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 Topic: End ProhibitionThe new items published under this topic are as follows.
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My e-mail to California Assemblyman Tom |
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Posted by: harold -
on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 - 12:27 AM |
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Tom, I thought about your bill when I read this In New York Times
From the Text:
"Senator Morrisette in Oregon said he thought that exact situation — a state moving toward legalization, perhaps California — could play out much sooner now than might have been imagined even a few weeks ago. And the continuing recession would only help, he said, with advocates for legalization able to promise relief to an overburdened prison system and injection of tax revenues to the state budget."
Your bill will not legalize marijuana. It will "END PROHIBITION". Those costly laws that are so disruptive to our communities. Your bill controls cultivation (via USDA), market(via taxation), and prohibits the sale to minors.
Am I right?
His reply:
Harold
Thank you. I do think one of the major benefits is prohibiting sale to
minors and the costly law enforcement which is wasting limited public
resources.
Tom
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107 Reads |
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Google Thought for the Day 10/25/2009 |
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Posted by: harold -
on Sunday, October 25, 2009 - 06:23 PM |
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When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators.
P. J. O'Rourke
US humorist & political commentator (1947 - )
So goes the War in Afghanistan's, Drug War, Health Care Laws, & etc.
So sayth Weirdharold
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151 Reads |
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Famous Sayings |
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Posted by: harold -
on Thursday, October 01, 2009 - 12:12 PM |
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“The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced.” - Albert Einstein
“Prohibition is an attempted cure that makes matters worse -- for both the addict and the rest of us.” - Milton Friedman
The only person more insane than an alcoholic who continues to drink is the one trying to make him stop. Weirdharold, 1988
If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind” - J.S. Mill
“I used to have a drug problem but now I make enough money.” - David Lee Roth
There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare.” - Sun Tzu, "The Art of War"
“One has to multiply thoughts to the point where there aren't enough policemen to control them” - Stanislaw Lec
“When the day comes that it is time to adopt the alternative of lifting punishment for consumption of drugs, it would have to come all over the world. Humanity some day will see that it is best in that sense.” - Mexican President Vicente Fox
“What are politicians going to tell people when the Constitution is gone and we still have a drug problem?” - William Simpson
“Police are too important, too valuable, and too good to waste on marijuana arrests when REAL criminals are on the loose.” - http://www.changetheclimate.org/
“To say the drug war is a failure is like saying the Hindenburg was short a few fire extinguishers.” - Carl Hiassen, Miami Herald (May 2001)
“First, we must accept reality: Drugs, including alcohol and tobacco, are here today. Not all drug users are abusers, and not all abusers become addicts. Once we acknowledge these fundamental truths, the responsible approach for dealing with drugs becomes clear.” - Vancouver Police Const. Gil Puder
“I have found that the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it” - Harry S. Truman
“Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys” - P.J. O'Rourke
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158 Reads |
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The Lies We Tell Ourselves |
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Posted by: harold -
on Monday, August 10, 2009 - 01:47 PM |
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Drugs do not start addiction no more than gasoline start fires.
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191 Reads |
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Heroin |
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Posted by: harold -
on Thursday, July 02, 2009 - 06:22 PM |
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I assume everybody that comes to this site knows what is heroin. If not, here goes, heroin is the most concentrated form of opium. It is prepare in that manner so that it can be transported easily. It is then diluted many times before it get to the consumer. This is necessary because of our prohibition laws. If that is hard to understand, let us say this is the same as concentrating a navy bean down to a fart and leaving the rest in the field.
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231 Reads |
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Supreme Court gives (06/25/09) |
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Posted by: harold -
on Thursday, June 25, 2009 - 12:34 PM |
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Maybe we should set down and define: dangerous, addictive, illegal, abusive drugs. Then we can go back to our rooms, pick up a hooker.(I have directed you to only the latest) smoke a little pot or do a little blow and we are ready to make so more laws. Start another federal agency to enforce these definitions. Scare more people. build more prisons. To hell with our broken banking and our health care systems they will fix themselves. Then we will make it okay for Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito to strip search any 10 year old girl they wish.
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291 Reads |
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Weirdharold’s Recommendation for the Treatment of Alcoholism |
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Posted by: harold -
on Monday, June 22, 2009 - 05:31 PM |
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Weirdharold’s Recommendation for the Treatment of Alcoholism
- Avoid scorn and ridicule
- Respect the fact that alcoholism is a physical, mental, and spiritual disease with many complexities.
- Never allow yourself to be ashamed because of the alcoholic’s behavior.
- Never assume the alcoholic’s responsibilities.
- Never cover up the alcoholic’s misbehavior.
- Love one another.
If this fails double up on #6
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304 Reads |
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Letter from Jim Webb United States Senator |
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Posted by: harold -
on Friday, June 12, 2009 - 07:26 PM |
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June 11, 2009
Mr. XXXXXXXXXX
x
Portland, VA 97229
Dear Mr. X:
Thank you for contacting my office regarding drug policies in the United States. I appreciate your taking the time to share your views with me.
America’s incarceration rate raises serious questions about our criminal justice system. The steep increase in the number of people in prison is driven, according to many experts, by changes in drug policy and tougher sentencing, and not necessarily an increase in violent crime or crimes against property. Over the past two decades, we have been incarcerating increasing numbers of people for nonviolent crimes and acts driven by mental illness and drug dependence. Incarcerations for drug offenses have soared 1200% since 1980.
We know that our current combination of enforcement, diversion, interdiction, treatment, and prevention is not working. Despite the number of people we have arrested, the illegal drug industry and the flow of drugs have remained undiminished. We should treat and address drug addiction outside of prison environments to the extent that we can.
Our nation’s broken drug policies are just one reason why we must reexamine the entire criminal justice system. That is why I introduced the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009 (S.714) on March 26, 2009. S.714 is a bipartisan bill to create a blue-ribbon commission charged with conducting an 18-month, top-to-bottom review of the nation’s entire criminal justice system and offering concrete recommendations for reform. Commissioners will be tasked with proposing tangible, wide-ranging reforms, including restructuring our approach to drug criminalization.
As the U.S. Senate debates matters pertaining to drug policy and sentencing in the United States, I will keep your specific views in mind. I hope you continue to share your views with me and my staff in the years ahead.
I would also invite you to visit my website at www.webb.senate.gov for regular updates about my activities and positions on matters that are important to Virginia and our nation.
Thank you once again for contacting my office.
Sincerely,
Jim Webb
United States Senator
JW: ja
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248 Reads |
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As to the Drugs Courts. |
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Posted by: harold -
on Saturday, May 23, 2009 - 04:05 PM |
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The words of an author and servant to the many suffering alcoholics.
"You can't make a horse drink water if he still prefers beer or is too crazy to know what he does want. Set a pail of water beside him, tell him how good it is and why, and leave him alone.
"If people really want to get drunk, there is, so far as I know, no way of stopping this ---- so leave them alone and let them get drunk. But don't exclude them from the water pail, either"
Taking the words into consideration (which I believe to be accurate), the drug courts are worthless. No alcoholic or drug addict will recovery from this malady until HE makes the decision ON HIS OWN to seek recovery. This is too complicated an illness to be treated in a court system. Punishment for bad behavior must be applied, NOT FOR THE USE OF A SUBSTANCE. The courts should absolve themselves from an individual use of a product or not, as stated in the above quotation.
The Medical Arts community determined years ago they cannot treat this illness, so why in the hell do we think the courts can.
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260 Reads |
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The New Drug Czar is Half Right |
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Posted by: harold -
on Tuesday, May 19, 2009 - 06:06 PM |
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The new drug czar is right, end the "war on drugs
However I think it a flawed policy to think the justice system can cure drug addiction or alcoholism as stated here:
Kerlikowske has his own long law-enforcement career to draw on, but he was also exposed to successful(sic) use of drug courts in King County, which work to steer those convicted toward help and away from being locked up. National experience with diversion and drug courts found them to be half as expensive as prison time.
This approach to may be less expensive than our present system of imprisonment from our drug prohibition laws but it is just as misdirected. We should have policies that separate crime from drug use. THEY ARE NOT THE SAME. We should use our justice to punish bad behavior not for being addicted. Armed robbery is armed robbery, what does drug use have to do with it. Compassion such as this nor added flame has no place in justice system, JUSTICE IS BLIND.
We have two thoughts on the Drug Issue. The first is,"Tough on crime." The second compassion, "We can rehabilitate these folks." Both are WRONG.
The first group have given us drug prohibition laws with 2.500,000 individuals in prison. The second has given us drug courts and 7,000,000 in the system of rehabilitation.
The cause of addiction is UNKOWN. It could be one reason or it could be a 1,000, but, I am sure accessibly to the product or lack thereof is NOT one of them. 100 years experimenting with these prohibition laws has proved that.
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240 Reads |
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Statistics do not Lie, but Statisticians Often Do |
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Posted by: harold -
on Friday, May 15, 2009 - 01:40 PM |
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Lou Dobbs was throwing out statistics last night (5-14-09) on CNN about Prohibited Drugs most of which would not exit if the prohibition laws did not exist.
The most insane one was 4 million American are addicted to drugs. Well, that is about 1 in 75 Americans, however it was estimated in 1914 when The Harrison Narcotics Act was put in place the number was 1 in 400. Which way are we going anyway?
Another was 12,000 addicts die from infected needles. Well, I wonder about that figure. Addicts die from a lot of causes. But, here again what would happen in a normal capitalistic system of supply and demand. Many people died from bathtub gin and moonshine distilled in car radiators during alcohol prohibition but today those products do not compete very well with Jim Bean and Jack Daniels.
He gave more but I am old and I forgot!!
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264 Reads |
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Time to Legalize Pot |
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Posted by: harold -
on Tuesday, March 31, 2009 - 01:49 PM |
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Time has come to legalize pot
Should we legalize pot. Polls say no
The pollsters are asking the wrong question.
- Should schools stripe search ten year old girls for suspected drug possession?
- Do you know what percentage of teen age boys know where they can buy pot.?
- Do you think children should be denied Pell Grant because of a drug crime?
- Do you think people should be arrested for drug paraphernalia?
- Do you think drug enforcement should have no-knock warrants?
- Do you think SWAT teams should raid homes and terrorize & kill innocent people and their pets, trying to find drugs?
- Do you think schools should have the authority to search student's person and property without jurisdiction?
- Do you think Law Enforcement should be allowed to carry Prohibited Drugs?
- Do you think illiterate people should be permitted to manage Drug Evidence Rooms?
- Do you think someone should get 10 times the penal sentence for possession of cocaine as rape (log in Reginald Dixon in Mississippi State Correction website inmate search)
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289 Reads |
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Mr. President: |
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Posted by: harold -
on Friday, March 27, 2009 - 10:02 PM |
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On your internet town hall meeting you said, "No to legalized marijuana." I sure hate to hear you use the word legalize in this context. This is a scare word that Karl Rove, George W. Bush or Rush Limbaugh would use to scare parents. The word legalize is a blanket word that covers thousands of federal, state and local drug prohibition laws that prey on our most venerable, corrupt law enforcement, over burdened justice system, created a dangerous over populated prison system. They have also create a criminal environment here and in other countries. That do nothing to keep those same drug away from our children. I sure wish you could address these problems and assure every parent that we will do everything possible to help them keep drugs from their children.
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300 Reads |
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The Time For Reform is Now |
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Posted by: harold -
on Saturday, March 21, 2009 - 01:55 PM |
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Now is the time to transform public policy about drugs.
I believe the place to focus our attention is here on Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) see below my email to him which he responded. California is the place to start. They have massive budget deficits cause by these prohibition laws and California is the place innovative changes take place. D. C. has other problems
I read from the Alter.net:
California state Assemblyman Tom Ammiano (D-San Francisco) has
announced the introduction of legislation to tax and regulate
marijuana in a manner similar to alcoholic beverages. The bill, the
first of its kind ever introduced in California, would create a
regulatory structure similar to that used for beer, wine, and liquor,
permitting taxed sales to adults while barring sales to or possession
by those under 21.
I am not a constituent, but I must tell you how much I admire this
action. I have been speaking and writing for more than twenty years
about the destruction these prohibition laws have put upon our
society. I wish for the success of this legislation. Wish I could
help.
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310 Reads |
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Albany Takes Step to Repeal Rockefeller Drug Laws |
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Posted by: harold -
on Wednesday, March 04, 2009 - 03:12 PM |
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Finally
The Assembly’s proposal restores judges’ discretion in sentencing in many lower-level drug possession crimes. Judges would be able to send many offenders to treatment programs instead of prison without receiving consent from prosecutors. In addition, the measure would permit about 2,000 prisoners to apply to have their sentences reconsidered.
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333 Reads |
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Prisons Needlessly Overpopulated With Drug Offenders |
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Posted by: harold -
on Tuesday, February 24, 2009 - 12:40 PM |
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I think Walter Cronkite have spelled out very good what happens when we try to build a tower to heaven. We have talked ourselves into carrying out an action against our brothers based upon a myth. The myth that we can stop the spread and cure drug addiction with guns, jails, nightsticks and of course the real winner stiff punishment. Oh well tell me about it. Nothing has changed since I posted this in 2004
Read on.
August 11, 2004
Note: Note: Walter Cronkite's column is distributed by King Features Syndicate and originally appeared August 6, 2004. I could not find a URL so I could not blog I copied |
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Michael Phelps Has No Business Apologizing for Taking Bong Hits |
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Posted by: harold -
on Tuesday, February 03, 2009 - 01:33 PM |
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The Olympic gold medalist struck another blow to the myth that pot smokers are lazy couch potatoes. He has no reason to say he's sorry.
Phelps Is in Good Company
Phelps struck another blow to the myth that marijuana smokers are lazy couch potatoes. Here is the guy who has won more gold medals than anyone in history, and obviously his health and accomplishments are not hindered by smoking some pot. In addition to his swimming skills, he is a successful businessman who has turned his swimming skills into an enormous public relations platform and money generator. Successful and honorable people who have smoked some pot are all around us, from President Barack Obama to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
It is time to start a serious discussion on ending marijuana prohibition. If marijuana is bad for one's health it will be determined by scientific facts and personal experience, not prohibition.
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End Drug Prohibition |
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Posted by: harold -
on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 - 12:55 PM |
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Five Essential Things We Must Do to Stop America's Idiotic War on Drugs
4. Our Veterans Are Self-medicating from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
People use drugs for both pleasure and pain; there is no doubt that much drug use is self-medication. One group that will be dealing with self-medication for a long time is U.S. soldiers returning from war. How does one deal with the pain of having friends die in one's arms? What does killing other human beings do to one's emotional stability? What is it like being away from family for a year or more? It's not hard to imagine how such experiences could lead to post-traumatic stress disorder, which in turn can lead to drug addiction, homelessness and even suicide.
It's easy to demand that everyone "support the troops." But if we're going to talk the talk, we had better be ready to offer compassion and treatment to our brothers and sisters who need to heal from the damages of war. And once more people realize that incarceration for petty drug law violations is not an appropriate response to veterans' suffering from addiction and depression, then hopefully people will question the logic of giving long jail sentences to others in our society who also could be self-medicating for pain and trauma in their own lives.
This statement does not surprise me. All this drug war bullshit got in gear when our ancestors came home from the Civil War and they were addicted to optimum derivatives and cocaine. Wonder what the cause was? If my memory serves me correctly we dealt with the same in 1975 at the end of the Vietnam War. Reckon we might be on to something here?
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470 Reads |
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