The Red Line between Love and Hate
Steve Fox, MPP’s new director of state campaigns (who was also MPP’s federal lobbyist from 2002-2005), sends in the following dispatch:
While riding the Metro’s Red Line yesterday, I spotted former drug czar John Walters entering the train. When he ended up standing right beside me, I realized I couldn’t pass up the chance for a conversation. I know it sounds like a fruitless endeavor, but I’m an eternal optimist and thought, “Maybe if we have a casual lunch together, he’ll come to see the folly of keeping marijuana illegal.”
I opened with a polite, “Hello, Mr. Walters. I just wanted to introduce myself. I am Steve Fox and I work with the Marijuana Policy Project.” The chipper look on his face quickly changed. It looked like he had just thrown up in his mouth a little and was regretting the fact that he had nowhere to spit.
I said, “I know we have been on opposite sides of the issue, but I was wondering whether you would be interested in having lunch any time just to talk about our differences and to see whether we have any mutual interests.” He seemed to stifle a laugh and said, “I don’t think that would be worth our time. You know where I stand and I know where you stand.” This is not the first time I have been turned down for a date, so I let it slide right off. More importantly, I had more work to do. I had just eight more minutes to get him to support ending marijuana prohibition.
I don’t mean to spoil the ending, but it didn’t work. But it was a fascinating conversation nonetheless. The most interesting part is that he never broke character. I assumed he must, at some level, appreciate that most of what he said during his tenure as drug czar was either a distortion of the facts or completely ignorant of other available information. Boy, was I wrong.
He proceeded to give me all of his standard lines as if they were actually true and meaningful, like alleging (incorrectly) that marijuana is the leading cause of drug treatment admissions for teens, even more than alcohol.
When I asked him if he really thinks that marijuana is more harmful than alcohol, he quickly said, “Sure.” I said, “I mean, in terms of overdose deaths, overall deaths from use, the likelihood of causing domestic abuse and other forms of violence?” He said, “I talk to directors of treatment facilities and they tell me that those who are violent use all kinds of substances – marijuana, alcohol, heroin, cocaine…”
As we reached his stop, I repeated my lunch offer and extended my hand with my business card. For a moment, I thought he was going to just walk away, but he took it with a look of annoyance on his face.
I assume that card is in the trash somewhere now. But perhaps it is sitting on his desk and each look at it is making him ponder the true value of his work as drug czar.
As I said, I am an optimist.
[P.S. – Be sure to check out Steve’s new book, Marijuana is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink? (Chelsea Green, July 2009).]
Tagged with: John Walters and Prohibition and Tax and Regulate by the author
54 comments
You didn’t really think that Pinnocchio was going to change…
Give me the choice:
Drug Conviction or Drug Treatment?
Which would you choose? No wonder there’s so many marijuana related admissions in rehab…. Walters is a joke!!!
Classic John Walters.
I like the fact that you actually approached him in the hopes of sparking a conversation. He probably thinks that most people who would recognize him on TV would never recognize him in real life. Aw, too bad for him!
“Ignorance is bliss.” — John Walters
~ Green Devil
Mr. Ben Morris,
Your going to have to do better than this line of thought. Yes, the outcome of meeting with John Walters on a commuter train is so predictable, even I could’ve written a better story to take it’s place today.
The number one concern and THE reason why I visit this blog is to get one piece of information, that being, “What’s my next course of action as an activist for MJ?” Help keep me in the circle of people taking action whenever possible.
Mr. John Walters is a dead issue within himself, a waste our time and money!
Ask yourself, “Is there anything news worthy to post at MPP’s blog?” John Walters is NOT news worthy, even a surprise meeting doesn’t warrant giving him one ounce of my attention.
I don’t complain without adding my own best solution Mr. Morris. How about this! Post a case study of marijuana patients and their cured illnesses. The underline thought is you can be saved from certain types of cancer as a cannabis patient.
2. Maintaining mental stability with daily use of MJ.
3. Legalization is one aspect of MJ but Corporate America will ban all MJ users from working who test positive for MJ.
4. Freedom had meaning in America for MJ advocates. Change is happening, slowly.
5. What does all this MJ advocacy matter if the world ends within the next four years as predicted by accredited sources. Even the Federal Government is not worried about it’s spending right now because many officials are banking on this information.
How did you resist the temtation to beat his lying ass?
temptation, sorry.
LOL is funny in a way and was worth a try but as a wise person told me growing up “you can not change the stripes of a zebra”. If a prohibitionists or person has never tried marijuana and want to keep it in prohibition when the prohibitionists / person never even tried it then that prohibitionists/person should not say nothing at all. They say marijuana makes a person violent . Well I tell you I have been around well over 1000 marijuana smokers and none were violent yet when I was also around 1000 of alcohol drinkers over 1/2 of them were violent. That is how I know for a fact that Walters is full of it. I Meet a person who was even in rehab for cocaine and he/she told me that they were in and out of rehab for over 20 years and that while in rehab people always used marijuana as an excuse being they didn’t want the rehab to know the trueth that their real reason for rehab was due to harder drugs such as perscibed meds as well as cocaine to name just a few. Also I know from facts that rehab places are run mostly with the support of ….guess who?……. You got it the prohibitionists……. How ironic is that… all this to keep marijuana illegal and to keep the govt. making money through their own dealers called pharmaceutical companies who push dangerous man made drugs that do 6 times more damage than Marijuana legaly . The next time you watch TV watch and see just what I mean you will see it in ads such as you would on TV . You will see what I mean when you see one like Viagra,Cymbalta,Trazidone, etc….. they keep marijuana illegal when it does less harm than any pill over the counter just about yet promote pills and alcohol that have more dangerous side effects than marijuana yet they say “Marijuana is more dangerous.” What a fucked up world we live in …. We need to do what we can to end prohibition of marijuana by all means . the only way to do this is simply keep on fighting and use our combined numbers of people who want to see prohibition of marijuana ended and vote for people who are on our side who will not be discouraged or pushed into keeping marijuana illegal …. Let’s make a difference if marijuana is not decriminalized at least if not legalized and taxed by next election then when election time comes lets do what we must to get people in who will work with us against the prohibition of marijuana….
He probably saw Steve as a troll among unicorns. After all, he does continue to live in a world of fantasy and make believe.
And who is John Walters now? What harm can he bring among MJ advocates?
Rick,
Walters still gets on TV and spreads his lies to the brainwashed sheep of America. He is a major threat and if I had met him on the train I would have publicly caused a scene, holding him up as the worse thing since Hitler.
Wow!!!!! The universe works in mysterious ways. What are the odds of this encounter. I just can hope that he realizes that hanging on to anger can cause health problems. Maybe you saved his life in the long run. He may ponder this happen chance meeting sometime in his future and open his mind. Natural Medicine ?????? Set yourself free of the lies. The real truth is beautiful.
Peace not Hate.
Mark
ya know…you can’t reason with an unreasonable person…period.
john walters is a lying sphincter and i wouldn’t waste a second more on him. he is irrelevent at this point, isn’t he? he carries no weight with anyone…he is a PAST drug czar. buh bye john, you useless douchebag.
You should of asked him if he thinks marijuana has any medical value. When he says No, the next question shopld be, do you think 13 states have it wrong? and then ask him about the govt suppling SICK people with marijuana (not even good marijuana) and ask him again, shedule one “no medical benifits” why the U.S. govt does that. And then last but not least ask him what kind of Kool-aide he drinks
John Walters is a puppet with someones hand up his ass. After having your hand dislodged in someones ass like his for so long, it would be frightening to pull it back out. He will never change, but if he does, I would welcome him to our mission.
It is hard for someone to understand somthing when their paycheck is tied directly to them not understanding it
You just forgot to slip him some moolah with your card lol
Our leaders are insane or evil or both. In any case they will never listen to us normal (No pun intended) people. They live in a bubble. The only way they will change is if terrorists drop a package of anthrax on all of them,then they would see they are not safe. They will see thier bubble collapse and see they are just like us.
Not surprised by his remarks. If he said or acknowledged anything pro-cannabis, I would consider it a miracle.
Please support HR2835 to protect medical patients from Federal Prosecution.
We know it’s a sad situation when we have to protect ourselves from our own government with the likes of John Walters, but that’s the reality of those who are presently suffering and in need.
Thank you for your support.
When he said “I talk to directors of treatment facilities and they tell me that those who are violent use all kinds of substances – marijuana, alcohol, heroin, cocaine…”
I would of said ” really?!?! do they eat, sleep and use the restroom also?? cause i will cut that kind of behavior out right away if they do ”
all kinds of people do all kinds of things.
most of us on this side of the fight are here for a reason.. either we smoke to enjoy and/or we smoke to take care of certain medical issues.. or we know someone who smokes for one or both of those reasons. we have seen the proof of what this plant can do with our own eyes.
sadly people like him will not change unless something forces them too. when someone they care about is dieing of cancer or hiv and big pharm cant save them, I wonder what their out look will be when that person goes for the only thing left that could possibly save them or at least make what little time they have left worth living.
Hi, Im John Walters and Marijuana is the #1 cause of deaths in the world. It leads to incest, rape, and necrophelia. It is a evil plant that is dooming us. Medical Marijuana sounds like Medical Crack to me. If you guys wana get high go get AIDS so we (The Council of Ignorant Zealots) can profit from it. Ahahaha whats next… Medical Hookers?
(This entire this was a joke and my view on John Walters and all Drug czars on how ignorant they are. I ussualy go by the name of Pooch on here.)
John Walters go choke on your vomit.
What would Walters do if someone he loved needed Marijuana , because all the standard Meds had failed them? I believe that he would contact a friend in the CIA and have a package delivered to them. He is no fool to get caught like Jimmy Swaggart, doing something against his Morals. He is probably a sensitive human, but it’s the stiff upper lip, do not show any emotion to the enemy kind of thing. He is playing a role… Some other entity tells him what his lines are , just like any boss tells his employee. I am happy that he is not the enemy he once was… Hope he can smoke some good Thai Bud and relax and be free… I do not think he is a free man…I feel sorry for him.
I had a similar interaction with Barry McCaffery after a hearing in Congress after Prop. 215 passed in California.
I introduced myself and told him that I wanted to talk to him to see if we could reach some common ground before an initiative was run in Washington State.
He asked me if I was a “Legalizer.” I said that I thought there were some better ways to address the Marijuana issue. He then dismissed me by repeating in a louder voice, “YOU ARE A LEGALIZER!” Well sir yes I am, and I will not stop until we win.
Something I think of from time to time is, Our leaders think they are all smarter than regular people. Theres a difference between being smart and having common sense. You can teach your self and become smart, that doesnt mean you have common sense. Common sense is sometrhing you learn from making mistakes. They put on an air of they dont make mistakes,so they dont learn any common sense nor can you(it seems) guild them to common sense.
“When the President does it,
that means that it’s not illegal.”
~ Richard M. Nixon
http://www.onebigdog.net/wp-images/obama_youth_04.jpg
“We have spent over a trillion dollars trying to eradicate the world’s most beneficial plant off the face of the earth. Imagine what a better world this would be if that money had been spent on treatment, education and studying the medical benefits of marijuana.”
– Steve Hager – High Times Editor (1988 – 2003)
A trillion spent is a trillion profit + tax… period.
The Drug Czar is required by law to lie
http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/stories/2007/10/09/theDrugCzarIsRequiredByLaw.html
90% of the stills were making tractor and auto fuel.
Smugglers, Growers and Peddlers
are public servants bringing the public what it ask for.
Prop 215 is the Compassionate Use Act
not the Medical Marijuana Act.
Renegade Cops & Ganja Props
FOR ANY REASON…
Without Plastic cards and politicians permission
or any business of cops and lawyers.
<img src=”http://i43.tinypic.com/2mqkeax.jpg” height=”112″ width=”460″
ALL of the harm comes from prohibition.
Sharing needles to bathtub gin.
Those degenerates who would harm others for profit.
Corporate, politician or smugglers.
Only can do it because they have a market.
Because of prohibition.
Conservatives are traditionalists and therefore organic, Ganja and Hemp are perfectly natural conservative issues. Pro Life against pesticide abortions on 90 million pounds used on cotton. The fact they call themselves conservative doesn’t make it so. Neo Cons are more liberal than true Liberals with the Military/Prison/Pharmaceutical Industrial Complex.
The Conservative Argument for Legalization
Susan W. Wells’ teleplay ‘A Drug War Carol’
“I want a Goddamn strong statement on marijuana, I mean one that just tears the ass out of them. You know, it’s a funny thing, every one of the bastards that are out for legalizing marijuana is Jewish.”
~ Richard M. Nixon
Nixon’s 40 Year War On Drugs… Drugs Won!
Nixon Lie Keeps on Killing
Lambiek Search: marihuana
Comics publisher: William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst set out a new course for journalism, reforming investigative reporting and not shunning sensationalism, introducing banner headlines and lavish illustrations… Soon he was the chief of a whole chain of American newspapers and magazines, giving him tremendous power over the distribution of information… Some say he used this to initiate the Spanish-American War of 1898, inciting anti-Spanish sentiments, with the object of increasing sales… Hearst’s ferocious and often immoral style of journalism was soon called “yellow journalism”
Prohibit Elected Lobbyists and Yellow Journalism
‘Rabbit Proof Fence’
“Marihuana influences Negroes to to look at white people in the eye, step on white men’s shadows and look at a white woman twice.”
~ William Randolph Hearst – (1936)
The sites below are as of July 2009 and boy oh boy you are all going to love these…..
http://charlotteblogs.wordpress.com/2009/06/29/wednesday-july-1-legalizing-marijuana/
http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2009/06/chronic_city_lets_vote_on_it_-.php
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/july092008/new_po-t_law_7-9-08.php
The fact that Walters was confronted -ON THE STREET- means much more than what was said by either person. If these thugs find that they will be confronted with opposing force at every turn in their daily lives they will consider policy alternatives just to make themselves feel safer.
I wish the reform organizations would grow some balls and start mass public protests against the war on drugs. If the congress had thousands of people on their steps chanting “NO MORE DRUG WAR!” they would see the opposition to the war in real human terms. Online activism is an abstraction that politicians like Obama have been able to laugh off and sneer at without political consequence. Bodies in the streets confronting the political forces and their police CANNOT BE LAUGHED AT OR SNEERED AT.
Ben Morris … Three cheers Dude.
Rick Seymour/Tennessee activist..you explain that the world is ending within the next four years….is that in correlation with the December 21st 2012 theory?
You should have just outed him in the middle of the train. “Hey, everyone, if you’ve ever smoked pot, this is the man who has kept it illegal–and very likely put some of your friends in jail!”
Nothing like a good ol’ fashioned czar fight
Maybe if Michael Jackson,was still using ilicit drugs,he was alive.
Believe it prozac,zoloft.xanax,demerol,etc,kill a lot more people than cocaine,heroine etc ; )
I’d like to second the call for a post analyzing the marijuana legalization movement in the context of the universal apocalypse scheduled in four years time. Please also provide a separate piece examining how marijuana legalization will be impacted when the singularity occurs in 2020. If useful, I can provide the results of rigorous double-blind studies blowing smoke into desktop processors. Spoiler alert: All effects are negated by use of FinallyFast.comsoftware.
This shows the difference between the two people.
Someone in favor or marijuana…
1) Willing to have a sit-down lunch with his “opposite”
Mr. Police Stater…
2)Stuck up and his MIND is closed.
Maybe Mr. Walters will have to have lunch after his interns or whoever read this blog to see how stupid the assh*le looked.
I was just thinking to myself the other day how neat it would be to haphazardly run into John Walters out on the streets sometime; wondering if such an encounter was even possible or even if Walters ever appeared in public for extended periods of time.
Waldo’s like a big hairy wart on Uncle Sam’s nose. Why doesn’t it dry up and blow away? How can anyone get that close to Waldo and not sneeze? It takes gallons of odé cologne to cover up the shame and perversions. At least hurl a cream pie, something to show the disgust Americans have. On a train? Come on is this for real or just in case dreamland? A conversation with a talking maggot? Suure. As unAmerican as witch hunts and auction blocks. Filth. Oooozing diversion, manipulation and distrust with every word, the Aqualung of Public Serpents. Beyond following orders, he lies to deceive for profit on suffering. Selling his Philanthropy tax shelters for Reefer Mad Ave anti-drug hyperboleshit.
DEAth Fascism.jpg
So slimy a weasel that steals from the poor, then sneers like Cheney.
So obvious are these creatures of greed. To not be locked up is the travesty. The InJustice and mockery of everything natural. Truth and fairness, political debate. Those with blinders, the cowards on the sidelines standing idly by while scumbags are hiding medical research, Mandatory sentences, 404 gag rules, 3 strikes on a candy bar, censored news and lies legislated for an agenda, outside of the Constitution. Those who refuse to see are why it continues. Trading a little Liberty for a little Safety to end up with neither. While our kids pay for the sins of their greedy boomer drug worrier parents. Waldo’s such a robotic gog, never will get it.
Prohibitionist WoD Junkies
* The D.E.A.th Wishers
* Follow-up on USA Today ads by Ron Crickenberger
* Americas New Drug Pushers John P Walters 11/12/01
* HOW YOU CAN HELP STOP JOHN WALTERS 10/12/01
* Just Say No to Walters/Thugczar! 10/04/01
* WoD Articles Liberty Removal 10/04/01
* I.G.Farben,Dupont,Ford,Hearst,Frankenfoods,Prohibition
* The Enron, Bush, Baker, Rockefeller connection
* Reefer Madness,Anslinger,Hearst,Bayer,Farben II,Demonization
Ganjawar JPG’s 08/09
czarperverts * czar jobs 1 urine taster * Going Out of Business Sale * czar 10th A states rights * waterboards * czar pervert news * DEAth spooks * jpeewaldo * nappywaldobsh * waldoklan * Waldosatanist * waldo liar pinochio * DEAth waldo
DEAth waldoliarliar * DEAth waldo fatliar
Waldo P. Terrorist.jpg
I agree with pat at # 31
Hey rick, It is kind of strange how things in the world have suddenly become very strained with 2012 coming up. I for one try to debunk things like aliens and conspiracy theoris ,2012, but one never knows. We are after all…just human.
Eh who know, maybe we do get cannabis legal world wide and everyone chills and life does actually end as we know it…as in life changes for the better. No more BS.
We consider people like that mentally retarded. You simply cannot give them a new brain.
Well, there ya go… Last time he’s ever going to take local public transportation ever!
Yeah right, if they really cared about the American people they would make alcohol just as illegal as pot. More people are killed through drunk driving accident and binge drinking in a year than the number of people killed by pot in the last 100 years. It’s all politics. The DEA doesn’t want to fess up to the fact that they are wrong because if they do then maybe some of their other policies would be questioned too.
The War on Drugs does not aid our effort to “..form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity..”
Drug War, what is it good for?
Absolutely nothing!
I just realized that the original confrontation and essay are attributed to Steve Fox.
Three cheers Steve!
Prohibitionist won’t own up to anything, because they are on a mission to whatever it takes to abolish sin. They can’t prove that pot kills, so they make up stuff. They like to scare people.
If ignorance is bliss, then Mr. Walters has been living in “White-Collar Heaven”!
Government induced Coercion is the main reason for so many people in Cannabis rehab programs.
(In case Mr. Walters reads this, I think Coercion means “Blackmail”.)
that was a momentive event thank god that you two were going the same way .. maybe he kept that card as a reminder that change is is on the way …today or in the future . he knows that we are tired of the governments power.
Canna-da? Eh?
I agree with most post’s here. One thing I disagree with is the fact that so many of you say something that has great meaning and holds powerful truths and you give it less weight by not using a dictionary to correctly spell what you say. Please take the time to type the correct words so the enemy can’t say that potheads are all you are. You have the power to make an impression (not empression or empressun) on intelligent people that just don’t know all the facts yet. Let them know that you finished school and are not just another high school dropout that couldn’t cope with learning basic communication so you turned to smoking pot. Rob Kampia asked you to be sure to spell your words correctly for a reason, not just because he’s some kind of a nerd. He is well educated despite the fact that his bust cost him his first career and that is why he founded MPP. Because he got busted. If you sound like you don’t know how to spell, then you sound like you don’t know what you are talking about. We need your help very much so go get a dictionary and keep it by your side and you will be of far more help to the cause. Thank you for all your input and lets keep the pressure building. Talk to all your friends about joining MPP with a five dollar a month donation and add an additional five dollar donation to a transportation fund. Then choose one of the t-shirts as your free gift and wear it all the time so you make a statement everywhere you go. And then start to work at getting ready to make planned and organized march on Washington. If a million black men had the guts to join together and pull their resources to provide transportation so everyone could get to Washington at the same time to make a statement, so can we. Lets plan to make this happen and ask the fine people at MPP to develop a strong organized march with ten million marchers. I”m confident that this is possible and that we can and will make it happen if we try hard enough. We can bring all races together and prove we are one people standing for one cause.
I do agree. Sometimes I just squint and shake my head at what I am reading. I agree it gives ammunition to the enemy when we cannot even get a point across and many words are obviously misspelled.
May I say, though I agree with you, I try to overlook our socio-economic and educational levels because there are many people who use marijuana that have diverse talents. Some are great at expressing themselves musically, for example, and try their best at writing but may fall short in one aspect of writing or another.
I try to look past that and attempt to understand the essence and logic of the post.
Computers make it easy, no need for a dictionary – Highlight, copy and paste into Word or the basic word processing program that’s built into every operating system…it’s there, and then correct all the underlined things (spelling, phrasing etc.) right click for the correct choice and BINGO! …a beautifully written post, paper or article.
Also, I’ll wheel in my chair to any million person “End the Drug War” march.
side note… MS patients, try Lavender and edibles for so much relief of aches and to sleep a full 8 hours!
Should have asked him if he still thinks Santa Claus is real.
Just cause you believe it true don’t make it true.
33 Jason { 07.01.09 at 6:43 am }
You should have just outed him in the middle of the train. “Hey, everyone, if you’ve ever smoked pot, this is the man who has kept it illegal–and very likely put some of your friends in jail!”
That would be a GREAT way of handling it, but I love the way Steve Fox dealt with it also. Scott Morgan at stopthedrugwar.org suggests posing as a fan of Walters as a way to get interesting stuff come out of Walters’ mouth.
Legalize now. You all sound like beggars for food knocking at the master house. This is our country not theirs. This is not about which party you belong to for your politics. This is not about medicinal remedy. I have been a conservative my entire life. I have also smoked pot, on and off, for 30 years. I do not agree with the approach of legalize and regulate. This is a constitutional issue and a common sense issue. I don’t need or want a bureaucrat telling me something is black when I know it’s blue. Is this Russia or America? Wise up people get involved and tell them what they are going to do not the other way around. They work for us and “us” should be about 30 million strong. It’s my body and my property. If I want to smoke, it is my business. I want to grow some plants in my garden to cover me for the year. That is my business. The tax man and the criminals who would seek to control it need to kiss my ass. Take your country back people. Republicans and Democrats need to stand on the same side on this issue and send a clear message to our elected servants and government employees on both sides of the isle that this insanity has to stop or we’ll vote them out!
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