The cannabis activist in me would love to NOT vote for Obama in 2012. However, in our lesser of two evils fake two-party system I have to consider which party would pick the best or worst Supreme Court Justice in the case someone retires or dies.

I may hate a lot of what our center-right President is doing, but leaving any new court picks to Los Retardos is frightening.

… so you’d rather that Obama be rewarded for backstabbing his base with the ability to pack the courts with corporate tools instead of religious fools?

Got news for you: either way we lose… and game theory, the Prisoner’s Dilemma, ensures that we lose much worse if we are not seen as willing to punish Obama for his betrayals.

Obama lied about almost everything he promised in his last campaign! While a “Veteran For Peace” and two time deployed Iraq veteran Scott Olsen was being injured (unprovoked) by Oakland police officers, what I heard, President Obama was in San Francisco butt-kissing the rich at a $7,500 a plate fundraiser. No surprise that the so-called “We the People” petition site was just another scam so he can claim he listens to the American people, in which turned out to be a joke. I don’t trust any of these greedy self-surving politicians of any party.

romney’s supreme court picks won’t be any worse than obama’s

and scotus has nothing to do with marijuana laws or prosecutions, that is the doj and congress

at this point, i think it far more likely that romney would rollback federal marijuana laws than obama

obama doesn’t listen to anyone and is as stubborn as george bush was

romney will go where the wind blows him and, since the people want marijuana prohibition to end, romney may just do it

unlike the current wh occupant, romney isn’t stupid

We also recognize that legalizing marijuana would not provide the answer to any of the health, social, youth education, criminal justice, and community quality of life challenges associated with drug use.

I agree with the post completely. Obviously you solve the criminal justice problem by decriminalizing pot, and I’m at a complete loss to identify the other so-called challenges associated with marijuana. Health? Maybe — it’s supposed to be as bad as cigarettes re the lung cancer risk. Social? youth education? community quality of life? I don’t get it. How is alcohol not a worse problem on all these same counts? But we figured out how stupid it was to try to outlaw booze a long time ago.

Do you know the Mormon position on weed? I plead ignorance.

From the WH’s “We the People” site via Walker’s link: “Welcome to We the People on WhiteHouse.gov. This tool provides you with a new way to petition the Obama Administration to take action on a range of important issues facing our country. If a petition gets enough support, White House staff will review it, ensure it’s sent to the appropriate policy experts, and issue an official response.”

So the practical result, the extent of the action taken will be an “official response”? And in this case, the official repsonse is, “Go fuck yourself.” Well, at least the WH kept their word and made good on the promised “action” of “We the People.”

Thanks for a very funny link, Walker.

Regarding health, marijuana is an effective pain killer without many of the serious side effects of narcotics. Addiction is only one among others.

The problem with Pot is simple. had a big corp been selling it as a product 80 years ago and said corp had now grown into a giant, Pot would be legal, just like fags, booze, and genetically modified food.

Hmm, the “Actually take these petitions seriously instead of just using them as an excuse to pretend you are listening.” site is nowhere to be found at this point in time. Any guesses as to where it might have gone?

The link still works for me.

Of course they’re going to dismiss the petitions. The banksters on whose goodwill Obama depends are themselves propped up by the laundering of drug cartel money.

The only viable route to reform is through state initiatives.
California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon and maybe others are gathering signatures to put legalization on their ballots.
it is critical for large contributors to fund these efforts.
With the poll numbers pushing 50% in favor, it would be the greatest waste of political opportunity since the Dems won the trifecta in 08 to fizz out now.

All the excuses in the response that were listed for maintaining cannabis prohibition would be much more accurate for alcohol prohibition. What a joke. Science, my ass. This is still reefer madness.

O’s gotta triple check his OFA list to make sure he pisses off every one who was for him in 2008.

Thre are still many varying opinions.

beats me

i doubt romney will consult the book of mormon much as president

romney is a weather vane who really really really really wants to be president

I suspect you are right about that. There are way too many people who benefit substantially from the status quo. Just like back during prohibition.

OTOH, thank heavens the legislaturds repealed that. ON the weed. I don’t expect that will ever change.

Some are theorizing he’s doing it deliberately to lower his approval ratings so low that he will submit his resignation for the “good of the party.” This was a result of a deal made with Hillary in ’08. Hillary will then ride in on her white horse and save the day.

Sound plausible?

The prisons aren’t going to just fill themselves and where’s the evidence Barry cares about justice or anything average Americans demand?

I refuse to use the Obama website for petitions. Obama is so 1984 and his online petition site is a marketing gimmick.

that the so called Drug Czar would say MJ causes emergency room visits tells you we are governed by imbeciles

now, about this shit:

We know from an array of treatment admission information and Federal data that marijuana use is a significant source for voluntary drug treatment admissions

couldn’t have anything to do with motherfuckers wanting to avoid a felony conviction now would it – nosirree

now go ahead, keep lying to american school children as you did to previous generations – they will see you’re lying just as we did – and of course that wont cause any problems in their ability to discern what is truly dangerous now, will it assholes ?!?!

Not even remotely.

O hasn’t finished the job the CIA sent him in to do.

Based on my limited experience with persons of that persuasion, your explanation sounds reasonable. Their belief system is important only when it’s convenient for them.

Explain why Hillary wouldn’t be able to assume that role with even greater vigor?

Absolutely.

Leave the science to Man Made Climate Change believers.

No reason to get all sciencey when it comes to MJ.

Norcal,that;s the most pitiful rationale I’ve read in weeks. You’re clinging to vapor .Obama is such a terrible president that even his media shills seldom use that rationale anymore because it’s an admission that this guy is a total sell-out about whom there is nothing good to say..The lesser-evil ilk has given us state fascism, the tea party and massive inequality by moving the center to the right.Obama has been nonpareil in this push to the right and redefining the parameters of debate so we always lose. You must either be enriching yourself with Obama or find comfort in being a victim.

I’m agreeing with you. Straining to be fair, the closest I could come to a “health problem” with pot was the physical effect of smoking it, which is not great. On balance I’m far from being able to conclude that pot is a health problem, particularly when it can be used to substitute for other, more dangerous drugs. And after all, you don’t have to smoke it, you can eat it. Alcohol, in contrast, poses obvious health (and other) problems, but we live with the problems without criminalizing all alcohol use. Our public policy on drugs is insane.

She wasn’t groomed from such an early age.

Besides humans are alpha males & you saw how miserably she failed on HCR. And she is not a devious as O.

Nieces husband had a bad case of throat cancer from too much mj smoking. Major surgery about a decade ago, again last year, can eat only liquified food.

Don’t know the frequency of that; only know the one case.

But you don’t believe she has potential?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxNeW9UhhO0

Agree she’s a horror show but that doesn’t mean she has a better shot at getting the agenda thru.

Turns out not only did she & I go to the same undergrad school, but we almost share a birthday. Her’s is 10/26, mine is 10/29.

Now I need to take a shower to wash her stench off.

No heavy lifting is involved. All she needs to do is be able to read the cue cards.

Obama is snotty. I can’t listen to him. Believe me, I’ve tried. Well, I did during the 2008 campaign, then I gave it up. He’s so full of himself I expect him to float up and away every time he opens his mouth. I know there are people still making excuses for him, but c’mon, there aren’t any. If you feel that voting for him is the lesser evil thing to do, at least be honest about his deficiencies. Which are huge. Anybody who’s that sure he’s right and if you disagree you’re wrong end of discussion is dangerous. That kind of certitude may reassure people looking for “leaders,” but it shouldn’t because it’s entirely personal and implacable.

There’s some fascinating observations in this piece:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2011/oct/30/daniel-kahneman-cognitive-illusion-extract

especially the part about internally constructed coherent narratives. Compelling is not the same as correct.

It’s that certitude that really gets to me. He apparently doesn’t listen to anyone – except maybe Axe and David Piffle.

“… marijuana use is associated with addiction, respiratory disease, and cognitive impairment.”

Less so than tobacco. When can we expect Congress to bypass the Constitution again, and implement a Prohibition of Tobacco? And alcohol is far more abused, causes far more cognitive impairment, and is related to far more fatalities, than all other drugs combined. I assume that Prohibition of Alcohol will be reinstated in the very near future?

although her hubby was gov of the state where all the drugs were being flown into as part of the iran/contra deal. So i say she learned early and fast. There are a lot of dead bodies in the clinton closet

Still say it’s the alpha male thing, or at least that’s what the handlers think.

She’s better at State or CIA.

Not only as obstinate but also as deluded.

Ive been around pot smokers and definitely say it isnt pretty. Its definitely addictive and unhealthy to smoke frankly. And frankly speaking it fucks people up mentally to the point of serious impairment. That said medical pot should be legal and the sentences for pot crimes should be drastically reduced if not gotten rid of completely. But personally i wouldnt want to be in a closed space with someone smoking pot as i dont care for the smell of it as i dont like being around people who smoke cigarettes either.

The green’s not bad but the black type doesn’t show up against.

vaporizer

Your probably right. that and the fact Bill can’t keep his pants on and that might come out at a difficult time.

From the article linked:

Subjective confidence in a judgment is not a reasoned evaluation of the probability that this judgment is correct. Confidence is a feeling, which reflects the coherence of the information and the cognitive ease of processing it. It is wise to take admissions of uncertainty seriously, but declarations of high confidence mainly tell you that an individual has constructed a coherent story in his mind, not necessarily that the story is true.

Or even, in some cases, that he actually believes what he says. Because what he says may not be the coherent narrative he’s constructed. That narrative is revealed in what he does.

Since I’ve been mucking about with the O conspiracy stuff, I’ve been exposed (heh) to some unbelievable posts. Affair betw him & Rahm, for example. Amazing what you can find on the internet & you don’t even have to look hard for it.

http://my.firedoglake.com/ubetchaiam/2011/10/30/obama-and-marijuana/

People need to know This: “Responsibilities. –The Director– [...]

(12) shall ensure that no Federal funds appropriated to the Office of National Drug Control Policy shall be expended for any study or contract relating to the legalization (for a medical use or any other use) of a substance listed in schedule I of section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812) and take such actions as necessary to oppose any attempt to legalize the use of a substance (in any form) that–

1. is listed in schedule I of section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812); and
2. has not been approved for use for medical purposes by the Food and Drug Administration;”

“The GAO responded (pdf):

Finally, apart from considerations of whether any particular law has been violated, you have asked whether the Deputy Director’s letter disseminated misleading information in connection with statements relating to the debate over legalization of marijuana. [...]

ONDCP is specifically charged with the responsibility for “taking such actions as necessary to oppose any attempt to legalize the use” of certain controlled substances such as marijuana —- a responsibility which logically could include the making of advocacy statements in opposition to legalization efforts. The Deputy Director’s statements about marijuana are thus within the statutory role assigned to ONDCP. Given this role, we do not see a need to examine the accuracy of the Deputy Director’s individual statements in detail.”

Translation: Since lying is in the job description of the ONDCP, there’s no point in bothering to see whether they’re telling the truth.”

CONGRESS needs to be taking such language out -after 13 years- of such funding for the ONDCP.

The best part of that article is when Kahneman sez that when he met with Wall St. execs he was so ignorant about the biz he didn’t know what to ask.

I would not be surprised. I do think O’s rise to the top is very mysterious.

I noticed that, too, but I didn’t think it was the best part of the article. You worked in the biz, I gather.

I t’s amazing that there are more reactionary responses on this post than in 1970 .Likely because in 1970 white middle -class people were being widely targeted for arrest and prosecution.Now that drug laws are egregious Jim Crow legislation they are justified by invoking the Seventies’ canard of drug safety.Tell someone arrested for a possession beef about drug safety after he’s been gang raped prior to arraignment .Obviously a reactionary such as Obama does’t care about Jim Crow laws,poor people,or being a flaming hypocrite who smoked weed,tooted coke,etc..

I’m no fan of this administration, but characterizing that as a dismissive response. . . ? Offers facts, arguments, etc., and an acknowledgement that criminalizing pot isn’t the answer. You just don’t LIKE the answer.

As a former pot smoker and father I share concerns about the impact of marijuana on young brains. And as someone who started smoking when pot was far more benign, I also worry about how strong the stuff has become. That might be a reason to limit potency in a climate where pot was regulated, etc.–not saying that is not the answer. But I don’t think the WH response was insulting.

I would like to add that surveys in 1970 were so overwhelmingly pro-legalization that many Ca. pols,e.g.,Alan Cranston and Willie Brown.were advocates.If memory serves,Conyers and Kennedy were also part of the legalize- pot contingency.Many comments presuppose that someone is waiting for permission to participate in this market activity.,even though growing demand confirms this is clearly not the case.Either regulate drug markets or take the blame for perpetuating the fascist state as our few vestiges of freedom are lost to state tyranny and drug cartels.A true symbiosis of terror.

c

It’s important to remember that the science shows that marijuana is not completely benign. Smoking pot DOES cause respiratory problems (some worse than cigarette smoking), and THC alone seems to be related to depression and sexual issues. The science is not 100% in, and you can definitely question some of the conflict-of-interest issues in the studies, but nobody is served by pretending that marijuana is completely harmless.

That being said, I would be willing to stake my life on a few points:

1) It’s LESS harmful than alcohol, in net, and probably less harmful (again, in net) than tobacco
2) Legalizing, regulating, and taxing it would be a useful source of revenue (although, honestly, I think most pot would be grown by home aficionados; how are you going to tax this trade?), and
3) The biggest harm, by far, from marijuana is the secondary harm as a result of the “war on drugs.” Simply ending this bogus “war” by legalizing marijuana would, overnight, free up millions or billions of dollars spent on enforcement, open up countless jail cells for REAL violent offenders, and free up many police officers to go after the truly dangerous folks, as opposed to potheads and cancer patients.

We need to drop the “pot never hurt anybody ever” thing when advocating about this, because it’s simply not true, according to the science. But in terms of magnitude of harm, it’s pretty small, and the harm caused by prohibition is almost unimaginable in scale. The moral choice is — or, at least, should be — clear.

Where is the evidence that MJ is addictive? There is none, because it isn’t.

I am over sixty and have smoked when I could get it for more than 45 years. When I run out, I am just out. There is no withdrawal. And I smoke no more than I did at 20.

I am a helpless nicotine addict who has been trying vainly to quit for 20 years, so I know whereof I speak. Since I am old now and have no connections, I am also out of weed. High blood pressure runs in my paternal family line. I have always credited my lack of same with MJ. When I ran out last time, the only adverse effect was that now, suddenly, ten years later than other males in my family, I have high blood pressure.

Since I am unaware of any other male in my line that has reached 60, I wouldn’t want to bet heavily on my life expectancy at this point. Yes, I am taking medication to control it, but I would rather have the weed.

Biting off your fingernails can be habit forming. Indulgence in anything pleasurable can be too. But that isn’t addiction – and the fact that weed is more powerful these days simply means I need less of it to get high. Where are the “weed junkies” out stealing and robbing to get money to buy their drug? If they existed, they’d be the lead story on every newscast.

Where pot is concerned, don’t trust the slanted science. Back in the 60′s one scare tactic was that smoking weed would make men grow breasts. Had that been true, I’d look like Raquel Welch by now. Pot does lower testosterone levels a bit in males. I question whether lowering testosterone levels in young males is actually a bad thing. Think about it.

Back in the 70s, the National Safety Council conducted a study of driving under the influence of weed. They had three groups: Habitual pot smokers, first timers, and nonsmokers. The outcome would have gotten no coverage at all if not for a short article in Playboy magazine, so I have no link.

Turns out that the habitual smokers were the safest, because they were the most careful. Even the first-timers, who showed loss of reflex and other impairment were as safe as the straights, because they couldn’t be persuaded to go fast enough to get in any danger! So all we have these days is the unproved assertion that drivers under the influence of weed are dangerous – exclusively based on crashes involving drivers under the influence of other drugs plus weed.

So don’t trust any “science” on this subject unless you get into all of the facts of the so-called studies.

What a pathetic, deluded, and dishonest excuse to vote for a traitor, soulless warmonger, serial liar, con artist, and overall asshole. You need to review the record of one of his 2 SC picks so far, Elena Kagan. See “Elena Kagan — Willing Accomplice in the Siegelman Affair,” by Michael Collins: http://newresearchfindingstwo.blogspot.com/2010/06/elena-kagan-willing-accomplice-in.html

And Sotomayor is no flaming liberal either — she’s middle of the road, noncommital, safe for the wealthy pigs.

What makes you think the man who murders innocent children with drones without a second thought, with no remorse or conscience, who does whatever the “republicans” want him to do, including flushing our Social Security and Medicare down the toilet, who sneers in our faces with lies about why he won’t even consider legalization of MJ, who goes behind our backs to conspire with health insurance companies to rob us, who can’t give the wealthy parasites their tax breaks fast enough and approves the transfer of our money to the wealthy scumbags, no strings attached, for their “bailout” — what makes you think he’s going to go all out of character and appoint a “liberal” SC justice?

When I hear that sorry, fraudulent excuse for voting for the asshole, I have to question the sanity and sincerity of the person. Do your homework.

The Mormon position on caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, cannabis, and anything else which could be construed as a recreational drug is that all of them are strictly forbidden. Don’t look for Romney to legalize marijuana. He might, however, try to outlaw coffee, Coca-Cola, tobacco and booze.

Prohibitions benefit organized crime. Gangsters make big bucks selling prohibited substances on the black market. If those substances were legalized, the gangsters’ income sources would evaporate. So they pay politicians semi-big bucks to make sure that those substances remain illegal and therefore profitable. 0bama and his minions are on the receiving end of those payoffs from the gangsters who are making the big bucks from trafficking the illegal substances. There is no chance that they will imperil their own graft spigot by ending such a profitable prohibition.

Am I suggesting that 0bama & Co. are colluding with criminal elements?

Yes, I am.

If I could work up the desire to register at WH.gov to start or sign a petition (which I absolutely WON’T), I’d start one asking that the craven liar and ineffectual butt-kisser resign from office for the good of the country asap. I’m pretty sure it would get tens of thousands of signatures in about 24 hours.

Spin that, obombem.