I started a religious freedom movement to legalize pot because I thought it needed a solution other people were not addressing. Namely that it was motivated by religious prejudice.

I was wrong, that was the cover story for a deadly criminal cartel operating right out of our own Capital Hill. Scary! So, to end the Drug War, fearless Sister Lauren from the THC Ministry blogs on AlterNet,

New York Lightens Up on Some of the Harshest Drug Laws in the Country

A major part of the reason for that is the fact that the federal government has been spending the taxpayer’s dollars in propagandizing the various State legislatures where drug law reform measures were being proposed, on our dime and our time, in effect violating the Hatch Act, which prohibits such politically self-serving actions.

Because of the politicization of the Justice department under Bush 2, these violations were winked at, and even the GAO refused to take them on, stating for example that the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) had embedded in it’s charter a license to lie.

ONDCP became so brazen about it, it began sending its’ agents to those States attempting to pass referenda and legislation for reform and assisted Republican office contenders while saying they were only there to carry out their jobs.

Representative Henry Waxman called the ONDCP out on this, but nothing was done at the time, presumably because he and his supporters in this endeavor were waiting for a Democrat to take control of the Executive Branch. It remains to be seen if anything comes of this, for it should be answered in order to prevent this kind of democracy-destroying practice from continuing.

so true.

Drug testing companies (i.e, places you pee, not companies using same)

Insurance companies (can charge companies that don’t DT higher insurance)

Of course, the gov’t, look at all the extra power to snoop/run people’s lives/get free “forfeited” shit, etc

So, you’re right, I only hit a couple of ‘em…how many others?

He’s “taking the piss” as they say in England. He’s not serious, its just a wind up to get an angry and passionate response from everyone. He’s doing a good job of it too and often riles up some of you to write some of your best stuff!

Must deem anything so name as totally unwinable!

Accurate though.

1. Now they want to tax it.

2. Asa is a lobbyist for the drug cartels. He is not getting the job done.

Its one of the most “eco-friendly” plants to grow in terms of pesticide/fertilizer use, as well as down stream processing. There are tons of uses. Hemp can grow well in marginal soil and doesn’t need much water, it could also help in certain crop rotations to maximize efficiency and limit energy use. We’re pissing billions more down the drain by banning industrial hemp growing.

“But how do you feel about…”

METHAMPHETAMINE AND COCAINE METHAMPHETAMINE AND COCAINE BWAAAGGGHHPKAGEjsd’jsf’vdskhffas DANGEROUS DRUGS!

I had a long post typed up about being an adult child of an alcoholic and how it affected me as I grew up and as an adult.

Assuming you’re not a troll, I’l sum up what I had to say. Chronic alcohol use effects the brain in ways that chroic marijuana usage does not. Alcoholics, in my opinion, lose themself in the drink. Stoners tend, in my observations, to have a strong sense of self in spite of the smoke.

Call it what you will but here’s a fact: We can not have an intelligent discussion of marijuana policy without solid data on it’s short- and long-term side effects. This study is precluded due to it’s classification by the government.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it. At least the government allows the study of nuclear bombs.

I understand why some commenters are hesitant to get too excited, and I am always prepared for the worst myself. But think about it this way. Asa Hutchinson is probably the most sober (no pun intended) and rational drug warrior the anti-drug crowd had to offer for this interview. That’s all they have left. The “morality” argument and the “save the children” argument. And as one of the panelists noted, people aren’t really buying it anymore. When marijuana is discussed like other products (beer, tobacco, corn, wheat, etc.) the drug warrior’s argument falls apart.

I tell you what, between this video, and Jim Webb’s article in PARADE MAGAZINE (a known radical periodical, of course) this weekend, I have been feeling pretty optimistic. This kind of thing is enough to give me a big civil libertarian chubby! Ok, that was an exaggeration, sorry about that. But I was still really pleased.