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Not as many sheeple as there used to be, fortunately.
Across the country I see reform happening on this issue.
A prominent CA. lawyer who represents dispensaries stated recently that the DEA is defeated in California. The people are opening up more dispensaries every day than the DEA can raid. They are being overwhelmed.
The military style surveillance of our communities by the agents of the drug lords contrasts with the fact that the public has largely turned against them in favor of honest paka policies.
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quote:
Originally posted by Jon
Wow only in the US of A could you get away with calling a authorized and legal police force Thugs and get away with it.
most of these so called "thugs", become cops because McDonalds is no longer accepting applications for their drive thru
quote:
Stop growing the weed up there and I bet they won't drop in to kill it.
yet another Puna wannabe thinking he knows the situation here in Puna[:o)]
"I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong."
Bertrand Russell
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Support the 'Jack Herer Initiative'NOW!!
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quote:
Originally posted by LeeE
...military style surveillance of our communities by the agents of the drug lords ...
Lee, nowhere else on this blog or any other blog or any other discussion have I seen anyone at anytime express the situation so clearly.
Thanks for your honest words.
James Weatherford, Ph.D.
15-1888 Hialoa
Hawaiian Paradise Park
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under no circumstances should any resident of Puna be okay with this intrusion on your privacy! This is just "BS" at it's best if you ask me. Sure, make it a priority issue of the lowest importance. Why not? Other cities have done it already and have shown positive results from it too.
My personal opinion on the matter, our society is to anal on this subject. People, it's medicine for the sick. But it is also a "cash crop", and item that can be used to barter with too. Lord knows there isn't much cash in Puna so trading is a good thing.
"When someone asks you, A penny for your thoughts, and you put your two cents in, what happens to the other penny?"
George Carlin
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Support the 'Jack Herer Initiative'NOW!!
One of the problems with local and even state level legalization is that the courts have still upheld the federal laws as trumping the local decisions. I haven't really followed the recent legal battles, and would welcome info from anyone who has, but I recall this as the problem.
We need reform of the federal laws, but I imagine any leader who proposed it would be lambasted by conservatives. It's been illegal for many years because of political pressures and economic lobbies ...
and how many covert ops has our government funded by running drug planes? Drugs and weapons ... highly barterable in certain other countries. Legalize drugs and make them cheap and it all falls apart, the side deals, the teaming up with bad people. It's really unfortunate that so many buy into the anti-drug hysteria without realizing that by keeping it all criminal they actually support the drug empires by ensuring that drugs are worth big money..
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Kathy, you nailed it. For those who really want to be informed, read "Drug Crazy" by Mike Gray: http://www.drugcrazy.com/
It opened my eyes and changed my perspective. As much damage to society that hard drugs can do, the drug war does even more. Prohibition didn't make Al Capone evil; it just made him rich and evil. Violent crime shot up almost immediately after prohibition kicked in...The irony is that all the stats Mr. Gray cites come from the U.S. government.
And I'm sorry, pot doesn't even belong in the discussion. If our government doesn't have the good sense to legalize it, then at least decriminalize. Going after pot is a huge waste of resources.
Which reminds me, the notion of prioritizing for optimum resource allocation is inevitable for any organization, that's why humans invented Pareto charts. The fact is, we have limited resources with an overwhelming number of serious problems to solve. And we're going to waste it on arresting pot smokers? Makes no sense at all--unless, of course, someone in the government is making money from it...
We can make a bigger impact by educating our children on the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, rather than spending millions of dollars on the impossible task of controlling a weed.
Tim
Other people can talk about how to expand the destiny of mankind. I just want to talk about how to fix a motorcycle. I think that what I have to say has more lasting value.”
Robert Pirsig
Tim
A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions--Confucius
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James,
A big Mahalo, bra.
I've followed this issue very closely for around fifteen years and have been hoping for the day when people wake up and end this subsidy for the black market in drugs, (the "Golden" Prohibition laws).
Actually, the whole truth about the drug war is worse than what I post, (but it's well documented on the web), but all across the country now, I see change for the better taking place.
If we could have an honest, informed, regular column in the local papers educating folks, we could fix this a lot sooner, imho.
Richard Cowen's wonderful, marijuananews.com site's postings would make for a great regular column in the Trib.
I do harp a lot about this issue on punaweb and try to avoid taxing peoples patience who may not see this as an important issue, but I really do think one of the best things we could do for our communities and country would be to rid ourselves of the black market in street drugs.
The only way to accomplish that is to strip the hard drugs of their artificial, Prohibition created value.
It would be so easy.
Anyway, thanks very much for your kind words and all the best to us all.
Aloha!
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From MPP.org
"Hawaii: Urge Gov. Lingle to sign the medical marijuana task force bill — HB 2675
Although both chambers of the Hawaii State Legislature voted overwhelmingly in favor of HB 2675 — the Senate approved the measure 24-0 in April — Gov. Lingle has issued an "intent to veto" notice.
HB 2675 would create a task force to examine issues regarding growing facilities, adequate supply, and the inter-island transport of medical marijuana.
Gov. Lingle cites federal law as her reason for wanting to veto this legislation. She is under the mistaken impression that because federal law does not recognize the legitimate medical use of marijuana, states are prohibited from formulating their own policies regarding the issue.
Please e-mail Gov. Lingle today reminding her that Hawaii already has a medical marijuana law and that studying the issues surrounding current law would be a wise decision.
After you have sent Gov. Lingle an e-mail, please call her office at (808) 586-0034 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. and let her staff know that you support HB 2675 and will be watching to make sure Gov. Lingle signs the bill in to law. Be sure to say that you will be very disappointed if Gov. Lingle vetoes this legislation.
You can also send a fax to the governor's office at (808) 586-0006.
Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project and all of our allies. Please pass this alert along to friends and family who would like to see a positive change in Hawaii's marijuana policies.
Sincerely,
Nathan Miller
Legislative Analyst
Marijuana Policy Project"
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And with the possible coming of a new government, Taxes wil go up. Some say Prohibition was ended because of the lucrative tax base we had been missing. The coming taxation will be like we've never seen before, and is the best chance of legalisation.
Gordon J Tilley
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Wow, it's great to see so many wonderful points being made here. You have all really gotten to the core of what I only wish I could have said so well. I hate to admit it, but I never heard of the petition until now. I got around to signing it over at Jungle Love today (thanks Punamom!). And thank you, Lee, for that email alert for Gov. Lingle (that's on the list for tomorrow too.) It's reassuring to know that there are so many people who think that this is crap! Today I found out that a whole lot of people have signed this petition, so now it looks like it has a real chance of making it by the end of July. It felt really good to sign it after feeling so angry about this potentially toxic intrusion into my privacy.
Aloha
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