Legalize Marijuana - Ideas for Change in America

Legalize it! I have wished for this day for most of my life. The days when we as cannabis supporters and freedom loving Americans may finally triumph over ignorance, hysteria, propaganda, and oppression. But now the realization of a few things has really got me worried.

------Legalizing marijuana to what end?------
What will they give us? Medical use only, meaning recreational use is still criminal so they make it prescription based? Then worst they only allow you to buy it from them so your still in there control?
My fear is what controlling laws will they set in place. How will they limit our movement.

"oh they wont do that" Put down the weed come back later and read this. What has the government "given" us that they didn't totally screw with us?

Those that make some extra cash of our crops will no longer be able to make any money because you can bet your but Phillip Morris and like will start production as soon as they have paid to get there License to grow it.. Oh bet your bong on it Ladies and Gents.

It will remain illegal for private civilians to grow Cannabis on there property for any reason with out, Tax or license or other system of currency exchange with the government.

This could very well be the worst thing we have done for ourselves.

I think we should be clear on what we want. It should be consider a plant, like any other. If you sell flowers you pay taxes on the profits that you make. Its that simple. No special taxes or license, state line tax, no special rules.

If we are not clear on this and demand this we are just getting anything we want.

Suggested by John Sanders on 02/17/2009 @ 06:11AM PT

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Here it is real simple....want to have marijuana legalized?

Get organized to have one day where every pot smoker in the United States goes to the police stations, court house, etc with their stash and DEMAND TO BE ARRESTED!! Do not take no for an answer. With the amount of smokers all there at the same time would push an ugency to legalize weed. The slogan for these pot smokers?? 'If you legalize it...they'll go home!!' (knocking the Field of Dreams...If you build it....they will come line). But really, I mean the governements own number show that there are more that smoke than they could house. Do you know how much it would cost to feed all those people? How long it would take to process these people? Where would you house them all? HOW WOULD THEY HANDLE THAT?? They would be on the wire to Obama to have it legalized so that they could send all those people home!! then they would have something else to do...let all the others go from jail that are in on simple possession charges for weed. Tax it and we will buy it, taxes to help get things on line as far as health care, education, etc.

So many pros and so little cons...and it is still not legal? Let's make it that way by giving the power back to the people!! Take charge!!

Suggested by Nina Walters on 02/16/2009 @ 01:30PM PT

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We need more blog postings on campaign progress as well as updates as to how we can help in our own communities. I'll make a Facebook group for Michigan State students, but we need ways of spreading the word about this site.
All our blogs on the front page have been replaced with Health and other ideas. Let's get back in the game, people!

Suggested by Jacob "Bear" Elert on 02/12/2009 @ 03:38PM PT

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Let's approach this from the standpoint of where are we now, where would we like to be, and what should our next step be to get there?

Where we are now:
We live in a country that's citizens overwhelmingly agree with ending prohibition for medical patients, while a large percentage agree with ending prohibition entirely. We live in a country where there is a wide spectrum of beliefs regarding cannabis. There is a senior generation that has been heavily influenced by the efforts of Anslinger through reefer madness and reinforced by the Nixon and Reagan regimes. In contrast we have 18-40 year olds who have access to volumes of information just a mouse click away. The younger generations view prohibition in a more educated and practical light. Younger generations have experienced cannabis first hand and understand that it is unfairly placed on the same tier as heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine. They see prohibition not cannabis itself destroying the lives of friends and family members. Nearly one percent of the countries population is sitting in jail as we speak, mostly due to the failed war on drugs.

Our country has become addicted to tax money that it collects from the tobacco and alcohol industries. This is clear when you hear politicians talking about balancing budgets by increasing sin taxes. Our politicians are addicted to the rewards of the lobbying efforts of these industries as well as pharmaceutical companies, and private prisons. Alcohol, tobacco, and pharmaceutical companies have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to keep cannabis out of the hands of responsible adults, purely to protect profit margins by removing a heavily favored competitor to their product. Private prison systems have been allowed to lobby for increased prison sentences for minor offenses such as simple possession.

Our politicians continue to ignore our populous... Is this taxation without representation?

_____________________

Where would we like to be:

Full legalization, regulated, distributed, and punishable in the same manner as alcohol with some minor exceptions.

1. Cannabis should be removed from the schedule I drug listings and placed into the same category as alcohol.

2. Any responsible adult may cultivate cannabis for personal use within a reasonable limit for personal consumption and a safe limit for the cultivation area with respect to fire and environmental safety. Personal growers transfer for consideration excess cannabis from cultivation efforts but may not earn more than x% of an average citizens current annual income without a distributors license.

3. Any responsible adult may apply for a distributors license given that they have a certifiably safe location to produce bulk amounts of commercial grade cannabis.

4. No state, county, or city shall hinder the efforts of any responsible adult to cultivate cannabis based on opinion. Regulations regarding cannabis cultivation will be based solely on meeting demonstratable public safety concerns. An example of a demonstratable concern being electrical overload and fire hazard. Therefore regulation should have to do with electrical code if the location itself is environmentally safe than meeting code is the only legitimate safety concerns. Public safety concerns should never be able to be used as a means to prevent cannabis cultivation when those safety concerns can be addressed and resolved.

_________________________

What is the first step we should take to start getting there?

In the short term, existing organizations can start a campaign in cannabis friendly states, to get factual information about cannabis out. This campaign should 1st be aimed at the already converted. This campaign should target the 21-40 year age demographic. It should be approached as a means of educating those already in support with factual and compelling data, as well as educating supporters of how they can help either through donation or volunteerism.

There should be an effort to remove old stereotypes from association with cannabis. While we may find comical many of these stereotypes, they perpetuate lies.

Once funding milestones have been achieved via donation and volunteerism efforts directed at supporters, the focus should be switched to the aging populous. As cancer becomes more and more prevalent in our senior population, seniors are increasingly looking for answers and new options. Public service announcements should be run on, radio, print, and network advertising sources to educate seniors of the benefits of cannabis and cannabis related products, current medical endo-cannibinoid research, laws regarding cannabis, and how to obtain a medical recommendation to use cannabis if their doctor will not consider it. These announcements again should also serve the dual role of educating listeners and encouraging donation and volunteerism.

_______________________________________

Anyway just my 17 cents on the issue. We are getting more and more support everyday. Lets make sure our supporters are armed with factual compelling data that cannot be challenged by any objective mind.

Suggested by X otix on 02/10/2009 @ 08:31AM PT

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If you want to protect kids from drugs the best way to do that is to end this lawless prohibition policy and take the sale of drugs out of the hands of users, abusers, addicts and gangsters. Instead we need, finally, to put responsible regulated adult supervision in between children and drug sales. Right now the morals and ethics of users, abusers, addicts and gangsters dictate who has access to drug sales. Licensing, regulation and taxation would put the values of society in firm control of who gets access to drugs.

Suggested by P R on 02/10/2009 @ 06:13AM PT

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Cannabis reform is the simplest and most wide-sweeping reform one can imagine for the President. He could accomplish the major points of public agreement with the stroke of a pen or by speaking a few sentences, and by doing so help save our agricultural base, stimulate new manufacturing industries, create millions of jobs, inspire billions of dollars in new tax revenues to support his other programs, reduce deforestation desertification, clean up the environment, reduce CO2 emissions, reduce health care costs, reduce crime---and save billions of dollars in wasteful and harmful tax spending.

1. Confirm with Judge Francis Young's non-binding 1988 ruling to move cannabis out of schedule 1.

2. Follow through with the National Academy of Science's 1999 call for increased medical studies.

3. Implement the 1972 "Shafer Commission" recommendations and decriminalize personal amounts of cannabis. Full legalization will occur when the Scientific studies reveal exactly how stupid we have been for the most part of the last century.

4. Tell the DEA to revive the "Hemp for Victory" program from World War II and freely issue farming licenses, so that we can finally begin down the road to energy independence.

5. Offer tax incentives for industries and manufacturers converting from petroleum based products, over to renewable Hemp based products.

6. Let States enact and implement their own hemp and cannabis laws without any influence or interference by the DEA or any of its sub-agencies. It won't take long for all of the States to realize the economic benefits.

Cannabis Hemp has the potential to save this country, and the planet.
If not now, when?

Give us hemp. Give us medical marijuana. Give us a chance to resolve the cannabis issue, to respect adult choices, and to save the children.

Suggested by MJ Mathisen on 02/10/2009 @ 01:19AM PT

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I suggest we rank the Shafer Report Suggestions* among the TOP suggestions (with further development for implementation):

1. WHAT:
Nixon's Shafer Commission reports* (see post below by Christopher Salvesen on 02/08/2009 @ 03:42PM PST for a great overview)
AND ANY other updates on research done after this date in any relevant field.
2. WHO reviews:
Several teams of Qualified, UN-Compromised Real Scientists in All Relevant Fields and who should have the right to present any NEW evidence for review; A Senate Committee; A House Committee; Whoever gets Nadelmann's exec branch job (like my wording there???lol); Representation from the Judicial/Justice Dept of Gov; LEAP belongs in here somewhere, esp with respect to sociological testimonial evidence; MPP, DPA, ASA, Norml etc as well as any other advocacy  groups in this field (esp legal, medical & scientific);  Any other willing individual and/or org in the legal, historical, sociological, medical and scientific fields who have done research on any aspect(s) of the 2** medicinal species: Cannabis sativa (C.s.) and C. indica (C.i.) and who should have the right to present any NEW evidence for review; Any citizen who has what it takes to read the report or any part of it and/or any new evidence.***
3. WHO reports:
The same teams of Qualified, UN-Compromised Real Scientists in All Relevant Fields; The same Senate Committee, The same House Committee, Nadelmann's office, Representation from the Judicial/Justice Dept of Gov; LEAP, MPP, DPA, ASA, Norml etc etc should also be allowed to jump on the boat as representatives of their own "constituencies"; Any other willing individual and/or org in the medical and scientific fields who have done research on any aspect(s) of the 2** medicinal species; A forum for citizens to comment and discuss the aspects revealed by the evidence.***
4. WHO are the "targets"
Ultimately, EVERYONE.*** However, urgent priorities need to be continually determined by the pol-research experts and those who have the skill and will to, the time and mind to.
5. WHO gets it out there
this field needs to be determined and further developed.
6. HOW it is disseminated to EVERYONE***
To begin with, All info available on a very simple nationally publicized site and linked with all relevant orgs and agencies, etc ... and go from there; this field also needs to be determined and further developed.
-------------------------------------------------------------
* This report has already been suggested quite a number of times, EACH OF THESE SUGGESTIONS IS AN INDIVIDUAL VOTE FOR THIS "PLATFORM", even if my further development is not "popular". If I can, I will locate as many as possible and post the locations under comments here.
** My thinking here is to focus on the 2 "scary" ones, C. sativa & C. indica, and let hemp ride in on their coattails. If C.s. and C.i. are legal, the "illegality" of C.r.(hemp) is a total joke. Anyway, there is good reason to be careful with all 3 of them. C.s. and C.i are "intelligently designed" for different climates. While C.i. can probably grow anywhere, C.s. needs a longer growing season, tho crossing them does not diminish their medicinal qualities. However, WE do not want C.r. crossed with our C.s. or C.i. nor do WE want C.s. or C.i. crossed with our C.r. --> because WE will lose thousands of years of interactive evolutionary development work to separate the fiber from the medicine, NATURALLY, both vitally important to our survival.
*** No more secret reports or secret reviews or secret decisions.

I always have to chuckle because it seems to me that the Corporate abuses of us and our environment have necessitated this change that can be so beneficial to the progress of every other change we need in order to overcome what I call the "InterwovenCatastropheComplex" (recently changed from interwovenDisastercomplex).

Suggested by Ani L. Schwartz on 02/09/2009 @ 11:56AM PT

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hah, Obama seeks grass-roots support for the stimulus plan....http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/090209/obama_economy.html

yet for how long will he ignore the most virulent grass roots issue that particularly sparks our interest!!! legalizing marijuana & hemp cultivation and consumption will add 2 incredibly lucrative economies immediately. plus it would eliminate so much taxpayer waste now going towards DEA employees and incarcerating innocent human beings.

Suggested by jeffrey C oldman on 02/09/2009 @ 01:41AM PT

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HERE IS A NICE LETTER TO SPEAK OUT AGAINST DARE AND SAVE YOUR KIDS FROM THE OPPOSITION'S PROPAGANDA AT THE SAME TIME!!

To Whom It May Concern,

We are the parents of ______________ and this letter is regardingour stance against D.A.R.E. We will allow ___________ to “go throughthe motions” of the D.A.R.E program without disturbing the class but weteach him/her not to respect anything D.A.R.E. teaches.

Many of our nation’s ex-top drug enforcement officers now realize theWar On Drugs is unjust, bias, prejudice and cruel. Please seeL.E.A.P.'s website, www.leap.cc,Law Enforcement Against Prohibition. It is also clear the War on Drugsis heavily propagated by many government programs including D.A.R.E.

We believe in healthy drug education and awareness programs and weteach our kids the truth about drugs…unlike the D.A.R.E. program yourschool is offering. D.A.R.E. teaches lies based on fear and slantedgovernment studies. A quick review of the prestigious Harvard’s websiteversus D.A.R.E.’s website will show these stark differences in thefacts regarding drug use and/or abuse.

It is unfortunate we refer to our current education system as, “publicschools,” yet we allow government agents (police) to be the teachers!Government involvement has taken our schools from the best in the worldto 50% of our highschoolers dropping out each year and our countryranking 42cnd in the world in literacy.

Our family is very involved in trying to change this system so thanksfor understanding and we are proud to send our son to______________S.D.!

Suggested by rev baker aka rev420 on 02/08/2009 @ 08:08PM PT

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I suggest a review of Nixon's Shafer Commission reports. If the review finds that the commission did the proper studies and that their resulting recommendation, which was ignored by Nixon, is in fact correct, THEN every person in jail for the sale or possession of marijuana should be released, and every cannabis related offense since 1970 should be immediately erased. We then would of course need to work out the details of a legal and regulated system for cannabis, similar to the one that is already in place for alcohol.

[ Wikipedia ]
he National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse was created by Public Law 91-513 to study marijuana abuse in the United States. While the Controlled Substances Act was being drafted in a House committee in 1970, Assistant Secretary of Health Roger O. Egeberg had recommended that marijuana temporarily be placed in Schedule I, the most restrictive category of drugs, pending the Commission's report. On March 22, 1972, the Commission's chairman, Raymond P. Shafer, presented a report to Congress and the public entitled "Marijuana, A Signal of Misunderstanding," which favored ending marijuana prohibition and adopting other methods to discourage use. Specifically, the Commission recommended "a social control policy seeking to discourage marihuana use, while concentrating primarily on the prevention of heavy and very heavy use." The report noted that society can provide incentives for certain behavior without prosecuting the unwilling, citing the example that "the family unit and the institution of marriage are preferred means of group-living and child-rearing in our society. As a society, we are not neutral. We officially encourage matrimony by giving married couples favorable tax treatment; but we do not compel people to get married." The Commission recommended decriminalization of simple possession, finding: [T]he criminal law is too harsh a tool to apply to personal possession even in the effort to discourage use. It implies an overwhelming indictment of the behavior which we believe is not appropriate. The actual and potential harm of use of the drug is not great enough to justify intrusion by the criminal law into private behavior, a step which our society takes only 'with the greatest reluctance. The Commission found that the constitutionality of marijuana prohibition was suspect, and that the executive and legislative branches had a responsibility to obey the Constitution, even in the absence of a court ruling to do so: While the judiciary is the governmental institution most directly concerned with the protection of individual liberties, all policy-makers have a responsibility to consider our constitutional heritage when framing public policy. Regardless of whether or not the courts would overturn a prohibition of possession of marihuana for personal use in the home, we are necessarily influenced by the high place traditionally occupied by the value of privacy in our constitutional scheme. The Commission also recommended that the distinctions between licit and illicit drugs be dropped, finding that "the use of drugs for pleasure or other non-medical purposes is not inherently irresponsible; alcohol is widely used as an acceptable part of social activities"[1]. The Nixon administration did not implement the study's recommendations. However, the report has frequently been cited by individuals supporting removal of cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act [2].