Marijuana: Chester the Brain Molester

[Haiko]

bump

Obama legalizing Marijuana if re-elected?


President Barack Obama will take steps to draw down the nation's decades-long war on drugs if he wins a second term, Marc Ambinder reports Monday in GQ.

According to Ambinder, Obama's "aides and associates" say that the president is looking to prioritize reform, a reflection of the president's long-held beliefs that strict drug prohibition and enforcement policies have done greater damage to society than good.

Sources close to the White House also told The Huffington Post that the administration is looking at ways that it can reduce barriers to reentering society for those caught up in the drug war, such as a longstanding policy that denies federal financial aid to college students convicted of drug-related offenses, including possession.

Ambinder extensively documents a wide variety of the drug war's consequences, but if the described infirmities concern Obama enough to catalyze the reported shift, his recent policy moves have not shown a particular interest in reflecting that worry.

The president has been repeatedly accused of going back on campaign-era promises regarding deemphasizing enforcement of federal laws against medical marijuana. While Obama said in 2008 that he wouldn't use Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws on medical marijuana, Attorney General Eric Holder later announced that federal authorities would continue to prosecute individuals for marijuana possession, regardless of its legalized status in some states.

The Huffington Post's Lucia Graves reported earlier this year on the administration's harsh record of enforcement:

Since [last June], the administration has unleashed an interagency cannabis crackdown that goes beyond anything seen under the Bush administration, with more than 100 raids, primarily on California pot dispensaries, many of them operating in full compliance with state laws. Since October 2009, the Justice Department has conducted more than 170 aggressive SWAT-style raids in 9 medical marijuana states, resulting in at least 61 federal indictments, according to data compiled by Americans for Safe Access, an advocacy group.

Drug policy reform advocates have pointed to the hypocrisy in the administration's crackdown, especially in the light of reports in a new book that describe a high school-aged Obama with an appetite for marijuana.

In one passage of "Barack Obama: The Story," biographer David Maraniss writes about a pot-smoking habit that the future president became known for among friends in his clique, the "Choom Gang."

"When a joint was making the rounds, he often elbowed his way in, out of turn, shouted 'Intercepted!' and took an extra hit," Maraniss writes.

Some members of the drug policy reform community are meeting reports of a potential drug war retreat with skepticism.

"Obama -- as candidate and as president -- and his drug czar have already repeatedly talked about scaling back the war on drugs. But it's been all talk," Tom Angell, spokesman for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, said. "Drug Czar Kerlikowske, in his very first interview with the Wall Street Journal after taking office, declared the end of the 'war on drugs' terminology. He has repeatedly said that this is a health and not just a crime issue. But the problem is: the drug control budget still overwhelmingly devotes more resources to old, failed punishment strategies than effective treatment and prevention strategies. The rhetoric doesn't match the reality."

Kevin Sabet, who was a top drug policy adviser in the Obama administration, said that he expects to see more attention paid to the issue, but that legalization advocates won't be happy. "Though it's not the kind of reform legalization advocates might have wanted, the President's drug policy has already been innovative, public health-oriented, and cost-effective. Because its not legalization, it's tough to get a news story out of that," he told HuffPost. "At the same time, no one can say with a straight face that he has used his political capital to talk about drugs, but I do think that if there is a second term we'll see a more vocal president on this issue. There are some significant ways the President can implement a 'smart' policy - one would be to make sure people in recovery are not still paying for past actions that do not represent their current lifestyle. Another would be to meaningfully invest in law enforcement innovations that use the threat of short jail stays to enforce treatment and abstinence. But if legalization advocates are waiting for the President's 'marijuana moment,' my guess is that day will never come. The scientific consensus is that legalization would increase use, especially among kids, and I think that is not something the President wants to happen under his watch."

Angell said he's waiting to see action before he'll believe it. "So while Ambinder's story says the administration will use the 'bully pulpit' to talk about this issue in the second term, they have already done so in the first term," he said. "Sure, maybe the president himself could do more to forcefully champion this debate, but absent any real policy action it's not going to make a difference in the real medical problem of substance abuse, and it's not going to impress anyone."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobile..._front_top_art

[Aurara]

Oh please fucking make it legal, this bullshit that people have had to put up with needs to end.

[6souls]

I expect propaganda like this to be in heavy rotation should this actually come to pass;

Experts are warning that the public dangerously underestimates the health risks linked to smoking cannabis.

The British Lung Foundation carried out a survey of 1,000 adults and found a third wrongly believed cannabis did not harm health.

And 88% incorrectly thought tobacco cigarettes were more harmful than cannabis ones - when the risk of lung cancer is actually 20 times higher.

The BLF said the lack of awareness was "alarming".

Latest figures show that 30% of 16-59 year-olds in England and Wales have used cannabis in their lifetimes.

A new report from the BLF says there are established scientific links between smoking cannabis and tuberculosis, acute bronchitis and lung cancer.

Part of the reason for this, say the experts, is that people smoking cannabis take deeper puffs and hold them for longer than when smoking tobacco cigarettes.

This means that someone smoking a cannabis cigarette inhales four times as much tar as from a tobacco cigarette, and five times as much carbon monoxide, the BLF says.

Its survey found that young people are particularly unaware of the risks.

Some studies have also suggested cannabis increases the chances of developing mental health problems such as schizophrenia.

Almost 40% of the under-35s surveyed - the age group most likely to have smoked it - thought cannabis was not harmful.

However, the BLF report warned that smoking one cannabis cigarette every day for a year increases the chances of developing lung cancer by a similar amount as smoking 20 tobacco cigarettes each day for one year.

Its chief executive, Dame Helena Shovelton, said: "It is alarming that, while new research continues to reveal the multiple health consequences of smoking cannabis, there is still a dangerous lack of public awareness of quite how harmful this drug can be.

"This is not a niche problem - cannabis is one of the most widely-used recreational drugs in the UK, with almost a third of the population having tried it.

"We therefore need a serious public health campaign - of the kind that has helped raise awareness of the dangers of eating fatty foods or smoking tobacco - to finally dispel the myth that smoking cannabis is somehow a safe pastime."

The BLF's report says there should be a public education programme to raise awareness of the impact of smoking cannabis and increased investment in research into the health consequences of its use.

Peter Reynolds, leader of Clear, which used to be known as the Legalise Cannabis Alliance, suggested the BLF had been highly-selective in its use of research.

He added: "It is clear that this report was written not as a scientific document but as campaigning propaganda.

"As such it is misleading, inaccurate and dangerously irresponsible."

The British Lung Foundation said their report was based on sound research.

"The report references over 80 peer-reviewed research papers, is the most comprehensive report of its kind yet compiled, and has itself been peer-reviewed by a panel of independent experts."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18283689
http://www.blf.org.uk/Page/Special-Reports

[Aurara]

God this kind of shit upsets me, they are exaggerating their facts >_>;

[Haiko]

Gov't sponser study shows weed has many medical benefits. No response from DEA yet.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/07/0...-of-marijuana/

A government-sponsored study published this month in The Open Neurology Journal concludes that marijuana provides much-needed relief to some chronic pain sufferers and that more clinical trials are desperately needed, utterly destroying the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) classification of the drug as having no medical uses.

While numerous prior studies have shown marijuana’s usefulness for a host of medical conditions, none have ever gone directly at the DEA’s placement of marijuana atop the schedule of controlled substances. This study, sponsored by the State of California and conducted at the University of California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research, does precisely that, driving a stake into the heart of America’s continued war on marijuana users by calling the Schedule I placement simply “not accurate” and “not tenable.”

Reacting to the study, Paul Armentano, director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), told Raw Story that the study clearly proves U.S. drug policy “is neither based upon nor guided by science.”

“In fact, it is hostile to science,” he said. “And despite the Obama Administration’s well publicized 2009 memo stating, ‘Science and the scientific process must inform and guide decisions of my Administration,’ there is little to no evidence indicating that the federal government’s ‘See no evil; hear no evil’ approach to cannabis policy is not changing any time soon.”

Schedule I is supposedly reserved for the most inebriating substances that have no medical value, like LSD, ecstasy, peyote and heroin. As the DEA describes it: “Drugs listed in schedule I have no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States and, therefore, may not be prescribed, administered, or dispensed for medical use. In contrast, drugs listed in schedules II-V have some accepted medical use and may be prescribed, administered, or dispensed for medical use.”

And that’s the problem, the study’s authors portend.

“The classification of marijuana as a Schedule I drug as well as the continuing controversy as to whether or not cannabis is of medical value are obstacles to medical progress in this area,” they wrote. “Based on evidence currently available the Schedule I classification is not tenable; it is not accurate that cannabis has no medical value, or that information on safety is lacking. It is true cannabis has some abuse potential, but its profile more closely resembles drugs in Schedule III (where codeine and dronabinol are listed). The continuing conflict between scientific evidence and political ideology will hopefully be reconciled in a judicious manner.”

They add that their evidence showed marijuana reliably reduced chronic neuropathic pain and muscle spasticity due to multiple sclerosis versus trials where a placebo was used. They also specifically tested marijuana’s effects when smoked, calling the delivery method “rapid and efficient” but noting that vaporization is a better choice because it produces less carbon monoxide.

The study adds that, like all medicines, there are negative side effects associated with marijuana, such as dizziness, fatigue, lightheadedness, muscle weakness and pain and heart palpitations — all of which can pose a risk in some chronic pain patients with co-occurring conditions like cardiovascular disease or substance abuse disorders. However, they call these side effects “dose-related” and “of mild to moderate severity,” adding that they “appear to decline over time, and are reported less frequently in experienced than in naïve users.” Researchers also noted that “fatal overdose with cannabis alone has not been reported.”

Authors additionally found that marijuana does cause withdrawal symptoms within 12 hours of use, noting the symptoms are mild in experienced users and typically abate within 72 hours. They added that ingesting marijuana “can acutely impair skills required to drive motor vehicles,” but noted that the data on marijuana and traffic accidents is “inconclusive.”

Ultimately, they concluded that more clinical trials are needed to determine which individual components of the marijuana plant are causing the medicinal effects, and whether the plant can be used to treat a host of other ailments.

“Medical marijuana is mostly used for chronic pain, and has enabled countless patients to either reduce or eliminate their pharmaceutical drug regimen,” Kris Hermes, a spokesman for Americans for Safe Access (ASA), one of the nation’s leading medical marijuana advocacy groups, told Raw Story. “However, it can also be used for: arthritis, nausea or as an appetite stimulant for people living with HIV/AIDS or cancer, gastrointestinal disorders, and movement disorders (not just for people with multiple sclerosis). That is only a sampling of health conditions for which cannabis has been found helpful in alleviating symptoms. Other health conditions include: [post-traumatic stress disorder], [attention deficit disorder], [attention deficit hyperactivity disorder] and other mental health conditions, glaucoma, and migraines.”

In hopes of forcing recognition of marijuana’s medical value, ASA sued the federal government last year after a long-running appeal for the reclassification of marijuana was shot down nearly a decade after it was filed. That case should go before the U.S. Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit later this year.

“The federal government’s strategy has been delay, delay, delay,” ASA chief counsel Joe Elford said in an advisory. “It is far past time for the government to answer our rescheduling petition, but unfortunately we’ve been forced to go to court in order to get resolution.”

“Reform advocates can and should use this study to show their congressional representatives that our country’s leading medical marijuana researchers agree that it should be reclassified,” Hermes added. “…This certainly should also have a bearing on the D.C. Circuit’s deliberations in the appeal of the rescheduling petition denial.”

Medical marijuana is currently legal in just 17 states and Washington, D.C.

[Ragnus]

Given that the DEA director can't even answer a straight forward question on whether it's as bad a heroin, don't expect any kinda positive response from this study.

[Aurara]

Given that the DEA director can't even answer a straight forward question on whether it's as bad a heroin, don't expect any kinda positive response from this study.

Oh god, that was the funniest fucking clip ever


Edit: She has to know that heroine is much worse for you than weed, but something isnt letting her say it...unless she's actually retarded.

[Ragnus]

I believe it's the $2.50-$3.00 per plant that the DEA gets paid by the government regardless of whether it's industrial or medial hemp. Hell, if I was getting paid even fifty cents per piece to hand in PEZ candy I'd be calling it the most dangerous drug on the planet.

[Aurara]

I believe it's the $2.50-$3.00 per plant that the DEA gets paid by the government regardless of whether it's industrial or medial hemp. Hell, if I was getting paid even fifty cents per piece to hand in PEZ candy I'd be calling it the most dangerous drug on the planet.

Didn't know about this. It's still stupid how we waste resources on busting people for possession of weed when other drugs are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more dangerous/cause bigger problems.

[Salodin]

So just throwing this here cause well I have nowhere else to go, but if any one lives in the coral springs/parkland, fl area, shoot me a pm please?

[Fhqwghads]

Didn't know about this. It's still stupid how we waste resources on busting people for possession of weed when other drugs are waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more dangerous/cause bigger problems.

Agree 110%. I don't even smoke weed and want it legalized. It's fucking asinine to waste law enforcement's time on chasing Stoner Dave off his couch and into a jail cell. God only knows all the cheetos he was stuffing his face with while staring blankly at the TV is a huge threat to everyone's safety.

[Aurara]

Agree 110%. I don't even smoke weed and want it legalized. It's fucking asinine to waste law enforcement's time on chasing Stoner Dave off his couch and into a jail cell. God only knows all the cheetos he was stuffing his face with while staring blankly at the TV is a huge threat to everyone's safety.

'-'/ <3

[Plow]

Oh god, that was the funniest fucking clip ever


Edit: She has to know that heroine is much worse for you than weed, but something isnt letting her say it...unless she's actually retarded.

I dunno how I never saw that before but holy shit that was painful to watch. How a person can justify sitting there and doing that to themselves is just beyond me.

[Hatedregret]

GDI United States.... why is someone like that in charge of the DEA? I... I feel bad for this country.

[Roranora]

It's okay guys cause I will industrialize (with appropriate legislative steps) cannabis soon too, (along with teh fibers everywhere; see D3HC) and it will again be the top crop.

but internet and weed are the only problems I'm going to strive professionally to help. maybe write a book on global sustainability to humor myself? mebbe those 3 things max. too many idiots and too many hurdles -- as patient as I am, i surely have a finite tolerance

[Plow]

GDI United States.... why is someone like that in charge of the DEA? I... I feel bad for this country.

Precisely because she's willing to be like that. The DEA can't afford to give a fuck about the reality of these situations. There's no question she knows the correct answers there, and she just blatantly refuses to admit it. I mean, she literally claims the question of "Is heroin worse for a person's health than marijuana?" is subjective. There's no possible way someone in that position honestly believes that. No. Fucking. Way.

[Tellahh]

I expect propaganda like this to be in heavy rotation should this actually come to pass;



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18283689
http://www.blf.org.uk/Page/Special-Reports

fuckin' lawl, I can't believe people buy this shit.
I mean, smoking weed isn't "healthy" for you by any means, you're inhaling smoke, but there ARE healthier alternatives (see: vaporizers & edibles). Pretty cool Obama is taking this stance again, will probably stir a lot of younger voters for his favour.

Also, lol@ the DEA video, just goes to show those types are in charge.

[Hitoshura]

Anyone try Sweet Island Skunk? I got a choice between that and some Banana Kush, no idea what to go with. I like to try new things.

[Plow]

american kush these days is heady as fuck, skunk is more balanced body high and mental fuckedupedness

[Aurara]

Depends what you want, one is a Sativa(Sweet island skunk) and one is Indica. What do you want to feel, if you wanna relax and just chill I'd go with the indica, otherwise if you feel like being active go with sativa

Sweet Island Skunk

Spoiler: show

Banana Kush

Spoiler: show

pics if you didnt know what they looked like.