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Medical Marijuana Folks Boo Obama for Drug Busts

E-llusion

E-llusion

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Drug raids became the tactic for implementing the Federal Government’s position. Barack Obama had promised to stop these drug raids when they involved medical marijuana. But those busts broke four medical marijuana sellers in Los Angeles Tuesday in recent federal raids, provoking an outcry from medical marijuana backers that Obama had betrayed them.

Warrants were served on the medical marijuana dealers, but there were no arrests. This type of behavior came under fire following the raids that had occurred under the Bush administration. Groups such as the Drug Policy Alliance and Americans for Safe Access are worried about whether or not the raids will continue and if Obama will stop them as he promised in his Presidential campaign. The Drug Policy Alliance advocates legalization and regulation of medical marijuana.

The head of the Drug Policy Alliance, Stephen Gutwillig, maintains that the recent raids have to do with a lag in policy directives since Obama has only been in office for two weeks as President of the United States.

An Obama spokesperson, Nick Shapiro, reminded people of Obama’s position that “federal resources should not be used to circumvent state laws.” California statutes allow for the use of marijuana for medical purposes. A total of twelve states allow the use of medical marijuana.

Marijuana has been in the news a lot recently with the Michael Phelps incident. The famous swimmer was caught red-handed with a joint, complete with pictures. The issue about legalization of marijuana in general continues to be raised by individuals who maintain that it isn’t a gateway drug to the so-called “hard” drugs like heroin and cocaine. The laws prohibiting the use of marijuana for any reason have to do with the concerns people have of marijuana’s potential to influence users to abuse other drugs that are addictive and that cause people to commit crimes when they can’t get them. A marijuana addiction organization has been set up to provide information on marijuana and its effects and continues its position that it is a gateway drug.

The use of marijuana is controversial with supporters of the ban maintaining that the laws against marijuana should continue to be enforced. Those who believe in decriminalizing it say the evidence used against the drug and the notions about it are faulty. A study in 206 of 200 men showed that marijuana users were no more likely to move towards other drugs that are addictive than those who smoke cigarettes or drink alcohol.

Still under the Bush administration, federal folk have failed to keep up with what research recently found and had continued to enforce anti-drug regulations, in spite of the laws of the several states allowing the use of medical marijuana.

Drug raids to find and arrest marijuana dealers were influenced by a Supreme Court decision in 2005 where the high court, in a 6-3 decision, ruled against the use of medical marijuana and stated that those doctors who prescribed marijuana to be used medically would be found in violation of the law and could be arrested and prosecuted. That overrode the 10 states that had enacted marijuana laws allowing for the drug to be used for medicinal purposes at that time.

It is interesting to note that on the day Barack Obama was elected President of the United States, the State of Michigan passed Proposal 1, Michigan Medical Marijuana Act, legalizing medical marijuana.
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Medical Marijuana Folks Boo Obama for Drug Busts
Published 7 hours ago, by ■ Carol Forsloff
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/266609
 
I really wish they would leave the states alone. I feel like other states like my Illinois would pass medical marijuana bills if they were not under the threat of Washington. As soon as Michigan gets their medical marijuana community going, there is a good chance that I will be moving there. It is the only medicine that really helps with my Crohn's disease. I have injections every two weeks that cost $900 each and they don't help me nearly as much as marijuana does.
 
the phelps thing is a great message for the kids. what better way to become a world class athlete? smoke some fucking dope thats how. hell its better than steroids
 
Phelps got pictured with a bong, now the local sheriff want to prosecute him "to the fullest extent of the law" 8)
 
fucking pigs.

phelps is now saying that he "may not compete in the 2012 Olympics" because of this marijuana "scandal". thats such bullshit. he hit a fucking bong, its not like they busted him with a bag of coke or dope or something. the only mistake he made was toking around people who he shouldn't have trusted who snapped a picture of him to sell to scuzzball tabloid "newspapers"
 
And this will be the first time in history that a politician said stuff before election and then did something else once won. Why do people think Obama is so different than other politicians. He got where he is by playing the game not by being different. When will people stop dreaming that Obama will solve all their problems?
 
Anyone read the new articles from Change.org? This is from a White House spokesperson,

"“The president believes that federal resources should not be used to circumvent state laws, and as he continues to appoint senior leadership to fill out the ranks of the federal government, he expects them to review their policies with that in mind."

I support legalizing recreational and medical uses of marijuana, but we have bigger fish to fry ladies and gentlemen. It will come, be patient.

If anyone wants the full article (which is worth reading, nothing spectacular, but worth reading):

http://www.change.org/ideas/view/legalize_the_medicinal_and_recreational_use_of_marijuana
 
InTherapy82 said:
And this will be the first time in history that a politician said stuff before election and then did something else once won. Why do people think Obama is so different than other politicians. He got where he is by playing the game not by being different. When will people stop dreaming that Obama will solve all their problems?
Click to expand...


Exactly. I'm not an Obama hater I actually am pro-Obama but all politicians say things to win and it doesn't nessecarily mean he's going to live up to them. I'm not saying Obama won't crack down on all the raids but I'm saying it's probably not the highest priority on his to-do list.
 
Don't smoke pot kiddies, or else you might become a world-renowned Olympic champion!

I think Obama has more to worry about than legalizing pot. Can you imagine the outrage...

"there's an economic crisis and our first black president's first priority is legalizing drugs!"

Patience people... Kathleen Parker, one of the most famous conservative opinion columnists, and an avowed Republican, supports legalizing pot. (She is most famous for being the first prominent Republican to oppose McCain's selection of Palin) She wrote a column supporting Michael Phelps' right to privacy and the idiocy of marijuana prohibtion. When you see a prominent right-winger calling for an end to prohibition, it's only a matter of time.

Phelps Takes a Hit
By Kathleen Parker

It's hell being a celebrity, especially if you're young and find yourself at a party, where marijuana and cameras should never mix.

And it's not exactly heaven being sheriff of a county with escalating drug crimes and pressure to treat all offenders equally.

Thus it is that Olympian swimmer Michael Phelps and Sheriff Leon Lott of South Carolina's Richland County are being forced to treat seriously a crime that shouldn't be one.

As everyone knows by now, Phelps was photographed smoking from an Olympic-sized bong during a University of South Carolina party last November. As all fallen heroes must -- by writ of the Pitchforks & Contrition Act -- Phelps has apologized for behavior that was "regrettable and demonstrated bad judgment," and has promised never to be a lesser role model again.

Check.

Lott, meanwhile, is threatening action against Phelps because ... he has to. Widely respected and admired as a "good guy" who came up through the ranks, Lott is in a jam. Not one to sweat the small stuff, he nevertheless has said that he'll charge Phelps with a crime if he determines that the 14-time gold-medal winner did, in fact, smoke pot in his county.

The sheriff's job will be made both easier and tougher by evidence that includes a photograph of Phelps with his face buried in a smoke-filled tube and what Lott has called a "partial confession." Phelps has said that the photo is legit. The only missing link, apparently, is the exact location of the party.

What's tough is that Lott probably doesn't want to press charges because it's a waste of time and resources. He's got much bigger fish to fry, but several recent drug-related crimes -- including at least two high-profile murders -- have captured community attention.

And the law is the law. Therein lies the problem.

Our marijuana laws have been ludicrous for as long as we've been alive. Almost half of us (42 percent) have tried marijuana at least once, according to a report published last year in PLoS Medicine, a journal of the Public Library of Science.

The U.S., in fact, boasts the highest percentage of pot smokers among 17 nations surveyed, including The Netherlands, where cannabis clouds waft from coffeehouse windows. Among them are no small number of high-ranking South Carolina leaders (we knew us when), who surely cringe every time a young person gets fingered for a "crime" they themselves have committed.

Other better-known former tokers include our current president and a couple of previous ones, as well as a Supreme Court justice, to name just a few. A complete list would require the slaughter of several mature forests.

This we know: Were Phelps to run for public office someday and admit to having smoked pot in his youth, he would be forgiven. Yet, in the present, we impose monstrous expectations on our heroes. Several hand-wringing commentaries have surfaced the past few days, lamenting the tragic loss for disappointed moms, dads and, yes, The Children.

Understandably, parents worry that their kids will emulate their idol, but the problem isn't Phelps, who is, in fact, an adult. The problem is our laws -- and our lies.

Obviously, children shouldn't smoke anything, legal or otherwise. Nor should they drink alcoholic beverages, even though their parents might.

There are good reasons for substance restrictions for children that need not apply to adults.

That's the real drug message that should inform our children and our laws, rather than the nonsense that currently passes for drug information.

Today's anti-drug campaigns are slightly wonkier than yesterday's "Reefer Madness," but equally likely to become party hits rather than drug deterrents. One recent ad produced by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy says: "Hey, not trying to be your mom, but there aren't many jobs out there for potheads." Whoa, dude, except maybe, like, president of the United States.

Once a kid realizes that pot doesn't make him insane -- or likely to become a burrito taster, as the ad further asserts -- he might figure other drug information is equally false. That's how marijuana becomes a gateway drug.

Phelps may be an involuntary hero to this charge, but his name and face bring necessary attention to a farce in which nearly half the nation are actors. It's time to recognize that all drugs are not equal -- and change the laws accordingly.
Click to expand...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...2009020302645.html?sid=ST2009020400170&s_pos=
 
Legalize it! The capitalist government needs to cash in on this and give the western world a good treat for its citizens acomplishments.
 
I agree buddy.

chicpoena said:
Don't smoke pot kiddies, or else you might become a world-renowned Olympic champion!

I think Obama has more to worry about than legalizing pot. Can you imagine the outrage...

"there's an economic crisis and our first black president's first priority is legalizing drugs!"

Patience people... Kathleen Parker, one of the most famous conservative opinion columnists, and an avowed Republican, supports legalizing pot. (She is most famous for being the first prominent Republican to oppose McCain's selection of Palin) She wrote a column supporting Michael Phelps' right to privacy and the idiocy of marijuana prohibtion. When you see a prominent right-winger calling for an end to prohibition, it's only a matter of time.

Phelps Takes a Hit
By Kathleen Parker



http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...2009020302645.html?sid=ST2009020400170&s_pos=
Click to expand...
 
I just hope it's not the same thing with the Clinton Administration. Clinton had his drug czar do all his dirty work for him. I was reading that Obama is considering Jim Ramstad for the job. It sounds a lot like Clinton and McCaffrey. This guy is against a clean-needles program of any sort, just like McCaffrey. He opposes medical marijuana and is pro-federal-regulation, just like McCaffrey. If Obama is remotely serious about any progress with our nation's wacked out drug policies, why the hell is he even considering this guy? Then again, I'm not politically savvy or anything, so maybe I just don't get it.
 
Marijuana is not a gate way drug unless you make it that way..its your choice to do the drugs u choose to use. I use marijuana every day and have never seen an effect from it besides that aweasome feeling it gives me. With the way the economy is, it would be the best thing for our country to legalize or atleast allow all states to have medical marijuana dispensaries.
 
I_get_down 86 said:
Marijuana is not a gate way drug unless you make it that way..its your choice to do the drugs u choose to use. I use marijuana every day and have never seen an effect from it besides that aweasome feeling it gives me. With the way the economy is, it would be the best thing for our country to legalize or atleast allow all states to have medical marijuana dispensaries.
Click to expand...

I see your point, and that's mine to. But I heard that if it was legal alcohol would get a lot less bizz and they can tax alcohal a lot more then they could tax weed. I don't know if its true or not but it makes a lot of sence.

And yes it really is no surprise that obama is doing shit different then he said, I can't think of a politician that actually did. If they said what they were really going to do then they take the chance of not getting elected, but hes only been in office almost 3 weeks now people expect him to save the world in a few weeks =/.
 
The world is run by corporations not world leaders. Obama will be no different to any other President in my opinion. Show the leading corporations how they can make big money off of legal marijuana and it will be in no time.
 
murrkock said:
I just hope it's not the same thing with the Clinton Administration. Clinton had his drug czar do all his dirty work for him. I was reading that Obama is considering Jim Ramstad for the job. It sounds a lot like Clinton and McCaffrey. This guy is against a clean-needles program of any sort, just like McCaffrey. He opposes medical marijuana and is pro-federal-regulation, just like McCaffrey. If Obama is remotely serious about any progress with our nation's wacked out drug policies, why the hell is he even considering this guy? Then again, I'm not politically savvy or anything, so maybe I just don't get it.
Click to expand...

I got this from...

http://www.ontheissues.org/House/Jim_Ramstad.htm#Drugs

"Voted YES on prohibiting needle exchange & medical marijuana in DC.
Vote to pass a bill that provides $429.1 million in funds for the District of Columbia and approves the District's $6.8 billion budget. Among other provisions, the bill prohibits the use of federal funds for needle exchange programs, prohibits implementing an approved ballot initiative to legalize the medicinal use of marijuana.
Reference: Bill sponsored by Istook, R-OK; Bill HR 3064 ; vote number 1999-504 on Oct 14, 1999

Voted NO on subjecting federal employees to random drug tests.
Drug Demand Reduction Act: Vote on an amendment to require that anyone hired by the Federal Government is subject to random, unannounced drug testing.
Reference: Amendment by Taylor, D-MS; bill by Portman, R-OH.; Bill HR 4550 ; vote number 1998-443 on Sep 16, 1998 "

I think people that are against needle exhanges are fucking morons! We already have an AIDS epidemic in this country and these uneducated people that call themselves "polititians" want to prohibit these needle exchange programs?

I can definately say that I am HIV NEGATIVE right now because when I was a junkie(I am 2 months clean!) I had a needle exchange program in my city(Cleveland,Ohio). Some cities aren't so lucky and it's unfortunately. These people in Washington need to take their head out of their ass and realize that people are gonna shoot drugs no matter what they do and its better that they do it safely than to be FORCED to share to other people.
 
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