tell how the states will handle distribution and sales regulations, but I would assume the arrest and prosecution of casual users would end immediately. The passage of these laws by popular vote sends a clear message to our Federal Government, that we are a free people, free to make decisions about our own health and safety, free to live life on our own terms. It also sends the message to our leaders in DC that America is changing and they will have to change with it or face increasing opposition. A hostile response from The Feds will only serve to turn public opinion against marijuana prohibition. It will be interesting to see how they respond.

I have nothing but praise for the voters in Colorado and Washington for taking a stand for personal freedom. I have no idea how the next few years will play out, but I am wildly optimistic that we are seeing the beginning of the end of Federal marijuana prohibition. Please call or write to your Congressmen, Senators and President and tell them to get out of the business of trying to ruin people’s lives because of marijuana and let states regulate marijuana as they see fit. Then if we don’t like the state or local laws we could at least vote with our feet. Freedom of choice is good for America. Thanks again to the voters in Colorado and Washington.

http://house.gov/

http://www.senate.gov/

http://www.whitehouse.gov/

Randy Johnson

itsmycountrytoo.org