Reschedule Cannabis

Republicans dont think a man should be able to smoke marijuana in the privacy of their own home without having their door kicked in, but they are scared shitless now thinking about having THEIR Congressional doors kicked in by FBI targeting them for their corruption!

House and Senate leaders challenged the constitutionality of an FBI raid on a lawmaker’s office, saying it broke a 219-year precedent and raised concerns about the separation of power between the administration and Congress.

“The actions of the Justice Department in seeking and executing this warrant raise important constitutional issues,’’ House Speaker Dennis Hastert, an Illinois Republican, said in a statement last night. “I expect to seek a means to restore the delicate balance of power among the branches of government that the founders intended.’’

Frist and co are only voicing opposition to raids because they are afraid of having THEIR office searched!

I think, finally Congress understands what its like to be American now. Welcome to the club, congress. You want to kick in doors in the name of the “War on Drugs” well you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

The separation of powers argument seems to be pretty weak to me: The actual scope of Congressional immunity under the speech and debate clause is quite narrow (narrower, oddly, than the judicially-created immunities enjoyed by judges and prosecutors) and certainly doesn’t include immunity from search in a bribery case.

At any rate, members of Congress who are offended by an unannounced late-night raid on an office might profitably be asked what they think about late-night unannounced raids on private homes, which happen all the time as part of the Congressionally-mandated War on Drugs.

These same people want to stop CANCER PATIENTS from using medical marijuana and have mandated a “kick in door” policy against terminal people, to Congress I say you reap what you sow.

(republishing this article due to copyright infringement)

Our founding fathers grew hemp, so why are we arresting people for growing hemp today?

There is major difference between hemp and marijuana, for one, hemp does NOT GET YOU HIGH. Marijuana does. So here you can clearly see citizens being hassled for simply growing a non-intoxicating plant.

A Winsted man arrested for growing marijuana may avoid jail time if he agrees to remove bright green images of marijuana plants he spray-painted on his home.
Article Tools

Christopher Seekins — who lives on High Street — accepted a plea agreement Thursday in Litchfield Superior Court. He’d receive three years probation on a felony charge of growing marijuana.

Seekins was arrested in October when police discovered about 100 plants in his house. He said they were hemp and part of a research project.

After his arrest, Seekins painted images of the distinctive green leaf on his Victorian-style house, each accompanied by the word hemp. Town officials say they received several complaints because Seekins’ home is visible from Winsted’s main thoroughfare.

Notice how they retreat and try to get this citizen to remove images he painted on his home in protest because they have no case. Part of the agreement is to remove images of hemp plant painted on his house? I wonder why…. because the message it sends is the truth!

There is nothing wrong or illegal about HEMP PLANTS. Marijuana is illegal but hemp does not even produce THC which is what gets you high. Our founding father grew hemp for clothes, and much more. Not only did our founding fathers grow hemp and marijuana, George Washington wrote about growing females (which get you high) and Thomas Jefferson was known to have illegally imported hemp seeds from China into America.

So next time you think it’s a crime to sneak in seeds to this country, realize even Thomas Jefferson did it. Would anyone arrest Thomas Jefferson for sneaking in hemp or marijuana seeds to this country?

When will America wake up and realize not only is the war on drugs hurting this country, but you cannot arrest people for growing “hemp.”

We need 100 more guys like this every month to make a stand and maybe, just maybe we could wake up this country.

(republishing this article due to copyright infringement)

While he may not come out and say it, at least Arnold Schwarzenegger is open to debate about marijuana. Progress is only made when discussion takes place.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said on Tuesday he welcomes a public debate on proposals to legalize and tax marijuana, which some suggest could provide a lucrative new revenue source for the cash-strapped state.

The Republican governor, whose term in office expires at the end of next year, was asked about the idea of treating pot like alcohol at an appearance in northern California to promote wildfire preparedness.

“No, I don’t think it’s time for that, but I think it’s time for a debate,” he said. “And I think we ought to study very carefully what other countries are doing that have legalized marijuana and other drugs, what affect it had on those countries, and are they happy with that decision.”

Overwhelming majority of people in California would approve of legalizing marijuana.

The former Hollywood actor, who has admitted smoking marijuana in the past, cited his native Austria as a country where “they want to roll back some of the decisions that were made in European countries.”

He said a decision to legalize marijuana, which has been outlawed in the United States since 1937, should not be made on the basis of raising revenues alone.

Schwarzenegger’s comments come days after a statewide Field Poll found that 56 percent of California voters support the idea of legalizing cannabis for recreational use and taxing its proceeds.

A bill introduced in the state Legislature by Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, a Democrat from San Francisco, would do just that — permitting taxed sales of marijuana to adults while barring sales to or possession by anyone under age 21. A similar regulatory structure already exists for alcoholic beverages.

Ammiano said his proposal would generate up to $1.3 billion in revenue for the state, which faces another multibillion-dollar budget shortfall just weeks after a landmark deal closing a $42 billion deficit.

He and others who support legalizing pot say such a move also would improve public safety by redirecting law enforcement efforts to more serious crimes and would end environmental damage to public lands used for illicit cannabis cultivation.

But in 2004, Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have eased rules on how much medical marijuana patients can possess in California.

Voters in California, the nation’s most populous state, became the first to approve the use of marijuana for medical purposes in 1996, putting the state at odds with federal law.

Under the Bush administration federal agents stepped up raids against medical marijuana dispensaries in California and other states that have passed similar laws.

But U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in March that the Justice Department under President Barack Obama has no plans to prosecute such dispensaries in those states in the future. However, Obama, who also has acknowledged smoking pot in his younger days, recently dismissed the idea of legalizing marijuana on a national level.

Any debate at the state level regarding the legalization of marijuana should be embraced and welcomed. We encourage the discussion and hopefully people realize the benefits of legalization over continuing to arrest and jail people for cannabis.

Who cannot agree with this?

Post gazette writes in: State to consider medical marijuana use HARRISBURG — A state legislator from Philadelphia said today it’s time to get rid of the decades-old negative image surrounding marijuana and replace it with “a new, honest image.”

How? By legalizing the use of small amounts of marijuana for medicinal purposes, such as reducing pain for sufferers of cancer or multiple sclerosis, helping people with glaucoma and assist with insomnia and mental disorders such as manic depression, said Democratic Rep. Mark Cohen.

There are so many uses for medical grade cannabis, including Migraine nausea and relief.

He introduced House Bill 1393, which would put Pennsylvania in a league with 13 other states that permit a person, with a doctor’s recommendation, to apply to the state Department of Health for a “registry card” that would allow the patient to purchase or grow one ounce of marijuana at a time.

“The only thing blocking this bill’s passage is the old image that marijuana has from the 1930s,” Mr. Cohen said. “It’s time to create a new image, as a form of treatment that, when prescribed by responsible doctors, could help thousands of patients in Pennsylvania.”

People with state-issued registry cards could either grow up to six marijuana plants at their home or buy it at yet-to-be-created “compassion centers,” legal dispensaries of medical marijuana. The sale of marijuana would be subject to the state’s 6 percent sales tax, and Mr. Cohen claimed that the state could get up to $25 million a year in new revenue.

Patients should be able to grow more than six plants, and should be allowed to grow as much as needed to treat their condition. The amount of medicine one can harvest from one plant differs so much, it is not hard to imagine that some people can grow plants better than others and some people will not be able to grow enough medicine with just six plants. Sometimes plants get sick and more than six is needed to grow enough for one patient to be able to use regularly.

He appeared at a news conference today with Chris Goldstein, an advocate with Pennsylvanians for Medical Marijuana, and Chuck Homan, a 58-year-old roofer from York County who was arrested last year for growing marijuana plants on his property. He uses marijuana to allow him one or two hours of sleep a night.

Without it, he said, he can’t even sleep that long. He attributed his insomnia to suffering from depression. His legal case is still pending, he said, but now he has joined the effort to legalize medical uses for marijuana.

Mr. Cohen said he has six co-sponsors for his bill, far short of the 102 votes he needs in the House. The Senate, controlled by Republicans, many of them social conservatives, will likely be even tougher.

And then we get to what is holding back progress… instead of the patients and citizens being allowed safe and effective medicine they can grow themselves, the politicians sit back and vote against medical marijuana while the people suffer pain.

And we agree!

The argument to legalize marijuana is back in the news, after rock legend and Obama supporter Carlos Santana said that marijuana needs to be legalized, while also taking a hard swipe at California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In a recent interview with the Associated Press, the Grammy-winning guitarist said, “I really believe that as soon as we legalize and decriminalize marijuana, we can actually afford a really good governor who won’t keep taking money away from education and from teachers and send him back to Hollywood where he can do ‘D’ movies and we can get an ‘A’ governor.”

Santana went on to give a heart-felt plea to President Obama, saying, “Bring the brothers home, and sisters home now. Legalize marijuana and take all that money and invest it in teachers and in education. You will see a transformation in America.”

The amount of money wasted on arresting and jailing Americans for smoking pot is in the billions. That money alone could help change our education system in America. Let alone, the money made from taxing the legalized cannabis products that would come after its legalization across the United States.

California will lead the way in terms of addressing American laws regarding the recreational use of cannabis.

Marijuana would be sold and taxed openly in California to adults 21 and older if legislation proposed Monday is signed into law.

Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, said his bill could generate big bucks for a cash-starved state while freeing law enforcement agencies to focus on worse crimes.

“I think there’s a mentality throughout the state and the country that this isn’t the highest priority – and that maybe we should start to reassess,” he said.

Critics counter that it makes no sense for a Legislature so concerned about health that it has restricted use of trans fats in restaurants to legalize the smoking of a potentially harmful drug.

“I think substance abuse is just ruining our society,” said Assemblyman Paul Cook, R-Yucca Valley. “I can’t support that.”

Maybe Paul Cook should start his ban on alcohol if he is so concerned about “substance abuse.” These old abolitionist ways of dealing with things will not work for this country, the problem is too big now. It is time to legalize the use of cannabis.

In regards to “smoking a potentially harmful drug,” these Republicans must not know that doctors have verified the non carcinogenic method of medically partaking in cannabis through the use of vaporizers, which is unlike smoking as the plant is not burned while you consume it. Vaporizers do not have the same negative effects such as smoking.

By bringing up the aspects of “smoking cannabis” this lawmaker is just trying to obscure the facts. Doctors stand by the use of vaporizers as the doctor accepted method of medical marijuana intake.

As the lawmakers said, they are not interested in medical use of marijuana, they just want to “stop the bill.” Not once caring about those who need access to marijuana.

“I think it’s a slippery slope,” Assemblyman Tom Berryhill, R-Modesto, said of easing pot laws. “We’ll do everything we can to defeat it.”

But they couldn’t STOP a bill when California citizens voted for it, and the people of California should not let them stop this one either! How can an “assemblyman” try and go against the vote of the California people? He should be removed from office!

Medical use of marijuana already is legal in California, but the new legislation would go a step further by allowing recreational use.

Stop letting these guys take billions of your tax dollars to arrest you for smoking marijuana!!!!!

Assembly Bill 390 would charge cannabis wholesalers $5,000 initially and $2,500 annually for the right to distribute weed.

Retail outlets would pay fees of $50 per ounce of cannabis to generate revenue for drug education programs statewide.

The bill would prohibit cannabis near schools. It also would ban smoking it in public places or growing it in public view.

Adding $50 to the cost of an ounce if going to be felt, most people who use want to grow their own so you can tax all you want, but those who grow their own will never pay taxes on it.

Minnesota is moving closer to securing protection for medical marijuana patients.

“Medical Cannabis Bill Passes Senate Committee in Bipartisan Vote, 8-3″

One of those testifying was Joni Whiting of Jordan, a disabled Vietnam veteran who had strongly disapproved of marijuana use until her daughter was diagnosed with melanoma and began suffering unbearable nausea and pain from the treatments. “I was opposed to marijuana,” Whiting said, “but the nausea my daughter suffered from the chemotherapy was so bad she lost a lot of weight, and the pills the doctor prescribed didn’t help — including Marinol, the THC pill. Marijuana allowed her to eat and also helped ease her pain, and she looked better than I’d seen her in months. I would have rather spent the rest of my life in prison than have denied her the medicine that kept her pain at bay and allowed her to live 89 more days.”

This is exactly why medical marijuana needs to be approved. Even marinol pill does not work as effectively, and safely as the natural cannabis.

Minnesota’s medical marijuana bill, S.F. 97, cleared its first major hurdle this afternoon, passing the Senate Health, Housing and Family Security Committee in a bipartisan vote of 8 to 3. The committee received spoken and written testimony from a number of patients and family members describing the relief provided by medical marijuana when conventional treatments had failed.

“I believe this will be the year medical marijuana becomes law in Minnesota,” said Sen. Steve Murphy (DFL-Red Wing), a sponsor of the bill. “We’ve seen now from the experiences of 13 states — one-quarter of the country — that these laws work well, and that the dire warnings of opponents simply don’t come true. The voters understand that there is no reason to subject suffering patients to arrest and jail for using a doctor-recommended medicine.”

More and more law makers are choosing the side of compassion and reason…

“I’m pleased to co-author this important legislation that will empower doctors and patients while protecting sick and dying Minnesotans from the threat of criminal prosecution,” said Sen. Debbie Johnson (R-Ham Lake). “Most FDA-approved drugs assist in managing short-term pain. Chronically ill and terminal patients need alternatives. Medical marijuana is one of those alternatives.”

Even Republicans are behind the effort to legalize medical marijuana.

Thirteen states, including one-quarter of the U.S. population, now permit medical use of marijuana under state law. The newest such law was enacted by Michigan voters last November, passing with a record-setting 63 percent “yes” vote. Medical organizations which have recognized marijuana’s medical uses include the American Public Health Association, American Nurses Association, American Academy of HIV Medicine, and American College of Physicians, which noted “marijuana’s proven efficacy at treating certain symptoms and its relatively low toxicity,” in a statement issued last year.

wow, they have arrested eight people over the photo of Michael Phelps smoking cannabis through a glass “bong” or aka water pipe.

This is insane, and calls for an immediate look into the decriminalization of marijuana at the federal level.

A Columbia, S.C., television station reports that eight people have been arrested after a photograph surfaced of Olympic star Michael Phelps smoking what looks like a bong.

WIS-TV says seven people have been charged with drug possession and one person with distribution.

The television station also reports that police have confiscated the bong that Phelps allegedly used during a party at the University of South Carolina, in Columbia.

He should’ve used a vaporizer and brought up the healthy aspect of using a vaporizer over inhaling smoke!

It’s time for America to stop wasting millions of tax payer dollars arresting, prosecuting, and jailing millions of it’s own citizens who choose to use cannabis. It’s time to reschedule cannabis today!

Well, I don’t think any of us in America expected this housing foreclosure mess, and financial crisis that is upon us. Needlesstosay, we are putting off the move to California at this time, but I will surely post about it in the future. However, since the election is coming, I guess it is my duty to address the clear question about the two candidates who are running for the President of the United States in November. Which one supports medical marijuana? Which one wants to lock up people for smoking cannabis?

Clearly, I do not need to go into John McCain’s thoughts on the subject to make it known, he is against anything to do with ‘medical marijuana.” He does not believe it has medicinal qualities, nor does he support its decriminalization, nor the legalization, for that matter. This man supports throwing people in jail, for the crime of possession, or even smoking a marijuana joint. Really, we need to do away with this mentality and get to the real issues facing America.

Barack Obama, on the other hand. Has a clear, and long record, of supporting medical marijuana. He has also voted to stop the raids on medical marijuana patients. This is all good news, and should come into play, come election day, if you are a supporter of medical marijuana.

Barack, gets it! He understands, some patients, need safe access to marijuana, or cannabis, for medicinal use.

We encourage all voters to think for themselves, but if you support medical marijuana, the choice is abundantly clear. Vote Obama!

In the past Senator Barack Obama has promised to end the federal raids on state medical marijuana patients, as well as their caregivers. He has voted against amendments to undermine state laws regarding cannabis as medicine.

It’s time for this country to go green, and by green I don’t mean energy, although that’d be nice too. Let’s knock some sense into congress and finally get meaningful legislation regarding medicinal marijuana in the next four years!

On June 2, 2007 Obama said this about raids: “I don’t think that should be a top priority of us, raiding people who are using … medical marijuana. With all the things we’ve got to worry about, and our Justice Department should be doing, that probably shouldn’t be a high priority.”

While the economy is certainly on everyone’s mind, we need to vote in someone who fill move forward with a new plan regarding rescheduling cannabis and helping change marijuana laws in this country. Go Obama!

Do not think the drug companies or “Big Pharma,” short for Big Pharmaceutical companies, do not support the use of Cannabis as Medicine - as many find, you’d be surprised.

Watson has released a generic form of the brand name “Marinol” which is a cannabis/marijuana based medication under the name Dronabinol.

This shows that although many believe the drug companies do not “want” marijuana legalized as a medicine, that perception may indeed be false - as I show there are already over 100 million Americans taking cannabis-based pills, and a legion of others who grow and process their own through organic gardening and hydroponics.

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading specialty pharmaceutical company, announced today that, under a supply agreement with Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Watson has launched the authorized generic version of dronabinol in the 2.5, 5 and 10 mg once daily dosage strengths. Dronabinol is the generic version of Solvay Pharmaceuticals’ MARINOL (dronabinol) CIII Capsules, indicated to treat nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy in patients who have failed to respond adequately to conventional antiemetic treatments. Dronabinol is also indicated to treat anorexia associated with weight loss in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). For the 12-months ending December 2007, Solvay reported MARINOL sales of 105 million.

Wow, 105 Million are on pills that cost an average of over $1000 a month for a supply. No way the drug companies will pass up a chance like this to make more money. Watson, leading generic pill maker is famous for its generic Vicodin and by releasing a generic form of Marinol (Drobabinol) you can see the wheels turning to bring this medication to as many patients as possible.

Under the terms of the supply agreement, Solvay Pharmaceuticals will supply the dronabinol capsules to the Company’s subsidiary, Watson Pharma, which will market, sell and distribute the product in the United States. Solvay Pharmaceuticals will receive a share of the profits from Watson’s sales of the generic product in the U.S. market. Further details on the agreement have not been disclosed.

“Marinol” is a brand name for “dronabinol” - here is a little info about it.

Dronabinol should not be used by any patient who has a history of hypersensitivity to any cannabinoid or to sesame oil. Patients should not drive, operate machinery, or engage in hazardous activity until they establish that they can tolerate dronabinol and perform such tasks safely. Dronabinol should be used with caution in patients with a history of seizure disorder; patients with cardiac disorders; patients with a history of substance abuse (including alcohol abuse or dependence); patients with mania, depression, or schizophrenia (along with careful psychiatric monitoring); patients taking sedatives, hypnotics, or other psychoactive drugs; and in elderly patients, pregnant patients, nursing mothers, or pediatric patients. The most common side effects probably related to dronabinol are dizziness, feelings of exaggerated happiness, paranoid reaction, drowsiness, thinking abnormal, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting.

While I applaud the science behind this, I also encourage the allowance of patients and caregivers to grow their own and remain as independent of Big Pharma as they can. Obviously, pill-form cannabis is needed, and now Watson has released a generic form more sick and dying patients will be relieved of pain, hopefully at a cheaper price.

Regarding Dronabinol and its effectiveness:

Dronabinaol does not contain the other significant chemical constituents present in cannabis. While it is made of synthetic THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) there are dozens of other “cannabinoids” present in cannabis that work together (science still does not even know how exactly) to produce the medicinal feeling and relief associated with medical marijuana.

The cost of these pills are so much higher than the black market street price for marijuana it is insane. Reportedly it costs more than the expensive male performance pill Viagra, ranging from $20-$25 a pill - and taking three a day would cost a patient $75 a day - street cannabis is cheaper than that, and growing your own is virtually free of charge.

The idea that we should “synthesize” something that grows naturally on this planet is somewhat an awkward approach to medicine in my mind. Synthetic THC is not the same as the natural organic combination of cannabinoids found in cannabis, and it never will be.

About Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc., headquartered in Corona, CA, is a leading specialty pharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures, markets, sells and distributes brand and generic pharmaceutical products. Watson pursues a growth strategy combining internal product development, strategic alliances and collaborations and synergistic acquisitions of products and businesses.