California to legalize marijuana? Petition says it will be on the ballot.

January 31st, 2010 | By Reverend

I would be so absolutely grateful and humbled if California legalized marijuana!
I am so pessimistic about these things.  I fight, and I hope that freedom and liberty prevails!
For some reason it just seems to simple and too smart all at the same time.  It will confuse voters, because I feel like they expect something complex and full of a bunch of bullshit.

Legalize pot,

• The police win; less non-violent criminals to have to deal with so they can focus on more serious crimes.
• The parents win, because marijuana will be kept and sold in a secured and adult environment.(right now more teenagers smoke marijuana than smoke tobacco.  Same with alcohol and pot.)
• Of course the tax payers win, because there is another great stream of jobs and tax money in a legal market.
  Instead of importing hemp from China, Australia and Canada we could produce and process it here.  That would create a lot of jobs.  Americans wear a lot of hemp these days, even though it’s more expensive than other fabrics.
• Taking money away from the black market and infusing our community in a positive way would be good for everyone (except maybe the cartels and such)

We need to make sure that cannabis stays legal to grow under our current medical marijuana laws.  But I would love to see complete all out legalization of marijuana for adults.   As long as these adults are allowed to grow marijuana.
I support legislation that promotes these intelligent and sensible ideas that groups like NORML, MPP, and REASON are all promoting.

On the NORML Daily Audio Stash I heard a lot about how there are over 1 million children selling marijuana.
Legalization will run the black market out of business, just like with tobacco and alcohol.
Lower prices, ,more taxes and the community benefits from the taxes and has no need to spend billions criminalizing a harmless plant that has many medical benefits!

California proposes to legalize with TV Ad campaign and over 700,000 signatures from NORML:  http://slu2.com//00

This is from the Stranger:  http://slu2.com//z

Washington activists also filed an initiative that would legalize marijuana. But unlike California’s ringleader who “bankrolled a professional signature-gathering effort,” the campaign leaders in this state are planning an all-volunteer campaign and having a hard time even accepting online contributions.

While we have been doing business in point of sales, we have spoken with many banks.  Bank of America assured us that they would support our clients who run medical marijuana dispensaries!  
We have more information in the forums here at xCannabis.  Emerald POS has it’s own category.

::  Link Shortening Services from SLU2.com ::

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When a town in Utah does something very noble!

June 18th, 2009 | By Reverend

This is history by about 8 years now, but back in 2001 the little town of 400 people in Utah named “Big Water” passed an ordinance that decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana to a $10 fine (under 1 oz), and possession of paraphernalia a $5 fine.

The motive behind this says mayor Willie Marshall “Our ordinance made justice affordable for everybody,” said Marshall. “Let the punishment fit the crime.”

Under Utah law, possession of less than one ounce of marijuana is punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine, as well as a six-month drivers license suspension. Under state law, paraphernalia possession nets the same maximum six months and $1,000. According to a newspaper article about this situation that can be found at this link:  http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/215/bigwater.shtml

I agree with Mayor Willie Marshall, and even though I think a $10 fine is too much for a victimless crime, I believe his intentions were in the right place, and I think you will find the city of Denver Colorado agrees, where it is legal (no fines) for adults to possess up to an ounce of marijuana.

Ruining people’s life forever, putting a misdemeanor on their record which denies them the ability for scholarships, military service, working at certain jobs, etc..  for a victimless crime is insane.  A $1000 fine for possessing a plant that has never killed anyone in all of history?
This would be like making drinking from a drinking fountain a misdemeanor punishable with jail time and a $1000 fine.  Based on harm, and social impact, marijuana is no more of a threat than drinking water!

Bravo to this courageous mayor and this courageous city council.  It’s only too bad that these ordinances were later repealed, and that at least one officer is recorded and reprimended for threatening the city council members.

Utah Highway Patrol Officer Nathan Giles blew up at local officials, Marshall said, in an account whose broad contours were confirmed by regional Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Lynn McAfee. “Once the police heard about this, they hit the ceiling, the Kane County sheriff and the Highway Patrol were just enraged,” said Marshall. “They do a lot of intimidating people into letting them search their cars. But Officer Nathan Giles was especially bent out of shape. He came in and yelled at the town clerk. ‘Who’s the dope-smoking son of a bitch who wrote this ordinance?’ Giles yelled. And then he made threats. ‘All hell is going to break loose in Big Water,’ he told her,” Marshall said.

Two weeks after the ordinance passed, UHP started harassing members of the entire town of Big Water:

“ On December 7, two weeks after the ordinance was passed, the town was hit with an “enforcement blitz” by Highway Patrol and Kane County Sheriff’s officers. “They were ticketing everyone for anything,” said Marshall. “They had a half dozen Highway Patrol cars out there pulling people over for no seat belt, failure to signal, anything they could think of.”

Which was confirmed by Lt. McAfee of the Utah Highway Patrol.

But this wasn’t the end of it, and as you guessed, this all has to do with police funding and getting revenue from these so-called crimes.

But Giles wasn’t done. “Then he went over to the water board office, where one of the council members works, while on-duty and in uniform and started arguing with her,” Marshall said, “telling her the ordinance was unconstitutional, that we had to repeal it, that the Highway Patrol could just stop writing tickets in our town, basically threatening to cut off a source of town funding. Not that we’re a speed trap,” Marshall quickly added. “Giles was very threatening and his behavior was very inappropriate.”

This is Utah life under a huge microscope in relation to the ‘drug war’.  No drug war equals no police funding.  It’s not about harm reduction, it’s about revenue!

This isn’t a war on drugs, this is a war on the American people!

Another Reference from a local newspaper:  http://archive.deseretnews.com/archive/880574/Big-Water-axes-controversial-laws.html

Marc Emery will be sentenced

June 4th, 2009 | By Reverend

Cannabis Culture’s pot warrior Marc Emery has accepted a plea deal to 1 count of drug trafficing and will be sentenced this fall.

I am sad to see the end of this fight come to a conclusion, but I am happy for Marc that he feels that he made the best choice in this matter.

Marc Emery will be writing a book in prison, and Cannabis Culture will be continuing on.

Also, as a tribute to this man.  He and his team at Cannabis Culture is what inspired me to take up this cause myself.

We love you Marc!

See the latest on this from PotTV in this YouTube video:

Marc Emery accepts plea deal

Happy Memorial Day

May 25th, 2009 | By Reverend

I have been so grateful thinking about my family who have served in the military for generations.   It was a family tradition that was broken by this inane drug war.  My dad served in the military for 23 years and was a ranger in the 101st.   I had my whole life planned around joining the military, but when I tried to sign up and after passing my ASVAB with a high score, I was turned down when they found that I had been arrested for possessing a harmless plant.

I’m still upset over this, even though I overcame the setback and ended up with a freaking awesome life anyway!   I still smoke herb, but I will never forgive my country for denying the ability to proudly serve this country as my forefathers did!

This is dedicated to my father!

Im on my way to Seattle tomorrow.  See ya’all next week!!

END THIS WAR ON THE AMERICAN PEOPLE!   END THE DRUG WAR!

Memorial Day, Marijuana POW’s

May 23rd, 2009 | By Reverend

I have been a Prisoner of War in this “War on Drugs”. As a teenager, when I was just beginning my life I was locked up and heavily fined for doing nothing more than possessing a harmless plant.

Marijuana Prisoner of War

Marijuana prohibition locks up hundreds of thousands of people and 89% of these prisoners are locked up for simple possession of this harmless plant. These people don’t start out as hardcore criminals, then end up becoming acquainted with that lifestyle only AFTER being locked up with murderers, thieves, and rapists. Marijuana prohibition and this “war on drugs” is an assault on the American people.
For those other P.O.W.’s of this inane war, I will be out protesting against the WAR on drugs.

A few months ago, I wrote an article about being denied the right to serve my country as a result of this war on Americans.
Please read this, as we remember our veterans this Memorial Day weekend.

http://xcannabis.com/2009/03/i-was-denied-the-ability-to-serve-my-country/

Is Idaho ready to legalize marijuana?

May 14th, 2009 | By Reverend

On May 13th in the “Boise Weekly” there was an article ran about the 300 person crowd at the state capitol for the “Global Marijuana March”.

Ref:  http://www.boiseweekly.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A323768

Legalizing marijuana in Idaho

This news couldn’t be better.  I only wish that I had been there.  What an inspiring and wonderful event that I will regret missing for the rest of my days I imagine.

I have been saying that Idaho will legalize marijuana next, becoming the 14th state that legalizes marijuana in some way.  But I think I am wrong about that, because Missouri will be next it looks like.   But we have a proposal for a 2010 bill from an Idaho representative:

Here are a few clips from the “Boise Weekly”:

Then Ryan Davidson, a “Ron Paul Republican” and marijuana activist from Garden City, announced through the bullhorn that Moscow Rep. Tom Trail plans to introduce a medical marijuana bill next year.

——————

Since 1996, voters have favored ballot initiatives removing criminal penalties for growing or possessing medical marijuana in Alaska, California, Colorado, Washington, D.C., Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. State legislators in Hawaii, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Vermont have passed medical marijuana laws. On Nov. 4, Michigan became the 13th medical marijuana state and Massachusetts’ voters decriminalized personal possession.

———

In an article found in the Washington Post, the current White House drug czar (former police chief of Seattle Norm Kerlikowske) explains that the White House will be changing the current US drug policy to a harm reduction policy instead of a punish and destroy the product policy.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124225891527617397.html

I am amazed and proud of the brave citizens who took to the streets on May 2nd in Boise:

The Worldwide Marijuana March drew more than 300 demonstrators to downtown Boise on Saturday, May 2. Offering peace signs and garnering many supportive car honks, the marchers moved slowly under scattered showers along Capitol Boulevard to the front lawn of the Idaho Legislature.

On some of the local blogs that I go to, I have been told that Idaho isn’t supportive of marijuana legalization.  But after considering how Hailey Idaho has twice legalized marijuana (not just medical, but recreational as well), and how this proposal has been through the capitol a few times, and seeing how four of our neighors on Idaho’s border have legalized marijuana in one way or another.  I think legalization can be clearly viewed on our horizon!

Join NORML and lets start an Idaho NORML chapter!     www.NORML.org

Marijuana for Cancer (GLIOBLASTOMAS)

May 3rd, 2009 | By Reverend

I was fortunate to have spent a lot of time with him before he died.  He had other health problems and I was able to fly out to Utah several times from Tacoma Wa.

My father got very sick, very fast.  He had smoked tobacco for 43 years of his 66 years.  So he had lung complications, and other related issues.   He finally quit smoking 2 years before he died, but it was too late.

Up until he was 55, he was the absolute strongest man that I knew.  His small frame gave no clue to the strength in this man.

My dad was on the city planning commissions throughout his life, and gave his time and thoughts cheerfully to all that knew him, including neighbors.

During the end of his life I wanted nothing more than to save my father.  I had looked at treatments of all varieties including viral treatments.   (see this video).   He was disqualified for the viral treatment because he had already started radiation and chemotherapy.  Apparently according to a coversation that my mom had with the research firm, if the chemo and radiation come first, the treatment is non-effective.

All of this time I was running xCannabis and I had been making activist videos for marijuana law reform, and I started coming up with research that had  focused on  certain cannabinoids from the marijuana/cannabis plant on cancer.   Here is a list of those vidoes:

• Herbal Treatment could be the cure for cancer @ YouTube
• Cannabinoid System in Neuroprotection Raphael Mechoulam PhD study.
• THC effects on brain cancer vs. normal brain cells
  

It became obvious to me that cannabis could very likely cure my father, and at least posssibly extend his life and give him a better quality of life.   He barely missed my 2nd baby being born!  Another 4 month or so is all I was realisticly hoping for, but no such blessing came.

I made several video commentaries on this research while I was struggling with my father’s condition and his passing.   Here are a few of them.

• Stoned Ryan speaks about Harvard research done by Anju Preat
  (also see this article @ CBS)
• xCannabis’s Ryan on the topic of Utah vs. Cannabis
• Cancer update during Christmas a few weeks before my dad died

My dad had just recently rejoined the LDS church, and then worked towards the goal of being a “Temple Mormon” or a Mormon who makes personal oaths to their faith and receive special blessings, and then afterwards they wear special underwear to remind them of these oaths.
When you are at that level of Mormonism, you must follow what Mormon’s call “The Word of Wisdom”, which is made up of changing laws on what to eat and not eat, what to drink and not drink.   Currently they have a doctrine that you can’t drink caffeinated drinks (except hot chocolate seems to be acceptable).  At one time a person could not drink ANY caffeinated beverages.   But that changed when it was revealed that the LDS church owned major stock in CocaCola, so soda pop is now widely accepted in the LDS church.
Along with this law on beverages, there are also laws about alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs, etc…

This caused a problem for my mission to cure my dad.  He was very dedicated to his faith, and apparently would rather die than break their covenants.  So marijuana was out of the question, even though marijuana is widely used to treat the horrible side effects of chemotherapy and radiation, including pain, nausea stress, anxiety  and depression.  Another issue that I know for a fact it helps with, is headaches because I was a patient of cluster headaches who legally used marijuana in Washington state, as recommended by a doctor.    At this time, my dad’s head was swelling from the tumor and created major headaches for him, and the treatments that he was on were causing him pain, nausea, depression, anxiety, etc..

Cannabis could have certainly improved my father’s quality of life and may possibly have extended his life.

I have been a little depressed over losing the man that I loved so dearly.  He was friend and my hero.

I dedicate this video to him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGSsZKa5yxk

He inspires me to get marijuana legalized, so patients no longer have to suffer!

Bloggers ask for the numbers on marijuana prohibition

May 1st, 2009 | By Reverend

I have recently moved to Idaho, and I now go to a few local Idaho blogs.  One of the coolest blogs (and most frusterating) is the Idaho Falls Today blog @  www.idahofallstoday.com

This blog from the get go posted up my first protest in Idaho, the marijuana Tax Day protest, which you can see here:

Marijuana Tax Day Protest @ Idaho Falls Today

One thing about people on the internet is that most of the will say things to others on the internet that they would NEVER say to people in their face.

I recently noticed that Im not the only one with this concern on this site:

http://www.idahofallstoday.com/2007/03/14/into-the-woods-of-anonymous-speech/#comment-31631

But when it comes to marijuana legalization, there is a hostile presence of these anonymous folks, and it seems like they don’t want this topic discussed.
It’s not that they simply don’t have any interests in this topic.  It is that they go out of their way to read what I say, and the respond with a hostile message about me, or the subject.
They will say “I hate coming to this site, and seeing marijuana is the topic”..
What puzzles me is that they have to actually dig, and make a lot of effort to even find the topic.  It’s no longer on the front page, yet they still hunt this topic down, and respond in fury against it.

Well, to curb that insane behavior from effecting the conversation, I am just going to post one of the most relevant responses in the whole discussion:

Marcus from:   http://www.diseasedmedia.com/

Says this:

“you’re posting figures, please cite your sources. Math is fine and dandy, but anybody can throw a number out there and multiply it by another number.”

The reason that is so relevant, is because he is one of few asking for answers, and usually participating constructively in the conversation.

The answer is helpful for our community too, so I am posting it here so that when people ask for the numbers and the references it will be easy to find:

Utah Protests on April 24th 2009 for marijuana law reform

April 26th, 2009 | By Reverend

Join the forum discussion on this post - (2) Posts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUgcvTZrXWA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbS1eC9PfjQ

Protesting marijuana law reform and the sentencing of Charles Lynch in Salt Lake City Utah, and Provo Utah on April 24th 2009.
This was a short notice protest, but with everything that is going on in the news, I decided to try to keep up the momentum on marijuana law reform protests.
Charles Lynch’s sentencing court date got moved up, and since it is still the week of 4/20, I wanted to use that as an excuse to exercise my free speech, and draw more attention to this increasingly burdensome drug war.

My messages were these (on my signs):

“No Victim – No Crime”
“Free Charles Lynch”
“Prohibition is Un-American”
“Freedom is NORML”

I also passed out flyers which you can see here:

Legalize Marijuana Coin

In Salt Lake I had a few federal marshall’s get a little onery with me, but nothing much.  One federal marshall that I met at the sandwich shop had a friendly discussion with me about this issue, and was in at least partial agreement about the drug war being ineffective.

In Provo Utah, Officer Moore from the Provo police department had nothing better to do than to harass me and waste tax payer’s time and money by concerning himself with a non-violation.  This police officer wasted 1 hour or more harassing me while on duty, instead of doing something useful with the tax payer’s time.
I am not going to official file a complaint, however I am sending this to his supervisor and to the court of public opinion via an internet video.
I figure if he has the time to harass me, I have time to do a little peer review of his wasteful tactics, in this time of budget crises and financial cut backs.

Please pass this on to your friends!  Keep up the heat on the heat!

Continue reading »

Youth Protest 4/20 in the Zion Curtain!

April 22nd, 2009 | By Reverend

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There are at least 3 different marijuana protests in the Zion Curtain during the 4/20 holiday.

The first two were in Idaho Falls, that we reported on earlier.  There was also a small protest in Logan Utah!

‘A plant’s no crime’

Logan City police chief Russ Roper, left, warns protester Randall Shields, right, to stay on the sidewalk during a protest supporting the legalization of marijuana on Main Street in Logan Monday. (Alan Murray/Herald Journal)

By Karen Lambert

Published:

Tuesday, April 21, 2009 2:58 AM CDT

More than a dozen teens gathered in front of the Logan Tabernacle on Monday evening to rally for the legalization of marijuana.

“It’s 4/20, and where this is national marijuana day and we want to legalize marijuana (we came to rally),” said Jamie Gurinch, 15, of Logan.

Internationally, April 20 typically motivates a series of rallies and special events among those who favor the legalization of marijuana.

Dylan Lofthouse, a 14-year-old who goes to Willow Valley Middle School in Wellsville, attended with his two brothers, ages 13 and 15. He said both his mom and his step-mom would agree with the cause as well.

“Everybody talks about legalizing it,” he said, “but they never do anything; we thought we’d do something.”

The ages of those in attendance ranged from 13 to 20. Their homes span the valley from Wellsville to Lewiston, and they attend a sprinkling of different middle schools and high schools.

“We hang out every day,” said Logan resident William Mohan, a 17-year-old who attends Cache High School.

Mohan said at about 6 p.m. that the group of friends had been there for two hours. It was his first rally.

“We were just all hanging out and we thought we should go protest on 4/20,” Mohan said. “We’re pretty much standing for what we believe in.”

Mohan said legalizing pot is their solution to getting the nation out of the recession, as the sales could stir the economy.

Teenage boys in sleeveless shirts screamed while holding signs that depicted their viewpoints.

One sign read: “The plant heals,” while another said: “God made it.”

“Say no to man-made drugs,” one yelled.

“A plant’s no crime,” said another.

A few repeatedly chanted together, “Legalize Marijuana.”

Richmond resident Kassy Sanders, a 17-year-old student at Fast Forward High, talked to a friend about one of their buddies they’d visited who was in jail for marijuana use.

“We’re supporting the kids who got locked up,” she said, while emphasizing that the more important reason for the rally was much bigger than that.

Some of those who drove by honked and cheered, while other drivers pointed their heads straight ahead and kept quiet. A few muttered insults, such as “Get a life.”

Mohan said police officers visited the group by earlier in the afternoon. Even though his group had not applied for a permit to protest, Mohan said an official said it was OK, as long as they stayed off the street.

Later in the evening, Logan Police Chief Russ Roper came by to make sure the rules were being kept.

“I thought it was pretty cool,” Mohan said. “It’s pretty nice they’re just going to let us keep doing it.”

———

E-mail:

klambert@hjnews.com

http://hjnews.townnews.com/articles/2009/04/21/news/news01-04-21-09.txt

I want to commend these young men, and again I want to commend the young men that appeared on channel 8 in Idaho Falls!
Also, the National NORML organization had a lot of great things to report on about 4/20  also!   Check out   www.NORML.org

I joined NORML yesterday!  I can’t wait to get my NORML shirt!