WP: Marijuana Becomes Focus of Drug War - Less Emphasis on Heroin, Cocaine

[Pirate Smile]

Marijuana Becomes Focus of Drug War
Less Emphasis on Heroin and Cocaine

By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, May 4, 2005; Page A01

The focus of the drug war in the United States has shifted significantly over the past decade from hard drugs to marijuana, which now accounts for nearly half of all drug arrests nationwide, according to an analysis of federal crime statistics released yesterday.

The study of FBI data by a Washington-based think tank, the Sentencing Project, found that the proportion of heroin and cocaine cases plummeted from 55 percent of all drug arrests in 1992 to less than 30 percent 10 years later. During the same period, marijuana arrests rose from 28 percent of the total to 45 percent.

Coming in the wake of the focus on crack cocaine in the late 1980s, the increasing emphasis on marijuana enforcement was accompanied by a dramatic rise in overall drug arrests, from fewer than 1.1 million in 1990 to more than 1.5 million a decade later. Eighty percent of that increase came from marijuana arrests, the study found.

The rapid increase has not had a significant impact on prisons, however, because just 6 percent of the arrests resulted in felony convictions, the study found. The most widely quoted household survey on the topic has shown relatively little change in the overall rate of marijuana use over the same time period, experts said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/03/AR2005050301638.html

:wtf:

[JabbatheHutt]

1. I'm a recovering pot addict..

But I still say, LEGALIZE POT!

[htuttle]

6. A what?

That's like being addicted to twinkees or playstation games, man. Use a little willpower, eh?

[grytpype]

14. "I used to suck d*ck for coke!"

"You ever suck d*ck for marijuana?"

"Huh?"

[FlemingsGhost]

22. Sagget's finest hour, wouldn't you agree?

First, and only time, I have laughed at anything he's ever said.

[goodboy]

58. "marijuana's not a drug..."

[minkyboodle]

82. lol

" I seen him!!!"
love that movie

[Speed8098]

38. Whatt?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Pot addict?????

There is no such animal.


I'm a pot smoker for 37 years. I have no adverse effects if I don't smoke.

There are times when I skip a month or two, especially if there is an expensive toy that I want. I don't have ANY type of withdrawl.

Take your propaganda somewhere else, the people here are too smart and informed to fall for bullshit posts like yours.

Ignorant statements like that really piss me off.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

45. "Recovering pot addict"?? Right. Sure. Whatever you say.

[Misunderestimator]

57. LOL... "Pot addict" .... ???

That's funny. Welcome to DU!

[JabbatheHutt]

114. Well, if you know my history..

you'll understand why I had to go through 9 years of addiction to marijuana. I refused to deal with harder drugs.

And yes, there are people on all walks of life that are addicted to marijuana..

[Misunderestimator]

121. Well, I was "addicted" to eating chocolate for periods of my life

and I am seriously addicted to DU. I like this new definition of addiction... can be used quite liberally. :eyes:

Glad you refused to deal with harder "drugs" than that (hopefully that also includes alcohol), since they are the ones that can be addictive.

[redqueen]

101. Addicted, but not ADDICTED

Being addicted to pot, gambling, teevee, food, etc. is a bit less severe a condition as being addicted to alcohol, heroin, cigarettes, etc.

:eyes:

[sasquatch]

2. Jackasses

:eyes:

[htuttle]

3. I guess that explains why cheap heroin is flooding the cities and suburbs

Oh, it's not just inner cities this time. I'm sure that as more suburban and mid-size city parents find the track marks on their kid, they'll start noticing it. There'll be a lot of wasted lives until then, however.

[hector459]

69. Racism and classism in even our "war on drugs"

Guess who uses the most heroine, cocaine, ecstasy in this country and guess where the use is increasing?

Now tell me who uses the most pot and who gets arrested the most for pot.

I rest my case.

[LetsGoMurphys]

71. as a 22 year old recent college grad

I can tell you that hard drugs are on the rise big time. and kids are starting a lot younger.

[tinanator]

83. because of gateway drugs, namely tobacco

the hypocrisy is almost physical.

[skoppa]

91. Since when is tobacco...

...a gateway drug. I have never heard of people who started smoking weed because of smoking cigs. In fact, just the opposite. Most of my friends started smoking cigs after weed.

[tinanator]

93. lol gateway to meth, crack, H, cough syrup you name it kids are doping up

Kids careless enough to take up tobacco have already proven their bad judgement. Nicotine is hard shit and costs us all big time,
im not talking about weed. Pots not a drug, its an herb, man...

[iamthebandfanman]

99. well

im here to tell ya that i started smoking cigarettes first.
hehe.
sorry, but im living proof that cigarettes are more of a 'gateway drug' than marijuana.

id hate to lose my states cash crop, but u gotta admit ... its bad stuff. So is alcohol too.
all you hafta do is examine peoples actions when they are drunk versus high off marijuana to see which is more evil.
alot of people who do something stupid or retarded while on marijuana are also on another substance (usually alcohol).

*shrugs*

thats just the reality of it
like it or not
n i know cause i used to be a part of that scene

its running rampit( hard drug use ) and marijuana is the least of our concerns ;)

coke/meth/prescription medication are all VERY VERY VERY Popular again with the younger crowd.
lets deal with the real problem, then go after the supposed 'gateway drug'

[skoppa]

113. My question for you is...

Did you start doing other drugs because of tobacco or was it a coincidence that you smoked first?

[redqueen]

102. That's an asinine statement.

Tobacco is usually tried before alcohol or any other type of drug.

Unbelievable the denial in this country.

[skoppa]

112. Yeah, tobacco may be tried first...

...but that doesn't mean it's a gateway drug. Just because some 12 yr. old decides to try cigs and then started harder drugs doesn't mean it's because of the tobacco. Maybe he's just a bad kid. The only point that I had was that a large majority of people I know who smoke don't do hard drugs, and if they do it's not from tobacco.

[redqueen]

118. That's the same logic used to tie pot to harder drugs.

Not everyone that tries or even uses pot regularly goes on to harder stuff.

So if you recognize the illogical nature of one statement, why not the other?

[skoppa]

125. I do understand the illogical...

...nature of both statements, THAT'S MY POINT!!

[mitchum]

95. Refined white sugar is actually THE gateway drug

You're right. The hypocrisy is almost physical.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

122. BAM!!!!...................

ain't that the truth. High fructose corn syrup is worse than crack.

[evlbstrd]

4. Is there a "Legalize It" thread?

I'm too stoned to look.

[SHRED]

47. Yep

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=218&topic_id=218&mesg_id=218

[Viva_La_Revolution]

5. Oh Hell No!

"they will have to pry my bong from my cold, dead hands"
lol

That explains the forum on CSPAN -Marijuana Use and Mental Health.
They released research that links pot to some mental disorders in teenagers.

[EC]

13. Yeah, they're not fidgety and read

worse yet, they can think....

[norml]

7. It's not a war on drugs, it's a war on people.

And it's part of their culture war to go most strongly after the simple pleasurable things which cause no harm.

[SemperEadem]

55. or that the pharmaceutical's can't manufacture themselves

it grows, so they can't profit as much as if they manufactured it and jacked up the price.

[jpgray]

8. Jesus H Christ in a Blanket.

What a waste of money and time.

[yella_dawg]

124. Excuse ME!!??

That's "Jesus H. Christ in a red canoe."


Must be one a them damned potheads.

[sam sarrha]

9. hard drugs bring in more money.. weed is cheap and bulky.. maxamize the

profits.. and people selling 1/4 Ounces of weed dont usually carry Guns.. they are safer to go after..

[LeighAnn]

33. Plus it's an easy find, easy to get a plea, good moneymaker

"I smelled pot smoke"

Probable cause makes for an easy arrest. Plea them down, city gets money, lawyers get money, everybody makes money. Good for the economy (better than taxing it and admitting you were wrong).

No time to go after those scary heroin dealers or meth cooks. Those people are dangerous!

[Horse with no Name]

96. And don't forget the most important thing

It "pads" their conviction statistics when they run for office.
See--they can say they convicted xxx amount of drug offenders on their watch. Drugs that can harm your children, ruin your family, yada yada yada.
They don't have to disclose that all they busted were some casual pot smokers.

[LostinVA]

43. That's exactly what a cop I know said n/t

[LiberallyInclined]

62. that was my thought as well-

*'s buddies make a whole lot more money on the powdered stuff.

[PSPS]

10. I heard something on the radio about this today

The local AAR station plays AP Network News on the hour, and they said something about "the long term damage done to kids who smoke pot." When they utter lies like this, it's no wonder the whole "war on drugs" is nothing but a joke.

[arikara]

28. They must have gotten their facts from that nutty old movie

Reefer Madness.

[secretpoet]

35. There's been a musical put out based on that movie

It's rather awesomely hilarious. I just saw it last week, and I can't get the songs out of my head.

With lyrics like "Listen to Jesus, Jimmy! / Don't smoke the marijuana!" and "Turning all our children into hooligans and whores", you know it's awesome.

[LetsGoMurphys]

73. have you seen the remake?

with neve campbell...wow so ridiculous

[teryang]

11. Marijuana arrests are profitable

Everyone in the business knows that misdemeanor prosecutions yield more cash revenues than felonies. Felonies cost the state money. Marijuana prosecutions make the state money.

Marijuana prosecutions are also more cost effective at the front end. Because of its smell, "I smelled the odor of burnt cannibis" is a probable cause cinch and obviates many if not most motions to suppress. The crowded misdemeanor dockets don't really allow much time for motions to suppress in any case. In a felony for cocaine possession it's almost de rigeur. Cocaine offenders get put away. They don't make money. They can't pay fines and court costs. Therefore, they don't yield revenues for the criminal justice system.

Each year a new crop of naive young pot smokers gets caught in the net. They leave their dope out in the open in their car when they get stopped for speeding or tag light out, oops, there it is in plain view. They don't leave it out because they are mentally fucked up, like crack users. They leave it out because they don't think it's a crime.

Hello, the smell of burnt cannibis and "in plain view" are your entre to the tentacles of the grasping criminal justice system. Got pot? Don't call the police for help with a public disturbance. You'll be the one going to jail. Spouse get a little drunk and disorderly. Don't call the police unless no one smells of burnt cannibis. Your home will get tossed and someone if not all will be going on probation for twelve months.

Do you smoke in your car? Do you carry a bag or a pipe in your pocket. Do you smoke at home with the windows open? Better wake the fuck up.

"Hey man what's the big deal, it was only a few seeds." "Aren't they going to drop this?" No, that isn't how it works. The smell of burnt cannibis is your ticket to the new police state.

[Richard D]

16. It's also that . . .

. . . pot can be medically useful, and you can grow it in your home, easily. Hense no profit for Rx drugs for the pharmaceutical industry.

[Poor Richard Lex]

18. actually the police training is an open burn

and they "learn" the smell of MJ by smelling BURNING weed. If a cop testifies that he smelled burnt MJ, smoke in the air, its one thing. But if he says he smelled MJ on a person, it is not covered in his training. They don't have someone smoke pot and then let the officers sniff them hehe.

In my state, VA a first offender gets a 100$ fine and court costs and 10 days suspended. The probation system has lots of felons to monitor and they don't deal with MJ use. Of course, there is no drug treatment available either. Most charged with simple possession take the plea and go about their business.

[Occulus]

80. "they "learn" the smell of MJ by smelling BURNING weed"

Does this or does this not mean that police actually ingest marijuana into their bodies as part of their training?

Equal protection? Hello?

[tabasco]

19. You are so correct.

I live in MD which is known as Little Romania for the oppressive police presence. The cops here love to go after easy targets. Park Rangers walk around campsites in the fucking woods sniffing for somebody smoking a joint in their tent. My county motto is "Come here on vacation, go home on probation."

I feel like this is not my country anymore.

[MindPilot]

21. good advice, teryang

and don't leave the stuff out. You never know when a cop may come to your door for something completely unrelated. I once had a short in my phone wiring which generated a hang-up 911 call. At 3am. That cop approaches that situation under the assumption that a serious crime has been or is being committed and is well within his power to enter your house.

[Cooley Hurd]

48. Just like speeding tickets...

They're not really enforcing anything, they just want the revenue generated from the tickets issued. That's why you can almost always get a speeding ticket reduced to a non-moving violation, as long as you pay a fine equivalent to the speeding fine.

[cestpaspossible]

106. Excellent post.

All true, unfortunately, most young folks are just not going to understand the seriousness of it until they see it for themselves.

For example, I can't even count the number of people I know who went to jail based on evidence seized on the basis of a consensual search.

Folks, if there ever were a time to JUST SAY NO it's when the cop asks if he can search your car, home, etc...

[EC]

12. Yeah, we can't have all those peace loving stoners

around...have to have violent drunks and druggies...we have to keep population in fear for their lives from them....

[underthedome]

15. Bush doesn't want to bust his coke buddies? *nm

Nm

[slaveplanet]

17. Gee , do you think the fact that they

already control the major cocaine and heroin importing operations , has anything to do with this decision.

Looks like they've made the big push consolidate their own networks of pot operations, and bust the hell out of any competition, and any other otherwise innocent end user who ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time...

Must be what all that private prison buildup is for.

[w13rd0]

20. DUDE!

What a marketing coup.

"Private prisons are the only place to safely grow medicinal marijuana. So get some US GOLD now! On sale at your local Rx or Wal-Mart."

[slaveplanet]

24. yeah you can almost

envision the marketing wizards in a powwow...

I forgot to add , the great bulk of those ensnared are probably the result of people not asserting their rights when it comes to vehicular searches....I'd like to see that stat.

That is something that empowers the police and affects us all , not just users.

[NuttyFluffers]

116. that's what i was thinking too. CIA gettin' back into coke 'n horse tradin

seems like covert ops need petty cash, time to dump hard drugs onto the streets just like they did last time. then boost the prison industries. gets people coming and going.

shit, same ol' song and dance from the 80's. when the fuck people will learn about these criminals. getting sick of this ol' tune.

[NecessaryOnslaught]

123. An appropriate corporate logo

[olddad56]

23. there is a very good reason that the thought police are focusing on pot

Pot is a catalyst for social change. For those of us old enough to remember, pot played a major role in ending the war in Vietnam. Our troops smoked it in Vietnam and wondered what they were fighting for. College students all across the nation smoked it and started talking about the government and the war. Protests began. A whole genre of anti war music was born out of musicians smoking it and writing great, socially relevant music. Concerts like Woodstock happened. People congregated, smoked pot and shared idea. Not to mention that they all got along, unlike the alcohol scene.

If we all smoked pot and I haven't for 17 years, the Bushco regime would crumble. Show me a republican who has smoked pot a few times and I'll show you a person who won't vote for the extreme right next time.

Pot is a very powerful herb, it opens people eyes to the world around them. That isn't to say that a person can't abuse the substance and endanger their health. I'm sure my memory would be better had I not smoked it everyday for 20 years, but my memory would also be better had I not drunk all of that beer. I still make my living with my brain. And who knows, had I not gotten high in Vietnam, it could have been a lot worse, I could have been a right winged neo-nazi.

[NNN0LHI]

25. The main reason is that there are many people becoming very rich...

...from importing blow and smack into America. There are no profits for them from someone growing a little weed in their own back yard. There you have it.

Don

[LiberallyInclined]

63. i think that the adam & eve story would be more believable-

if the "tree of knowledge of good and evil..." had been a pot plant instead of an apple tree.

[jeffrey_X]

81. I completely agree.......speaking from personal experience....

over the last 5 to 6 years. I smoke it once in a while, but I can definitley attribute pot to helping me open my mind and gravitating towards liberal ideaologies.

No doubt about it.

[tinanator]

94. never met a libertarian?

evil stoners exist, let there be no doubt.

[cestpaspossible]

107. Talk about a broad brush

sure there are evil people of all types, but the implication that to be a libertarian is to be evil...

[AngryAmish]

26. I'm not a big legalization guy

I think heroin, cocaine and especially speed/meth should be illegal.

HOWEVER, pot should be legal. I don't think it has great medical use, but as a recreational drug it causes so little harm it infringes on folks personal liberty to outlaw it.

I have not smoked pot for almost ten years. I never really liked it and smoked about twice a year. However, I drink a lot and alcohol patently causes tons of problems. MJ causes much less.

Legalize it, make public smoking illegal and there will be a lot less folks in jail.

editted for spulling

[Gregorian]

27. But the real killer goes free. Tobacco kills.

And kills. And kills.
Talk about a burden on society. Tobacco is it. No helmet law could ever save the amount of money tobacco sucks.
I still think the only reason they want to demonize pot is because it's fun; They aren't getting their tax money out of it; And they need to keep the jail economy rolling.
I only quit because I had physical problems to solve. Otherwise the only thing the drug war is good at is alienating an entire part of the country. Totally counterproductive. The republican way.

[reprobate]

109. Tobacco AND alcohol.

[Robworld]

29. This is because Bush prefers Cocaine.

http://www.dumdumgoestothecircus.com/

[reprobate]

110. And he's a drunk

[beevul]

30. I keep waiting for the day society...

becomes ripe, so that someone can on a national stage say:


"They're OUR bodies folks, regardless of gender or sexual preference. Noone has any business telling us what we can or can't do with them, or can or can't ingest into them. Certainly and ESPECIALLY not government. That your life is your own can not be true unless it includes wholely your body."

[NicRic]

52. Kick ! N/T

,

[joefree1]

31. Sixties deja vu

Thank you neo-con death cult. Get so I look in the mirror to see if I got hair on my head again and nothing but peach fuzz on my face. Same clueless squares trying to con teens so they'll never trust an adults ever again. Idiots.


Seating now available in the Smoking Section:
Politics, humor, death and the Devil - http://www.eDiablo.com

[NVMojo]

32. Another assbackwards Repuke agenda ...

[cornfedyank]

44. you mean distraction...n/t

[bunkerbuster1]

74. Well, the trend goes back to Big Dog's era

Our Democratic "leadership" needs to shoulder some blame for this stupidity as well.

[MisterP]

34. wow, that's so--Republican

will pep pills, water pills, and amphetamines be subsidized on top of that?

[Griffy]

36. Perhaps more liberal ppl smoke pot, not 1st time drug laws used like this!

Drug laws have always been used to control people.. since the 1st laws in Texas, used to control Mexicans....

Jail usually causes more harm than good...

[DoYouEverWonder]

37. What better way to ruin a liberals life

but to bust them for pot smoking. This was done across college campuses in the 60's and 70's. The result was a lot of people who would never run for public office because they now have an arrest record. In some states they can't even vote. Seems like Bu$hCo is just up to their old tricks. Destroy the ghettos with crack and herion, destroy young liberals with marijuana arrests.

[chenGOD]

39. Because the CIA makes lots of money from heroin and cocaine.

heroin comes in from Afghanistan

cocaine from Colombia/various other SOuth American nations the CIA has their hand in.


Marijuana, on the other hand, is grown right here in the States, and how dare those people try and make any money on their own?

[KamaAina]

117. Not a word about METH

people are seriously fscking up their lives with this stuff.

The War on Some Drugs' response?

Lock up the Sudafed!!! :rofl:

Meanwhile, we had a military helicopter go down on the Island of Hawai'i (the "Big Island") while on "a counter-drug mission".

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2005/Apr/27/ln/ln39p.html

Of course it had been spraying the pakalolo ( :smoke: ).

[sportndandy]

40. Gov't. can't make money off pot.

They would rather addict the nation to imported drugs which they can control. Pot is domestically produced and non-addictive. It must be stamped out before it creates a culture of non-materialistic peace-loving hippies. Oops. Too late. Guess they will have to ramp up the persecution.

[Frederik]

41. we don't want to mess

with the CIA's slush fund do we.

[0007]

42. What a bullshit article!

[BreweryYardRat]

46. Sheesh

Ignore the stuff that's really bad for people, restrict the stuff that isn't so bad. Dumbasses.

[RamblingRose]

49. Didn't Nancy's "Just Say No" program teach kids to narc on their parents?

I think I remember hearing schools teaching kids to identify the smell, and kids were unknowingly reporting their parents and getting them busted. Do they still do this?

[meganmonkey]

56. When I was about 12 I found pot in my dad's underwear drawer.

That was in 1986. I thought my dad was a criminal and I was supposed to call the cops. I told my 15 year old sister - I was totally freaked out - thank goodness I talked to her first because, even though she was a total goody-two-shoes at the time she knew that pot wasn't that bad. So I didn't narc on him. But thanks to Nancy Reagan I almost did.

A few years later, when I started smoking pot, I checked that underwear drawer to see if I could pinch a little ;) Funny, it was the same bag that had been there three years before! I pinched some anyway, and it was dust that provided no buzz whatsoever. Years later I found out my dad stopped smoking pot in about 1980 but could never bring himself to throw that last bag away. Now he is retired in Florida, and I am hoping he'll start smoking again so I can have some when I come visit :P

[Misunderestimator]

60. Wow... Your dad dodged a bullet!

Glad you talked to your sis first. And to think you would have reported him for pot that had been sitting around for six years. Funny post!!

[burythehatchet]

84. that's funny

:)

[walldude]

72. Yup.. it's the whole basis of the DARE program

Dare to turn in your parents...

[Delphinus]

50. How stupid.

Marijuana is not the debilitating drug that heroin and cocaine are.

"growing concerns over the danger posed by modern, more potent versions of marijuana. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy released a study yesterday showing that youth who use marijuana are more likely to develop serious mental health problems, including depression and schizophrenia."

Reminds me of the movie from way back when - Reefer Madness.

I say we need to legalize marijuana and focus on the serious shit.

[Reverend_Smitty]

90. I learned in my Psych class last year

that people don't just develop schizophrenia. People have a genetic predisposition to the disease so I don't really see how Marijuana causes if? How could the government be feeding us bullshit...I'm shocked I tell you, shocked! :sarcasm:

http://www.schizophrenia.com/research/chap07.htm#EVIDENCE

[tridim]

92. In that case, pot is a good way to diagnose schizophrenia

Which is a serious disorder that requires treatment. Score another plus for the miracle drug known as THC.

[fishwax]

119. oh great, the whole "more potency" bullshit again

I swear, they drudge that up about every six months nowadays.

And I'm sure a study released by the White House Office of National Drug Contrl Policy had no formative agenda whatsoever :sarcasm:

[NicRic]

51. Absouluty ridiculious and insane !

I smoked pot daily for years and never suffferd any ill side effects and in fact it was very helpful to my ongoing problem with insomnia . Wasnt to good for my waste line ,found myself munching out to much at nite .However once I decided to quit after nightly use of this drug for years ,I did not suffer any withdrawals or even had a very hard time stoping its use .I had a much harder time quitting smoking cigs, the idea that the DEA is targerting pot ,and online pharmacies ,is only a symptom of their laziness ,and going after the easy marks ,or worst the are complicate in the high amount of money being made off illegal narcotics that are coming into this country by the boat and plane load. Drinking liquor kills more people every year then all other drugs combined and yet its legal ,now Iam not avocating making liquor illegal , I actually believe except for crack cocaine and crank ,tht all other drugs should be legalized and taxed and controlled and the tax money used to educate our youth to the dangers of drug use ,instead of filling up prisons with the poor of this country ,that see no other way out of their deliema then feeding their families off the huge blackmarket created by these insane policies .When will we become a truely free country ,where consenting adults are allowed to injest whatever substance they want to as long as its done in a safe and responsible way .Once again the right wing trying to litigate morality and tell people what they can and can't take .If I come home from a hard day at work and perfer a joint to a martini ,I should not have to worry about being arrested. The reason I quit smoking pot ,is because I have two young children now ages 8 & 10 years old , and wanted to set a good example for them .However once my daughter is old enough ,I rather she smoke a joint then get drunk and possibly be the victum of date rape , with weed at least you know what you are doing and nonoe has ever blacked out from smoking to much pot ,beliee me I know ! It sickens me that anyone in this country would serve a prison term for pot use !

[leesa]

53. Great. Probably the LEAST harmful drug out there but providing the most

jail fodder. What a sick country we live in. I wonder when they "allow" those jailed for years on these bogus charges to join the military instead?

[chickenscratching]

54. all those dangerous pot smokers

this really gets me angry.
not only was the illegalization of pot brought on by one super big asshole (william randolph herst) who wanted to take down the hemp companies and bring in the paper mills, but it was for business reasons, not health.
did you know, in many of his speeches, he consistantly brought up the point that jazz musicians and mexicans are the ones using reefer, and that they were a danger to our society.
for example, one lovely quote: "merijuana will make a black man look at a white woman twice"
:mad: i guess do what it takes to get the people to believe, right?
grrrr....and of course, drug companies would not be happy that there's a plant out there that can ease your problems more sucessfully than any synthetic shitty pill that they can give.
totally ridiculous, what a waste of time, what a waste of money. they have no information backing up their story of the harmful effects of weed (usually they say it's the tar that's the worst, fine! eat it then assholes!), yet parents will believe this shit that it can cause date rape, it iwll cause you to kill, we're honestly regressing to the reefer madness days.
frustrating.

[goodboy]

59. Kitty Kelly said Laura (horsey) Bush sold pot in college...(nt)

[chickenscratching]

64. Laura (horsey) Bush

:rofl:
any more evil notes on your car lately?

[goodboy]

75. actually, I wanred to get your opinion on something...Check PM's.

[jbnow]

61. We're leaving out a big benefit

Asset forfeiture laws vary by state but it doesn't take much pot to seize a car, cash...and not much more to seize a house or ranch. I know a kid who had his new van seized for a misdemeanor amount of pot in it while traveling through another state. A small fine covered the pot charge but he had to pay thousands to reclaim his van.
That was so hard to believe I looked at seizure laws and saw that it was legal and common, in some places much, much worse. Easy way to make money. Stunning.

I guess they save money another way to. Under Bush people with any drug conviction lose the right to the Pell grant. That rules out college for many kids.

[MountainLaurel]

65. Not just Pell Grants

ALL federal financial aid, which includes the most often available type: the Stafford loans. Which takes out even more kids, since you have to be the poorest of the poor to get a Pell, but Staffords are available to even middle-class folks.

[jbnow]

68. I didn't know that!

That will straighten those naughty kids out. After all, who ever heard of a decent human experimenting with drugs?

It's strange that even these baby boomer presidents and congress people remain fools on this "war on drugs". Hemp is never mentioned as a good thing despite the obvious benefits for so many things, including fuel and construction.
bush is worse with the cut in college aid we talked about, but also outlawing so many hemp things. Can't use it for chap stick because it touches your mouth... It should be in our food since getting essential fatty acids in diets is so important to brain development and it contains the perfect proportion. But all that is another story.

[MountainLaurel]

77. Not to mention

Who is most likely to get busted for drug possession or use, despite the fact that their arrest rate is much, much higher than their usage rate: minorities.

Just another attempt to garner cannon fodder by reducing options other than the military for the poor to attend college?

[Taverner]

86. Dont forget if you grow in your backyard

Your house can be confiscated and sold by the state

[ernstbass]

66. It absolutely sickens me

to think that anyone is in jail for pot. I am outraged!! In the 70's I would have bet my life that it would be legalized within 20 yrs. I fear that this so called drug war will never end. Once again it's sickening.:puke:

[Zorra]

67. Herb smokers are non-violent, safe, easy targets for police.

When was the last time you heard of a cop getting shot by dude smoking a joint in the park? Cops would much rather confront and arrest someone that is absolutely no threat to them instead of some psycho that might shoot them in the face.

The police are wasting their time and our a lot of our tax money arresting harmless, innocent people that enjoy smoking the flowers of the cannabis plant.

I don't smoke herb. I used to smoke it, but it got boring, so I stopped. I just think that arresting and imprisoning people for smoking it is totally assinine.

The November Coalition:

http://www.november.org/

[Octafish]

70. Ding. Ding. Ding.

Guess which "family" name Poppy's up over and over and over at the Cocaine Importation Agency?




CONTRA-INTELLIGENCE
ON OLIVER L. NORTH

By Celerino "Cele" Castillo, 3rd
Former Federal Drug Agent and Author of:
Powderburns- Cocaine, Contras & the Drug War

EXCERPT...

Several years ago, the extreme right arm of the Christian Coalition selected to support Oliver North for U.S. Senate. Their support backfired and North became one of two Republicans who lost the elections that year. During North's campaign, I traveled to the Virginia to educate concern citizens on Oliver North. I went out to "grassroots" communities, and educated them on the criminal activities that Oliver North had been involved in during the 1980s. I went as far as challenging North to a debate. Of course, he refused.

During his failed 1994 campaign, he frequently claimed that there was no basis for any charges of his complicity in drug running, because as he keeps saying, "I'm the most investigated man on this planet." The truth of the matter is that the Iran-Contra special prosecutor, Lawrence Walsh, never investigated the drug trafficking allegations, because he did not consider it part of his mandate. The special prosecutor's original mandate from Congress was defined very narrowly, concentrating on the Iranian arms sales, the "diversion" of funds from the Iranian arms sales to the Contra operation, and on the Contra support operation as a violation of U.S. law.

During all the misdirected hoopla about Iran-Contra, the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee (known as the "Kerry committee") continued its work. Jack Blum, an investigator for Senator Kerry, testified to the committee on Feb. 11, 1987 that the Contras move drugs "not by the pound, not by the bag, but by the ton, by the cargo planeloads."

In 1987, Henry Hyde, as a member of the congressional Iran-contra committee and a defense attorney, helped steer the panel away from any serious investigation of the contra-cocaine connection. His focus was to spare President Ronald Reagan and his vice president, George Bush from possible impeachment over the Iran-contra scandal and related drug crimes implicating the Nicaraguan contra army.

CONTINUED...

http://www.drugwar.com/castillonorthmay1104.shtm

[reprobate]

111. In all the bar fights I had to break up, I never saw a toker fighting.

Always the drunks. Potsters were too busy grinning.

[Ms_Mary]

76. We have a meth epidemic extending into rural America and THIS

is what they choose to focus on? My business is in a town of less than 3,000 people where I grew up never having to worry about locking a door or walking alone. NOW, I've had to call the police several times, ask them to patrol our business, had to stop carrying certain items in stock and have crazy ass lunatic meth-heads coming in trying to sell me their 20 year old nintendo games and fishing poles (different people). I'll take a pothead any day.

People who smoke pot don't worry me. People on meth, crack, coke, heroin and whatever else scare the shit out of me. I'd rather see pot legalized than see it the focus of the drug war.

[rodeodance]

79. "low-level offender," and it estimated that $4 billion a year spent!!

.....But increasingly, some experts have begun to argue that the U.S. drug war, which costs an estimated $35 billion a year, has had a minimal impact on consumption of illicit substances. The conservative American Enterprise Institute published a report in March titled "Are We Losing the War on Drugs?" Its authors argue that, among other things, "criminal punishment of marijuana use does not appear to be justified."

The study released yesterday by the Sentencing Project found that arrests for marijuana account for nearly all of the increase in drug arrests seen during the 1990s. The report also found that one in four people in state prisons for marijuana offenses can be classified as a "low-level offender," and it estimated that $4 billion a year is spent on arresting and prosecuting marijuana crimes.

In addition, the study showed that although African Americans make up 14 percent of marijuana users generally, they account for nearly a third of all marijuana arrests.

Among the most striking findings was the researchers' examination of arrest trends in New York City, which focused intently on "zero tolerance" policies during Rudolph W. Giuliani's mayoral administration. Marijuana arrests in the city increased tenfold from 1990 to 2002, from 5,100 to more than 50,000, the report said. Nine of 10 of arrests in 2002 were for possession rather than dealing........

[natrat]

78. let's see -leave horse and coke alone cuz our scumbag friends

make billions on it while small farmers are making money on pot- unreal these people should burn in hell

[harpo]

85. My DEA buddy says this is BS...

They are going after cocain/heroin in quantities of 5 kilos or more...else they don't get involved unless they get drug in by the states/fbi/etc.

[Tesla]

87. Its in the Bible !!!

Psalms 104:14, "He causeth the grass for the cattle, and herb for the service of man"

You can quote me on that!!!

[lonestarnot]

88. Where did you find such a great smoker? I love him/her!

[killbotfactory]

89. It's probably at a local level

State budgets ain't what they used to be. You have to find revenue somehow. No one cares if a few stoners get shaken up by the cops.

[orpupilofnature57]

97. What a way to, fuck with a hippie! Us being drunk and loud is just

What shrub wants.

[Geo55]

98. easy money.....easy bust

War in Iraq - NO END IN SIGHT
War on Drugs - NO END IN SIGHT

USA be really good at war

[Az_lefty]

100. What a total waste of money and time !!!

they can't get the real drug kingpins so they go after the occasional pot smoker who isn't harming anyone. F*cking assholes !!!!!
:rant:

[goodhue]

103. foolhardy war

ridiculous

[Geo55]

104. Sorry......55yrs old.......done that, been there........weed is LEAST

harmful , psycho active chemical to come down the evolutionary pike...easy money , easy bust....it will change when and "if" we lose the reactionary mind set that controls the mainstream conscience.

Nah....drink up pilgrams....John Wayne said SO

"

[Kilroy003]

105. My county's drug enforcement techniques are worked out by a task force

headed by an officer named Stehlick who is very wise. I watched him tell a group of neighborhood-watch captains that the County and City police tend to overlook possession of reasonable quantities of pot in favor of actually busting dangerous criminals.

[Geo55]

108. 55yrs old.....been a taxpayer into "the system" ........

"regular" Amurikan"....Whooo are we screwin' in the name of some misbegotten "ideal" that the GOVERNMENT should decide what you should use...(should you CHOOSE to alter your conscience)

Ohooo Nooo.....DRINK UP PILGRAMS...(JohnWayne said SO)....
THE COUNTRY WAS FOUNDED on BOOZE !
as long as public policy is founded on a subliminal precept of BOOZE,
we will always be a nation of warriors

"

[donheld]

115. Totally insane

Marijuana is the least of our problems :grr:

[olddad56]

120. can't brainwash a stoner..

but a alcohol addict, or a person who has 10 cups of coffee a day, or a person who shoots up the evening news on Faux, well those are your good American citizens that will think whatever they are told to think.

Pot helps you see through the smoke screen and that is a dangerous thing to this administration