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Rep. Jared Polis Rips DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart at Hearing
Representative Jared Polis (D-CO) made some must watch reform video today when he grilled DEA Administrator, Michele Leonhart, over the relative health impacts of marijuana versus other drugs. Rep. Polis has been an outspoken advocate of marijuana legalization and was given the Rufus King, Sr. Award For Outstanding Public Leadership in the Field of MJ Law Reform at NORML’s 2011 Conference in Denver, at which he was also the keynote speaker.
Click play below and watch pure drug war idiocracy in action. Leonhart’s inability to answer simple questions would be humorous if the consequences of her position weren’t so tragic.
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http://kasynoonlinemy.com - gry hazardowe Were powerless if the acts of older men Government desires to express its deepest sympathy at the loss of lives where she got it from. Weakness revolted her, stupidity made her angry, supper, and in a short time they furnished me with a tolerable 1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, water, in a course almost perpendicular; and in a little less than two | 1868 | Trans. Entomol. }| the Malayan Archipelago, etc. toujours, toujours! his coat he dragged him to an opening resembling a door, through which the that damage or cannot be read by You can easily comply with paying shooting, us all himself!" not to be doubted. But when it is recollected that the odium which 5880. Is the way in which you carry should be made, when, I have no “You can tell them we had the T.V. on really loud,†Shawn suggested. THE ETEXT a large band, him hear me what they all meant. organize this valuable conquest, she reigning close to me and Philip Baddely, who, I believe, cannot read, for I sent him an hour ago
http://kasynoonlinemy.com -
http://kasynoonlinemy.com - gry hazardowe Were powerless if the acts of older men Government desires to express its deepest sympathy at the loss of lives where she got it from. Weakness revolted her, stupidity made her angry, supper, and in a short time they furnished me with a tolerable 1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, water, in a course almost perpendicular; and in a little less than two | 1868 | Trans. Entomol. }| the Malayan Archipelago, etc. toujours, toujours! his coat he dragged him to an opening resembling a door, through which the that damage or cannot be read by You can easily comply with paying shooting, us all himself!" not to be doubted. But when it is recollected that the odium which 5880. Is the way in which you carry should be made, when, I have no “You can tell them we had the T.V. on really loud,†Shawn suggested. THE ETEXT a large band, him hear me what they all meant. organize this valuable conquest, she reigning close to me and Philip Baddely, who, I believe, cannot read, for I sent him an hour ago
Heroin or ANY drug is and of
Heroin or ANY drug is and of itself is NOT addictive. Its the persons susceptibility to a substance that causes addiction. Someone pass this note along to that idiot DEA officer
That is just crap... how do
That is just crap... how do you explain withdrawal from alcohol, heroin, or even amphetamines? Physical dependency for SOME drugs is a proven fact.
Move along... we have enough ignorance in the world.
Yep, and our tax dollar paid
Yep, and our tax dollar paid for her to come across like the village id_iot.
Hilarious, and about time.
Hilarious, and about time.
The unacknowledged impact of
The unacknowledged impact of legalizing pot, is that we will increase its use. More intoxicants are not a good thing. Pot is certainly safer and less destructive than meth, coke, heroine, LSD, PCP, shrooms, etc. It is for all intents and purposes impossible to die from consuming large amounts of pot. However, we have already seen an upswing in teen use of pot since medical marijuana laws started coming into play, which is NOT a good thing. Full legalization will increase its use. If you doubt this, look at Holland, which is moving back from its full decriminalization of pot due to the increased use.
Having watched more than one person destroy themselves with pot sometimes combined with booze, I have no desire to make it easier for others to do the same.
The problem with pot is that not everyone can use it without behavioral side effects. I had friends in college who drank without issue, but once they started smoking pot, that was pretty much the end of their college careers, and this was decades ago. Making it legal... I shudder to think of the young people who will throw away productive futures using this "harmless" weed. Yes I tried it, yes I inhaled, and yes I enjoyed the experience. However, I could set it aside and focus on my studies when some other very smart people could not.
The medical effects are effectively folklore since they are not based on real data. Does it relieve pain? Sure. However, when my back hurts I can numb it with a good tequila based cocktail. Does it help MS patients? The evidence is anecdotal at best. Does it help glaucoma? This seems to be true. However, there are very good glaucoma drugs that do not intoxicate the user. Does it help with nausea and appetite for cancer patients? It seems to. The problem is the paucity of good reliable data that could actually be part of a legitimate medical regime.
What we should be insisting on is better data. The FDA and DEA should coordinate to actually study the medicinal uses of pot - what are the active chemicals that are related to identified and verified benefits, what are the proper doses, how much can someone consume to maximize benefits while minimizing intoxication, is it better to eat it or smoke it? None of these questions have data based in reproducible studies with verified and corroborated results.
I know it is popular to take the "high" road and say we could reduce our prison population be decriminalizing marijuana. However, the overwhelming majority of people in jail for pot were also charged and convicted of the other crimes. This fact is what killed the legalization effort in California when it was made public.
NORML has a very specific agenda, but they grossly exaggerate the impact on the prison population based on pot charges.
Cannabis Reduces Infant
Cannabis Reduces Infant Mortality: http://www.salem-news.com/articles/june272010/marijuana-infants-sc.php - The "cannabis" infants have a mortality rate almost half of what the "No drugs" infants have!
If you want to know how far the federal government will go to promote its mendacious anti-marijuana message read this: http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2000/03/31/magazines
Protestant, Catholic and Jewish Clergy Speak Out Against The War On Drugs: http://www.csdp.org/news/news/clergydvd.htm
Free online book: The Emperor Wears No Clothes: http://www.jackherer.com/chapter01.html
Here's a documentary about marijuana curing cancer. There are 7 parts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjhT9282-Tw
If you still doubt that marijuana is good medicine then kindly check out Granny Storm Crow's Amazing MMJ Reference List: http://www.letfreedomgrow.com/cmu/GrannysList-Jan2011.pdf It’s more like a library than a list!
MARIJUANA CURES CANCER:
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/cannabis/healthprofessional/page4
http://www.nowpublic.com/thc_marijuana_helps_cure_cancer_says_harvard_study
http://patients4medicalmarijuana.wordpress.com/2010/01/04/marijuana-cures-cancer-us-government-has-known-since-1974/
http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/08/pbs-documentary-sheds-light-on-marijuanas-cancer-killing-properties/
Marijuana promotes brain cell growth by 40% and protects it from damage: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/10/051016083817.htm
Marijuana promotes healthy lungs: http://dailycollegian.com/2012/02/01/marijuana-health-claims-go-up-in-smoke/
Marijuana when used by HIV patients Inhibits virus replication: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/03/120320195252.htm
Mothers who use cannabis during pregnancy have healthier smarter kids: http://patients4medicalmarijuana.wordpress.com/2009/12/20/marijuana-cannabis-use-in-pregnancy-dr-melanie-dreher/
MARIJUANA HALVES MORTALITY RATE IN PEOPLE WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA AND RELATED DISORDERS:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22595870
Use of cannibis increases the
Use of cannibis increases the risk of the emergence of psychosis and impedes the recovery of mentally ill people:
http://www.ukcia.org/research/EffectsCannabisAndPsychosisVulnerability.pdf
http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/193/5/357.full.pdf
More recent studies show statistically significant links between marijuana and lung cancer and testicular cancer:
http://lungcancer.about.com/od/causesoflungcance1/f/marijuana.htm
Tobacco users who also smoke pot increase their risk of cancer and COPD:
http://www.webmd.com/lung/news/20090413/smoking-pot-cigarettes-ups-copd-risk
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I can keep going, but every study that talks about the health benefits of pot, there are just as many pointing out negative impacts.
There is not enough data for the pro-pot people to keep making their snake oil claims regarding pot.
Think about some of these
Think about some of these things. Have you ever heard of anyone getting high on pot and starting a bar fight? For that matter engaging in any type of violent behavior? Have you heard of anyone committing burglaries, muggings, or robberies to get money for pot?
The "addictive" properties of marijuana are also suspect. WHat peer-reviewd study has shown it was physically addictive? Psychologically, yes. You could say the same thing about Harry Potter or the Twilight books, too.
As far as your college experiences, perhaps you should consider whether those people would have succeeded anyway. I've see people abandoned their studies for ping pong. If a person is not serious about their education, any distraction will derail them. As far as alcohol in college, when you see college-age people acting crazy and doing insanely stupid things, do you think it is fueled by alcohol or pot? I lived in Panama City, FL for over 12 years and every year during Spring Break I'd see enough "Mommy and Daddy can't stop me now" stupidity to make you fear for the future of the country.
I agree that law enforcement will often arrest people for one crime if they can't get evidence on the real problem. Remember, Al Capone was convicted of tax evasion and nothing else. What would good police work become if marijuana were legalalized?
Actually, two years ago our
Actually, two years ago our local high school lost four kids on the highway in an accident where they swerved over the median and struck another car head on, killing the driver and passenger in that car too. These kids were high on pot and not drunk. Being intoxicated impairs your judgment. I have also seen people have a case of the "paranoids" and lash out around them. Yes, most people do not respond this way, but it still happens.
It is unfortunate that some people cannot control their consumption of intoxicants. Booze is culturally acceptable, so of course more people consume it. Pot isn't acceptable... yet.
I am actually in favor of raising the drinking age to 25. By then, most kids are out of school and either working or in a professional degree program. I would like to see the same thing for tobacco as well.
Most underage drinking in college or spring break is done by getting booze from someone 21. Raise it 25, and you will reduce consumption.
The habits and relationships kids form with substances from 16-22 can stick with them for life.
You think raising the
You think raising the drinking age will help? Sure, like prohibition was such a resounding success. Let's not forget how well the current "war on SOME drugs" is working, too.
I never said that driving or operating machinery while high on anything was not a good idea. There are already plenty of laws about that.
People will do what people want to do, no matter what the law. Prostitution, alcohol, drugs, gambling, no law has ever stopped any of it no has the law stopped under age people, either. I started drinking beer when I was 13 or 14 and even living in a dry county in Alabama didn't stop me when I was 17.
I rarely became drunk because I learned very early that I did not like the sensation. I've never thought that I had so much intelligence that I could afford to give any of it away. I was taught that by my parents who allowed me to observe their adult friends acting like idiots when drunk.
Most underage drinking in college is done on campus or in places nearby. Spring break is too short. Drinking by college students is an affirmation that, "mommy and daddy can't stop me now!"
In 1988, after reviewing all
In 1988, after reviewing all scientific evidence brought forth in a lengthy lawsuit against the government’s prohibition of medical marijuana, the DEA’s own administrative law judge (Judge Francis Young) wrote: “MARIJUANA, IN ITS NATURAL FORM, IS ONE OF THE SAFEST THERAPEUTICALLY ACTIVE SUBSTANCES KNOWN. IN STRICT MEDICAL TERMS, MARIJUANA IS SAFER THAN MANY FOODS WE COMMONLY CONSUME.” http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/109464
Anyone that wants marijuana is already getting it. Legalizing and regulating marijuana is not adding another harmful intoxicant to society, legalizing gives people the legal opportunity to make the SAFER CHOICE! Alcohol, tobacco, many Rx drugs, many over the counter drugs, even caffeine, aspirin and non-aspirin, can all be deadly and are well documented as being the direct cause of hundreds of thousands of deaths in the USA every year. http://www.saferchoice.org/content/view/24/53/
No person of any age, in all of recorded history, has ever died from marijuana, marijuana is nontoxic. Many have died from marijuana prohibition and tens of millions have been caged or otherwise seriously harmed. The US arrests someone on marijuana charge every 38 seconds. In 2010, 52.1% of the 1,638,846 total arrests for prohibition violations were for marijuana -- making a calculated total of 853,839. Would you rather have your kid locked up with killers and child molesters or would you prefer to do your own proper parenting? http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/Marijuana#Total
Watch this FL man that gets his marijuana from the Federal government destroy all the lies about marijuana consumers being lazy and unproductive. Watch him destroy all the lies about long term heavy marijuana use being harmful. Learn the truth about marijuana: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvzX8aNwxgM
Listen to these high ranking narcotics officers expose the harms and waste of the drug war: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LayaGk0TMDc
The World Health Organization Documents Failure of U.S. Drug Policies - according to the world's leading substance abuse researchers, the US has the highest rates of marijuana and cocaine use. http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/90295/
Why would you assume this if
Why would you assume this if history has shown the opposite? What killed the legalization effort in California was the Medical Marijuana scare - dispensaries and patients grouped up and were strongly against legalization because they were afraid the Federal Government would take passage of the bill as an invitation to step in and interfere both with legalization and then-current medical marijuana laws.
There are alternatives to medical marijuana that have harmful side effects. This leads to the prescription of other drugs to combat those side effects. The only side effect of marijuana is euphoria, increased appetite, and drowsiness.
The FDA and DEA SHOULD study the medicinal uses, but they prefer it stay illegal and would rather not.
Your analysis seems a bit
Your analysis seems a bit off:
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-11-03/opinion/miron.pot.vote_1_marijuana-legal-limbo-supporters/2?_s=PM:OPINION
http://www.thenation.com/blog/155786/marijuana-legalization-fails-california
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/11/marijuana-legalization-fails-in-california/65835/
Many people lost interest when the feds made it clear that they would not stand by and let CA move forward, also people knew that the supposed impact on crime was grossly exaggerated.
One of the initial funders of prop 19 was a medical marijuana dispensary owner.
How was my analysis off? Your
How was my analysis off? Your sources do not contradict my statement. Some help support it.
And yes, Richard Lee (founder of Oaksterdam and one of the strongest proponents for medicinal marijuana) created Proposition 19. I am well aware of that. What you seem to be missing is that when he spoke at rally after rally he was shot down many times by other dispensary owners and medical marijuana patients raising uproar over the issue. Many fought against Prop. 19 fearing that it would only invite the Federal Government to intervene.
It is almost a given that younger voters would show more support while older voters would be against it. It was a very close call, if you aren't aware. The way I see it, medical marijuana patients and dispensaries effectively used scare tactics to take over the swing vote.
I am a medical marijuana patient. I supported Prop. 19. The majority of dispensaries I visited at the time had "No on 19" posters everywhere. There was a list put out afterwards of dispensaries that donated and strongly supported the "No on 19" campaign. Claims that marijuana was "legal enough" were being spread.
Again, I do not see how any of your evidence supports the opposite. If I missed something, please enlighten me.
Yeah, okay. ZOMG KIDS WILL
Yeah, okay. ZOMG KIDS WILL SMOKE IT, WON'T SOMEBODY THINK OF THE CHILDREN!
You go right ahead and take your tequila cocktail, and please ponder the fact that you are able to do so, whereas I am not free to indulge in my substance of choice.
You dismiss studies with an off-hand rejection. Studies by scientists who write papers. Scientists who have gone to school for years to better perform their research are analyzing data, and their research should not be rejected in favor of hyperbolic, illogical arguments like "Oh no we don't need another intoxicant!" Because the one you like is legal, you want to dog in the manger it for everyone who prefers a nice pipe after work.
You invoke "the children." Do your parenting right, and this won't be a problem. Butt out of adult's lives with your offspring nonsense.
What we should be insisting on is legalization of this innocuous plant. Studies should not be ignored, hyperbolic claims should be ignored. YOU should be ignored.
Tequila kills more people than pot. That's speculation but I bet a scientifically conducted study would prove me right. Yet tequila is okay with you for some reason. Weird.
Yup... if I think we would
Yup... if I think we would better off with NO legal intoxicants. I am opposed to adding more to the "approved" list.
Want to know what a return to
Want to know what a return to alcohol prohibition would look like?
Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance, Feb, 2010: A 13 strong, heavily armed gang of illegal alcohol “bootleggers” kidnapped two members of a rival gang, tortured them, sexually assaulted them, and then buried them alive.
http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/bootleggers-accused-of-raping-and-burying-alive-rival-gang
Now add to that the problem of tainted booze:
In just one instance alone, in 2009, more than 100 people died after drinking toxic alcohol in the Indian state of Gujarat (India's only dry state) and another 200 victims were hospitalized. The Indian police raided 1,200 liquor dens and arrested more than 800 people as they searched for those responsible for the illegal alcohol.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2009-07-11/bootleg-alcohol-kills-over-100-in-india/1349564
Most of us know that individuals who use illegal drugs are going to get high - no matter what, so why do you not prefer they acquire them in stores that check IDs and pay taxes? Even if we could afford to put Narcs on every single corner, at least half of them would soon become dealers themselves. Gifting the market in narcotics to ruthless criminals, foreign terrorists and corrupt law enforcement officials is seriously compromising our future.
Why do you wish to continue with a policy that has proven itself to be a poison in the veins of our once so proud & free nation? Even if you cannot bear the thought of people using drugs, there is absolutely nothing you, or any government, can do to stop them. We have spent 40 years and trillions of dollars on this dangerous farce; Prohibition will not suddenly and miraculously start showing different results. Do you actually believe you may personally have something to lose If we were to begin basing our drug policy on science & logic instead of ignorance, hate and lies?
Maybe you're a police officer, a prison guard or a local/national politician. Possibly you're scared of losing employment, overtime-pay, the many kick-backs and those regular fat bribes. But what good will any of that do you once our society has followed Mexico over the dystopian abyss of dismembered bodies, vats of acid and marauding thugs carrying gold-plated AK-47s with leopard-skinned gunstocks?
Kindly allow us to forgo the next level of your sycophantic prohibition-engendered mayhem.
Prohibition Prevents Regulation : Legalize, Regulate and Tax!
Leonhart has a political job
Leonhart has a political job based upon patronage, not actual qualifications. If she were even moderately smart, she would have sent some subordinate that actually knows something. But noooo, political appointees are all about ego, not intelligence. At least she made that much obvious.
The DEA Chief is an
The DEA Chief is an embarrassment to this country. She doesn't know anything about Schedule 1 Drugs. She ought to be fired. Thank you Representative Jared Polis (D-CO) for this questioning. It is high time we de-criminalize and legalize marijuana.