Break out the Bongs...

**Cypress** · 12-02-2007, 08:32 PM

Edwards: no more FBI raids on medical marijuana clinics

Edwards says he will stop the FBI raids on medical marijuana clinics, and that the FDA should reassess the role of medical marijuana.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcChw...eature=related

**Beefy** · 12-02-2007, 09:35 PM

Originally Posted by Cypress

Edwards: no more FBI raids on medical marijuana clinics

Edwards says he will stop the FBI raids on medical marijuana clinics, and that the FDA should reassess the role of medical marijuana.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcChw...eature=related

Good freedom loving people.

If only Edwards was one of them.

**gonzojournals** · 12-02-2007, 10:37 PM

Too bad Edwards isn't the Congress--- it is still illegal, after all.

**OrnotBitwise** · 12-02-2007, 11:47 PM

Originally Posted by gonzojournals

Too bad Edwards isn't the Congress--- it is still illegal, after all.

True, but it shouldn't be. Also, the fact that it's illegal is one thing, enforcement policy is something else. There are laws which are effectively ignored by our federal law enforcement authorities. This could be another.

**Diuretic** · 12-03-2007, 03:04 AM

The states criminalise it don't they? So is it the case that the feds can only control the medical use provisions?

**FUCK THE POLICE** · 12-03-2007, 03:14 AM

Originally Posted by Diuretic

The states criminalise it don't they? So is it the case that the feds can only control the medical use provisions?

Both the federal government and the state governments criminalize it. It's really shaky legal ground for the federal government to be on but they do it anyway and the supreme court lets them. It is apparently "regulating interstate commerce" to put a gradma in prison for 30 years (and federal prisons have no parole, even for non-violent offenders, saint Reagan cut that) for growing pot in her backyard.

**Diuretic** · 12-03-2007, 03:45 AM

Ah thanks for that Watermark, I wasn't at all sure of the laws at various levels.

You know in a hundred years time people will look at our (here too) treatment of marijuana and furrow their brows and utter the contemporary (for them) equivalent of WTF???

**Topspin** · 12-03-2007, 07:46 AM

I take back everything I ever said about Edwards and I now like his haircut and will vote for him.

**gonzojournals** · 12-03-2007, 01:29 PM

Originally Posted by OrnotBitwise

True, but it shouldn't be. Also, the fact that it's illegal is one thing, enforcement policy is something else. There are laws which are effectively ignored by our federal law enforcement authorities. This could be another.

No, it should not be illegal, but neither should a man make promises that he cannot keep....marijuana isn't going anywhere unless there is Congressional support as well, and even then many of the states may still illegalise it.

**evince** · 12-03-2007, 01:43 PM

And they will watch the revenues slip when they do. Once one feds decriminalise it you will see a flood of states do the same.

**gonzojournals** · 12-03-2007, 02:14 PM

Originally Posted by Desh

And they will watch the revenues slip when they do. Once one feds decriminalise it you will see a flood of states do the same.

Exactly what revenues will be slipping, Desh? Do you even think when you type? How are the revenues on an illegal substance (i.e., non-existent revenues) going to slip if the substance remains illegal?

**Bonestorm** · 12-03-2007, 04:38 PM

Originally Posted by gonzojournals

No, it should not be illegal, but neither should a man make promises that he cannot keep....marijuana isn't going anywhere unless there is Congressional support as well, and even then many of the states may still illegalise it.

The President can set enforcement priorities for the FBI and prevent the FBI from raiding medical marijuana clinics, just like he has promised to do.

**Thorn** · 12-03-2007, 04:41 PM

I wonder if that was why IFC aired "Reefer Madness" last night! That was a ridiculous, extremely biased movie made in the 'thirties, I think, about the evils of marijuana. I tuned in too late to see the funny parts, the end of the trial was underway by that time so I didn't bother. It was a preachy diatribe, full of misinformation, intended to discourage MJ use. Talk about damaging your own credibility!!!

**theMAJORITY** · 12-03-2007, 05:50 PM

Some notes from a show on the History channel.

Over 19 billion is spent a year on the war against drugs. They have not really made a dent over the last three decades, and it really can't be a won war. The home made chemical drugs are even worse of a health hazzard. When there is demand, there will be product. We learned nothing from prohibition. Our prisons are half full of non violent and victimless criminals. Many of them lost their jobs due to incarceration. The law has gone back and forth as far as pot goes. Many think the incarceration destroys people more than the drug itself does. I agree.

IMO, the war against drugs is just a political tool today for election time (like the children), and to employ more federal agents and officers. People that still believe that it is a worth while cause---should brush up on the facts a bit more..

**Epicurus** · 12-03-2007, 06:30 PM

$19 billion per year counts only the federal commitment. It's more like $50 billion per year when you consider the $30 billion dedicated to the War on Drugs at the state level.

Even that figure doesn't include the funding for international counter-trafficking operations like Plan Colombo.