Tag Archives: legalize

Doug Fine’s Five Myths About Marijuana

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Doug Fine, author of “Too High To Fail” wrote an article for The Washington Post titled “Five Myths About Legalizing Marijuana”.

1.  In the article he presents evidence that dispels the idea that legalization would increase availability and use in adolescents, citing statistics from studies in the Netherlands and states that have legalized medical marijuana. 2. A large portion of law enforcement see the failures of including marijuana in the war on drugs. It seems that the support for the war on marijuana in the law enforcement community is driven by the vast sums of money that is funneled into law enforcement by the Federal Government. According to a new study released by the ACLU, the war against marijuana is still heavily racially biased and extremely expensive with over a trillion dollars spent so far on the failed war on marijuana.  3. Getting high would not likely be the most profitable part of marijuana legalization with legal hemp being the big money-maker. Its uses include building materials from panels and beams traditionally made of wood and hemp based plastics for auto parts and body panels. Hemp seeds and the oil derived from them are loaded with essential oils and nutrients necessary for human health. As a feedstock for biomass fuels, hemp is one of the best sources and can be grown almost anywhere making it a viable competitor for fossil fuels. 4. It is very unlikely that big tobacco on the alcohol industry would control legalized marijuana. There are just too many people who are very good at producing and cultivating strains of marijuana that have different effects on people as has been shown in the medical marijuana industry. While there will likely be a place for national branding of some marijuana strains, variety is one of the things I like most about marijuana. Different strains produce a different high, similar to the way micro-breweries have captured a large part of the beer industry. Also it will be impossible to keep people from growing their own and sharing or even selling it to their friends. 5. The political will of America is changing. The war on marijuana is steadily loosing support among voters who increasingly see the government’s stance against marijuana as not based on the truth. Our government seems to ignore any evidence that shows any benefits to people or society from legal marijuana and focus on all that is bad about the plant. When truth is ignored people notice.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/five-myths-about-legalizing-marijuana/2013/06/07/9727eac4-c871-11e2-9f1a-1a7cdee20287_story.html

Randy Johnson

LEAP Testifies For Marijuana Legalization In New Hampshire

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Cheshire County Prison Superintendent Richard Van Wickler’s testimony about marijuana legalization is very refreshing. Richard Van Wickler is a member of LEAP “Law Enforcement Against Prohibition” and was representing LEAP at this meeting to discuss HB492, a bill calling for legalization of marijuana in New Hampshire. Van Winkler presented a very straight forward testimony, presented good evidence to support his views and rebutted some of the incorrect propaganda presented as facts by the anti-marijuana groups, such as the gateway theory and the fact that there is simply no study ever conducted that agrees with the gateway theory. He also explains how legalization is a much better approach to the marijuana issue because decriminalization leaves the criminal supply chain in place and does not address the violence associated with an unregulated market. Legalization puts drug dealers out of business and makes it more difficult for minors to obtain marijuana similar to the carding of people buying alcohol or tobacco. LEAP presents a very logical, compassionate and just plan for legalization of marijuana that discourages all drug use, while protecting our freedom and reducing crime and violence in America. An added benefit would be the restoration of the close relationship we should all have with law enforcement, when it is no longer us against them. I applaud the members of LEAP that have chosen to stand for a common sense drug policy in this country.

Van Winkler’s testimony can be seen here, about 17 minutes.  http://www.leap.cc/richard-van-wickler-testifies-for-marijuana-legalization/

http://www.leap.cc/

Thanks

Randy Johnson

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

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

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

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

End the War on Marijuana Now

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This letter was mailed today to the President, all members of the United States Congress and to several news organizations to try to reach as many Americans as possible.

To the President of the United States, to members of the United States Congress, and to all Americans,
As Americans we are supposed to be a free people. Our Declaration of Independence even goes so far as to state that we have unalienable rights ordained by God and among those rights are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. These three items encompass the whole of how we choose to live our lives from the choices we make about religion to the type of food we choose to consume and how much. It also encompasses our choices of what are acceptable risks for us in our daily lives and our right to self-defense. If we are not allowed to choose what risks are acceptable for us as individuals we are not free at all, but only free to do as we are told. In short, decisions about our own personal health and safety are ours. They do not belong to society or to those who govern us. Our freedom was paid for with the blood of fellow Americans. The most sacred trust we have in our elected officials is that they protect that freedom.
The war against marijuana and the people who use marijuana is a direct assault on those rights and needs to end immediately. We are not the enemy of this country, we are Americans. We have been legally separated from society, labeled criminals, denied employment, had our children removed from our custody, had our property seized, stripped of our Second Amendment rights, and are no longer secure in our personal property due to improper searches. We have neither been represented nor had a chance to present any defense in face of the accusations of our supposed harm to society. Should we not have had a day in court before being stripped of our constitutional rights?
It is time for these hostilities to end. It is time to end the war against marijuana and the people who use it. Our freedoms are just as important as anyone else’s. Of the 3 most common recreational drugs, alcohol, tobacco and marijuana; marijuana is the safest from a medical standpoint and safer than alcohol from an at risk behavior standpoint. What is so horrible about marijuana that society must try to ruin our lives? We are not harming this country. If marijuana use is so offensive that it cannot be seen in public, then forbid public display, but stop ruining people’s lives for choosing a drug that is safer for the individual and society than alcohol or tobacco and leave us alone. All we really want is to live in peace with society. We are not the enemy, we are Americans.
Please support house bill H.R 2306 titled “Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011
Randy Johnson
806-275-9228
itsmycountrytoo.org
imctmail@cableone.net
706 S. McGee St.
P.O. Box 5170
Borger, TX 79008-5170

Legalize Marijuana Now

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In order for marijuana to be legalized at the Federal level several things must change.

First public opinion must change. As long as 50% or more of Americans believe that marijuana is just as bad as or worse than alcohol its use will remain illegal. A very public national advertising campaign portraying marijuana users in an honest and open fashion and presenting facts disputing our governments misinformation campaign would do our cause a great deal of good. Most of us are not in a position to speak out for ourselves but if we have a spokesperson who would present our case to the public, we could educate and possibly change the minds of people who still believe that our government should be in the business of trying to ruin the lives of those who use marijuana. But as you know advertising is expensive. Estimates of how many people currently use marijuana are varied but an estimate of six to ten percent of the population would not be unreasonable. That’s 20 to 30 million of us. Just a few dollars from each of us would purchase a lot of advertising and as you have likely heard “The squeaky wheel gets the grease”.

Second our politicians must be convinced that we will accept nothing less than the same freedom afforded people who use alcohol. There is no moral difference between using alcohol or marijuana and there shouldn’t be a legal difference either. This is the easiest and likely the most effective thing we can do. Hand written letters or even form letters get a lot of attention from our leaders. The main thing is we must make our wishes heard. As long as we remain silent nothing will change. This is something we can all do and it costs little. A sheet of paper and a few minutes of time a stamp and an envelope is all that is necessary. NORML and MPP have a very good system for contacting your elected officials along with editable form letters to mail or e-mail your representatives. All you need is your Zip Code to get their contact information. I will also post  letters to print and mail.The main thing is to be heard and this is a safe way to express yourself without fear of losing you job. Just be respectful as threats and name calling will do nothing to advance our cause.

I don’t want give the impression that this is going to be an easy fight. Marijuana has been illegal for a long time and there are a lot of people who still believe Reefer Madness is an accurate portrayal of marijuana use. There are also a few large industries that will be opposed to legalization because if marijuana is legal they will lose revenue through competition with hemp and marijuana. Immediately upon legalization the pharmaceutical industry will lose money through competition as will the alcohol industry. Soon to follow will be the prison industry, the pulp wood industry, the cotton industry and petrochemical industry. These are industrial giants with enormous influence on our leadership in Washington and they will not let this happen without a fight. But I believe if we are persistent and make enough noise we will win because the laws against marijuana are built on lies and misinformation and we have the truth on our side.

I would love to be your spokesperson and let America know of the injustice we suffer because of laws built on lies that demonize marijuana users. We are not the enemy of this country we are Americans and we deserve equal freedom. I urge each of you to voice your opinion to your Congressmen, Senators and the President. I also urge each of you to vote. Educate yourselves about the candidates and the issues and vote for the person you believe will serve us best. I also ask that you give generously and often so that we can be heard on a national level to show people that we are not the demons of society that our government has portrayed us as. But as normal Americans who love their country. We are not the enemy we are Americans.

Randy Johnson
itsmycontrytoo.org