Really it seems like they want to shut down these businesses to setup Gov't run facilities to dispense MM. F'ing big government mentality, make everything State run.

Any time you need a knee jerk qualifier for you’re over the top zealot unnecessary reaction drag out the “Children” excuse.

Find some blubbering parent with their snotty nosed child who will cry on cue for the camera, and you have all the justification needed to build a new prison.

Then in 15 years the snotty nosed kid will be housed in the same prison the politician used to shut down his school and build the prison.

I don’t smoke pot; I don’t care if you do.

Only the politicians and the DEA care because they all make their living either dealing it under the table, allowing it to be dealt or putting people in prison and then skimming funds off the prison money.

Legalize it, Tax it, and empty the prisons of those in prison for using it.

Or continue to support the Mexican drug cartels that are paying the US administrators to keep the pot illegal and control the price.

"Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded."

-Abraham Lincoln (1809-65) U.S. President

I couldn't agree more. Would DEA and those living off "the war on drugs" want to give up that gravy train? It's billions of $. Put that same money into education and health care and we would all be better off.

Way to go OBUMO. LOCK GRANNY UP!!!!

"The prosecutors said California's medical marijuana law has given cover for large-scale commercial operations to engage in drug trafficking across state lines, with thousands of pounds of marijuana worth tens of millions of dollars flowing across the country from California."

"That is not what the California voters intended or authorized, and it is illegal under California law," said Andre Birotte, U.S. attorney for the Central District of California.

If that in fact is really going on then I agree and the ones taking advantage of what seems to me to be a loop hole, should be shut down, but there needs to be DUE PROCESS in doing so and criminal charges should be filed. If that doesn't happen then its all BS.

This was prompted by the expected legal challenge to the IRS ruling that the dispensaries can not deduct business expenses. The feds were afraid that there failure to take action against the dispensaries would be used in court to say that marijuana has in effect been legalized because the fed has not taken any action against medical marijuana. This whole thing is completely absurd. All shutting down the dispensaries will do is send more business to the criminals. People who need the marijuana to have a decent quality of life due to medical conditions are not going to stop smoking it because the dispensaries have been shut down. They will just now be forced to buy the marijuana from criminals. This is also a very sad day for state's rights. There is a reason that 16 states allow medical marijuana, the people want it and it is proven to work. The federal government has much more important things than to worry about shutting down legitimate businesses that are operating in compliance with state law and, oh by the way, paying a lot of taxes.

I have absolutely nothing against marijuana growing and sales. But I agree that huge factory farms need to be closed. It isn't fair that some people obey the laws given by the state to make growing legal. And others don't obey the law yet rake in all the profits and thus lower the market price driving others out of business.

And the stores near schools should move. They are being given ample warning. I mean how often do the police send you a letter before raiding your home or business? I have a feeling it rarely happens. So I would say they are respecting state laws, while instituting some reasonable authority.

Clearly the drug companies who has Obama in their pocket are behind this 'loss of business" from the long-term pain meds no longer being purchased.

This law enforcement nonsense has proven to be false, as crime has gone UP in the areas where they have shut down legal dispensaries. These pot dispensaries do not attract crime, they lower it.

The worst part of all is that we all know these government morons all go home and enjoy their cocktails and wine coolers laughing at the "potheads".

The only answer is LESS government, with LESS money and LESS power.

Alcohol, legal and taxed, kills tens of thousands Americans each year.

Tobacco, legal and taxed, kills hundreds of thousands Americans each year.

Marijuana, legal or not, kills NOT ONE American.

Drug laws kill more people than drugs ever have.

If you want to protect children, repeal prohibition!

"As for using marijuana as medicine, Sabet said the proper path should be one where components of marijuana are studied and possibly approved by the Food & Drug Administration for use in pharmaceuticals."

This! This is why they are doing it. To give it to big Pharma for all their donations. Big Pharma says "Yea, we will donate to your campaign! Give us the pot biz"

Obama just lost the election.

I will NOT allow you to tell me what I can put in my own body when I am not hurting anyone else. Period. They will have to kill me as I will die/fight before I give up that right.

The thing I don't understand is why not sell it through a pharmacy? Legalize all drugs, taxes it, regulate it, problem solved...

Then we could empty out the jails and the drug cartels would be put out of business.... This is coming from a person who has never done drugs and know that just because it's legal, I'm not about to run out and try it...

The fedreal Goverment needs to get real...

When did progressive/liberal become regressive big brother? It's not enough to supply drug cartels with guns, now the feds are also guaranteeing their revenue stream? We're led by idiots.

Don't forget the part where the Feds are ok with it if it's done by Big Pharma, if they can mark it up and ruin it then it's ok to sell.!

It appears with todays news that the great government of the United States of America have decided to go with Mexico rather than their own country. Keep the doors open for the illegals and the drug trafficers. Wow wondering when we will all have to speak Spanish and English will be outlawed.

It would seem that Big Pharma has joined with the drug enforcement industry (a lot easier to spend your law enforcement career looking for non-violent drug possession offenders than...I don't know...maybe VIOLENT PREDATORS) in putting the influence on targeting California's medical marijuana industry instead of targeting the plague of gang-related violence (although they are making a token example out of some motorcycle knuckleheads), which might offend the PC crowd since some of our most notorious gang-bangers are also in our country ILLEGALLY .

The ultimate statement over the EPIC FAILURE that is the war on drugs is not in California but in Topeka, Kansas where they will no longer prosecute domestic violence cases but of course will continue to prosecute non-violent possession only offenders. FAIL,FAIL, FAIL !!!

Why am I not surprised....

President "Barack Obama is betraying promises made when he ran for president and turning his back on the sensible policies announced during his first year in office,"

He has turned on the wall st/corporate protesters, I wonder when he turns on the pot heads?

MEXICO HAS SPOKEN. If you mess with the profits of our drug cartels again, we will personally have the Feds plant fake coke on each citizen of California and arrest. Illegal drugs = profitable drugs. Let's keep it that way chumps

Terry- the problem is, the moment we allow Big Pharma to take cannabis, extract/synthesize the THC-9 and put it into a f--king pill, we will have essentially removed the very aspects of natural herbal use that make it far safer to consume than practically any other pharmaceutical.

Ask any naturalist or herbalist, they will explain that Mother Nature provides for balance in all things, and that by taking any specific chemical or phytonutrient out of its natural context, we severely throw off the natural balance that comprises the complex web of the Earth.

For example, there are many wild plants that grow in my state (Maine) that make wonderful, safe teas, tinctures or poultices. These same plants are safe to consume, and have been for thousands of years, but the moment you extract the 'active compound', the substance becomes toxic and even lethal. But this does happen when the plant is left in its natural state.

I have stated for many years that tobacco would not cause nearly as much harm as it does if society would simply grow the plant, harvest the leaves, dry them out, and smoke them in a pipe. I'm NOT saying it would be completely harmless, but when you let Big Tobacco f--k up the product by the relentless and criminal addition of practically every harmful toxin known to man, people are gonna DIE!

So my fear is that if we allow cannabis to be "pharmaceuticalized", we will inevitably see the rise of illness and death by those who are fooled into consuming this product. By allowing only pharmacies to distribute the product, we will open the pathway for the eventual Big Pharma takeover.

Keep it pure. Keep it natural. God didn't give us this wonderful plant so we could strip it to the core and bastardize His beautiful creation.

I support the full legalization of cannabis, to be regulated like alcoholic beverages. I also support the notion of our federal government staying the Hell out of our lives!

Amazingly stupid!!

The Obama Administration needs to reel in these idiots. How many of these AGs are left overs from the Bush Administration? Time to clean house!

Ask your doctor about the risks of EATING pot. There aren't any. That's straight from a doctor's mouth.

Absolutely dumb as hell! Now the cartels will have more of a reason to bring weed to the US. Legalize, tax, and leave us alone.

Toasty McGrath @ 1.7

In the case of Alabama, Thlix, the Federal Gov is protecting people's constitutional rights.

That's it's JOB

No their not. The Federal Governent is not protecting the people's constitutional rights, but rather running over the people's, as in the legal law-abiding Citizens, constitutional rights, by choosing to harbor people that are infringing on the those rights. The only constitutional rights the illegal aliens in Alabama as well as Arizona, or any other state in the U.S., laws allow is for them to be treated humanly, and be removed from this country in which they broke the Federal laws to gain entry. The Federal Government is guilty of trampling on U.S. Citizens rights by allowing foreign invaders that threatned our country to come here and remain.

Tea aisle that is where I get my coffee addiction. Good place for THC right next to some caffeine. Two aisles over Meth shake and bake ingredients. Pharma aisle

Look if someone wants to get something they can. One way or another. My two addictions are Caffeine and Nicotine. So I say we all have a crutch. Why is one illegal and the others not. Alcohol is legal as well.

So much for free at last and the rest of the 60's 70's movements.

MasonInMW - BS! Feds are doing this - straight up. Don't start the blame game. The buck stops with whose at the helm, and ours is turning out to be 'the change we didn't want'. Spin crap on your own time. Time to legalize drugs, peace, liberty, sound money. Ron Paul. I'm joiniing the Revolution. This is total crap! And how come our soldiers aren't home? BS!

mon glas you stated

U.S. Citizens rights by allowing foreign invaders that threatned our country to come here and remain.

Um we have always allowed that ask a Native American. I know I am one :-)

I know it sounds bad, because I'm not trying to advocate violence, but...

If I were a dispensary owner, and the feds tried coming in through the door to confiscate my supply, wouldn't I be in my rights to shoot them?

Firstly, I was operating within the states laws, so they have no actual legal basis for trespassing in my business(especially since, to even walk in the door you MUST be an MMJ card carrier, which, obviousy they won't be).

Secondly, I am protecting my business assets from an unlawful robbery.

I'm sure there are other reason why this could be a legitimate action. Of course there are moral issues first, and secondly, it would be suicidal, shooting a fed would guarantee a manhunt, even if you did it on the grounds of self-defense.

Again I'm not trying to condone violence of any kind here, just running a few possible scenarios through my head. The best actual idea I heard in another thread on this, was, the state police could arrest the federals, once they confiscate some pot, for violating state law, of posession without having an mmj card. That would be an awesome step foward for Cali, of course not very likely, just sounds like a fantastic idea.

Anyways, i'd like to hear from everyone, why or why not, on my idea, a businessman calling out the feds illeagal seizures as being a theft and defending the business assets. Maybe non-lethal force would be better, taser the feds to subdue them while they are attempting to seize it, then put them in cuffs and hand them over to police/state police under citizens arrest as theives! (of course, if the attempt to subdue the fed fails, it would be HELL for the busines owner...)

Pick and choose again.

Shut down those which are close to "schools" and let the rest stay open.

If the Feds are going to do anything, don't slect and chose......Shut ALL of them DOWN.

Or, is this another (i.e., PSA testing) "get ready" for ObamaCare where all Health related issues come under government control.

Mon glas, tell me what the government is "refusing" to do to stop illegal immigration? Go on, I'll wait.

You don't stop it by violating peoples' constitutional liberties, MG, and that's EXACTLY what Alabama is trying to do.

I am a small caregiver/grower/patient and I agree that something needs to be done about these greedy ones that are taking advantage and making millions. Screw the dispensaries.

The Federal government is out of control and just plain corrupt.

I voted for President Obama but on this day I'm sorry I did, even Bush didn't pull this kind of draconian stunt. Unfortunately Obama appears to be a right-wing republican and not a Democrat... certainly NOT a liberal.

This is a sad day for liberty in America.

If you're illegal, your constitutional liberties are an illusion, you should know that.

What the hell does it matter if they are close to schools? People can't use the product on the premises, nor can children buy any. How is that any different than a supermarket, which all sell hard liquor in California? Besides, the whole concept of 'not near schools' is pointless anyway, kids are generally supervised at schools, yet hang out at malls and many other places unsupervised. Children WILL be near a locked building that sells a product they are not allowed to have, so?

RON PAUL 2012! Vote for states rights and your rights as an individual

Hey Toasty; Protecting WHAT peoples constitutional rights? Those people who sneak into the country like burglars in the mid of the night? Those people who have no constitutional rights since they are NOT citizens? Right's of U.S. citisens are vested solely in U.S. citizens, Not those who sneak into the country. Just as your rights end at the U.S. border.

It is something going on. It is a shame that the answer is in front of everyone as far as to create jobs boost the economy,stop the rush to our borders by illeagals and cartel decrease the nonviolent criminals in jail (which we foot much of the bill to house these people,they go in for use and selling and come out killers ).

Why are we so stupid, and why do we want to control everything down to what goes on tv. Make it legal and solve many problems.

But the people who work this drug war would lose out on the overtime they are killing us on. Go after the real drugs, pot is not what they should be after,it's the coke heroin crack meth all the stuff that is more less man made or created. to try to say it is bad is a farse!!!!

Pot was made illegal off of propaganda and it became a way of life for the asses who ruled our country, how are we so many controled by so few who force upon us laws and rules that they make up on the fly? We just go with it because it's always been this way. Bull sish there are plenty of americans that want what is right!!! Why is it we cant come together and make the people we put in power do the work that we require them to do!!! Cant we make up reasons to make a change if they do nothing but make money and keep us in ruin!!!

America , I think if we want to legalize pot it should get done, i am tired of some ass decideing for me what I want and what I am allowed to have.

Just to kill what we the people want because it does not benifit them or what they are trying to acomplish with their time in office!!!! Damnit they work for us, we gave them the power and we should take it away, they do nothing for us but take our money and lose our money and run and ruin our lives. Think about that folks. And we cant get past what side your on left or right , bullshis damnit get past the stupid shis and realize we have no power, we dont control a damned thing , we dont run shis but our damned mouths about nonsense,the whole while these people dont give a fck about us or what we want!!!!!! Come on are you all serious!!!! We all live in this country together most of us in the same kind of neighborhoods there are a small percentage of us who can be concidered rich or well off,that small percentage is who runs us who tells us what for and we let it happen because we would rather be blind to the fact , or we are afraid to let what we realy think come out to those who follow the norm of society,and the norm is not what works for this country right now, stand up man we are no better off than a country run by a dictator, we have a whole faction of dictators who are on their own plans that is our congress , our senate,and our whitehouse.

All of these people we put in power and they aint doing dick!!!!!

It's not one person it takes a whole group of people to make the government work. and a whole group to make it not work in fact they are stealing money and it is a crime because we are paying those fat paychecks to people who aint doing a m f'ing thing for us. We have people willing to ruin and end the lives of millions just to try to make their political point instead of making shis right and some of you fckers wanna fight for them!!!! WTF!!!!! Get your head outta your asses and your hands outta our pockets and fix this fcking country,legalize this shis and get the economy going sorry assed mth fckrs ,cause im tired of the same old song and dance, our kids are left with this bullshis along with trying to take care of our stupid asses once we need them to help us!!!!

alim-2810059: Who's blaming anybody? You're blaming the "feds", while I was just postulating a scenario. Do you honestly think that the POTUS is personally involved and responsible for every federal action? If that were the case, we would be living under a dictatorship, not a democracy.

You can jab your finger in any direction you want, at any and all perceived enemies and/or culprits; that's your prerogative. The simple fact of the matter is, if you let emotion get in the way of your intellect and reasoning then you'll never be able to look at the broader scope of things and, therefore, come to a reasoned and rational conclusion.

Is this the hope and change you VOTED FOR. Obammy has burned bridges with EVERY group that has supported him. But I will bet you libs will drink some more of the toxic juice and vote for him again. So sad.

You don't stop it by violating peoples' constitutional liberties, MG, and that's EXACTLY what Alabama is trying to do.

How can you be violating someone's civil liberties when they aren't even legal US citizens.

Kudos to the Alabama Governor for doing the job that the Feds are suppose to be doing. Apparently we need to start laying off the Feds since they aren't really doing much to protect the US citizens of this once great nation of ours.

Toasty,

Obviously you need to read the law to know what is in it. All the Alabama law does is monitor the illegals and require employers to verify ID. There is nothing unconstitutional in the law..it removes zero ability of the FED gov to do its job. It is just monitoring

This has been in the works since California compiled its numbers.

Also Georgia AZ and Bama have these laws now. Fifteen more ar ein process of passing them. It will be a civil war if the Fed goes in and tries to reverse it.

DC, IL, and maybe Ca vs the rest of the USA.

and do you know why Bama is compiling numbers?

In about 3 years after numbers are compiled Alabama will sue the Fed Gov for not doing its job.

That is why the Fed Gov is shatting Bricks right now. You can bank on that.

What a bummer, man!!

Cheech and Chong

"The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives last month ruled that medical marijuana patients sanctioned by states cannot legally possess firearms."

This is what should scare you more then anything. This is blatantly against the second amendment. That is like saying to a cancer patient on chemo you aren't allowed to have a second amendment right. This is against the law. A felon loses their rights and are marginally considered a citizen. Are you going to tell me that a glaucoma patient is a felon now?

Keep voting for liberals and keep losing your RIGHTS. Is this not a conflict of interest???

What if this is a President Obama rope-a-dope where he advocates for cracking down on medical marijuana so that his political opponents introduce a bill in support legalizing it. Then he just signs it.

Probably not. But that would actually be pretty awesome.

AHHH the old jedi mind trick

it all come down to profit , they just need too line the pockets and the Fed will look other way again

First Alabama's immigration law has nothing to with this issue, second people are acting as though police officers are rounding up people on the streets to check their id. The law says they can check immigration status and add the charge only after someone has already been arrested on another charge.

This is from an Alabama newspaper (The Gadsden Times) reguarding the first case where the law was used. Since so many think the law is anti Mexican you might want to look up where Yemen is (hint, it's not even in the same hemisphere as Mexico)

"Mohamed Ali Muflahi, 24, on Friday was arrested during a drug raid at a home on Madison Avenue and charged with obstructing a government operation. While being booked in at the Etowah County jail, he told jail officials he is from Yemen and was not in the country legally, Sheriff Todd Entrekin said. (adding)...the immigration law does not allow officers to check someone’s status unless he or she first is arrested on some other charge. He said anyone who does not have documentation, such as a driver’s license, to verify citizenship status can be arrested."

The wall street protesters will really be PISSED OFF now.

I live in So Cal... I know MANY growers, patients and the likes and I am a medical card holder.

Concerning Obama... he just lost the biggest state ... Obama is a joke and I was in my twenties when Carter was elected and have lived through many presidents, both republican and democrat. All parties aside Obama is not a good president and has a seriously social agenda.

Every person I personally know who voted for Obama last round is NOT voting for him this round.

I know so many small growers (dozens) who do not sell to anyone but close friends and then add in the dispensaries and there is NO way they are going to stop marijuana now.

It is Simple. Dupont (corporation) invents NYLON. Rope was almost exclusively made from HEMP. Dupont lobbied (those damn corporate lobbyist again) and Hemp was classified as a drug and outlawed. End of story.

When our first government was formed and our independence occured our fore-fathers announced that america will gain it's independence from England by growing hemp. It is well documented.

Stop reading the news and know your history and what corporations have done to your nation and laws.

....for all the rhetoric, I give you Thomas Jefferson:

"‎Some of my finest hours have been spent on my back veranda, smoking hemp and observing as far as my eye can see."
— Thomas Jefferson

This nation was BORN on Hemp period, and corporations outlawed it.

...and President Lincoln...

"Two of my favorite things are sitting on my front porch smoking a pipe of sweet hemp, and playing my Hohner harmonica." - Abraham Lincoln (from a letter written by Lincoln during his presidency to the head of the Hohner Harmonica Company in Germany)

Oh...and ERIC HOLDER - you can suck my left nut!

Haha, nice one car556. See? We're all on the same side after all...

Another awesome thing that probably won't happen would a unified Tea Party/OWS protest--to the consternation of politicians/talking heads/fat cats/union leaders alike.

Yes +1

Arizona doesn't, Mark. Not any more.

So Obama and the Justice Department is now in the pockets of big Pharm. Even in the article, it pointed out that people should get their MJ from "pharmacies." We don't need pharmacies. We don't need Big Pharm. It is an herb. An herb that no one has OD'd on. This is about campaign contributions and lies. Once again, Obama have thrown the disabled, sick, and elderly under the bus. Why isn't alcohol prescribed? More teens die from alcohol poisoning than from MJ. Why don't they take away the guns of people who are prescribed narcotics? They are just as impaired, if not more so, than MJ users. This is a sick attempt at getting donations from big pharm and trying to secure the vote of conservatives. Won't happen. Will never vote for an incumbent. This Congress and President are as bad as it gets--store bought, off the rack politicians that don't give a cr@p about the American people.

Do you guys understand the legal concept of "Preemption"?

Incorrect again toasty. It has been delayed going into law until it completes the federal appeals court process. The law is not dead but in a delayed state as of now.

@Toasty -In the case of Alabama, Thlix, the federal government is protecting peoples' constitutional rights. That's it's JOB.

Oh? I agree its the Federal Governments job to protect peoples constitutional rights.

But its also their Job to enforce the Laws that the US Congress wrote, a the US President signed. Until such a time Congress repeals the law, or the Supreme court declares it unconstitutional.

The Federal government is meant to follow its laws. NOT pick and chose which laws they want to enforce. If they Don't like a law? Think its no longer applicable, or necessary.

Then Ask Congress to change it or revoke it! Ask the Supreme Court to decide if the law is unconstitutional, and revoke it.

A quick and most basic rundown of How our Federal Government is set up -

Legislative branch - make the laws

Judical Branch - making sure the Laws hold up to the US Constitution.

Executive branch - Enforces the Laws congress passed.

Again, that's very basic. but a good summation.

Here, we have a Branch of Government -The Executive Branch - basically picking and choosing what it wants laws to enforce, what Laws to Challenge via the Judaical Branch, and Which laws they are going to largely Ignore (for what ever excuse they want to give)

THAT IS NOT THIER JOB! They are to ENFORCE the laws the US Citizens, Elected Repersentives created, passed and signed!

not decide what Laws they want to follow. You try deciding what Federal Laws you want to ignore, and see if they don't do their best to explain, YOU don't have a choice what Laws to obey. You Break the Laws they WANT to enforce and they Catch you? they will arrest you, put you on trial and do everything they can to put you in Jail.

Seem like the Systems getting a Little out of whack. It seems One Branch is getting a bit to powerful. and That's Extremely Dangerous.

Deportations are up and crime is down. So pray tell, Thlix, what is it you specifically say the federal government is "refusing" to do to enforce the law? And don't give me that bull@!$%# "they're refusing to enforce the law" line. Give me something specific.

• In Colorado, which also allowed medical marijuana, the Treasury Department is requiring that banks close accounts of legal medical marijuana businesses.

I wonder under what law the Treasury department is allowed to do this? It sure isn't in the constitution

• The IRS says dispensaries may not deduct standard business expenses such as payroll, security or rent. "The result will be closure of the most well regulated dispensaries and loss of millions of dollars in tax revenue for local governments," the group stated.

By the way, a little government 101...the IRS is under the adminstration of the Treasury Department as well. If these businesses are set up as partnerships, corps, sub-s corps, then they should have all the same rights to cost expenditure deductions as any other company. How is this allowed?

• The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives last month ruled that medical marijuana patients sanctioned by states cannot legally possess firearms.

...and you guessed it...the administrative functions of the ATF also still fall under the DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY....which it appears now can ignore the Second Amendment.

I have no idea how Timothy Geithner, the Secretary of the Treasury, can continue to have a job.

Is there any wonder that Geithner, the IMF and Fed ex-employee who would have personal interests in seeing marijuana controlled by publically traded companies, is doing this?

This is what you get when you vote for big government over states rights.

Geithner, and the Department of the Treasury are part of the executive branch and under Obama. This blatent abuse and disregard for US Law is a consistant theme with this administration. Geithner should have been standing before a senate committee and facing charges years ago, but instead, he continues to hold what is becoming one of the most powerful positions in the United States.

I love when my posts get collapsed. Means the truth hurts. Suck it!

And it is an easy truth to comprehend that people don't...you know, that we live in a country of laws. Welcome to being older than 3.

Toasty - how about when Obama said "I have told ICE not to concentrate on deporting illegal immigrants that have not broken the law, but rather to deport the ones that are criminals."?

As for the deportation numbers being up - that's because the administration is counting the people turned away or caught at the border as "deportations".

Ok.. because you asked so nicely.

Firstly I Don't Blame Obama solely. I Blame the Whole Executive Branch all the way back to Reagan and his Amnesty. (and all the buracrats who work in it

But Yea, I'm very happy Deportations are up..

But with an Estimated 11 million Illegal Aliens in the Country.

And an Estimated 500,000 entering the nation Illegally each year.

They Deported 393,000 (all take that number even if some dispute it saying its not actual deportions)

The Estimates of total and crossing are from washington post. Number deported from Huffington post. Some other sources place the estimates put at TWICE these numbers, but i figured these sources.. are libiral enough for the left to accept as Valid sources.)

So.. Federal Government Deported a little over 3.572 percent, Of the Estimated 11 million Illegal Immigrantes in the country.

And They Deported 107,000 LESS then the Estimated number who came here Illegally, during that same year.

Does that sound like they are really making all that big of an effort to enforce the law does it? I mean.. While Deportations are 'up' The total number of Illegal Immigrants when up too..

So yea I think its fairly reasonable they are by and large ignoreing the law and doing only the bear minium nessary to give the impression they are doing "Really enforceing the law'

The key words here are phamiceutical the toes of lilly miller and the rest want to make the big bucks. The big farms they speak about sending pot across state lines I am betting it was sent to the other 15 legal states to be sold legaly. Then they say selling drugs 1000 feet from children areas well better bust walgeens and rite aid and the countless pharmaceys across america. There is narcotics being sold out of them that is being abused by children. The medicine cabinet abuse that was in the news not to long ago. It is big busness that is behind this crack down. The Tucker auto plant was shut down in the same manner by the big three Ford, General motors, and crysler. I am betting lilly miller and the rest are gearing up to make oil to be placed in pill form. That way it can be sold across from your schools and playgrounds under the guise of walgreens

Somebody above commented on:

"The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives last month ruled that medical marijuana patients sanctioned by states cannot legally possess firearms."

Let's remember the last time the legal government of this country came to take our firearms, if I recall, we shot back at Lexington and Concord. It's time to take back our country from the jerks that run it, by whatever means necessary.

Back to the original comment (#1.0):

You didn't see this coming back in 1864? Argue all you like about which States' rights may or may not have been the real reason underlying secession, the bottom line is that the Federal government stepped in and stepped ON the States back then and they're not going to stop voluntarily now.

Anyone starting to get that yet?

I am for legalizing marijuana. I am not for medical marijuana. If you legalize marijuana then there is no need for so called medical marijuana. Is there?

"The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives last month ruled that medical marijuana patients sanctioned by states cannot legally possess firearms."

This is the most absurd thing I have read yet about this entire scenario. What do people think cannabis is...... some hallucinogenic drug that will make people act out of control? People drinking alcohol are more of threat to society than cannabis WOULD EVER BE! The Federal government is most definitely misrepresenting and exaggerating to true nature of cannabis. Whose benefit does this serve?

We Democrats are ready to come in numbers to the National Convention and Boo this administration and our own Democratic leaders for their two faced mindset on freedom and their belief when it comes to controlling the American citizens' life!!!!

I mean these so-called leaders just don't get it.
Maybe if I speak to them like this they will then began to get the picture...

"Ogbbda shrreeuivete Kkkkkrrrrrrr BARNEY."

This is the very reason why having only a few people representing many doesn't work!!!!

YOU CAN't REPRESENT FOR ME!!!!!

ONLY I CAN!!!!

Especially these non thinking individuals who only care for themselves.....

So, federal government if you are married to each of us citizens who disagree this will cause us to divorce you!!!
You can't force us to continue to take this crap!!!!!

Obama and Democratic leaders we will be at the convention to boo you and how two faced you are....
Especially if we voters do not see an improvement in the mindset of each of you concerning our Rights as Citizens to Personal Choice!!!!

We are really are starting to lean in favor of Ron Paul!!!

Pot will not be legalized. Period, end of story. IF there was a majority of people who wanted it to be legal, one of the thousands of political whores would have run a campaign with that as a cornerstone. There are still enough people in this country who do NOT want it legal. Not gonna happen.

Sorry to crack your crystal ball GVOVERNMENT ISSUE but,
times a changed old timer!!!!

WE AREN'T GOING TO CONTINUE TO TAKE THIS CRAP!!!

The government is going to lose due to it being the information age and their information on this subject is bogus!!!

It is also the Age Of The Real and BS everywhere including on this subject will be put to rest!!!
Right Now, if a political official is on the wrong side of this and other subjects regarding the rights of American Citizens they will lose in their next election!!!!!

PERIOD!!!!

So gov't Issue, your mindset is archaic as well....

These places shouldn't be with out a doubt around schools and children. Hide them like a dentist office, ok with that !

It has been shown conclusively that marijuana is not addictive and is less harmful to health than alcohol or tobacco, two drugs sanctioned by the U.S. government. What kind of stupidity is this? Are we living in a country with government of and by the people or a country run by idiots appointed by morons? I can't believe the powers that be have opened this battle between the people and their own representatives. it is utterly stupid and unecessary.

The only ones who have constitutional coverage are those that are citizens and legal immigrants not as toasty is stating below!

Where he gets his info from is wrong.

Its not violating peoples rights because that is what the majority of voters wanted. Another state having to enforce a federal law the the feds reuse to enforce.

"Toasty McGrath

First off, Nico, ALL persons on US soil or in US custody have constitutional protection. Period.

And even if that suddenly stopped being the case, this Alabama bill still violates the constitutional rights of American citizens. And as one of the federal government's jobs is to protect the rights of American citizens, the feds are just doing their job.

If you don't like it, whine to Alabama. Tell them to try writing laws that don't violate the constitution."

Do you think maybe the big drug companies want to push out the independent growers to open the way for them to to monopolize the market for them selves, one thing I do agree on is some form of control of the growing and sales of the the product at the state level ( not the Federal ) keep the moronic ATF&E out of it when a federal agency can think it has the right to counter the constitution and make policy stating you can not have your constitutional rights that agency needs to go. Obama just can't seem to get anything right any more( if he ever did ) I had a US Marshal tell me long ago that those idiots ( The ATF ) should not be allowed to carry a gun. I think that's true and they also should not assume the have the right to say who gets to have there constitutional rights and who doesn't. its not for them to say.

Arrest this prosecutor for treason. She is attempting to reduce American citizens to Absolute despotism under the multi-national oil corporations.

Oil? they don't give a damn about pot, where are you coming from. there may be a story here but it doesn't have anything to do with Oil. maybe drug companies, pharmacies, the drug cartels, Federal control, insurance companies or just the government trying to distract you from what they are doing elsewhere, you know a diversion. why do you think Oil is always the guilty one. I think its time to piss test our government and see what drugs they are on. they force it on us, we should demand it of them. there has to be a reason they have things so screwed up. They mess with Wash & Calif. DC has the same law why aren't they in the news is it because that's where the politicians get there pot.

Maybe the Federal government has a fear of cannabis interfering with the sales of alcohol and all the crime that goes with it. Not good for the lawyers, courts, etc..

NVA, that isn't "refusing" to enforce the law, it's concentrating our limited resources on fighting dangerous criminals. Saving lives, NVA.

Pho Yo Npho
It has been shown conclusively that marijuana is not addictive and is less harmful to health than alcohol or tobacco, two drugs sanctioned by the U.S. government. What kind of stupidity is this? Are we living in a country with government of and by the people or a country run by idiots appointed by morons? I can't believe the powers that be have opened this battle between the people and their own representatives. it is utterly stupid and unecessary.

Actually, no we're not. I'm not sure exactly when over the years it happened, but it became most apparent in 2000, that our country was no longer run by a government run of and by the people. In case you need a refresher, that was when Bush2 lost the election, but his corporate puppet masters convinced the Supreme Court that the election was invalid because of a miscount in one state, so the Supreme Court then decided to put the corporate puppets in the POTUS seat instead. Notice how EVERY SINGLE LAW that has been changed since then, favors the corporations in one way or another, and either hurts, or at least does nothing to help We The People? Nothing you or I as citizens can do anymore makes a single bit of difference to our government, they follow only the string-pulls of their corporate lobbyists now.
Well, except for Ron Paul, he is the only one that would stand for US, the citizens, and stand against the current corrupt government. google him and you'll see what I mean.

oil companies are afraid of legalization because with legalization of marijuana comes legalization of hemp, which can be used to replace all fossil fuel use and can be used to replace all oil-based products such as plastic (bags and computer covers to car panelings as well as thousands of other oil-based products out there...not sure, but I think makeup is oil based?)...not to mention all coal use for electrical power plants...so the mining industry is against it as well...as well as the logging industry (papers and construction materials like particle boards, cement, etc...) ...and nearly every big company out there that stands to lose profits due to legalization...such as big pharma, big alcohol, tobacco...etc...

Hemp is already a product has been for a long time expanding the use of it wont hurt the oil industry plus we can do all that with forest products.(polyester) just how much pot do you think growers are going to grow? do you really think it can replace big oil and fossil fuels get real you are living in a fantasy world.

I'm wondering if it's SOP for the community to collapse comments they don't agree with... Why were Derek's comment #1.6, Toasty's comments #'s 1.7 and 1.43, and my comment #1.25 collapsed? No CoH violations... Could it be that people don't like reading things they don't agree with?

Yes, I believe that just may be the case.

Probably because this article and discussion is about marijuana dispensaries, it has nothing to do with illegal immigration.

MasonInMW,

I completely agree. Good comments by the way. I never could have imagined there would be so many Republican pot smokers. Really? They are the ones calling every one at occupy wall street, dirty, stoners? And all people on welfare are lazy stoners. And Republicans have traditionally been the party that is tough on drugs, Remember the Republican hero Reagan started the War on Drugs. I find it hard to believe these people are for real. Paid re-regs for the right wing maybe.

Actually FlyingEnergy it was Nixon that started the "War" on drugs. It was Reagan who started D.A.R.E. which just lied to the kids about drugs.

Actually, Nixon coined the term, "war on drugs". But if you want to be a stickler about when it started, it was the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act of 1914.

I still don't understand why there are all these Republican pot activists. It doesn't make sense. Liberal, means you are for individual freedoms. Conservative, means your for Religious and moral conservation of the status quo.

Yes Toasty that is refusing to enforce the law. If someone is here illegally and the pres. says "don't deport them" (deporting them is the law) then he is refusing to uphold the law and is in violation of the oath he took when sworn in as the president.

Peel Layer, #1.73

Now that's a first. I didnt know at 40 I was considered an 'old timer'. If you say so junior. My point, had you bothered to read my post, was that pot will not be legalized in this country. The ONLY possibility is if a politician thinks he can get enough voters behind him to run his campaign on that issue alone....then other political whores will have to get behind it also. But alas, it's NOT GONNA HAPPEN.

Since this is the age of 'the real' as you put it....here is some reality...until the majority of people in this country want it legal, its not gonna be legal.

FlyingEnergy
Actually, Nixon coined the term, "war on drugs". But if you want to be a stickler about when it started, it was the Harrison Narcotics Tax Act of 1914.

I still don't understand why there are all these Republican pot activists. It doesn't make sense. Liberal, means you are for individual freedoms. Conservative, means your for Religious and moral conservation of the status quo.

I don't quite understand it either, I have always seen myself as a liberal, and because of that, I have always respected and honored our freedoms granted to us by the Constitution. But then a week ago last Friday, when Obama announced that they assasinated a US-born citizen overseas, without due process, and the thing that really got to me, is how many so called liberals, weren't completely outraged!!! The same so-called liberals that were saying this criminal that was executed didn't deserve it, he got his days in court, in fact I think it was 3 or 4 different trials he got, and he was found guilty at each one, even the Supreme Court reviewed his case, and said go ahead with the execution. How can you be upset about one that got his days in court, and was executed after being found guilty, yet not OUTRAGED that another NEVER got the chance to go to court, and was executed, without judge nor jury? A complete double standard there.

Whether he was a terrorist or not, doesn't matter, he was first and foremost a US citizen, and therefore, he had as much Constitutional right to his day in court as any of us do. To deny him of that, is against everything I was ever taught about my forefathers, against everything that our Land of Liberty stands for. Then I started listening to Ron Paul, the only one standing up on this position from the same viewpoint I was having, and he is also saying that states should have the right to choose whether marijuana, or other drugs should be legal or not, not the Federal government. Everything he says seems to speak to me. He stands for the Constitution first and foremost! Yet, for some strange reason, he's running on the GOP ticket??? He says he is a libertarian. Well, last time I checked, liberal and liberty have the same root word. So, I can say, without a doubt, he's got my vote, as a liberal!

Government Issue and Peel Layer: if you ask me (which, okay, you haven't), I think it WILL be legalized, but not soon, and not with the current strategy people are working with. The same pseudo-science arguments that have been failing since like the seventies are not working and they're not going to work. What would work is an organized and well-thought out campaign, along with hard science and reliable studies people can point to for medical, pragmatic, and economical support for their argument.

Just saying, "studies show it's not addictive" sounds a little bit underinformed. Which studies? Did you read that in a news article, a science journal, or did you just hear it from your friend?

how bout this...lets look at the withdrawal symptoms, which are definitely indicators of addiction to marijuana. believe me, if you go through withdrawal, you'll do anything to stop the withdrawal process, maybe even get down onto your knees to do some sucky sucky, just for relief, right? that's addiction, for sure, right? ok, so let's look at the withdrawal symptoms...

Cannabis "Withdrawal" Syndrome Short-Lived, Affects Few, Study Says

Symptoms associated with so-called "cannabis withdrawal" among marijuana "dependent" subjects are relatively mild, short-lived, and "may only be expected in a subgroup of ... patients," according to the results of a prospective clinical study to be published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

A 1999 review by the US National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine reported that marijuana's withdrawal symptoms, when identified, are typically "mild and subtle" compared to the profound physical and psychological syndromes associated with most other intoxicants, including alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19783382

wow...caffeine withdrawal is more profound than marijuana's...and caffeine doesn't even come close to alcohol, illicit hard drugs, or even prescription drugs...hmm...and all symptoms last for about a week or less...yeah, sounds real addictive and dangerous.

What withdrawl symptoms? I can smoke every day for months at a time, and if I get too tolerant (or I run out), I stop for a month or more, sometimes I don't smoke again for a year, I've never had any sort of withdrawl. If I get bored or something, I might say "it would be nice to get high right now" but that's it. Withdrawl from weed is a total lie. I do get headaches when I haven't yet had any caffeine for the day at midmorning though, I need my iced tea or cocacola!

ILLEGAL DRUGS = PROFITABLE DRUGS. Let's help protect the violent Mexican drug cartels by keeping marijuana illegal and therefore expensive and profitable. Dear California - succeed from the union while you still can

Dear Mack, the word is "secede".

Mr. raj;

Clearly you understood the meaning, why be an ass hole?

No matter how you want to spell it ALL of the states that have legalized should secede from the union.

KNW,

You can get THC in a pill form and it is legal in all 50 states and at the federal level. Nobody has been able to find any scientific evidence that pot is better than pure THC unless your aim is to abuse it recreationally. It sucks as a high but it works great for pain relief and appetite stimulation/nausea suppression.

Mack,

The drug cartels will keep making money even if pot is legalized. They make a ton of their money from cocaine and heroin. To legalize these two drugs would bring far too much ill upon society to be worth it.

@ Pragmatic-

The pill contains only one compound from the plant, which is standardized to a certain amount. What if that size (i.e). milligrams is too much?

So on your second point, we shouldn't legalize and regulate pot because more harmful substances will still be available?

taxpayer,

Dosage can easily be adjusted. I am a scientist and I go by evidence. Evidence is that THC is the active compound responsible for the medicinal benefits. I have not seen any studies that say the crude form is any better than the pure form. We have only heard anecdotes. Since the pure form isn't good for recreational use and is currently legal nationwide, why not just prescribe that? Why do something the feds consider illegal rightly or wrongly?

On my second point, if the aim of legalizing pot is to cut funding to drug cartels, this approach will fail. They will still make lots of money selling drugs that are far worse.

KNW...They said they weren't going after them "initially." They are going after their firearms as we speak. If you went thru the state's legal process, then your name is on a list and they can come and confiscate your weapons and property anytime they choose to do so. The grower here was a small rancher and in compliance with state law--They have never returned his hunting rifles.

@ Pragmatic- How can the dosage be easily adjusted if the pill only comes in 2 different dosage amount?

http://www.drugs.com/marinol.html

http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6635

http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.additional-resource.php?resourceID=000224

Anecdotes? for thousands of years:http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28034925/

On your second point, why would call a less harmful partial "success" a (complete) failure? Less funding for cartels is just that, less funding.

The drug you are referring to is called Marinol and a physician must be specially certified to write an Rx for it...Your local GP cannot. It also hasn't been proven to be particularly effective in all cases--especially for nausea because the patient often throws it up before it has time to work. The drug is irrationally expensive and sometimes not covered by insurance. Why not just make your own tincture out of the real thing if you have lung problems? It is an herb. No need to incur the expense of Big Pharm. That is what this is all about...Isn't it?

@ Pragmatic- one more resource of information on historic use:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_cannabis

Taxpayer,

Have you ever split a pill? Who says the dosage can't be adjusted at the manufacturing level? As for the second point, depriving a drug cartel of a source of income means they will simply turn to another source of income. Maybe it will be meth, maybe it will be kidnapping. Alone it isn't a good reason to legalize pot. By that logic we should legalize heroin, cocaine, and pot together to really hit em where it hurts. And even then they will make money. The demand will still be there. In fact, demand will increase because legality and availability are two things that prevent people from using drugs in the first place.

Colorblind

Who says we can't give injections of the stuff? When someone is in extreme pain we don't make them smoke opium, we give them a shot of morphine. When someone needs antibiotics, we give them a pill, we don't give them some moldy hunks of salted meat. It is a controlled dose given in an efficient manner. That is medicine. Smoking up is all well and good if you don't have access to modern medicine. We have access to modern medicine. Marinol is FDA approved. You get it in a controlled dosage. That is how medicine works. The point of nausea is taken, but an injection would mitigate this in addition to providing relief faster than vaporization or smoking. The point of physicians is taken, but with skepticism. It is a schedule III drug, same as Vicodin. The point about big pharma is also taken, however if all this social change was directed at lowering the price of the drug or making insurance cover it, I bet it would be successful. We are talking about the best way to improve the quality of life of legitimately sick people who are suffering, not sticking it to The Man for the sake of sticking it to The Man.

And who would give the injection and why? Injections are invasive and sometimes painful. Those that are immunocompromised could get infections easily, such as a patient dieing of AIDS. The point is, there is no need for metered doses and the interference of big pharm in this situation. It has been used for thousands of years without any documented overdoses. Why are you supporting the FDA so avidly when they are the ones that have approved drugs that have later been found to cause birth defects, suicides, psychosis, cancer, and many other ailments. MJ can be made into a tincture, put in tea and other drinks, and smoked. Where is the need to increase the price and support big corp. in this equation. There is no need for metered doses for a substance that has no overdose potential. The users use it until the symptoms are relieved or until they fall asleep. Why make problems where there are none? Do you know how long it take to get a drug approved by the FDA? Do you know how much it takes to get a drug Rx from a doctor that is self injectable? A long time is the answer. Marinol, once again, is NOT readily available--the doctor has to have certification from the state to prescribe it. My doctor only knew of one doctor in my state that had this certification. It is very expensive and known to have side effects. Why are you so stuck on this? None of this is necessary. If it doesn't work for someone, they can stop using it. They are not going to have seizures or other harsh side effects--I know. I stopped. I had trouble sleeping but that went away. That is it....Other than the fact that I live in pain everyday of my life again. Use some logic here. No need to reinvent the wheel so that big pharm can make profits. They do fine.

Well, Mr. Pragmatic, Scientist-if-you-please, How do you explain that of the hundreds of different varieties of MJ, each has its own psychoactive effect profile? That is, some are more "mental" while others are more "physical" and still others tend to stimulate creative thinking and drive. Having only one compound, THC, is a myth. There are several cannabinoids that interact with plant nutrients that produce effects across the spectrum.

THAT is Mother Nature's kitchen. Of course, if you had anything more than book propaganda to go on, you'd know this. That is precisely why Marinol is ineffective for many people, while others say it is inferior compared to the real thing. THC is one, and only one of the many compounds responsible for the medicinal qualities patients seek.

Since you are a scientist who lives and dies by evidence, you might want to go review your high school textbook where it talks about the quality of evidence, confirmation bias and other distortions of fact. See, scientific dogma fails again, because that dogma is filtered through government propaganda.

The US government policy on MJ is less than a hundred years old. Human beneficial use of MJ predates written language, and with minimal adverse effects. Certain individuals cannot use any chemical responsibly, no mater its legal status. There are people who literally get high drinking water to excess (hyponatremia). Any mental hospital worker may shed light on that. So what? MANY treatments that are "scientifically valid" do not work, yet are prescribed and sold for a profit by mainstream medicine.

Sk-nitroWv,

You are my new hero, your words are those of sweet music to my ears when read out loud.

It is artful to my site to see with my eyes. You my friend and many like us should be allowed to speak on this topic. Americans need to be educated with fact instead of propaganda, and bias, the people who started this war on pot had and still have an agenda. The answer has always been there, why is a plant that grows on it's on , and has been here since the beginning of time become public enemy #1 when they have known from the beginning that what they say about pot is not true and was and is only a ploy to cause histeria amongst society. why do we as a free country( so they say) get told what we can and cannot use to benifit ourselves and our families, I wonder? we have different branches of our government who consistently let we the people down, abuse power given to them by us for us , when realy what are they doing for us right now? I see them doing for them and their friends and financial backers to keep that cycle going , and we allow it. it makes me weak when I think about what is going on in this country , and how these people are not held accountable for their actions. Pot was put on this earth to be used by us for all of it's uses, and there are many. It is the perfect plant in every way , it can be grown anywhere it can be beaten up , twisted stepped on and still grows and provides its consumers with what is needed and then some . Greed is the reason if these people cant make money off it in some way then they want it gone and if we posses it then they take our money , our property,and they do not provide any kind of logical excuse and that insults all of our intelegence .

The effects of herbal cannabis are a composite of a number of cannabinoid compounds, terpenoids and flavonoids. Thus, cannabidiol, a constituent of herbal cannabis, may offset some δ-9-THC effects (Zuardi et al., 1995). The ratio of the constituents of herbal cannabis varies, and this may result in important differences in its net effect.
http://www.namicalifornia.org/document-detail.aspx?page=newsviews&tabb=previousnews&lang=ENG&idno=126

Cannabis, of course, is more than THC. Other ingredients provide additional benefits and mitigate the adverse effects of THC.

Cannabidiol, for example, reduces dysphoria and depersonalization provoked by THC while contributing its own anxiolytic, antipsychotic, analgesic, antiemetic, anticarcinogenic, antioxidant, and neuroprotective effects.

http://www.jaoa.org/cgi/content/full/108/10/586

also, the government knows full well the medical properties of marijuana, in fact they have a patent on the CBD compound found in marijuana, and they've known about it for over a decade now:

Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants

Abstract

Cannabinoids have been found to have antioxidant properties, unrelated to NMDA receptor antagonism. This new found property makes cannabinoids useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of wide variety of oxidation associated diseases, such as ischemic, age-related, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The cannabinoids are found to have particular application as neuroprotectants, for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke and trauma, or in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and HIV dementia. Nonpsychoactive cannabinoids, such as cannabidoil, are particularly advantageous to use because they avoid toxicity that is encountered with psychoactive cannabinoids at high doses useful in the method of the present invention. A particular disclosed class of cannabinoids useful as neuroprotective antioxidants is formula (I) wherein the R group is independently selected from the group consisting of H, CH.sub.3, and COCH.sub.3. ##STR1##

Inventors:
Hampson; Aidan J. (Irvine, CA), Axelrod; Julius (Rockville, MD), Grimaldi; Maurizio (Bethesda, MD)

Assignee:
The United States of America as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services (Washington, DC)

Appl. No.:
09/674,028

Filed:
February 2, 2001

PCT Filed:
April 21, 1999

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6630507.PN.&OS=PN/6630507&RS=PN/6630507

LOL @ Sammy, can you imagine if he had LOST?! We'd have been completely screwed!

Hey smart guy, I'm a 'pothead' as you call it, and I'd wager I'm better informed and more clear thinking than you and your smug, swaggering, judgemental lot of nincompoops taking glib potshots at anything you don't approve of.

Sammy727

Thats great a President elected by Potheads. And they wonder why we are in a mess

And who elected Baby Bush? Oh, yeah idiots.

Sammy727
Thats great a President elected by Potheads. And they wonder why we are in a mess

The right keeps electing dickheads--aka, Tea Party tax evaders.

Here is a secret guys

If you vote for either side of the bipartisan fence you are an idiot.

To declare you smoke pot and are most likely smarter than anyone else....Start by realizing you just admitted to breaking the law Einstein.

Jesus, if Americans were educated they would be dangerous.

Fred Evil;

How so? Bush used the "blind eye" ideology as far as Fed enforcement for his eight years, opting to leave these things to the states voters of a state issue. Funny how some has very selective memories. Face it, your man "said" he would work to DE-criminalize pot. Look at him now. He also said he'd end two years, not start two more, remember Libya and Yemen?, Said he'd close Gitmo, it's still running same as always. He said this he said that, he has done nothing except improve his own income. Deal with it. He will leave in his wake a whole new era of stupid prosecutions and putting people in jail for a weed. Making it more difficult for the sick and dying. What a prince.

Did obammy create these shops or was that Bush's fault. Think before you vote

It never fails, Obama is blamed for EVERYTHING, because some forget there are LAW'S in this country, and when those laws are enforced SOMEONE WILL BE AFFECTED. Those affected chose to lash out AGAINST THE ONLY NAME THEY CAN REMEMBER, BECAUSE THEIR DESIRE TO FAULT SOMEONE IS GREATEST WHEN THEY HATE THAT SOMEONE. Because a zealot many years ago the "Christian" desire to STOP PERSONAL PLEASURE resulted in the ban against marijuana. To this day the use of this NATURAL PLANT INDIGENOUS TO MANY PLACES ON EARTH has diminished pain and suffering to countless people thought history. The medical industry will appose the research of this NATURAL plant because THEY CANNOT MAKE ANY PROFIT FROM IT when it is available for everyone to grow and use. So the "religious AND the profit aspect will keep this misery saving NATURAL plant out of everyone's reach UNLESS IT IS KEPT ILLEGAL, THAT WAY THE MOST CRIMINAL TRAFFICKERS WILL CONTINUE TO REAP BILLIONS WHILE PAYING OFF THEIR POLITICAL PARTNERS. Sick people will lose again.

Obama's new policy is a complete flip. He used himself while in college. Is that called hypocrisy?

I am for legalizing marijuana. I am not for medical marijuana. If you legalize marijuana then there is no need for so called medical marijuana. Is there?

Obama, just like Bush, is nothing more than a puppet controlled by the Bankers who make billions in drug revenues annually. We can't have the bankers profits cut now can we?? The CIA admits that they fund the growers of opium in Afghanistan. Why? Because the crooks at the privately owned "Federal" Reserve own the CIA & the US military. Nothing happens without the bankers consent. And so it will go on until "We the People" stand up and say no to tyranny. The only candidate who supports elimination of the Fed is Ron Paul. The only one who supports individual liberty is Ron Paul. So why hasn't he been elected? Because the bankers influence our opinions with their corrupt news outlets. Also, because Ron Paul doesn't have what it takes to win a spot on American Idol, hair not perfect, not tall enough, too old, etc etc. It's time for people to wake up and take a stand for freedom before we all become slaves to the Rockefellers & De Rothchilds criminal cartels. "Ron Paul 2012"

truther-3878462
Obama, just like Bush, is nothing more than a puppet controlled by the Bankers who make billions in drug revenues annually. We can't have the bankers profits cut now can we?? The CIA admits that they fund the growers of opium in Afghanistan. Why? Because the crooks at the privately owned "Federal" Reserve own the CIA & the US military. Nothing happens without the bankers consent. And so it will go on until "We the People" stand up and say no to tyranny. The only candidate who supports elimination of the Fed is Ron Paul. The only one who supports individual liberty is Ron Paul. So why hasn't he been elected? Because the bankers influence our opinions with their corrupt news outlets. Also, because Ron Paul doesn't have what it takes to win a spot on American Idol, hair not perfect, not tall enough, too old, etc etc. It's time for people to wake up and take a stand for freedom before we all become slaves to the Rockefellers & De Rothchilds criminal cartels. "Ron Paul 2012"

Ron Paul is a raving lunatic. I have no desire to return to the days of no protection for labor, children in abusing homes, nor disassembling our government. I do agree with Paul on weed and wars.

sandtrich I would strongly suggest you do some actual fact checking into Ron Paul and not listen to what MSNBC and Fox News (who both dislike him immensely because it would take power away from those two corporations) try to paint him as. If you are unwilling to do your research well I don't know what else to tell you but enjoy having your freedoms slowly stripped away from you in the name of "progression".

BobB.
sandtrich I would strongly suggest you do some actual fact checking into Ron Paul and not listen to what MSNBC and Fox News (who both dislike him immensely because it would take power away from those two corporations) try to paint him as. If you are unwilling to do your research well I don't know what else to tell you but enjoy having your freedoms slowly stripped away from you in the name of "progression".

I've listened to RP on a number of occasions and I come away with some agreements but the disagreements are far greater. Our society is very complex, filled with violence and guns, allowing the medical community, religion, insurance, oil, etc are in charge. "Deregulate" is the Paul mantra that I don't understand--voiding labor of a minimum wage, eliminating educational standards and allowing the continued blurring of the separation of church and state standards. Paul? Never going to get my vote.

Steven. I like a little your comment submitted at 4:14, but this one ( 4:17 ) is kind of confusing. Made your mind :

• Is Obama SOCIALIST or KING ?

You know he can't be both of them.

What mess you are talking about ? The mess caused for the last republican inept we use to have in office ?

You know, you cannot change history. Junior received an economical surplus and when he left we have to bailout BANKS, SOME BROKERS and OTHERS.

Hey wcritiquing, how is an inept democrat better than an inept republican? We're equally screwed either way. On another note, you do realize that congress makes the budget and not the president, don't you? Additionally congress has the ability to defund a president's military actions. Stop mindlessly regurgitating meaningless propaganda and think about the facts for a minute, would you?

Agree Nonsense

Follow the Socialist Congress and see who spends us into the grave. I do not vote partisan but it is amazing that Democrat congress spends us into the hole 8x faster than a Repub. Again..they can both burn in hell. They only care about corps and not people.

@wcritiquing - I think perhaps Obama wants the illusion of a republic as well as a dictatorship (which is close to kingship) - this is the great vision of lberals drunk with powerlust - they want plebs to control, plain and simple.

Pretty much a Julius Ceasar kind of complex. Obama and liberals know what is best for the people, the people are just sheep that you must feed and keep working to justify your power and control.

As a result of fear, the people of the United States of America surrendered the republic to the liberals for a false sense of security at the great cost of liberty. Our founding fathers warned us so many times about this and we ignored them. We got weak and we took the lead liferings that FDR and LBJ threw at times when Americans were on the ropes.

well sick, Democrats aren't the ones who are telling you how to live your personal lifes neither proclaim themselves to be the 'GUARDIANS OF FAMILY VALUES".

• How do dare to call Obama inept when HE STOP OUR FREE FALL ( courtesy of the slow ex-president of yours, yes; the one who confused Iraq with Saudi Arabia ) ??

And my fellow American angryBus. The ones who surrendered the our republic ARE THE CONServatives liars you support.

• My questions still there : ARE YOU GOING TO GIVE MORE POWER TO THE SAME PEOPLE THAT STOLE YOUR SAVINGS, YOUR JOBS AND YOUR HOME ?

wc No offense but democrats and republicans have been the same hand since LBJ was in office. They may disagree on things like abortion but they all have one thing in mind. Grabbing as much power as possible while screwing the average citizen over. If you want to talk about how bad the republicans are just make sure you pay attention to some of the crud that the democrats have done to the average citizen in the name of "progress" too. Telling yourself that only one side is wrong is just helping the entire system out in the long run.

Last I checked, State law didn't trump Federal law, so no one is trampling anything.

I'm a pragmatic progressive, and I've been pretty worried about the way California has been handling pot growing all along. It's poorly regulated, which translates into an open invitation for Mexican cartels to just move up north a bit, and do business without the tricky border crossing.

If they ever get this under control, I'm sure the Federal government will step back, but as of now, even I, an advocate for legalizing pot and ending that aspect of the failed war on drugs, think that California needs to be reined in.

I am for legalizing marijuana. I am not for medical marijuana. If you legalize marijuana then there is no need for so called medical marijuana. Is there?

Sure, the bankers could tax the weed and make a lot of money. But the profits are much higher if they keep it illegal so they can monopolize the market, since the only one's getting busted are those who don't grease the palms of the fat cats who make billions annually in drug trafficking. No CIA plane or ship gets shot at while running drugs. Medical Marijuana takes the banking cartels out of the picture, and that is a huge problem when it comes to their balance sheets.

I do not vote partisan but it is amazing that Democrat congress spends us into the hole 8x faster than a Repub

If you actually believe that, you are nowhere near as informed as you think.

It's none of the Fed's business if a State passes medical marijuana laws.

That pesky Constitution, you know.

Bill, a simple question; why? I have personally smoked pot nearly every single day since I was 12 years old and still do. I am currently finishing up my Ph. D. in organometallic/physical organic chemistry with a GPA of about 3.95 over the last 7 years of my life. I work roughly 60 hours a week, and am married. Clearly marijuana has not rendered me stupid, lazy or unmotivated. Also I am 5'10'' and roughly 135 lbs, so I am not all fat from sitting around eating funions all day either. So what are the terrifying effects of marijuana that you are so opposed to?

When are you going to go after the pharmaceutical companies Bill? People sell those for a profit too. And they are far more destructive.

He is scared that we will all get hungry and raid his refridgerator. I know I will, and I am a meager 115 lbs, on 5'2 frame. I need whatever you can shove down my throat, anyway.

This is a bunch of crap. First, since when do the feds ACTUALLY do something? Just because we are taking away from the cartels is not enough to make it illegal to get it from somewhere, right? That is the only thing I can figure.

Bill Cunnane

The Feds sent memos in May to every state that has allowed medical marijuana and in that memo it clearly outlines the fact that anyone who is a large distributo or grower who operates and sells for a PROFIT will be targeted now and in the future under Federal Law. We need them to hit hard and hit often to rid our communities of those who are distributing and growing under the cover of do so for medical only reasons. They need to be shut down once and for all. If a medical patient needs to have marijuana then let a family member be registered and grow it for them. Produce just enough to support the patients needs and no more.

Horsecrap! If the Fed believes medical marijuana growers and distribution outlets are selling the stuff illegally, prosecute them...PERIOD! Just another ploy to protect the profits of big pharma.

Bigfoot

Stop smoking for 3 days and you will realize you never applied to college, your wife is actually the goats you raise out back, and your motivation is flushing the toilet after a big honking poo.

Joke

Seriously bro you are the EXCEPTION to the rule and if you are that educated you should know that to be the truth.

When I was a freshman in college I had a roommate who spent nearly every waking hour of his life stoned. He had been in 6 car wrecks while he was behind the wheel. When I asked him about why he thought that happened he said "I dunno, I guess I'm really unlucky." This is the danger of pot. Six car wrecks at age 18 and he never thought to blame the drugs! I don't know if he ever killed or injured anybody else but I certainly hope not.

Ol Doc,

The problem here is that while medicinal pot may be legal in a state, it is illegal according to federal law. This is why the state police will not make a move but the FBI will come in and bust some heads. Now THC in pill form is legal in all 50 states and under federal law with a prescription. It just isn't very fun to use.

Yeah but that eye hit is always a bummer too. LOL

6 car wreaks at the age of 18 most likely means he just doesn't pay attention, and they were likely fender benders, not wreaks. And again, if THC is legal in pill form, why not in natural state of plant form? These people are bitching about all the money that the "potheads" are making, but some how they must have forgotten about the golden rule, capitalism is supposed to be an equal opportunity fvcking on the consumer from the people who sell anything. But they just don't want to share those dollar votes with anyone who isn't them that makes the money. Amazing that the federal gov't has been cashing those tax checks from federally illegal merchandise, somewhat hypocritical, no?

Prag, so what you're telling me is that if your moron roomate didn't smoke weed he would have somehow been smarter? Sorry, man. Some people are just dumb....you can blame it on weed, but it really has very little to do with it.

And as for marinol, it doesn't really work all that well. Several studies have proven that not only is intake of the plant, whether by inhalation or consumption, much more effective, but smoking also allows for a much quicker onset of relief, often resulting in lower dosages as people tend to over-medicate when seeking a faster response time.

And to top it off, you ask any medical professional worth their weight in salt, and they'll tell you that your body will always respond better to substances in their natural state than in a chemically modified or synthesized form, i.e., Krill oil supplements vs. just eating krill. It applies to most medications as well.

Anon,

6 wrecks. The car was called a total loss each time. Daddy was pretty rich and forgiving.

Moderate,

He was a moron weed or not, but he wouldn't have been in so many wrecks had it not been for the weed. He was driving under the influence. And yes, I know you have to be a moron to do that.

Funny enough, the studies I've read in medical journals say that marinol is just as effective at pain relief, appetite stimulation, nausea supression, etc. It just sucks to get high with. You are correct that the method of intake will dictate the onset of relief, but if that's the case, why not just inject the pure substance? The onset of relief will be nearly instantaneous and there will be no need to over-medicate.

Why would your body respond to substances in their natural state better? How does your body know what is a natural state and what is not? I will give you a hint: it doesn't. Sorry man, but that is new age pseudo-science. When you are dealing with medicine, you want a consistent dose. That is how medicine works. You do not get a controlled dose in the crude form. You do not get a controlled dose ingesting by vapor or smoke. For someone who is in pain after an operation, you wouldn't have them eat a huge amount of poppy seeds or smoke opium. You'd just give them purified morphine in a controlled dose intravenously.

We are talking about medicine and helping people in serious pain improve their quality of life right? We wouldn't dream of using these people as a way of getting a favorite recreational drug legalized, right?

Here's another example of natural state vs. synthetic state: Next time when you get a sinus infection or something like it and need antibiotics, do you want the pharmacist handing you a bottle of pills or a moldy piece of salted meat?

Pragmatic- Parents that treat their children in such a manner and allow them to act in such a manner do this society much disservice, which I'm sure you would agree with.

I would completely agree with that. And you've given me a bit of enlightenment, I can certainly see how that level of cognitive dissonance could be completely the product of upbringing.

Mark-1219747:

Uh, except that Bigfoot9p6 is not an exception.

You'd be surprised how many smart, educated folks use the evil weed. Really, you would.

Unfortunately, at present, "coming out" is not only dangerous in a social sense, but also in a legal sense. In that, MJ users may have it worse than the LGBT community.

Seriously, these people are all around you. They're wearing swimsuits under their business suits. You just don't know it because the climate is still too cool.

Pragmatic-3918582:

I like moldy salted meat. Or at least, mold with salted meat.

You know, blue cheese and prosciutto? Yum. A good baguette and you have a meal.

Pragmatic:

Question: Are you against altering the mind? Are you against the use of drugs to alter the mind? If so, why? What is your motivation?

Yeah, the pot didn't have any effect on driving, and neither does talking on cell phones, half a bottle of Jack, or any other thing you want to support. I did my fair share of smoking at the end of high school, and it always effected my driving. Maybe I'm the exception, but I doubt it.

As for state rights, Federal law still trumps state law in many cases, including crossed borders. One of the side effects of the Civil War. If the FBI want's to come in and enforce Federal law, only one person in the whole state had to cross the California border with a joint. Tell me that hasn't happened.

The way California has handled their pot growers has turned them into the northern most Mexican cartel. They need to get a handle on their operation. There are just not that many people that need medical marijuana. The rest are still breaking the law. It's a stupid law, but it's the law. If we can ever get marijuana legalized at the Federal level, and let the Federal government control it's distribution and taxation, things will be better, but until then, we still have a chaotic mishmash of state vs. Federal law, which will never cause anything but confusion and frustration.

OneDirtyRat,

I just want to make sure that the medicinal marijuana movement is legitimately about medicine for sick people. Too many of the comments on here seem to be about legalizing the stuff for healthy people so as to stick it to The Man. Your comments are closer to the latter and not the former.

I am for legalizing marijuana. I am not for medical marijuana. If you legalize marijuana then there is no need for so called medical marijuana. Is there?

Lyle,

I respect that you come out and say it.

Pragmatic:

Again, I ask you, are you against people using mind altering drugs? If so, why? What is your motivation?

If you don't answer the questions this time, that will be the end of our conversation.

An what do my comments have anything to do with you answering the questions?

I smell B.S. not pot seed oil. The first diesel engines used a variety of fuels. The main Seed based oil was actually a NUT!

Peanut to be exact.

Look there is enough mis information about all the Pot laws. Without someone throwing B.S. at it. This should be seriously debated. As hemp is a good alternative for many different uses. Not just some biodiesel by product.

The problem with our current law in California is it allows anyone to get a card. Then grow up to 12 plants per card. It should be like tobacco where a farmer grows it. It is weighed sold and regulated. Then distributed to stores sold and taxed.

We do not need a bunch of Pot Starbucks. Buy it by the pack. Or like you would buy pipe tobacco. And set a minimum age. Half the crap you can get over the counter at your local drugstore is far more dangerous than pot.

Jo

Just a question, not on either side of the fence.

If insurance companies deny corporations insurance if they allow people that test positive to pot to work there. Whare does that put the smokers because companies do not override the insurance companies.

Even if pot is legal, you will not be allowed to work in any job that requires on site insurance. So what has this done for anyone?

People out of work on welfare wont be able to smoke it or will not be able to get their cash. Only people smoking will be vagrants and people outside the law anyway.

I personally seeing legalization as changing nothing..maybe you can enlighten me.

To legalize pot will require a complete overhaul of the healthcare and insurance systems.

Well Joeyfromcali, the way you put it I shouldn't be allowed to grow any of my own produce. Though I do agree, if it were legalized it should have an age requirement, 21, just like alcohol. Because just like alcohol, it affects young minds differently, there's no reason other than $$$$$$$ why it is illegal.

Two of my favorite things are sitting on my front porch smoking a pipe of sweet hemp, and playing my Hohner harmonica.” - Abraham Lincoln

Is it correct to assume that you don't live in the USA? Or are you just some ignorant zit-head having a go on his Mommy's 'puter?

If they weren't alkies on pills from their doctors I'd agree. Make it all legal. EVERYTHING. Activities and behavoirs that impair other's rights are still illegal. You tread on my lawn we have issues. That's what the law of the land should be... not nanny laws that only make a profit for the harden criminal at the top that never goes to prison! If weed weren't illegal I wouldn't have had 16 years of employment hell! I took responsibilty for possession but unwilling to rat on the place I purchased... drug felon now. In the process of getting a state pardon but that takes 3 years I'm told. 3 years and I'll be close to 40 but re-enlisting finally! Personal choices need to be that or we will continue to ruin lives, like mine! I've lost employment after working for the state of PA as an IT Technician. Only because HR decided to do a background check on me that they didn't do at hire. Employment lost over this, but I did collect unemployment compensation from the termination. Drugs that are illegal ruin lives through the legalities not the drugs .... END THE WAR ON DRUGS!!!!

law enforcement against prohibition (of all drugs mind you not just weed)

www.leap.cc

Listen to these, the people that have enforced the laws, that see it unfair to continue!

Thanks for sharing that Lee, I have never seen this site before, I will share the link with everyone!

So this is dopes against dopers? LOL

dopes against dopers against dopier...dopy is as dopy does...

Hmm. Glad I didnt vote for his ignorantness.

still better than the bush era...found and killed bin laden...check....found and killed bin laden's second in command...check...withdraw troops from iraq...check...deport illegal immigrants and fine the businesses that employ them...check...

give 'im a little time, he'll get us jobs...but he'll never legalize it. oh well, you know politicians...two faced backstabbing little bitches playing hall monitor...but he's still doing better than bush ever did in 8 years of his presidency...hell, they're in the middle of repealing the no child left behind act...and that was bush's little pet project...well, one of them...the other was warmongering...

The comparing of presidents is really old. And when did Pres Obama deport any illegal immigrants and fine businesses that employ them? Maybe I am misunderstanding your post?

As bad as Obama is turning out to be, I have no doubt that the Republicans would be much, much worse. Don't mistake many of the people being disapointed at Obama as being for the Republicans. Far from it.

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama says he backs immigration reform, announcing last month an initiative to ease deportation policies, but he has sent home over 1 million illegal immigrants in 2-1/2 years -- on pace to deport more in one term than George W. Bush did in two.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/20/us-obama-immigration-idUSTRE78J05720110920

The Obama administration had deported about 1.06 million as of September 12, against 1.57 million in Bush's two full presidential terms.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/07/26/128772646/deportations-higher-under-obama-than-bush

The Obama administration had deported about 1.06 million as of September 12, against 1.57 million in Bush's two full presidential terms.

That's right, Obama is on the verge of deporting more undocumented immigrants in a single term than Bush did his full eight years in office.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=11&ved=0CC0QFjAAOAo&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmotherjones.com%2Fmojo%2F2011%2F09%2Fits-official-obama-has-deported-more-million-unauthorized-immigrants&ei=YJyPTuCCI6bMsQLF_eGzAQ&usg=AFQjCNHXHRwHf4NZqVthMZnq7B3FolVEkg&sig2=UOY8B7WQlzvJqMGEy69CBA

NRA Targets Obama

It falsely claims in mailers and TV ads that Obama plans to ban handguns, hunting ammo and use of a gun for home defense.

http://factcheck.org/2008/09/nra-targets-obama/

It is ALL Bull@!$%# and Lies when you hear nearly anything from the Left or the Right these days. Keep picking either of their offerings, People, and we ALL LOSE!!! Which is just as the plan is supposed to go, apparently.

Damn right, Northern Lights! That is the caveat I have to include when I rant against Obama, as I do more and more often--- and this latest screwing of the people has sent me to the ANTI Obama camp, after I campaigned for him. This is certainly not the only reason nor even the biggest reason I've turned completely against him, BUT.......

When I'm ranting about O, I have to make clear that ANY republiscum, teabagger would be ten thousand times worse. Come 2012, I guess I will vote for him just to counter the true anti-American scumbag the repubes foist upon us.

Obama is selling us out to big biz in increments, and we can fight them if we decide to, but republiscum corporate whores proudly and loudly give it all away to the corpses, so there's our choices. Be afraid, be very afraid---- or better yet, GET MAD AND RAISE HELL, join the Occupy Wall Street protests in your city!

Jo

Blatant lies.

Hey joe: 50,000 troops still in iraq. Guess they don't count.

they'll be out by the dec. 31 deadline...

No. The military will just relocate to another middle eastern country. The US will never leave the middle east unless we are going to nuke it.

Speaking as an Arizona guy, Obama still looks better than McCain with Sarah in reserve. If you don't like Obama, find a credible candidate to oppose him in 2012. Otherwise, he will return for 4 more years.

And yeah, I had high (make what you want of that) hopes that things would improve in the U.S.A. after his election. But the truth is, globally we are all in a world of hurt. There is no quick fix & no man or party is going to effectively make a difference.

Sooooo, Obama breaks yet another promise and goes after medical marijuana instead of decriminalizing it, as he campaigned. What a surprise.

Well, if you voted for Obama to prove you weren't a racist in '07, Do the country a favor and vote for someone else in '12 to prove you aren't an idiot. Just a thought, just a thought.

When will you people start to realize that ALL politicians lie? Why is it that election season after election season all of these voters listen to their crap and then vote for them only to be disappointed that they were lied to? Then we start it all over again in another 4 years, more lies from the politicians and 4 more disappointing years. Really people? I guess the old saying is true, you can't teach an old dog (or an ignorant one for that matter) new tricks.

Two "great" parties are destroying our nation but Americas 1st consumer watchdog (Nader has been responsible for the motor vehicle safety laws, Safe Drinking Water Act; the launching of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and Consumer Product Safety Administration; the recall of millions of defective motor vehicles; access to government through the Freedom of Information Act of 1974; and for many lives saved.) could not even get 3% of the vote to finally establish a 3 party system because he has bad hair. Ron Paul won't get the gop nom but if he starts a new party and even 3% of us vote for him we will finally have options.

10/07/11

Senator Marco Rubio

• Senator Marco Rubio
  Do_Not_Reply@Rubio.senate.gov

From:
Senator Marco Rubio (Do_Not_Reply@Rubio.senate.gov)

Sent:
Fri 10/07/11 12:04 PM

To:

Dear Mr. Not So Jingo,

Thank you for taking the time to contact me to express your concerns about Medicare and Medicaid. I understand these are important issues and I appreciate hearing your thoughts. The Medicare and Medicaid programs are paramount to many Floridians, as more than 3.3 million residents are currently Medicare beneficiaries and approximately 2.97 million residents currently rely on Medicaid benefits for their health care.

As your elected representative, I have made a commitment to tackle our nation's debt by cutting federal spending, reducing the deficit, and making necessary reforms to our entitlement programs. Medicare and Medicaid are currently facing major obstacles because of substantial financial challenges which must be addressed in order to protect current and future generations of Americans.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, total Medicare spending is expected to be $555 billion in Fiscal Year 2011, and total Medicare outlays as a percent of our nation's gross domestic product (GDP) are expected to be about 3.5% in both 2011 and 2012. Medicare is growing at unsustainable rates, and unless major changes are made, the program's financial instability "could lead to reduced access to care or diminished quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries". Individuals currently receiving Medicare benefits and those who are approaching retirement age (55 or older), should not and will not be subjected to any changes. But for younger generations, the Medicare program must change or it will no longer exist by the time they become eligible for benefits.

Of Florida's $69.1 billion state budget for 2011-2012, Medicaid expenditures amount to more than $21 billion, and enrollment is expected to continue to grow in future years. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Medicaid enrollment across the country is estimated to reach 78 million by 2019. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), which was passed through a Democrat-controlled Congress and signed into law in March of 2010, authorizes a massive expansion of the already financially unstable Medicaid program. The Office of the Actuary at CMS estimates this expansion will cost federal taxpayers $735 billion over the next ten years.

Since Medicaid is already depleting state budgets and simultaneously placing a considerable financial burden on the federal budget, changes must be made to the Medicaid program in order to protect current and future generations of Americans. The federal government should authorize state block grants to provide flexibility in states' decisions on how to effectively provide high-quality health services to their residents through the Medicaid program. We must ensure that our nation's poor and most vulnerable are sufficiently cared for as well as reducing the financial burden of the Medicaid program on states and our federal expenses.

As Congress continues to debate important issues surrounding our country's growing debt and out-of-control government spending, I will continue to listen to Floridians while working to ensure that Americans continue to have access to Medicare and Medicaid benefits. Again, thank you for writing to me with your concerns and I look forward to hearing any views or input you wish to share in the future.

2:09 PM

Senator Marco Rubio

• Senator Marco Rubio
  Do_Not_Reply@Rubio.senate.gov

To

From:
Senator Marco Rubio (Do_Not_Reply@Rubio.senate.gov)

Sent:
Fri 10/07/11 2:09 PM

To:

Dear Not So Jingo,

Thank you for contacting me regarding environmental programs. I would like to take this opportunity to address your concerns.

I recognize the importance of protecting the air we breathe and the water we drink. However, at a time when our nation faces a staggering unemployment rate of 9.2 percent, it is crucial that any proposed federal regulation encourage economic growth, while at the same time protect the public health. I will continue to monitor ongoing developments, and will remain mindful of your concerns should the Senate address this, or similar issues, during the 112th Congress.

Again, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me. It is an honor and privilege to serve the people of Florida. If I can be of any further help to you, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Even Rubio's form letter responses do not hide his purpose nor intent to degrade and downplay to we that question him on his positions, those issues as assigned to him by his Handlers/Masters, the Tea Party.

Where have you been for the last 20 years while the FDA was running tests? The tests that have gained national notoriety for their "ground breaking" research, that goes against what the feds think?

It may be a recreational drug, but it is also a medicinal drug as well. I guess if you actually did a little research you would see these things.

Excuse me, not FDA, NIDA.

apparently you're unaware it's been used for over 7000 years medicinally

Studies assessing the anticancer properties of cannabinoids have shown that they inhibit the proliferation of a wide range of cancers, including brain cancer, prostate cancer, oral cancers, lung cancer, skin cancer, pancreatic cancer, biliary tract cancers, lymphoma, and breast cancer.

The dual effects of delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol on cholangiocarcinoma (biliary tract cancer) cells: anti-invasion activity at low concentration and apoptosis induction at high concentration.

The anticancer effect of Delta (9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the principal active component of cannabinoids has been demonstrated in various kinds of cancers.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19916793

Cannabinoids inhibit cellular respiration of human oral cancer cells.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20516734

Anti-proliferative and apoptotic effects of anandamide in human prostatic cancer cell lines: implication of epidermal growth factor receptor down-regulation and ceramide production.

RESULTS: ANA induced a decrease of EGFR levels on LNCaP, DU145, and PC3 prostatic cancer cells by acting through cannabinoid CB(1) receptor subtype and this leaded to an inhibition of the EGF-stimulated growth of these cells.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12746841?dopt=Abstract

Cannabinoids reduce ErbB2-driven breast cancer progression through Akt inhibition

Results

Our results show that both Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol, the most abundant and potent cannabinoid in marijuana, and JWH-133, a non-psychotropic CB₂ receptor-selective agonist, reduce tumor growth, tumor number, and the amount/severity of lung metastases in MMTV-neu mice. Histological analyses of the tumors revealed that cannabinoids inhibit cancer cell proliferation, induce cancer cell apoptosis, and impair tumor angiogenesis. Cannabinoid antitumoral action relies, at least partially, on the inhibition of the pro-tumorigenic Akt pathway. We also found that 91% of ErbB2-positive tumors express the non-psychotropic cannabinoid receptor CB₂.

http://www.molecular-cancer.com/content/9/1/196

Inhibition of skin tumor growth and angiogenesis in vivo by activation of cannabinoid receptors

http://www.jci.org/articles/view/16116/version/1

Δ⁹-Tetrahydrocannabinol inhibits epithelial growth factor-induced lung cancer cell migration in vitro as well as its growth and metastasis in vivo

http://www.nature.com/onc/journal/v27/n3/abs/1210641a.html

Cannabinoid Receptor-Mediated Apoptosis Induced by R(+)-Methanandamide and Win55,212-2 Is Associated with Ceramide Accumulation and p38 Activation in Mantle Cell Lymphoma

We have recently shown that cannabinoids induce growth inhibition and apoptosis in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), a malignant B-cell lymphoma that expresses high levels of cannabinoid receptor types 1 and 2 (CB₁ and CB₂).

http://molpharm.aspetjournals.org/content/70/5/1612.abstract

Cannabinoids as potential new therapy for the treatment of gliomas (brain cancer)

http://www.expert-reviews.com/doi/abs/10.1586/14737175.8.1.37

Cannabinoids Induce Apoptosis of Pancreatic Tumor Cells via Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress–Related Genes

http:// cancerres.aacrjournals.org /content/66/13/6748.abstract

Pot Compound Protects Against Alcohol-Induced Brain Damage

Researchers hypothesized that CBD is neuroprotective because it possesses anti-oxidant properties. Anti-oxidants, such as vitamin C and vitamin E, are believed to help the body protect against the deleterious effects of free radicals (unstable atoms that can damage cells and may accelerate the progression of cancer and age-related diseases).

http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/314/2/780.abstract?sid=4498b396-f35c-49c8-9709-900ffa17e299

Marijuana Compound Halts Breast Cancer Tumor Growth

Molecular Cancer

http://www.molecular-cancer.com/content/9/1/196

Marijuana Compound Halts Spread Of Biliary Tract Cancers, Study Says

scientific journal Cancer Investigation

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19916793

wow, nice cut & paste---yawn!

D Bag your faith in the system is misplaced

Joe pulls out peer-reviewed literature about the positive effects of cannabis, and you summarily dismiss him, Dev?

Just what exactly does it take in your world, Dev, to convince you that cannabis is NOT the harmful drug characterized in the government-sponsored comedy, 'Reefer Madness'???

If cutting and pasting professional journal articles for your consideration is not kosher, what would you prefer instead? Knee-jerk, sophomoric rants by the uninformed?? Where do you get off yawning about Joe's post?

It is and always will be a recreational drug.

...with medical benefits.

I really think part of the issue is the "doc, I cannot sleep", Here's your card" ability. It's voodoo medicine and has turned the pharmacutical aspect of it into a pot supermarket aspect. It's not good PR for the sitting pres and the former didn't give a hoot.

That said, according to Joe's analysis and cut and paste as it was rudely called, I should live to be about 3000 yrs. old.

U.S. Patent # 6630507
In 2003, the U.S. Government as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services filed for, and was awarded a patent on cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants. U.S. Patent 6630507

Abstract
Cannabinoids have been found to have antioxidant properties, unrelated to NMDA receptor antagonism. This new found property makes cannabinoids useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of wide variety of oxidation associated diseases, such as ischemic, age-related, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The cannabinoids are found to have particular application as neuroprotectants, for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke and trauma, or in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and HIV dementia. Nonpsychoactive cannabinoids, such as cannabidoil, are particularly advantageous to use because they avoid toxicity that is encountered with psychoactive cannabinoids at high doses useful in the method of the present invention. A particular disclosed class of cannabinoids useful as neuroprotective antioxidants is formula (I) wherein the R group is independently selected from the group consisting of H, CH.sub.3, and COCH.sub.3.

Inventors:
Hampson; Aidan J. (Irvine, CA), Axelrod; Julius (Rockville, MD), Grimaldi; Maurizio (Bethesda, MD)

Assignee:
The United States of America as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services (Washington, DC)

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=6630507.PN.&OS=PN/6630507&RS=PN/6630507

CBD Extraction Process Patent Pending by Medical Marijuana Inc. Consortium (THC Free Product Line)

CannaBANK Transfers Third Asset to Medical Marijuana Inc. SkinAgain Joint Venture

SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwire - Apr 18, 2011) - Medical Marijuana Inc. (PINKSHEETS: MJNA) and CannaBANK™, in association with SkinAgain® , a Carlsbad, CA-based cosmeceutical firm, are proud to announce a patent filed for extracting cannabinoids (CBD) from cannabis.

Recognizing the potential healthcare benefits of cannabinoids, the United States government successfully filed a patent for CBDs as antioxidants and neuroprotectants that was granted on October 7, 2003 (see http://tinyurl.com/6hwwmt). Cannabidiol, the most specific non-psycho active, beneficial compound had originally been listed in the Federal Register (7372) as a Schedule 1 drug or substance but was notably absent from the list in a Code of Federal Regulations change since April 1, 2010. Some of the benefits stated in the government's patent brief included cannabinoids having antioxidant properties and being useful in treating autoimmune disorders, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and HIV.

CannaBANK™ and SkinAgain® researchers, while undergoing a thorough 'landscape' patent search and discovering that CBDs were removed from the Schedule I list, designed a specific process that would not only extract CBDs, but also remove the Tetrahydrocannabinols (THC) from cannabis, which would result in a form enabling end users to receive the full efficacy of the CBDs without experiencing any of the psychoactive effects caused by THC. The THC-free cannabinoid material will be formulated into capsules, tablets, and topicals. CannaBank expects to release the first CBD-infused products into the marketplace over the next several months.

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/cbd-extraction-process-patent-pending-medical-marijuana-inc-consortium-thc-free-product-pinksheets-mjna-1503580.htm

voodoo medicine, huh...looks like big pharma and the feds don't agree with you there...

Douchebags like you come to threads like this and make statements of opinion sound like facts. You have no idea what you're talking about. You know nothing at all about pot and its properties. As others mentioned, the NIDA just released a twenty year in depth study that completely countered everything the federal government has said about pot-- and they were not happy about that. They dismissed the study and its conclusions that their own researchers in conjunction with universities carefully analysed, and said, "Well, we don't believe our own scientists; we decided a long time ago that there is no value in mj and we're sticking with that thinking, to hell with science and research."

Well,

I don't want some dude that has been smoking running a piece of machinery that can get me killed. That is why insurance companies will NEVER ok it in the workplace. You can legalize it all you want but it is not going to be like cigarettes. Even in states with a medical marijuana law you cannot smoke it and pass a drug test and work. The people smoking are either rich and don't need to work or people that are on welfare. The welfare part is ending with states requiring a drug test for benefits.

There is no real effect on coordination. There are studies that show that experienced recreational regular smokers of marijuana have no higher incidents of fatal crashes than the non using population. Marijuana does effect you, but not to a point where you are absolutely incapable of doing anything...

Neurophysiological and cognitive effects of smoked marijuana in frequent users.

Overall performance accuracy was not significantly altered by marijuana
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20600251?dopt=Abstract

"[In] cases in which THC was the only drug present were analyzed, the culpability ratio was found to be not significantly different from the no-drug group."

REFERENCE: G. Chesher and M. Longo. 2002. Cannabis and alcohol in motor vehicle accidents. In: F. Grotenhermen and E. Russo (Eds.) Cannabis and Cannabinoids: Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Therapeutic Potential. New York: Haworth Press. Pp. 313-323.

"Cannabis leads to a more cautious style of driving, [but] it has a negative impact on decision time and trajectory. [However,] this in itself does not mean that drivers under the influence of cannabis represent a traffic safety risk. … Cannabis alone, particularly in low doses, has little effect on the skills involved in automobile driving."

REFERENCE: Canadian Senate Special Committee on Illegal Drugs. 2002. Cannabis: Summary Report: Our Position for a Canadian Public Policy. Ottawa. Chapter 8: Driving Under the Influence of Cannabis.

"This report has summarized available research on cannabis and driving.
… Evidence of impairment from the consumption of cannabis has been reported by studies using laboratory tests, driving simulators and on-road observation. ... Both simulation and road trials generally find that driving behavior shortly after consumption of larger doses of cannabis results in (i) a more cautious driving style; (ii) increased variability in lane position (and headway); and (iii) longer decision times. Whereas these results indicate a 'change' from normal conditions, they do not necessarily reflect 'impairment' in terms of performance effectiveness since few studies report increased accident risk."

REFERENCE: UK Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions (Road Safety Division). 2000. Cannabis and Driving: A Review of the Literature and Commentary. Crowthorne, Berks: TRL Limited.

"Overall, we conclude that the weight of the evidence indicates that:
1) There is no evidence that consumption of cannabis alone increases the risk of culpability for traffic crash fatalities or injuries for which hospitalization occurs, and may reduce those risks.
2) The evidence concerning the combined effect of cannabis and alcohol on the risk of traffic fatalities and injuries, relative to the risk of alcohol alone, is unclear.
3) It is not possible to exclude the possibility that the use of cannabis (with or without alcohol) leads to an increased risk of road traffic crashes causing less serious injuries and vehicle damage."

REFERENCE: M. Bates and T. Blakely. 1999. "Role of cannabis in motor vehicle crashes." Epidemiologic Reviews 21: 222-232.

"In conclusion, marijuana impairs driving behavior. However, this impairment is mitigated in that subjects under marijuana treatment appear to perceive that they are indeed impaired. Where they can compensate, they do, for example by not overtaking, by slowing down and by focusing their attention when they know a response will be required. … Effects on driving behavior are present up to an hour after smoking but do not continue for extended periods.
With respect to comparisons between alcohol and marijuana effects, these substances tend to differ in their effects. In contrast to the compensatory behavior exhibited by subjects under marijuana treatment, subjects who have received alcohol tend to drive in a more risky manner. Both substances impair performance; however, the more cautious behavior of subjects who have received marijuana decreases the impact of the drug on performance, whereas the opposite holds true for alcohol."

REFERENCE: A. Smiley. 1999. Marijuana: On-Road and Driving-Simulator Studies. In: H. Kalant et al. (Eds) The Health Effects of Cannabis. Toronto: Center for Addiction and Mental Health. Pp. 173-191.

Back in the 80's congress was fond of calling on a well known professional group to testify to the dangers of marijuana use but when they found out that this group no longer believed that it was dangerous they stopped requesting their testimony. That group is the American Medical Association. Oh and check out the venerable age old, best selling by far, book of baby and child care by Doctor Spock (no not the guy from star trek) on page 584 of the paperback version, you might be interested to note that even back then doctors did not find marijuana to be harmful and knew alcohol to be far more dangerous.

You can get THC in a pill. It is legal in all 50 states and at the federal level with a prescription. There is no reason for the whole plant to be legalized for medicinal purposes. Unless, of course, this isn't about improving the quality of life of sick people and advocates are just using them as a way to get their favorite recreational drug legit.

Mark...I wouldn't want someone that is smoking pot and under the influence in the work place either. No, it will never be like cigarettes. It is a mind altering substance. However, I wouldn't want someone drinking alcohol or taking Vicodin in the work place either. But, they do.

Changing the form in which a NATURAL herb is derived makes it UNNATURAL by breaking down and separating target compounds from its constituent compounds which complete it's total complex molecularity and effect/properties.

Just like fish oil pills do not replace eating fish to recieve the benefits of the whole fish and its Omega 3 contents. http://heart-disease.emedtv.com/fish-oil/fish-oil-side-effects.html

And that example was just off the top of my head...

Big Pharma will control all it can, and has the $$$ to pay off our government thru its lobbyists to do so.Which is not very pragmatic when you think about it.

Or is K Street just another figment of our imaginations? Like Wall Street?

Ask yourself who benefits by these payoffs, then make judgements.

Given that the medicinal marijuana movement is far larger than the prescribe Marinol movement, I would have to examine the motives of the medicinal marijuana movement. So far, it looks like more like using sick people as an excuse to get an illegal drug legal and less about medicine for sick people. I try to repress this thought, because it is too disgusting for me to fully process. But nobody on these forums is doing the sick people any favors. As to changing its natural form, next time you need antibiotics, you should only accept moldy meat. Don't let them give you pills.

All the liberals and so-called conservative's posting on here need to wake up and smell the "bud." There is only 1 candidate who truly supports an individuals right to decide what they put into their bodies, and he'll never waiver in his stance. He's been in the hunt for political power for a number of years, but because he's not an American Idol contestant, he never gains any ground. People seem to think that Govt. knows best, and have continued to surrender individual liberties all throughout history because the bankers who control our govt. from behind the scenes say it's necessary to surrender freedoms to secure your future. END THE FED!! Ron Paul 2012!! Big Pharma/bankers will take a huge hit if pot is legalized since their CIA drug runs will no longer be relevant. How many know that the CIA admits that they fund the opium grows in Afghanistan? How many know that it's your tax dollars paying for fertilizers used to fund the taliban & al-queda's grow sites? The only time a raid is conducted is when it's a grow site set up where the bankers don't see any profit, plain and simple.

Just remember this, Pragmatic: The Pharmaceutical Industry does NOTwant marijuana legal in any form (not talking about Marinol) for two simple reasons;

1. Marijuana is easily produced by just about anyone with access to water, light and soil. (and seeds, of course) and...

2. Marijuana easily replaces, and is safer and more effective than, MANY expensive drugs prescribed for hundreds of ailments.

Now why the hell would Big Pharma want such a simple, elegant and effective herb legalized when they'd lose billions of dollars in revenue due to reduced sale of their overprescribed and undereffective drugs? Answer: They do not!

And on a side note: the spell-check on this thing must be stoned! It just informed me that I misspelled "sale".... *grins*

Dbag...I never used MJ recreationally or otherwise...not until I was 59 and trying to get off opiates after having part of my lung removed.... I have other health issues as well. It worked, but I am no longer using. You don't know what you are talking about.

Mark...Like any other substance, employees can make the choice work or use. If you pop positive for Vicodin, for example, and can show a prescription you pass. So people are out there working under the influence of narcotics and you don't seem to have a problem with it. I gave up my 38 year nursing career because I refused to work under the influence of prescribed drugs. It violated the Nurse Practice Act. As for pot heads being uneducated dolts...I am a nurse with a BS degree in criminology. Just happened that I was also addicted to the legal substance of nicotine..and paid for it with lung cancer. My choice, my problem. But, I don't think that my degenerative disc disease and fibromyalgia were caused from smoking...More like 60+ hours a week in an operating and emergency room for 35+ years. Put your little judgmental mind on fast forward and join the real world. You judge too harshly.

Mark1219747, why do morons like you feel the need to spout utter nonsense all the time? Have you ever heard ANYONE advocating smoking pot and operating heavy machinery????? NO, you dim bulb. No one is advocating getting high at work or while driving (although the fact is that a pot-high driver is a thousand times safer and more capable and aware than a drunk driver.)

Pay attention! Use a tiny little bit of common sense. You'll be amazed at how different the world looks when you use your mind to think about it all and see reality.

Yup, so the major pharmaceutical corporations can make it 10X more expensive.

That's why US seniors buy medicine from Canada, Germany, India and China .

Peter17 : You believe in corporations, regardless of what they do? Almost a religion to you, isn't it?

I say their right sometimes, and detrimental often. A different perspective .

I am however, against the AG's trampling of the 10 amendment in AZ,CA and now AL. It is a bad trend. One that will lose Obama the white house.

solent green is people

Man, take off the blinders, will you please. Marijuana is a naturally occurring substance. Ergo, it can not be patented, therefore, the pharmaceutical houses can't make any money from it. So, they sick their lap dogs at the FDA and the rest of their bought and paid for political lackeys to do all they can to big down medical marijuana.

"We the people" don't mean a thing compared to their profits. ALL dirty, ALL the time. Party means nothing, it's all about THEIR money. Wake up and smell the @!$%#.

THC is a pharmaceutical. Big pharma makes money on it. It's called Marinol. It is legal in all 50 states and at the federal level with a prescription. And it is FDA approved. Sorry guys, no conspiracy here to keep good medicine out of the hands of patients.

Pragmatic, are you a paid shill for big pharma? If they're not paying you, then you're just another dupe who hasn't learned anything about the subject you're commenting on. Everyone who has any interest in pot knows about Marinol. And what many of us know is that marijuana is a whole plant with many components. Isolating one cannabinoid and synthesizing it so it can be patented may get one high, but it is NOTHING like the real thing. Natural herbs CANNOT be synthesized to have the same effects.

"You synthesize and deliver it in the way we deliver medicines in this country," he said, "through pharmacies — not dispensaries with 300-pound bouncers, bars on the windows and neon lights."

There is the real issue. Big Pharm is potentially loosing money over it.

Besides, it was legalised for users, not as a cover to expand illegal growing and distribution. People have been stretching the law and the law bounced back!

Not saying its right, but they're not wrong.

Dude, they're doing what big government liberals always do. They want to control your life. They want to tell you what is best. They tell you they know best for you. they tell you they will give you piece. They tell you they make everything better. Politicians, regardless of party are ALL dirty, ALL the time. If a politicians mouth is moving, it IS lying to you. Money and power, is all they care about, not "We the people."

They control the horizontal, they control the vertical, it is the twilight zone. Obama campaigned on decriminalizing marijuana, now he sicks his federal attack dogs on the sick and dying. What a prince.

Good post! He's a lying criminal just like the master's he serves. If there is one big difference between Bush & Obama, it's that he is sooooo much better at making a lie sound just like truth. He's served his masters well, but even to them, it's time for him to go and bring in the next ceremonial puppet to sell us on the idea that we need to surrender more of our freedoms in order to eventually abolish the Constitution & Bill of Rights. The globalists will never stop in their quest to enslave all of mankind. They've had generations of their family run Banking cartels pushing for it, and they are getting close to achieving that goal. www.infowars.com or www.prisonplanet.com

Mary Janes!

oh lets scare the stupid little citizen and he want see what were up to Big gov is out of control

Why now? This is harassing and bogus. The way in which the administration is arbitrarily acting on whichever laws it wants to enforce or change or create is tyranny. Why has no one heard of this before now? The Feds choose to enforce one law, ignore another, sit on its hands with others is wholly incompetent, unconstitutional and can't be tolerated. Is this a campaign move? Why were the states laws overruled NOW? Ridiculous. Outrageous. Vote Ron Paul. Dump these jackasses next election. And let's don't install new ones. Again, vote Ron Paul! for Peace. Liberty. Sound Money. And decriminalization of drugs. And for states rights. This guy has it all in his platform. Revolution!

Because Holder has his tukus in a ringer with F&F and he wants to look like J Edger...maybe???

I just wonder that they can't regulate the banking industry the way they do the mmj industry.

I don't want the claws of Govt. touching it. Ron Paul supports "The Philosophy of Liberty," as do i. The Govt/bankers don't need to profit from every aspect of our lives. But they believe they do. They need to get out of our homes via property taxes and they need to stop the nanny-state policies that are sure to enslave all of humanity.

Damien,

Smoking a joint is not using it for anesthetic. You say use it for this..when you actually mean hang out, get high, and shipt your pants.

You are just as bad as the gov trying to get what you want by LIEING

Just say it is your right to get high if you want to. Stop being a coward.

Damien...There is no need to prescribe it in exact dosages because there is not an overdose point. You will fall asleep before you ever overdose on MJ. Big Pharm does not need to be in this equation. They just don't like the competition and want to continue to keep people addicted to their manufactured poison....an opiate causes tolerance to build in the body and it will take more and more, no matter who you are, to maintain the same medicinal effect....The pharm and cartels can't lose on that human reaction...It happens to everybody that uses narcotics regularly.

exactly where are you pot heads coming up with 7000 years of use?? is there a cave drawing somewhere depicting a stoned out of his gourd caveman??

pot head runs down granny more at eleven

wow zebra....your capacity for intellectual discussions is astounding.

He is pointing out the argument is for medication, when all people want is to smoke and get high.

So yeah the end of the argument is some guy using it for recreation kills someone inebriated.

Uh, Bill? The federal government IS enforcing the law. Grow up.

Toasty, BHO enforces the laws that he like, not all of them, just those to his benefit.

We have clear laws on immigration, they are not being enforced.

Our constitution has made it clear that the states have the final say, not the King.

uh, obama has deported record numbers of illegal immigrants, hella more than bush ever did in his 8 yrs of office...

Obama lies about the number of deportations, and sues states that want to enforce just immigration laws...wake up!

obama is lost in his on maze of lies our kids put him in office wonder what they think of him now

Changes turn and face the changes

The illegal immigrants issue has been going on since the late 1800's. It has and still is encouraged. The seven different amnesty laws have done nothing but encourage more illegals to enter our country. The only reason we do not do anything about them but pay lip service is because..you ready..corporations that can not out source their labor demand it. That old line of they do jobs Americans will not dates back to the 1950s. Mass depotations will not occur they will do yet another amnesty. The sick part is that once they are legal the employers no longer want them as they begin to know their rights. And the cycle begins again

Toasty, where do you stand on cannabis in general?

Pray tell Bill, what is it you say that the government is "refusing" to do? And don't give me that "they're refusing to enforce the law" bull@!$%#. Something specific.

And as for your question, IP, I believe that cannabis should be legalized at the federal level.

Toasty,

3892 illegals have been arrested in the act of crime in Chicago during the past 12 months. They were turned over to the feds. Less than 300 deported.

Is that enough info for you. His administration are allowing KNOWN CRIMINALS to not be deported.

Obama probably deported more illegals because many more came to our country once they heard we had a "free handouts" uber-liberal president at the helm. So perhaps the statistics would be better if we had a guestimate of the % of illegals in the nation that were outed?

I see numbers without credible sources to back them up, Mark.

"Ron Paul 2012"

you tell it

Ron Paul

Ron Paul 2012

AMEN

Crazy, just after I thought our Coke snorting El Presidentee went against ALL his campaign issues, he lets his Justice Dept go after legal pot growers. Is this article TRUE?

Can it actually be true the US Gov/CIA makes so much money allowing illegal drugs into the USA they will stop ALL domestic production. Just like domestic oil production. LOL!

I personally believe ALL drugs should be legal. If ya take it, screw ya, it's a free country. I believe the 20% of Americans with dependency issues will still have dependency issues, legal and illegal pill heads will decrease. This would drastically cut into Big Pharmacy. LOL!

As for you pot smokers, I know only a couple who still function reasonably well who have been smoking 4 to 5 joints a day for 30 years. But once again, this should be a FREE country to do as you wish.

Unfortunately, we aren't following the Constitution. That's how we got down here in the hole next to the people with the shovels. Revolution.

I'm afraid you are quite correct. You know, if we the people have to follow the law government should as well and the Constitution is the SUPREME LAW of the land.

Well "pot heads" you are quite Wrong about the Law...........Back up to the beginning where it declares that Federal Law is the Supreme Law of the land and that the Supreme Court decides what is Constitutional.............

"Pot head" States can pass any laws they want under the 10th Amendment.... as long as that law does not Conflict with a federal law against the same subject matter.......... Put that in your bong & smoke it................

Syssyphys:

You forgot the part of the Constitution that states that Congress does not have unlimited power.

Let me ask you this: Is there any law that Congress can't pass? Is there any reason that Congress couldn't, for example, ban potato chips -- states be damned?

Also, answer this: Why was it that it was felt necessary at the time to pass a Constitutional Amendment to ban alcohol? Was it perhaps because the Constitution didn't grant this power to the Federal Government?

If so, then why was it not also necessary to pass a Constitutional Amendment to ban MJ? Go ahead, take a stab at it.

Do you really want a Federal Government with unlimited power? If so, just keep on stating that the Federal Government trumps the states ... because that's exactly what you'll get. And heaven help if you if you end up in a group constituting less than 50% of the voting public.

Actually syssyphys, the Supremacy Clause only applies if the federal government is acting in pursuit of its constitutionally authorized powers, as noted by the phrase "in pursuance thereof" in the actual text of the Supremacy Clause itself. Since the constitution does not grant the federal government the authority to regulate marijuana (or any drug for that fact) it falls to the individual states to make their own laws in regards to this if they so choose. The only way government could trump state law in this situation is if they created a new amendment granting themselves authority over drug regulation. Since they have not done this, state law currently trumps federal law in regards to the regulation of marijuana. The tenth amendment also supports this fact. So your argument is null and void.

The bottom line is no different then it has been for YEARS!!!!! BIG money is paying to keep pot illegal because its more lucrative that way but the sad thing is a perfect example Colorado is in the black from tax money from it!! So exactly why can't we legalize it, tax it and have health care for ALL people??!!!!! HMMM??!! Wonder why??!! Be cause it makes the wrong people rich! And WHAT really makes me laugh is people who say well what if my child is in the booth next to someone smoking pot LOL ??!! HMMM you mean like cigarettes that are now outlawed to be smoked in public LOL we defeat ourselves with stupidity ! Common sense has left the along time ago! Its only the rich getting rich and poor getting $&*%&%^ !!!! Our middle class is almost gone but God forbid the Congress get on board and fix anything and now Obama is losing ground and looking stupid:( I am not sure who I will vote for but its probably not anyone whos in office I really hope an independent comes out!!

There is an independent, who is actually Libertarian. His name is Ron Paul, maybe you've heard of him? Restore freedom to this once great land!!!

as much as i am pro-legalization, isn't this how the civil war started?

boo

boo

Obama is the just say no poster child. This guy flip flops on his word like a fish out of water. What a coincidence that elections are coming again. So much for first black president making a difference. And the feds are the worst p.o.s. all they want to do is keep thier titles because they are very obsolete these days. More waste and less change for the better. What a circus.

Was it necessary in your post to emphasize that Obama is the "first black president"? It kind of makes your true position suspect and kind of destroys the viability of the post, doesn't it?

This does, however validate a point that I suspect underlies many of the objections of the Republican Party to the Obama Presidency. I can't, in my 60 years of life remember a single time when there was such a vehement and ludicrous opposition against the MAN in the driving seat as opposed to the party or the policies of the same.

Obama is a joke as a president. He has no clue as to what the country needs and how to get there. I don't attack the Democratic party because they are not totally responsible for putting this clown in the White-house.

Black, White, it makes no difference. The man has to go in 2012.

For all the right wing nuts who see this as an opportunity to blame Obama and suggest that conservatives would handle the issue differently, consider the alternative. If Rick Perry is elected he probably would push to execute pot smokers. In fact, his great foreign policy proposal includes sending troops to Mexico to wage war against the drug cartels who I am sure are laughing their asses off by the Federal crack down on medical marijuana. Anyone who believes that republicans will take up the cause on behalf of the thousands of cancer patients who benefit from medical marijuana laws, must be drinking tea party kool aid.

I supported Obama and am one who has been dissapointed by his failure to fight for single payer (medicare for all) health care; of his administrations cozy relationship with Wall Street and failure to prosecute the real thieves who nearly collapsed the economy, but instead, attempted to be bi-partisan and work with Republicans who prefer to see the economy and our country ruined rather than work with the president to solve the enormous problems facing all Americans (except the top 1%).

Unfortunately, he has become a mediocre president and once again progressives and rational minded people are forced to choose between the lesser of two evils. Whether you are a medical marijuana patient or just simply want to enjoy smoking a joint, if you support rational legislation that generates tax revenues, stops the imprisonment of pot smokers in overcrowded jails and that takes money from drug cartels, then you need to support progressive candidates in your local, State and Federal elections. Get the Republicans and moderate republicans who call themselves Democrats out of office and vote for true progressives who espouse returning government to the people instead of allowing wall street, insurance companies, pharma and big oil highjack our representative democracy by purchasing the politicians.

"Ron Paul 2012" & let the Revolution of ideas begin....

While I like Ron Paul's views on the war on drugs, I don't agree with him on a lot of other issues.

Be aware of everything Ron Paul stands for and don't vote for him on one single issue.

You can go to his website and click on "issues".

jonjojon

My point of stating the fact that Obama is our first black president is that so many people expected so much from a person that because of his race might be able to understand the problems that America faces as any thing other than a white person. We all face uncertain times but for your info people of color face the most challenges sir. Don't jump to conclusions because sometimes when a person types something it isn't the same as if we had a face to face debate, you feel me.