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News & ArtsFriday, February 25, 2011
Media White House Requests Meeting with Seattle Times to Bully Against Pro-Pot Editorials
Posted by Dominic Holden on Fri, Feb 25, 2011 at 12:31 PM
The Stranger has learned that immediately after the Seattle Times ran an editorial last week supporting a bill to tax and regulate marijuana, the newspaper got a phone call from Washington, D.C. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy director Gil Kerlikowske wanted to fly to Seattle to speak personally with the paper's full editorial board.
The meeting is scheduled for next Friday, an apparent attempt by the federal government to pressure the state's largest newspaper to oppose marijuana legalization. Or at least turn down the volume on its new-found bullhorn to legalize pot.
Bruce Ramsey, the Seattle Times editorial writer who wrote the unbylined piece, says the White House called right “right after our editorial ran, so I drew the obvious conclusion… he didn’t like our editorial.”
“MARIJUANA should be legalized, regulated and taxed,” the newspaper wrote on February 18. “The push to repeal federal prohibition should come from the states, and it should begin with the state of Washington."
This isn't the first time the Obama Administration has campaigned to keep pot illegal. Kerlikowske, who is also Seattle's former police chief, also traveled to California last fall to campaign against Prop 19, a measure to decriminalize marijuana and authorize jurisdictions to tax and regulate it.
Is the Seattle Times the more reticent to speak up? Apparently not. It ran another pro-pot editorial in today’s paper.
Kerlikowske's office has not yet responded to a request for comment.
UPDATE: I've updated this post (with a strike through) to indicate that Kerlikowske didn't fly to Seattle solely to lobby the Seattle Times. He had another meeting here, it turns out. But, again, the Seattle Times believes it's "obvious" that he requested the meeting because of the editorial and Kerlikowske office didn't return requests to comment before this was posted.
1
Why are our scarce federal tax dollars being used to push unproven medical science like this anti-MJ position, when we all know the WH used to all get high on pizza and pot ...
Time to realize that either they back down or Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia will be the spark that lights the West on fire.
Time to realize that either they back down or Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia will be the spark that lights the West on fire.
3
I had different ideas about what Gil would be like as Drug Czar. I thought he might take the foot off the gas and let the Durg War coast to a stop.
Maybe this is what coasting to a stop looks like, though: half-hearted efforts to keep fighting MJ that no one takes seriously.
Maybe this is what coasting to a stop looks like, though: half-hearted efforts to keep fighting MJ that no one takes seriously.
7
Somehow I think it might be a little premature to assume he set up the meeting entirely to try and slap down the Times pro-MJ stance (considering his previous views on medical MJ reform). And his "quick notice" of the Times editorial probably has more to do with his former Seattle ties than anything else.
I'm going to await judgment until more facts come in, while also holding a vague hope that --- like DOMA -- an "evolution" is at work in D.C. on this topic.
I'm going to await judgment until more facts come in, while also holding a vague hope that --- like DOMA -- an "evolution" is at work in D.C. on this topic.
8
this is already creating a twitter storm against the Nanny State Nabobs back east - good one, ST editorial board.
Now give up on your insane tunnel and we'll call it even.
Now give up on your insane tunnel and we'll call it even.
10
Kerlikowske is required by law (Title VII Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 1998: H11225) to oppose efforts to end marijuana prohibition.
12
If Obama wants the youth vote back for 2012, he's gonna have to give us legal pot. That's the deal.
13
How is this shit legal or acceptable in a free country? What if Rumsfeld had showed up to Viacom to remind them why Jon Stewart should refrain from discussing the war?
Towing the party, or administration line should have zero to do with the press. In fact the normal douchefactory at the times, should push harder in responsed to being asked to kindly shut their mouths.
Towing the party, or administration line should have zero to do with the press. In fact the normal douchefactory at the times, should push harder in responsed to being asked to kindly shut their mouths.
14
God, Will, are you really that slow? The question of the President's responsibilities regarding his role as the head of the Department of Justice (in the same way as he's the Commander in Chief of the Military) is completely different than a specific line in the US code that requires a drug czar to respond to legalization efforts in a certain way. Which is not to say that either of them shouldn't exercise discretion in their respective roles, but the roles themselves are completely different.
15
@14 the first up against the wall when the revolution comes are the lawyers and their enablers.
#freedom is just another word for #democracy.
#freedom is just another word for #democracy.
17
Good time would be now to FOIA Gil's office for any and all contacts they've had with news media along these lines, and to try to get (probably in vain) access to this meeting.
18
How discomforting it is to know that America has a CZAR to declare war against and perpetuate lies to it's citizenry. There is no place for a CZAR in this country, or on the face of the earth for that matter.
19
I don't think there's anything wrong with the Kerlikowske coming in to town to talk to the Times' editorial board. Would it be wrong of him to write them a letter, as any reader might? If not, why should it be out of the question for him to show up and have a live dialogue with them?
Some of you need to settle down. It's not like he's going to threaten them with jail or death. The position Gil is required to defend is wrong and hurtful, but that doesn't mean his defence of it is. In a free society, it is good, sensible, and desirable for there to be discussion between those who set or enforce policy and those in a position to be widely heard on what those policies should be--especially when we can expect the conversations to be reported on.
Some of you need to settle down. It's not like he's going to threaten them with jail or death. The position Gil is required to defend is wrong and hurtful, but that doesn't mean his defence of it is. In a free society, it is good, sensible, and desirable for there to be discussion between those who set or enforce policy and those in a position to be widely heard on what those policies should be--especially when we can expect the conversations to be reported on.
20
@17:
Joe, it's a meeting with THE PRESS!
Somehow I think we just might get a report of it somewhere... maybe in a local newspaper-of-record, even!
Joe, it's a meeting with THE PRESS!
Somehow I think we just might get a report of it somewhere... maybe in a local newspaper-of-record, even!
22
@19 nah, he's probably just going to announce they're sending feds in to shoot those of us the SPD doesn't get.
23
Kerlikowske needs to understand that it none of the government's business what we choose to put in our own bodies.
24
@19, but he's going to BULLY them! I mean, nobody reads the Times editorials (except Goldy), but that doesn't mean they should be BULLIED into SUICIDING.
26
Thank you Seattle Times. It is nice to see a newspaper stand up and express the views of the majority when in fact that is what the politicians are paid for and legally mandated to do.
THANK YOU SEATTLE TIMES YOU ROCK.
THANK YOU SEATTLE TIMES YOU ROCK.
28
Really? The administration can't meet with editorial boards to articulate its position and try to persuade them to change their point of view?
So Obama (or his representative) shouldn't go to Fox News (ignore for a moment the pointlessness of such an effort) and make his case for his health-care plan?
Just because this is a policy you disagree with doesn't mean there's something nefarious going on here.
So Obama (or his representative) shouldn't go to Fox News (ignore for a moment the pointlessness of such an effort) and make his case for his health-care plan?
Just because this is a policy you disagree with doesn't mean there's something nefarious going on here.
30
If only the drug warriors would figure out that they could make more money selling pot than trying to eradicate it, everything would be peachy!
31
Legalizing and taxing marijuana is the absolute best way to deal with the issue. I hope the Times continues to write in support of this effort.
As caregiver for my wife here in Georgia, I pray for the day when she can access MJ without fear of arrest. She has suffered from Systemic Lupus for 30+ years. It has caused her continual pain as it slowly destroyed her hip joints and now her shoulders. We found out from our second pain doctor that there is nothing he can do to relieve her pain. We know that marijuana would help her to deal with the pain, sleep at night, and maybe improve her quality of life. But there is no medical MJ access here.
No matter what the DEA says, none of the "alternatives" work for my wife. We have tried them all. She is 65 years old (not a teenager) and can only look forward to pain and agony for the rest of her life. I am sure there are many, many folks in Washington in the same situation.
As caregiver for my wife here in Georgia, I pray for the day when she can access MJ without fear of arrest. She has suffered from Systemic Lupus for 30+ years. It has caused her continual pain as it slowly destroyed her hip joints and now her shoulders. We found out from our second pain doctor that there is nothing he can do to relieve her pain. We know that marijuana would help her to deal with the pain, sleep at night, and maybe improve her quality of life. But there is no medical MJ access here.
No matter what the DEA says, none of the "alternatives" work for my wife. We have tried them all. She is 65 years old (not a teenager) and can only look forward to pain and agony for the rest of her life. I am sure there are many, many folks in Washington in the same situation.
32
Legalizing and taxing marijuana is the absolute best way to deal with the issue. I hope the Times continues to write in support of this effort.
As caregiver for my wife here in Georgia, I pray for the day when she can access MJ without fear of arrest. She has suffered from Systemic Lupus for 30+ years. It has caused her continual pain as it slowly destroyed her hip joints and now her shoulders. We found out from our second pain doctor that there is nothing he can do to relieve her pain. We know that marijuana would help her to deal with the pain, sleep at night, and maybe improve her quality of life. But there is no medical MJ access here.
No matter what the DEA says, none of the "alternatives" work for my wife. We have tried them all. She is 65 years old (not a teenager) and can only look forward to pain and agony for the rest of her life. I am sure there are many, many folks in Washington in the same situation.
As caregiver for my wife here in Georgia, I pray for the day when she can access MJ without fear of arrest. She has suffered from Systemic Lupus for 30+ years. It has caused her continual pain as it slowly destroyed her hip joints and now her shoulders. We found out from our second pain doctor that there is nothing he can do to relieve her pain. We know that marijuana would help her to deal with the pain, sleep at night, and maybe improve her quality of life. But there is no medical MJ access here.
No matter what the DEA says, none of the "alternatives" work for my wife. We have tried them all. She is 65 years old (not a teenager) and can only look forward to pain and agony for the rest of her life. I am sure there are many, many folks in Washington in the same situation.
35
Already got a response from an assistant to Frank Chopp:
"Representative Ross Hunter has agreed to Hear HB 1550 in the Ways and Means Committee.
Norma Wallace
Senior Legislative Assistant"
Doesn't acknowledge the content of the bill or a position, but at least it was quick? At least it's getting a hearing.
"Representative Ross Hunter has agreed to Hear HB 1550 in the Ways and Means Committee.
Norma Wallace
Senior Legislative Assistant"
Doesn't acknowledge the content of the bill or a position, but at least it was quick? At least it's getting a hearing.
36
@35: I asked her for Chopp's position on the bill. I forgot her wording, but she didn't say that he has one.
38
Did the Seattle Times really run a "pro-pot" editorial, or a "pro-legalziation" one? They're kind of different things.
40
@38 well, that is a good point.
I personally am not pro-pot. But I am pro-legalization. Doesn't mean you can light one up in my house or my car after it's legal tho.
I personally am not pro-pot. But I am pro-legalization. Doesn't mean you can light one up in my house or my car after it's legal tho.
41
Prohibition does not work, didn't work with alcohol either. We need to heed the lessons history teaches!
If we do not learn from past mistakes, we are DOOMED to repeat them! I lost an innocent grand baby to the war on drugs, so that is my perspective...
If we do not learn from past mistakes, we are DOOMED to repeat them! I lost an innocent grand baby to the war on drugs, so that is my perspective...
42
Well, let them spend their wheels...i have smoked forty years and have an IQ of 128 so they can all byte me =)
43
I AM SURE THAT NOW THAT I FOUND OUT THE BIG PHARMA WANTS TO CAPITALIZE ON HEMP. I AM SURE THE GOVERNMENT WILL SERVE ONLY BIG PHARMA'S BEST INTERESTS, TO KEEP PEOPLE UNDER THEIR THUMB. BUT THEY PRETTY IT UP IN SOME WAY TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE THEY REALLY CARE ABOUT "WE THE PEOPLE."
45
It is time for a peaceful protest, my fellow Americans. They say this nation stands for freedom and justice....
46
Any time you have a "war" waged against "an inanimate object" or an otherwise "non-sentient entity", you know it's a farce right out of the gate.
"War on drugs."
"War on guns."
"War on terror."
Lots of money involved there...not a great deal of sense, when you look at the facts...and the amount of money involved...and where that money goes...
"War on drugs."
"War on guns."
"War on terror."
Lots of money involved there...not a great deal of sense, when you look at the facts...and the amount of money involved...and where that money goes...
49
@42: I think you wanted "spin their wheels"; that's the usual metaphor for fruitless effort. Guess that's not on the IQ test, eh?
50
I see Obama and his entire administration of putzes are hard at work spending money we don't have on an unnecessary and silly fight, I suppose the tax payers are paying for this idiot to fly to Seattle?! Yeah, let's waste a little money, China will always give us more...
51
@30 if pot became legal then natural medicine like Phoenix tears would rape the big pharama's profits. they would stand to lose more that that industry could handle and would require a restructuring of the medicine industry. then oil and textiles would be next when hemp base fuel and textile entered against those markets. By keeping hemp illegal they keep the cure for cancer and other various diseases under wraps and they can continue to make money off of peoples suffering till they die. Big Pharama treats rather than cures.
52
Are those Dc bandits trying to get our public news service to lie to us?Well we know some journalistic types might push a spin for a few bucks, but Seattle's readers know The Seattle Times is squeaky clean,and they like telling the truth.
53
Rep Kerry in the 46th North of downtown supports, my other two haven't responded.
Think a trip like this is compulsory? Isn't Gil Kerlikowske not even allowed to appear pro-mj because of his office?
Think a trip like this is compulsory? Isn't Gil Kerlikowske not even allowed to appear pro-mj because of his office?
54
My prediction is that he will do exactly what he did in CA last Fall and the WA gov will sign a bill that lowers -- or removes? -- penalties for a cannabis offense. It worked in CA and I expect it will work in WA.
55
@53 yeah he's legally required to "oppose any attempt to legalize". This requires him to spread pro-prohibition propaganda.
56
@53: Jen: Kerlikowske is required by law (Title VII Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 1998: H11225) to oppose efforts to end marijuana prohibition.
57
Thanks Phil and Lack Thereof for drawing attention to this and pointing out the relevant legislation.
This language was actually put in at the behest of then drug czar Barry McCaffrey in an effort to do an end run around his boss (Clinton).
In early 1998 Clinton was set to let Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala lift the prohibition on using federal funds for needle exchange. McCaffrey told Clinton that he would resign and accuse Clinton of being soft on drugs if this happened. Clinton caved since he was in the midst of a turmoil over being, ahem, hard in other matters.
McCaffrey went behind Clinton and got this language inserted to ensure that the drug czar role would be that of a prohibitionist.
This language was actually put in at the behest of then drug czar Barry McCaffrey in an effort to do an end run around his boss (Clinton).
In early 1998 Clinton was set to let Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala lift the prohibition on using federal funds for needle exchange. McCaffrey told Clinton that he would resign and accuse Clinton of being soft on drugs if this happened. Clinton caved since he was in the midst of a turmoil over being, ahem, hard in other matters.
McCaffrey went behind Clinton and got this language inserted to ensure that the drug czar role would be that of a prohibitionist.
58
................................. ALL OF YOU .......................................
If you want them to keep fighting the government with us, let them know you support their decision by emailing them:
opinion@seattletimes.com
"Thank you for supporting legalization." That's all you need to say.
If you want them to keep fighting the government with us, let them know you support their decision by emailing them:
opinion@seattletimes.com
"Thank you for supporting legalization." That's all you need to say.
61
Now they are going to try to resort to open censorship! What a disgrace! When we advocate against Cannabis prohibition, we must stress not just the “denial of good” which it entails, such as the remarkable medicinal properties of the plant, its violence-suppressing potential, or its ability to induce calm and relaxed state which is “worlds apart” from the effects of alcohol and many “legal” prescription drugs. Cannabis Prohibition is an unadulterated evil, as it pushes the people to engage in a dangerous substance use, such as the stories with alcoholic caffeinated drinks just explicitly demonstrated. The cruelty and senselessness of the prohibitionists have also been made obvious recently, when an Oklahoma mom received 10-year sentence for $31worth of Cannabis, when the medicinal Cannabis providers and patients continue to be raided and harassed. What more evidence of political piracy can be presented than when the dogmatic “politicos” want to directly trample the Will of Montana voters with respect to Medicinal Cannabis, which Citizens lawfully enacted in their state, or when Las Vegas police and DEA continue to harass the Medicinal Cannabis establishments? To what level of hypocrisy and spiritual degradation can one descend when the medicinal Cannabis patients are persecuted in the city where alcohol abuse and compulsive gambling are rampant?! My only hope in the midst of all this prohibitionist outrage is that its collapse is philosophically inevitable. In particular, when the DEA and its allies blackmail politicians into voting against Medicinal Cannabis, they do so on the basis of an unreal “entity”, the so-called “gateway drug” theory that is fully discredited by now as “half-baked”! How can our so-called “representatives” put important social programs on a “chopping block” because of the “budget crisis”, while these same people waste tens of millions of dollars on the so-called “marijuana enforcement”, opposed by most of this country’s voters! The Cannabis prohibitionists are guilty of crimes against humanity, and they will be called to answer for them sooner or later!
More...
62
Now they are going to resort to an open censorship! What a disgrace. These censorship tactics never worked, and never will! Now they are going to try to resort to open censorship! What a disgrace! When we advocate against Cannabis prohibition, we must stress not just the “denial of good” which it entails, such as the remarkable medicinal properties of the plant, its violence-suppressing potential, or its ability to induce calm and relaxed state which is “worlds apart” from the effects of alcohol and many “legal” prescription drugs. Cannabis Prohibition is an unadulterated evil, as it pushes the people to engage in a dangerous substance use, such as the stories with alcoholic caffeinated drinks just explicitly demonstrated. The cruelty and senselessness of the prohibitionists have also been made obvious recently, when an Oklahoma mom received 10-year sentence for $31worth of Cannabis, when the medicinal Cannabis providers and patients continue to be raided and harassed. What more evidence of political piracy can be presented than when the dogmatic “politicos” want to directly trample the Will of Montana voters with respect to Medicinal Cannabis, which Citizens lawfully enacted in their state, or when Las Vegas police and DEA continue to harass the Medicinal Cannabis establishments? To what level of hypocrisy and spiritual degradation can one descend when the medicinal Cannabis patients are persecuted in the city where alcohol abuse and compulsive gambling are rampant?! My only hope in the midst of all this prohibitionist outrage is that its collapse is philosophically inevitable. In particular, when the DEA and its allies blackmail politicians into voting against Medicinal Cannabis, they do so on the basis of an unreal “entity”, the so-called “gateway drug” theory that is fully discredited by now as “half-baked”! How can our so-called “representatives” put important social programs on a “chopping block” because of the “budget crisis”, while these same people waste tens of millions of dollars on the so-called “marijuana enforcement”, opposed by most of this country’s voters! The Cannabis prohibitionists are guilty of crimes against humanity, and they will be called to answer for them sooner or later!
More...
63
>#freedom is just another word for #democracy.
No. Give a majority complete control and they will often use it to oppress minorities, as in California's Proposition 8.
Freedom is best protected by a combination of democracy and some civil rights not subject to that democracy. We can disagree over what they are---many people who screed just as I have done believe those include absolute rights to do whatever they want with as much property as they can earn, inherit, and/or legally scam, and not have to pay for any damage done to the Commonwealth by dint of pollution and resource depletion, and I assuredly do not---most property these days is a creation of society, and so answerable to that society's needs, and polluting our air is as theftful as stealing my dollar---but the principle holds. If you're any kind of nerd, weirdo, creative person, queer, Muslim, Jew, or atheist, popular tyranny should be right up there on the Threat-down with the dictatorial sort.
And note that 'First we'll kill all the lawyers,' was placed in the mouth of a scoundrel.
No. Give a majority complete control and they will often use it to oppress minorities, as in California's Proposition 8.
Freedom is best protected by a combination of democracy and some civil rights not subject to that democracy. We can disagree over what they are---many people who screed just as I have done believe those include absolute rights to do whatever they want with as much property as they can earn, inherit, and/or legally scam, and not have to pay for any damage done to the Commonwealth by dint of pollution and resource depletion, and I assuredly do not---most property these days is a creation of society, and so answerable to that society's needs, and polluting our air is as theftful as stealing my dollar---but the principle holds. If you're any kind of nerd, weirdo, creative person, queer, Muslim, Jew, or atheist, popular tyranny should be right up there on the Threat-down with the dictatorial sort.
And note that 'First we'll kill all the lawyers,' was placed in the mouth of a scoundrel.
64
A conversation is bi-directional communication. Seatlle Times: Inform Mr Kerlikowski that Cannabis Prohibition is an atrocity whose time has ended.
What 18th amendment equivalent authorizes the damned lie that is Schedule I Cannabis?
[I got yer "commerce clause" right here.]
-Richard P Steeb, San Jose California
What 18th amendment equivalent authorizes the damned lie that is Schedule I Cannabis?
[I got yer "commerce clause" right here.]
-Richard P Steeb, San Jose California
65
Perhaps they will ask Kerlikowske about the contracts he negotiated with SPOG while he worked for us. They can let him know that like marijuana prohibition those haven't worked out so well either.
66
INSTEAD of a submissive welcome, the editors should run Kerlikowske through his Reefer Madness mill and grind him up like confetti. His inane comments to the editors should be published and ridiculed.
It's time to show some backbone and give the drug crusaders the treatment they deserve. They are the most negative part of the Government and should be given proper recognition.
If Kerlikowske is put through the grinder, he won't do this again. Narcs never come back for second helpings of public exposure of their lying policy.
It's time to show some backbone and give the drug crusaders the treatment they deserve. They are the most negative part of the Government and should be given proper recognition.
If Kerlikowske is put through the grinder, he won't do this again. Narcs never come back for second helpings of public exposure of their lying policy.
67
Alcohol prohibition in the US run from 1919 to 1933 - Now google 'The Great Wall Street Crash' and see when that happened!
During alcohol prohibition, all profits went to enrich thugs and criminals. Young men died every day on inner-city streets while battling over turf. A fortune was wasted on enforcement that could have gone on education etc. On top of the budget-busting prosecution and incarceration costs, billions in taxes were lost. Finally the economy collapsed. Sound familiar?
http://1929crash.com/
China has recently been in negotiation with a number of countries, asking them to replace the Dollar with the Chinese Yuan as their reserve currency. This, when it happens, will remove the Federal Government's ability to keep printing cash to cover the trillions it costs to fund prohibition. It’ll bring true freedom but the transition period will be more hectic than a slasher movie. It never had to be this way; we should have learned our lesson from studying the mayhem that alcohol prohibition wreaked on us.
We all have our victories and defeats as regards fear, but most of us strive not to let fear rule our hearts or our minds. Being free means being free to live and love as if death and fear had no power over us. Freedom also means that we have an ethical and moral responsibility to expose blind hate, lies and ignorance by shining eternal light, truth and love, sending such dark forces fleeing to the shadows from whence they came.
We explore outer space with various forms of space craft, but many choose to explore inner space via nature's abundant chemistry - an infinite journey into the heart of God. Whatever, we are here to explore this glorious universe. The Prohibitionist's brand of hateful, choking pseudo-Conservatism is the antithesis of all that. Like a lion who cannot grasp that he can do more than walk in a circle the size of the cage he's recently been freed from, the prohibitionist is incapable of exploration beyond the boundaries of his own fear, prejudice and loathing. We are all free to choose how we walk our own path, but when we choose to go beyond this by supporting drug-war demagoguery, to the point of even threatening others with imprisonment and physical violence, we loose the right to expect any form of respect from the once free and prosperous society that we are helping to totally destroy.
Thanks to prohibition we're about to lose all semblance of that once ordered, prosperous and safe society. Myself, along with many others, have been debating prohibitionists on this for many years. We have shown what destruction prohibition has wrought on all the civil institutions of this once great nation, -we've always provided facts and statistics - they, the prohibitionists, have countered with either lies, personal abuse or even serious threats of violence.
Ending the insanity of drug prohibition by legalized regulation, respecting the rights of the responsible users and focusing on addiction as a sickness, like we do with alcohol and tobacco, may save what remains of our economy and civil institutions along with countless lives and livelihoods. Prohibition continues unabated for shameful political reasons. It cannot, and never will, reduce drug use or addiction.
Prohibition has permanently scarred our national character as well as our individual psyches. Our national policies and cultural practices have become pervaded by the fascistic, prohibitionist mind-set which has turned our domestic police force into a bunch of paramilitary thugs who often commit extra-judicial beatings and executions while running roughshod over our rights in order to "protect us from ourselves".
When we eventually manage to put the horrors of this moronothon behind us, we'll need to engage in some very deep and honest soul-searching as to what we want to be as a nation. Many of our freedoms have been severely circumscribed or lost altogether, our economy has been trashed and our international reputation for being "free and fair" has been dragged through a putrid sewer by vicious narrow-minded drug warrior zealots who are ignorant of abstract concepts such as truth, justice and decency. We'll need to make sure that such a catastrophe is never ever repeated. This may mean that public hearings or tribunals will be held where those who’ve been the instigators and cheerleaders of this abomination will have to answer for their serious crimes against our once prosperous and proud nation.
Each day you remain silent, you help to destroy the Constitution, fill the prisons with our children, and empower terrorists and criminals worldwide while wasting hundreds of billions of your own tax dollars. Prohibition bears many strong and startling similarities to Torquemada's inquisition, it's supporters are servants of tyranny and hate. If you're aware of but not enraged by it's shear waste and cruel atrocities then both your heart and soul must surely be dead.
Prohibition engendered black market profits are obscenely huge. Remove this and you remove the ability to bribe or threaten any government official or even whole governments. The argument that legalized regulation won't severely cripple organized crime is truly bizarre. Of course, the bad guys won't just disappear, but if you severely diminish their income, you also severely diminish their power. The proceeds from theft, extortion, pirated goods etc. are a drop in the ocean compared to what can be earned by selling prohibited/unregulated drugs in a black market estimated to be worth 400,000 million dollars. Without the lure and power of so much easy capital, it's also very unlikely that new criminal enterprises will fill the void left by those you disrupt or entirely eradicate.
Millions of fearless North Africans have recently shown us that recognizing oppression also carries the weight of responsibility to act upon and oppose that oppression.
The drug czar's office is not only unnecessary but also the greatest waste of space since vows of fidelity were included in the christian marriage service.
More...
During alcohol prohibition, all profits went to enrich thugs and criminals. Young men died every day on inner-city streets while battling over turf. A fortune was wasted on enforcement that could have gone on education etc. On top of the budget-busting prosecution and incarceration costs, billions in taxes were lost. Finally the economy collapsed. Sound familiar?
http://1929crash.com/
China has recently been in negotiation with a number of countries, asking them to replace the Dollar with the Chinese Yuan as their reserve currency. This, when it happens, will remove the Federal Government's ability to keep printing cash to cover the trillions it costs to fund prohibition. It’ll bring true freedom but the transition period will be more hectic than a slasher movie. It never had to be this way; we should have learned our lesson from studying the mayhem that alcohol prohibition wreaked on us.
We all have our victories and defeats as regards fear, but most of us strive not to let fear rule our hearts or our minds. Being free means being free to live and love as if death and fear had no power over us. Freedom also means that we have an ethical and moral responsibility to expose blind hate, lies and ignorance by shining eternal light, truth and love, sending such dark forces fleeing to the shadows from whence they came.
We explore outer space with various forms of space craft, but many choose to explore inner space via nature's abundant chemistry - an infinite journey into the heart of God. Whatever, we are here to explore this glorious universe. The Prohibitionist's brand of hateful, choking pseudo-Conservatism is the antithesis of all that. Like a lion who cannot grasp that he can do more than walk in a circle the size of the cage he's recently been freed from, the prohibitionist is incapable of exploration beyond the boundaries of his own fear, prejudice and loathing. We are all free to choose how we walk our own path, but when we choose to go beyond this by supporting drug-war demagoguery, to the point of even threatening others with imprisonment and physical violence, we loose the right to expect any form of respect from the once free and prosperous society that we are helping to totally destroy.
Thanks to prohibition we're about to lose all semblance of that once ordered, prosperous and safe society. Myself, along with many others, have been debating prohibitionists on this for many years. We have shown what destruction prohibition has wrought on all the civil institutions of this once great nation, -we've always provided facts and statistics - they, the prohibitionists, have countered with either lies, personal abuse or even serious threats of violence.
Ending the insanity of drug prohibition by legalized regulation, respecting the rights of the responsible users and focusing on addiction as a sickness, like we do with alcohol and tobacco, may save what remains of our economy and civil institutions along with countless lives and livelihoods. Prohibition continues unabated for shameful political reasons. It cannot, and never will, reduce drug use or addiction.
Prohibition has permanently scarred our national character as well as our individual psyches. Our national policies and cultural practices have become pervaded by the fascistic, prohibitionist mind-set which has turned our domestic police force into a bunch of paramilitary thugs who often commit extra-judicial beatings and executions while running roughshod over our rights in order to "protect us from ourselves".
When we eventually manage to put the horrors of this moronothon behind us, we'll need to engage in some very deep and honest soul-searching as to what we want to be as a nation. Many of our freedoms have been severely circumscribed or lost altogether, our economy has been trashed and our international reputation for being "free and fair" has been dragged through a putrid sewer by vicious narrow-minded drug warrior zealots who are ignorant of abstract concepts such as truth, justice and decency. We'll need to make sure that such a catastrophe is never ever repeated. This may mean that public hearings or tribunals will be held where those who’ve been the instigators and cheerleaders of this abomination will have to answer for their serious crimes against our once prosperous and proud nation.
Each day you remain silent, you help to destroy the Constitution, fill the prisons with our children, and empower terrorists and criminals worldwide while wasting hundreds of billions of your own tax dollars. Prohibition bears many strong and startling similarities to Torquemada's inquisition, it's supporters are servants of tyranny and hate. If you're aware of but not enraged by it's shear waste and cruel atrocities then both your heart and soul must surely be dead.
Prohibition engendered black market profits are obscenely huge. Remove this and you remove the ability to bribe or threaten any government official or even whole governments. The argument that legalized regulation won't severely cripple organized crime is truly bizarre. Of course, the bad guys won't just disappear, but if you severely diminish their income, you also severely diminish their power. The proceeds from theft, extortion, pirated goods etc. are a drop in the ocean compared to what can be earned by selling prohibited/unregulated drugs in a black market estimated to be worth 400,000 million dollars. Without the lure and power of so much easy capital, it's also very unlikely that new criminal enterprises will fill the void left by those you disrupt or entirely eradicate.
Millions of fearless North Africans have recently shown us that recognizing oppression also carries the weight of responsibility to act upon and oppose that oppression.
The drug czar's office is not only unnecessary but also the greatest waste of space since vows of fidelity were included in the christian marriage service.
68
Alcohol prohibition in the US run from 1919 to 1933 - Now google 'The Great Wall Street Crash' and see when that happened!
During alcohol prohibition, all profits went to enrich thugs and criminals. Young men died every day on inner-city streets while battling over turf. A fortune was wasted on enforcement that could have gone on education etc. On top of the budget-busting prosecution and incarceration costs, billions in taxes were lost. Finally the economy collapsed. Sound familiar?
http://1929crash.com/
China has recently been in negotiation with a number of countries, asking them to replace the Dollar with the Chinese Yuan as their reserve currency. This, when it happens, will remove the Federal Government's ability to keep printing cash to cover the trillions it costs to fund prohibition. It’ll bring true freedom but the transition period will be more hectic than a slasher movie. It never had to be this way; we should have learned our lesson from studying the mayhem that alcohol prohibition wreaked on us.
We all have our victories and defeats as regards fear, but most of us strive not to let fear rule our hearts or our minds. Being free means being free to live and love as if death and fear had no power over us. Freedom also means that we have an ethical and moral responsibility to expose blind hate, lies and ignorance by shining eternal light, truth and love, sending such dark forces fleeing to the shadows from whence they came.
We explore outer space with various forms of space craft, but many choose to explore inner space via nature's abundant chemistry - an infinite journey into the heart of God. Whatever, we are here to explore this glorious universe. The Prohibitionist's brand of hateful, choking pseudo-Conservatism is the antithesis of all that. Like a lion who cannot grasp that he can do more than walk in a circle the size of the cage he's recently been freed from, the prohibitionist is incapable of exploration beyond the boundaries of his own fear, prejudice and loathing. We are all free to choose how we walk our own path, but when we choose to go beyond this by supporting drug-war demagoguery, to the point of even threatening others with imprisonment and physical violence, we loose the right to expect any form of respect from the once free and prosperous society that we are helping to totally destroy.
Thanks to prohibition we're about to lose all semblance of that once ordered, prosperous and safe society. Myself, along with many others, have been debating prohibitionists on this for many years. We have shown what destruction prohibition has wrought on all the civil institutions of this once great nation, -we've always provided facts and statistics - they, the prohibitionists, have countered with either lies, personal abuse or even serious threats of violence.
Ending the insanity of drug prohibition by legalized regulation, respecting the rights of the responsible users and focusing on addiction as a sickness, like we do with alcohol and tobacco, may save what remains of our economy and civil institutions along with countless lives and livelihoods. Prohibition continues unabated for shameful political reasons. It cannot, and never will, reduce drug use or addiction.
Prohibition has permanently scarred our national character as well as our individual psyches. Our national policies and cultural practices have become pervaded by the fascistic, prohibitionist mind-set which has turned our domestic police force into a bunch of paramilitary thugs who often commit extra-judicial beatings and executions while running roughshod over our rights in order to "protect us from ourselves".
When we eventually manage to put the horrors of this moronothon behind us, we'll need to engage in some very deep and honest soul-searching as to what we want to be as a nation. Many of our freedoms have been severely circumscribed or lost altogether, our economy has been trashed and our international reputation for being "free and fair" has been dragged through a putrid sewer by vicious narrow-minded drug warrior zealots who are ignorant of abstract concepts such as truth, justice and decency. We'll need to make sure that such a catastrophe is never ever repeated. This may mean that public hearings or tribunals will be held where those who’ve been the instigators and cheerleaders of this abomination will have to answer for their serious crimes against our once prosperous and proud nation.
Each day you remain silent, you help to destroy the Constitution, fill the prisons with our children, and empower terrorists and criminals worldwide while wasting hundreds of billions of your own tax dollars. Prohibition bears many strong and startling similarities to Torquemada's inquisition, it's supporters are servants of tyranny and hate. If you're aware of but not enraged by it's shear waste and cruel atrocities then both your heart and soul must surely be dead.
Prohibition engendered black market profits are obscenely huge. Remove this and you remove the ability to bribe or threaten any government official or even whole governments. The argument that legalized regulation won't severely cripple organized crime is truly bizarre. Of course, the bad guys won't just disappear, but if you severely diminish their income, you also severely diminish their power. The proceeds from theft, extortion, pirated goods etc. are a drop in the ocean compared to what can be earned by selling prohibited/unregulated drugs in a black market estimated to be worth 400,000 million dollars. Without the lure and power of so much easy capital, it's also very unlikely that new criminal enterprises will fill the void left by those you disrupt or entirely eradicate.
Millions of fearless North Africans have recently shown us that recognizing oppression also carries the weight of responsibility to act upon and oppose that oppression.
The drug czar's office is not only unnecessary but also the greatest waste of space since vows of fidelity were included in the christian marriage service.
More...
During alcohol prohibition, all profits went to enrich thugs and criminals. Young men died every day on inner-city streets while battling over turf. A fortune was wasted on enforcement that could have gone on education etc. On top of the budget-busting prosecution and incarceration costs, billions in taxes were lost. Finally the economy collapsed. Sound familiar?
http://1929crash.com/
China has recently been in negotiation with a number of countries, asking them to replace the Dollar with the Chinese Yuan as their reserve currency. This, when it happens, will remove the Federal Government's ability to keep printing cash to cover the trillions it costs to fund prohibition. It’ll bring true freedom but the transition period will be more hectic than a slasher movie. It never had to be this way; we should have learned our lesson from studying the mayhem that alcohol prohibition wreaked on us.
We all have our victories and defeats as regards fear, but most of us strive not to let fear rule our hearts or our minds. Being free means being free to live and love as if death and fear had no power over us. Freedom also means that we have an ethical and moral responsibility to expose blind hate, lies and ignorance by shining eternal light, truth and love, sending such dark forces fleeing to the shadows from whence they came.
We explore outer space with various forms of space craft, but many choose to explore inner space via nature's abundant chemistry - an infinite journey into the heart of God. Whatever, we are here to explore this glorious universe. The Prohibitionist's brand of hateful, choking pseudo-Conservatism is the antithesis of all that. Like a lion who cannot grasp that he can do more than walk in a circle the size of the cage he's recently been freed from, the prohibitionist is incapable of exploration beyond the boundaries of his own fear, prejudice and loathing. We are all free to choose how we walk our own path, but when we choose to go beyond this by supporting drug-war demagoguery, to the point of even threatening others with imprisonment and physical violence, we loose the right to expect any form of respect from the once free and prosperous society that we are helping to totally destroy.
Thanks to prohibition we're about to lose all semblance of that once ordered, prosperous and safe society. Myself, along with many others, have been debating prohibitionists on this for many years. We have shown what destruction prohibition has wrought on all the civil institutions of this once great nation, -we've always provided facts and statistics - they, the prohibitionists, have countered with either lies, personal abuse or even serious threats of violence.
Ending the insanity of drug prohibition by legalized regulation, respecting the rights of the responsible users and focusing on addiction as a sickness, like we do with alcohol and tobacco, may save what remains of our economy and civil institutions along with countless lives and livelihoods. Prohibition continues unabated for shameful political reasons. It cannot, and never will, reduce drug use or addiction.
Prohibition has permanently scarred our national character as well as our individual psyches. Our national policies and cultural practices have become pervaded by the fascistic, prohibitionist mind-set which has turned our domestic police force into a bunch of paramilitary thugs who often commit extra-judicial beatings and executions while running roughshod over our rights in order to "protect us from ourselves".
When we eventually manage to put the horrors of this moronothon behind us, we'll need to engage in some very deep and honest soul-searching as to what we want to be as a nation. Many of our freedoms have been severely circumscribed or lost altogether, our economy has been trashed and our international reputation for being "free and fair" has been dragged through a putrid sewer by vicious narrow-minded drug warrior zealots who are ignorant of abstract concepts such as truth, justice and decency. We'll need to make sure that such a catastrophe is never ever repeated. This may mean that public hearings or tribunals will be held where those who’ve been the instigators and cheerleaders of this abomination will have to answer for their serious crimes against our once prosperous and proud nation.
Each day you remain silent, you help to destroy the Constitution, fill the prisons with our children, and empower terrorists and criminals worldwide while wasting hundreds of billions of your own tax dollars. Prohibition bears many strong and startling similarities to Torquemada's inquisition, it's supporters are servants of tyranny and hate. If you're aware of but not enraged by it's shear waste and cruel atrocities then both your heart and soul must surely be dead.
Prohibition engendered black market profits are obscenely huge. Remove this and you remove the ability to bribe or threaten any government official or even whole governments. The argument that legalized regulation won't severely cripple organized crime is truly bizarre. Of course, the bad guys won't just disappear, but if you severely diminish their income, you also severely diminish their power. The proceeds from theft, extortion, pirated goods etc. are a drop in the ocean compared to what can be earned by selling prohibited/unregulated drugs in a black market estimated to be worth 400,000 million dollars. Without the lure and power of so much easy capital, it's also very unlikely that new criminal enterprises will fill the void left by those you disrupt or entirely eradicate.
Millions of fearless North Africans have recently shown us that recognizing oppression also carries the weight of responsibility to act upon and oppose that oppression.
The drug czar's office is not only unnecessary but also the greatest waste of space since vows of fidelity were included in the christian marriage service.
70
Hello Seattle! How is that Hope And Change that y'all voted for a couple of years ago working out for you?
71
@10 said: Kerlikowske is required by law (Title VII Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 1998: H11225) to oppose efforts to end marijuana prohibition.
@11 said: "@10 really? then what about DOMA?
(pin drops) "
---------------------------------
I'm sayin': @11, what in the world makes you think the DOMA has anything to do with drugs policy?
(pin drops)
Try to follow along with the conversation, will you please?
@11 said: "@10 really? then what about DOMA?
(pin drops) "
---------------------------------
I'm sayin': @11, what in the world makes you think the DOMA has anything to do with drugs policy?
(pin drops)
Try to follow along with the conversation, will you please?
72
Where's anonymous when you need them! Im sure they can get their hands on the "documents" proving the medicinal proterties of the cannabis plant, which potentially could hold the key to ending this war on cancer.
73
The only issue here is that the meeting was scheduled with the Seattle Times, not the Stranger. I'd much rather have Gil flying in to have this meeting, than any other 'Drug Czar' in the sordid history of that position. Let's hope it's about how to effectively get the right message out to the population, then allowing the next legalization bill to pass. We still fell short last time by a somewhat significant margin.
76
Is this the United States of America, or Tehran Iran. If our newspapers are going to be told what to print or not to print, then our government shows no respect any longer for any of our freedoms, especially the freedom to speak honestly, Walk Like an Egyptian America.
80
@70 Do you ever come up with your political opinions, or do you always just rehash whatever inane thing Sarah Palin has decided is this week's issue du jour??
81
The only way to get pot legalized at the federal level is for someone, or a group using class action, is to challenge the constituitional legality of federal narcotics laws. If Marijuana becomes legal at the state level, thats exactly what state attorney Robert McKenna is going to have to do.
82
Its time for shit to hit the fan. We must all rally together to just end the drug czars office or his funding. Its time we Rally to end the DEA and put the tax dollars back into the hands of the American people. We cut the fed and put money back into the people's hands that will really fix our economy because people won't be afraid to buy things
83
The Seattle Times should wine and dine the Washington whore[czar], and then print every word he says on the front page, leave the comments open and publish a poll along with it.
The people will speak and we will have a direction to take, but most already know what that is.
"Prohibition is over", "It will be a cold winter for the barrel busters" from 70 some years ago.....
It's long over due, we must get this ignorance fixed.
It's called Freedom, and that is why we fight to end prohibition.
The people will speak and we will have a direction to take, but most already know what that is.
"Prohibition is over", "It will be a cold winter for the barrel busters" from 70 some years ago.....
It's long over due, we must get this ignorance fixed.
It's called Freedom, and that is why we fight to end prohibition.
84
In response to this dog and pony show, the CDC has joined recent calls to de-fund the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Someone sent us a nice, simple poster on the subject, and we are re-distributing that on our web site. http://cdc.coop/drug_czar
86
Um, I think he's had a planned trip to Seattle for at least a few months. He's speaking at the SAMA Foundation lunch on Friday.
87
WHY?
The reason that cannibis is illegal in the United States, the reason we wreck lives and waste tax money is simple. It's all about power. Marijuana was declared illegal by the Nixon administration (yes, the one that started the drug war) because it was a political plan to
gain power over the people he hated (ie. african americans, hispanics and all those long hairs who didn't want to follow the US imperial line). It was usefull and provided the Republicans a victory a few years ago and last year.
How?
If you are incarcerated in the US, you lose your right to vote!
Just like in freedom loving Albania, but nowhere else that portrays itself as a democracy.
It's a useful stick to beat away the masses and leave power with the elites.
EVERYTHING ELSE YOU HEAR ABOUT DRUGS IN THE US IS FABRICATION!
Fabrication to maintain a divided society of super rich and peasants.
Last year we achieved an income inequality equal to Uganda!
WHY?
The reason that cannibis is illegal in the United States, the reason we wreck lives and waste tax money is simple. It's all about power. Marijuana was declared illegal by the Nixon administration (yes, the one that started the drug war) because it was a political plan to
gain power over the people he hated (ie. african americans, hispanics and all those long hairs who didn't want to follow the US imperial line). It was usefull and provided the Republicans a victory a few years ago and last year.
How?
If you are incarcerated in the US, you lose your right to vote!
Just like in freedom loving Albania, but nowhere else that portrays itself as a democracy.
It's a useful stick to beat away the masses and leave power with the elites.
EVERYTHING ELSE YOU HEAR ABOUT DRUGS IN THE US IS FABRICATION!
Fabrication to maintain a divided society of super rich and peasants.
Last year we achieved an income inequality equal to Uganda!
88
Oh, I don't know, I think we should strike at the root of the entire problem...
http://www.osixs.org/Rev2_menu_intro.asp…
http://www.osixs.org/Rev2_menu_intro.asp…
89
The free market price of marijuana would be around 5 to 10 cents a joint, but in terms of intoxication levels, 1 joint is worth about 2 dollars of alcohol. This would enable the government to tax until it is the same price as alcohol. To get these prices, the government would put a harmful tax of around $.50-1.00 per joint. Harmful Tax is a tax on items to control their use to prevent abuse. Just this single tax could raise $2.2-$6.4 billion a year, saving tax payers at least that much or more. That is just one of the many taxes that could be put on marijuana to raise money for the government.
90
Way to go Seattle. Tell the TRUTH, much to the chagrin of the Federal gov't that prefers to carry on a lost war on the people, guised as the "War on Drugs". Keep up the good work, common sense and SCIENCE must prevail over the lies and propaganda from the gov't.
FACT: LD50=0, translation, you cannot die of an overdose of Cannabis. It is SAFE, and a very effective medicine for many millions of people. Prior to Prohibition (which was based on outright lies) Cannabis was the most prescribed substance by doctors. The Dr.'s Medical Association realized too late that when they were speedily rushing the bill through to make it illegal, they called it Marihuana or Marijuana, rather than it's proper scientific name of Cannabis. Had they realized in time, they OBJECTED strenuously, as they KNEW of it's high efficacy and safety.
FACT: LD50=0, translation, you cannot die of an overdose of Cannabis. It is SAFE, and a very effective medicine for many millions of people. Prior to Prohibition (which was based on outright lies) Cannabis was the most prescribed substance by doctors. The Dr.'s Medical Association realized too late that when they were speedily rushing the bill through to make it illegal, they called it Marihuana or Marijuana, rather than it's proper scientific name of Cannabis. Had they realized in time, they OBJECTED strenuously, as they KNEW of it's high efficacy and safety.
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