John Walters Lied on CNN Last Night
On Thursday night’s edition of “Anderson Cooper 360,” former drug czar John Walters and I were interviewed separately about a new government report claiming an increase in average potency of marijuana seized by law enforcement (we’ll have a video link posted soon). I pointed out an obvious fact: When the marijuana is more potent, users smoke less, just as people typically drink a much smaller quantity of bourbon than of beer. Thus, higher-potency marijuana doesn’t necessarily mean users take in more THC. And, given that the most significant health issue connected to marijuana is the respiratory harm from smoke, smoking less to get the same effect is clearly healthier.
Asked about this, Walters said flatly, “There is no evidence of that.”
He lied. I know this won’t be a huge shock to faithful readers of this blog, but I think it’s worth putting the facts on the record.
In a study titled “Vaporization as a Smokeless Cannabis Delivery System: A Pilot Study,” published in May 2007 by the journal Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics, University of California researchers looked at smoking and vaporization using marijuana of 1.7%, 3.4% and 6.8% THC. Because the idea of the study was to compare smoking and vaporization, participants were guided through a standardized puff procedure.
Although the high-strength marijuana was four times as potent as the weakest, it produced a peak plasma THC level only about 20% higher, smoked or vaporized. This, the researchers wrote, suggests that either less is absorbed at the higher potency levels or there is “self-titration of THC intake,” meaning that “smokers adapt their smoking behavior to obtain desired levels of THC.” Among the evidence for self-titration, researchers found that their subjects tended “to take more puffs at lower THC concentrations” — despite having been given a fairly regimented smoking procedure to follow. Similarly, the subjective “high” reported by participants was only modestly more intense at 6.8% THC than at 1.7%.
Prohibitionists are entitled to their own opinions. They aren’t entitled to invent their own facts.
One final note: I was disappointed that perhaps the most important thing I said to the interviewer didn’t get on the air. If potency is a concern, there is an obvious solution: Regulate marijuana as we do alcoholic beverages, and require the cannabinoid levels to be listed on the label. If consumers know what they’re getting — as they do now with beer, wine, or Bacardi 151 — they can adjust their behavior to avoid unpleasant surprises.
Tagged with: Bruce Mirken and drug czar and junk science and Media and science by the author
80 comments
This cannot possibly be true! If there was one person in the entire world whose opinion I would trust it would be John Walters. Say it ain’t so! /sarcasm
Bruce, I was disappointed as well with CNN’s slanted coverage last night. However, Anderson and Dr. Gupta seemed less slanted than did Randi Kay in her report. In fact, Dr. Gupta really surprised me; he has come out as anti-cannabis before but he really couldn’t justify the fear-mongering from the prohibitionists. His concerns really are for adolescent development. As a public policy matter, he knows we are right in the best way to mitigate that harm. He knows as well as anybody but the ignorant that it is easier as a teenager to get cannabis than alcohol. You can see the ice thawing before our eyes.
We have prohibitionists on the run right now, Bruce. The digital age has blown their cover.
Well Put Bruice; When is Obama going to do what he said and start paying attention to science and not idiot’s oops I mean ideologies. The new reefer madness is that smoking is bad for you and we want to protect the kids. BS, like you said there is vaporizing and many other methods of ingestion other than smoking which prohibitionist porously avoid mentioning and responsible adults do not want kids getting high. Ending prohibition would make it harder for kids to get and no one would mind seeing an adult go to jail for providing cannabis to a child, but not for their own personal use. It’s so funny when they say their protecting the kids; they are the ones who can get the good shit! (10%) most anyone over 30 just gets the Mex Shit. So do us all a favor Obama; Tax and Regulate!!!
Hello,
As usual the liars seem to get through without being caught on the facts. The media plays like it’s really doing journalism, but they only give us air time to make it look like they are investigating. Real journalism is reporting facts, not allowing the opposing side to always appear like they are reporting facts. They believe that if they lie long enough, it will stick as fact. I would suggest really being aggressive towards the lies. We “the cannabis believers appear to much like lambs”. I know we want to seem like we are not stoners and radicals, but getting mad to the point of seeming more sure of ourselves might be needed. The news media seems to fool us into thinking they are going to do real journalism, with courage!!!!!!!!! But I truly have not seen one good story that’s not the same old thing over and over again. They need to be forced into doing the right thing!!!!!!!!!
This can’t go on for ever. I actually thought the reefer madness would be diminished by now. All the money in the world does not seem to help our cause. I have been an advocate for 37 yrs. It gets real tiring and it still needs to be done. Freedom is all we ask, don’t make a war against our own people.
Let Freedom ring!!!!!!
Mark B.
Bruce,
I agree John Walters is a big lier and he should have been called out on that. I saw the interview and boy did they twist a few things up like the er thing and the more smokeing thing that John Walters said. What a bunch of prohibitionist BS. I am going to help us out by spreading the word to those i know as well and hopefully other people will see through the prohibitionist BSKEEP up the fight for legalization and great job on trying to educate the uneducated.
Bruce, I thought the sound bytes of yours that CNN used were spot on. RE: Abrams titration study, it gets even better. Fact is when we had this annual potency debate LAST YEAR, and the ONDCP actually had the gumption to make this same claim (users don’t titrate) in response to a statement I had made, I actually sent Walters and the ONDCP a copy of Abrams study to reinforce my point. Lot of good that did. I suppose it went down the ONDCP’s memory hole, also known as the circular file.
Thanks for being on,god almighty they didn’t give you a chance,the argument about strength is so simple,i’m sure you already know compare Colombian gold or Panama Red to nowadays and then do a comparison,that’s all you have to do,sorry that you didn’t get your fair share of time,anderson punk cooper didn’t help when he yelps out oh my you will be shocked when you hear how much stronger todays pot is ,so much getting it wrong AGAIN on 360.If you have any guts Anderson i challenge you to host a hour or even a 2 hour debate on pot,cmon are you up for it?Let Jack Nicholson host it and see if YOU CAN HANDLE THE TRUTH!!!!!!
I agree Bruce — potency variations are only even remotely meaningful in an unregulated market. Put it above the table, and the problem — to the extent that it even is a problem — immediately goes away.
It’s a shame that CNN didn’t deem it necessary to point that out.
It would be nice if the next time you’re doing an interview and you know if a certain question is going to be asked or if you want to lead the conversation in a direction you know will help our cause, then hold up a piece of literature to the camera and say “I have a report right here from so and so” which would show the world that yes, you do have proof and then let the audience know where they can get a copy of that literature themselves if possible.
Yes, people can google this stuff and find out the truth for themselves, but to win an argument right then and there would solidify another win on live television (though I realize you didn’t get that chance last night, being pre-recorded and all).
Go figure the only way the drug czar could in the slitest way win the debate is to lie and put out false information to scare people and make marijuana look bad. What the hell so now every one is listening to a Lier?
In the long run We will provale due to the fact WE do not need to lie we have numbers on our side….. and can do something about it. over 250,000 marijuana smokers are out there ready to take a stand through means of protest and other means such like voting against ignorant prohibitionest…. Let our voices be heard and fight the unjust. The time to legaliza marijuana after miscatorized and misunderstood for 70 years is well over due. Let all of us stand and fight to legaliza marijuana….. Lets end prohibition together and put those liers in their place…..
I’m rooting for you Bruce! No matter how many liars try to hide and distort the facts, logic and sound reasoning will always prevail in the end.
They have to lie… the truth proves there is no reason cannabis prohibition should even exist.
Not only that, but the DFAF has joined the discussion and is trying to lead people away with fearmongering. Here’s their group:
http://www.change.org/drug_free_america_foundation_inc
Did you see that they are 11 members deep? That’s some serious clout.
Why in the first place are they even talking to that guy?
A survey data gleaned from cannabis consumers in the Netherlands—where users may legally purchase pot of known quality—indicates that most cannabis consumers prefer less potent pot, just as the majority of those who drink alcohol prefer beer or wine rather than 190 proof Everclear or Bacardi 151. When consumers encounter unusually strong varieties of marijuana, they adjust their use accordingly and smoke less.
Finally, if US lawmakers and government researchers were truly concerned about potential risks posed by supposedly stronger marijuana, they would support regulating the drug, so that its potency would be consistent and this information would publicly displayed to the consumer. (Anyone ever been to a liquor store that sold a brand of booze that didn’t post its alcohol content on the label? Didn’t think so.)
So let’s review, shall we? Our federal government ostensibly wants fewer Americans to consume pot. So they spend billions of dollars outlawing the plant and driving its producers underground where breeders, over time, clandestinely develop stronger and more sophisticated herbal strains than ever existed prior to prohibition. The Feds then inadvertently give America’s marijuana growers billions of dollars in free advertising by telling the world that today’s weed is more potent than anything Allen Ginsberg, Tommy Chong or Jerry Garcia ever smoked in their heyday. In response, tens of millions of Americans head immediately to their nearest street-corner in search of a dealer (or college student) willing to sell them a dimebag of the new, super-potent cannabis they’ve been hearing about on TV. The Feds then demand more of your hard-earned tax dollars so they can get more Americans “off the pot.”
They should put that in their pregidous pipe.
Bruce ,
I do not believe that CNN is not going to let lies from people like John Walters go without a fight. I think what CNN should do is do a report with you and have it a call in question that people can ask you what they want to know about the trueth about marijuana. After all if they are going to lie at least level the field by doing a one on one with you or at least a open debate with you and the people and not the anti marijuanaists.
i say BRUCE MIRKEN for PRESIDENT 2012…ill vote for your ass…at least you have the balls to stand up for us…the lame ol stoner they show on tv ads about us rolling up in a marijuana cacoon is over….we will stand up for our rights…and Bruce..you have my vote…100%
oh…also…on the http://www.dfaf.org site…they have answers to questions involving pot….sad thing is…they have to put on the website on the bottom of the page and i copy and paste :
We’re not making this up – ask the librarian
Ya know…my dad always told me never to trust someone that has to say “trust me”…so yeah…they can kiss my arse…btw…VOTE BRUCE MIRKEN PRESIDENT 2012
If you have to ask for permission to be free, then you’re only free to ask for permission.
I believe that we had good potent stuff way back in 73. It wasn’t all over the place, but it could be had, you just had to know the right person. Yeah, Acapulco Gold, Columbian Gold, Kona Gold, Puna Butter, Panama Red and Gold, Thai Stick. The thai stick we got from the Air Force dudes we knew in Mesa, AZ. They had a pilot’s flight mask they made in to a bong. They would get it here by sticking it in the body bags coming in from Nam. Oh yeah, those were the good old days. Miss them guys alot. The pot today is no stronger than the top quality stuff of the 60’s and 70’s. Like every body else is saying, the prohibitionist’s are just up to there same old “new” bull shit propoganda. I miss the better prices (cheaper) of those times. I am 50 and have been a marijuana drug addict since I was 13. Went to school, got good grades, except for Algebra. It took me an extra year to pass algebra. I think because I didn’t get to start the class at the beginning, I had to go to the counselor’s office and he told me that they thought I was to smart to go to eighth grade math and wanted me to start algebra. Well I did go to algebra, but I missed the first three weeks and came in cold. So I think I missed the part about where the teacher said “Don’t worry about letters being number’s”. I couldn’t relate to a xb(c+x)=y over r, HUH what the hell are you talking about. Anyway next year in the ninth grade I took it over and finally passed with A’s and B’s. To say it was a learning experience would be a gross misunderstatement.
In a truly free society it is not the function of government to define freedom.We already know what freedom is. The function of government is to defend freedom, or so one would think.
NORML posted a post on The Hill’s influential Congress blog (http://blog.thehill.com/2009/05/14/dont-believe-the-hype-potent-pot-so-what/#more-11765 ) or on Huffington Post ( http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-armentano/dont-believe-the-hype-pot_b_203615.html ) where you can also read and leave feedback.
I am sooo sick of this crap!! Our government officials do nothing but lie about everything they do. I’m not just talking about these lies about cannibis but everything from cannibis to torture. Have ya all been watching the news the last few months. It’s one lie after another. They must be held accountable for the lies they tell everyday. The sins of the corrupt will be seen by all.I can almost see the strings when they talk,somewhere in the background some one or something is pulling the strings.Now with that said,on to the subject at hand.
I can remember just back in the 80’s one joint of premo could get 5 or 6 people a good buzz. No problem,we just smoked less. More addicting? BULLSHIT!! I’ll explain that in a second.
I went through some very tough emotional losses in the past couple years.Lost father and grandmother to cancer from asbestos and cigarettes. Shortly after wife cheated on me,we divorced. There after lost my job thanks to our governments bullshit! Ive been an emotional reck in that time(I’m fine now). I have tried several pharm anti-deppressants all of which were driving me closer to suicide. I weened my self off them because the side effects were worse than the problem I was having.After getting off those god aweful drugs ,I started smoking cannibis again after 10 or 12 years of not doing so. I did so because from past experience I knew it would help my depression. I smoked it for about 2 months and decided to stop because I was feeling much better. I STOPPED COLD TURKEY!!
Now I will explain my previous “addicting”BULLSHIT!” statement.
If cannibis was so damned addicting why am I not selling everything I have to get more? One night I sat down and smoked a whole 1/8 bag .Why am I not dead? I’ll tell you why. IT WONT KILL YOU!! I sleep very good that night!
Our drug warriors and government officials see thier jobs slipping away,along with the billions they take for “THE WAR ON AMERICANS”. With all the lies they spew everyday,how can we be sure they are using that money on this god aweful war?
The day of accountablility IS coming.The day we regain our freedoms IS coming. Let them lie,it’s coming back around to haunt them all.
Let Walters and anyone else keep delivering their lies, it’s a governmental technique unchecked and without accountability but there will come a time to prosecute misleading government leaders like war criminals. To much pain and anguish from shattered lives for the past seventy-five years WILL BE the end and possible prosecution is eminant of MJ opponents who stoop to propaganda and lies. Or would you like to be nice and just let them go free without revenge? If you were ever a victim of the drug war, you’ll have your chance at revenge if you live long enough.
Once we’ve legalized MJ, opponents will all be the butt of jokes and remembered as the people who had no creditability in the end. There’s a time for all things and I will make opponents accountable for their lies and hurtful actions. My Grand Children will not stand for the same old crap.
Yes they must think all of us old guys are dead and don’t listen to their BS. Here some varieties from the past when everything was named for it’s region and color. Maui Waui, Kona Gold, Columbian Gold, Thai Sticks, Kush Red Bud, Columbian Red Bud, Michoacan Forest, Oaxaca Forest, Purple Seedless, Vietnam Buddha Bud these are just a few that I remember having in the early seventies. Most people didn’t know where to get these $35.00 5 finger Lids. Old School memories. But the fact really is there is more of the better strains out there. Nature does not evolve like they want you to believe. You can cross breed all day long and your not going to re-invent the THC levels produced by genetic programming in each seed. Just like hydro-ponic growing techniques do not make the THC level any higher than the seed or branch already has. They expect parents to pick up on this propaganda and spread it to the PTA meetings and such etc., etc., etc. Truth will always keep you safer than hysterical behavior. Good common sense is the best way to educate. And allowing adults to be responsible will create a much safer and tolerant society.
Mark B.
Bruce for Pres!
I wish I could say I knew more or had some experience with this aspect of the conversation, but from a logical standpoint (and perhaps financial), would I rather take one hit and feel better, or would I rather take 10 hits to feel better? Seems obvious to me. The main “concern” over potency would be for people who simply refuse to smoke/vaporize for the quick effect; if eaten it would be helpful to know the potency so dosage could be controlled better. But frankly that is just an argument for legalization and intelligent regulation! The yeast of the Pharisees is hypocrisy!
LEAP has correctly pointed out that prohibition itself drives the black market to increase potency.
How about this analogy? The closer we get to overturning this evil religion of hate against marijuana, the more potent the lies from the liars become.
we all should send more request for more coverage to CNN where our voice is heard.
Every time CNN has aired something relating to cannabis, the message board has been inundated with anti-prohibition comments and the polls have shown 95% for legalization 5% against. I’m not sure what more we can do.
I wish in one of these debates someone would bring up the fact that prohibition violates our constitutional rights and how our government might as well just burn the constitution as obviously the dont care about the peoples rights but rather what they think is best
I suggest that if you had to buy milk in a liquor store, you may be curious about liquor sooner in life.
And if we’re serious about following back to learn about Gateway drugs,,,,,,every single pot smoker I’ve ever met, drank milk as a youth, and there they are smoking pot. Cause, and , effect ! Just like the drug czar’s and prosecutors do it.
And I should point out that it really helps the “honest” discussion to have any advocate declared a witch if they offer any real world experiences and anecdotes.
And, if we are NOT going to prosecute for torture, I sure as hell have no respect for anyone even dreaming of prosecuting use of cannabis in private for whatever purpose.
Get real would you please?
here is the url to fox news on our cause http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXX8RgeZT
sorry here it is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXX8RgeZTvM
Billions of dollars of taxpayers money and from corporations that profit from the drug war was spent on trying to get people to believe John Walters. Why so much money and where does it go? Will John Walters lie about that?
Walters says it best himself, more people are getting in trouble because he’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He and the other drug warriors go around acting so righteous but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. [Matthew 7:15-20]
Let’s quote a few more lines next to that one, “By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
“Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit…” and so forth.
What is the fruit of their efforts?
Tons of people in jail who do not belong there.
Ruining people’s lives with the stupidity that marijuana is an offense.
Many deaths due to drug raids.
Fanning the flames of heartlessness by keeping ill people from accessing marijuana outside the expensive black market.
Endless corruption of government authorities.
Thousands of deaths in foreign lands due to prohibition and its insane profits.
Putting parents in jail and taking their kids away from them.
Entrapping otherwise innocent people.
Making deals with people they hate, so they can entrap others and stuff them all in prison.
Causing our prison system to bust at the seams and become an overly burdensome expense to society.
Brainwashing millions of people with the notion that marijuana has no medical or social benefits.
Brainwashing millions of people into thinking marijuana is similar to tobacco and alcohol.
Brainwashing millions of people into thinking marijuana ruins your mind and body… Hm… Michael Phelps just kicked butt now that he’s allowed to swim again. Won two races, in an old fashioned swim suit, and bested he previous record times.
Brainwashing non-experienced employers into thinking someone who smokes is a bad investment.
And on and on…
Maybe Mr. Gil K. can finally tell these witch hunters, ghosts of Senator McCarthy, these false prophets, to GO AWAY! SHUT UP and BE QUIET!
Legalizing Legal Lies
If Lies are Laws then War is Peace
Nixon lied to schedule Ganja #1
The Ganjawar Fraud
Today’s marijuana is also twice as strong as it was in the mid 80’s.”
~ John Walters – x US Drug Czar
Virtues’ of Ganja
Pot Potency? Boomers’ blissfully unfazed by mere facts.
wwwaldoSmoked80sSchwag
In order to signal to middle-age people that the marijuana experiences with which they are familiar are no longer applicable, “the marijuana that is available today can be 5 times more potent than the marijuana of the 1970s.””
Research increasingly shows that intensive marijuana use often meets the technical requirements for addiction (or dependence). Analysts use this as evidence of the need to maintain the drug’s illegal status. But the fact of addictiveness is irrelevant to legality – addictive drugs (e.g., cigarettes, alcohol) are legal and nonaddictive drugs (e.g., LSD, Ecstasy) are not. Indeed, the fastest growing category of illicit use is of legal, but controlled, pharmaceuticals – both addictive and not. Addiction is a sideline in outlawing drugs, a label applied conveniently by authorities and cooperating scientists in support of prior policy biases.
~ Marijuana Is Addictive – So What?
The Stanton Peele Addiction Website, January 7, 2006
1987 The Partnership for a Drug-Free America was given $200 million annually by the federal government. Media outlets contributed over $3 billion in free television time, making it the largest and most expensive anti-drug campaign ever.
~ I Know – Let’s Really Scare Kids About Drugs! by Stanton Peele
The Stanton Peele Addiction Website, March 30, 2006
Marijuana potency is apparently variable
DWR: Thursday, May 14, 2009
Apparently potency is a big deal. Let’s take a quick review of potency:
* Beer: 4-7 percent potency
* Pot: 10 percent potency
* Wine: 11-13 percent potency
* Distilled Spirits: 40 percent potency
* Bacardi 151: 75 percent potency
* Marinol: 100 percent potency
The Counterculture Colonel By Martin A. Lee
CN Source: North Bay Bohemian July 10, 2008 USA
Dr. James S. Ketchum, a retired U.S. Army colonel, was into weapons of mass elation, not weapons of mass destruction. He oversaw a secret research program that tested an array of mind-bending drugs on American GIs, including an exceptionally potent form of synthetic marijuana.
Anti-Drug Campaigns Dumb Down Vital Message
The stronger marijuana is of particular concern because high concentrations of THC have the opposite effect of low concentrations.
~ Government officials…
One gets you a buzz and the other doesn’t?
The stronger whiskey is of particular concern because high concentrations of alcohol have the opposite effect of low concentrations.
The faster cars are of particular concern because higher speeds have the opposite effect of lower.
The taller buildings are of particular concern because falling from higher distances has the opposite effect of lower.
The stronger financed drug worrier zeolots are of particular concern because high concentrations of BS has the opposite effect of reality.
Ancient Temple Hashish Incense! Did Jesus Inhale?
hey Brucie why dont next time you ask walters how he can support destroying over 800,000 american citizens lives each year for simple possesion of a substance safer then asprin and imo we should quit comparing marijuana as safer then alcohol or tobbacco because this gives prohibitionist the chance to say look how deadly these substances are do we really need another one but yet we should compare it to being safer then asprin tylenol or caffine as i feel more people use these substances and could relate to our cause if we used examples such as could you imagine being imprisoned for drinking a cup of coffee or a soda then why should people who use a safer alternative be.
All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.
A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.
-Thomas Jeffereson
In the past, the marijuana prohibitionist final defense against their opponent was saying “Marijuana is against the Law!”. Now some of the laws has changed, so the prohibitionist have a different strategy and that is using children as a human sheild.
The prohibitionist seems that they can’t handle the truth, so they hide behind children and threating to give up their parental supervision if marijuana becomes legal. Did you hear that children will smoke pot and drive cars if marijuana becomes legal?
i had two conversations about marijuana this week. in the first my opponent used the gateway theory and was convinst that marijuana users were guranteed to use heroin, i said that maybe alcohol was the gateway drug because many people use alcohol, then i said our last three presidents used marijuana and turned out ok. the second conversation the person said that the problem with marijuana is that its face is the people who abuse it and are constantly stoned. these are the people whom the average people sees and think this is what pot does, and that is the reason pot is still illegal. that was hard to disprove, i said there were alot of people that could responsibly use and you wouldn’t know because its illegal for them to be know, that they may lose every thing they’ve worked for. the person agreed that that was posible. debate get the word out if you can, don’t let the most stoned put the face on this plant for the rest of us. one more thing. when you mention the price of a convict in prison and all the people arrested for pot and the total cost of it all on every one, taking money away from kids in school it works!
oops…typo on the word threatening. Children has suffered enough under the prohibitionist rule, they have been used and explioted for political purposes.
I think that maybe we aren’t being out spoken enough. Everyone who is for Cannabis reform. Needs to start printing flyers and stuff and posting the facts EVERYWHERE. Not just online. Put posters up on telephone poles, hang them on the bulletin boards at grocery stores, run faux personals and other ads in newspapers, newsletters, etc… Put it everywhere!!! Make it a part of everyday life to see the TRUTH about CANNABIS. Don’t let them drown us out with propaganda BS!!! FREE THE WEED!!!
As far as I am concerned the entire debate about the legalization of Marijuana is ridiculous! I will tell you why…
Hearst “routinely invented sensational stories, faked interviews, ran phony pictures and distorted real events.
“Hearst sympathized with Harry J. Anslinger in his war against marijuana. Jack Herer and others argue that Hearst’s paper empire (he owned hundreds of acres of timber forests and a vast number of paper mills designed to manufacture paper from wood pulp) in the early 1930s was threatened by hemp, which: 1) like wood pulp, could also be used to manufacture paper and 2) also had an advantage over wood pulp, because it could be regrown yearly as well. Between 1936 and 1937, Hearst associated marijuana with hemp in his newspapers and published many of the stories that Anslinger fabricated. Hearst would indeed play a major part in aiding the anti-marijuana movement, which eventually led to its prohibition in the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937, a law which also effectively outlawed hemp. We ALL know now that Marijuana is NOT Cannabis. We all know that the only reason it was made illeagal is because our government was tricked into it. In FACT our government didn’t technically make Cannabis illegal, they made Marijuana illegal, which is a completely different plant. So why is this even under debate at all? The law shouldn’t even exist! It should have been abolished for being PASSED ILLEGALLY!!! Come on America we are smarter than this! “Marijuana” is not a big deal. In over 5,000 years of recorded WORLD history there has not been 1 death directly linked to the use of CANNABIS. A person would have to smoke over 1500 Lbs. of it in 15min. to overdose, IMPOSSIBLE. Or eat 250,000 “pot brownies”, also IMPOSSIBLE. You cannot even overdose on it. And our government has it classified as a more harmful drug than heroine, crack, and methamphetamine. A person only needs as little as 80mg to overdose on heroine. Does this really add up, or make sense at all to you? NOT ME. It has even been shown scientifically, that Cannabis has anti-cancer proprties. This means that it actually helps to KILL cancer cells. WHY IS IT ILLEGAL!!! And don’t tell me that it would hurt the economy, because the pharmecutical companies would lose money. They wouldn’t if they manufactured Cannabis into a pill or something for people to consume instead of them filling their lungs with smoke. I would buy that. How exactly would it put lumber companies, paper companies, etc… out of business? There is already different paper being used, rice paper, recycled paper, etc… why can’t there be hemp paper too? Oh, and one more thing. People have been trying to use the argument that if it were legalized there would still be a black market for it because noone would want to pay a whopping $50 an ounce. Let me tell you what an ounce of cannabis is worth on the street right now- the average ‘SHWAG” (not even close to the potency they are talking about selling taxed aka KIND or CHRONIC) is $100 an ounce. So it would actually be cheaper for us if our government legalized it. Why would there be a black market, it would be cheaper to go to the store!!! Black Market? Very weak. I don’t even like calling it an argument. People are still bringing up the same old propaganda about it that they used in the ’30s which we all know is a lie. America is speaking and they want “marijuana” CANNABIS leagalized! And last time I checked we live in a democracy “by the people, for the people” the people say YES We Cannabis!!!
This is my story on iReport.com (yes we cannabis!!!) check it out & others.
bruce one of the reasons they are getting higher numbers is the fact that they are going after grow houses with a vengence in my state of florida they like to highlite the fact that 100 plants could be worth 1/2 mill$ in the paper they put out the fact that high potency pot is the scurge of florida (thank you bill mc cullom)(small cap for a reason)
Free the land! Free the weed! Free our bodies! Free our minds!
If marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol and Tabacco and is illegal then why is it that alcohol and tabacco also illegal? After all isn’t this a nation “for the people by the people” ? It is the same thing as saying we are free yet are we really free if we the people are not even allowed to make our own decision on what should be legal and what should not be? After all today kids get by any means perscription pills like morphine and vicodin to name a few to get messed up as easily as it is to get tabacco and alcohol yet marijuana which is lease dangerous is kept illegal and in prohibition. Wake up America there will always be a black market heince a way to get marijuana illegal or legal. What we should do is just legalize marijuana tax and regulate it like we do with tabacco and alcohol which would devistate the black market but not only that the 14 billion annually that is being lost can if marijuana becomes legal can be used for areas we need the funds instead of using it towards strengthinning the black market and costing the country hundreds or thousands annually on processing and other things like time , court costs , etc…
So why should we remain ignorant keeping marijuana in prohibition and illegal when we have a choice to legalize and tax marijuana saving hundred of thousands of dollars annually taking the money from the marijuana tax that can go towards more serious things like health care , education and fighting terrorist to name just a few. The time to make a change is hear. Lets legalize and tax marijuana and strengthen our nation instead of keeping it in prohibition which simply does not work.
@ “C”
The “gateway theory” has been debunked for ages: http://www.DrugWarFacts.org/cms/?q=node/43
As far as judging people by appearances, aka facial expressions, this is fundamentally a “moral” –> religious argument, and it’s unconstitutional for our govt. to force religion on us.
At a healthy 71, this grandma loves her weed.
Stephanie,
I agree matter of fact I am a network marketter and my self as well as others have started a campaign and urge every one to do the same as well as request even more coverage.
John Walters is right. A 1999 study by the IOM showed that more potent Cannabis is 3000% (yes, 30 times more likely) to cause dangerous, psychotic reactions than weaker strands. Say what you want about him, but at least he won’t let the public be lied to.
There are many many reasons they wont legalize it,many named here,but one. Cannibis insights free thinking, You question everthing around you,espescially the government. They don’t want people questioning them en masse. You are free, free to do as they tell you. Thats how they keep power to them selves and strip it from the people. They will not allow us to think freely.
GHO,
If Walters is right then why did he lie to CNN ? When asked about a fact posted In a study titled “Vaporization as a Smokeless Cannabis Delivery System: A Pilot Study,” published in May 2007 by the journal Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics which can be found here:
http://www.nature.com/clpt/journal/v82/n5/abs/6100200a.html
I belive if people lie they will get caught in the lie and when he lied is probibly the reason why Bruce posted this blog . Bruce was simply being honest and stating facts. This is not only my personal opinion but a lot of others as well . Why should we the people be lied to from any one? It is simply wrong we all deserve to be told the trueth regardless of who it may be from after all would you prefer lies to the trueth?
Why would they bring on Walters instead of the new Obama drug pig? Obama is scared that everyone will see his true intentions. He is going to let the insanity continue.
Cooper appeared to be playing the role of an un-informed idiot. Maybe it wasn’t an act.
Marijuana Chemical May Fight Brain Cancer
Active Component In Marijuana Targets Aggressive Brain Cancer Cells, Study Says
http://www.webmd.com/cancer/brain-cancer/news/20090401/marijuana-chemical-may-fight-brain-cancer
Drug prohibition is a lie so this doesn’t surprise me. Why wont they debate face to face btw…
What is really funny is I was reading the June 2009 issue of High Times and read a feedback in the mag. from a Republican and this is exactly what is said from him word for word . It is titeled Republican for legalization and here is what he said “I haven’t smoked pot in years-primarily because it’s illegal-but I fully support it being at least decriminalized, if not fully legalized.
I saw you [Sen. Ed David Bienenstock] on Fox and friends this morning, and despite the facts that I’m a Republican, the hypocrisy of the right was very clearly demonstrated by you, and for that, I thank you. It’s a states’ rights issue, and if politicians truly gave a rat’s arse about states’ rights, regardless of their personal views on marijuana, they would see it as such. Unfortunately most politicians are only about states’ rights only when it’s convenient for them, as you clearly demonstrated was the case.
Anyway, thank you for going on the show and exposing the hypocrisy. Like I said, I don’t partake of marijuana anymore, but assuming you do, smoke some for me.”
Reason why i had to post this to you is the simple fact that if a Republican is willing to speak out about decriminalize, if not fully legalize marijuana then where is the other people in the gov’t. willing to help our cause by helping us decriminalize, if not fully legalize marijuana? We the people are ready for legalization and regulation/taxation of marijuana regardless of the THC levels. After all why keep marijuana in prohibition that simply doesn’t work while there is a more logical reason such as using the tax money (14 Billion annually) from legalized marijuana to go towards medical , education and other areas such as a fight to end terism and helping our nation become stronger? After all don’t we have a say in the matter or is it simply we the gov’t.? We request that marijuana be legalized!!!
I hope that bruce and others can use this information for our cause and would like to end this by saying best of wishes and keep up the fight to legalize marijuana.
Some people don’t care if John Walters constantly lies. Walters objective is to do whatever it takes to carry out Nixon’s revenge. It’s all about hate, and what can be so insulting to call it being true to the public. He doesn’t care, because he is on a mission to destroy the pot loving hippies.
I agree . That is the reason that if there is more than 1 John Walters out there then it is time for us to fight back even harder by writing our represenitives along with requesting more coverage from CNN and other news stations that way regardless of how many lies are said our voices are heard and remembered by those who not only can help our cause but can set an example that we will not go silently into the night nor will we give up with out a fight. And in the end win or lose we shall make a huge impact with our actions we take today that will last generations to come.
again…BRUCE for President…but anyways…I have an idea…we are all tired of bitching…lets bring all the groups together and why not go somewhere where WE THE PEOPLE can ask the questions to the drug czars and the President? No offense to anyone out there that is a worker for MPP or NORML, but having a representative from here is kinda the same as having a representative in Congress *except people in congress dont care what the people say* and also, VOTE these SOB’s out of office…they dont care about us..they care about sitting on their asses and earning a free living on American tax money and then half the time…they arent paying taxes on their taxes..LOL…BRUCE FOR PRES 2012
I think it is time we have a protest Joints, Blunts and Pipes at the Steps of Capital Hill and demand Obama to pay attention to us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why do we not contact our president and other officials and request them to legalize marijuana? You can contact the president at http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
other wise the other thing we may do is request more coverage on the issue as well as issue a full fledge campaign that even Capital Hill , Congress and Obama must pay attention to us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I think it’s appropriate to add a couple comments in reaction to things people have posted:
First, just be be clear, Walters and I were interviewed completely separately, and I think he was probably interviewed after I was. So there was no opportunity for me to ask him anything or say anything directly to him.
Second, GHO claimed that the 1999 Institute of Medicine report found that more potent strains of marijuana are 3000% more likely to induce psychotic reactions. This is untrue. The IOM report says nothing at all about the effects of more potent strains, and the section on psychosis notes some evidence of marijuana causing temporary psychotic reaction in a few people, but that that there is little evidence of a permanent effect.
Why not employ this journalist turned documentary type film maker into a spokesperson for legalization ? After I saw this I was inspired, inspired in that there is someone who can truly add to the already hefty movement towards cannabis leagalization and to the end of the ridiculous war on drugs.
This is where donations should be going, towards paying him to produce a concise and accurate documentary about the ‘war on the people’ aka ‘war on drugs’.
Give it a listen, try to watch the whole thing, approximately 28 minutes long. He says things throughout the interview that are pertinent and forward thinking.
If you can’t spare 28 minutes, then start the video at 12 minutes.
Journalism, the Drug War and Democracy: Bill Moyers’ Must-See Interview with ‘The Wire’ Creator David Simon
Posted by David Sirota – April 20, 2009.
Simon is firing on all cylinders throughout the interview, but I found this statement on the politics of the drug war particularly poignant.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve written columns about the drug war and the demise of journalism, and I cited David Simon, the Baltimore Sun reporter turned creator of HBO’s “The Wire.” This week, Bill Moyers had Simon on his PBS show to expand on this topic, and it was one of those rare must-watch interviews that you see on television.
Simon is firing on all cylinders throughout the interview, but I found this statement on the politics of the drug war particularly poignant:
Listen, if you could be Draconian and reduce drug use by locking people up, you might have an argument. But we are the jailing-est country on the planet right now. Two million people in prison. When I started as a police reporter, 33, 34 percent of the federal inmate population was violent offenders. Now it’s like, seven to eight percent. So, we’re locking up less violent people. More of them. The drugs are purer. They’ve not– they haven’t closed down a single drug corner that I know of in Baltimore for any length of time. It’s not working. And by the way this is not a Republican/Democrat thing. Because a lot of the most Draconian stuff came out of the Clinton Administration. This guy trying to maneuver to the center, in order not to be perceived as Leftist by a Republican Congress.
Simon is absolutely right – the dynamics of Washington politics have long required Democrats to try to look more “tough on crime” than Republicans, for fear that they will be successfully tarred and feathered as “weak” via derivatives of Willie Horton ads. But I think things might be changing, if ever so slowly.
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/137522/journalism%2C_the_drug_war_and_democracy%3A_bill_moyers%27_must-see_interview_with_%27the_wire%27_creator_david_simon/
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There is a petition to end prohibition of marijuana here
http://www.enddrugprohibition.com/
I signed it and am passing the word to every one I know who’s with us on the cause.
hey Jeremy, I noticed that there is not one Missouri signature on that petition, but then again I cant see them all…Needless to say, I think that we need to start hitting the people up where I live. The bible belt. These people down here all believe that weed is the devils drug. I just dont know how we are gonna campaign against these people because the reason they say no is cause Jesus supposedly said so…even though I recently found one Catholic preist that actually beleives pot is a wonderful healing plant and actually has gotten arrested a few times for pot….but anyways, BRUCE FOR PRESIDENT and please help me here in MO,…they really dont like our weed campaign!
Walters is a pathalogical liar. That’s why he was hired in the first place.
JJ, I had that argument matter of fat with a person i knew and this is what I told them ” If a person thinks that about marijuana then why doesn’t the same person think that tabaco and alcohol should illegal? After all marijuana is a natural plant that has been on the earth since the dawn of time yet alcohol is man made and it is legal?” other than that all i can say is you can not fight or educate ignorance regardless of what religion what so ever. Personally If you want to support the cause it has to start with some one and it really does take 1 persons voice online or not to make a difference as long as you are willing to fight for not only your right after all no one pushes marijuana prcatices on others like some religions do. If say you are a smoker and you keep to your self yet a religious group is out there trying to get you to go into a religion after you said no does this make it ok for them to do so when you do not do the same to a person who doesn’t smoke or like marijuana? I do not think so well at least over 95% marijuana smokers do not we simply want our rights not only as a person but as an amreican to do what we want as long as it does not harm any other last time i check the death toll from marijuana was 0 yet their are religions out there that smoke and drink which is 10x more dangerous hands down than marijuana. In short if they are drinkers and tabaco smokers what right do they really have to tell a marijuana smoke that they can not smoke? It is hypicritical and is blunt wrong. We all have rights and our rights should not interfear in the rights of others regardless of religion,race,sex etc…. being that is against our amendment in the constitution.
Also if it is legal in other countries then why is is kept illegal in the USA when the USA is suppose to be land of the free?
I agree with Jeremy on this aren’t we suppose to be “Land of the free”?
Bruce and the Staff at MPP:
I’ve noticed that lately you have been touting the poll stating that 52% of American’s support legalizing, taxing and regulating marijuana. Why not turn the tables and advertize the other side of that same survey?
ONLY 37% of Americans oppose the legalization, regulation and taxing of Marijuana…
Freedom is like a living entity that needs to be cared for. Take it for granted and it dies.
Sorry about my last reply…..I’m high on coffee.
If you good folks would kindly watch the video I cited above then you would understand to a greater degree why cannabis will probably never be legalized.
We live and breathe a corrupt political system, until that is truly realized by the other percentage of Americans opposing legalization then we don’t stand a chance.
Lea ,
I watched it and agree to some extent on what you are saying it is a reason why to request more coverage from our news station and to do petitions like this
http://www.enddrugprohibition.com/
If we do alot then like a guy who fights the good fights through journalism and the media as well as do what we can through petitions as well as writing our represenitive and gain exsposure on the issue the it will not be a wasted cause and will if not today will some day have marijuana legalized and taxed. We all make good points and 1 persons voice on the issue may go unheard but if we have a million voices then they must listen. Remember it is also politiccs and even a knowledgable politition knows numbers will hurt them on ellection day. No politition will do something that will cost them a lot of votes. We would rather it not come to that but in a war there are casulties same goes for a fight for freedom . The main advantage we have is our numbers and others who are willing to help our voice be herd such as network marketters like my self and I know for a fat there are a few network marketters besides myself who are on our side after all is not the USA suppose to be “Land of the free”? This being said if that is true then why is there other countries that have marijuana legal and taxed yet we the USA do not ? One voice alone is like a killer bee you swat it and it is dead yet if there are 1 million killer bees then what happens? The only people that are being hurt in the illegalization of marijuana is those who keep it illegal being if you legalize and take marijuana there is 14 billion annually that can be used for good like education, health and to help our nation
lower crime while hurting the black market and drug cartel where it hurts them the worse and that is in their pocket. This is a main reason that even the Law Enforcement Against Prohibition and others like Students for Sensible Drug Policy , Drug Policy Alliance , Marijuana Policy Project , American Civil Liberties Union , and NORML to name a few. Matter of fact there are even Congressmen and Senitors involved in the cause to legalize and tax marijuana.
[...] may feel suicidal. This, of course, is all bullshit, as the next day at the MPP website, Mirken commented on his interview at CNN and showed that Walters is a [...]
So, it appears that John Walters lied.
Isn’t that what prohibitionists do best?
Walters – Eat shit and die, what more needs to be said. The era of unforgivable idiocy is quickly coming to an end in American politics, and we can only hope that it will stay that way. The American people are waking up, thanks to the efforts of people like you Bruce. Mad, mad props.
I think it is time to simply stop listening to lies. John Walters is one of the most despicable lying bastards on planet earth, along with Dick Cheney and George Bush. A large part of the problem is that millions of Americans will allow themselves to be brain-washed with total untruths. This is certainly provable by looking at religion. It might be interesting to note that the religious brain-washing has taken place over a period greater than 2000 years whereas in a short 7 decades, anti-cannabis lies and brain-washing has worked so well. It is easy to see why all the religious lies are so ingrained and believed to the point of neighbor killing neighbor. Brain-washing works. Advertising is another great example.
I am hopeful that education and modern information services will accomplish a reversal of these remarkable brain-washing successes.
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