They should leave it up to each state to make that decision!

Having the Feds to speak for all is not the american way, its funny each state can decide if they want to use the death penalty but to smoke a joint its up to the Feds..UNREAL!!!

What the heck does the fed know

Pot's ability to stimulate appetite is the stuff of legend. That's a medical use!. However to admit that, the feds must admit they have been wrong for the best part of a hundred years.

Regards....

Big Pharma is filling the pockets of both republicans and democrats to keep people dependent on their overpriced drugs.

They have all sold the American people down the river for campaign cash. Both the house and the senate and the president have received cash.

They all disgust me.

Poppycock! Pot is a natural substance and should be legalized.

Screw the feds, it is time to break up the Union and give the Feds no power at all to dictate their ludicrous views upon us.

It is time for dissenting states to secede from the Union.

Marijuana has no medical purpose? Marinol (A chemical derivative of Marijuana/THC) which has been legally sold by prescription for over 20 years has a medical purpose and thus proves Marijuana's legitimacy as an acceptable medical drug.

Clearly this is about $ (Privatized jails, Law Enforcement, Treatment, Etc.) which probably equates to more $ than if we legally sold Marijuana and taxed it.

Did someone pee in Sebelius' corn flakes this morning or what? Bad ruling. I hope the appeal is successful.

Big Pharma is filling the pockets of both republicans and democrats to keep people dependent on their overpriced drugs.

They have all sold the American people down the river for campaign cash. Both the house and the senate and the president have received cash.

They all disgust me.

It is not just big pharma that the feds are backing. It is also the trial lawyers assoc, judges assoc, the private jail companies, the paper companies, etc. They ALL have a major hand in ensuring that the devil weed known as pot, stays on the illegal list.

Way too much money to be made by the corporate and legal industries, that find their way to politicians pockets, for there to be any changes made to the status quo. Until at least one or more state make it legal, and people start seeing massive increases to the money flowing to government coffers, nothing will change for the better to stop this outdated and ignorant "war on drugs".

If the people are going to have any chance of changing this travesty called the drug war, it will have to be placed on a ballot and voted on by the country as a whole, not just by the deep pockets of corporations who have a vested interest in keeping another failed prohibition going.

The feds have the medical patent on THC. I have read it from a post several months back. It said there was benefits in the application.

A government that has no legitimacy cannot carry out its policies without violently imposing its will.

The federal government officially declared that marijuana has no accepted medical use and should remain classified as a dangerous and addictive drug. It will remain in the same class of drugs as heroin.

Very first sentence from the article should be enough evidence to convince even the most skeptical person with any knowledge of marijuana that our U.S. government is securely snug in the pocket of the pharmaceutical industry! What a load of malarky! A direct slap in the face of intelligent and rational thinking people the world over.

One would think there'd be, at the very least, someone within this department of the federal government to have enough nerve, foresight, and sense of self-worth to tell this particular department's 'leadership' that in reality they are officially exposing their bare-ass blatant stupidity on the topic of marijuana to the entire medical community on a global scale! What an embarrassment they are. Is it any wonder why fewer citizens every day find anything of real substance coming out of Washington DC??? Our politicians have been bought and paid for for so long that it's become standard operating procedure to find corruption at practically every level.

From top to bottom ... Big money's got'em!

The only reason Pot is illegal is that the drug industry can't patent it.

Drug companies and the FDA don't like competition.

I live in a area of 100,000+ people in the central US and there is so much marijuana in this town with a phone call it's delivered, any amount. And you get to pick the quality you want.

What a joke ............... ha

... as long as there is money to be made and pockets to be lined via the war on drugs.

You're right Yank. The U.S. holds one patent on cannabinoids, and the Yissum Research Development Company of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem holds another.

http://tinyurl.com/6hwwmt

If cannabis has no medical value then it's not a drug and the government has no right to regulate it. They should be forced to prove it's harms or legalize it for recreational use and industrial uses.

Didn't they just do a study proving that the body can produce cannabinoids on it's own? Wouldn't that mean that marijuana can be used to help the body produce more cannabinoids (a natural substance) when necessary? And haven't there been tons of studies done about marijuana's medicinal properties in regards to glaucoma and cancer patient therapies? I don't understand how the federal government can look us in the eye when they make "decisions" like this one.

And you still don't believe in conspiracies? I bet there is less than 5% of the people posting here who don't know for absolute certain marijuana is not physically addictive like cigarettes or any where near being in the category of heroine. I'm willing to bet you all know alcohol is far more dangerous to ingest. So how on gawds green earth could an educated, board certified, medical doctor not come to that same obvious and simple conclusion?

Man made whiskey, God made Pot - God is perfect, Man is not.

Only if you eat it john doe. If you smoke it, well then, you are chemically changing the properties of pot, and therefore it is man made.

That theory doesn't hold water, no more filbert. The properties of burning cannabis are natural, just as it is when not being burned. Fire is not a man-made creation, it's natural. There was fire before there were homo sapiens.

obama wont legalize pot because he is in the pockets of the drug cartels that he has been arming. if you want pot legal vote for Ron Paul. Barney Frank and Ron Paul have a bill going threw congress now to legalize pot on the federal level, allowing the states to decide weather or not they want the economic prosperity from legal pot. I bet all of you who voted for Obama thought he would have legalized pot 2 years ago. i have news, hes bought and paid for by the mega banks who own the illegal drug trade, like wells fargo and wachovia. hundreds of billions in illegal profits is not stuffed under a mexican mattress.

the government is run by mega rich criminals, wake up.

Only if you eat it john doe. If you smoke it, well then, you are chemically changing the properties of pot, and therefore it is man made.

You are confusing physical changes and chemical changes. Considering the state of the THC molecule never changes, only transfers hosts, man doesn't make anything, only changes pots state of mater. (Though, your logic could be applied to stomach acids during the digestive process. :)

"If the people are going to have any chance of changing this travesty called the drug war, it will have to be placed on a ballot and voted on by the country as a whole, not just by the deep pockets of corporations who have a vested interest in keeping another failed prohibition going"

California put it on the ballot and it failed by a very small margin. This is because California tried to take the industry away from the growers and hand it to the corporations. It is easier to tax that way. The growers themselves voted against the unfairness.

Pot is only illegal because of the money involved.

This is an issue that could cost Obama the election. Young people will turn away and not participate because they can't stand the phony laws aimed at them alone.

Young people don't realize that the absurd group of mindless, hysterical Bible thumpers could win control and really cause trouble.

Seems that there is a lot of confusion over what the heck a democrat is anymore.

This administration is a warmongering, debt building, vacant of experience with everything they touch, and now have the gall to tell people of all ages who have suffered through chronic pain that what is working for them doesn't work?

Sure there are millions of pot heads that just like the high - and until the government outlaws whiskey, they have no business outlawing pot.

That said, for medical users, it can be the very best medication of all, with few side effects.

Just goes to show you that just because the idiot makes a good speech doesn't mean that he has any idea of what the hell he is doing. He is the ultimate corporate stooge.

Joe, Paul F., please try to stay on topic.

Brent-3019177-- we are, obama failed to legalize pot, and those who voted for the chosen one expected him to legalize pot, so how is pointing out the fact that the democrats and obama are nothing like they want to be seen as, off topic.
such as war enders, libya, yemen, war on (americans) drugs
or non fascist croni corporatists, GE, banker bailouts, pushing the small guy out of business with epa regs, and such.
or freedom champions, TSA, big sis snich on your fellow americans, going after free speech on radio and the net, or should i say non progressive speech.
in a nut shell, the progressives have taken over the democratic party, and progressivism is a nazi totalitarian eugenics freedom hating individuality hating drone philosophy. and the good hearted liberals are figuring out that they are not nor have they ever been progressive.

This is a complete load of crap. First of all, if marijuana has no valid medical uses then why is Marinol, which is derived from marijuana, approved by the FDA and available by prescription. The only reason for keeping pot illegal is pressure from the drug companies (and other industries). They can not find a way to patent natural marijuana so they can not corner the market, charge outrageous prices, and make a fortune off it. In addition, natural marijuana would be in direct competition with other drugs that the the pharmaceutical industry makes that are more expensive and less effective at treating certain conditions. There have been numerous studies that show that marijuana is an effective treatment for glaucoma, nausea from chemotherapy, loss of appetite from chemotherapy, and pain management. There is no way any legitimate scientific inquiry could arrive at the determination that marijuana has no medical uses. Also, to call it a dangerous addictive drug like heroin is absurd. Marijuana is less addicting than nicotine and alcohol, both of which are legal. Also, if the fact that something was addicting was a criteria for whether or not it should be legal, then why are opioid pain killers legal. After all, they are definitely far more addicting than marijuana. I can tell, they are legal because the drug companies were able to patent them and make a ton of money off them and they can't do the same with marijuana. The one marijuana based drug they have patented, Marinol, is far less effective than natural marijuana. This is because natural marijuana contains over 60 different cannabinoids, whereas Marinol contains a synthetic version of one of them. It is the combination and balance of the multiple cannabinoids that make natural marijuana so much more effective. Also, the balance of the different cannabinoids help to prevent certain side effects that could result from an individual cannabinoid on it's own.

Other industries that have a stake in keeping marijuana illegal are the textile and the paper industries. This is because the hemp in marijuana can be used to create cloth for clothing, in direct competition with cotton based textiles. The hemp can also be used to make paper, in direct competition with the wood pulp/paper industry. The legalization of marijuana would have the potential to eat into the profits of both of these industries, so they actively lobby to keep it illegal. Since the parts of the marijuana plant that are used as a drug are separate from those use to make cloth or paper, marijuana can be used for both purposes at the same time. A little known fact is that it is the cotton growers/textile industry that are responsible for the original outlawing of marijuana, not the pharmaceutical industry.

Yet another reason to hate this vile Government. As if I needed any more reasons. I encourage all my 420 friends to grow your own Cannabis; for Pleasure and Medicine. Tell these repressive Fascists to go F*%# themselves!!

The only problem with pot is that you can grow it yourself and therefor the government doesn't get it's cut of tax revenue/campaign contributions. Isn't it amazing how condescending and disrespectful government can be to basic human intelligence? Why not just break out "refer madness" and broadcast it to the to the stupid masses in 2011?

More of that "change" we were promised I suppose?

P.S.

Nobody ever overdosed on pot, even OTC drugs are more dangerous, a bottle of aspirin will kill your ass, you'll fall asleep from pot before you can harm yourself.

Joe, your 1.28 post had nothing to do with the topic, just a bashing of those you don't like, and you continued it on your rebuttal to my post. Get rid of the hate. It is part of the problem.

filbert

At least the plant's not soaked in carcinogens, strichnine (rat poison), and detergents (literally soap chemicals) to make it more addictive like they do the Federally sanctioned Death Sticks (cigarettes).

In any case, anyone who puts MJ in the same category as heroin is either a clueless simpleton or has a political agenda.

It's not even as harmful as alcohol and everyone knows it. But by all means, continue a pointless prohibition that doesn't solve the problem but puts it in the hands of cartels and mafia. It sure worked for alcohol didn't it? Oh wait all it did was make people like Al Capone rich.

Vote everyone out that supports this travesty, whether in the Federal Government, or in you State, County & Local Governments. Then make "PAC's" illegal, corporate contributions illegal. Let the Cable Companies, Satellite Companies, and Public Broadcasting carry the campaigns as a public service.

The MAYBE the swamp will finally get drained.

Well said, DR. Rex, but unfortunately, we are a minority, and there doesn't seem to be enough political will in this country to make that become a reality. We still have to keep trying, though. I think we will win it, eventually.

The feds have exposed their true colors. How much longer will the citizens of this country tolerate the slide towards totalitarianism? It is time to march on Washington, and to shut down this government run amuck, by simply clogging the mall area with sheer numbers. 2 million folks ought to do it.

Their rhetoric about pot having no medical purpose is irrelevant, but they need to maintain the status quo because they have a vested interest in doing so. Ironically, it is the feds and the cartels that are in agreement when it comes to maintaining the illegal status of pot. Strange bedfellows indeed.

Marijuana will eventually be legalized and to think otherwise is irrational since there is absolutely no one that wants marijuana that can't easily get it.

I guess the stupidity of the "war on drugs" will continue, with non-violent possession only offenders clogging our prisons while violent predators continue to roam our streets.

I really didn't expect a different outcome. There is too much at stake for those involved in the "war on drugs" and even most Police officers would rather deal with a non-violent dope smoker than a well armed gang banger !!

Dr. Rex- Thanks for a great post. Your statement was spot on. Of course it'll never happen, we've turned congress into a bordello.

The only thing that got the California assembly to vote for the legalization of pot was a $60 an ounce tax to close a 17 million dollar deficit caused by the mismanagement of our tax dollars.

Why should pot smokers have to pay more tax than alcohol drinkers or cigarette smokers? It is nothing more than a massive money grab by people that have no right to take control of an industry they did nothing to pioneer. Had they included the current growers in a fair and reasonable approach, it would have passed.

I consider the wine industry’s Napa Valley tours the perfect model for the pot industry. Imagine tour buses going from plantation to plantation in Grass Valley. Tourism would bring much needed dollars to the state.

Instead the California bureaucrats tried to hand the industry over to corporations and deny the current growers their livelihood. Without marijuana, counties like Humboldt, Nevada, and Mendocino would be destitute.

Marijuana should be legalized because it is the right thing to do, not because of the money it can put into the state coffers. Stop making criminals out of hard working Americans, and quit trying to capitalize on an industry you had no hand in creating.

Get a clue 1.43

Good post, but I would like to add that those that think the illegal pot industry will vanish if marijuana were legalized are wrong. Consider that if marijuana was to be legalized the tax numbers I’m hearing that they would impose on marijuana ($60 dollars on an ounce? Are they kidding?) is staggering and this will insure that the illegal pot industry will thrive. After all, why spend this insane amount of money for something you can grow in your backyard?

It aptly demonstrates that these moronic bureaucrats can’t get it right even when they do the right thing.

brent-- progressivism is the problem, obama and cartel are progressives, not liberals.
liberals dont want jails full of pot heads, the TSA fingering little kids, and cops going into any dam house they want without a judges ok. liberals dont want eugenics, liberals dont want half of all native american females sterilized in the last 100 years, progressives did that. hitler was a progressive, not a liberal. liberals want the right to say any dam thing they want, progressives want to control non progressive speech ( which they call PC ). how about all of you democrats look into the history of the progressive movement, its ties to naziism, eugenics, and the aryan ideal. the reason we have a totalitarian government that throws you in jail for an ounce of pot is because progressives have shaped the big government that we suffer under. nealson rockafeller may have been republican in name (RINO) but his family and his views are sure as hell progressive. so you take this progressivism is for the little guy crap and shove it.

Wet Willy-- did the booze black market thrive after prohibition? there is a black market for smokes, so you have a point, but the price of a pound of pot fell by about $1000 6 months ago in california. i hear the growers cant get rid of it. anyway, people will grow their own pot if the government taxes the hell out of it. in fact its the illegal growers fighting to keep pot illegal. the best reason to legalize it is to defund the mexican drug cartels owned by wells fargo and wachovia bank, who also own obama and the wall st crooks who just looted the economy. its time to take crime out of the government.

the reason taxes on tobaco has created a black market is that tobaco takes 2 to 5 years to cure properly. you cant plant it and smoke it in the fall like people do with pot.

pjam09, I'm totally on the same page as you. My only argument against the argument of growing is that everyone can grow their own tomatoes, some just choose not to. It's people like these that will willingly buy it, taxed at a reasonable rate, and support the economy. I'm disgusted, and not the least bit surprised, that the gov't will not cede on this issue, they ask for more and more and give little in return. It's truly all about whom can buy out the gov't officials first. The individual citizens, even grouped together, cannot afford to buy these officials the way corporations and their private supporters can with just a single check. Such issues that seem so trivial to you and me (i.e. the general population) seem to be huge problems for the gov't to figure out.

It's not just the pharmaceutical companies that are paying big bucks to bribe the politicians not to legalize it, it is the prison industry. Private prisons are an industry that depends on more and more people being incarcerated to make them their big profits. If you took all the non-violent drug offenders out of the prisons, the whole industry would fall apart.

WOW Joe, I ask you to stay on topic and get rid of your hate (okay, didn't really ask the second one), and you reply with a lecture about the differences between progressivism and liberalism? Maybe I just fail to see the real connection here, since the thread is about how the DHHS says "marijuana has no medical purpose". However, I never said anything about progressivism, much less about it being for the little guy. By all means, keep putting words in my mouth, as it doesn't hurt me any, but it does tend to devalue your credibility as a poster here. Enjoy.

I can't professionally speak about the benefits or the detriments to marijuana, but I have seen firsthand anecdotal proof on pot being beneficial to at least one patient. Back in the early '90's my uncle was beginning to enter the later stages of the AIDS virus's effects. His weight had plummeted from a healthy 170 (he was 6') to 85 pounds. He looked more like a concentration camp survivor than my uncle. To make things worse, he had multiple fungal infections of the intestines and was constantly nauseated, and couldn't keep anything down. Out of desperation/a desire for comfort, he started to smoke weed. After a month of smoking, he went from 85 pounds to 110- still not healthy but a damn sight better off than he had been. His doctors were suprised and thought he might be beginning to turn a corner, but it wasn't meant to be. Still, it comforts me to know that he didn't have to go from the horrible, wracking dry heaves he had had before he started smoking mj.

I personally don't like weed (it affects me all wrong), but I truly believe it's long past time for the government to get its nose out of the morality of smoking marijuana. The only (ONLY) justification I can see is how long it stays in the system (weed stays in the system for a month? i think) giving officers difficulty in determining DUI charges (cause, I'm sorry, but if you're stoned you don't need to be driving). This is a small complaint though, that if we put our minds to it we could solve. And it certainly does not justify the federal government's need to make it a felony.

Legalize weed, impose harsher restrictions on harder drugs, and tax the hell out of weed, booze and tobacco.

Just my opinion.

The feds say it has no medical use, but the doctors say it does-- and have been saying it since the "marijuana stamp act" of 1937 made it illegal:

The bill was passed over the last-minute objections of the American Medical Association. Dr. William Woodward, legislative counsel for the A.M.A. objected to the bill on the grounds that the bill had been prepared in secret without giving proper time to prepare their opposition to the bill.^[14] He doubted their claims about marijuana addiction, violence, and overdosage; he further asserted that because the word Marijuana was largely unknown at the time, the medical profession did not realize they were losing cannabis. "Marijuana is not the correct term... Yet the burden of this bill is placed heavily on the doctors and pharmacists of this country."

But the G.ot O.ur V.endeta is never wrong. Or lies.

Brent-3019177--- dont ask me to do anything, who the hell are you to tell people what they should be saying, typical progressive.

I just finished reading the 114 page pdf that the article linked to and had to laugh. The DEA makes it's entire argument by citing opinions of other federal bureaucracies such as the DHHS and the FDA, which basically amounts to the federal government saying."No, because I say so!"

The only danger in reclassifying marijuana is to the DEA's budget.

Is this the same federal government that is running a $1.4 trillion annual deficit? Yeah, they have so much credibility -- especially when their budgets and their jobs are at stake.

The DEA is just one of many federal agencies that has no constitutional authorization and should be completely abolished.

"I'll tell you what Bob, for a minute I thought that we were going to have to leak all the secrets we have against the Feds because if they were to give the American public another option to treat pain other than ours, they would have hell to pay. Especially when they promised us that we would be the only ones that could legally get the American public addicted to drugs" - Pharm industry executive

How about looking into your state and see who benefits from the tobacco industry?

http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/what_we_do/federal_issues/campaign_contributions/

or a little of this

In particular, Molson Coors Brewing, which oversees the Molson and Coors beer brands has deep connections to the Republican Party. Of the more than $1.73 million the company has contributed to federal-level candidates and campaigns, 80 percent, or about $1.4 million, has benefited the Republican Party since the 1990 election cycle.

http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2011/03/politics-on-tap.html

No I'm not affiliated with any party so don't start on the political bashing.

Joe 1.46

The end of prohibition certainly meant the end of big time bootlegging but the moonshiners remained in business because there was a market for their products.

There were those that wouldn’t/couldn’t pay the alcohol tax and certainly those that preferred moonshine to any commercially produced alcohol. Moonshine exists to this day and the feds occasionally make trips through the backwoods areas of known moonshine producing areas, but since moonshine mostly has only a local appeal, the feds usually don’t expend too much energy tracking them down.

Regarding the black market for smokes, this is a direct result of onerous taxation of a product that can’t be easily otherwise acquired. I seem to recall looking up tobacco growing some years ago and discovered that the tobacco plant, unlike the marijuana plant, is not an easy plant to cultivate and grow.

If the bureaucrats truly wanted to defund the cartels, they would legalize marijuana and apply a reasonable tax and license local growers at the expense of the cartels. However, the cartels won’t go quietly into the night, they’ll simply concentrate their efforts on other drugs but I think the market for other drugs is significantly small compared to the marijuana market.

this is the same federal govt that says that Libya is not a major conflict and doesnt fit the description of the wars act and congressional approval since the UN requested teh support, and congress already voted to accept the UN as part of our federal cooperation agreement..???

jumpintoconclusions 1.60

You have a point.

Such a BS double standard. Since when have tobacco or alcohol products been required to be both not prone to abuse as well as have medical benefits when they are AT LEAST just as mind altering as marijuana.

Amazing. Guess there's too much money to be had in continuing the War on Drugs(tm) to switch tracks. After all, how else can the DEA justify its existence!

Hey jumpintoconclusions, it is not a war, just "kinetic action..."

To drew@ regarding your comment at #1.58 Most of our politicians have the finances and wherewithall to take their loved ones to places in our world where such treatments are readily and legally available. That is what is so disgustingly unfair about their 'medical' decisions. The FDA is essentially on the payroll of the pharmaceutical industry since they collect 'fees' for the prompt examination and expeditious approval of new drugs. If the proponents of cannabis could manage to throw a few billion dollars into Congress's kitty like the pharmaceutical industry does then there might be some hope for its legalization. But don't hold your breath. Too much money being made for our power brokers with the status quo.

Hey "bud" don't bogart that joint my friend.

Imprisonment for no reason can be interpreted as an act of violence.

No medical value, what a bunch of BS. MJ has been shown to shrink tumnors... 2 studies Medical College of Virginia in 1974 and more recently the Madrid study in 2000.
http://ehealthforum.com/health/marijuana-shrinks-tumors-t144227.html

http://ezinearticles.com/?Marijuana-and-Cancer---Governmental-Arrogance-Buries-Viable-Cancer-Therapies&id=5048737

No money to be made in curing cancers cheaply. It is all about $$$.
This pi$$e$ me off to no end because I have a sister that was bankrupted by health problems, including breast cancer and she had insurance.

And, unfortunately, marijuana is in the worse category than heroin to the D.E.A. See the Federal Schedule of Controlled Substances.

bwahahahahaha

This too shall pass...

Assumes you mean the bong?

Bong hit !!!!!

And this bit of wisdumb comes from the very people that brought us the "Reefer Madness" advertisement, so I’m sure it is based in solid scientific fact. Never mind marijuana isn’t physically addictive.

The pharmaceutical companies have deep pockets and this is an election year. The greedy SOBs will do anything to secure campaign contributions.

Every living thing "self medicates". Has anyone here ever seen a "drunken Butterfly"?

If you live anywhere that have fruit trees, the Butterflies love fermented peaches, so do bears.

It is a nature thing to get "high" or "drunk", all of nature does.

It's like having sex....NATURAL.

Thanx cathee

If it wasn't natural, ancient (or possibly prehistoric) humans wouldn't have discovered it. Back then they drank lots and got laid every day.

All living creatures enjoy doing what makes them feel good... otherwise what is the point of living?

Politicians do what makes them feel good... cashing campaign contribution checks.

Feds: Pot has no medical purpose

They need more reasons to arrest people.

I for one do not believe that pot has no medical value to it. It just gives people the happy-feel-good feeling they crave for.

We are and have created a nation of junkies and alcoholics. If we ban pot use, we should ban alcohol as well, but the Feds won't like that, because alcohol pays their salary through the taxes on these products.

They still haven't figured out a way to really tax the people smoking prescribed mj. a person can have a prescription, but grow their own in which our government cannot collect their share of revenue from these people.

This is more about collecting sales-tax on mj and nothing more.

The Supreme Court is full of a bunch of geezer geriatrics that don't have a clue about anything that happens in America.

SCOTUS had nothing to do with it. It was the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

Spartan- don't forget that in the ancient times people lived to an average of 40. Modern science DOES have some very interesting benefits after all.

Here's my thinking about the whole "natural" thing. Every thing on this entire planet, hell, in this entire universe, is natural. From the trees, to the birdies, to the paper bags, to the plastic bags, to the nuclear reactors, everything somes from something in the natural world. We need to stop thinking of ourselves and our products/wastes as something apart from the "natural" world. We are a product of nature, and so is every single thing we produce.

In that line of reasoning, I feel safe in suggesting that we are probably no threat whatsoever to the larger functions of nature. What we are, though, is a grave danger to ourselves. We can blow ourselves, our world, even our entire solar system to hell over our God/Allah/Bhudda/Krishna/Vishnu/Eros/Pan/FlyingSpaghettiMonster disagreements, and "nature" in its larger/largest sense. We should be worrying about that, not whether somebody is smoking some plant. (see? I was able to get back on topic! Yaaaay!!!!)

The Federal and State Governments have no JURISDICTION over and individuals PERSONAL CHOICE!!!!

People How Can You take part in this Alice and Wonderland System!!!
Where at every turn cops are targeting regular Americans.

Then the majority of the

Well done Chickenmann. Good post AND on topic. LOL!!!

And this is with DEMOCRATS controlling the exceutive branch!

F#$k the motherf#%king federal government. F#%k them. Who the f#%k are they to tell us anything? The lying, stealing, cheating, sell-out, self-rightous pricks. Just who the f#%K do they think they are? OK all you a-holes who want to "take your country back"? Well, take it back. It's a piece of steming $hit anyway.

I wonder how many of the folks here saying "the federal government has no right to dictate my personal choice." or "This is a state matter." were/are in favor of the Federal government dictating you choice on health insurance?

Are all of you up above my post Conservative Republicans, or are you just suffering from tunnel opinion?

I'm libertarian, so I'm consistent at least.

The Federal government should not be able to force you to purchase something, nor should it have the right to ban marijuana.

A Republican take on the issue:

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/270520/right-marijuana-editors

@ Adam: I only favor health insurance requirements, as long as Hospitals are subsidized by the government, and are forced to treat people, no matter what. It's not that I'm heartless, but a great deal of the expenses surrounding healthcare are due to lack of preventative care, which can be costly when uninsured, thus causing it to be out of reach for those people.

Unfortunately, it's a thousand times more costly to have something that could've been prevented from occuring, turn into an emergency or life threatening ailment. Make sense?

B Murphy: Then you should be OK with the government making any other requirement of you "in your/society's own best interest as they see it".

Therefore the Federal government can rule MJ illegal for all citizens for any, or no, reasons it chooses. Either the government has that authority, or it does not.

Misdemeanor criminal offense punishable by up to $1,000 and less than 1 year in jail for NOT eating an apple a day, it keeps the doctor away... (absurd example but I found it amusing)

Personally I think we should legalize all the currently illegal drugs. Have the FDA rule them as unfit for human consumption (not tax them) and open the drug dealers up to all product liability lawsuits. All currently incarcerated individuals who are in for non-violent drug offenses should be pardoned. All current drug dealing investigations should be turned in to the IRS for income tax evasion investigation (I'll be nice and give them 24 months to file amended tax returns for the last 5 years).

What an individual chooses to do to their own body is NOT the government's domain or responsibility.

My children have already benefitted from Health Care reform since I was able to put them back on my insurance. Neither one has a job so it is great that they can get the treatment they may need. As for Marijuana, Legalize it and tax it. That would put a big hurt on the drug cartels.

You need to learn the truth about Marijuana. The reason that it was made illegal in the first place, was because of an agenda by William Randolph Hearst and his cronies. Nixon only parroted the B.S. in 1970.

Junkies....lol

Yeah, you dont know @!$%#.

Correct Joe Veteran, Hearst was the money behind the scenes, and his pointman was the supposed expert on drug abuse at the time (I can never remember his name), but he went before Congress and testified that if marijuana was legal then the black men who smoke it would go crazy and start raping white women. Pretty pathetic excuse. Hearst knew that hemp could replace paper as the printable page, and he had a lot of money tied up in paper mills for his periodicals.

Brent

Who you're looking for is Harry Anslinger, head of the Bureau of Prohibition.

It's a very interesting read that outlines the campaign to prohibit marijuana (along with alcohol and everything else).

My link was deleted, it's in wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_J._Anslinger

Thanks Dangerous, I could only remember that his name started with an A, but that was about it. Thanks again.

A great book on the history of hemp is "The Emperor Wears No Clothes" By Jack Herer. You can download it as a pdf file here:

http://www.drugtext.org/library/books/herer.pdf

As for the medical value of hemp, go to You Tube and watch "Run From The Cure - The Rick Simpson Story":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjhT9282-Tw

Anyone, and I mean ANYONE, who thinks that marijuana has no medical value needs to watch any one of the vidoes on this link:

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=in+pot+we+trust+jacqueline&aq=3&oq=In+Pot+We+Trust

This girl Jacqueline has cerebral palsy and the ONLY thing that helps her is cannabis. It's so sad when the documentary shows her driving to pick up her weed-- her terror is simply sickening (fear of the cops)-- but the obvious, visible relief she gets when her medicine is applied is absolutely heart-warming. :-)

And here is a quote from Thomas Jefferson that I think is applicable to the current topic:

I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.

In other words, the problems inherent in allowing American's the right to choose whether or not to use marijuana, or beer, or whiskey or cigarettes, or any other chemical, are less dangerous than those of a government over stepping its authority and restricting the freedoms of the men it governs.

WMG-21, very well said.

New Rule:

You can't wear anymore suits or ties!!!

Sound Stupid doesn't it!!!

That's how the government sounds.

I can't be a part of Stupid!!!!

The problem is industry has taken over most of the government agencies. FDA is a revolving door for big pharma. They get to do thier own studies, approve thier own drugs and care more about profits than healing people. The biggest joke on the country is the BS that cholesterol is bad for you. What is bad for you is the drugs they want you to take for the rest of your lives.

There are just as many studies showing that these drugs dont work as the ones that justify thier use. And also the studies were done on middle aged men. NO women or elderly. Now we are hearing that these drugs may cause diabetes, which leads to couple more drugs. I bet you guys wouldn't take em if you knew that they could cause erectile dysfunction. But never fear there is a drug for that too.

A little known fact: testing is not a legal requirement to market any drug.

Yes, but the studies that were done on tobacco are very old and completely wrong. It is bad for you. It is legal because of the tobacco lobby. If anything, we should replace tobacco products with hemp products. IMO.

America!

Love It or Leave It!

The GOVERNMENT knows what is best for all, that is why the government has bankrupt America!

The economic impact of legalizing drugs would be devastating to government!

Government can't make marijuana legal, too many government jobs would be lost!

Yep... just cultivated 1000 lbs of excellent weed. Nobody knows where its at and I have a Christmas list of people who will be stoooooooooned to the bone when singing "Deck The Halls with boughs of Ganja la,la,la,la,la, a la,la,la!

These feds go home and drink themselves in to oblivion and then come into work the next day and start waving their self righteous money sucking flags. They can shove it right up their keesters! I just lit a blimp and filled the whole room with super pungent skunk smoke. Bye, Bye, I'm going sky diving with my DEA friends in two hours. The DEA doesn't even test their own agents. What a joke!! They're bringing shrooms!!

Actually Red Wine has medicinal purposes. The tannin in it helps with cholesterol/blood pressure.

@ Adam: Also helps with radiation poisoning too.

B Murphy: Interesting, I hadn't heard about that. How so?

@ Adam: There's an anti-oxidant in red wine called resveratrol that's been shown to protect cells against radiation damage.

The reason why tobacco is bad is because any tobacco company is allowed to add any number of as many as 500 ingredients to their product. American Spirit provides a list of these chemicals. Also, this is why some natives in other parts of the world can smoke in to elderly age - no additives.

Actually fgh- American Spirit is just as bad for you as any of the other brands. That's why they still have to carry the Surgeon General's warning.

You don't happen to work for American Spirit, do you?

Under reagan presidency, rupublican, trying so save $$ at the expense of kids health.

Wow...I was waiting for the good old GOP to be blamed for something... thanks for not disappointing me..... yep... those horrible guys that just pad their pockets at the expense of oldies and kids.... get a life...grow up and educate yourself.... love what the libs are doing.... and it gets worse every day.....

ubetcha-3161816: I have a degree. And I didn't buy it online OR get it from a cereal box. Judging from the way you communicate...Here, have some Trix. Sorry, my kid already got the toy.

It is funny to see you people who think one party has your best interests in mind... They've both been given golden opportunities to prove themselves and all we got is further disappointment, further debt and less civil rights.

Oh well, keep beating on the same drum. Keep sinking deeper and deeper in the muck. You'll get what you deserve.

Randall, I fail to see how your claim to having a degree gives you any more credence in your posts. In fact, rather the opposite. Your post #5 had much more impact than your demeaning and egotistical post #5.4

Not to mention the fact that it appears the poster you are responding to didn't even address your post. I think he was responding to post #5.1

freedman1: 5.0 was meant for the average, halfway intelligent readers out there. 5.4 was specifically aimed at a total fscktard. Interesting about which post piqued your interest...

One promotes an opinion, the other attempts to denigrate a person.

I am always interested in honest intelligent opinions on topics of interest. Seldom interested in name calling. What was interesting was you initiated your belittling by claiming a status of higher education. Which is somewhat of an oxymoron.

"Seldom interested in name calling." --Yet you managed to stick your nose into a convo that didn't include you.

"What was interesting was you initiated your belittling"--I didn't start the abuse, I just refined it and aimed it at a very specific target that obviously needed it.

I'd love to log on here and have intelligent discussions. Or just have a few laughs at the "animals slowly taking over the planet" stories. Sadly, the main drawback to the Interwebs is anyone with a keyboard is allowed to also, whether or not they have anything worth adding.

Have a good night.

estcst

It is funny to see you people who think one party has your best interests in mind... They've both been given golden opportunities to prove themselves and all we got is further disappointment, further debt and less civil rights.

Oh well, keep beating on the same drum. Keep sinking deeper and deeper in the muck. You'll get what you deserve.

That's right. I wish people would start realizing that the republicans and democrats are all best buddies laughing all the way to the bank at our expense. While they have the American people arguing "red vs. blue" like it's a damn football game, we are being distracted from the REAL problem which is ALL of government and ALL of the political systems.

As mentioned above, politicians of both parties are taking money from special interest groups, getting rich, and basing this country's decisions on who can pay them the most money. The original ideals of each political party have been sold out by the highest bidder.

freedman1

That's quite admirable you don't appreciate name calling or hostility.

How about ubetcha's insults?

"get a life...grow up and educate yourself.... love what the libs are doing.... and it gets worse every day....."

Apparently that's perfectly fine in your book, blaming everything on libs? Unless you call out both sides for that behavior there is no credibility to it.

It's Randall's initial thread, it relates to the story, and he can respond to attacks if he wants.

Initially it had nothing to do with being partisan, but ubetcha sure turned it that way with a ridiculous right wing inferiority complex. As if we don't all know there are similar examples on the left as well. Nobody was saying only Republicans have done harmful things. ubetcha put words in people's mouths.

Most of those prescriptions don't work, so by definition are overpriced. Time for the government to quit imposing their crazy views about how individuals should take care of their bodies. These are personal decisions. My body is the only thing I really own, and I will not give it up to the idiot bureaucrats! Bug off!

Heh, you think you own your body. Lol

I at least act as if I own my body. I totally ignore the government's mandates to buy worthless medical insurance or refrain from using substances that I believe are good for me. They do not influence my decisions about my body. They can phok off!

Department for Keeping Big Pharmaceutical Companies Solvent.

You mean the FDA?

Big Pharma? Do you know how much money the federal government rakes in by keeping pot illegal? More than "big pharma" could dream.

Take the blinders off, this isn't about being bought and sold. For the federal government it's a win-win situation. And while they keep you fascinated with blaming "big pharma" the fed got their hands deep in your pockets.

estcst - No, I don't know how much money the federal government rakes in by keeping pot illegal. Could you expound on that?

"I would absolutely never use the federal government to enforce the law against anybody using medical marijuana. There are a couple of reasons for that. We talk about medical marijuana and, as a physician, it's controversial in conventional medicine. I happen to believe that it is probably very, very helpful, and I bet you there are a few testimonials for that. But even in the legislative sense - in the political sense - the federal government doesn't have this authority. I mean, if a state especially comes in and says you can use it, like some of these states have, then for the federal government to come in and say that we are going to override the state law, even if it's just a modest legalization, and override this law, that's an offense just on the issue of states' rights. But how can people do this? How can an individual talk to you like that, and still say, 'Well, I'm a compassionate conservative - I want you to suffer'? That's what they're saying. You know, it's outrageous." -- Ron Paul, (R) Texas

"the federal government doesn't have this authority"

Tell that to all the poor people in prison. Our own president has admitted to using it, but won't lift a finger to help those whose lives have been ruined by these unjust laws.

I guess it is only a free country if you are rich enough to afford it.

You forget the prison guard unions which depend solely on huge prison populations for new prisons, new jobs, etc... Legalizing anything jeopardizes their jobs, and fewer jobs means less union dues, which means less ability to buy Democrats, which means less ability to control what remains illegal.

Somehow it's not talked about much but it is a huge deal.

Plenty of them know from first hand experience, despite the demeanor they present to we the public.

Remember, our last 3 presidents have admitted to trying MJ.

Only those government officials in high-ranking positions get extra-ordinary health benefits. None of the lowest paid government workers get anything consistently different than the lowest paid private-sector worker except some vacation time, and a scraggly retirement package and the same health plans offered, if offered, to average private-sector employees, .

@ryan.....agreed

.....and that is the problem.

We are OWNED by the government and the citizens refuse to acknowledge that little known { but very obvious} fact.

Let's work on that grammar and composition. How about "can't" v. "cant" and "ingest" v. "injest." Oh, and let's not forget " . . . bodies. What a joke."

Let's stop frying the brain with chemicals, and develop the brain.

Whatever the grammar, she's right.

Ryan, they claim that the interstate commerce clause in the Constitution gives them the authority. Power yes, authority no.

!!!ytliug TON :sroruj laitnetop oT

Regards....

Thank you so much saftgek! At first when I read ryan's post I thought, "What kind of strange foreign language is he using?" With your stellar translations I can now understand his original post. In fact, I think you are so good at these translations that I will now start sending you my text messages. Maybe you can translate what these young folk are saying to me. Thanks in advance. I can't wait to find out exactly what "lol" means. I keep thinking it means Land O'Lakes, as in the Land O'Lakes butter, but I get weird looks every time I ask for someone to pass the lol

The stoners really help themselves out by saying pot has no adverse health effects and actually has some positive health benefits when they write on a 3rd grade level. Don't you see all of the red lines under your words? Unbelievable. Just keep complaining.

Eagles, you obviously know so much more than the rest of us with that wanna be Ivy league diploma you have. Please impart some more of that wisdom on me.

The negative health effects mostly come from smoking it. Legalize it and new and better ways will be marketed that have virtually no bad health effect. Refer to the Canadian nasal spray.

wow sean is your last name penn?

and yes i realize i should've used capital letters i must be high.

hmm it looks like i made up the word should've, it must be because im a republican

notice the lack of an apostrophe? that's just laziness.

ever hear of prohibition?

If any medical or social consequence of your liberty sucks money out of my pocket or means my family has to make sacrifices to compensate? Then damn right they do.

Have those consequences or sacrifices been sufficiently quantified yet? Probably not.

Fred Guisse

They probably don't exist or we would have been offered solid proof instead of propaganda.

Who needs grammar its a blog who cares. Thats what the secretary is for.

Kudo's D.M. At least you left the possibility there may be unproven consequences. Most people just offer their opinions as undisputable truths. You have an opinion, but you are also 100% honest. Refreshing.

I would hardly say that a mere 1200 published studies and reviews would constitute "volumes".

SonofMollyM, merely stating the number, without any comparative context of said number, means that number has no basis. How many studies of alcohol, morphine, oxycontin, hydrocodone, codine or any other of the myriad of narcotics and opiods that are approved for medicinal/personal use have been done?

It's my understanding that the FDA will approve pharmaceuticals based on the results of one study.

For context of said number, go to norml.org.

The FDA gets paid $1 million per drug for approval. It is how they get their funding. Could this constitute a conflict of interest?

o.k. for all of you who can't put it together , i will spell it out for you. the booze companies don't want pot legal because it will cut into their profits. the drug lords don't want legal pot because they will have to pay taxes. it isn't just the gov. the same thing happened in chicago with gambling. the local racetrack owners put a big fight to keep the casinos out. it's all about money. it doesn't have a thing to do with whether or not the pot has medical value. the potheads are the only ones who believe it has some medical value. maybe it does, but it seems to me that more people who don't have medical reasons use it and use it often. so, if it isn't money that motivates legalizing pot then it probably is the addiction.

acehighstr

The liquor companies are well aware of the "dangers" of 420.

Have you seen the latest Budweiser TV spot?

"GRAB SOME BUDS" I cracked up!

I thought, "OK I'll grab some buds and maybe a coupla beers, too!"

acehighstr

In your last sentence you state that it's the addiction keeping it illegal.

One small problem: It's not physically addictive and that's a strawman argument.

Dangerous Mind-

It is addictive, not physically no, however you can get addicted to a feeling. Ever heard of sex addiction, or love addiction?? They exist, and the exist because they trigger dopamine. When you trigger too much dopamine all the time you become addicted to the feeling it gives you, so in fact you are becoming addicted to a chemical in your brain that responds to the THC in weed. Careful what you speak of!!

HAPPY THOUGHTS IN MY MIND.

Thank you Rachel222 for your lame words. We can get addicted to things we like to do...that make us feel good. We should avoid things that cause us pleasure. WTF? The only thing you have clearly been addicted to is avoiding pleasure. Sounds like some old school religious beliefs where pleasurable things like dancing were forbidden. Anything can be abused and become unhealthy including food, exercise and negative thought.

that's right...anything you get pleasure from doing raises dopamine levels in your brain's chemistry...the obvious pleasure you get from meting out judgment against others while enjoying the obvious pleasure of "being saved" is your brain rewarding you with higher dopamine levels in your brain...and if you do this on a near daily basis, then obviously you are as addicted as recreational cannabliss tokers...the same thing happens for couch potatoes and their cable or movies or video games, for people who keep flocking to mcdonalds, for people who swim or ride a bike or run or laugh or cry or even picking their noses...

Hey joe I like your new word. Canna'bliss.' Now I have my own perspective on the dopamine issue. Our Creator made us that way and gave us the dopamine response to insure that we did the right things to survive. Like Pavlov's dogs that little burst of dopamine was our reward for doing the right things. Having sex to make lots of babies and guarantee the survival of the human species, eating food to guarantee our individual survival, all are part of the overall big picture of creation. Now every now and then there appear certain variations to the norm. For example there are a lot of people who really enjoy feeling pain. They are called masochists. Their counterpart are people who really enjoy inflicting pain and they are called sadists.

Now religious people often fall into the category of sado/masochists because they have decided tendencies toward both categories. They are constantly depriving themselves of all things pleasurable like masochists because they think it is somehow sinful and they take great pleasure in trying to inflict their ideologies on others like sadists. In some cases this tendency becomes so strong that they will even put you to death while praying for your soul. It happens all to often. There are several articles here on the vine being discussed that tell of just such a horror.

Organized religion is a bit like a loaded gun. As long as you leave it in on the table (keep it in the church) no one gets hurt. However the minute you pick it up and start waving it around all over the place (evangilizing and mixing it into our government) someone almost always gets hurt. In this case the moral majority opposed the legalization of marijuana on religious grounds and our government leaders oppose it because they are getting paid to do so by some very powerful special interest groups. Consequently people who could seriously benefit from its use go without, suffer, and some even may die so that the greedy and holier than thou can feel really good about themselves. OMG is that a shot of dopamine. For shame. LOL

yep...it's worth noting that smoking the herb does the same thing, just as a runner's high does and everything else we've covered...also, from a religious standpoint, i'm reminded of these verses:

Genesis 1:11-12

King James Version (KJV)

¹¹And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

¹²And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Ezekiel 34:29

King James Version (KJV)

²⁹And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more.

(hemp, anyone? it has helped people survive through famines through edible hempseeds)

Matthew 15:11

King James Version (KJV)

(Jesus quoted)

¹¹Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

(in other words, if you partake of it, who cares. but if you bitch at us, you're a bitch and you're going to hell!)

"In the later times, some shall … speak lies in hypocrisy … commanding to abstain from that which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth." (Paul: 1 Timothy 1-4)

Joe, you had me till you brought religion into this. Let's stay with the facts and not a bunch of fairy tales. After all, the facts do favor you.

yea, yeah...i know...i'm not into it but i like using those verses against the religious types...just pointing out to them that according to their own bible, the herb's a good thing, which we all already know. personally, the bible's full of it, but full of interesting tidbits you can use against religious know-it-all's...didn't look up to see who mentioned religion but whenever anyone mentions religion and we're talkin the herb, you can bet that i'm gonna post those...sorry, it was kinda like a knee-jerk reaction there, heh...

Chickenman when in the nuthatch you must speak 'nutese' or they simply cannot understand you. You see? Also I may have linked this before but I will again just in case.

http://patients4medicalmarijuana.wordpress.com/2009/12/22/jesus-healed-using-cannabis-study-shows/

It references Exodus 30.23 and talks about Kaneh Bosum or Calamus. One, Kaneh Bosum, seems to have translated to cannabus and the other, Calamus, translated to a form of herbal extasy which, as it turns out, is lethal to flies and other insects. In Exodus 22 through 30 it even gives the recipe for Jesus's holy annointing oil. Very interesting. LOL

Topical cannabis oil extract is being used today to aid in treating certain types of diabetes. That might explain why they were rubbing it all over each other and their contacts as they traveled through the land. Either that or they just liked rubbing each other. Oh well. LOL

Shepherd, I simply scorn references to such a sillly little book that's caused so much irreperable damage to the world. I agree with the cause of weed legalization based on reason, not fairy tales.

Was that clear enough for you? or should I try again?

but then how do you reason with the ones living in a fairy tale? beat em at their own game.

Joe, it's not worth it. They selective read to create whatever fantasy they're into at the time. The only way you win against somebody like that is to show them just how stupid and inane their book is. You still won't win, but at least you'll know you're standing on solid grounds, not shifting sands (wait, did I just quote the bible? Oops!)

For clarification sake, when I say you won't win, I'm saying you're not going to change a religious nutjob's mind btw...

u never know...i mean, even pat robertson said it was stupid to put people in jail for smoking the herb...now that, i wasn't expecting! if someone like that can say something like that on national television (700 club), then you just never know...at least the crazies can concede to some level of reasoning...

btw, didn't see that episode, norml spread the word to me...

Chickenman clearly you have no use whatsoever for any of the 'religious folk.' It is just that they are here, we are more or less surrounded by them, so it doesn't hurt me to take pity on them for their spiritual weakness. I only take umbrage when they try and convince me to join their ranks. Even then rather than become hostile toward them I simply ignore them.

Obviously you are quite possibly like me to some extent in that you are very comfortable with your own personal beliefs and are spiritually strong. You do not need someone else dictating how you live your life and what choices that you can make. Where we differ is in our method of dealing with the 'lambs of God,' the chronic followers, the flock being sheared. I simply tolerate them in their own space where as you seem to demonize them. That attitude, in some ways, is just as bad as theirs in that it is inflexible and intolerant. But your choice is yours to make just as mine is for me.

Just because a person is religious and follows a strict theology they are no less human beings. If I were in need and they offered to help me I certainly would not turn it down. And likewise if they were in need and I could help them I would. That, to me, is just part of our responsibility as member of the human race.

Well said Shepherd..I would be happy to have you as my neighbor.

For those with time and determination to READ the facts, here's a list of references from the Patent # 2304669, which was secured to use Cannabis & derivatives for Anti-Inflammatory applications and as an anti-oxidant:

• Windholz et al., The Merck Index, Tenth Edition (1983) p. 241, abstract No. 1723.
• Mechoulam et al., "A Total Synthesis of d1-Ɗ¹ -Tetrahydrocannabinol, the Active Constituent of Hashish¹," Journal of the American Chemical Society, 87:14:3273-3275 (1965)
• Mechoulam et al., "Chemical Basis of Hashish Activity," Science, 18:611-612 (1970)
• Ottersen et al., "The Crystal and Molecular Structure of Cannabidiol," Acta Chem. Scand. B 31, 9:807-812 (1977)
• Cunha et al., "Chronic Administration of Cannabidiol to Healthy Volunteers and Epileptic Patients¹," Pharmacology, 21:175-185 (1980)
• Consroe et al., "Acute and Chronic Antiepileptic Drug Effects in Audiogenic Seizure-Susceptible Rats," Experimental Neurology, Academic Press Inc., 70:626-637 (1980)
• Turkanis et al., "Electrophysiologic Properties of the Cannabinoids," J. Clin. Pharmacol., 21:449S-463S (1981)
• Carlini et al., "Hypnotic and Antielpileptic Effects of Cannabidiol," J. Clin. Pharmacol., 21:417S-427S (1981)
• Karler et al., "The Cannabinoids as Potential Antiepileptics," J. Clin. Pharmacol., 21:437S-448S (1981)
• Consroe et al., "Antiepileptic Potential of Cannabidiol Analgos," J. Clin. Pharmacol., 21:428S-436S (1981)
• Colasanti et al., "Ocular Hypotension, Ocular Toxicity,a nd Neurotoxicity in Response to Marihuana Extract and Cannabidiol," Gen Pharm., Pergamon Press Ltd., 15(6):479-484 (1984)
• Colasanti et al., "Intraocular Pressure, Ocular Toxicity and Neurotoxicity after Administration of Cannabinol or Cannabigerol," Exp. Eye Res., Academic Press Inc., 39:251-259 (1984)
• Volfe et al., "Cannabinoids Block Release of Serotonin from Platelets Induced by Plasma frm Migraine Patients," Int. J. Clin. Pharm. Res., Bioscience Ediprint Inc., 4:243-246 (1985)
• Agurell et al., "Pharmacokinetics and Metabolism of Ɗ¹ -Tetrahydrocannabinol and Other Cannabinoids with Emphasis on Man*," Pharmacological Reviews, 38(1):21-43 (1986)
• Karler et al., "Different Cannabinoids Exhibit Different Pharmacological and Toxicological Properties,"NIDA Res. Monogr., 79:96-107 (1987)
• Samara et al., "Pharmacokinetics of Cannabidiol in Dogs," Drug Metabolism and Disposition, 16(3):469-472 (1988)
• Choi, "Glutamate Neurotoxicity and Diseases of the Nervous System," Neuron, Cell Press, 1:623-634 (1988)
• Eshhar et al., "Neuroprotective and Antioxidant Activities of HU-211, A Novel NMDA Receptor Antagonist," European Journal of Pharmacology, 283:19-29 (1995)
• Skaper et al., "The ALIAmide Palmitoylethanolamide and Cannabinoids, but not Anandamide, are Protective in a Delayed Postglutamate Paradigm of Excitotoxic Death in Cerebellar Granule Neurons," Neurobiology, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 93:3984-3989 (1996)
• Alonso et al., "Simple Synthesis of 5-Substituted Resorcinols: A Revisited Family of Interesting Bioactive Molecules," J. Org. Chem., American Chemical Society, 62(2):417-421 (1997)
• Combes et al. "A Simple Synthesis of the Natural 2,5-Dialkylresorcinol Free Radical Scavenger Antioxidant: Resorstation," Synthetic Communications, Marcel Dekker, Inc., 27(21):3769-3778 (1997)
• Shohami et al., "Oxidative Stress in Closed-Head Injury: Brain Antioxidant Capacity as an Indicator of Functional Outcome," Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism, Lippincott-Raven Publishers, 17(10):1007-1019 (1997)
• Zurier et al., "Dimethylheptyl-THC-11 OIC Acid," Arthritis & Rheumatism, 41(1):163-170 (1998)
• Hampson et al., "Dual Effects of Anandamide on NMDA Receptor-Mediated Responses and Neurotransmission," Journal of Neurochemistry, Lippincott-Raven Publishers, 70(2):671-676 (1998)
• Hampson et al., "Cannabidiol and (-)Ɗ⁹ -tetrahydrocannabiono are Neuroprotective Antioxidants," Medical Sciences, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 8268-8273 (1998)

No Medical Applications? No Research? How about the TRUTH for a change?

Well said. But our united state of corporatocracy won't change because, like those two perpetual Asian wars, there's big money to be made on the war on drugs too. At least Ron Paul has taken a rational stand on this. I wonder what will become of the Paul-Frank legislative effort to legalize medical marijuana.

Lamar Smith (R) Texas, is killing it in committee.

mr. flaherty, it is not exactly a bill to legalize marijuana. It is a bill that says the fed will no longer handle that and it will be left up to the individual states. If it passes the legality would be determined by the states, so for most people it would unfortunately remain illegal.

unfortunately i live in oklahoma, we still have 3.2 beer here.

we still have 3.2 beer here.

Good lord! You poor bastard... Is there no justice anymore?

i know, i think we're the only state that still does this.

we just in the last couple of years got legal tattoos.

wow man...sucks...i'm drinking 9.5 here...can't imagine having to deal with 3.2 alla time...walked it 10 blocks from home, no trouble...yet bud is illegal, if I got caught, I'm automatically in jail...what a bitch...when stoned, I'm mellow. when drunk, I'm pissed off and careless. the @!$%#??? there really ain't no justice.

Because we keep electing idiots. It is difficult to impossible for anyone of competence and intellegence to manage to get past the public scrutiny to even make it to the Primaries.

What more evidence do you need to see how severely broken our system is.

According to a recent article it costs senate winners $7 million dollars per election year to gain and keep their jobs. How are they supposed to do that without selling us down the river?

Without real campaign reform we will never have a government that represents the majority of the American people.

The fact that not a single bank CEO went to jail for destroying the economy and putting millions of people out of their homes should give us a clue as to who our government really represents.

"What a lot of people don't realize is that the govt and other industries are making a fortune with marijuana being illegal."

The government does not "make a fortune . . ." It is amazing, the blatherings that come from the mouths of select people in our society.

Wow!

Government WASTES a fortune on prohibition and enforcement and LOSES a fortune on legalizing and taxing it. Two birds, one stone.

saftgek-2020747 Prisons are funded based on how many inmates they usually have. Fill the cells and get the money. Many private run prisons (who rape and beat their inmates) are for profit.... Do you know how many private prisons there are across the United States?

For the record, its in the area of 246, housing close to 100,000 inmates.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_prison#Private_prisons_in_the_United_States_today

Oh BS druggie

Its not that marijuana legalization would reduce the need for cops, judges and prison workers, it's just that they would then be free to focus their efforts on real criminals rather than citizens exercising their right to self determination. If there is a conspiracy, then it is between the government and its relationship with the pharmaceutical, tobacco, and alcohol industries, all which would lose profits if marijuana was decriminalized.

I honestly question these numbers posted by this OP. I can certainly agree with the numbers on people charged, fined, and possibly even booked on simple possession crimes. I can not, however, agree with the link they make between legalization and loss of half a million jobs, or the shutting down of a quarter of the prisons.

Personally, I think the "personal use rights" argument is one that should be had and has the makings of a future constitutional ammendment (along with a few stipulations, though). However, as we are a country founded by Puritans (people too uptight for the British), ruled for the most part by a restrictive and religious sect of society, where the specter of the scares from the last century still permeates our social and legal lives, there is very little chance that this will happen for several decades yet. Further, it will likely take a very stable and prosperous time before we are willing, as a country, to sit down and have these debates. Frankly, that is at least a decade off, if not more.

The Government might not "make" a fortune but they dole out the money for others to make off of this absurd legislation. In this day where politicians are looking for more/new revenue streams legalization makes sound policy. It provides an avenue to control, tax, and monitor distribution. We continue to subsidize the tobacco industry and waste millions on law suites against it, but it's not illegal. The States that have legalized it (medical use only; wink, wink) have benefitted to the tune of millions of dollars in added tax revenue and coalitions are gaining strength. But, like education, immigration, etc... Big Brother knows what's best for all States, even though these same, out of touch, legislators don't fill up there own gas tanks or purchase their own groceries, while they charge per-diem.

Hey Nancy, pop another anti-depressant, to go with that blood pressure and cholesterol pill as you head to your next Botox party prior to Lipo. And weed is bad????

gary b. msn did an article on this a few months ago and I believe that it was more to the tune of a $1.7B industry, and that in just the few states that approve medicinal use. Imagine the industry numbers if all 50 were approved for widespread use.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42237531/ns/business-small_business/t/medical-marijuana-becoming-blockbuster-drug/

Hope it works, b/c I'm not sure how to post links.

The comments regarding prisons and private prisons are quite true. If marijuana becomes legal, then those incarcerated for possessing it will have to be released----except that some states have declared paraphernalia a felony which means that the paper used to make a joint will keep that same person in prison. So yeah, our tax dollars are also funding prisons that used to be self supporting and housed criminals with victims, whereas marijuana users have no victims. I am not in favor of legalizing any drug per se, but I am not seeing class action suits for serious effects from marijuana use like many of the drugs approved by the FDA that have been tested for less time than marijuana.

So, whose pockets are being lined with respect to those harmful drugs that do have class action suits in progress? How are the pharma companies recouping the funds they have to pay out for these suits?

By paying money to keep marijuana illegal, and thus keeping the value of their ineffective alternatives at sky-high prices without any competition. Free Enterprise at it's finest ;-)

Thank you, "tendertherese", for speaking so much common sense.

On another seed about this topic, I urged a rabid "true believer" to be willing to pony up with his compadres to PAY for a continuation of the "War on Drugs", if they believed in it so fiercely. He/She avoided the idea altogether.

We have only so much money to spend, and I believe we could spend it better.

The President keeps sending up "Trial Balloons" about tax hikes while throwing more money INTO this fiasco, when Medical AND recreational cannabis could bring those tens of billions of tax dollars into the State and Federal coffers.

we knew that back in the sixties

The US Government hold a patent on MMJ also! They don't want the people to cultivate their medicine when Big Pharma can. Hypocrisy in action!

"Just check out US Patent 6630507 titled “Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants” which is assigned to The United States of America, as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services."

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/257008#ixzz1DV2MnlMT

WTF? People this oligarchic plutocracy has gone far enough hasn't it?

The drug companies make a fortune off drugs that do not work as well or as fast. I think this is more like torture of people who are all ready very ill, so the drug companies can make more money. This is not to mention all of the tax payers money spent on this “Drug war” that is only in the minds of people who get their kicks by trying to play GOD and control what people do with their own body’s.

Your government equals hypocrisy; it's as simple as that. It doesn't have to make sense to make dollars and cents!

They classify marijuana in the same class as heroin, they then lock up the guy caught with weed in the same prison cell as a rapist or murderer.

At least the government follows the same illogical association, but guess why all the states are going bankrupt? The prisons are overcrowded to with people busted for weed. Guess the conservatives won't mind higher taxes or loss of social services as states cut budgets.....................

Bill, the prisons are overcrowded because of the prison guard unions which depend solely on huge prison populations for new prisons, new jobs, etc...

Legalizing anything jeopardizes their jobs, and fewer jobs means less union dues, which means less ability to buy Democrats, which means less ability to control what remains illegal.

"At least the government follows the same illogical association,"

Since you obviously haven't noticed the current government is not conservative... it is just union owned.

We all know prisons are the number one employer in most states. There is simply no reason to put these offenders in jail. Stop making up drool to just to write something..........

@pjam09: I'd like to remind you of something. Our "government", as you falsely state, is not a "not conservative" one. Our president may not be conservative, and our senate may not have a conservative majority, but that does not make our GOVERNMENT liberal. It's still mixed with the same batsh*t conservatives and liberals that it's been filled with for years. It's just a different day, with a different majority.

You know why liberals like unions so much? It's because conservatives like you, try to take away the rights of those that don't have enough power to fend for themselves. People need or want unions so conservatives can't take away their good pay and benefits.

That's all without saying that your theory on prisons is insane.

Bill, the prisons are overcrowded because of the prison guard unions which depend solely on huge prison populations for new prisons, new jobs, etc...

Legalizing anything jeopardizes their jobs, and fewer jobs means less union dues, which means less ability to buy Democrats, which means less ability to control what remains illegal.

You must be high with @!$%#ed up logic like that.

Prisons are over-crowded because prisons are for-profit institutions. Period. It has nothing to do with unions and is absolutely not exclusive to Democrats.

Just go ask Jan Brewer in Arizona.

I believe big pharma already has drugs in development that will take care of those side effects. Coming to a commercial and a magazine ad near you soon.

THANK GOODNESS WE CAN STILL GET OUR XANAX, ZOLOFT, PROZAC and VALIUM!!!!!

ROFL chopswell.

"prolonged use may cause uncontrollable diarrhea, vomiting, dizziness, a desire to kill your cat, inability to operate a telephone and incessant talking."

You left out instilling the belief that "hope" is a presidential qualification.

Belief that some idiot couldn't turn this thread into an Obama attack.

ROFL is right ... OMG... well said.....

THANK GOD SOMEONE STILL HAS SOME COMMON SENSE OUT THERE!!!!! I don't understand it either. I don't smoke pot, but I completely agree with what you're saying. Xanax doesn't CURE panic disorder, it masks it. Prozac doesn't CURE depression, it masks it. Adderoll doesn't CURE ADHD, it masks it! ALL these that I have mentioned need therapy to CURE... not DRUGS.

Pot did the same thing. Instead of curing these diseases, it masked the pain. Instead of buying the pharmaceutical companies drugs like vicodin, morphine, and percocet, more and more people were turning to marijuana which is less addictive (some people could argue that it's NOT addictive at all). They chose to go a more holistic way instead of pumping chemicals into their bodies. I think it should be THEIR choice on how they choose to ease the pain. Marijuana, while it's not a cure for these diseases, it is a substitute to other "controlled substances" what are legal with a doctor's prescription.

Thank you for having common sense and for telling it how it really is. A lot of people don't understand the addictive properties in these pharmaceutical drugs that they are pumping down men, women, and children's throats!

Ashley
(recovering drug addict from Xanax, percocet, vicodin, and methamphetamine. I've been clean AND sober since December 24th 2005. Served Honorably in the military as a Military Police Officer after my choice of "the clean life" in 2006. Now a mother to two girls and a Marine Wife.... STILL clean and sober and going strong.)

Cha-Ching! BigPharm. If weed becomes legal, it will put a dent in the POOR PRESCRIPTION COMPANIES profits. waah!

Why would it take from big pharma, they could go into the marijuana business too, then they can get us from both sides.

Actually marijuana has been shown to reduce the size of tumors, first in 1974 when MCV conducted a study then again in 2000 with the Madrid study. But you won't find that tidbit on front page news.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Marijuana-and-Cancer---Governmental-Arrogance-Buries-Viable-Cancer-Therapies&id=5048737

Ah yes, cathee the troll. Care to cite where Reagan said there was no such thing as AIDS? Didn't think so. You spread so many lies here that it should be a criminal offense.

He said there was no such thing as AIDS and had his FDA shut down research into glyconutrients.

@estcst

Instead of you trolling for my posts to comment on, why don't you do some reading to become acquainted with what has occurred in America!

As America remembers the life of Ronald Reagan, it must never forget his shameful abdication of leadership in the fight against AIDS. History may ultimately judge his presidency by the thousands who have and will die of AIDS.

Following discovery of the first cases in 1981, it soon became clear a national health crisis was developing. But President Reagan's response was "halting and ineffective," according to his biographer Lou Cannon. Those infected initially with this mysterious disease -- all gay men -- found themselves targeted with an unprecedented level of mean-spirited hostility.

Perhaps the greatest criticism surrounds Reagan's silence about the AIDS epidemic spreading in the 1980s.

Yeah, right.

You know you're liberal if you believe AIDS is caused by lack of funding.

Mamaditto is still under the presumption that AIDS isn't cause by a bloodborne virus, but is instead a magical curse that Jesus sprinkles on gay people.

@toasty LOL!!!

Back then you were likely to get aids from a blood transfusion as well as blood was not tested for the aids virus and donors were not screened for lifestyle behaviors (drug use/needle sharing, unprotected sex etc)

That's how my grandmother contracted Hepatitis in the late 70's. We always called her "the yellow grandma".

Well except the fact that marijuana is much much safer to the user and society as a whole.

Actually there is a huge difference. One is attributed to over 40,000 deaths annually, and the other has not one single documented death. Guess which one.

Ahhh, yes. The unsubstantiated claim of someone who merely makes a statement w/o citation.

As Gomer Pyle used to say: "Sur-PRAHS, Sur-PRAHS, Sur-PRAHS!"

Alcohol and weed are VERY different. Alcohol is directly responsible for the death of an average of 79,000 people a year, through alcohol poisoning, liver disease, drunk driving, etc. In the last 13 years of researching deaths, the total number of deaths related to pot, directly or indirectly...zero.

www.cdc.gov/alcohol/

saftgek-2020747, don't worry buddy, your job as the guy who watches people take urine tests is safe for now.

Alcohol is a depressant, marijuana is a stimulant.

Alcohol is not a narcotic. Your all wrong.

Kenny,

You obviously don't know anything about either marijuana or alcohol if you think they are the same. Do some homework and then say something meaningful.

Gary, marijuana and alcohol are the same inasmuch as they both alter consciousness and they are both frequently used in social settings. Yet one mind altering drug is legal, one is not.

I studied at the university for 10 years to alter my mind, recreational drugs are used to relax and help people to feel good. Many religious zealots have a problem with things that make people feel good.

Kenney's heart was in the right place.... he was just drunk when attempted to express his thoughts.

I believe the sentiment is that pot should be legal too. Even alcoholics can grasp that amount of obviousness.

@SonofmollyM: Nice try, but pot is not necessarily a stimulant by default. Being there are many different chemicals that make up the plant, and every strain is different, and that there's two clearly different types (indica and sativa), every single one is different. Besides, THC is known to be more closely related to a hallucinogen and a stimulant, depending on the strain.

Is that bourbon bottle sitting next to you half empty or half full?

No booze bottle next to me, Doper! There's wa-a-ay too much in life on which one can become "high" without using chemicals - licit or illicit.

Nice try, from a cooked brain - keep it up.

saftgek is a smoker and a caffeine addict, not a boozer

My god, I imagine you must have a helluva time scraping that brown stuff off your face in order to blow your nose. I realize it's asking a lot, and probably beyond your capability, but at least TRY to think for yourself; not that it really matters anyway, you're just a cog in the wheel of your rulers. No different from the rest of us, except that you buy their BS and most of us don't.

You are such a p*ssy.

Smoked marijuana has been shown to counter the effects of Alzheimers.

softgenital-2020747 Go troll another thread with your ignorant right wing hysteria douche.

as if your thoughts on what I do in my home really matter, that is the problem, laws for stupid ,meaningless problems costing the entire country money. If I were to smoke pot it is not your business, or anyone else.

Softdeck, Your prejudices are clearly the unreasoned consequences of some radical religious influences. You probably don't like our religious freedoms here as well. You are a tyrant. Why don't you just convert to Islam and move to Saudi Arabia where there are plenty of your ilk!

That me be our tax dollars at work, trolling the internet attempting to incite people any way possible. I guess that's better than allowing a reasonable intelligent open debate about the news story.

Oh man that saftgek cat is like squaresville. So, um, what were we talking about again?

safety geek 2020(vision?) 747(pilot?)- "too much in life on which one can become "high""

"Too much in life"... but not a god-given natural plant that has benefited humankind in various ways for millennium?

Do you even recognize the utter stupidity of qualifying "life" by excluding experience from it? Life is an accumulation of experiences... fewer experiences = less life.

Your vision is far from 20/20.

It's people like YOU, that ruin our society. I'm sure there's some hypocritical thing you are doing like drinking coffee or smoking a cigarette. Even if not, there you sit in your chair telling the rest of the world how it should live its life. Government is supposed to protect people from other people. It is not its job to protect people from themselves. What I do on my own time that does not affect other people, should be my business, and ONLY my business.

You are also wrong. My mom had breast cancer and went through months of chemo. The only thing that would help her to live a normal life, was to smoke a little pot. Then she could eat food, and act more like a normal person, rather than being a sloth on the couch unable to do anything. That was 20 years ago.

STOP TELLING PEOPLE HOW TO LIVE THEIR LIVES! STOP ENCOURAGING GOVERNMENT TO TELL PEOPLE HOW TO LIVE THEIR LIVES!

LeftLeaningLisa your words speak the truth and give us hope. Thankful for bringing clarity to these comments.

There are many close-minded folk out there that seek to control and tell others what is right and wrong. They are content with pointing fingers and saying we are wrong to op for treatment that has never taken as much as one life and to direct us to instead take opiates and/or big pharm drugs.

There is no science behind this decision, all about $$$$

calling yourself names is a sign of insanity didn't you know?

Being perfect all the time could be a symptom of OCD or maybe just anally retentive.

Diagnosing people over the internet based on a one word post is a definite sign of a dumb egomaniac armchair shrink.

Good luck with that "herding cats" project.

Go ahead and ignite. Oh wait, you said unite sorry.....

Dislexics untie!