Kudos to actor @ZachBraff who "Tweeted" his support for an end to the legal prohibitions criminalizing marijuana and gay marriage. I find that there's a connection to be made about people against both of these Human Rights.
My response to this article: It's time for Canada and all nations to admit that the War On Drugs is lost, in fact, just like The Noble Experiment it could never have been won to begin with. We do not respect the laws of drug prohibition because they are unenforceable. To prohibit the use of a plant that we have used for thousands of years for medicine, relaxation, paper, food, fabric, fuel, etc. is not only unjust, but an impossible endeavor. I respect laws that are created to keep society safe from truly violent and dangerous people. As a Mother I believe a majority of police and judicial resources must be focused on those who truly pose a threat to society. But the law of Cannabis Prohibition is so ridiculous that it causes disrespect for the law and law enforcement, which is a shame because there are many great police, lawyers, judges, etc. out there who really do care about people, most notably members of L.E.A.P. ~ Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. Politicians must concede that they cannot legislate human behavior when it comes to what we eat and drink, how we medicate or what we grow in our gardens. It is the ultimate persecution of our freedom(1) of personal autonomy and wreaks of ownership! We're not perfect, we're Human, we use drugs, we always have, deal with it! The mere notion that government believes laws can stop plants from growing in the ground is ludicrous. End the Drug War that empowers and enriches cartels and organized criminals. Provide truthful facts to our children about all substances and regulate the sale of drugs to adults. Revive the farming of the Industrial and food grade Hemp plant the world over so we can help our environment and conquer famine and malnutrition. We can concentrate on more important things like our disastrous economy, health care, school boards and old and failing infrastructures. Every taxpayer dollar we spend fighting this unwinnable war is a dollar stolen from proven programs that really do help support the health and safety of all of us. When it comes to paying for helicopters flying through the air searching for plants(2) or schools and hospitals, I know without a doubt where I want my tax dollars to go!
via YouTube: David Bratzer, a police officer in British Columbia, Canada, says he has seen how marijuana prohibition and the failed "war on drugs" directly lead to the growth of organized crime and cause gruesome illegal market violence. David is a member of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, which anyone can join for free atCopsSayLegalizeDrugs.com
"The Law Makes Us Lawless" The awesome Ken Burns and Lynn Novick documentary "Prohibition" can be viewed at PBS online.
"I, as a responsible adult human being, will never concede the power to anyone to regulate my choice of what I put into my body, or where I go with my mind. From the skin inwards is my jurisdiction, is it not? I choose what may or may not cross that border. Here I am the Customs Agent. I am the Coast guard. I am the sole legal and spiritual government of this territory, and only the laws I choose to enact within myself are applicable."
As we are all aware, Canada is on the hustings. This election is necessary as Stephen Harper and his Conservatives are the only party in our country's history to be found guilty of being In Contempt of Parliament. Their refusal to be honest and disclose the hit to the wallets of Canadian Taxpayers regarding the cost of American-stylesuperfluous prisons, Stupid-On-Crime bills and engineless jets triggered a motion of Non Confidence in the Harper Government, and rightly so! (Oh, and let's not forget about all the other ShitHarperDid.)
In the age of the Internets, people are using social media to coordinate and then share "Vote Mobs" to reach youth and those who may not realize just how important it is to exercise our democratic right to vote. What is a "Vote Mob" you may ask? According to VoteMob.ca: "Vote Mobs encourage friends, families, neighbours, and communities to get out and vote, together!" So, in the spirit of 420 and a concerted effort by the Cannabis Community to get rid of Lock 'em Up Steve, #420VoteMobs will be happening all across our great land. Visit and share the Facebook 420 VoteMob Event Page to get the word out to other Canadians. Please also visit LeadNow, it's really impressive! They also have all VoteMob videos that have been posted online so far on one page.
In times of much needed fiscal restraint, taxpayers deserve to be treated fairly - the Tory plan to spend billions on jails when crime is declining is grossly irresponsible of Stephen Harper. As far as campaigning goes, the smart party in this political race will not shy away from the elephant in the room that is Harper's ideological hunting down of Canadian cannabis users who dare stand up for their own personal autonomy and freedom. Note to the Conservatives: Canadian adults don't appreciate such intrusion into our lives. Bring on May 2nd. and Election 41!!!
One of the great things about social media is connecting with intelligent people who you'd otherwise never get the chance to "meet". Facebook and Twitter have brought thousands of new friendly voices into my realm over the past few years and they are what I lovingly refer to as my "Mad Posters" - meaning, they/we love to share news and videos and education regarding not just the Drug War, but injustice in whatever form it happens to take throughout the world.
"Posting Links" is one of the best tools that social activism has, on any given day I am gifted with personalized judicial and ecological news from Canada, the States and beyond. With the click of a mouse a daily itinerary is before me and I appreciate those who take the time to "Pass It to the Left".
While much of what we share is from news outlets and other mainstream media, what I cherish the most are contributions from everyday people passionate about making a difference. On Saturday a "Note" was posted on Facebook and it was so informative that I asked the writer, Lydie Meunier, if she would let me post it here to share with all of you and she graciously accepted.
Lydia brilliantly opens our eyes to scheming corporations and the U.S. Prison Industrial Complex coveting much sought after jobs and profiting greatly from free and cheap inmate labour. It's also a shocking glimpse of what will happen here in Canada if the Conservatives are re-elected and allowed to proceed with their fear driven crime agenda and American style prison plans.
GUEST POST U.S. Unemployment Exacerbated by the Outsourcing of Jobs to Prisons By Lydie Meunier
SLAVERY IS BACK IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Call your Congress Members and Ask them to Put a Stop to this Infamy!!!
I know that many people don't want to look into prison labor and the impact it has on unemployment figures because this is a disturbing issue. And yet, Jobs are outsourced to prisons, and slavery is being reinstated because corporations are counting on, and taking advantage of folks' apathy and disdains for prisoners... Meanwhile jobs for law abiding citizens are taken away from them to be given to cheap prison labor.
Today, prisoners are being exploited by corporations, paid more or less 40 cts/hour, more often less than more, sometimes paid nothing at all (see current situation in Georgia prisons not covered by the media), in lieu of the minimum $7.25/hour that corporations would have to pay to law abiding citizens. The difference, quite clearly, contributes to major corporate profits, while law abiding citizens are still unemployed and continue to lose their jobs.
On the FREE National market (vs. the WALLED industrial complex market), only 9% of our GDP comes from manufacturing. You can not sustain a middle class lifestyle with a service economy. To turn that 9 % into a much higher number, we need to introduce a new Bill in Congress to stop the outsourcing of manufacturing jobs to prisons (outsourcing to prisons is now called "insourcing").
When you consider the major corporations that employ prison labor (furniture factories, Microsoft, Boing, IBM, Starbuck, Victoria secret, BP, Sodexo, medical supplies, road signs, military supplies, etc.) you quickly realize that moving jobs back to law abiding citizens would surely help diminish unemployment figures!!!
The way these prison partnerships typically work is that a manufacturer wanting to increase profits moves their equipment, technology, materials and unfinished goods to a factory setting within a prison industry facility. Once up and running, the same products come off the assembly lines and are shipped as before. The difference is this, private sector employees of the company have been terminated or laid off. A handful of employees are usually kept on long enough to train inmates and prison supervisors in the manufacturing used to make the products. Once that is accomplished, they are also eliminated and their positions taken over by a prison industry supervisor.
This insourcing of labor creates quite a number of unemployed citizens. Burdens are placed on state and community social help programs, unemployment compensation, etc. So while the corporation saves lots of money in labor costs - no more unemployment insurance premiums, less expenses in lease of facilities (usually leased by the prison operators at $1.00 per year), and no more employee benefits such as medical insurance, vacations or paid time off - the communities they vacated are left to fund the unemployed left in their wake. In addition the local government loses taxes that were paid by the corporation, previous landlords of the facilities once leased to the corporations are left with vacant property and local shops and other businesses suffer a drop in sales due to the newly unemployed workers left behind.
Efforts to involve Union officials, management and labor leaders in rectifying this issue have been unsuccessful for some reason. Politicians and Union leaders are too busy arguing about outsourcing of our jobs overseas and seem to not have any interest in eliminating or addressing insourcing. The next time you or your neighbor loses your/their job; before looking toward China or India to see if you can see your job making its way there, look the other way and see if perhaps some criminal that stole your car has just as easily stolen your job and income as well.
The prison industrial complex shows the fastest growth in profits, with politicians and judges and lawyers, and the top 2% investing in its stocks, which constitutes the most corrupt conflict of interests: for each incarceration, the private prison industry is not only paid big bulks by our tax money, it also disposes of the people as private property subcontracted to corporations. Meanwhile, we keep paying for the prison industrial complex to sustain itself with our tax money, oblivious to the fact that we are also paying with the loss of our jobs!!!!
Wake up folks!!! This is not only a national disgrace, it is a national scandal!!!
The United States has the highest incarceration rate!!!! Do you want to know why? Follow the money!!!
Here are more links related to more recent news in Georgia where prisoners have been forced to work without pay for their labor, a violation of the 13th Amendment, which prohibits slavery and involuntary servitude:
Corporatocracy can best be described as: "A type of government in which huge corporations, through bribes, gifts, and the funding of ad campaigns that oppose candidates they don't like, become the driving force behind the executive, judicial and legislative branches". It explains why prison labor is ignored by politicians and main stream media!!!!!
"One might think an enterprise able to pay unskilled workers just 21 cents an hour would be able to manufacture goods it could sell at rock-bottom prices. Unfortunately, that is not so when the enterprise is Ohio's Penal Industries system." Penal Industries Costs Out of Line - February 3, 2011 - The Intelligencer
"ACLU 2010 report presents the results of a yearlong investigation into modern-day "debtors' prisons," and shows that poor defendants are being jailed at increasingly alarming rates for failing to pay legal debts they can never hope to afford." American Civil Liberties Unions - 2010 - See 2011 update
Last year, officials in McIntosh County, Okla., south of Tulsa, issued about 1,500 debt-related arrest warrants, up from about 800 a year before the crisis, according to a court clerk. More than 950 borrowers got similar warrants in Salt Lake City courts last year. Maricopa County, Ariz., officials issued 260 debt-related warrants in 2010 Welcome to Debtors' Prison, 2011 Edition
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
The United States continues to have the largest incarcerated population and the highest per capita incarceration rate in the world. - Human Rights Watch, World Report, 2008
Have you seen this, for lack of a better word and a chance of sounding crass, BS? Oppose Legalizing Marijuana (Prop. 19)
From marijuanaharmsfamilies.com:
"Marijuana bosses are moving beyond "medicinal marijuana" and now want to usher in a FULL-BLOWN marijuana culture to forever change California (Prop. 19). They want the next generation to think it's "normal" to "get high"!"
"Studies show marijuana is a gateway drug to cocaine and meth. Teens and young adults are especially at risk from today's potent, mind-altering marijuana, which can permanently damage their developing brains and young lungs. If pot is legalized, your health and auto insurance will likely cost more because increased addictions, accidents, and drug rehab will burden all Californians. “Drugged driving” will become commonplace. It will be a new "right" to get high on marijuana at work, even in transportation jobs. Marijuana legalization means cities and counties can OK selling pot in grocery stores and permit marijuana operatives to buy thousands of acres of farmland. " -
"Marijuana Operatives!" "Marijuana bosses?" "Gateway to Crystal Meth!?" Please!
As we head towards November 2nd. and the vote for Prop 19 initiative to legalize cannabis for adults on the California ballot, please take heed of the rampant propaganda running amok. While there's so much ignorance and misinformation in this video that it would take me quite awhile to break it all down, I'd like to point out this particular thorn: the main reason for the high numbers of young people in rehab for cannabis is because once busted for pot possession they are often presented with two choices: Go to Rehab or go to Prison. Which one would you choose? Also noted is that the ability to rate and comment features have been disabled for this video. Convenient eh.
So, being irked I decided to do a little googling about the group marijuanaharmsfamilies.com and came upon SaveCalifornia, an arm of SaveAmerica and the Campaign for Children and Families, responsible for posting the video.
"SaveCalifornia.com is your pro-family organization dedicated to defending and representing the values of parents, grandparents and concerned citizens who believe in family, faith and freedom. Based on the Left Coast, SaveCalifornia.com, along with our national arm, SaveAmerica.com, works, leads and fights in the media, culture and government on behalf of marriage and family, parental rights, the sanctity of human life, religious freedom, financial freedom, and real education for children."
Along with fighting Prop 19, the Savers also supported Prop 8 and release statements like:
"This is just the beginning of this new, blatant and perverse indoctrination of children via Harvey Milk Gay Day. “Milk Day” is designed to teach children they may be homosexual, bisexual or transsexual, and that they should support political activism to destroy marriage and family and religious opposition to the harmful “LGBTQ” agenda. It will increase even more next year, and then Harvey Milk’s indoctrination will manifest in many more government schools in 2012 when May 22 finally falls on a school day, Monday. Parents and grandparents, I plead with you to rescue your children and grandchildren from immoral education and awful peer pressure. Harvey Milk Gay Day is just one of 6 school sexual indoctrination measures passes in the last several years. And there’s a raft of other pressing reasons to save children from government-run schools."
Randy Thomasson of the Savers and the Campaign for Children and Families once compared county clerks who offer marriage licenses to same-sex couples to "Nazi officers during WWII [who] had been ordered to gas the Jews."
Really.
Thomasson blames the acceptance of cannabis, gay rights, and a womans right to choose on "dumbed down" voters and government (Public) schools:
"DUMBED-DOWN VOTERS - Elections used to be about what kind of government we would get. Now I think elections are more about what kind of people we are. Hear me on this. Most voters went to government schools where knowledge of the written United States and California Constitutions are NOT taught. Nor are the historical Christian convictions of our founding fathers and the Judeo-Christian foundation of the U.S. Constitution. Instead, most government school graduates are taught that God should be kept in the closet, that evolution is fact, and that feelings are as important, as or even more important, than hard facts (which is why some school districts don’t even give A-F grades anymore). Ignorance makes people easy prey."
Californian voters, he says "are not as virtuous or morally principled as they used to be."
"Today, the main influence upon the minds and hearts of children is government schools, with dumbed-down academics, political correctness, anti-God and anti-morality sentiments, negative peer pressure and now even hints of socialistic teaching. Public schools these days don’t teach the Christian foundation of our government, which is why many voters today support immorality and socialism. The best thing parents and grandparents can do for their children and grandchildren is to permanently remove them from the government school system so they can develop good character, critical thinking and learn to stand for truth."
"FACT: California laws have changed so radically in the last few years, your child WILL be sexually indoctrinated and subjected to very negative influences if left in the government school system. Take action. Rescue your child now, before it's too late." ~ rescueyourchilddotcom, a project of SaveCalifornia
The Savers want you to:
"Target the culture: Work to change the culture at the same time you work to reform the government. Encourage more parents to home-school. Invite union workers to resign from the anti-family unions so they don’t fund anti-family, anti-life political candidates or campaigns. Promote sexual abstinence among church children and all schoolchildren, and sexual purity in general. Work to clean pornography out of your community. Visit employers to encourage them to promote man-woman marriage in their businesses for the benefit of their product/service as well as their employees." as highlighted in their missive 10 WAYS TO BUILD A PRO-FAMILY ARMY.
"Hold regular meetings" they say.
"Consider a bi-weekly movie night where you show a patriotic or spiritual message or "classic film with a message" (*Reefer Madness, perhaps?) movie in a large house or church hall. Bring the DVD and popcorn, and provide a brief introduction and lead a discussion afterward to educate and provide examples from the movie. This is where you sign up more people to join your army. Sign up teenagers too and make sure you have them join your email list, mailing list, Facebook and Twitter pages, if you have them."
They highlight videos from single mothers, one with 7 kids who says marijuana addiction(!) destroyed her life. (Even though she was doing crank and meth and continuing to have kids - but yeah, it was all the fault of the "evil gateway drug" marijuana.) She herself stated she made bad choices.
Whatever happened to personal responsibility? Cannabis doesn't make you try harder drugs, never once have I ever puffed on a joint and thought "Hey! Now I gotta try me some heroin!". Her own decisions and choices led to her addiction of hard drugs - not cannabis, it's like blaming Twinkies and KFC Double Downs for that extra 10 pounds you gained, not the fact that you chose to shove them down yer piehole.
Even though I'm an Atheist I'm not anti-religion in the sense that if people want to believe in a god that's their perogative and who am I to say what you should believe or who you may believe in. Some of my very best friends in the whole world are very religious, one is even married to a pastor and teaches Sunday School, the difference between them though and the Randy Thomasson's of the world is that they aren't condemning everyone who does not think like them as deviant sinners. Judgy Judgersons belonging to any religious brigade who profess diatribes like "It's our way or way or the highway, veer away from our conservative status quo and yer evil and trying to bring society down!" just seems so... blasphemous** to me....
I'm also not "anti-family", I'm a married mother with 5 wonderful sons and promote strength in the family unit - however that unit is made up. I am for personal autonomy and freedom. People have the right to love who they love right along with what substances they ingest. I don't need a zealot like Randy Thomasson inciting hatred in the name of a god and telling me how to vote, and certainly not how to raise my children!
I teach my kids love, compassion, tolerance, respect, responsibility and acceptance - they know not everbody is the same and being different is what makes all of us special in our own way. Now that's a part of building a strong family unit. And wouldn't you know it, I came up with those values all on my own, because that's just a part of being a good parent, and a good person, regardless of religion.
So. Voting, Gay, Atheist, Pro-Choice, Cannabis Consumers With Kids Attending Public Schools in California and the People Who Love You for Who You Are - you are officially SaveAmerica''s #1 Enemy. Take that info with you into the voting booth on November 2nd. Just Say Now and be the generation who ends destructive Cannabis Prohibition!
C'mon now, Mama said.
*****
"So many things in life come down to people making personal decisions for themselves. We don't always make the best choices, but such is life, and each experience - great or small, right or wrong, happy or sad - shapes the person we become. Everyone has regrets and can question their actions (did I really wear that top to that party back in grade 11? What was I thinking??!!??) and hindsight is 20/20. But that is the beauty of life, it's a journey, sometimes it's bumpy and sometimes it's smooth sailing and in the end each of us owns the road we've travelled down. There are different views of "The Meaning of Life", and no two people have the exact same philosophies and I think that's wonderful, otherwise this would be one really boring existence. What would be the point of a life with no individuality and no personal autonomy? The geek in me rejoyces that we are not living in Hives of The "Borg" - I subscribe to a more "Browncoat/Independent/Resist The Alliance" way o' life."
The Borg is a collective, meaning that they—or it—possess a single mind. That Borg mind has the single intent of “assimilating” all organic species into the collective. The Borg are utterly without mercy or compassion. In a collective society only the needs of the group as a whole are considered, and in this utilitarian calculation the needs of the unrivaled number of Borg will nearly always override any other considerations.
The Alliance (from Firefly/Serenity)
A scene at an Alliance school, where a teacher sadly muses that it's hard to understand why the benighted Independents, the secessionists, have resisted the attempt to bring them the gifts of civilization. Young River Tam knows:
"We meddle... people don't like to be meddled with. We tell them what to do, what to think, don't run, don't walk. We're in their homes and in their heads, and we haven't the right. We're meddlesome." ~ River Tam
~MaryJane Cannabian, from my post Science Trumps Ideology
*****
*(Reefer Madness, perhaps?) - My suggestion, mwahahahaha.
**the Latin Vulgate employs the word blasphemare to designate abusive language directed either against a people at large (2 Samuel 21:21; 1 Chronicles 20:7) or against individuals (1 Corinthians 10:30; Titus 3:2).
The video is a little over half an hour, but well worth the time! I think all politicians should listen to it, so they know that we are here raising our voice and we will never, ever stop fighting to end prohibition!
Ethan Nadelmann, Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance at the 2009 Drug Reform Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico: "Right now the wind is at our back" from Hungarian Civil Liberties Union. Thank you to the HCLU for filming, please visit their link for more pictures and info about the conference.
UPDATE: And even more awesomeness from Ethan Nadelmann, I really just can't say enough about how much I respect and admire all of the work Mr. Nadelmann puts forth towards reforming our drug laws and ending prohibition.
"The U.S. House Domestic Policy Subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), held a hearing Wednesday April 14th. on the White House's drug war budget and forthcoming 2010 National Drug Control Strategy...." Read Mr. Nadelmann's testimony, as always, he's brilliant.
The Prophet Muhammad told his followers they would be rewarded by God for taking care of the Earth. He said: "If any Muslim plants any plant and a human being or an animal eats of it, he will be rewarded as if he had given that much in charity." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, 8:41)
Through the internet I was able to read the stories of Khairul Idzham Khairuddin, the Second-Hand Clothes Seller sentenced To Hang For 14 oz. of cannabis, Roseedah Cheubong, a single mother fending for herself and her teenage child, also sentenced to death for trafficking, and Lim Kok Yong, 24, a tyre shop assistant to be hanged until death after finding him guilty of trafficking cannabis. Update 11/12/09: Add another young Malaysian man to the list: "A youth was sent to the gallows after the High Court here found him guilty of trafficking in cannabis two years ago. Helmi Mohd Hussin, 23, was sentenced to death...." "He was charged under Section 39B of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, which carries the mandatory death penalty upon conviction." Update 11/13/09: Two more sentenced to die.... Halim Nor, 45, a Malaysian national, and Sabri Alias, 38, from Aceh, Indonesia. How many more names will I have to sadly add to the list...?
Lim Kok Yong, sentenced to hang until death.
I cried when I read these articles. I'm trying to figure out the proper words to express my sadness that common men and women believe it is their right to take the life of another for possessing a creation of Nature.
I speak of religion because I do not believe we should wither under the assumption that any supposed loving god would condone killing in their name for using a plant. Men and women deciding to purposely end the life of another for using or selling one of humanities greatest gifts are people masquerading as gods.
Religious freedom is a fundamental human right. Most likely, whichever deity you believe in is an act of love and dedication, and even if you do not believe in the religion(s) of others, or any religion at all, we should still honour the choices of our fellow human beings as we are all sharing this beautiful planet during our journey here on Earth.
Compassion, empathy, sympathy, simply loving one another is a powerful part of who we are. These things care not of who or what we believe in. We have evolved with these traits and it is these simple truths that will bring peace throughout our world. We are sick of war, we are sick of poverty. We are wasting the precious gift of life and this is tragic as we are blessed with the fruits of the earth, and the labour of our minds and bodies. We have the tools to be prosperous, collectively we can defeat the evil of famine. There is no excuse for the purchase of one weapon of war when even one child's belly sits empty. Alas, it seems we spend so much time trying to persecute others for crimes, we have forgotten this important duty.
While I am certainly no scholar when it comes to all religions, I think we can all agree that if we are going to achieve peace in our world we must acknowledge these common bonds: Whereas we believe in different types of religion, or even no religion at all, when we take that label away we are all a part of Humanity. We respect the rights for each individual to follow the path that they feel is right for them. Anything less is slavery. We must respect the rights of individuals because if we don't than our lives are in essence a fraud. We are born free, and free we shall remain. This is of course based on some very important truths: It is the right of no man or no woman to physically or financially harm another. It is the right of no man or no woman to persecute another for what they believe, as long as those beliefs do not cause harm to another.
I understand that there must be laws and we are just to incarcerate those who hurt others, they exist for the purpose of holding one responsible for harming another human either physically or financially. But I ask you, what law should exist that punishes one for a "crime" where no victim exists?
When a person uses Cannabis it is a personal decision. Every human on the planet must be afforded the right to make the decision for themselves of what goes into their bodies. If you argue that your religion does not permit the use of a substance, then it should be your god that judges a person for it and not a magistrate, judge, politician or policeman. People believe that god gave humans the ability tho think and make decisions.
While we have the capacity to judge others, more importantly, we have within us the ability to decide that no matter what the situation, no matter what the circumstances, we will be a compassionate race and will let destiny decide when a persons time here on earth ends. People of the world no matter what country we are from have recourse as a Human Being to demand that every single government end the prohibition of cannabis. I get very upset when I hear the term "drug free" because that is not the reality of our species. Denying drugs is denying a part of who we are. Plants and herbs are one of the reasons we humans have survived. Before the advancement in medicine that has taken place over the last hundred years we depended on the healing virtues that nature has gifted us with.
*****
"Religion is disfigured when pressed into the service of ignorance or prejudice, contempt, violence and abuse. In this case we see not only a perversion of religion but also a corruption of human freedom, a narrowing and blindness of the mind. Clearly, such an outcome is not inevitable. Indeed, when we promote education, we proclaim our confidence in the gift of freedom. The human heart can be hardened by the limits of its environment, by interests and passions. But every person is also called to wisdom and integrity, to the basic and all-important choice of good over evil, truth over dishonesty, and can be assisted in this task. The use of scientific knowledge needs the guiding light of ethical wisdom.
Such is the wisdom that inspired the Hippocratic Oath, the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Geneva Convention and other laudable international codes of conduct. Hence religious and ethical wisdom, by answering questions of meaning and value, play a central role in professional formation. And consequently, those universities where the quest for truth goes hand in hand with the search for what is good and noble, offer an indispensable service to society." ~ ROME REPORTS Pope Benedict XVI "Religion can't be in service of prejudice & violence" May 2009
Each and every one of us is fundamentally wired to receive cannabis. Humans continue to break the law to use cannabis because we are it's "perfect match", we have in our bodies aptly named "Cannabinoid Receptors". To include cannabis in the same illegal substances category as crack cocaine and crystal meth is a travesty. Cannabis is a medicine, a sacrament for some, and a reliever of pain and stress. It was put here on earth to serve humanity. It has healed us, clothed us, fed us and made it possible to record our history on hemp paper. We have learned much more about this wonder plant over the past century and the research stands. It is a valuable medicine. It is a valuable fiber. It is a valuable source of food. We can save our forests by growing hemp everywhere. It will replace our dependence on oil and we can stop filling our landfills with plastic.
To kill people for keeping alive their connection to a plant that has been a part of our existence since before our history was written is abhorrent. It is the right of no man to judge another for using cannabis. Even though the prohibition of cannabis has been enacted people continue to exercise our right to use cannabis for medicine and recreation and will do so until the end of time. The fact that countries where the death penalty exists for cannabis "offenses" does not deter people from selling and using the plant should be the biggest testament of the plants rightful status in our lives.
From what I have learned about deities, I'm assuming a god would be proud of humans for using their minds to chart a new course towards cannabis legalization. Would a god not rejoice in our compassion for our fellow man? You would think a god would respect humans for following the path that is right for them, after all, isn't that free will?
Those in positions of authority when it comes to law can not disregard human nature. I say to any government that your premise of being "drug free" is flawed from the beginning. While it might be easy to say "don't do drugs" the reality is that we have never been drug free and never will be. I am trying to be very respectful, I am trying to navigate the complexities of religion and law. You may say because I am not a Muslim, Buddhist, Malaysian or from Taiwan I have no business being concerned with these three people on the other side of the world from me. But I say to you, I am a member of the Human Race, and this makes Khairul, Lim and Roseedah my Brothers and Sister in Life. In fact, even The Universal Islamic Declaration of Human Rights states: "Every person has not only the right but also the obligation to protest against injustice; to recourse to remedies provided by the Law in respect of any unwarranted personal injury or loss; to self-defense against any charges that are preferred against him and to obtain fair adjudication before an independent judicial tribunal in any dispute with public authorities or any other person." (1) It is our duty to fight for those who are persecuted and sentenced to death for consuming or selling cannabis. The hemp plant serves humanity, and to demonize it is like saying your deity made a mistake by creating it and letting it grow here on earth. Let us shed the misconceptions of the past. Let us advance as a compassionate society that embraces what has been given us. No one should be sentenced to die for cannabis. Let us reach out and help those who have become victims of these draconian laws, because when one of us hangs, we all hang.
"626 gms" A song written for Lim Kok Yong A Facebook group has been established and contains links to where you can send letters to ask that these human beings have their lives spared. It is the right and duty of every person to defend the rights of any other person and the community in general *(Hisbah). For more information regarding people being sentenced to death, please visit Malaysians Against The Death Penalty and Torture (MADPET)
Give up wine and drink from the wine of Haydar, Amber scented, green the color of emerald. It is presented to you by a Turkish gazelle, slender, Swaying like a willow bough, delicate. In his hand, you would think, as he turns it, It is like the traces of down on a rosy cheek. The slightest breeze makes it reel, And it flutters toward the coolness of the continuing breeze. The grayish pigeons coo upon its branches in the morning. And the cadences of the warbling doves cause it emotion. It has many meanings the like of which are unknown to wine. Therefore do not listen with respect to it to the words of the old censor. It is virginal, not deflowered by rain, Nor has it ever been squeezed by feet or hands, No Christian priest has ever played around with a cup containing it, Nor have they ever communion from its cask to any heretic's soul... Nothing has been said expressly from Malik to declare it unlawful, Nor is the hadd penalty for its use... prescribed... Thus take it with the sharp edge of steel. Stay the hands of worry with kyff and achieve joyful repose. Do not lightly postpone the day of joy till tomorrow. 'The days will show you what you were ignorant of, And someone for who you did not provide (to serve as your messenger) will bring you the news'
- medieval Sufi poet, Ibn al-A'ma
http://www.rexresearch.com/hhist/hhist1~1.htm#mideast Excavation of the Phrygian city of Gordion near Ankara (Turkey) produced hempen fabrics from the late 8th century BC. According to Dr Robert Walton, cannabis is mentioned in cuneiform tablets dating from 650 BC that are generally regarded as obvious copies of much older texts"; the tablets were found in the library of Babylonian emperor Ashurbanipal. Hemp also was known as azallu in the Akkadian tongue, cognate with the Syrian azal ("To spin"). Hemp is called kanfai in Syriac and Aramaic. In Persia the seeds were called Shahdanah ("Emperor's seeds"). There is some confusion concerning of the names of hemp in the cultures of the Middle East, particularly with the Old Indic bhanga or Sanskrit sana (hemp) and the Avestan banha ("an abortive plant", henbane), which also is called bang in Middle and New Persian, and banj in Arabic. The Sumerian term for hemp is gan-zi-gun-na; in Persian it is called grgainj. Hemp as qu-nu-bu was mentioned in letter written to the mother of the Assyrian king Esarhaddon circa 680 BC and preserved in the royal archives.
Even as in China and India, cannabis has had a profound influence on the development of human spiritual sensibilities. In the Middle East (Persia and south). One surviving book of the Persian prophet Zoroaster's Zend Avesta (7th cty. BC), titled Vendidad ("The Law Against Demons"), praises bhanga as "Zoroaster's good narcotic". The Book of Artay Viraf tells us of Gustaph and Ardu Viraf, who drank wine and the "narcotic of Vishtasp" (thought to be hemp, or perhaps opium) and were "transported in soul to the heavens. The highest mysteries were revealed to them" during a sleep that lasted seven days. The use of bhanga to induce euphoria and "righteous action" is mentioned in Din Yast, a devotional book dedicated to the goddess Kista: "To whom the holy Hvevi [Zarathustra's wife] did sacrifice with full knowledge, wishing that the holy Zarathustra would give her his good narcotic, bhanga... that she might think according to the law, speak according to the law, and do according to the law."
In the Din Yast, god Ahura Mazda is said to be "without trance and without hemp". The Fravasi Yast mentions one who is a poura-bangha ("a possessor of much hemp"). The Aqrabadhin of Al-Samarqandi, an early Arabic medical formulary, recommends hempseed as a "purging clyster" (enema) to be administered in cases of cold colic. The Persian saint Haydar, founder of the Sufi Hadari set, is given legendary credit for discovering the mental effects of hemp resin in 1155. Haydar was an extreme recluse who for ten years never left his mountain monastery in Persia. Then one day the hermit became very depressed and went for a walk to be alone from his disciples. When he returned, he was very happy and even invited his pupils into his private rooms for the first time. They asked him what had brought about this change of temperament. Haydar explained that while he was walking he noticed one plant that seemed to dance in the sweltering heat while all others stood torpid. His curiosity aroused, Haydar picked and ate a few leaves of the plant and thus discovered the surpassing pleasure that is in hemp. Before he died in 1221 AD, Haydar requested that cannabis be planted around his sepulcher so that his spirit could rest in the shade of the blessed herb that had graced his life. Thus hashish became a sacrament to the Sufis. Sometimes they call it 'the wine of Haydar". One Moslem sect considers benj to be the incarnation of Kizer, spirit of the prophet and the patron saint of water. The Moslem faith forbids the use of alcohol but allows for cannabis (Koran, ch. 5). The rich indulge in alcohol anyway, though it is expensive. The poor resort to cannabis to mitigate their plight. A Turkish poet expressed the sentiment thus: "Hashish is the friend of the poor, the dervishes and the men of knowledge, that is, all who are not blessed with earthly goods and social power." The sage al-Is'rid advised likewise: "Do not listen to what the critics may say with respect to it. They want to keep you away from it. Disobey any old censor."
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God compels Muslims in the Quran to respect and revere the environment when He says, "Greater indeed than the creation of man is the creation of the heavens and the earth." (40:57) The Prophet Muhammad told his followers they would be rewarded by God for taking care of the Earth. He said: "If any Muslim plants any plant and a human being or an animal eats of it, he will be rewarded as if he had given that much in charity." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, 8:41) He also compared Muslims to a "fresh tender plant" that bends, but does not break, when afflicted with life's inevitable calamities. (Sahih Al-Bukhari, 7:547)
Another tradition of the Prophet Muhammad, or hadith, quotes him as saying: "If the Hour (Judgment Day) is about to be established and one of you is holding a palm shoot, let him take advantage of even one second before the Hour is established to plant it." Flowers, trees and other plants had never in the history of humans, had such rights as came with Islam one thousand four hundred years ago. Muslims are encouraged by prophet Muhammad to plant trees even if they feel sure the end of the world is tomorrow. He also did not allow destruction of crops or plant life even while in battle with their enemies.
From what has been said, we see that ‘the Islamic approach’ in dealing with environmental issues is based on the following: - The education of true and strong believers in body and in soul - To promote the image of a man who believes that he is part of the ecosystem and not one who behaves as the absolute lord of this system. - The education of a human being man who builds but does not destroy. - The training of a human being who conserves environment resources and does not waste them. - The development of human beings who give priority to wisdom and rationalism At the same time Islam gives importance to: - Avoiding the causes of environmental problems - A better use of environmental resources with a view to : - Exploiting and not draining them, - Preserving and not wasting them, - Protecting and not devastating them.
Avicenna and Medicine Medical experimentation likely would not have progressed without the contributions of a Persian physician and philosopher named 'Abu 'Ali al-Husin ibn 'Abdullah ibn Sina (c. 980 AD–1037 AD), who is more familiarly known by his European name of Aven Sina, or Avicenna. By all accounts, Avicenna was a prodigy who could master academic subjects such as medicine with incredible ease: “Medicine is not one of the difficult sciences, so naturally I became proficient in it in the shortest time, until the excellent scholars of medicine began to study under me.” Avicenna began to treat patients and evaluated different treatment methods, including those that were successful as well as those that failed. According to Professor Kaf al-Ghazal (2007), Avicenna was the first physician to discover that some diseases could be spread through water or soil, which allowed later Renaissance physicians to research possible cures.
The Book of the Canon of Medicine
In 1012, Avicenna began work on a compendium of medical knowledge, Kitab al Qanoun fi Al Toubb, or The Book of the Canon of Medicine. Not completed until approximately 1030, the book contained five volumes. Avicenna’s Contribution to Pharmacopoeia Avicenna’s lasting mark on medicine was his contribution to pharmacopoeia, which is the study of how drugs are made from natural and synthetic sources. Islamic physicians were first to separate medicine from pharmacology — thereby allowing doctors to focus on diagnosing diseases, while leaving the extraction and preparation of remedies to other skilled practitioners. Arab pharmacists were renowned for their skills in formulation, using syrups and flavored water to disguise the taste of bitter remedies. They also introduced drugs such as camphor, aconite, mercury, and sandalwood into medical practice, while aware of simple anesthetics such as hemp. Avicenna included approximately 760 medicinal plants in his Canon and explained how drugs could be made from them. For example, wood from the deciduous tree acacia catechu could be boiled in water, evaporated, and the residue used as a treatment for sore throats or gastric complaints. Even today, Saad et al (2005) estimate that 25% of all prescription medicines continue to be derived from plants.
The Green Prophet
With this history, it is not surprising to find that cannabis had its own mythical prophet in the Arab world, as noted by Joseph Campbell over a century ago, in his epic 1894 study for the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission, On The Religion of Hemp: "To the follower of Islam the holy spirit in bhang... is the spirit of the great prophet Khizr, or Elijah." That bhang should be sacred to Khizr is natural, as Khizr means green, the revered color of the cooling water of bhang. So the Urdu poet sings "When I quaff fresh bhang I liken its color to the fresh light down of thy youthful beard." Islam inherited Khizr from many earlier myths, as can be seen from stories that associate him with such luminary figures as Moses and Alexander the Great.
By medieval times he came to represent the type of esoteric knowledge which breaks the trance of everyday existence through shock, usually in the form of outrage, laughter, or both at once. Wilson explains that Khizr was seen as "the initiator of Sufis who have no human master."
In the 1990 book Green Man, William Anderson describes Khizr as "the voice of inspiration to the true aspirant and committed artist. He can come as a white light or the gleam of a blade of grass, but more often as an inner mood. The sign of his presence is the ability to work or experience with tireless enthusiasm beyond one's normal capacities."
In his 1993 book Sacred Drift, Essays on the Margins of Islam, Peter Wilson writes "When you say the name of Khezr in company you should always add the greeting Salaam aliekum! since he may be there... immortal and anonymous, engaged on some karmic errand. Perhaps he'll hint of his identity by wearing green, or by revealing knowledge of the occult and hidden. But he's something of a spy, and if you have no need to know he's unlikely to tell you. Still, one of his functions is to convince skeptics of the existence of the Marvelous, to rescue those who are lost in deserts of doubt and dryness. So he's needed now more than ever, and surely still moves among us playing his great game." Originally a sort of vegetation spirit in whose footprints plants and flowers were said to magically sprout, Wilson explains that "nowadays Khezr might well be induced to reappear as the patron of modern militant eco-environmentalism. Khadirian Environmentalism would rejoice simultaneously both in [Nature's] utter wildness and its 'meaningfulness.'
Nature as tajalli (the 'shining through' of the divine into creation; the manifestation of each thing as divine light), Nature as an aesthetic of realization." With the wealth of esoteric lore, environmental products and medicines sprouting from the renaissance of his beloved cannabis, it seems that Khizr is once again trying to communicate to humanity through his most holy of plants. Interestingly, there are legends of Khizr in which he is dismembered and reborn. As well, certain prophecies connect him with the end of time and the revealing of esoteric truths. The Green Prophet Khizr's feast day is April 23.
Islam Permitted Good Things and Prohibited Bad Ones:
Allah permitted us to eat all good things. He said : «They ask thee what is lawful to them (as food). Say : Lawful unto you are (all) things good and *pure» ( Maida : 4). Allah, Most High, also said : «Say : Who hath forbidden the beautiful (gifts) of God, which He hath produced for His servants, And the things, clean and pure, (which He hath provided) For sustenance? Say : They are in the life of this world, for those who believe»( Araaf : 32).
WHEREAS the human rights decreed by the Divine Law aim at conferring dignity and honour on mankind and are designed to eliminate oppression and injustice;
WHEREAS by virtue of their Divine source and sanction these rights can neither be curtailed, abrogated or disregarded by authorities, assemblies or other institutions, nor can they be surrendered or alienated; Right to Justice a) Every person has the right to be treated in accordance with the Law, and only in accordance with the Law.
b) Every person has not only the right but also the obligation to protest against injustice; to recourse to remedies provided by the Law in respect of any unwarranted personal injury or loss; to self-defence against any charges that are preferred against him and to obtain fair adjudication before an independent judicial tribunal in any dispute with public authorities or any other person. (Quote 1 from top of page)
c) It is the right and duty of every person to defend the rights of any other person and the community in general *(Hisbah).
d) No person shall be discriminated against while seeking to defend private and public rights. e)
It is the right and duty of every Muslim to refuse to obey any command which is contrary to the Law, no matter by whom it may be issued.
V Right to Fair Trial a) No person shall be adjudged guilty of an offence and made liable to punishment except after proof of his guilt before an independent judicial tribunal. b) No person shall be adjudged guilty except after a fair trial and after reasonable opportunity for defence has been provided to him. c) Punishment shall be awarded in accordance with the Law, in proportion to the seriousness of the offence and with due consideration of the circumstances under which it was committed. d) No act shall be considered a crime unless it is stipulated as such in the clear wording of the Law.
VI Right to Protection Against Abuse of Power Every person has the right to protection against harassment by official agencies. He is not liable to account for himself except for making a defence to the charges made against him or where he is found in a situation wherein a question regarding suspicion of his involvement in a crime could be reasonably raised
VII Right to Protection Against Torture No person shall be subjected to torture in mind or body, or degraded, or threatened with injury either to himself or to anyone related to or held dear by him, or forcibly made to confess to the commission of a crime, or forced to consent to an act which is injurious to his interests.
IX Right to Asylum a) Every persecuted or oppressed person has the right to seek refuge and asylum. This right is guaranteed to every human being irrespective of race, religion, colour and sex. b) Al Masjid Al Haram (the sacred house of Allah) in Mecca is a sanctuary for all Muslims.
Rights of Minorities a) The Qur'anic principle "There is no compulsion in religion" shall govern the religious rights of non-Muslim minorities. b) In a Muslim country religious minorities shall have the choice to be governed in respect of their civil and personal matters by Islamic Law, or by their own laws. In their economic pursuits, all persons are entitled to the full benefits of nature and all its resources. These are blessings bestowed by God for the benefit of mankind as a whole.
EVEN THE SOUL HAS RIGHTS Each individual has rights over himself. As the prophet, told us, "Even your body has rights over you. So, give your body its rights." Allah Almighty forbids anyone to take their own life, thereby giving the body its own right. As Almighty Allah says: "And do not kill yourselves (and do not kill others). Surely, Allah is Most Merciful to you." [4:29] *HISBAH-
Public vigilance, an institution of the Islamic State enjoined to observe and facilitate the fulfillment of right norms of public behaviour. The "Hisbah" consists in public vigilance as well as an opportunity to private individuals to seek redress through it.
*pure (Cannabis) Hemp:
* Fast and robust growth: Hemp grows extremely fast and can be grown in any climate, in any agronomic system
* No herbicides/pesticides required: Hemp can be grown with no (or little) herbicides, fungicides, pesticides, or other biocides.
* Suppresses weeds: Hemp is a natural weed suppressor due to the fast growth of the canopy. Actually, hemp is a weed. Because it grows so fast and densely, it blocks out sunlight to other weeds that are trying to grow.
* Improves soil structure: Due to it’s long roots, hemp replenishes soil with nutrients and nitrogen and helps control erosion of topsoil. Also, once harvested, any residue can act as an eco-friendly manure.
* Hemp produces lots of oxygen: Hemp produces the same amount of oxygen while it’s growing that it would use in carbon dioxide if burned as a fuel. Also, due to it’s leaf/root ratio (this can often be 10% roots vs 30% leaves), hemp can produce between 20% - 40% more oxygen than will be polluted. * Cleans up pollution: Hemp can actually clean up toxins from the ground. This process is called phytoremediation.
A good example of this is when hemp was used to help clean up the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site to remove radioactive elements from the ground.
"There is opposition from groups like Drug Free Pennsylvania, which say the bill encourages drug abuse and crime. Jeanne Troy is the spokeswoman for Drug Free Pennsylvania.Troy:We do not approve this. There is prescription marijuana available through doctors for patients who have chemo or other pain and nausea related conditions and that's called marinol." ~ Jeanne Troy & DFP
My response to some of the statements in this article.The website comment section doesn't allow multiple links, so I've posted them here.
"Drug Free America"? There has never been a drug free world! Cannabis specifically, has been used since the beginning of recorded history. Humans utilized the medicinal properties of cannabis for thousands and thousands of years before Harry J Anslinger declared "…the primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races.” and “Reefer makes darkies think they’re as good as white men.” "most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos, and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz, and swing, result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers, and any others.” http://www.drugwarrant.com/articles/why-is-marijuana-illegal/
Maybe Jeanne Troy should read the Shaffer Report, the one that Nixon commissioned to launch his "War on Drugs". Unfortunately, Nixon didn't like the truth, so it was thrown in the trash and here we are 30+ years, 20 million arrests and a TRILLION dollars later and still the lies and propaganda continue in a war on people that will never, ever, be won.
"In sum, the weight of the evidence is that marihuana does not cause violent or aggressive behavior, if anything, marihuana generally serves to inhibit the expression of such behavior. Marihuana-induced relaxation of inhibitions is not ordinarily accompanied by an exaggeration of aggressive tendencies.
No evidence exists that marihuana use will cause or lead to the commission of violent or aggressive behavior by the large majority of psychologically and socially mature individuals in the general population."
"marihuana and social policy"
A Final Comment "We have carefully considered the spectrum of social and legal policy alternatives. On the basis of our findings, discussed in previous Chapters, we have concluded that society should seek to discourage use, while concentrating its attention on the prevention and treatment of heavy and very heavy use. The Commission feels that the criminalization of possession of marihuana for personal is socially self-defeating as a means of achieving this objective. We have attempted to balance individual freedom on one hand and the obligation of the state to consider the wider social good on the other. We believe our recommended scheme will permit society to exercise its control and influence in ways most useful and efficient, meanwhile reserving to the individual American his sense of privacy, his sense of individuality, and, within the context of ail interacting and interdependent society, his options to select his own life style, values, goals and opportunities.
The Commission sincerely hopes that the tone of cautious restraint sounded in this Report will be perpetuated in the debate which will follow it. For those who feel we have not proceeded far enough, we are reminded of Thomas Jefferson's advice to George Washington that "Delay is preferable to error." For those who argue we have gone too far, we note Roscoe Pound's statement, "The law must be stable, but it must not stand still."
We have carefully analyzed the interrelationship between marihuana the drug, marihuana use as a behavior, and marihuana as a social problem. Recognizing the extensive degree of misinformation about marihuana as a drug, we have tried to demythologize it. Viewing the use of marihuana in its wider social context, we have tried to desymbolize it.
Considering the range of social concerns in contemporary America, marihuana does not, in our considered judgment, rank very high. We would deemphasize marihuana as a problem.
The existing social and legal policy is out of proportion to the individual and social harm engendered by the use of the drug. To replace it, we have attempted to design a suitable social policy, which we believe is fair, cautious and attuned to the social realities of our time." http://www.druglibrary.org/Schaffer/Library/studies/nc/ncmenu.htm
The "Gateway Theory" is a lie, only 1 out of every 104 cannabis users try cocaine, and it's less than that for heroin. (from The Union: The Business Behind Getting High http://www.theunionmovie.com/)
Tennessee Congressman Steve Cohen took FBI Director Robert Mueller to task on marijuana legalization and the "gateway theory" in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY0TQ1uOn3k
Also, Zogby did a poll (found here on www.leap.cc) in 2007 asking "If hard drugs like heroin and cocaine were legalized, would you use them? 99% responded NO. Imagine that, people deciding for themselves that they don't want to use hard drugs, regardless of law.
And yes, while Marinol exists, (and very expensively at that) for people who have problems keeping pills down due to nausea it's not as effective. Medical cannabis users can also use a vaporizer or ingest it in cookies, etc. if they don't want to smoke it. If people like Greg Cooper find that using cannabis helps them, who are any of us to judge that decision made by him and his Doctor? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8_5Ebsjk8I
He fought the war in Iraq, only to be persecuted by the Drug War at Home. Prohibition is making life hell for soldiers like Christopher Northcutt, brave heroes who proudly served their country and defend freedom for all of us. Our men and women who serve in the military deserve to use cannabis for medicine, but morally bent ideology and draconian drug laws are locking them up for using a plant that has never killed anyone.
Prescription medication deaths have become more exposed with the passing of Heath Ledger, Michael Jackson and DJ AM. It's time everyone put their judgment aside and face the facts - cannabis is a safer alternative to prescription drugs for many, and if their doctors approve then they have the right, as it says in the Declaration of Independence, to "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." I wonder, would those celebrities still be alive if their doctors had been able to treat them with cannabis? It's an answer we'll never know, but still an important question to contemplate.
Prohibition is inflicting more harm and heartache on society than drugs ever could. Here is a short excerpt, but please follow the link and read the whole story of Sgt. Northcutt's ordeal and how the unwinnable War on Drugs (or shall I say, war on people who use certain drugs) sent a marine to prison for growing medical marijuana in a patients collective.
Northcutt: For a year. This is when they super-medicate me. I would be given a grocery bag full of really heavy shit. Hydrocodones and anti-depressants, Neurontin, Seroquel, anti-nightmare pills, half of it you get really fucking high on. I’m not much of a pillbilly but I’ve taken them all. And that is true of just about anyone I know who went to Iraq and has come back. They’re all pill experts. How the fuck does that happen? You get back and they just like push 10 pills on you right away.
Gardner: Were you dealing with Marine Corps doctors or the VA?
Northcutt: The Marine Corps. But I was also trying to deal with the VA because they sent me home awaiting orders. I go to live at my grandma’s in Long Beach and I’m chilling in the guest house while I’m waiting to get out of the Marine Corps. The VA Hospital is like a mile from my house and Camp Pendleton is two hours away in traffic. I’m drugged out all day long and they’re like, “You’ve got appointments on this day at Camp Pendleton.” I would just lie in bed all day, loaded. Totally fucked up. But it was cool because a doctor prescribed it. Read more...
As a footnote I'd like to add that Croatia has legalized the use of cannabis for its vets and Canada now covers the cost of medical marijuana for war veterans.
From Why Prohibition: Canadians for Safe Access, a patient advocacy organization, also commends Veterans Affairs Canada for this new policy. "For many, this medicine is more effective than the available alternatives, with fewer negative side-effects. It is so important that the cost for this medicine is covered for those in need," stated RielleCapler, a director of Canadians for Safe Access. Veterans use cannabis for various medical conditions and symptoms including chronic and phantom limb pain, sleep disturbance, brain injuries, Post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression. ~
This clip from Botany of Desire does a fantastic job of explaining how and why medical cannabis can help soldiers and veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
While Canada's medical marijuana program still seems to be finding its way, at least they have recognized that Canadian soldiers deserve to have affordable access to this wonder plant. With this, we will have fewer people dying and becoming dependent on highly addictive prescription drugs. As it stands in the US, legal drugs are the fourth leading cause of death.
Here are the latest VA statistics about Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans:
Veterans: 981,834 (out of nearly two million deployed)
Veterans Treated at VA Hospitals and Clinics: 425,538 (43.3% of veterans)
Veterans Diagnosed by VA with Mental Health Condition: 193,879 (45.6% of veterans treated by VA)
Veterans Diagnosed by VA with PTSD: 114,908 (27.0% of veterans treated by VA)
Veterans Filing Disability Claims Against VA: 381,782 (38.9% of veterans)
A disabled Navy Veteran who uses marijuana as medicine will fight for his right to use a medical defense in court after being arrested and charged with possession with intent to distribute. Ken Unger is a 100% disabled U.S. Navy veteran deemed unemployable by the St. Louis VA. He was hit in the head with a 50-ton crane hook while serving in Grenada in 1983.
"After two long-running wars with escalating levels of combat stress, more than 110,000 active-duty army troops last year were taking prescribed antidepressants, narcotics, sedatives, antipsychotics and anti-anxiety drugs, according to figures recently disclosed to the Los Angeles Times by the U.S. army surgeon general."
"Julie Oligschlaeger said her son, Chad, a marine corporal based at Twentynine Palms, Calif. came home from his second tour in Iraq in 2007 complaining of nightmares and hallucinations. He was taking trazodone, fluoxetine, Seroquel, Lorazepam and propranolol, among other medications.
“I didn’t realize how many pills he was on until it was too late,” Oligschlaeger said. “He sometimes would slur his words, and I would think, ‘OK, are you drinking? What is going on?’ And he’d say, ‘Oh, I’m taking my pills, and I’m taking them when I’m supposed to.’ I never thought to look.”
Please follow the link and read the whole article - the list of “EXAMPLE” PSYCHIATRlC FORMULARY FOR DEPLOYMENT is astounding!
Meanwhile....
medical cannabis - drug substitution: "Eighty five percent of the BPG [Berkeley Patients Group] sample reported that cannabis has much less adverse side effects than their prescription medications. Additionally, the top two reasons listed by participants as reasons for substituting cannabis for one of the substances previously mentioned were less adverse side effects from cannabis (65%) and better symptom management from cannabis (57.4%)."
Conclusion
"The substitution of one psychoactive substance for another with the goal of reducing negative outcomes can be included within the framework of harm reduction. Medical cannabis patients have been engaging in substitution by using cannabis as an alternative to alcohol, prescription and illicit drugs." Source: Reiman, Amanda, "Cannabis as a Substitute for Alcohol and Other Drugs," Harm Reduction Journal (London, United Kingdom: December 2009).
"Nearly all medicines have toxic, potentially lethal effects. But marijuana is not such a substance. There is no record in the extensive medical literature describing a proven, documented cannabis-induced fatality."
"This is a remarkable statement. First, the record on marijuana encompasses 5,000 years of human experience. Second, marijuana is now used daily by enormous numbers of people throughout the world. Estimates suggest that from twenty million to fifty million Americans routinely, albeit illegally, smoke marijuana without the benefit of direct medical supervision. Yet, despite this long history of use and the extraordinarily high numbers of social smokers, there are simply no credible medical reports to suggest that consuming marijuana has caused a single death."
"By contrast aspirin, a commonly used, over-the-counter medicine, causes hundreds of deaths each year."
“Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man.”
More disappointment from the Obama administration! Men and women who fought for their country should not be persecuted this way!
'Use marijuana and go to prison' - Gil Kerlikowske's message to Veterans on Memorial Day
(WASHINGTON DC) - The group Veterans For Medical Cannabis Access [VMCA] issued the following news release after receiving word that their long hours spent presenting scientific and medical evidence of the benefits of medical marijuana, was simply rejected yet again.
Relying on the wisdom of Gil Kerlikowske, the nation's 'drug czar', veterans are reminded on Memorial Day that their sacrifices only gain them a small amount of credibility, certainly not enough to allow them to use a plant that grows naturally out of the ground that is a miracle treatment for the survivors of war and military violence for their nation, who suffer PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder." - Excerpt, please read the whole article:
"Vets have used cannabis for PTSD since the Revolutionary War. We know what we need and to be told by our President, the Commander in Chief, that he does not care about those he has sent to war by denying medicine to the wounded is unconscionable."
Mama, Wife, Writer, Political Junkie, Legalizer, Freedom Fighter, Student of Life, Atheist, Lover of Music & Written Word.
#420Friendly #Spoonie
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"I, as a responsible adult human being, will never concede the power to anyone to regulate my choice of what I put into my body, or where I go with my mind. From the skin inwards is my jurisdiction, is it not? I choose what may or may not cross that border. Here I am the Customs Agent. I am the Coast Guard. I am the sole legal and spiritual government of this territory, and only the laws I choose to enact within myself are applicable." ~ Alexander Shulgin PhD, Chemist and author
Lim Kok Yong, sentenced to hang until death. 
Prohibition is inflicting more harm and heartache on society than drugs ever could. Here is a short excerpt, but please follow the link and read the whole story of Sgt. Northcutt's ordeal and how the unwinnable War on Drugs (or shall I say, war on people who use certain drugs) sent a marine to prison for growing medical marijuana in a patients collective.
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