The Marijuana Policy Reform Revolution WILL Be Televised
In yet another sign of the growing acceptance for marijuana policy reform, MPP’s Rob Kampia appeared on MSNBC and CNBC yesterday to discuss California Gov. Arnold Schwarzegger’s recent statement supporting an open discussion about ending marijuana prohibition.
You can see his MSNBC appearance here and the CNBC one in which he debates former drug czar official and lifelong drug warrior Kevin Sabet here. (Just to prove it’s really live TV, you’ll notice Rob’s audio feed cuts out at one point, causing him to talk over Sabet for a bit. Aw, shucks.)
By the way, here’s a shot of Rob during his MSNBC appearance that we kind of got a chuckle out of. I mean, drug warriors love accusing marijuana policy reformers of supporting terrorism, but actually being a terrorist? Now that’s playing hardball.
Tagged with: California and drug czar and drug war and drug warriors and ONDCP and Rob Kampia and television by the author
45 comments
An important question is whether we continue a system in which all of the money flows to criminal drug cartels, or do we legalize and tax marijuana so the money can flow to the public treasury and the rebuilding of America?
The gang violence and destruction of public lands caused by criminals operating outside of the prohibition laws would end if individuals could legally grow a few plants of their own at home.
One approach: support a personal use and cultivation permit, for example $100 for twelve plants, with the revenue split between the Federal and State governments.
Let’s let ordinary Americans grow a little marijuana in their own backyards and put the criminal cartels out of business.
didnt know there was an interview on msnbc yesterday. Well atleast the opposition wasnt overbearing and was calm here unlike the idiot that was on cnbc. two appearances in one day is GREAT!! keep up the good work mpp, im lovin it!!!
i wouldnt mind paying 100 dollars per plant if they wanted to do that. infact the 100 dollars could be charged right there at dispensaries and come with a tamper proof tag to place on your plant just like if your a hunter you get a doe tag. if you’re cought without your tag then you get a fine for each plant say like double what you would have paid if you were to have done it right the first time. There are lots of things that could be done here to correct every problem. Now if someone were to figure out a way to test and see if someone is under the influence atany given moment just like a breathalizer for people drunk driving we could then win this thing entirely. If we figured out how to do that then alot more people who do not smoke would come on over to our side of things, including alot of politicians.
foooock yea American CITIZENS.. YOU ROCK
I love hearing prohibitionists sound like Luddites. The more these prohibitionists are forced to try and defend their stance, the better we look. Thank you Governator for this media cycle.
Jack Cafferty seems to be addressing this question on CNN as well. Here’s the response I gave him.
“Cafferty,
Yes. Absolutely. But do not say “legalizing marijuana.” Please use “reform marijuana laws” instead. Many people get the wrong idea that we’re just going to repeal all marijuana laws and leave it at that (which is DEFINITELY NOT the case). Instead, we’re going to treat marijuana in a similar fashion to alcohol (age limits, license to grow and sell, etc etc).
According to a recent poll, 52% of Americans would agree to marijuana reform. 37% say no, and 11% are undecided. Sounds like there’s already a massive movement to legalize, regulate and restrict marijuana. So how about this, Jack? This debate on whether marijuana should be legal at all is tired out.
We’ve heard the prohibitionists: They say marijuana is a gateway drug (disproved by the University of Pittsburgh), that marijuana is dangerous and addictive (marijuana isn’t inherently addictive and also has never killed anyone through overdose), that you become lazy and never do anything with your life after smoking pot (the last three presidents and countless others have smoked marijuana before and/or currently smoke it now and they seem to have attained pretty powerful positions) and that we don’t want another legal drug in America (marijuana is already here and regulating and restricting it would actually reduce its availability).
They repeat their mantra in the hopes that anyone is willing to listen to their already tired and false arguments and we’re stuck at this point. How about we have a debate, not on why marijuana laws should be reformed, but HOW. Let’s talk about the laws we’d put in place once we decided to legalize and regulate marijuana.
I have some ideas, and I know that others have suggestions as well. So what do you think, Jack? You’ve been braver than most in discussing marijuana in the first place. Are you ready to talk about the actual laws that we’d put in place of our current, defunct laws?
I’m eager to hear your as well as other readers’ opinions on such a debate. But I think it’s time we had it.”
Thanks for fighting to good fight MPP!
Politicians will only support cannabis re-legalization/reform if they are bribed with enough money and votes. The good news is that enough of both now exist to end at least some of this country’s insanely counter productive drug policy. The tricky part will be getting the money into their pockets and the votes into their ballot boxes. This is a small price to pay for a return of some of our precious liberty and freedom that so many true American Patriots before us have paid for with so much of their blood and so very many lives. We owe them all nothing less than to finish this fight and point prohibitionists to hell where they belong for their crimes against humanity.
ROB YOU GOT TO BE MORE TOUGHT THIS GUY WOULD NOT EVEN LET YOU TALK! BUT YEAH HE WAS LYING ALL THE WAY TROUGH…….90% OF THE LEAVE WITH A PARKING TICKET?
LYING ASSHOLE……WHEN I GOT COUGHT WITH A BAG I HAD TO PAY BAIL, MY LAWYER AN COURT. ALL THAT TURN UP TO 3000……YOU CALL THAT A PARKING TICKET HUH? HELL NO KEVIN GET YOUR HEAD OFF YOUR ASS!!
yes my pot smoking freinds the polls dont lie people want there pot ! if the rest of our pot smoking couch potatoes would set the bong down for 1 min. we could realy take a poll !. but there are some of us that are affraid of losing our jobs ,we dont want to have to piss in a cup again, or have to sack up someone elses piss to get our foot in the door for one of those shittey , bullshit jobs that pay shit that we did not want to take anyway! legalize my meds. obama and stop laughing and put this money into the fuel tank of airforce one !take a ride over and see what arnold s. is thinking of ,and is this going to pass now or am i going to have that drug talk with my kids about doing it later!!!…
so i was just watching the news when they played a video and some stupid woman blows a shotgun hit down some 7 yr old with downs syndrome’s throat and when he went to his mom she told him to shut up. stupid idiotic crap like that hurts our cause soo dramatically. appearently this happened some time back as they are about to be sentenced soon so im sure o’reiley put it out there to turn people away from our side purposely because of the momentum we have going right now. im sure this will be thrown in our faces many many times. i hope it just dies out and doesn’t effect people too much. seriously though this kind of crap is very toxic to us and our cause, and people like that are very toxic to our society.
Hey Rob and Dan… next time you get to debate a prohibitionist you should ask them if they have ever read the actual transcripts from the 1937 Tax Act… It’s appalling the terms that were allowed to be used (deadly, dangerous, evil…). I will bet you that they can’t rationalize the obvious special interests that were in place, nor can they justify the racial undertones and stereotyping that took place.
3000 years of recorded history… ZERO DEATHS!!!
Alcohol claims the lives of 100,000 people each year…. 274 people each and every day…. THAT’S ONE OF YOUR FRIENDS OR FAMILY MEMBERS EVERY 5 MINUTES
An open debate with rational thought and discussion is and the truth will come out.
To put things into perspective”
One trillion dollars (plus) has been wasted on the failed drug war. A one dollar bill is 6.375 inches long, so if you do the math and multiply 6.375 inches by one trillion and then divide the result by 12 you get 531 billion 250 million feet and divide that by 5280 you come up with (drumroll please)
100,615,530.3 miles
The money wasted on the drug war if laid out in one dollar bills would make a line..
onehundredmillionsixhundredfifteenthousandandfivehundredthirty miles long.
According to wikipedia the distance from the earth to the moon (center to center) is 384,403 km or 238,856 miles. That means the dollars wasted on the drug war would stretch from the earth to the moon 261.75 times!
Now for the benefits of legalizing cannabis. It has been estimated that legalizing would create an estimated 14 billion dollars annually in tax revenue. Using the same formula the line of dollar bills would be this long:
1,408,617.4 miles!
or: 5.9 times earth to moon!
Just how much longer will this waste of our money be tolerated and the potential tax revenues ignored?
I would like Rob to step back from media appearances. Let Bruce Mirken do all the interviews and debates and statements. He is much better spoken and articulate. No offense to Rob–I’m sure he works his ass off and is one of the reasons this organization is what it is today. But you have to agree that he is hurting our cause every time he appears and let’s false accusations go unchallenged, looks extremely uncomfortable, doesn’t make compelling arguments. I mean our side is RIGHT. We have the upper hand in debates because their position is built on lies. Every single prohibitionist argument can be soundly defeated. And yet, Rob lets many of these opportunities fritter away while he struggles to get his next thought out. Personally I would like to see someone like Joe Rogan get out there and do some advocacy. He is smart, articulate, passionate, and extremely knowledgeable about marijuana (science, history, etc.).
Food for thought if anyone is actually reading this.
Rob, you are not the best debater. Let Bruce do the TV spots.
yes i too agree that bruce is a much better choice for dabate. he just seems to have more of a debater type look and attitude about him thatseems to resinate with people.
seth, i do believe these last two debates were not our sides best showing saying that rob shouldn’t do any more debates isn’t fair. ive seen him shred prohibitionists on national tv, and he made glen beck look like he rides the short bus to work. i don’t think the debate was moderated very well.
rob helped start this excellent orginization that is accually getting things accomplished that we can measure. to deny him the right to see it through i think would be a slap in his face.
Seth, I agree with you that the debate on CNBC didn’t go as planned as his ear piece stopped working half-way through and that would have caused him to lose train of thought but when Rob was on MSNBC he got out some main points that will help the cause. I still think Bruce should do the debating because he is overall a better speaker. If Bruce came to Australia and ran for the Prime Minister position I would vote for him simply because I would enjoy hearing his voice.
the term “MARIJUANA” is a term that means nothing , created by propaganda , reform CANNABIS laws.
This was the response from our PA rep. The usual lies. I hate my reps. I am going to organize and get these non supporting reps outstead!
Mr. Snyder:
Thank you for contacting by office with your interest in House Bill 1393, which would provide for the medical use of marijuana and repeal those provisions of law that prohibit and penalize marijuana use. I appreciate knowing your views on this controversial issue.
I do not support the legalization of marijuana to treat medical conditions. Marijuana use is illegal under both federal and Pennsylvania state law. Even if the General Assembly were to pass House Bill 1393, marijuana use to treat medical conditions would still violate federal law. As such, I cannot support this legislation.
Again, thank you for contacting my office with your interest in this issue. If you have any other state-related questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
JEFFREY E. PICCOLA
ATtention Rob Kampia Pennsylvania needs MPPs help more than ever to get our bill passed. Please contact me @ asnyder37@comcast.net. I want to get info to our reps so the truth is exposed. I will do anything I can to get this measure passed. I need your expertise and guidance. I am pleading for the MPP staff and you to help our state get the truth out about cannabis and its wonderful healing properties.
Thanks, Andy Snyder
How many problems are related from the prohibition of marijuana? LEGALIZE IT!
anyone know if there is anybody working on a marijuana breathalyzer. if someone could come up with one real quick then we couldget alot further given the fact that everyone wants to argue about people driving under the influence.
There are mouth swab tests for the drug, but they are apparently not as reliable as urinalysis though.
yeah i mean to tell if people are high at the actual time of driving like when you are pulled over for drinking and driving just so we can fight the comment of how they wont know if people are while while driving.
I think the most important thing to see here is that in all aspects you can’t consider this “drug” in the same category as: Crack, cocaine, heroin, meth……etc… This is a recreational drig, such as alchohol, but why is it that an alchoholic will look at a pot head like he’s doing something crazy? You can’t pull up one case that marijuana lead to a death, a crime, withstanding marijuana cases. This would boost the economy, and this would get us out of this slump that we are in. Amsterdam has marijuana legalization laws, and maintains a well built country. Why can’t the U.S. do this? The government tells us we can’t do it, so we won’t…..so sorry!
The line “We still need more research on marijuana” is nothing but a stall tactic.
governor charlie crist is stepping down from governor this years to run for the florida senate. we need to get someone in office down here that willatleast be reasonable with marijuana and we need to make sure he doesnt get the senate seat as he is outright against marijuana, so says the letter he emailed me anyways
i dont believe that marijuanna should be legal. i am a long term smoker but i feel that if we did legalize it people are going to riot. its bad enough were in a depression. that might fix it but it definatly wont fix the crime. i think we should have it barley legal. enough to have at least an ounce on you without getting busted for it. there is millions pof people in jail because they had one joint on them. thats not cool. it shouldnt be like that. pot is natural and easy to harvest. it is not chemicals and bad drugss. if we could use pot for everything medical it would save people from getting addicted to hard core drugs!. why, whats the point of keeping pot illigal, everyone does it anyways
The Supreme Court has stated that only congress has the right to change the laws on the Prohibition of Marijuana. It’s the best life insurance policy a person could have, underwritten and protected by the South American Drug cartel’s enforcers, and Big Pharmaceuticals and Alcohol distributors. America’s Mothers and Fathers, your children, who now are living in Prisons and graveyards across our great land, please show your appreciation to our elected officials , because they are guilty of your childrens blood, the destruction of countless families and the blood of the People of Mexico. All because they will not give us the freedom they so cherish to the American People. The average American believes in Freedom as a concept, but our legislators want us to be slaves to the system that persecutes anyone who chooses to enjoy Marijuana for any reason. I hope that in Heaven, I get a chance to be in the Jury Box when all legislators will be Judged by God, to render the same mercy that they have blessed me with. On a lighter note , I want to thank all politicians who have made their voices known and have asked for the Drug War Madness to come to an end. My Father in Heaven will reward you for your efforts to bring us back into liberty and Freedom that he wanted us to have. Their is a Devil and it looks like he has a lot of followers and they unfortunately are in control of Most of our Government. The fires of Hell one day will be alight with the Blood curdling screams of American Politicians who said me first and literally Screw everyone else. God Bless America!!!
nforgiven639 i myself think that your statement is absurd in regards to people rioting if it were to become legal. i myself think that the tension is so great right now that if it isnt made legal we may have some serious problems breaking out throughout this country in regards to rioting or whatnot. we the people are outraged and extremely tired of this unfair treatment being imposed upon ourselves, our families, and our friends. it is against our rights constitutionally and against our rights as human beings period. we have the right to put anything we want into our bodies, be it marijuana, a peanut butter sandwich, or rat poison, it is your choice and should be legally. A crime is supposed to be determined as anything that directly or indirectly harms or damages another person or property or deprives a person or their property. if i were to smoke (which i actually have not smoked in about 7 years) would i be harming another or anothers property in any way? would i be depriving another of their property in any way? only an idiot would answer yes to these questions and does not deserve to breathe, but i would not deny him the right to put air into his body, that would be unconstitutional
the people are getting pumped and i can almost promise you guys here and now that if arnold holds a rational debate and the opposition comes to the table with lies and the governor endorses those lies then the people WILL riot and the governor WILL be looking for a new job in the near future. i do not need to live in california to see this one coming.
Whatever we do it has to be on the local level. The butte heads in Washington are mostly self serving moralistic bags of crap. First we have to elect on the state level county by county. I know my local rep. but he’s another bag of crap so we just start a movement against his re-election and suport his rival to the hilt.
That said it’s at a tipping point now and I’m seeing that many people now realize the injustice that has decayed our constitutional rights. Maybe there will be rioting or a rash of civil diobeadience. With over 20MM citizens being arrested for a no better reason than having a harmless plant substance I would think most Americans will soon just say no.
And these debates on news shows are crap. They usually don’t give equal time nor are the “liars” called out on each lie as they should be.
Keep up the good work, keep it up Rob.
MPP, god damn you are my effing heros, norml too but they don’t seem to get as much exposure that i have seen at least.
nforgiven639, try spell checking what you type. and uh, yeah, no one is actually going to riot if marijuana is legalized, what the hell would make you think that? are/were you drunk?
it’s more likely that people will riot if it ISN’T legalized like champagne2878 said. it’s an absolute 100% violation of every single responsible adult’s freedoms to keep marijuana illegal, and to then keep brushing our freedoms under the rug in the name of BS and misinformed arguments is just as bad. baseless speculation of what “could happen” is not a justified reason to keep anyone from having or doing anything, if it was then anyone could make any insane argument to get anything banned. why speculation and propaganda was (and still is) allowed to be used to get and keep marijuana banned is not really because of any of the reasons opponents of marijuana will ever publicly disclose. those who are convinced that it is illegal for our safety really have no idea where we live or what they are talking about, hi, automatic weapons, grenade launchers, and many other high power weapons as well as plenty of very dangerous chemicals and compounds are currently legal in this country and will be for quite awhile, promise.
politics and the lobbyists and filibusterers that are embedded in politics and the industries that “fund” them are why marijuana was made and continues to be illegal. unfortunately the governments that were created and appointed to work for us and supposedly for our best interests and freedom now work mainly for themselves and for their self preservation at almost any cost, including our freedom and best interests. hopefully we can change that soon and hopefully it starts by making marijuana legal even sooner.
also, champagne2878, if you don’t have to drug test you should definitely smoka some dosia, 7 years is too long Bro. everybody who can should get lifted, for me. Az won’t let me be me right now and for at least a few more months. celebrate the freedom you know you deserve (if you can) for me and i will join you as soon as i can.
marijuana has many names and i love them all.
Wait, Wait, Wait! I got One! This is a good one tell me if you heard it. Our government was tricked under FALSE PRETENSES to pass a law against Marijuana, which isn’t even Cannabis, that everyone is saying is illegal and people are getting arrested for! Oh, wait that one isn’t FUNNY at all.
The subject matter of false pretenses is not limited to tangible personal property – statutes include intangible personal property and services. For example the North Carolina false pretense statute applies to obtaining “any money, goods, property, services, choses in action, or any other thing of value …”[1] ALSO Under common law, false pretense is defined as a representation of a present or past fact, which the thief knows to be false, and which he intends will and does cause the victim to pass title of his property. That is, false pretense is the acquisition of title from a victim by fraud or misrepresentation of a material past or present fact. AND False pretences as a concept in the criminal law is no longer used in English law. It used to refer to the means whereby the defendant obtained any chattel, money or valuable security from any other person with intent to defraud. It used to be an indictable misdemeanour under the Larceny Act 1861 as amended by the Larceny Act 1916. The modern concept is a deception and it is used as the common basis of the actus reus (the Latin for “guilty act”) in the deception offences under the Theft Act 1968 and in the Theft Act 1978. Now Wait A Minute! Marijuana Laws were Passed under False pretenses. Why is it still a law and why isn’t anyone in trouble for lying to the ENTIRE COUNTRY!!! Not to mention the BILLIONS of dollars that we have had stolen from us by this FAKE LAW. As I stated previously. Marijuana is NOT Cannabis. Therefor the way I see it and the way our entire country should see it is Cannabis is not illegal, A Mexican tobacco plant by the name of marijuana is illegal. Why hasn’t anyone used this argument in the debates about legalizing HEMP or CANNABIS. I refuse to call it marijuana, especially now that I know that it isn’t even the same plant. Thank You…
sniffle dog yes i do unfortunately have to take drug tests on a regular basis. otherwise i would smoke from time to time
I hate when these talking heads say “MJ is much more stronger and dangerous than in the 60′s” Don’t they understand that it is a good thing because the user inhales less smoke to get the desired effect. It would be the same as saying… beer is much stronger now than before. Well someone wanting to get drunk will obviously feel the effects quicker and therefore drink less beer. This whole prohibition makes me want to pull my hair out.
I really hope that it gets legalized asap. I also think that people who say its a dangerous drug and that comparing it to alchohol is ridiculous and drinking isn’t dangerous should remeber one thing, mothers against drunk drivers don’t exist because drinking is harmless. Not once has someone killed an entire family or been the victim of rape or any of the infinite list of things that result when you get drunk off of marijuana so put that in your pipe and smoke it you drunk peices of shit.
This is the first time I have seriously sat down to observe what other intelligent marijuana-enthusiasts (not just the stereotypical town-pothead) have to say about the taxation and reformation of the herb. I’m glad that there was finally a poll shown on MSNBC which approximately represents the opinions of the People, rather than just the Fat-cats dishing out their so-called “facts” and estimations.
I also see some fellow enthusiasts on this site asking questions referring to on-the-spot testing, similar to the BAC tests that given to those suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol. I will gladly admit that smoking makes the car ride more enjoyable and considering the heavy traffic and long-distance trips, much stress is reduced. That’s right, no more road-rage and overaggressive drivers.
There needs to be a form of a THC filtering device. It could be similar to a breathalizer tool, but will test the environment in your vehicle, rather than in your lungs, in order to see if you are smoking while driving. There will have to be a numerical pass/fail system just like there is when it comes to drinking- you know the whole “You’re under 1.0, so please be cautious and have a safe ride home.”
When it comes to somebody who seems to be driving recklessly or just a little suspiciously, they should be given some sort of brief mental and/or physical testing. People have different responses and tolerances to marijuana, similar to those of alcohol. I hate putting marijuana and alcohol in the same category, but for establishing regulations, we need some sort of plan that we know the American people are already familiar with. That way, one single “idiot who blows smoke into her 7 year old’s face” cannot ruin the hope for us by doing something that’s stupid, simply stupid.
All I can say is that when our country reaches the end of this rainbow (the prohibition of marijuana), will we get our pot of gold. I’m referring to our pursuit of happiness which was promised over a couple hundred years ago and our civil rights and liberties, even though “pot of gold” was an oh-so-cheesy play on words
To those of you whom read my post with hope and seriousness, thank you for helping and uniting with the people like me who are fighting to REFORM, not “legalize” marijuana laws. We must all do our part, which also means to be responsible for our actions. Encourage people to refrain from acts of stupidity, like getting “totally blazed” and getting behind the wheel of a vehicle. We only get what we give. If we want rationality, we must show it as well.
WE, the PEOPLE, are the government.
The politicians’ job is to represent US.
When you hear one politician speak lies or other bullshit about marijuana, DO NOT VOTE FOR THEM next election. Write their name down in a book of people to avoid voting for and remember it come election time EVERY YEAR.
If they are stupid enough to spread falsehoods about marijuana then they are either too incompetent to be in office, in collusion with some entity aligned against marijuana legalization, or both.
This especially holds true for the lame ducks out there who continue to quack, “GATEWAY” whenever asked about marijuana.
The debate on marijuana is so largely prevalent for a reason. As a doctor, I would actually discourage the use of medical marijuana. The inhalation of any incinerated products is hazardous to one’s health. There will need to be further conclusive evidence if non-combustible THC derivatives actually provide health benefits. This, however, is not the point!
I believe the discussion point of central interest lies in recreational use alone. There is conclusive evidence marijuana is safer recreational choice than alcohol. By any valid logic, marijuana must be legalized solely on this basis. Any other potential positive (and negative) impact it has is simply a byproduct of politics, our economy and our social well-being. Marijuana remaining illegal is utter non-sense instilled by fear and ignorance; I can only pray our nation can overcome this obstacle on unity, endurance and common sense.
Soooo, according to Mike Stroup aka NORML person, we need to funnel our money into the politicians pockets.
Well, I understand the politicians greed however, heard Obummer has financial ties to Baxter, flu vaccines, Big Pharma; sound familiar?
Son of a B….. Take all the money from the various end to prohibition cannabis organizations and give it to these idiots, if that truly is the case.
Good gawd, do whatever it takes to get these bozo’s (politicians) in line with our desires and the desires of Americans.
Now, I’ll go back and read all of the comments. BTW MPP, sent you a check. Let’s get it done.
MPP: Please, seriously consider lining the pockets of Stewart and Colbret. Many young people watch them alone for their daily news and views. Get SEVERAL people on the shows that KNOW about and can effectively ELUCIDATE on the benefits of smoking cannabis.
Another idea is Public Broadcasting (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR).
If money is the only thing that will draw Attention toward the TRUTH of the matter, then please use my donations for this.
Gawd, I really need to be able to smoke and / or vaporize cannabis because I’m dying, literally, physically.
Nick, honey, sweetie, young soul, we aren’t “texting” in the comments section, please dear heart, type complete sentences.
R.O.E.: In Amsterdam, if a tourist “gets too high” from smoking their most excellent cannabis, the police advice the overly high tourist to drink a fruit juice drink. (end of story).
someone should legalize weed that way i dont have to pay so much for it.
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