Marijuana Laws

Drugs and Music Like Peanut Butter and Jelly

Drugs and music have gone hand in hand since the jazz of the 1920′s, but a recent study looks to see what genre contains the most drug references today.

Drugs and music have been psychologically linked since the beginning of time. In the American experience the the roots of this connection go back to the jazz clubs of the 1920′s. One of the reasons given for criminalizing marijuana was to protect white women form the influences of jazz. Comically, today jazz is considered to be a more high brow genre than rock or rap. The three big genres of music today are rock, rap and country. Of these three genres, which one do you think has the most drug influences? The truth is it’s impossible to tell. The Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine may give some indication, however, as they recently calculated the number of drug references per hour in modern music for each genre. Continue reading →

Growing Marijuana / Marijuana Laws / Marijuana Stuff / Medical Marijuana — 2 Comments
21
Dec 11

Top Three Reasons to End Marijuana Prohibition

The reasons for ending the drug war are countless. Anyone who bothers to do independent research concludes there are better alternatives. There are a few arguments that by themselves should be cause for repeal.

In the world we are living in today, more and more Americans support ending the drug war. The latest polls put nationwide support for complete legalization of marijuana at just under 50%. With the incredible spread of information over the past twenty years, everyone is beginning to see why the drug war should end. The reasons for this are as varied as the culture of America. There are three in particular that stand on their own as reasons to end the drug war if for no other reason. The first is the shear scale and harshness of the War on Drugs. Second is that criminal penalties have been proven to not reduce usage. Finally, open disregard for marijuana law breeds lack of respect for all law. Continue reading →

Celebs / Marijuana Laws / Medical Marijuana — 2 Comments
28
Oct 11

New York Times Endorses Medical Marijuana

The NY Times joins a growing list of politicians and originations that have either softened or reversed their views on medical marijuana.

The New York Times has seen the light! They have come to realization that marijuana is medicine and it helps people with seriously debilitating diseases. In a recent article the Times called on New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to legalize medical marijuana calling it, “sensible and humane.” The New York Times deserve credit for giving the medical marijuana community a fair chance. They had previously come out strongly against medical marijuana. In an earlier article the New York Times stated they did not support allowing medical marijuana because it was a step down the road to legalization. Continue reading →

Growing Marijuana / Marijuana Laws / Medical Marijuana / News / Science — No Comments
27
Sep 11

The Government Does Not Want to Study Pot

The 2011 National Drug Control Strategy Report clearly shows that the Federal Government has no interest in clinical studies of marijuana.

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy released its 2011 National Drug Control Strategy report in June. That is only six months late, which I guess is close enough for government work. The report contained many of the federally purported myths we are familiar with. Interestingly, the report did take time to discuss medical marijuana and the national legalization movement.
A section ironically titled “The Facts About Marijuana” dealt little with facts and figures of the Drug War and instead was a Christmas list of government propaganda. Pick anything out of this section and you will find laughable claims. For example, “Marijuana and other illicit drugs are addictive and unsafe […] marijuana on its own is associated with addiction, respiratory and mental illness, poor motor performance, cognitive impairment, among other negative effects.” These are the kind of lies we are used to hearing from the Office of National Drug Control Policy. The most interesting section however, deals with the national legalization movement.
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Celebs / Marijuana Laws / News — 3 Comments
1
Sep 11

2012 Candidates on Marijuana: Part 2

We continue our grading of all the 2012 candidates for President on their support for Marijuana.

Part one is here: 2012 Candidates on Marijuana: Part 1

Mitt Romney- Grade: F

Romney got into trouble in 2008 when a wheelchair-bound medical marijuana patient asked him about his stance on medical marijuana. Romney listened compassionately to the man’s description of his illness and even apologized for his condition, until the young man turned to the subject of medical marijuana. Romney briskly turned his back on him and walked away. Romney has since stated that the medical marijuana movement is an effort by a small minority intent upon getting marijuana publicly accepted and eventually legalized. Romney is exactly right, except for the small minority part; over half of Americans support medical marijuana rights. During his term as Governor, Romney opposed research at two universities that were testing medical marijuana. Romney is not only against drug usage he is fundamentally opposed to drug culture. Romney is reported as saying, “I don’t want to encourage more involvement in or allow more people to get involved in marijuana and the drug culture.” Opposing drug culture is a big step from opposing drugs. What lengths would Mitt go to to stop drug culture? No more Cheech and Chong movies? No more Woodstock? In a field with few pro-pot choices, Romney might actually be the worst out of all of them.

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Celebs / Marijuana Laws / News — 5 Comments
31
Aug 11

2012 Candidates on Marijuana: Part 1

We Grade all the 2012 candidates for President on their support for Marijuana.

Part 2 is here: 2012 Candidates on Marijuana: Part 2

Michelle Bachmann- Grade: D

Michelle Bachmann has seemingly come out of nowhere to become a major political figure. She was first elected to Congress in 2006 and has become a major figure in the Tea Party. The Tea Party’s stated position is one of limited government intervention in the private lives of citizens. Despite this, Bachmann has come out strongly in support of using government power for social issues. Before her election, she ran the Bachmann & Associates psychiatric clinic; where they allegedly practiced sexual orientation correction. Bachmann is quoted as saying, “We need to have profound compassion for people who are dealing with the very real issue of sexual dysfunction in their life and sexual identity disorders.” Bachmann has never given a direct statement on marijuana usage, but given her record on social issues her support for legalization is unlikely.

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Celebs / Marijuana Laws / Medical Marijuana — 2 Comments
16
Aug 11

Rick Perry Will Turn On Medical Marijuana

Texas Governor Rick Perry has been a strong defender of states’ rights. The only exception to this rule seems to be when not supporting what will get him elected.

Texas Governors seem to have a way of ending up President. We know all too well the story of our former Governor/President George W. Bush. After his term in office one would think the people would need a break before electing another Governor from Texas, but perhaps not. The current Texas Governor, Rick Perry, is positioning himself for a serious run for the White House. Perry has made a name for himself as a leading advocate of states’ rights. His recent book Fed Up is entirely about the Federal Government overstepping its role in all areas. With his history of supporting a state’s right to choose, his support of medical marijuana makes sense.

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Drug Testing / Marijuana Laws / News — 1 Comment
11
Aug 11

Private Prisons: Leeching off the Drug War

One little talked about aspect of the drug war is the narco-industrial complex that has developed in this country. With states increasingly turning over management of their corrections institutions to private companies, what stake do they have in maintaining the drug war?

Everyone has seen lives ruined by the war on drugs. Crack babies with no chance at a normal life, working professional’s careers destroyed for simple possession, and the like are all well documented. What does not get at much media attention are the lives made by the war on drugs. From the DEA on down there is an entire narco-industrial complex that generates billions off the war on drugs. Two of the biggest corporate sponsors of the drug war are the GEO Group and Corrections Corporation of America.

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Marijuana Laws — No Comments
30
Jul 11

California Marijuana Laws

Drug laws in US differ from state to state and a great variance can be noticed amongst the penalties that are prescribed by different states for the same offence. Amongst the states that have relaxed laws in place for marijuana usage, the state of California comes across as a very liberal one especially when its laws are compared to Alabama marijuana laws or US marijuana laws that are applicable on the federal level.

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Celebs / Marijuana Laws / Medical Marijuana — No Comments
15
Jul 11

US Congress Introduces Federal Medical Marijuana Statutes

In an amazing feat of clarity, the United States Congress is considering not one but four new pro-marijuana laws.

Bills in favor of relaxing the drug war have come before congress before. They are far between and usually dismissed without debate. Times have changed, however, as the US Congress is now considering several new bills including: HR 1983 The Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act, HR 1984 The Small Business Banking Improvement Act of 2011, RD 1985 The Small Business Tax Equality Act of 2011, and HR 1831 The Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2011. Never before have so many anti-drug war bills come before the house in rapid succession. Never before have these bills garnered serious debate. As Obama said, however, these days drug legalization is worth of serious debate. Continue reading →