Must Read from the Edmonton Sun

Brilliant commentary from Jeremy Loome


edmontonsun.com - Jeremy Loome - Forget facts, common sense or decency

And yet governments, driven on by the overzealous and the international joint convention on narcotics continue to waste billions of dollars and jail innocuous, harmless potheads, despite zero evidence the war on drugs has done anything to restrict access, improve public safety of unburden health care.

In point of fact, weed is so common -- with a third of all Canadians admitting to having smoked it and nearly 60% thinking it should be decriminalized, that it has become the primary drug war focus by default; for every hard drugs dealer that goes down, police bust a handful of grow-ops, because they're everywhere.

Government allows this to continue despite repeated statements from the courts that there is little to no evidence backing it. But because most people aren't affected by it and don't get involved in the debate, a few hard-liners are easily co-erced as a result into supporting its position by the lure of the "easy answer."

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Decent artcle, he is factually wrong about the harm of smoking Marijuana. Check out Donald Tashkin and the research he did on this. VV

Budgetary Impact Due to the Diversion of Funds to the Illicit Marijuana Market

Of course, for government to surrender control over an aspect of our lives would be anathema. What would it do if it couldn't fine us, jail us, or confiscate our property for some fictional crime that is not a crime in the definition of a crime being committed against some one. Are not a dealer and a smoker entering a mutual contract that they agree to voluntarily, and with out coercion?

Though in the end it has always been, and continues to be the natural progress of things for government to take ground, and liberty to yield. Unless, and until, we tell government that we do not want them trying to dictate to us what we do with our lives, it will always be able to justify laws against marijuana, smoking, and drinking as its efforts to look after the "General Welfare."

Never mind that the Constitution was referring to the General Welfare of the Union, and not of the populous. This fiction has been created to justify insane tax rates, that if you were a bank that was charging them in interest rates most people would call you a loan shark. Never mind that if you were to take the same percentage of income from some one with out their permission it would be involuntary servitude. No, the federal government can't yield on Marijuana with out losing face, and losing its a portion of its justification for looking after the general welfare of the populous instead of the union at large, because if it surrenders just a part of that justification it opens the doors for people demanding that it just butt out of their lives, and leave them the hell alone.

And who, but the most ardent supporters of government intervention, interference, and wealth redistribution, would not rejoice at government no longer taking anything from our paychecks, and leaving us to do what we want in peace as long as we are not harming other people?

Those who remember the late 60's will know why pot is illegal.

You could smoke just about anywhere back then.

And all these people came together in the streets.

Stoned immaculate.

They came together and stoop up for something they believed in.

They stood up against the government.

That is why we can't smoke in the streets anymore.

That is why there are so many older closet tokers who are afraid of who they are.

They want to keep us in the alleys.

They want to keep us in the dark.

- ChuckBane

VictorVIcious said:

Decent artcle, he is factually wrong about the harm of smoking Marijuana. Check out Donald Tashkin and the research he did on this. VV

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There are known problems in respect to upper respiratory tract infections, but according to Tashkin and his people, no risk of lung cancer. It stands to reason, considering cannabis' use in cancer treatment by some, and research showing cannabinoids killing brain cancer cells.

TheBrutalTruth said:

Budgetary Impact Due to the Diversion of Funds to the Illicit Marijuana Market

Of course, for government to surrender control over an aspect of our lives would be anathema. What would it do if it couldn't fine us, jail us, or confiscate our property for some fictional crime that is not a crime in the definition of a crime being committed against some one.

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The largest lobbying group to oppose Prop. 215, the Medical Marijuana Act in California, was the California Correctional Officer's Union. That says it all, doesn't it?

Vi

it's just another means of oppression........

Gryphonn said:

There are known problems in respect to upper respiratory tract infections, but according to Tashkin and his people, no risk of lung cancer. It stands to reason, considering cannabis' use in cancer treatment by some, and research showing cannabinoids killing brain cancer cells.

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Research also showed no increase in copd or emphazima for marijuana only smokers. I remember readinga n ariticle in Reader's Diget that discussed this in the mid 70's. It seems that while mj does slow your heart it also temporarily enlarges the blood vessels right around the heart, and the net effect is close to zero.
And none of that matters because you can vaporize and ingest, you do not have to smoke. I am glad you took the time to check that out. VV

Wow really I was a member of that union. was.

VictorVIcious said:

Research also showed no increase in copd or emphazima for marijuana only smokers. I remember readinga n ariticle in Reader's Diget that discussed this in the mid 70's. It seems that while mj does slow your heart it also temporarily enlarges the blood vessels right around the heart, and the net effect is close to zero.
And none of that matters because you can vaporize and ingest, you do not have to smoke. I am glad you took the time to check that out. VV

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Yep.It's mainly phlegmy coughs that us smokers get. My problem is that I mix (rolling) tobacco with my weed, so I am still at risk from shitty lungs. Hopefully they'll stay as healthy as they have for the last 30 plus years I've been smoking. I'm at the point where I don't smoke tobacco unless it's in our chop, so I'm doing OK.
I have a number of friends that I've been close to over the years who smoke to prevent asthma. Seems contradictory, but the four people that I refer to all say they don't need preventatives or Ventolin when smoking.
I also had a good mate who smoked to prevent epilepsy. The only time he needed to take his chemical treatment was when he was out of weed.

It's good medicine.