potforfreedom.com

This Blog Has Moved

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 16:40:52 +0000

Sorry for the inconvenience but this blog has moved to our home page at: www.potforfreedom.com

please be sure to resubscribe to the blog when you get there.Thanks!!

Video Blog Shutdown - Updating Site

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 19:39:52 +0000

Our video blog is down as I have decided to make that wordpress account my home page however at this moment I'm having technical problems and cant seem to get anything to work right. I will post an update as soon as the site changes take effect. I will still have a video page once the site is reconstructed. Thanks for all your support and understanding!

In the name of cannabis liberation,

Keary Prophet

Industrial Hemp: Bill Passes Oregon Legislature, Heads for Governor's Desk

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:38:40 +0000

The Oregon House Monday passed SB 676 by a veto-proof margin of 46-11. The measure would allow for the production, possession, and commercialization of industrial hemp and its products. The measure passed the state Senate on June 19 an equally veto-proof 27-2 margin.

hemp plants

During the House debate, hemp supporter Rep. Jules Bailey (D-Portland) used visual aids to demonstrate the diversity of hemp products, waving around bags of hemp tortilla chips and non-dairy hemp milk. He also held up a t-shirt emblazoned with the words "Senate Bill 676 is about rope, not dope."

"I am glad that Oregon has joined the list of states that have agreed that American farmers should have the right to reintroduce industrial hemp as an agricultural crop," said bill sponsor Sen. Floyd Prozanski (D-South Lane and North Douglas Counties). "By passing SB 676 with strong bipartisan support, the Oregon legislature has taken a proactive position to allow its farmers the right to grow industrial hemp, to provide American manufacturers with domestically-grown hemp, and to profit from that effort."

The industry association Vote Hemp said it was confident Gov. Ted Kulongowski (D) would sign the bill. If he does, or if a veto is overridden, Oregon will become the ninth state to authorize industrial hemp production under state law. It remains forbidden by federal law.

"The time has come for the federal government to act and allow farmers to once again grow hemp, so American companies will no longer need to import it and American farmers will no longer be denied a profitable new crop," said Vote Hemp president Eric Steenstra. "Under current federal policy, industrial hemp can be imported, but it cannot be grown by American farmers. Hemp is a versatile, environmentally-friendly crop that has not been grown in the US for over fifty years because of a misguided and politicized interpretation of the nation's drug laws by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). While a new bill in Congress, H.R. 1866, is a welcome step, the hemp industry is hopeful that President Obama's administration will recognize hemp's myriad benefits to farmers, businesses and the environment," he added.

"We are looking forward to the opportunity to invest in hemp processing and production locally," says Hans Fastre, chief executive officer of Living Harvest, one of the numerous hemp product companies based in Oregon. "This bill represents another step towards heightening the hemp industry's profile within mainstream America and making hemp products more accessible to businesses and consumers."

If the bill becomes law, Oregon will become the second state to approve industrial hemp this year. Maine did so last month. Four other states, Montana, New Mexico, Vermont and North Dakota passed resolutions or memorials urging Congress to allow states to regulate hemp farming this year.

The states that have okayed hemp production are Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana, North Dakota, Vermont and West Virginia. North Dakota has even issued licensed to would-be hemp farmers for the past two years, but the federal prohibition has prevented any hemp planting.

Other Great Articles like this can be found at the Drug War Chronicle:

Phillip S. Smith, Editor
David Borden, Executive Director

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Will we never learn?

1. Feature: US Gives Up on Eradicating Afghan Opium Poppies, Will Target Traffickers Instead
Faced with a growing Taliban insurgency fueled by opium and heroin profits and inflamed by the destruction of farmers' fields, the US last weekend announced a dramatic shift in its Afghan anti-drug strategy. The US will abandon what has been a pillar of its anti-drug strategy worldwide: eradication.
2. Feature: Marijuana Legalization Legislation in the Works in Portugal
Portugal has been getting good press over its decriminalization approach to drug use, including from unexpected places like the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. Now, some Portuguese lawmakers are ready to take the next step. A bill to legalize the possession, cultivation, and sale of marijuana is being prepared.
3. Drug War Chronicle Book Review: "Seeds of Terror: How Heroin is Bankrolling the Taliban and Al Qaeda," by Gretchen Peters (2009, Thomas Dunne Press, 300 pp., $25.95 HB)
With US and NATO policies for dealing with the Afghan poppy group undergoing quite radical shifts -- giving up on eradication, treating traffickers as terrorists -- Gretchen Peters' exposé of the links between the traffic in prohibited drugs and the Taliban and Al Qaeda couldn't be more timely or more informative.
4. Feedback: Do You Read Drug War Chronicle?
Do you read Drug War Chronicle? If so, we need your feedback to evaluate our work and make the case for Drug War Chronicle to funders. We need donations too.
5. Law Enforcement: This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
It's been a relatively quiet week on the corrupt cops front, with just two stories, but one of them is a real doozy.
6. The Border: Obama Administration Could Deploy Up to 1,500 National Guard Troops in Bid to Increase Anti-Drug Efforts
Here comes the National Guard! The Obama administration is planning to send 1,500 National Guard troops to the Mexican border to support drug war law enforcement there.
7. Latin America: Obama Administration Declines to Restore Bolivian Trade Preferences, Cites Government's Acceptance of Coca Production
Relations between Bolivia and the US just got a little rockier as the Obama administration declined to restore trade preferences, citing Bolivia's "encouragement" of coca cultivation, and Bolivian President Morales responded with hard words.
8. Marijuana: Rhode Island Senate Okays Commission to Explore Marijuana Prohibition, Legalization, and Decriminalization
Thanks to last minute action by the state Senate, Rhode Island will create a commission to explore all aspects of marijuana prohibition, decriminalization, and legalization. It will issue a report seven months from now. And Gov. Carcieri can't veto it.
9. Industrial Hemp: Bill Passes Oregon Legislature, Heads for Governor's Desk
"It's about rope, not dope" was the message as the Oregon House passed a bill allowing for industrial hemp production. It already passed the Senate, and the governor is expected to sign it, but it passed by veto-proof majorities if he doesn't. Still, the federal prohibition on hemp production in the US remains an enormous obstacle.
10. Medical Marijuana: Users, Growers Can Sue Over Police Raids, California Appeals Court Rules
Cops who confiscate legally permitted marijuana or plants from patients and growers in California could pay out the nose for their violations of the constitution, a California appeals court has ruled in the first decision of its kind. That just might rein in some of those renegade, recalcitrant departments who want to ignore a law they don't like.
11. Medical Marijuana: Oakland Dispensary Tax in Hands of Voters
Voters in Oakland will decide whether to impose a whopping 1500% tax increase on dispensaries, and it's not an attack on them. In fact, it was the dispensaries' own idea. Talk about your good citizens.
12. Alert: Medical Marijuana Defendant Bryan Epis Wants YOU to Take Political Action
Bryan Epis was the first medical marijuana provider to be prosecuted by the federal government, and he is one of dozens of people whose fate is still caught up in the federal system despite recent policy shifts by the Obama administration. Bryan is asking all of us to take action to help those who have risked much to help patients.
13. Weekly: Blogging @ the Speakeasy
"New Study: Marijuana Doesn't Increase Your Risk of Going Crazy," "Innocent Teenage Girls Forced to 'Jump Up and Down' During Marijuana Search," "Can You Name One Good Thing About the War on Marijuana?," "Opponents of Marijuana Legalization Will Say Anything," "A Surprise Encounter with Former Drug Czar John Walters," "Obama Seeks Volunteer Drug War Soldiers," "An Awesome Marijuana Debate on the McLaughlin Group," "US Admits Failure, Calls Off Opium Eradication in Afghanistan," "Boring Drug War Reporting from the Mainstream Press," "Marijuana Expo Draws 20,000 to LA Convention Center," "I Went to Visit Will Foster in Jail a Couple of Nights Ago."
14. Weekly: This Week in History
Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of years past.
15. Please: Don't Shoot!
The killing of Tarika Wilson, an unarmed mother holding her child, and the maiming of that child, is an inevitable consequences of the overuse of SWAT teams and the growing paramilitarization of the drug war.
16. Students: Intern at StoptheDrugWar.org (DRCNet) and Help Stop the Drug War!
Apply for an internship at DRCNet and you could spend a semester fighting the good fight!

PERMISSION to reprint or redistribute any or all of the contents of Drug War Chronicle (formerly The Week Online with DRCNet) is hereby granted. We ask that any use of these materials include proper credit and, where appropriate, a link to one or more of our web sites. If your publication customarily pays for publication, DRCNet requests checks payable to the organization. If your publication does not pay for materials, you are free to use the materials gratis. In all cases, we request notification for our records, including physical copies where material has appeared in print. Contact: StoptheDrugWar.org: the Drug Reform Coordination Network, P.O. Box 18402, Washington, DC 20036, (20... (voice), (202) 293-8344 (fax), e-mail drcnet@drcnet.org. Thank you.

Articles of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of the DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.

Oklahoma City home of new Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Billboard

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 05:57:13 +0000

June 2009

Dear Supporter,

Not a Member Yet?
Anyone Can Join!

Forward this Message to a Friend!

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition's first-ever ad campaign kicked off with a billboard in Omaha, Nebraska last July, and on June 4, 2009 our second billboard was unveiled in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

The billboard reads "Drug Abuse is Bad. The Drug War is Worse." and will travel around Oklahoma City for the next year. With this effort, LEAP aims to call to attention the urgent need for a more ethical and effective drug policy.

Below are just a few of the issues our speakers addressed in May. We hope you'll share "Dispatches from the Front Line…" with a friend.

-LEAP Staff

Drug War Chronicle, Issue #588

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 01:13:19 +0000

Drug War Chronicle - world’s leading drug policy newsletter

Issue #588 – 6/5/09

Phillip S. Smith, Editor
David Borden, Executive Director

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It's true!

1. Feature: New York Republicans, Prosecutors in Last Minute Bid to Block Rockefeller Reform Provision
New York Republicans and prosecutors lost the battle over Rockefeller drug law reform in April. They were back this week with a last-ditch effort to repeal one of the new law's key provisions. But with the governor and Democrats in the Assembly standing firm, it looks like it ain't gonna happen.
2. Feature: DC Moves Toward Stricter Penalties for Khat
Taxi drivers' wake-me-up or terrorist drug threat? The herbal stimulant khat is popular with elements of America's immigrant East African population despite being banned by federal law. Now, Washington, DC, home to one of the nation's East African immigrant communities, wants its law to be as severe as federal law. A battle is brewing.
3. Law Enforcement: This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
Cops pocketing drug money, cops ripping off drug dealers, cops protecting drug dealers, cops stealing dope, and, of course, another dope-smuggling jail guard.
4. Medical Marijuana: Mid-Atlantic Movement as Delaware, New Jersey Bills Win Committee Votes
Medical marijuana legislation saw progress in two more states this week, as bills advanced in New Jersey and Delaware. But the New Jersey bill just got more restrictive, too.
5. Medical Marijuana: Rhode Island Dispensary Bill Passes House, Now Goes for Final Senate Approval
The Rhode Island legislature is well on its way to passing the medical marijuana dispensary bill by overwhelming veto-proof margins. Take that, Gov. Carcieri!
6. Medical Marijuana: Veterans Administration Says Positive Marijuana Drug Screening Will Not Void Pain Contracts for Vets with Doctors' Recommendations
Is the Veterans Administration changing its tune on medical marijuana? Well, not exactly, but now it looks like at least they won't throw you out of their pain management programs if you're a registered user in a state where it's legal.
7. Drug Testing: Random Suspicionless Drug Tests Suffer Double Smackdown in Louisiana
Louisiana proponents of random, suspicionless drug testing are smarting after being handed a pair of defeats in the past 10 days.
8. Please: Don't Shoot!
The killing of Tarika Wilson, an unarmed mother holding her child, and the maiming of that child, is an inevitable consequences of the overuse of SWAT teams and the growing paramilitarization of the drug war.
9. Europe: Nice People Take Drugs, Says British Advocacy Group
A British drug reform advocacy group is bound to shock some sensibilities with its new bus-side ad campaign, but that's precisely the point.
10. Canada: New Heroin Maintenance Pilot Program to Get Underway Later This Year
Canada's Conservative government is hard-line on drug policy issues. It wants mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes and it is in court to try to block Vancouver's safe injection site. But now, it is funding a heroin maintenance pilot project--again.
11. Europe: German Parliament Approves Heroin Maintenance
Germany is about to become the latest country to move heroin maintenance from pilot program to permanent. In the US, we maintain our addicts behind bars.
12. Canada: Supreme Court Clarifies Asset Forfeiture Law, Allows Graduated Sanctions
In its first review of Canada's asset forfeiture laws, the Canadian Supreme Court has ruled that judges must look at the circumstances of each case in deciding whether full, partial or no forfeiture orders should be issued. In the US, prosecutors make forfeiture decisions.
13. Weekly: This Week in History
Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of years past.
14. Weekly: Blogging @ the Speakeasy
"Drug Smuggling Scientists Are Always Ahead of the Game," "If Pawlenty Wants to Be President, He Should Reconsider His Opposition to Medical Marijuana," "States Don't Need Federal Permission to Legalize Marijuana, Part II," "Top Anti-Drug Researcher Changes His Mind, Says Legalize Marijuana," "Rogue Philly Drug Cops Add Molestation to Their List of Crimes," "If There's No 'War on Drugs' Anymore, Then What's the Helicopter For?," "Yes, the Case Against Marc Emery is Political," "LAPD Raids Its Own Officer in Weird Botched Investigation," "Legalizing Drugs is an Idea That Speaks for Itself," "Orange County Seniors Demand Medical Marijuana Access."
15. Job Opportunity: Legal Coordinator, Americans for Safe Access, Oakland, CA
Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the largest national member-based organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic uses and research, is seeking a Legal Coordinator to work from its office in Oakland, California.

PERMISSION to reprint or redistribute any or all of the contents of Drug War Chronicle (formerly The Week Online with DRCNet) is hereby granted. We ask that any use of these materials include proper credit and, where appropriate, a link to one or more of our web sites. If your publication customarily pays for publication, DRCNet requests checks payable to the organization. If your publication does not pay for materials, you are free to use the materials gratis. In all cases, we request notification for our records, including physical copies where material has appeared in print. Contact: StoptheDrugWar.org: the Drug Reform Coordination Network, P.O. Box 18402, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 293-8340 (voice), (202) 293-8344 (fax), e-mail drcnet@drcnet.org. Thank you.

Articles of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of the DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.

Vote Hemp Report: 2009 Hemp Bills Successful!

Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:20:32 +0000



The Vote Hemp Report		Volume IV, Number 3 June 5, 2009

Dear Keary,

Last week, Maine's House passed LD 1159 without objection and the Senate later passed it by a vote of 25 to 10. The bill was Passed To Be Enacted by the House and Senate this week. LD 1159 would establish a licensing regime for farming industrial hemp. Maine previously passed a study bill and has defined industrial hemp in the law.

The State of Oregon is also on the verge of passing industrial hemp legislation. If the Oregon bill succeeds it would join fifteen others that have passed hemp bills.

As many of you know, since 1937, this highly versatile crop (uses include food, fuel, building material, textile, and energy to name a few) has been linked — via the Marijuana Tax Act — to the recreational and medicinal strains of the same species: Cannabis sativa L. But make no mistake, they are genetically distinct and nothing like the other.

The battle has been long. The last legal hemp crop grown in the U.S. was harvested 50 years ago. In 1970, with the passage of the Controlled Substances Act, farming hemp in the U.S. was effectively outlawed. And since then, the courts have offered no relief claiming only Congress can change the status quo.

Nonetheless, with the hemp renaissance's onset in the 80s — and the 90s when states began introducing hemp legislation — grassroots efforts have led to a growing hemp ground swell headed straight towards D.C.

As farmers find themselves mired in the effects of the Great Recession, common sense dictates legal barriers be removed to allow U.S. farmers to add this cash crop to their increasingly limited options as have virtually all other industrialized nations.

Earlier this month, our new drug czar, Gil Kerlikowske, told the Wall Street Journal that the War on Drugs was on its way out. Using this logic, the end of the ludicrous U.S. ban on hemp farming is a no brainer.

Sadly, most elected officials inside the beltway have bought into the "hemp is marijuana" paradigm and have become afraid of their own shadows on this issue. Rep. Ron Paul repeatedly introduces hemp legislation only to be denied a committee hearing in the House.

Gratefully, state legislatures have been willing to step in and lead the way. The tipping point appears near. All that's needed now is for the Obama Administration to take simple measures leaving it to the states to determine their own fate regarding industrial hemp. Yes, the ban on U.S. hemp farming draws near — thanks in no small part to federalism. Please make a donation today to our General Fund to help us continue our work and bring hemp farming back to its rightful place in America.

Sincerely,

Patrick Goggin
Vote Hemp Director

Table of Contents

	Current Action Alerts Maine Montana New Mexico North Dakota Oregon Vermont

Maine

Maine had a hemp farming bill introduced on 3/25/09.

An Act Relating to Industrial Hemp. This bill allows a person to grow industrial hemp if that person holds a license issued by the Commissioner of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources and the hemp is grown under a federal permit in compliance with the conditions of that permit.

In the House: The Bill was Read the Second Time and Passed To Be Engrossed as Amended by Committee Amendment "A" (H-356), Sent for concurrence and Ordered Sent Forthwith on 5/27/09.

In the Senate: Roll Call #122, Vote 25 Yeas - 10 Nays. Read A Second Time And Passed To Be Engrossed As Amended By Committee Amendment "A" (H-356) in concurrence on 6/1/09.

Last House Action - Passed To Be Enacted. Sent for concurrence. Ordered Sent Forthwith on 6/3/09. Last Senate Action - Under suspension of the Rules Passed To Be Enacted in concurrence on 6/3/09.

[More...]

Montana

Montana had a resolution, SJ 20, introduced on 2/7/09.

Resolution urging Congress to legalize industrial hemp. Introduced, first reading and referred to Senate Agriculture, Livestock and Irrigation Committee on 2/7/09. Committee hearing held on 2/17/09. Third reading and passed the Senate by a vote of 48 to 1 on 2/23/09. Transmitted to the House on 2/23/09. Referred to House Agriculture Committee on 2/24/09. Committee hearing held on 3/17/2009. Third reading and passed the House by a vote of 89 to 11 on 4/02/09. Signed by Senate President on 4/3/09. Signed by House Speaker on 4/6/09. Filed with the Secretary of State on 4/6/09.

Montana residents, please write to Rep. Denny Rehberg and ask him to become a co-sponsor of HR 1866.

[Click Here...]

New Mexico

HM 47 is a memorial requesting the New Mexico Department of Agriculture to investigate the feasibility of state incentives for commercialization of industrial hemp and that Congress be requested to acknowledge the difference between marijuana and industrial hemp and to clearly legalize the commercial production of industrial hemp. Companion bill to SM 30. Introduced 2/19/09. Passed the House by a vote of 44-23 on the 32nd Legislative Day. Signed on the 33rd Legislative Day.

SM 30 is a memorial requesting the New Mexico Department of Agriculture to investigate the feasibility of state incentives for commercialization of industrial hemp and that Congress be requested to acknowledge the difference between marijuana and industrial hemp and to clearly legalize the commercial production of industrial hemp. Companion bill to HM 47. Introduced 2/16/09. Passed the Senate by a vote of 25-12 and Signed on the 47nd Legislative Day

Residents of New Mexico, please write to Your Representatives and ask them to become a co-sponsor of HR 1866.

[Click Here...]

North Dakota

There were two new bills, HB 1549 and HCR 3026, in North Dakota this year. One is a bill to amend and re-enact section 4-41-02 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to industrial hemp. The other is a concurrent resolution urging the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to allow North Dakota to regulate industrial hemp farming.

A bill for an Act to amend and reenact section 4-41-02 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to industrial hemp. Introduced on 1/19/09. House: Second reading, passed, yeas 88 nays 4 on 2/6/09. Senate: Second reading, passed as amended, yeas 40 nays 1 on 3/6/09. House: Second reading passed, yeas 89 nays 3, Senate amendment Concurred on 4/16/09. Signed by Governor on 4/24/09. Filed with Secretary of State on 4/29/09.

HCR 3026, a concurrent resolution urging the DEA to allow North Dakota to regulate industrial hemp farming without requiring federal applications, licenses or fees. Introduced in the House on 1/29/09. Referred to the House Agriculture Committee. Adopted by the House on 2/19/09. Adopted by the Senate on 3/24/09. Returned to the House on 3/25/09. Signed by the Senate President on 4/1/09. Filed with the Secretary of State on 4/7/09.

North Dakotans, please write to Rep. Earl Pomeroy and ask him to become a co-sponsor of HR 1866.

[Click Here...]

Oregon

Oregon had a hemp farming bill, SB 676, introduced on 3/3/09.

Permits production and possession of industrial hemp and trade in industrial hemp commodities and products. Introduction and first reading. Referred to President's desk on 3/3/09. Referred to Senate Environment and Natural Resources committee on 3/9/09. Public Hearing held on 3/26/09. Click here to listen to the Public Hearing for SB 676 (mp3 audio 54:40, 49 MB). Work Session held on 4/14/09 and 4/21/09. Recommendation: Do Pass with amendments (Printed A-Eng), Referred to Ways and Means by order of the President and Assigned to Subcommittee On Natural Resources on 5/5/09. Public Hearing held on 5/13/09.

[More...]

Vermont

Vermont had a resolution, JRS 26, introduced on 3/27/09.

A joint resolution in support of Act 212 of 2008. The General Assembly urges Congress to Recognize industrial hemp as a valuable agricultural commodity and that the United States Drug Enforcement Administration allow the states to regulate industrial hemp farming without federal applications, licenses or fees. Senate: Read first time & placed on action calendar per Rule 51 on 3/27/09. Adopted on the part of the Senate on 4/14/09. House: Rules Suspended and Taken up for Immediate Consideration, Read second time, proposed amendment agreed to, the resolution was read the third time and passed in concurrence with proposal of amendment on 5/4/09. Senate: House proposal of amendment concurred in on 5/6/09.

Residents of Vermont, please write to Rep. Peter Welch and ask him to become a co-sponsor of HR 1866.

[Click Here...]

Current Action Alerts

Nationwide: Click here to write your Congressional representative and ask him/her to become a co-sponsor of HR 1866, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2009. If he/she is a co-sponsor already, you will be able to thank them.

The following states have passed resolutions or memorials urging Congress to allow states to regulate hemp farming. Please use the links below to write to your Congressional representative if you are from these states.

Montana: Click here to write to Rep. Denny Rehberg and ask him to become a co-sponsor of HR 1866.

New Mexico: Click here to write to Your Representatives and ask them to become a co-sponsor of HR 1866.

North Dakota: Click here to write to Rep. Earl Pomeroy and ask him to become a co-sponsor of HR 1866.

Vermont: Click here to write to Rep. Peter Welch and ask him to become a co-sponsor of HR 1866.

Quick Links ...

Donate $75 and get a Vote Hemp logo hemp polo shirt

Donate $36 and get a Vote Hemp logo hemp hat

Donate $40 and get a Jim Pollock hemp t-shirt

Donate $100 and get 12 assorted hemp body care products

Join our mailing list!

email: report@votehemp.com

phone: 202-318-8999

web: http://www.votehemp.com

Stop extradition of Tulsa man William Joseph Foster

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 04:52:01 +0000

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Ed Rosenthal
To:
Date: Jun 4, 2009 2:57 PM
Subject: PLEASE HELP, WRITE THE GOV OF CA AND OK

PLEASE PASS THIS ON, THE LETTER WRITING CAMPAIGN WAS SUCCESSFUL WITH THE SONOMA COUNTY DA!!! LETS FINISH THIS!!!

Shortly after Christmas in 1995, police entered a middle class home looking for a meth lab, the warrant was based upon the words of a “reliable” informant. They found no meth, but even more shocking-- they found a marijuana garden so large that it could supply all of Tulsa, and perhaps the whole region.

While people in medical marijuana states such as California might not consider a five foot by five foot garden a threat to the security of the state. In Oklahoma the prosecution and the courts take this crime very seriously. After all, you have to consider the children. What if he started wholesaling his crop in counties all over the state? When you shoot marijuana you only need a little bit to change your mental state, so the yield of that garden, probably 25 pounds or more, could annihilate the youth of a whole town such as Tulsa.

But the people of Oklahoma are not just self righteous but they are prone to justice. So the 93 years that the jury recommended for Will Foster must have been considered from a spiritual point of view and fostered by their fundamentalist ministers. Funny thing about that sentence, the Oklahoma Supreme Court regarded it as cruel and unusual punishment and found that its length was unconstitutional. Will Foster wasn’t that much of a criminal; he could be reformed in only 20 years.

I could go on and give you the whole story again but you’ve read it, you’ve listened to it, and you helped get the California charges dropped through the Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and Blogspot letter campaign. You know what its all about.

The news on the case is that the California charges were dropped and he wasn’t found guilty. Withdrawing the charges, California has moved forward Will’s extradition to Oklahoma. The governors of both states, Gov. Brad Henry of Oklahoma and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California have signed the extradition warrant, it has been served, and if the situation does not change in the next 25 days, Will will be escorted back to Oklahoma in chains.

This case is unique in circumstance but it is really quite ordinary, a person who used marijuana as medicine is busted, harassed and jailed- it happens every day. Somehow though, this case is a little more important because it is symbolic. The people of California probably don’t want Will extradited, they believe it is unfair as well as being an unnecessary financial burden on a state nearing bankruptcy, but the justice factory churns on spewing our broken citizens.

We need some cogs in this wheel. Will needs your help. Check back on my blog www.edrosenthal.blogspot.com to stay informed on how you can help. Email me at asked420@gmail.com You can also join me on Facebook.com for more information, search asked420@gmail.com

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

Please send the following letter to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry. Instructions are provided below.

To Email Gov. Schwarzenegger: click the following link http://gov.ca.gov/interact , choose “need help” - Type in your first and last name along with your email. Choose “Pardon Request” as your subject and click submit, this should bring you to the form where you can copy and paste the letter.

To Email Gov. Brad Henry: click the following link http://www.ok.gov/governor/message.php and fill out the required information. Under Okalahoma counties choose “Tulsa”, When choosing your affiliation we recommend you choose Political Advocate.
-------

Regarding:
William Joseph Foster, D.O.B. 9-12-1958
Oklahoma Incident # 687031 – 12-29-1995
Oklahoma Case # CF-96-49
Oklahoma Docket # 751133

California DOC #252721

Dear Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger,

I am writing to you out of extreme concern regarding the extradition of William Foster.

Tulsa Police originally arrested William Foster in December of 1995. He suffers from degenerative arthritis, and although he knew it was illegal, he chose to treat his condition with medical marijuana rather than costly and harmful pharmaceuticals. He was convicted after his 5’x 5’ marijuana garden was raided and sentenced to 93 years in prison. After media attention (Dateline NBC, 20/20 ABC, Frontline, BBC and more) to the cruel and unusual sentencing of Will, a first time non-violent offender, Foster was re-sentenced to 20 years.

In 2001, after serving 4 ½ years of his 20 year sentence, he was released and as a condition of his parole was told to leave the state. He moved to Santa Rosa, California –with permission from Oklahoma- and kept monthly contact with his parole officer.

Due to administrative complications, Oklahoma issued a warrant for Foster and he was taken into custody in 2008. Oklahoma has now issued an extradition warrant for Foster, claiming he is a fugitive of justice, which was signed by both Governor Brad Henry and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

I am writing you to request that you pardon Will Foster and cancel the extradition. It is in the interest of justice and the taxpayers of both states that Foster’s extradition be canceled. Limited resources would be more wisely spent containing violent offenders rather than extending the incarceration and prosecution of a non-violent crime.

Top Anti-Drug Researcher Changes His Mind, Says Legalize Marijuana

Fri, 05 Jun 2009 04:37:55 +0000

From: Stop the Drug War http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle_blog/2009/jun/03/top_anti_drug_researcher_changes

For 30 years, Donald Tashkin has studied the effects of marijuana on lung function. His work has been funded by the vehemently anti-marijuana National Institute on Drug Abuse, which has long sought to demonstrate that marijuana causes lung cancer. After 3 decades of anti-drug research, here's what Tashkin has to say about marijuana laws:

"Early on, when our research appeared as if there would be a negative impact on lung health, I was opposed to legalization because I thought it would lead to increased use and that would lead to increased health effects," Tashkin says. "But at this point, I'd be in favor of legalization. I wouldn't encourage anybody to smoke any substances. But I don't think it should be stigmatized as an illegal substance. Tobacco smoking causes far more harm. And in terms of an intoxicant, alcohol causes far more harm." [McClatchy]

We've been told a thousand times that marijuana destroys your lungs, that it's 5 times worse than cigarettes, and on and on. Yet here is Donald Tashkin, literally the top expert in the world when it comes to marijuana and lung health, telling us it's time to legalize marijuana. His views are shaped not by ideology, but rather by the 30 years he spent studying the issue. He didn't expect the science to come out in favor of marijuana, but that's what happened and he's willing to admit it.

Here's the study that really turned things around:

UCLA's Tashkin studied heavy marijuana smokers to determine whether the use led to increased risk of lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD. He hypothesized that there would be a definitive link between cancer and marijuana smoking, but the results proved otherwise.
"What we found instead was no association and even a suggestion of some protective effect," says Tashkin, whose research was the largest case-control study ever conducted.

Prejudice against marijuana and smoking in general runs so deep for many people that it just seems inconceivable that marijuana could actually reduce the risk of lung cancer. But that's what the data shows and it not only demolishes a major tenet of popular anti-pot propaganda, but also points towards a potentially groundbreaking opportunity to develop cancer cures through marijuana research.

Over and over again, all the bad things we've been told about marijuana are revealed to be not only false, but often the precise opposite of the truth. So the next time someone tells you that marijuana is worse for your lungs than cigarettes, you might want to mention that the world's leading expert on that subject happens to be a supporter of legalization.

LEAP Billboard Unveiled in OK This Week- Volunteers Needed

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 00:05:24 +0000

Dear Supporter,

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition’s first-ever ad campaign kicked off with a billboard in Omaha, NE last July, and this week LEAP’s second billboard will be unveiled in Oklahoma City. The billboard will read “Drug Abuse is Bad. The Drug War is Worse.”

As a LEAP member, we need your help. If you have access to a video camera and are available to record the billboard being put up, please email Kristin.daley@leap.cc . The billboard will go up sometime between tomorrow, June 3 and Friday, June 5. We will have a better idea of the exact time when we hear from the billboard company later today, so it may be fairly short notice.

With the unveiling of the new billboard, LEAP aims to call attention to the urgent need for a more effective and ethical drug policy. The current state of the U.S. economy makes ending prohibition all the more pivotal. Every year that the “war on drugs” continues costs U.S. taxpayers billions, despite the fact that 76% of all Americans believe it is a failure.

Again, if you are able to help, please let us know. As always, thank you for your support of LEAP.

Drug War Chronicle - Issue #586 – 5/22/09

Fri, 22 May 2009 18:03:18 +0000

Drug War Chronicle - Issue #586 – 5/22/09

Phillip S. Smith, Editor
David Borden, Executive Director

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It shouldn't take something like this...

1. Feature: Supreme Court Rejects Counties' Challenge to California's Medical Marijuana Law
The US Supreme Court has refused to hear appeals from two California counties challenging the state's medical marijuana law. San Diego and San Bernardino counties had refused to implement an ID card program, arguing that federal drug laws preempted the state's medical marijuana law, but no court was buying.
2. Feature: Minnesota Legislature Passes Medical Marijuana Bill, But Veto Looms
Minnesota should be the 14th medical marijuana state after a watered down bill passed the legislature Monday. But it won't be -- Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty has promised to veto the bill. Look for an end run around the governor next year.
3. Drug War Chronicle Book Review: "Andean Cocaine: The Making of a Global Drug," by Paul Gootenberg (2008, University of North Carolina Press, 442 pp, $24.95 PB)
Drug War Chronicle reviews historian Paul Gootenberg's "Andean Cocaine," and finds its methods and its results most useful.
4. Warning: No One Is Safe from SWAT Raids
Our new video draws attention to the overuse of SWAT teams. The accompanying petition calls for their use to be limited to emergency or especially high-intensity situations only.
5. Law Enforcement: This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
There's an embarrassment of riches for the corrupt cops folder this week. We've got pot-dealing sheriffs, we've got corner-cutting DEA agents, we've got sticky-fingered cops, and of course, we've got dope-peddling prison guards. And that Philadelphia narc squad scandal just keeps growing.
6. Medical Marijuana: Eddy Lepp Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison
California cannabis activist and medical marijuana grower Eddy Lepp was sentenced to a mandatory minimum 10-years in federal prison Monday for growing 20,000 plants beside a Lake County highway.
7. Medical Marijuana: Rhode Island House Passes Dispensary Bill
Rhode Island is another step closer to allowing medical marijuana dispensaries after the House passed a bill this week. The Senate passed it last month, and both chambers passed it by veto-proof majorities.
8. Drug Legalization: Conservative Colorado Republican Tom Tancredo Joins the Chorus
Who woulda thunk it? Former Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo, who never saw a border that didn't need a fence, says it's time to talk about drug legalization.
9. Law Enforcement: Maryland Governor Signs Bill Requiring SWAT Team Reporting
What is probably the country's first successful effort to begin to rein in rampaging SWAT teams has become law in Maryland. Too bad it took a widely publicized drug raid gone bad to get it done.
10. Europe: Oslo Police Plan Crackdown on Hash Users, Buyers
Watch out if you're about to go looking for hash on the streets of Oslo. The police are going to be looking for you.
11. Australia: South Australia Police Subject Club, Concert-Goers to Drug Dog Checks
If you're headed out to go clubbing or see a concert in South Australia, be forewarned: The cops just might walk up and have a drug dog check you out.
12. Weekly: This Week in History
Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of years past.
13. Weekly: Blogging @ the Speakeasy
"FBI Director Gets Humiliated Trying to Defend Marijuana Prohibition," "Marijuana is Illegal, But It Doesn't Have to Be," "Mexican Jailbreak Proves the Cartels Can Do Whatever They Want," "What's So Funny About Trying to Legalize Marijuana?," "Illinois Sheriff Caught Selling Lots of Marijuana," "Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty Wants to Send Dying Cancer Patients to Jail," "US Supreme Court Kills Effort to Overturn State Medical Marijuana Laws," "Michael Phelps and Marijuana Legalization," "Pete Guither Will Correct Your Incoherent Editorial for Free."
14. Errata: GMM and PRN/Schneider Grand Jury Articles
Minor corrections to two of last week's article, "Free Speech: ACLU Backs Pain Activist's Effort to Quash Subpoena Issued in Kansas Case" and "The Global Marijuana Marches, Part II."
15. Students: Intern at StoptheDrugWar.org (DRCNet) and Help Stop the Drug War!
Apply for an internship at DRCNet and you could spend a semester fighting the good fight!
16. Job Opportunity: New Orleans Chapter Organizer, Critical Resistance, New Orleans
Critical Resistance (CR), a national grassroots organization working to end the prison industrial complex, seeks a New Orleans Chapter Organizer.

from Drug War Chronicle, Issue #586, 5/22/09

California medical marijuana grower, spiritualist, and activist Eddy Lepp was sentenced Monday to a mandatory minimum 10-year prison sentence on federal marijuana cultivation charges in a case where he grew more than 20,000 pot plants in plain view of a state highway in Northern California's Lake County. US District Court Judge Marilyn Patel also sentenced him to five years probation. He must report to federal authorities by July 6.

Eddy Lepp (courtesy cannabisculture.com)

Lepp contended that the plants were a medical marijuana grow for members of the Multi Denominational Ministry of Cannabis and Rastafari and legal under California law. But during his trial, he was not allowed to introduce medical marijuana or religious defenses. He was found guilty of conspiracy to possess marijuana with the intent to distribute more than 1,000 pot plants and of cultivating more than 1,000 plants, which carries a maximum life sentence.

According to California NORML (CANORML) and the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat, there were gasps and sobs from Lepp supporters in the courtroom as Patel passed sentence. The sentence was "extreme," Patel conceded, but said her hands were tied by federal law.

In a nod toward the current turmoil over the status of federal prosecutions of medical marijuana providers, Judge Patel said Lepp could apply for a rehearing if the laws changed. Lepp and his attorneys plan to appeal the verdict and the sentence.

Lepp attorney Michael Hall told Patel the sentence was "incredible."

"Incredible is what the law requires," Patel responded, adding that legalizing marijuana appeared to be Lepp's driving passion. "Maybe you want to be a martyr for the cause," she said.

Sentencing Lepp, a 56-year-old veteran in ill health, to prison is a travesty and a waste, said supporters. "This case sadly illustrates the senselessness of federal marijuana laws," said CANORML's Dale Geiringer. "The last thing this country needs is more medical marijuana prisoners. Hopefully, we can change the law and get Eddy out of jail before he completes his sentence."

"Locking up Eddy Lepp serves no purpose and is a huge waste of life and scarce prison space," said Aaron Smith, California policy director of the Marijuana Policy Project. "The community would be a lot better served if we taxed and regulated California's $14 billion marijuana industry rather than continuing to incarcerate nonviolent people like Eddy, who are clearly of no danger to society."

Medical Marijuana - Oklahoma Compassionate Care Campaign

Fri, 22 May 2009 05:12:20 +0000

From: Oklahoma Compassionate Care Campaign

A look at proposed legislation for legalized medical marijuana in Oklahoma available here.

Please Help the Oklahoma Compassionate Care Campaign Raise Funds! Go here.

FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA

Federal law prohibits any use of marijuana, but Maine, Vermont, Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, New Mexico, Michigan and Rhode Island allow it to be grown and used for medicinal purposes.

Legal medical marijuana is not available in Oklahoma. Sick Oklahomans need your help to allow them to seek medical marijuana treatment. It has been found to aid those suffering from chronic pain, glaucoma, neurologic disorders, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, AIDS-wasting syndrome, and nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy.

Doctors and patients in 12 states can freely decide if marijuana is the best medicine. Unfortunately in Oklahoma, citizens who need marijuana are treated like common criminals. They are locked up in our very overcrowded prisons and then we have to pay for their medical care. Our law provides no defense based on a medical necessity, even when a person cannot afford drug store medicines.

DPRNOK Needs Your Support!

We are seeking endorsements from Oklahoma doctors, patients, and prominent organizations.

We need Oklahomans who could benefit from medical marijuana to tell their stories and/or even testify to legislators about those who are either sick or in pain and who want or need medical marijuana. All interviews will be kept private unless we have your permission to tell your story.

Please use this online form to tell your story, or phone (405)714-1236.
Mail to: DPRNOK, 601 S. Washington #203, Stillwater, OK 74074.
Our web site: Drug Policy Forum of Oklahoma

Please call your OK senator and representative and tell them to sponsor, or support, the Oklahoma Compassionate Care Medical Marijuana bill. Find your legislators here, or at the Oklahoma Election Board (405)521-2391, or contact your county election board.

ARE YOU A PATIENT WHO COULD BENEFIT FROM USING MARIJUANA AS A MEDICINE? ARE YOU A HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL WHO IS AWARE OF ITS THERAPEUTIC BENEFITS? PLEASE CONTACT US NOW!!

Medical marijuana is "...one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man." by the Honorable Francis Young, Administrative Law Judge Drug Enforcement Agency - 1989

To DPFOK front page

Alva Ok, 4th annual Global Marijuana March - Flier

Sun, 03 May 2009 22:12:47 +0000

Alva Ok, 4th Annual Global Marijuana March

Friday, May, 8th 2009
FREE PUBLIC VIEWING of “Hemplands Conspiracy” (www.UFOTV.com)
A story of the Kentucky Hemp Farmers and the history of Industrial Hemp in America.

NWOSU Student Center Ranger Room

11:20 am - 12:40 pm

March With Us!!
From the College to the Wood County Courthouse Starts around 1:00 pm After the public viewing.

PROTEST AT: Woods County Courthouse Around 2:00 pm
on College & Flynn

Guest Speakers Will appear at both events.
Please bring your own food and drinks. Keep your trash picked up and all vehicles off the lawn. Thanks!!

PLEASE JOIN US!
And help:
Support the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2009, Medical Marijuana & use by responsible adults

So We Can
Build better communities, save family farms, release the medicine and heal our sick, reduce prison over crowding,

stop arresting non violent offenders, reduce Government spending, create new job markets,

save the economy, reverse the greenhouse effect, save our planet and give our kids a better place to live and be free.

Alva Ok, 4th Annual Global Marijuana March
Brought to you by: Keary Prophet (www.potforfreedom.com) Sponsored by: Drug Policy forum of Oklahoma (www.dpfok.org)

 & Global Marijuana March (www.globalmarijuanamarch.org)

GRAB A FLIER AND HELP SPREAD THE WORD:  http://www.scribd.com/doc/14789086/alva-ok-flyer-gmm-2009

FLIER in PDF FORMAT:  http://www.scribd.com/document_downloads/14789086?extension=pdf&secret_password=

DPA - Action Alert

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 20:03:17 +0000

Dear Supporter,

Tell President Obama it's time for a serious debate about marijuana prohibition.

Email the president.

"I don’t know what this says about the online audience," joked President Obama during his first virtual town hall meeting. He was dismissing an idea submitted by tens of thousands of Americans: making marijuana legal.

This week, President Obama is visiting Mexico and seeing first hand the drug war violence that is spilling over our southern border, violence you and I know is fueled by marijuana prohibition.

Now that he’s seen what’s really happening, you have the chance to tell the president it's time for a serious discussion about the consequences of marijuana prohibition.

Thousands of people have been killed in the drug war in Mexico in the last couple of years. The drug traffickers are stockpiling machine guns and grenades and now are operating in hundreds of U.S. cities. This level of violence is the inevitable result of policies that create a lucrative black market.

You and I understand that ending marijuana prohibition would reduce violence and corruption the same way ending alcohol Prohibition did. I hope now that President Obama has seen the grisly consequences of marijuana prohibition first hand, he will no longer joke about marijuana law reform. Join me in telling him: This issue is deadly serious, and it's time to put all options on the table.

Sincerely,

Bill Piper
Director, Office of National Affairs
Drug Policy Alliance Network

Drug War Chronicle Issue #580 – 4/10/09

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:29:59 +0000

Phillip S. Smith, Editor
David Borden, Executive Director

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the first midwest medical marijuana state!

1. Feature: Twenty Years of Drug Courts -- Results and Misgivings
By some measures, drug courts are a success. They reduce recidivism and drive down criminal justice system costs, most observers agree. But when it comes to whether they are a desirable response to drug use, that's a different story.
2. Feature: Michigan Medical Marijuana Law in Effect
Michigan voters approved a medical marijuana initiative in November. This week, it took effect.
3. Drug War Chronicle Book Review: "Cool Madness: The Trial of Dr. Mollie Fry and Dale Schafer," by Vanessa Nelson (2008, MMA Publishing, 353 pp., $19.95 pb.)
"Cool Madness" is a riveting account of the federal trial California medical marijuana patient and provider Dr. Mollie Fry and her husband, Dale Schafer. If you believe federal medical marijuana trials have anything to do with justice or fairness after reading her account, I have some bridges you might be interested in.
4. Law Enforcement: This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories
Another crooked judge, another dirty border guard, more problems for Philly's narcs, and a guilty plea in Detroit.
5. Marijuana Legalization: For First Time, Poll Finds Majority Support in California
Support for marijuana legalization has gone over the 50% mark in California for the first time, according to a new poll. It comes as the California Assembly ponders a legalization bill, and the poll itself hints that a legalization/tax and regulate initiative may be coming down the pike.
6. Sentencing: US Jail, Prison Population Hits Another Record High, Well Over Half a Million Drug Offenders Behind Bars
We really get tired of writing the same old story about record prison and jail populations every year, but it's that time again.
7. Salvia Divinorum: Ohio's First Bust Came Day Before Law Went Into Effect
Ohio's law criminalizing salvia divinorum went into effect Tuesday, but the first arrest under it came Monday. Go figure.
8. Medical Marijuana: Florida Petition Drive Under Way
A grassroots petition drive to get medical marijuana on the 2010 ballot in Florida is underway. Organizers need almost 700,000 signatures and $5 million for the drive and the election campaign, and they're counting on web-based activism to get them there.
9. Europe: Britain Could Save $20 Billion a Year by Legalizing Drugs, Study Finds
The British government contends that drug legalization could not possibly have enough benefits to justify switching from prohibition, but it has never provided the evidence. Now, a new study that actually has done a comparative analysis finds the UK could be saving billions a year by legalizing.
10. Weekly: This Week in History
Events and quotes of note from this week's drug policy events of years past.
11. Job Opportunity: Policy Analyst/Content Editor, Common Sense for Drug Policy -- DRCNet Office in Washington, DC
Common Sense for Drug Policy is seeking an editorially-skilled individual to maintain and grow its network of web sites, including the in-depth online presentation on drug policy issues, DrugWarFacts.org.
12. Students: Intern at StoptheDrugWar (DRCNet) and Help Stop the Drug War!
Apply for an internship at DRCNet and you could spend a semester fighting the good fight!
13. Feedback: Do You Read Drug War Chronicle?
Do you read Drug War Chronicle? If so, we need your feedback to evaluate our work and make the case for Drug War Chronicle to funders. We need donations too.

PERMISSION to reprint or redistribute any or all of the contents of Drug War Chronicle (formerly The Week Online with DRCNet) is hereby granted. We ask that any use of these materials include proper credit and, where appropriate, a link to one or more of our web sites. If your publication customarily pays for publication, DRCNet requests checks payable to the organization. If your publication does not pay for materials, you are free to use the materials gratis. In all cases, we request notification for our records, including physical copies where material has appeared in print. Contact: StoptheDrugWar.org: the Drug Reform Coordination Network, P.O. Box 18402, Washington, DC 20036, (202) 293-8340 (voice), (202) 293-8344 (fax), e-mail drcnet@drcnet.org. Thank you.

Articles of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of the DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.

Marijuana Legalization for World Peace ( a great piece by: American Pot Smoker)

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 18:41:37 +0000

From: American Pot Smoker <americanpotsmoker4@gmail.com>

Subject: Marijuana Legalization for World Peace

To: president@whitehouse.gov
Cc: vice.president@whitehouse.gov, AskDOJ@usdoj.gov

Date: Thursday, April 9, 2009, 12:02 AM

Dear Mr. President,

I am writing to you in response to your Virtual Town Meeting held on March 26, 2009 at the White House. Many questions from online members addressed the topic of marijuana legalization. This topic, as indicated from you was one of the most voted topics from approximately 3.6 million votes, to be discussed in this online event. From what is indicated on the website http://www.whitehouse.gov/openforquestions, 8 out of the top 10 most voted questions were related to marijuana.

What was paraphrased by you was, “whether legalizing marijuana would improve the economy and job creation”. The top question with nearly 8,000 votes was, “With over 1 out of 30 Americans controlled by the penal system, why not legalize, control, and tax marijuana to change the failed war on drugs into a money making, money saving boost to the economy? Do we really need that many victimless criminals?” Yet this question was not displayed on your presentation, or any that were related to the topic of marijuana.

I was completely disappointed, along with many of our fellow Americans, on your passive response. You had answered the paraphrased question with a snicker saying, “I don’t know what this says about our online audience…the answer is NO, I don’t think this is a good strategy to improve our economy,” without articulating a reason for your position on this topic. Subsequently, Robert Gibbs, White House Press Secretary was asked to clarify your position on the legalization of marijuana. Mr. Gibbs indicated, “The President opposes the legalization of marijuana, and I’d say I did that with not even the slightest bit of laughter…he doesn’t think it’s the right plan for America”. Based on previous statements from your campaign, the American People want to know if we hired the right person to carry out this agenda.

Firstly, I would like to tell you about more about your online audience, which includes me. This group of people is comprised of smart, productive, insightful, and brilliant American citizens who had made the difference in your campaign, and eventual vote into becoming the 44th President of the United States of America. We are made up of Americans that are just like you. We are responsible Americans, who work, pay taxes, spend money, and create business in America. We are Americans who are losing the quality of education and after school programs for our children. We are young and aging Americans who are need of world class healthcare, but many of Us cannot afford. We are Americans who are struggling to make a living in a bleak economy, while trying to maintain our composure. We are Americans that are need of food, clothing, and shelter, where many of Us are losing everyday because of increasing prices and unemployment. We are Americans who are the highest consumers of fossil fuels in the world, and are looking for clean fuel alternatives. We are Americans who are dying everyday from the war on drugs and terror that is predicated upon the protection of corporate monopolies and cartels, and perpetuated by a pathological bureaucratic system. We are Americans who are sick and tired of being denied our “inalienable Rights endowed by (our) Creator”; the right to live “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”. Most of all, we are Americans who love and care about our country, and value the well being and safety for ourselves, our friends, and our families here at home, and around the world.

Secondly, I want address the stereotype and misconception of the supporters of marijuana and hemp. The common stereotype is of people who are strictly recreational marijuana smokers who are lazy, incompetent, and non-contributors to society. In actuality, this group can be characterized by the many Americans described above, and is not necessarily marijuana smokers. Supporters of this position are passionate about having a viable solution to the many issues and challenges that your Administration faces today, vis-à-vis your plan. This includes the US/Global financial crisis, job creation, affordable housing, education, health care, the fuel crisis, sustainability and environmental responsibility, curbing hunger and starvation worldwide, the war on drugs and terror, etc. Why are We prohibiting ourselves from a plant that dates back use from ancient times, and can solve the underlining problems above?

Overall, the American People deserve a chance to engage in an open objective forum, that discusses the merits of marijuana and hemp. This panel would ideally include experts from around the world, that range from doctors, scientists, economists, sociologists, civil rights and US Constitution experts, and many other industry experts. The American People would also like your Administration to revisit the Schaffer Commission Report, and continue to analyze these recommendations that the Nixon Administration dismissed in 1972. Ultimately, the American People are interested in the next steps towards the legalization of marijuana and hemp in the United States of America!

We are looking forward for the leadership, courage, and bravery of your presidency, to lead Us into the HOPE, CHANGE, and PROGRESS that your campaign professes, into a new and promising America. Thank you for taking the time to hear Us out, and representing Us as the Voice of America!

Respectfully Yours,

American Pot Smoker

“It was the sails and ropes from the Mayflower; the paper, ink, and words from the Declaration of Independence; the will and determination of the American People that set Us free. YES WE CAN(nibus)!”

--- American Pot Smoker

“When I was a kid, I inhaled frequently. That was the point.”

--- Barack Obama, 44^th President of the United States of America

potforfreedom.com

This Blog Has Moved

Video Blog Shutdown - Updating Site

Industrial Hemp: Bill Passes Oregon Legislature, Heads for Governor's Desk

Phillip S. Smith, EditorDavid Borden, Executive Director

1. Feature: US Gives Up on Eradicating Afghan Opium Poppies, Will Target Traffickers Instead

2. Feature: Marijuana Legalization Legislation in the Works in Portugal

3. Drug War Chronicle Book Review: "Seeds of Terror: How Heroin is Bankrolling the Taliban and Al Qaeda," by Gretchen Peters (2009, Thomas Dunne Press, 300 pp., $25.95 HB)

4. Feedback: Do You Read Drug War Chronicle?

5. Law Enforcement: This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

6. The Border: Obama Administration Could Deploy Up to 1,500 National Guard Troops in Bid to Increase Anti-Drug Efforts

7. Latin America: Obama Administration Declines to Restore Bolivian Trade Preferences, Cites Government's Acceptance of Coca Production

8. Marijuana: Rhode Island Senate Okays Commission to Explore Marijuana Prohibition, Legalization, and Decriminalization

9. Industrial Hemp: Bill Passes Oregon Legislature, Heads for Governor's Desk

10. Medical Marijuana: Users, Growers Can Sue Over Police Raids, California Appeals Court Rules

11. Medical Marijuana: Oakland Dispensary Tax in Hands of Voters

12. Alert: Medical Marijuana Defendant Bryan Epis Wants YOU to Take Political Action

13. Weekly: Blogging @ the Speakeasy

14. Weekly: This Week in History

15. Please: Don't Shoot!

16. Students: Intern at StoptheDrugWar.org (DRCNet) and Help Stop the Drug War!

Oklahoma City home of new Law Enforcement Against Prohibition Billboard

Drug War Chronicle, Issue #588

Drug War Chronicle - world’s leading drug policy newsletter

Issue #588 – 6/5/09

Phillip S. Smith, EditorDavid Borden, Executive Director

1. Feature: New York Republicans, Prosecutors in Last Minute Bid to Block Rockefeller Reform Provision

2. Feature: DC Moves Toward Stricter Penalties for Khat

3. Law Enforcement: This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

4. Medical Marijuana: Mid-Atlantic Movement as Delaware, New Jersey Bills Win Committee Votes

5. Medical Marijuana: Rhode Island Dispensary Bill Passes House, Now Goes for Final Senate Approval

6. Medical Marijuana: Veterans Administration Says Positive Marijuana Drug Screening Will Not Void Pain Contracts for Vets with Doctors' Recommendations

7. Drug Testing: Random Suspicionless Drug Tests Suffer Double Smackdown in Louisiana

8. Please: Don't Shoot!

9. Europe: Nice People Take Drugs, Says British Advocacy Group

10. Canada: New Heroin Maintenance Pilot Program to Get Underway Later This Year

11. Europe: German Parliament Approves Heroin Maintenance

12. Canada: Supreme Court Clarifies Asset Forfeiture Law, Allows Graduated Sanctions

13. Weekly: This Week in History

14. Weekly: Blogging @ the Speakeasy

15. Job Opportunity: Legal Coordinator, Americans for Safe Access, Oakland, CA

Vote Hemp Report: 2009 Hemp Bills Successful!

Stop extradition of Tulsa man William Joseph Foster

Top Anti-Drug Researcher Changes His Mind, Says Legalize Marijuana

LEAP Billboard Unveiled in OK This Week- Volunteers Needed

Drug War Chronicle - Issue #586 – 5/22/09

Drug War Chronicle - Issue #586 – 5/22/09

Phillip S. Smith, EditorDavid Borden, Executive Director

1. Feature: Supreme Court Rejects Counties' Challenge to California's Medical Marijuana Law

2. Feature: Minnesota Legislature Passes Medical Marijuana Bill, But Veto Looms

3. Drug War Chronicle Book Review: "Andean Cocaine: The Making of a Global Drug," by Paul Gootenberg (2008, University of North Carolina Press, 442 pp, $24.95 PB)

4. Warning: No One Is Safe from SWAT Raids

5. Law Enforcement: This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

6. Medical Marijuana: Eddy Lepp Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison

7. Medical Marijuana: Rhode Island House Passes Dispensary Bill

8. Drug Legalization: Conservative Colorado Republican Tom Tancredo Joins the Chorus

9. Law Enforcement: Maryland Governor Signs Bill Requiring SWAT Team Reporting

10. Europe: Oslo Police Plan Crackdown on Hash Users, Buyers

11. Australia: South Australia Police Subject Club, Concert-Goers to Drug Dog Checks

12. Weekly: This Week in History

13. Weekly: Blogging @ the Speakeasy

14. Errata: GMM and PRN/Schneider Grand Jury Articles

15. Students: Intern at StoptheDrugWar.org (DRCNet) and Help Stop the Drug War!

16. Job Opportunity: New Orleans Chapter Organizer, Critical Resistance, New Orleans

Medical Marijuana - Oklahoma Compassionate Care Campaign

A look at proposed legislation for legalized medical marijuana in Oklahoma available here.

Please Help the Oklahoma Compassionate Care Campaign Raise Funds! Go here.

FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA

DPRNOK Needs Your Support!

Alva Ok, 4th annual Global Marijuana March - Flier

DPA - Action Alert

You Can Make a Difference

Drug War Chronicle Issue #580 – 4/10/09

Phillip S. Smith, EditorDavid Borden, Executive Director

1. Feature: Twenty Years of Drug Courts -- Results and Misgivings

2. Feature: Michigan Medical Marijuana Law in Effect

3. Drug War Chronicle Book Review: "Cool Madness: The Trial of Dr. Mollie Fry and Dale Schafer," by Vanessa Nelson (2008, MMA Publishing, 353 pp., $19.95 pb.)

4. Law Enforcement: This Week's Corrupt Cops Stories

5. Marijuana Legalization: For First Time, Poll Finds Majority Support in California

6. Sentencing: US Jail, Prison Population Hits Another Record High, Well Over Half a Million Drug Offenders Behind Bars

Phillip S. Smith, Editor
David Borden, Executive Director

Phillip S. Smith, Editor
David Borden, Executive Director

Phillip S. Smith, Editor
David Borden, Executive Director

Phillip S. Smith, Editor
David Borden, Executive Director