Local Fight to Legalize Pot

Talk Back: Post a comment on this article By Lindy Thackston First Coast News JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Brandon Pohl is about to graduate college with a computer science degree and his friend is about to take the bar ...

[the joker]

sign me up... Now this is news and the top billing story went to some rednecks having sex in church...WTF....also Lindy Thackston looks like a hottie

[Mom]

At least now I know where to move!:-)

[Cheech]

My sister is a casual pot smoker. She has a masters deg.,and makes over 80k a year working for the City of Phoenix. I think I should start again.

[amazonwoman2007]

I think marajuana should be legalized. It's not worse than beer which is legal. People don't kill other people driving while under the influence of marajuana. If anything it makes you paranoid that your gonna get pulled over by a cop or something. In my opinion beer or any alcohol is alot worse than pot. So is every other drug out there. Legalize Pot!!

[glockowner]

amazonwoman2007 wrote:

I think marajuana should be legalized. It's not worse than beer which is legal. People don't kill other people driving while under the influence of marajuana. If anything it makes you paranoid that your gonna get pulled over by a cop or something. In my opinion beer or any alcohol is alot worse than pot. So is every other drug out there. Legalize Pot!!

Amen, Sister!!

[Concerned Citizen]

One would think after Atlanta police killed 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston, that they would get the idea, but they haven't, and the carnage continues. Friday, 1/4/08, a SWAT team, serving an ordinary drug search warrant, invaded the Ohio home of Tarika Wilson -- an innocent woman -- shot and killed her, and shot her one-year-old son. "They went in that home shooting," her mother said at a vigil that night. The boy lost at least one of his fingers. Two dogs were shot too.
SWAT teams were created to deal with extreme situations, not routine ones. Yet police now conduct tens of thousands of SWAT raids every year, mostly in low-level drug enforcement. The result is that people like Wilson and Johnston continue to die in terror, with many thousands more having to go on living with trauma. But it's all for a drug war that has failed and can't be made to work.
Source: DRCNet

[Concerned Citizen]

Dated: 3-10-08
The story I’m about to share with you sickens me. It’s a story of how our government turns the prohibition of medical marijuana into an excuse for murdering a cancer patient.

Dallas resident Stephen Thorton was a thyroid cancer survivor who used marijuana to control chronic pain, eliminate nausea, and gain weight. In 2005, a federal court in Texas convicted Thorton of “possession of a firearm by an unlawful user of a controlled substance and for distributing marijuana and marijuana plants.�

In other words, this cancer patient faced a federal prison sentence for having a gun that would have been legal except for the presence of marijuana, which he was using to treat a life-threatening illness.

Thorton fled Texas in late 2005, fearing that his prison term would undermine his battle against cancer — and in the process became a fugitive who was wanted by the U.S. Marshals Service. He took up residence in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he continued to grow his medical marijuana.- he was shot and killed by law enforcement officers in a drug raid at his home.

Investigators said they thought Thorton was the “kingpin� of a marijuana manufacturing ring.

You can read more about this latest victim of our government’s war on marijuana users here: http://www.mpp.org/news/articles/nc/texans-mo...

While this story is outrageous, it isn't unique. On MPP’s Web site, you can read a whole series of stories about other drug war victims.

Thank you. I’m grateful for anything you can do to help end the government’s cruel war on the sick.

Sincerely,

Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.

[Concerned Citizen]

Can you believe we have to argue with our government about making it legal for licensed physicians to recommend marijuana to seriously ill and in some cases dying patients? Our government is arresting, harming and sometimes killing people over using a drug that thousands of doctors and patients have testified is safe and effective. In some cases marijuana can take the place of FDA approved drugs that have serious side effects. Sometimes the FDA approved drugs even cause death. There has never been a death caused by a marijuana overdose, not one in all of history. It is one of the safest drugs known. It’s time to take action.

[Normlgrl]

I agree! Legalize marijuana!! Anyone know how to get on the bandwagon? I would definitely support this cause.

[Concerned Citizen]

Tell your friends about the "Enough is Enough" petition to stop the reckless overuse of SWAT tactics and save the lives of civilians and police alike. This petition is sponsored by: StoptheDrugWar.org

Go here for details: http://ga0.org/campaign/enough_is_enough

[Concerned Citizen]

The drug war is being used as an excuse to remove your Constitutional rights, steal your property destroy your ability to earn a living and many other harms to citizens and society. There’s a mountain of evidence supporting the need for policy reform that makes citizens, their family, their livelihood and their property more secure. One very good step will be taking away the ability of criminals to profit from marijuana. How? Just like it was done with alcohol, remove the prohibition and regulate legal adult use. As soon as alcohol prohibition ended, the crime and violence caused by alcohol prohibition ended. The year alcohol prohibition was repealed violent crime fell by sixty five percent.

Visit this website to learn more:

If you’re using internet explorer web browser use this link: http://jsknow.angelfire.com/home

If you’re using any other web browser use this link: http://jsknow.angelfire.com/index.html

[Concerned Citizen]

JUST SAY KNOW is a local Jacksonville group working to reform local, state and federal drug policy.
Visit our website:
If you’re using internet explorer web browser use this link: http://jsknow.angelfire.com/home

If you’re using any other web browser use this link: http://jsknow.angelfire.com/index.html

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We appreciate and commend the efforts of the drug policy reform organizations below and we thank them for their contributions to our drug policy reform work. Please visit their websites and support them to the best of your ability.

Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. http://www.mpp.org

NORML: Since its founding in 1970, NORML has provided a voice in the public policy debate for those Americans who oppose marijuana prohibition and favor an end to the practice of arresting marijuana smokers. http://norml.org/index.cfm
Email: [e-mail]

Drug Truth Network is a media production organization, based at KPFT Radio Houston, TX. Cultural Baggage, hosted by Dean Becker, is the only nationally distributed radio program focused on discussing the war on drugs. Dean produces 9 radio shows each week about the harms of the drug war. Their shows are broadcast on more than 50 affiliates in the US and Canada. Call your favorite radio station and ask them to include these innovative radio programs. http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/

SAFER (Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation): SAFER is working with students, organizations and other individuals around the country and abroad to spread the message that marijuana is safer than alcohol and should be treated as such. http://www.saferchoice.org/

FULLY INFORMED JURY ASSOCIATION (FIJA): Go here to learn about a powerful tool most people don’t know about that can be used to shut down prosecution of non-violent “drug offenders” on a case by case basis. It’s called Juror Nullification. http://www.fija.org/

[The Mechanic]

our gov telling us what to do all the time and limiting us is getting out of control. it was suposed to be a free country. when i was young we used to walk down the street high, and the cops never sed anything becuse we was always calm, never into troubble, and never gave the any kind of hasle. now if they even think you are high you go to jail. if you have a 1\4oz or even just a little more you get charged with drug trafficing. WTH i smoke more than that in a week. it is time for change.. i have to agree with a lot of peps on hear.. it is getting bad. i work 40-70hrs a week, and make good money. if i want to relax when i get home by fireing one up, you can bet, i am.....

[Cathy]

Why is it illegal anyway, it doesn't hurt anyone.

[Ford Banister]

For more information on JAX NORML, e-mail [e-mail]. The organization is in a formative stage in Jacksonville. All interest, efforts and support is definitely appreciated.
We have every reason to be confident that we can achieve positive change on this issue. There are now twelve states that have decriminalized marijuana. There are also twelve states that have medical marijuana statutes in place. Legislation and ballot initiatives are pending in several other states this year. 30% of the American population now lives in a state that permits seriusly ill patients to posess and use some marijuana with a doctor's recommendation. A number of municipalities, including Seattle and Denver have enacted decriminalization ordinances.
Politically, supporting decriminalization is no longer suicide for politicians. Five of the major presidential candidates, including, for oh so short a time, Barack Obama, stated that they supported the federal decriminalization of marijuana. Many may be surprised to know that Congresswoman Corinne Brown indicated that she supported both medical marijuana and decriminalization of small amounts of marijuana in response to the National Political Awareness Test done by Project Vote Smart.
The budget crunch that the state of Florida is now suffering has led to Tampa Sen. Victor Crist -- a Republican who's not related to the
governor and chairs the senate's criminal-justice appropriationscommittee -- saying that locking up drug users costs society and the state
too much money, and it doesn't work.
"That's the old way; throw a drug addict in jail. But now we know treatment works, it's better and it's cheaper," Sen. Crist said. "If you're a violent criminal, you belong in a cell. If you're a drug
addict, you belong in a rehab program."
The Florida legislature is now reconsidering the state's harsh drug laws due to prison overcrowding.
THANKS TO YEARS OF EFFORTS BY MANY DEDICATED REFORMERS AND SCHOLARS, WE NOW RIDE THE PROGRESSIVE WAVE OF HISTORY WITH THE WIND AT OUR BACKS.
THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO LET YOUR STATE AND FEDERAL REPRESENTATIVES KNOW HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT THE ANTIQUATED DRUG LAWS.
Ford Banister

[Tommy]

Oh wow man

[it figures]

it's about time the news aired the other side of the coin. i think they could've went a little more in-depth, but i guess you have to start somewhere! go NORML!

[Another2]

I don't want to see "doped" up people on our roads. We already have enough trouble with accidents, speeding, hit and runs as it is...we don't need some high person driving around not realized how reckless they are, or even that they hit someone!

[Duke]

It is illegal for the same reason moonshine is illegal. the govt cant tax it or found a way to tax it.

[it figures]

Duke wrote:

It is illegal for the same reason moonshine is illegal. the govt cant tax it or found a way to tax it.

nah- it's because the pharmaceutical companies can't grow it with their logo on the stem. ;-)