Monthly Archives: December 2011

Today we bring you the Top Ten "Reefer Madness" Stories of 2011. "Reefer Madness", of course, is the 1936 anti-pot propaganda film showing young people becoming crazed and violent on the effects of "reefer". Today, we use "Reefer Madness" as shorthand to describe the hysterical warnings by the anti-drug zealots as reported unchallenged by a complacent media.

Today we continue our Year-End Retrospective with a look at the biggest news stories of scientific research into cannabis, public opinion polls on legalization, and statistical research on cannabis consumers. We call it The Top Ten Cannabis Science Stories of 2011.

• Reverend Ryan on Iowa GOP to Count Caucus Votes in SECRET location !
• Reverend Ryan on Adam Vs. the Man Lessons in Liberty being interviewed by children

We continue our 2011 Year-End Retrospective with a look at The Top Ten "Stupid Stoner Stories" of 2011. It’s a segment I’ve done for years now and it still bothers some people. I always remind listeners that "smoking marijuana does not make one stupid; however, some stupid people do smoke marijuana". The point is to learn from the misfortune of others and to teach valuable lessons to the audience (like not wrapping your weed in aluminum foil to take through the airport, or speeding at 3am while smoking blunts in a car with expired tags and no insurance, and so on.)

To my knowledge, only two national candidates for president in 2012 have spoken before NORML on the subject of marijuana legalization. Newly-Libertarian candidate Gov. Gary Johnson and longtime Republican candidate Rep. Ron Paul. Now, after some digging, we’ve found Rep. Paul speaking at the NORML National Conference 23 years ago.

Steven DeAngelo, CEO of Harborside Health Center and recently star of Discovery Channel’s Weed Wars, has come under fire for his comments at the conclusion of Episode 4 where he said, "I don’t believe in legalizing cannabis for recreational purposes; I think cannabis should be used for purposes of wellness." Steven took some heat in cyberspace, particularly Steve Bloom’s fiery denunciation in CelebStoner.com ("Say it ain’t so, Steve DeAngelo!").

Before we get started, let me make clear that this list is not "The Best People" or "The Worst People" or "The Most Important People". It is also not NORML’s official endorsement or condemnation of anyone listed. This is merely my review of some of the personal stories in cannabis law reform, some whom you’ll recognize, others who appear briefly in a news report and are forgotten, that I felt needed recognition. In fact, if you count them up, it’s more than ten people.