In addition to putting dent in failed "War on Drugs," legalization could put hundreds of thousands of people to work and generate billions in revenue
Showing posts with label legalization. Show all posts
Showing posts with label legalization. Show all posts
Thursday, January 11, 2018
Federal Legalization of Pot Would Generate 1 MILLION Jobs & Raise $130 Billion
In addition to putting dent in failed "War on Drugs," legalization could put hundreds of thousands of people to work and generate billions in revenue
Thursday, August 10, 2017
A Sad 1st in America: Heroin Overdoses Outpace Gun Homicides
In a report published December 8, 2016, the CDC said that in 2015, heroin deaths spiked by more than 2,000 cases since 2014, resulting in a sad milestone: There were more heroin-related deaths that year than gun homicides. As recently as 2007, gun homicides outnumbered heroin deaths by more than 5 to 1. [1]
Source: The Washington PostThe number of opioid deaths increased by 30,000 from 2014 to 2015 – another first for the U.S. – up from 5,000 in 2014. But for the first time since at least the 1990’s, heroin deaths outnumbered deaths from traditional opioid painkillers, like hydrocodone and oxycodone.
Additionally, deaths involving potent synthetic opioids, like fentanyl, rose by nearly 75% from 2014 to 2015.
But according to the CDC’s data, deaths may involve more than 1 individual drug category, so the numbers may not be mutually exclusive. For example, many opioid deaths involve multiple types of opioids, or opioids combined with alcohol.
CDC Director Tom Frieden said in a statement:
“The epidemic of deaths involving opioids continues to worsen. Prescription opioid misuse and use of heroin and illicitly manufactured fentanyl are intertwined and deeply troubling problems.”
Michael Botticelli, Director of National Drug Control Policy, also said in a statement:
“The prescription opioid and heroin epidemic continues to devastate communities and families across the country—in large part because too many people still do not get effective substance use disorder treatment. That is why the President has called since February for $1 billion in new funding to expand access to treatment.”
Congress recently passed a spending bill allocating $1 billion to fight the opioid epidemic. That amount includes money for addiction treatment and prevention.
The CDC data was released just a week after the DEA closed its open comment period on kratom, an herb that many credit with helping them safely withdraw from opiates. [2]
Read: DEA Decides NOT to Ban Kratom … For Now
Opioids in 1996, to the Late 90’s, to Today
Opioid use exploded in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, but the opioid epidemic may have started in 1996, the year OxyContin was introduced to the U.S. market. In its first year on the market, OxyContin earned its maker, Purdue Pharma, $45 million. By 2000, that number ballooned to $1.1 billion. Ten years later, OxyContin raked in $3.1 billion for the pharmaceutical company, and accounted for about 30% of the painkiller market. [1] [3]
Source: attn:OxyContin rose to the top of the opiate heap because Purdue was giving doctors kickbacks for prescribing the pain reliever, and heaping massive bonuses on sales execs who convinced doctors to prescribe OxyContin over other opioids.
Read: “Hillbilly Heroin” OxyContin Approved for Use in Children
This is not the only cause of the opioid crisis, but it may have been the jumping-off point. And as the crisis ballooned, state and federal authorities started issuing tighter restrictions on painkillers, driving opioid addicts to the illicit market to get their hands-on heroin.
Grant Smith, deputy director of national affairs at the Drug Policy Alliance, said:
“Criminalization drives people to the margins and dissuades them from getting help. It drives a wedge between people who need help and the services they need. Because of criminalization and stigma, people hide their addictions from others.” [1]
Sources:
[2] Gizmodo
[3] The Week
 | Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog. |
Friday, June 16, 2017
Republicans & Democrats Join Together in Senate to Legalize Pot on Federal Level
In a bipartisan push back against the tyrannical Jeff Sessions and his relentless war on cannabis, U.S. Sens. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) have introduced a bill that will end federal prohibition of marijuana.
“The fact is our marijuana laws in America are broken,” Democratic Sen. Cory Booker said at the bill’s unveiling at the Capitol. “They are savagely broken, and the jagged pieces are hurting American people.”
The Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States, or CARERS, Act would go directly after the DEA’s absurd and immoral classification of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act. It would allow for the states to act on their own in regards to possession, production, and distribution of medical marijuana.
While this bill was originally introduced in 2015 — as the first ever medical marijuana bill in the US Senate — it now boasts even more support, adding Democratic Sen. Al Franken and Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Mike Lee.
This bill mirrors bipartisan legislation that was introduced in Congress by Representatives Tom Garrett (R-VA) and Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) to exclude cannabis from the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) in February, and illustrates how preventing the government from caging and killing people over a plant has transcended party lines.
The CARERS Act also specifically addresses veterans and the ability to obtain this most beneficial plant. SB-683 directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to authorize VA health care providers to provide veterans with recommendations and opinions regarding participation in state marijuana programs.
“The reintroduction of the CARERS Act is the first of many steps we hope this Congress will take to end the federal prohibition of medical marijuana,” Don Murphy, director of conservative outreach for the Marijuana Policy Project, said in a statement. “Polls show overwhelmingly strong support for medical marijuana, and it spans the political spectrum.
READ MORE: America: Your Rage Over the Death of Harambe the Gorilla is Embarrassingly Misguided
“The federal government should not be meddling in state laws that allow it or obstructing research into its many medical benefits.”
This bill comes at a dire time in the history of cannabis prohibition in America. Just after tyrant Jeff Sessions was exposed for privately sending a letter to congressional leaders asking them to turn legal medical marijuana patients into criminals, Republicans and Democrats put their party differences aside and joined forces to stave off the inevitable persecution of innocence that would follow such assinine policy.
“I believe it would be unwise for Congress to restrict the discretion of the Department to fund particular prosecutions, particularly in the midst of an historic drug epidemic and potentially long-term uptick in violent crime,” Sessions penned. “The Department must be in a position to use all laws available to combat the transnational drug organizations and dangerous drug traffickers who threaten American lives.”
Notably, the senators are even calling Sessions out for his misguided rage against cannabis, pointing out how it has already — in spite of prohibition — saved the lives of countless children who suffer from seizures.
“I dare him to sit down with families and listen to their stories and then pursue a policy like he’s advocating for now,” Booker says of Sessions’ letter.
However, judging from Sessions’ ignorance and obstinance on the issue of marijuana, he would most likely arrest the parents and their child for possessing a controlled substance.
As Rolling Stone reports, While the bill’s proponents know their proposal faces an uphill battle, they also say they believe the effort is quickly picking up steam, especially because many red states have now passed some form of legal weed. “I believe things are changing and they’re changing fast,” Sen. Gillibrand tells Rolling Stone. “I think we will get the support we need.”
READ MORE: Stalling? Mike Brown Jury Gets Extension, Charges for Darren Wilson May Be Delayed Until January
Gillibrand is right, the times are changing. People are no longer accepting the status quo of government kidnapping and caging people for possessing a plant. People are also waking up to the fact that cannabis is a medicine and can fight our current opioid problem in this country.
Those who continue to persecute their fellow American for possessing this plant would do well to get on the right side of history and refuse to enforce such tyranny. After all, without the state’s enforcers willing to ruin people’s lives by extorting, kidnapping, caging, and killing people over pot, prohibition is nothing more a piece of paper, scribbled on by a bunch of corrupt lowlifes who couldn’t care less about their fellow human.
Friday, June 2, 2017
VA Head Comes out in Support of Marijuana for Vets with PTSD
by Julie Fidler
Posted on June 2, 2017
President Donald Trump’s stance on legalizing medical cannabis is a big question mark, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions hates marijuana and has expressed his intent to stiffen drug penalties. But there is at least one person in the government who sees the potential of marijuana as a medicine, and that person is Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary David Shulkin.
Shulkin, a holdover from the Obama administration, told reporters on May 31, 2017, that he’s “interested” in exploring how cannabis can benefit veterans wrestling with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). [1]
The VA secretary stated:
“Right now, federal law does not allow us at VA to look at that [medical marijuana] as an option for veterans … I believe that everything that could help veterans should be debated by Congress and by medical experts and we will implement that law.
So if there is compelling evidence that this is helpful, I hope that people take a look at that and come up with the right decision. And then we will implement that.” [2]
Read: 21 Lawmakers Push Veterans Affairs to Allow Medical Marijuana
Just a week before Shulkin’s statements, the American Legion (the country’s largest veterans organization) called on the Trump administration to “clear the way for clinical research in the cutting-edge areas of cannabinoid receptor research.”
Currently, VA doctors are not allowed to recommend medical cannabis to veterans because it remains a Schedule I drug under federal law, meaning the government does not recognize its medicinal benefits. Heroin – which killed more than 13,000 people in 2015 – falls into the same category. However, Shulkin emphasized in 2016 that VA doctors can discuss the matter in states where medical marijuana is legal. [1]
Sources:
[1] attn:
[2] Vice News
[3] UPI
 | Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog. |
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Sunday, April 30, 2017
New Poll Reflects America’s Changing Attitudes Toward Marijuana
A recent survey by Yahoo News and The Marist Poll reveals, among other things, that people – regardless of whether they have children or not – are more concerned about kids smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol than they are about kids using marijuana. [1]
For the survey, 1,122 adults age 18 and older were polled from March 1 through March 7, 2017.
Overall, 52% of respondents said that they had tried marijuana at some point in their lives. Among women, 49% said that they’d used marijuana, while 55% of men said that they had done so.
A whopping 83% of those surveyed said that they approve of legalizing marijuana for medical treatment, and among men and women, there wasn’t much difference in opinion. Eighty-two percent and 83% said they were in favor of pot legalization for medical purposes, respectively.
Support for recreational marijuana was considerably more tempered. In total, 49% of respondents expressed support for legal recreational pot. That number is far lower compared with those who believe medical marijuana should be legal, but it’s still a good sign; In 2000, just over 30% of Americans supported legalizing recreational marijuana, according to Gallup polls.
When asked if using marijuana was socially acceptable, regardless of whether they believe it should be legal, 56% answered yes. More men (58%) than women (53%) said they consider marijuana use socially acceptable.
The surveyors split that same question up among parents, parents with adult children, parents with children under 18, and parents who use marijuana, and this is what they found, respectively:
- Parents – 50%
- Parents with adult children – 49%
- Parents with children under 18 – 51%
- Parents who use marijuana – 75%
One of the most telling signs that pot is going more mainstream is this finding: Among people who said they follow a religion, 45% said consider marijuana use socially acceptable.
The split in opinion over marijuana legalization among political parties is, well, what you would expect to see in a poll. Overall, 54% of registered voters believe marijuana is socially acceptable. The survey found that 65% of Democrats, 38% of Republicans, and 61% of Independents don’t consider marijuana use taboo.
In 2000, only 29% of Democrats and 26% of Republicans voiced support for marijuana legalization.
However, when it comes to pregnant mothers, Americans still view marijuana as something to be avoided. Only 21% of respondents overall said it is acceptable for a pregnant woman to use marijuana to reduce nausea or pain. Even among marijuana users, the percentage was relatively low: 40%. More men (23%) than women (19%) support marijuana use for nausea and pain in pregnant women. I would have expected these numbers to be lower.
When broken down into regions, the Western U.S. showed the most support for recreational marijuana, with 55% saying they favor legalization. The finding is unsurprising, since Colorado and Washington were the first U.S. states to regulate sales of recreational cannabis.
California was the first state to legalize medical marijuana. Another 61% of respondents in the Western U.S. said they consider marijuana use to be socially acceptable, the highest percentage of all regions.
When asked whether they consider marijuana use a health risk, 51% of people overall answered yes. But, for the most part, people who’ve tried marijuana or regular users see it as less of a threat than those who never tried pot.
- Among those who never smoked cannabis, 64% consider it a health risk.
- Among those who tried pot at some point in their lives, just 39% view pot as a health risk.
- A mere 24% of regular users see any potential health threat.
Here’s where things get interesting, and you can truly see the shift in attitude about marijuana in the United States. When asked which they considered a bigger threat, regular marijuana use or regular tobacco use, 76% of respondents said tobacco is more dangerous than pot.
Among millennials, 87% consider tobacco to be riskier than pot. But marijuana continues to get a bad rep from some seniors; 47% of people age 69 and older see pot as the bigger threat. However, 73% of baby boomers (ages 51-69) point to tobacco as a bigger danger than cannabis.
Tobacco use was named as a bigger health risk than tobacco use by far in all regions of the U.S., as well as among parents of children of all ages, not to mention Republicans, Democrats, and Independents.
When it comes to alcohol vs. marijuana, parents of all ages of children, both sexes, all four regions of the country, and all registered voters said regular alcohol use was more dangerous than regular marijuana use.
It appears that the nation’s opioid crisis has opened a lot of people’s eyes, as well, with all age groups but those 69 and over answering that a prescription opioid from a doctor is more of a health risk than a prescription for medical marijuana. The same was found in all regions of the country, among all levels of education, and regardless of income.
Even parents and those who practice a religion said they would trust the marijuana plant over a prescription painkiller when it comes to safely treating their ailments.
Will the Feds Crack Down on Marijuana with the New Presidency?
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who is notoriously anti-legalization, has made comments hinting that the federal government may crack down on states where marijuana is legal. Here’s what respondents think of that:
- Overall, 30% of national adults believe the Trump administration should crack down harder on marijuana than the Obama administration.
- Overall, 38% of national adults think the Trump administration should be not as tough as the Obama administration.
- Overall, 27% of national adults say the current administration should be AS tough on marijuana as the Obama administration.
- Across all regions of the country, more people answered that the Trump administration should NOT be as tough on marijuana as the Obama administration.
Read: What Future Does Legal Marijuana Have Under a Trump Presidency?
Finally, respondents were asked what their most significant concern was about marijuana; and, like a Cheech and Chong meme, the #1 concern among national adults is that it’s illegal. Only 14% expressed concern that pot use could lead to harder drugs, and only 7% worry about addiction.
Sources
Image Sources:
 | Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog. |
Saturday, March 11, 2017
WATCH: Hero Cop Sets Colossal Precedent — “We Should Legalize Weed”
Our good friend, Dominik Izzo, is basking in what appears to be his life’s calling: lecturing law enforcement leaders, officers, and anyone who will listen, on why police are hated so much and what each police officer and department can do about it.
As some of our readers may recall, Izzo was fired after blowing the whistle on Round Lake Park IL Police Chief, George Filenko. The former police union president came out against what he perceived to be his superior’s ineptitude in allowing an innocent woman to go to prison, charged and convicted of murder for a crime many, including at least three coroners, now believe she could not have committed. For the complete story click here.
In a recent video, Izzo came out and said what many police often think, but few have the platform to announce: marijuana is not the problem — waging a war against it is.
He first went on record saying, “I’ve never smoked pot…I’ve no desire to…I’ve never tried it,” and admitted the smell of freshly harvested weed gives him a headache. But the outspoken veteran police officer did admit to having arrested several individuals who were in possession of marijuana. “With that said, to my knowledge…I’ve never seen anyone ever do anything impaired on weed that was dangerous, at all, at all,” he said confirming what marijuana users already know. They’re not impaired after smoking weed, and are fully aware of themselves at all times while gettting high. “If cannabis itself, if weed is a plant, it’s organic,” he said adding, “I’ve never seen…(people on cannabis)…do things that are violent.”
READ MORE: Exponential Growth of Pot Sales Have States Frantically Pushing to End the War on Marijuana
He admitted weed, and the desire to use it, doesn’t compel users to break into a home or prostitute themselves to get weed. On the contrary, the same cannot be said of heroin or cocaine, the officer admitted. Then the teetotaler came out with his own opinion on issues surrounding the legality of marijuana.
“I truly believe that we should legalize weed,” Izzo said, that adding arresting pot users for possession charges amounts to, “cops…wasting their time.”
“We are perpetuating a cycle where people can’t stand us because we’re arresting people for a…roach in their car,” he admitted, adding police are, “ruining their lives by putting the arrest on their record.”
Izzo’s pro-marijuana position is in line with what much of the rest of the country is thinking in the 21st century. Weed isn’t a substance to be feared or banned, but rather embraced for all of the medical benefits it can give to users.
The former officer of the year called it “stupid shit” when police officers arrest users and legally complicate their lives, potentially resulting in increased medical bills for officer takedowns which may lead to personal injury.
“Anything natural is going to wind up helping us,” Izzo stated after acknowledging Big Pharma’s role in keeping weed illegal for half of the country. The veteran police officer then described how he stays healthy. He says he regularly consumes alkaline green drinks, presumably such as barley grass smoothies. And turning one last time to cannabis, drawing a correlation between his superfood endeavors and marijuana, he said, “I think it has massive health benefits.” Wishing not to be confused with marijuana users, Izzo again reiterated he has no interest in trying a little THC.
READ MORE: The Power of Truth -- Famous D.A.R.E. Cop Now Lobbies to Legalize Pot -- After it Saved His Life
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
Alcohol Industry Frantically Lobbies Against Legal Weed as Beer Sales Predict $2 Billion Drop
Some new cannabis statistics are undoubtedly causing the alcohol industry in the US to shake in their boots.
With over half of the country’s states embracing some form of legalized marijuana, with a few states even permitting recreational use, cannabis is poised to affect the alcohol industry at some point. And according to a new study, the beer industry stands to lose billions if marijuana is legalized nationwide.
The study states, “Cannabiz Consumer Group’s (C2G) research findings predict that legal marijuana will “canna-balize” 7.1% of revenues from the existing retail beer industry.” Even though the revenue margin may seem small to some, the profit losses are predicted to exceed 2 billion dollars.
And while the research attempts to predict what will happen when and if weed is legal nationwide, many alcohol consumers are already making the switch over to marijuana. The study writes, “Twenty-seven percent (27%) of beer drinkers state that they already have substituted cannabis for beer, or would substitute their beer retail purchases with cannabis in the future if legal.”
There’s no shortage of pot smokers either. The study proclaims, “There were 24.6 million legal cannabis consumers in the US in 2016.” And while beer, wine, and, liquor sales will certainly be affected by the nationwide legalization of weed, “C2G’s projects that legal cannabis penetration will settle at a level comparable to that of beer and wine and that a fully mature market would create a new $50 billion industry.” Fifty billion dollars is nothing to shake a stick at, so to speak.
“The forecasts were generated using C2G’s CannaUse™ study on the cannabis mindset and behaviors of 40K individual participants, the company’s warehouse of over 55MM cannabis purchase transactions, and CPG consumer panel and point-of-sale data sourced from IRI through an exclusive data and analytic share arrangement,” the study writes.
READ MORE: DC Police Chief: Marijuana Arrests "Make People Hate Us," Users Just Want To Relax
Rich Maturo, the CEO of C2G explained that there are ways to begin to approach offsetting losses sustained in the beer industry but it comes first from understanding why marijuana users smoke weed. “Those at risk of losing sales to legalized cannabis can undertake a variety of actions to offset their losses,” he said. “Consumers use cannabis to satisfy various need social, medical and experiential need states. By understanding these needs, those at risk of losing sales to cannabis can try to offset some of the losses by understanding and speaking to a consumer’s needs.” That seems to be a positive trait for marijuana a and a negative one to the beer industry.
Socially speaking, alcohol is the most widely used drug in America, made legal after the failed war on alcohol, otherwise known as the Prohibition. Research shows that alcohol not only kills but is often found in the bloodstreams of those who’ve been convicted of crimes at the time they committed their offense. It remains, as The Free Thought Project has reported, one of the most dangerous legal drugs readily available to all Americans over the age of 21.
Maturo says the best way to compete with marijuana is to take a more accepting approach. “Those companies that are gathering insights on cannabis and have the foresight to see it as presenting an opportunity in addition to a risk will fare much better than those who strictly take a defensive position,” he said.
Knowing this information it is no wonder the alcohol industry has been caught multiple times lobbying to keep pot illegal. They are chomping at the bit to force the state to continue kidnapping and caging people who use pot as this forces everyone to be a customer of theirs.
READ MORE: Legal Weed is Killing Cartels and Corporate Media Is Trying to Say that"s a Bad Thing
As the Free Thought Project previously reported, within the mountains of email texts of WikiLeaks, was a paid segment by the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA), stoking fear within Washington, encouraging politicians to be wary of marijuana legalization.
The May 24, 2016 edition of Huddle, a daily Politico newsletter for Capitol Hill insiders, contained this paid advertisement:
** A message from Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America: While neutral on the issue of legalization, WSWA believes states that legalize marijuana need to ensure appropriate and effective regulations are enacted to protect the public from the dangers associated with the abuse and misuse of marijuana.
23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medicinal marijuana while Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and D.C. have legalized possession and recreational use. In the years since the state legalized medicinal use, Colorado law enforcement officials have documented a significant increase in traffic fatalities in which drivers tested positive for marijuana.
Congress should fully fund Section 4008 of the FAST Act (PL 114-94) in the FY 2017 Appropriations process to document the prevalence of marijuana impaired driving, outline impairment standards and determine driving impairment detection methods.
Also, as the Intercept reported, the fight against legalized pot is being heavily bankrolled by alcohol and pharmaceutical companies, terrified that they might lose market share.
Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Does Trump Realize: Legalizing Marijuana Would “Lower Healthcare Costs, Boost the Economy”?
This article was written by Charles Hugh Smith and originally published at his Of Two Minds blog.
Editor’s Comment: Let’s see, legalization could spur economic growth in independent small businesses at the expense of private prisons, the pharmaceutical industries and the capitalization of servitude. The reason it would be great for almost everyone centers around freedom and prosperity; and the reasons it would be bad for a handful of rulers is that they stay profitable when people are controlled, imprisoned and constantly harassed… is that an over simplification?
The benefits it would create in terms of easier access to basis relief from pain and many other ailments, without the addiction and risk of death posed by opioid prescriptions and illegal heroin, opium, etc. are enormous – in their ability to drain guaranteed monopoly profits from those who hold shares in health care services – from drugs on down. While the healthcare system itself may be unmanageable and difficult for the average individual to get good treatment in, at a reasonable price, it is off the charts for those providing goods and services to an industry that now represents 20% of the economy.
Does anyone have any questions as to why the federal government is going after marijuana – despite nearly half the country voting to legalize it in either medical or recreation aspects?
Dear President Trump: If You Want to Lower Healthcare Costs and Stem the Opiate Death Spiral, Legalize Marijuana
If there is anything the left and right, progressives and conservatives, and everyone in between can agree on, it’s ending the counter-productive, destructive “war on drugs” that has generated crime and violence, a “we’re number one in Gulags” prison complex and pushed people into harder, far more dangerous drugs (see chart of “legal” opioid deaths below).
Dear President Trump: if you’re truly serious about lowering healthcare costs and stemming the rising tide of opioid addictions and death, then fully legalize marijuana via executive order now.
The usual justifications for continuing the criminalization of marijuana have moved from threadbare to completely disconnected from reality. We’re told that marijuana is surrounded by violence–well duh–the violence is the direct consequence of Prohibition.
What happened when alcohol was prohibited? Crime and violence exploded around the production and distribution of the outlawed drug. What was peaceful when legal becomes violent when outlawed. This is so obvious, yet we have “leaders” who are blind to the dynamic.
By outlawing medical marijuana, we have pushed everyone with chronic pain into extremely addictive and increasingly deadly “legal” opiates. This is the height of insanity: outlaw natural substances with pain management potential while legalizing highly addictive and often deadly synthetic opiates.
Legalizing marijuana would eliminate the violence, lower the costs of operating the Drug War Gulag and lower healthcare costs by reducing the dependence on addictive opiates for pain management. Yes, there are circumstances that require opiates–but does it make sense to make opiates the next step above over-the-counter pain relievers?
The social, human and financial costs of the opiate pandemic are skyrocketing.Adding marijuana products to the spectrum of choices would reduce these costs and the death toll. Regardless of whatever critics may claim about the negative effects of marijuana, the truth is death by marijuana overdose is essentially non-existent.
Compare that to the tens of thousands of deaths caused by “legal” opiates and the millions of lives destroyed by the “war on drugs” and its American Gulag.While those benefiting from operating the “war on drugs” and the American Gulag propagandize a completely false pathway from marijuana to opiates, the reality is grandmothers are benefiting from medical marijuana and it is the sick-care/Big Pharma cartels that are the pathway to opiate addiction and death.
Dear President Trump: you say you want bold solutions that unite us: start by fully legalizing marijuana. Listen to your young advisors and those in law enforcement who see the counterproductive insanity of the “war on marijuana” first-hand. Listen to the elderly who are benefiting from medical marijuana.
Do the right thing and fully legalize marijuana. It’s time to move beyond addled fictions and deal with the ugly realities of a system that actively promotes “legal” opiate addiction and death while outlawing marijuana.
If you found value in this content, please join me in seeking solutions by becoming a $1/month patron of my work via patreon.com.
Check out both of my new books, Inequality and the Collapse of Privilege($3.95 Kindle, $8.95 print) and Why Our Status Quo Failed and Is Beyond Reform($3.95 Kindle, $8.95 print). For more, please visit the OTM essentials website.
This article was written by Charles Hugh Smith and originally published at his Of Two Minds blog.
Sunday, February 12, 2017
8 Reasons Why Ending The War On Drugs Would Make The World A Safer Place
John Vibes
January 16, 2014
(PRL.com) The following list delves into the external consequences of the drug war to illustrate how drug users and non-users alike would be a lot better off if prohibition of all drugs ended immediately and the War On Drugs was ended.
The drug war is one of the most misunderstood subjects in the mainstream political dialogue, even among people who are sympathetic to the plight of responsible drug users. It is rare for someone to come out and say that all drugs should be legal, but in all honesty this is the only logically consistent stance on the issue. To say that some drugs should be legal while others should not is still giving credence to the punishment paradigm and overlooking the external consequences of drug prohibition, or prohibition of any object for that matter.
There is no doubt that drug abuse is a serious issue in our culture, primarily because people are so depressed and beaten down that they self medicate just to be able to tolerate the average day. However, a prohibition policy is a policy of violence, because if you happen to be caught with any of these banned items you will be forcefully taken against your will and put in a cage, and if you dare to prevent this kidnap from taking place you will inevitably be killed. This is the fundamental issue surrounding the drug war that we need to be focused on. Instead of bickering over how to slightly reform drug policy, or arguing about which drug is more harmful than the other, we need to be pointing out that prohibition itself is an inherently violent policy that rests upon the stone age concept of punishment.
As I alluded to earlier, there are many external factors that are effected by the drug war that many people don’t take into account. That is because when you carry out acts of violence, even in the form of punishment, you then create a ripple effect which extends far beyond the bounds of the original circumstance to effect many innocent people down the line. The following list delves into those external factors to illustrate how drug users and non users alike, would be a lot better off if prohibition ended immediately.
(1) Reduce Violent crime – The steady increase in violent crime over the past few decades is directly correlated with the escalation of the drug war. As we saw during the times of alcohol prohibition, when you ban any inanimate object, you create an incentive for people to get involved in the black market distribution of that object. Since there is no accountability, or means of peaceful dispute resolution within the black market, buyers and sellers are forced to resort to violence as their sole means of handling disagreements.
Eventually, this violence spills over into the everyday world and effects everyone’s lives. No one could imagine Budweiser and Miller Lite in a back alley gunfight, but less than a century ago during alcohol prohibition, distributors of the drug were involved in shootouts on a regular basis, just as drug gangs are today. Of course, all of this violence came to an immediate end when alcohol was legalized, however, it was not long before the establishment found a new crusade in the drug war, which allowed them to continue the same policy just with different substances.
(2) Improve seller accountability and drug safety — In the black market one of the major drawbacks is that there is no accountability among the people selling the drug. Since anyone can get kidnapped and thrown in a cage for even dealing with the stuff, it really doesn’t make sense for people to be plastering their names and logos all over the drugs. In this age of corporate mercantilism logos and branding may seem like a really tacky idea, but when looking at the black market we can see the value in such things. Someone who is selling a product with their name on it, is going to go through far greater lengths to ensure the quality of their product, as opposed to someone who would remain anonymous.
This anonymity creates an incentive for people to be dishonest with what they sell. This could lead to rip offs, or downright contamination of the drug with unwanted harmful substances. This is why there was bathtub gin that would make you go blind if your drank it during alcohol prohibition. This is also the reason why some of the harder street drugs today are cut with toxic chemicals that increase the chance of overdose ten fold. The fact that the drugs need to be smuggled also creates the incentive to make drugs more potent, and thus in some circumstances more dangerous. The increased potency and decreased availability inevitably leads to a massive increase in cost. The increased cost is a whole other issue with its own unique side effects in regards to drug safety. When the price of the real drugs go up, people just start huffing paint thinner, smoking bath salts and cooking up crystal meth in their basements, which is then even many times more dangerous than the unbranded drugs on the black market.
(3) Reduce Drug Availability to Children – Many children have houses that are filled with alcohol, yet most of them find it way easier to get drugs than to get alcohol even though alcohol is legal. Even if there were no legal age restrictions on alcohol, the societal and family norms would be just as effective at deterring children from then a formal prohibition policy. If we look overseas at countries that don’t have age restrictions on alcohol, younger people are oftentimes much more mature and informed about its effects than children in the west, and are more likely to make responsible decisions about mind altering substances. In Portugal where drugs have been decriminalized for some time now there has actually been a double digit drop in drug use by school age children.
(4) Reduce nonviolent Prisoner population – A vast majority of the prisoners in the united states are there for nonviolent non crimes, many of which stem from the drug war. Currently, there are more people in US prisons than were in the gulags of Soviet Russia at its worst. Putting nonviolent people in cages, bringing violence against nonviolent people is a horrible violation of natural law. However, if you have no sympathy or compassion for the casualties in this drug war, I would point again to the external consequences which effect even the most vocal prohibitionist. According to the most cited Judge in the United States, Richard A. Posner, the government spends $41.3 billion per year of your tax money on law enforcement measures against mostly small time drug users.
(5) Real crime can be dealt with – Even in areas with a declining homicide rate, the murder cases that are going unsolved are continuing to climb. Police departments and buerocrats have a million excuses, but the drug war is one of the primary reasons for this occurrence. On one hand indiscriminate killings become more common than crimes of passion that are easy to figure out, but there is a much more sinister aspect of this as well. If you look at the rate of incarcerations for drug offenses, and how incredibly often drug cases are “solved” and found in favor of the state, it becomes obvious that the police have more of an incentive in their day to day activities to hunt down drug users than murderers. These people aren’t selfless public servants as the propaganda on primetime television would lead you to believe, they are average people just like you and me. They will even tell ya “im just doin my job”, so like most of us, when they are on the job they try to get the most amount of money for the least amount of work, and murder cases are really tough work.
A cop could even miss his quota by taking the time and effort to hunt down a murderer, instead of grabbing a kid with a bag of pot, which is a lot easier to find and a lot easier to catch. Quotas are another thing that many police departments deny, but time and time again evidence surfaces that proves otherwise, recently a former NYPD officer has come forward saying that he used to ticket dead people just to meet his quota. This is not to say that all cops are nasty people, but the way that their jobs are monopolized by the state and focused on the drug war corrupts their position and forces them to hurt innocent people and violate people’s rights even if they have the best of intentions.
(6) Encourage genuine treatment for addicts – As a result of international drug treaties most of the world has remained trapped in a punishment mindset when it comes to dealing with the social problem of drug addiction. While an addiction may be problematic for the person involved and everyone that they come in contact with, they are not a criminal until they actually hurt someone or damage their property, and even then they are a criminal because of their aforementioned transgression not because of their drug addiction. Even the treatment that we see today is not genuine because it is forced on people and doesent address the reasons why they are doing drugs in the first place. In other words, today’s treatment programs just try to bash the idea that “drugs are bad” into peoples heads, instead of really communicating with them, treating them like human beings and overcoming the underlying issues in their lives that are pushing them towards lives of drug addiction.
(7) Prevent drug overdoses – As I mentioned earlier most drug overdoses that happen today wouldn’t occur if it wasn’t for the artificially high potency of drugs that we see today. However, what is even more sad is that of those overdoses that do happen, many more of them could have been prevented but were not because witnesses were too afraid of the police getting involved to call for help. 9 states out of 50 in the US currently have good Samaritan laws to give legal amnesty to anyone who brings an overdosing person to the hospital, but that measure wouldn’t even be necessary if prohibition wasn’t a factor in the first place. The fact that people are actually afraid to call an ambulance in this country should really tell you something about the level that the police state has risen to.
(8) Protect individual rights – Thanks to the drug war, merely on the whim of saying that they smell something cops are now able to enter homes, search cars and totally violate the rights of nonviolent people. The drug war and terrorism are the two biggest excuses used to violate peoples rights, yet according to the national safety council you are 8 times more likely to be killed by a police officer than a terrorist. The very existence of the drug war to begin with, or a prohibition on any object is a fundamental violation of natural rights that should not exist in any civilized society.
This article originally appeared on PunkRockLibertarians.com and was used with permission. Image credit: Neon Tommy/Flickr
This article is an excerpt from the book “Alchemy of the Timeless Renaissance” by John Vibes. About the author: John Vibes is an author, researcher and investigative journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture and the drug war. In addition to his writing and activist work he is also the owner of a successful music promotion company. In 2013, he became one of the organizers of the Free Your Mind Conference, which features top caliber speakers and whistle-blowers from all over the world. You can contact him and stay connected to his work at his Facebook page. You can find his 65 chapter Book entitled “Alchemy of the Timeless Renaissance” at bookpatch.com.
Saturday, January 14, 2017
Natl Survey Shows Most Cops Want Pot Legal — But They’ll Keep Arresting You Because It’s Their Job
Pew Research Center has released the results of the National Survey of Law Enforcement Officers, asking nearly 8,000 police officers about their personal thoughts on cannabis legalization for both medical and recreational usage. The study found that almost one third, 32 percent of them think cannabis should be legal for recreational use. However the largest group, 37 percent of respondents think cannabis should be legal only for medical use. After rounding errors, at least 30 percent of cops think cannabis should remain illegal.
This total effectively means that two thirds of police officers still support the prohibition of cannabis some form. By comparison, only 15 percent of the general population thinks cannabis should remain illegal, according to Pew. Nearly half of Americans, at 49 percent, are in favor of recreational usage. Over a third of Americans are only in favor of approved medical usage.
The Pew Research Center study was conducted online from May through August 2016, among a national sample of 7,917 police officers in local police and sheriff departments with at least 100 sworn officers. The study was compared to a survey of the general public of 4,538 U.S. adults conducted online and by mail from August through September 2016. The survey is considered representative of both the public and law enforcement nationwide and is one of the largest of its kind, according to Pew. While this article uses the word cannabis, the survey was presented to the officers as marijuana.
The responses to Pew’s study were also split by age on the issue. Officers under age 35 were more likely to support recreational use at 37 percent, compared to 27 percent for the ages between 50 and 60.
READ MORE: Cops and Big Pharma Shamefully & Quietly Kill Legislation Allowing CBD Oil for Epileptic Kids
Not mentioned in the study, but a reality nonetheless, is the fact that no matter the opinion of the officers on cannabis, they will still arrest you for it — as it is their job. Parents looking to medicate their epileptic children with cannabis wouldn’t be so scared of doing it if 60 percent of cops weren’t a threat. However, as proven by statistics, less the rare exceptions, the majority of cops continue to kidnap and cage people over this illegal plant — personal views on cannabis aside.
Law enforcement groups have strongly opposed legalization efforts across the country for decades. However lobbying efforts against cannabis have intensified in recent years. California’s Proposition 64 which legalized recreational use saw almost 10 million dollars in opposition from the top 5 police organizations in the state. Two of the top five are collective bargaining organizations, the California Correctional Supervisors Organization and the Peace Officers Research Association of California. The remaining three are professional and training organizations, the California Police Chiefs Association, California Narcotics Officers’ Association, and the Los Angeles Peace Officers’ Association.
Washington Post was forced to note that the Pew survey indicates wide variation in views on cannabis use among officers. The Post highlighted pro-legalization group LEAP, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, which is made up of active-duty and retired police officers who want to speak out “about the failures of our existing drug policies.” LEAP has been active in local campaigns to legalize recreational usage in Colorado, Washington and elsewhere.
The Washington Post quoted LEAP board member Diane Goldstein, a retired Lieutenant Commander from the Redondo Beach Police Department, who stated common reasons why police officers have more conservative attitudes than the public about marijuana legalization. “Law enforcement continues to represent an outlier view on this issue because police are trained with outdated, unscientific, drug-war-oriented materials,” Goldstein said.
READ MORE: 71 Years Ago Today, The US Govt Carried Out One of the Worst Terrorist Acts in the History of the World
The Free Thought Project has covered the negative effects of the drug war and seeks common sense changes to American law enforcement which ends the system of policing for profit and promotes public safety. Free Thought has interviewed numerous cops on the subject, one who calls the drug war a scam. Law enforcement policy is changing in some areas as a 2015 report by the Drug Enforcement Administration showed that 1,100 police departments no longer consider marijuana a threat, according to the DEA’s National Drug Threat Assessment Summary.
The drug war only encourages corruption, ranging from petty violations like the California cops who raided a legal dispensary and were caught on video eating edible candy products, to major operations like the entire police department in Florida caught laundering tens of millions of dollars for drug cartels. Another California police department executed a raid with guns drawn on a legal dispensary, seizing cash and assets after disabling security cameras.
Public safety continues to be an issue with police raids looking for marijuana, such as a case in Buffalo where a woman and her dog were shot by Buffalo cops, a department that has likely shot over 100 dogs since 2011. A Florida man was killed in a SWAT team raid that yielded two dollars worth of marijuana. An Iowa man was left paralyzed after being shot in the neck by an officer during a traffic stop. The man allegedly tried to escape after being arrested because the officer smelled marijuana.
Drug war raids have also left a toddler disfigured by a flash grenade thrown into a crib, and a 7-year-old girl killed while sleeping on the couch with her Grandmother. Detroit cops recently killed three dogs in a raid on a woman’s house searching for cannabis plants, even though two dogs were locked in the basement and one in a bathroom.
READ MORE: Man Shoots at Intruders, Turns Out it was a No-Knock Raid. Now He Faces the Death Penalty
The Drug war has been proven a waste of time, as cops mistake cannabis for vegetable plants like tomatoes in one Texas case and for okra in Georgia.
The Free Thought Project is uniquely focused on the national trend of dangerous police raids for marijuana prohibition which can be found in search results or in our Drug War archive.
Sunday, January 8, 2017
Despite Being Illegal in Most of the US, Legal Pot Sales Booming More than Dot-Com Era
Legal cannabis sales have exploded in North America, experiencing unprecedented 30 percent growth in 2016, totaling a massive $6.7 billion — a greater and faster economic boom than even the oft-heralded dot-com era.
Even more positive — particularly for cannabis purveyors and eager consumers — Forbes reports, assuming compound annual growth of 25 percent, sales are projected to top $20.2 billion in just the next four years.
As the outlet explains:
“To put this in perspective, this industry growth is larger and faster than even the dot-com era. During that time, GDP grew at a blistering pace of 22%. Thirty percent is an astounding number especially when you consider that the industry is in early stages.”
ArcView Market Research published the eye-popping report — using data from BDS Analytics, with access to individual customer transactions from dispensary partners — and included Canada for the first time as the nation makes its nascent foray into the legal cannabis landscape.
“One of the biggest stories was the alternative forms of ingestion,” ArcView CEO Troy Dayton told Forbes. “Concentrates and edibles are becoming customer favorites versus traditional smoking.”
Dayton, impressed by the bewildering figures, expressed trepidation over the future of the legal cannabis market under the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump — but he remains optimistic.
“It’s one of the few things he has been consistent on,” the ArcView head said of the incoming president’s states’ rights position on legalizing cannabis.
Right now, Dayton noted, “Twenty-one percent of the total U.S. population now live in legal adult use markets.”
Heavy investments in legal cannabis have came from California, Florida, Massachusetts, and Nevada; but the most jaw-dropping growth happened in Colorado, Washington, and Oregon — where sales skyrocketed fully 62 percent through September 2016 — veritably eclipsing the numbers from 2015.
Much of this market explosion has not occurred with the help of large companies and corporations, since the legality of cannabis in the U.S. has been a matter of political climate.
“You will not find another multi-billion dollar market growing at a 25% compound annual growth rate anywhere in the world that is not already filled with multi-national companies and institutional investors,” Dayton explained. “That’s part of what makes the cannabis industry such a unique opportunity for investors and entrepreneurs.”
Forbes reports ArcView “has helped its investors place $91 million with 135 companies since 2013 and primarily focuses on private companies. The industry with its legalization risks does not attract institutional investors in the same amount that other sectors do.”
Those investors seek new technology in the industry, particularly new means of testing cannabis and new advances in growing the plant.
Despite archaic federal prohibition on ‘marijuana,’ a growing number of states have opted to employ logic and compassion, legalizing variously recreational or medical use — in fact, California, Massachusetts, Maine, and Nevada voted to legalize recreational use in 2016.
ArcView’s new editor-in-chief Tom Adams, astounded legal cannabis managed to trump even the glorious dot-com boom, said “The only consumer industry categories I’ve seen reach $5 billion in annual spending and then post anything like 25% compound annual growth in the next five years are cable television (19%) in the 1990’s and the broadband internet (29%) in the 2000’s.”
This explosive growth proves legal cannabis doesn’t only benefit people with medical conditions and stoners — it can supercharge the economy, too. The drug warriors look sillier by the day.
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Who Cares Which Puppet Won? LEGAL Cannabis Access in the US Just Jumped from 5% to Over 20%
For the better part of the last 12 months, Americans have been at each other’s throats over which candidate would be best to rule over them. “I want Trump to rule me!” screamed the right. “I want Clinton to rule me!” screamed the left. However, both parties conveniently ignored the fact that the president is merely a symbolic figurehead for America Inc. The real movers and shakers act behind the scenes and the system is setup in such a way that no matter how genuine a candidate’s principals are — there is no way to affect change from within the federal government.
On the other hand, as you move outward to smaller forms of government like states and cities, people still have some ability to force change — and we witnessed this last night.
Marijuana was on the ballot in nine states on Tuesday: Voters in four states—Florida, Montana, North Dakota and Arkansas—were asked to cast their votes on medical marijuana initiatives, while voters in five others—California, Nevada, Arizona, Massachusetts, and Maine — were asked to legalize it recreationally for those 21 and older.
Of those nine states, eight voted to stop kidnapping, caging, and killing people over a plant, with Arizona being the only one stuck in the stone age. While it is not yet official, the legalization measure in Maine is 50.3% to 49.7% with over 90% reporting.
America has now passed a tipping point. Prior to Tuesday night, only five percent of the country lived in a place where cannabis is legal. That number is now over 20 percent — in a single night!
Electing presidents and federal politicians does nothing to affect positive change and reverse tyranny. In fact, it only serves to advance it. If voting in the national elections made any difference — it would be illegal.
However, resistance to unjust laws through civil disobedience, as is the case with cannabis, will always lead to a lesser tyranny. Had people accepted that cannabis was illegal and abstained from its use, you can rest assured that no states would have ever legalized cannabis. The millions of people who benefit from the healing powers of cannabis would’ve never done so — had people not disobeyed unjust laws.
As pundits on the left and right use this election to blame the other side for all the problems in America today, those of us who affect real change, see past this facade. As the left/right paradigm continues to shroud the minds of good people by pitting them against each other over superficial issues, those that have broken free from it, are fighting for our rights.
Last night marked the beginning of the end of prohibition. Gone are the days of the state keeping people ignorant to the nearly miraculous benefits of cannabis. There is no doubt that the drug warriors are shaking in their boots, however, we still have a long way to go.
In spite of the mountains of evidence showing medical cannabis to be successful in killing cancer cells, saving the lives of countless epileptic children, healing broken bones, relieving pain, and treating PTSD – there still exists portions of the state that will kill you over it. However, that portion of the United States, who will ruin or take your life over a plant, is growing smaller by the day.
Please share this article with your friends and family who are still arguing about their candidate winning or losing. Show them that no matter which shiny puppet pretends to have your interests in mind as they shout from their pulpits surrounded by teleprompters that nothing changes until you refuse to comply.
Saturday, November 5, 2016
Legal Marijuana Created 18,000 New Jobs in Colorado Last Year
The marijuana industry created more than 18,000 new jobs in Colorado last year, and had a $2.39 billion impact on the state, according to a new report released October 26. [1]
In a study conducted by the economic consulting firm Marijuana Policy Group (MPG), researchers looked at two years’ worth of sales numbers from Colorado and found that legalization resulted in nearly $1 billion in retail sales in 2015.
There was also an indirect economic impact from increased demand on local goods and services, such as growers renting warehouse space and purchasing high-tech lighting and irrigation equipment. Then there are the contractors, lawyers, bookkeepers, and other companies that cannabis retailers rely on.
Study co-author and MPG founder Adam Orens said:
“If this is done right, regulated right, taxed right, this industry can bring real economic benefits to a state.
If the state or the local governments manage, permit and enforce [marijuana regulation] in a thoughtful way, then this can have real benefits.”
According to the Marijuana Policy Group, the legal marijuana industry’s growth isn’t so much the result of new, previously untapped demand for weed, but rather from a reduction of the unregulated black market.
Orens and his co-authors wrote:
“It would be easy to confuse the rapid growth in marijuana sales with an inherent growth in marijuana demand. But that is not the case. Legal marijuana sales are increasing due to a supply shift — away from gray and black market suppliers, toward licensed suppliers.”
The black market is what keeps marijuana prices high, and what most people associate with drug-related crime. Opponents of the War on Drugs have been pushing for decriminalization for decades, partly because it reduces the black market.
In Colorado and Washington, D.C., the black market still exists, but the new study suggests it has been greatly reduced by legalization. In fact, the MPG predicts that by 2020, more than 90% of the marijuana market will be supplied by regulated, state-licensed dealers. Home growers and a small fraction of unregulated and “grey market” dealers (dealers who aren’t entirely legally legitimate) will comprise the remaining 10%.
The report states:
“Applying the marijuana impact model to Colorado, it was found that each dollar spent on retail marijuana generates $2.40 in state output. This compares favorably with general retail trade, which yields $1.88 per dollar. The more traditional (and sometimes subsidized) mining sector generates $1.79 per dollar. General manufacturing generates $1.94 per dollar, and casinos generate just $1.73 per dollar of spending.
Other industries have lower output yields because their inputs are sourced from outside of the state, or because the profits are remitted to corporate owners that exist primarily outside of the state as well.” [2]
However, Oren stresses that the report only examined the economics of marijuana legalization in Colorado, not its effects on public health or criminal justice. [1]
At that point, the MPG expects growth in the state’s cannabis industry to slow, resembling growth in other retail industries, which tend to follow population growth.
Additionally, the Marijuana Policy Group found:
- Marijuana is currently bringing in tax revenue at three times the rate of the alcohol industry. MPG predicts that by 2020, pot will overtake cigarette taxes as a revenue-generator.
- Marijuana taxes brought in about $121 million in revenue last year. MPG expects that number to increase to about $150 million by 2020.
In 2014, the marijuana industry brought more than 10,000 new jobs to Colorado.
In the Spring of 2014 – just three months after marijuana was legalized in Colorado – the city of Denver enjoyed a 14.6% decrease in crime.
Tax revenue from legal weed has funded scholarships for high school seniors in need.
And speaking of young people, a report from this past July showed that youth marijuana use stayed at about the same level post-legalization, shattering the myth that decriminalizing marijuana sends straight-A students into the depths of addiction, despair, and destroyed futures.
Sources:
[2] The Cannabist
 | Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog. |
Saturday, October 15, 2016
Reporter Says “F**k It” and Promotes Marijuana Legalization, Faces 54 Years in Prison
It was the epic “I quit” seen and heard around the world. The year was 2014 when Charlo Greene, a reporter with KTVA in Alaska, took to the airwaves to tell viewers she was ditching her day job to promote pot legalization with a well-timed “f**k it.” But now Greene is now facing 54 years in prison. Here’s the video, but if you haven’t figured it out yet, it contains an F-bomb. [1]
Ten of the offenses stem from either the supply or possession of cannabis over 1 ounce on several different dates when detectives visited the club. Each offense carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison. [2]
The other 4 offenses resulted from the supply or possession of smaller amounts, which carry the threat of 1 year in prison, each.
The club allowed people to purchase memberships which allowed individuals to make “donations” in exchange for pot. Greene was charged after authorities carried out several raids on her club. [1]
Said Greene:
“It’s almost dizzying when you try to make sense of it. It could literally cost me the rest of my adult life.”
Court records show Greene wasn’t involved in the undercover transactions, but law enforcement said “f**k it” and charged her anyway because the business was registered in her name. The Alaska Cannabis Club and 2 others are facing the penalties because they started operations before regulations were in place.
Cynthia Franklin, director of the state’s alcohol and marijuana control office, explained:
“These people got ahead and said, ‘We’re not going to wait."”
Greene quit her job on September 22, 2014 as she was ending a report on the Alaska Cannabis Club by telling viewers she was the actual owner of the business.
Before walking off-camera, to the shock of viewers and the in-studio news anchor, she said the following words into the camera:
“Now, everything you’ve heard is why I, the actual owner of the Alaska Cannabis Club, will be dedicating all of my energy toward fighting for freedom and fairness, which begins with legalizing marijuana here in Alaska. And as for this job, well—not that I have a choice—but [f–k] it, I quit.” [2]
The dramatic departure made Greene an immediate viral video star. (Who hasn’t wanted to quit a job like that?)
From that point on, Greene positioned herself as a marijuana advocate, helping to make cannabis accessible in Alaska after it became the 3rd state in the U.S. to legalize recreational marijuana. [3]
Greene has described her case as a “modern-day lynching,” raising questions about the ongoing – and failed – war on drugs, and the impact her case could have on law-enforcement implications in other states where legalization is being considered.
Jennifer Egbe, Greene’s sister, who helped out at the club, said:
“The fact that they were watching us for so long, I kind of felt violated. I was really just heartbroken. I never assumed it would go this far.”
Charlo Greene – legal name Charlene Egbe – has pleaded not guilty. A trial is expected to be held in the following months.
Sources:
[1] Fox News
[2] The Independent
[3] The Root
 | Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog. |
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