Obama going to pot?

[Spike n Ree]

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=375100

Obama going to pot? James L. Lambert - Guest Columnist - 1/6/2009 8:50:00 AM
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Esquire magazine recently reported that representatives from Barack Obama's administration team admit the president-elect will give strong consideration to decriminalizing marijuana by the end of his tenure in office. Those remarks follow comments issued last summer by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts), who introduced H.R. 5843 -- an act to remove federal penalties for the use of marijuana by "responsible adults." According to CNN, the liberal lawmaker "doesn't think it's the government's business to tell you how to spend your leisure time."



Lending the Esquire article additional credence is an interview with Obama, recorded in January 2004, during which the then-U.S. Senate candidate expressed interest in decriminalizing the personal use of pot. ([URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQr9ezr8UeA"]See YouTube video (http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php))

As someone who is very much aware of how this drug has harmed so many people from my generation, I adamantly disagree with this "floating" proposal. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency lists marijuana as "a Schedule 1 controlled substance, meaning it has a high potential for abuse."

It's irresponsible for members of the incoming administration to float this idea and to send such a message to millions of young Americans -- although I'm sure many supporters of medical marijuana use would disagree. But I think they should reconsider. Currently more than 50 head shops in San Francisco act as fronts for marijuana distribution in that city. According to The O'Reilly Factor, these shops not only attract petty crime but other non-desirable activity as well.

Anyone who knows anything about drug abuse knows that marijuana has been a "gateway" drug for many of those who use and abuse hard narcotics. Many people are first exposed to that dark world through a few puffs of a supposedly "innocent" marijuana cigarette.

Marijuana desensitizes people -- and its everyday use makes people lazy and unproductive. And it's addictive! I have personally seen this substance harm friends from school days past. Perhaps that's why I am so upset that consideration would be given to decriminalizing its use.

Still, Congressman Frank garnered support from seven other Democratic House members in sponsoring his legislation. Included in that group was Rep. Barbara Lee from California's District 9 (Berkeley and Oakland). By voicing her support, Lee -- a member of the House Black Caucus -- made light of the recreational use of a drug that is destroying the lives of hundreds of her own constituents.

If Lee wants to act responsibly and do something constructive, she should target the drug dealers in her district who are irreparably damaging the lives of untold numbers of people. Ironically, though, Congresswoman Lee's tact is to say that present drug enforcement laws are "inhumane" and "immoral."

Similarly, if president-elect Obama wants to act responsibly, he should immediately retract this reckless proposal being "floated" by his advisors.


James L. Lambert, a frequent contributor to OneNewsNow.com and author of Porn in America, is a licensed nationwide real-estate mortgage loan sales agent and can be contacted through his website (http://www.jamesllambert.com/).

Opinions expressed in 'Perspectives' columns published by OneNewsNow.com are the sole responsibility of the article's author(s), or of the person(s) or organization(s) quoted therein, and do not necessarily represent those of the staff or management of, or advertisers who support the American Family News Network, OneNewsNow.com, our parent organization or its other affiliates.

[Ferris]

Pot, marijuana, Acapulco gold, herb, bud, whatever you call it, it is still a "gateway drug." It is that which leads to the others...

I wonder if they will have double or triple coupons for this stuff when they legalize it, you know inorder to get more and more people stupified on weed and wheatever else might be laced in it?!?

Ferris

[alixi]

My brother was addicted to Pot for 10 years or so. He couldn't think, eat, or sleep unless he was high. He couldn't even go to the store without getting stoned first.

This is probably just one more way to dope us up and dumb us down.

[wrs]

Marijuana desensitizes people -- and its everyday use makes people lazy and unproductive. And it's addictive! I have personally seen this substance harm friends from school days past. Perhaps that's why I am so upset that consideration would be given to decriminalizing its use.

Utter and complete nonsense. I went through college stoned and got a BSCS and a BSEE. I quit smoking pot and cigarettes after I got saved because I didn't want my kids to do it. Didn't make a bit of difference, everyone of them tried it and two of them are addicted to cigarettes.

I think that alcohol abuse is far worse than pot abuse. It's funny that AA has such a following but you see no equivalent for pot. Pot isn't addictive like alcohol, it is habit forming but that is purely psychological. I was able to drop pot immediately but the cigarettes were difficult. I quit both of them cold turkey. I had a strong physical urge to smoke cigarettes for several years after I quit. The pot was never an issue, I never missed it like I did the cigarettes. That is the difference between a physical addiction and a habit. Alcohol addiction is physical but it's not a controlled substance.

The pot laws are as stupid as prohibition was.

it is still a "gateway drug." It is that which leads to the others...

Total nonsense. People are gateways to other drugs. If you hang with drug abusers you will abuse drugs. Not all pot smokers are drug abusers just as not everyone who takes a drink is an alcoholic. I think you would be surprised who smokes pot. I know I was when my kids started telling me about the parents of their friends who smoked. They were people I had no idea would be smoking pot.

[dilligaf]

well at least that gives me one thing to be hopeful for during his administration..
now if at the same time he releases all those sitting in jail for possession of a plant he will be doing something..

i dont see it happening though,too much money to be made,too many people can be controlled by keeping it illegal..

no, we will continue to lead the world with the number of citizens incarcerated and the overwhelming majority will continue to be non violent "drug offenders"..

what a country...

[Ferris]

wrs you said:
"Total nonsense. People are gateways to other drugs. If you hang with drug abusers you will abuse drugs. Not all pot smokers are drug abusers just as not everyone who takes a drink is an alcoholic. I think you would be surprised who smokes pot. I know I was when my kids started telling me about the parents of their friends who smoked. They were people I had no idea would be smoking pot."

I did not make up the term, it is a term that has been around for a while now... Not everyone using will go down the corridor looking for a new, more potent high. Some will for sure but again not all. What next? Leglaize cocaine and then heroin? Will he eventually try to take the stance that Fox did in Mexico near the end of his stay in office and legalize it all?

Ferris

[glass half empty]

One more "opiate" for the people.

Or for the Disney crowd...a spoon full of [insert your drug of choice here] makes the medicine go down.

If the sheeple are high...well, nuff said.

[Limner]

The one thing I do hope to see is pot made easily legal for thoses taking Chemo or having other diseases that it helps. There is a good use (and a bad abuse) for every plant God gave us.

What would be a good thing is the legalization of the hemp fiber plant (the ones with little or no THP), for use in clothing and paper use. Grows easily, uses little or no fertilizer, etc. Useful for work clothing or rope, and the seeds have serious nutritional value. Much easier on the soil, too. It used to be the fabric of choice for ship's sails.

[Bear]

I will not advocate smoking pot, anymore than I would advocate consuming whiskey.
I would advocate decriminalization of marijuana use, as a method of reducing the rolls of the prison populations of non-violent offenders.
Prisons are for people who are dangerous to other people-violent and evil people. I have not observed marijuana smokers to be particularly violent or
evil.
In a three for one bargain the country could reduce the costs of the justice system and increase the tax base by applying a significant tariff to marijuana. Third, it would take a significant bite out of the drug trafficker's paycheck, and put that in the general fund.

[wrs]

I did not make up the term, it is a term that has been around for a while now...

Ferris, I know you didn't but you repeated it. I have a great deal of familiarity with the drug culture, I was part of it as a young man. I dealt and smoked pot all through college. I also did a lot of the other drugs too but because my friends did, not because of pot.

When I got away from the drug abusers after college, I still smoked pot. I was fine with nothing more than pot. However, I felt it was a bad example for my kids and that is part of what led to me getting saved.

It is the company you keep that is the gateway to worse drugs, not pot. I am telling you this from experience.

Leglaize cocaine and then heroin?

In my opinion those are drugs, they are chemically processed and should be controlled. Pot is a plant, it grows naturally and isn't chemically processed and so technically it isn't a drug anymore than garlic or tobacco is. I feel that heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine are dangerously addictive drugs and should be controlled along with many others. I don't believe drug abuse/use should be against the law though, it is not working as a deterrent.

[dilligaf]

What would be a good thing is the legalization of the hemp fiber plant (the ones with little or no THP), for use in clothing and paper use. Grows easily, uses little or no fertilizer, etc. Useful for work clothing or rope, and the seeds have serious nutritional value. Much easier on the soil, too. It used to be the fabric of choice for ship's sails.

its also just about the best crop for bio fuels..
10 times more efficient to produce bio fuels from hemp rather than corn.
yet they demand we take from the world food supply to grow corn which has been proven to be one of the least economical crops to grow for bio fuels..

go figure.

[Swordman]

Marijuana, like any drug, can be abused. I have clieints who smoke as much as an ounce a day and they have severe psychological problems. On the other hand all of my wife-beating clients are drunks. Pot smokers are generally not violent unless they smoke an extraordinary amount, to the point they really don't know what they are doing and can become violent.

I would really love to see the violent Mexican drug gangs (who primarily smuggle and grow marijuana) put out of business.

My only concerns are for smokers who drive, smokers who are pregnant, and kids getting stoned.

Alcohol and tobacco are in my opinion more harmful. If the government legalizes marijuana, I'd say buy stock in tobacco companies, as they will be marketing it.

[dilligaf]

I will not advocate smoking pot, anymore than I would advocate consuming whiskey.
I would advocate decriminalization of marijuana use, as a method of reducing the rolls of the prison populations of non-violent offenders.
Prisons are for people who are dangerous to other people-violent and evil people. I have not observed marijuana smokers to be particularly violent or
evil.
In a three for one bargain the country could reduce the costs of the justice system and increase the tax base by applying a significant tariff to marijuana. Third, it would take a significant bite out of the drug trafficker's paycheck, and put that in the general fund.
+1

[georgia]

I hope that he does legalize it. I have a disease of my nervous system which affects my spine and has left me with pain which at times can be intolerable. I have found that pot helps me at those times by easing the pain when my regular pain meds won't do it. There are a lot of uses for pot besides just getting high.

[glass half empty]

well at least that gives me one thing to be hopeful for during his administration..
now if at the same time he releases all those sitting in jail for possession of a plant he will be doing something..

i dont see it happening though,too much money to be made,too many people can be controlled by keeping it illegal..

no, we will continue to lead the world with the number of citizens incarcerated and the overwhelming majority will continue to be non violent "drug offenders"..

what a country...

I had a friend who was hoping Clinton would legalise pot. I told him he was crazy. I told him that I would trust a drug dealer to sell dope before the Govt. At least you knew the DD's motivations ($$$). With the Govt.....who knows, although with the Govt. it would be cheaper...we would be subsidising it.

[denrat]

What I gather from the article is Obama might end the federal penalty for marijuana. That may still allow states or local communities to set the standard(s) for usage.
I would be surprised though, since the federal government rarely gives up control once they have it.
Another point is the author states,"The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency lists marijuana as "a Schedule 1 controlled substance, meaning it has a high potential for abuse."

Well! yeah! This is the DEA's bread & butter, busting pot shipments and dealers. You think they are going to say anything less!

I really doubt that the government will allow decriminalization because look at all the jobs involved:
Police, social workers, jails, parole officers, corrections guards, and judges. Oh yes! Money from fines.
I am sure the alcohol and tobacco companies do not want the competition for another substance choice and consumers discreationary spending.

If Obama decriminalizes 'weed" it is to allow another substance to fog our thinking, so they can impose their NWO utopia on us..or for us???
Whatever the reason, it is not because they want us to have privacy and leisure. HAHA!

[LONER]

According to CNN, the liberal lawmaker "doesn't think it's the government's business to tell you how to spend your leisure time."

AWESOME!!! I prefer to torture and murder people in my leisure time!!!:twisted: I am really glad to hear they are going to stop discriminating against me, just because what I enjoy doing is against the law!!! Now I will easily be able to complete my goal of murdering 2,000 individuals before I die!!! :twisted: (sarcasm off)

[Little RedRidingHood]

Right now I have an elderly friend who is in her middle 70's. She smokes a pipe or two a day for the horrible pain she suffers. Her nurse friend scores her baggies for her since she can't leave her apartment anymore due to the horrific pain.
Would I take away the only thing that works for her? NO!
Do I want my 26 year old son smoking it? NO! Nor any of my other kids.
BUT, IF they had serious health problems that could be helped by this would I want them to have the right to use it, without an arrest wreaking their lives? YES! YES! AND YES! But of course!
The same way that if I become MORE crippled by my back, spine and other injuries ... that if I needed to use this for pain that I would be allowed to without going to jail ... Because I needed the pain relief and would rather use something more natural than hard drugs like oxycodone!!
I think BO will make it legal ... sooner than later! JMHO!

[glass half empty]

AWESOME!!! I prefer to torture and murder people in my leisure time!!!:twisted: I am really glad to hear they are going to stop discriminating against me, just because what I enjoy doing is against the law!!! Now I will easily be able to complete my goal of murdering 2,000 individuals before I die!!! :twisted: (sarcasm off)

I hope it's LIBERALS that you like to torture.....(and not fat republicans):mrgreen:

[ScottyKarate]

This could lead to record profits for the makers of Twinkies and Doritos:mrgreen:

[MGNiko]

So for medical pot or legal pot why not make it into a suppository and have them shove it up their ass where the absorption is better? Then I don't need to worry about them smoking up in public and breathing that ****. That's my biggest problem with it.

[glass half empty]

This could lead to record profits for the makers of Twinkies and Doritos:mrgreen:

I buy local...Southern Maid doughnuts...lol.:-D:-D:-D

BTW SK love your avatar.

[1loner]

Pot should never have been placed on prohibiton to start with.

[dilligaf]

So for medical pot or legal pot why not make it into a suppository and have them shove it up their ass where the absorption is better? Then I don't need to worry about them smoking up in public and breathing that ****. That's my biggest problem with it.

no problem they have that covered..:mrgreen:


http://www.marijuanavaporizer.com/

[Limner]

no problem they have that covered..:mrgreen:


http://www.marijuanavaporizer.com/

WOW. OK, shows how naive I am. It's legal to SELL that stuff?????

[DrBulldog]

Pot, marijuana, Acapulco gold, herb, bud, whatever you call it, it is still a "gateway drug." It is that which leads to the others...

I wonder if they will have double or triple coupons for this stuff when they legalize it, you know inorder to get more and more people stupified on weed and wheatever else might be laced in it?!?

Ferris

Milk is a gateway drug since 100% of all drug addicts drank milk.

Marijuana is a plant that has many good uses, paper, cloth, pain relief, glaucoma treatment Etc. It is criminal that our prisons and jails are filled with users.:roll:

[dilligaf]

WOW. OK, shows how naive I am. It's legal to SELL that stuff?????

i guess it is,although that site said not in Pennsylvania..

[Spike n Ree]

A few years back Spike and I had walked around and visited some curio shops in Bar Harbor ME., then we went in one that sells weird daggers, knives and bandannas, brass knuckles and my face began to burn then I got very faint and dizzy.

This has happened to me before in the presence of what is called columbia gold. My cheeks can turn bluish black or bloodblister red. The reaction is sudden. Ree

[snowman41]

Nobody gets it.

It's something new to tax!

8)

Snowy

[Limner]

Nobody gets it.

It's something new to tax!

8)

Snowy


BINGO. That's IT!!!!!!! I think Snowy deserves the prize for the BEST answer of this whole thread. Make it legal, tack on a huge tax, and folks would still buy it joyfully. Makes WAY too much sense.

[dilligaf]

Nobody gets it.

It's something new to tax!

8)

Snowy

truth is most states already tax it. they just enforce it when your caught. i have saw in the news where there is a legality question to doing this(double jeopardy type thing) but it is being done. taxed quite heavily in some states i might add..

Marijuana Tax Stamp Laws And Penalties (http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6670)

State Tax Stamp Data (http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6668)

[travelingirl]

Didn't we cover this topic a few weeks back? anyway. FDR ended prohibition so to keep everybody numb during the depression and now Obama will legalize pot so we can be stoned for the worst depression this naiton has seen. Weed in mho is no different than alcohol. You abuse it you lose it. 100 years ago we wouldn't be arguing. During the 1920's Coca Cola was the 'real' thing. Gave you a zing8)

[GWHM]

Yep, decriminalise pot then make muling coke & heroin & meth across the border a death sentence. Bring it over the border, get shot. Make it here, get shot.

Then executive order no knock warrants out of existence EXCEPT for *known* *documented* hard core violent *armed* people. Not felons per se, because a felon can be anything these days. KNOWN bad dudes only. Current LEO no knock practices are drawn directly from the Nazi & Communist government practices, and have NO PLACE in free America.

Make and use as much pot & booze as you want at home. Bring it out onto the streets or sell it to kids, get punished.

So simple no government can do it. Gotta make it complex & hurt people & the practice of freedom in the process.

[KuernoDeChivo]

It's like I always say on these threads. I hope it happens if nothing else to end the stupid laws against growing Hemp. I just find it ridiculous that we import Hemp products from Canada while we subsidize farms not to grow crops or attack the product of farms like tobacco.

The idiots at the DEA calling industrial hemp "Marijuana" is so disingenuous.

Also while I may be speaking from inexperience since I have never tried pot but I believe the reason it is an effective gateway drug is two fold.

1 When someone finally does break down and try it they realize that the stigma was nothing more than hype if not out and out lies. They figure if they had been lied to as to the effect of Marijuana then the authority figures were probably lying about other harder drugs as well.

2 Since it has been illegal it is in the interest of drug dealers to "push" the drug and try to get kids interested in it. Even though in the 80s we had a few drugs in our high-school I never once saw a "dealer" if you will, try to get kids to try Alcohol since it is a semi-legal substance. There is no use it is just too easy for his/her clients to go somewhere else to buy or make the product.

It's funny while I have never tried it and don't plan on it I bet if I do decide to try some day I will once again say, "don't believe the hype". I just don't believe it is as harsh as people try to paint it.

Anyway that is my two cents on it.

[Oldschool]

Maybe TPTB just want us even easier to control. I wouldn't smoke it if it was legal, but it would make their job easier if we were all just comfortably numb... 8)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-5ZyPGBB9s&feature=related

[Ndog3507]

I really think it should be decriminalized. I think it can be overly used and turns a lot of people into losers, but I have no problem with a good hard working person to enjoy a little recreational smoking. It would also wipe out the whole shady under ground network to get the stuff. A little green is good on occasions. Slap a fat tax on it and put it on the shelves.

[Sly]

How many history buff's we got on here? Trivia question?

What was the percentage of the top 3 cash crop's grown in the south "before" the civil war?

[Sly]

No one??? My how they have erased our REAL history......It still grow's wild here, and you don't want to smoke it.....

http://utpress.org/appalachia/EntryDisplay.php?EntryID=015