Punitive Drug Laws Wreck Havoc on the Appropriate Workings of Democracy - by David Bearman, MD
The drug laws have distorted American priorities. Money spent on prison guards, courts, prosecutors and incarceration is money that could otherwise be used to balance the budget, bail out Social Security, repair Medicare or fund education. In California alone, over 30 new prisons have been built in the last 25 years. In the same time period, only two new colleges were built. Is it right that the most arrests for cannabis, over 700,000 a year (up to that time), took place in the Clinton administration, or that prison guards are the most powerful lobby in California, or that we spend billions on prisons but our colleges are begging for money?
Joel Miller, author of “Bad Trip” said: “Far from a simple attempt to rid the nation of crime and drugs, our policy against narcotics – like any public policy – comes with strings attached. And increasingly these strings are constricting around the necks of Americans’ lives and liberties.”
Worse yet, our federal drug laws have destroyed a large percentage of people's faith in government. We have taken behavior (drug use and abuse) that was perfectly legal in America from 1492 to 1918 and, to our detriment, made it illegal.
"The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by Prohibition. Nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in the country is closely connected with this."
– Albert Einstein, My First Impression of the Country, 1921
Numerous critics of the Drug War come from all political stripes. These critics include Orange County Superior Court Judge James Gray (Libertarian), former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson (Republican), former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura (Independent), former Reagan Secretary of State George Schultz (Republican), former Baltimore mayor Karl Schmoke (Democrat), conservative economist Milton Friedman, and others note this destruction of the Constitution, waste of money and perversion of justice as resulting from our drug policy. All in the name of our wrong-headed drug policies.
“This plea comes from the bottom of my heart. Every friend of freedom, and I know you are one, must be as revolted as I am by the prospect of turning the United States into an armed camp, by the vision of jails filled with casual drug users and of an army of enforcers empowered to invade the liberty of citizens on slight evidence. A country in which shooting down unidentified planes 'on suspicion' can be seriously considered as a drug-war tactic is not the kind of United States that either you or I want to hand on to future generations.”
- Milton Friedman, conservative Economist, Hoover Institution, Stanford University, “An Open Letter to Bill Bennett,” The Wall Street Journal, Sept. 7, 1989
According to “Ending the Restrictive War on Drugs” over 19,000 state and local police officers work full-time on drug cases. Yet for all this effort, 82% of high school seniors report that getting marijuana is fairly or very easy. This percentage has been unchanged for at least 20 years. We spend tens of billions per year enforcing our drug laws producing an expensive road to nowhere, littered with failure. (Ending the Restrictive War on Drugs)
Marijuana is not much more difficult to obtain than beer. The reason for this is that a liquor store selling beer to a minor stands to lose its liquor license. Marijuana salesmen don’t have expensive overheads, and so are not easily punished.
– William F. Buckley, Jr., conservative pundit
Who's Who in Medical Cannabis - Steve DeAngelo - by c.a. riley
It could be said that Stephen DeAngelo is a born activist. He entered the world in 1958 in Philadelphia, but grew up in Washington DC where his parents were involved in the Civil Rights movement. Steve’s father worked for the Peace Corps in India during the late 1960s before the family returned to the US in 1969 as the Vietnam War was raging and its chilling atrocities dominated the nightly news.
DeAngelo was deeply troubled by these events and began skipping school to participate in antiwar demonstrations. He even organized a takeover of his school’s gymnasium in solidarity with an antiwar rally. Still a teenager, it wasn’t long before Steve became aware that his activities could be risky and result in his going to jail or even being shot.
DeAngelo was undaunted. He dropped out of school at 16, joined the Yippies, and worked with the 4th of July Hemp Coalition to organize the annual July 4th marijuana Smoke-Ins in front of the White House. (In the mid-eighties Steve decided it was time to finish his education so he enrolled in the University of Maryland where in less than three years he graduated at the top of his class.)
After a few years as a street activist DeAngelo decided to test his entrepreneurial abilities. Drawing on skills such as event planning and promotion that he had acquired as an activist, he became involved in the music industry as an independent concert promoter, club manager and record producer. He collaborated on NORML ‘s fundraising Hempilation CDs (Capricorn Records) and worked on awareness and fundraising events for the organization.
DeAngelo became interested in hemp sometime around 1986 when he met Jack Herer shortly before he published his masterpiece, The Emperor Wears No Clothes, which exposed the hidden link between hemp and cannabis and the conspiracy to outlaw both.
After reading the manuscript, DeAngelo was convinced that cannabis/hemp is indeed a beneficial plant, so he helped Herer edit and publish the book and then went about widely promoting the book’s message. Steve was a key organizer of the Hemp Tour, which took the news about hemp to hundreds of universities around the nation, and he was instrumental in establishing the original Hemp Museum.
In Washington DC in 1998, two years after California passed its landmark medical marijuana initiative, Steve DeAngelo was deeply involved in the passing of DC’s medical cannabis measure, Initiative 59. The initiative passed in each and every precinct in the city, with 69% of the vote, but the US Congress used its power to veto implementation of the measure!
Severely disgusted by this blatant violation of majority rule, DeAngelo moved to California, where he continued his activism by helping to coordinate legal cannabis gardens and writing and producing the groundbreaking documentary, For Medical Use Only. During this period Steve somehow found time to create a new type of cannabis concentrate while also thinking about a new version of medical cannabis dispensary.
In October 2006 Steve DeAngelo was issued a medical cannabis dispensary license by the City of Oakland. Shortly thereafter he opened Harborside Health Center (HHC) on Oakland’s historic waterfront. HHC rapidly became locally famous for many positive reasons—a free holistic care clinic, laboratory tested medicine, and a low-income care package program are just a few of them.
HHC is internationally famous for its status as the largest MC dispensary in the world, raking in at least $20 million in total annual revenue. Not too shabby for a rabble-rousing high school dropout!
DeAngelo sees hemp and cannabis as a single issue and was inspired to create a hemp manufacturing and distribution company which he named Ecolution. This business was a glaring success, soon exporting hemp clothing to stores in fifty states and more than 20 foreign countries.
Actually, Steve DeAngelo‘s accomplishments are far too numerous to fit within the confines of this article. After nearly four decades of unrelenting advocacy he deserves sincere congratulations for service above and beyond anyone’s reasonable expectations.
‘Hats off’ to Steve DeAngelo, so recognizable with his jaunty hat and trademark braids. (Sorry—that was just irresistible.)
Note: The dates in this article are approximate.
What's New
Alabama: Considering a medical marijuana law.
HB642 - The Michael Phillips Compassionate Care Act of Alabama
Arkansas: Considering a medical marijuana law.
Connecticut: Considering a medical marijuana law.
Delaware: Passed a medical marijuana law.
Senate Bill 17 passed March 31, 2011
Florida: Medical marijuana petition drive underway.
Idaho: Considering a medical marijuana law.
Illinois: Considering a medical marijuana law.
Bill Status of SB1381
Indiana: Considering a medical marijuana law.
Iowa: Considering a medical marijuana law.
Kansas: Medical marijuana petition drive underway.
Marijuana Bill Reaches House
Cannabis Compassion and Care Act
Maryland: Considering a medical marijuana law.
Bill Status of SB 627
Massachusetts: Considering a medical marijuana law.
Minnesota: Considering a medical marijuana law.
Missouri: Considering a medical marijuana law.
HOUSE BILL NO. 1670 - An Act relating to the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes
Cottleville Mayor Don Yarber hopes Missouri legislature passes medical marijuana law
New Hampshire: Considering a medical marijuana law.
New York: Considering a medical marijuana law.
North Carolina: Considering a medical marijuana law.
North Carolina Medical Cannabis Act
Ohio: Considering a medical marijuana law.
HB 214
Pennsylvania: Considering a medical marijuana law.
HB 1393
South Carolina: Considering a medical marijuana law.
South Dakota: Medical marijuana petition drive underway.
Tennessee: Considering a medical marijuana law.
Texas: Considering a medical marijuana law.
Wisconsin: Considering a medical marijuana law.
The Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act
Featured Recipe - Linguini with Canny Clam Sauce
Life just can’t be much better than this. Clam lovers, it’s time to celebrate. Here’s a recipe that is just too good. I had help in developing this dish from none other than Mom. She provided the key secret ingredient, cream cheese. That’s right, here we have Jewish Linguini. It takes a lot to get me away from Pecarrino Romano but, hey, cream cheese makes a velvety white sauce that is absolutely delicious.
Ingredients:
3-4 Cans chopped clams-drained
1 bunch of green onions-washed and chopped
1-teaspoon Herbs de Provence
1-teaspoon cracked black pepper
1-teaspoon kosher salt
1-teaspoon dried flaked New Mexico Red Chilies (optional but recommended)
1\2 cup Chardonnay
4-tablespoons garlic oil (you can use extra virgin olive oil with one tablespoon of minced garlic if you don’t have garlic oil)
2-tablespoons dairy butter
2-tablespoons Better Bud Butter
4-tablespoons cream cheese
One 14oz package fresh linguini
Heat two quarts of salted water adding one cap full of extra virgin olive oil. While the water is coming to a boil heat a large skillet. Add garlic oil to the skillet. When the oil is hot (not burning) add butters and bring up to heat with constant stirring. Add chopped green onions and spices and bring back to heat. Add white wine and bring back to heat once more. Add clams and simmer for ten minutes.
Add the linguini to the boiling water and cook with occasional stirring for 3-5 minutes. I like mine "al dente" (firm to the teeth). While the pasta is cooking add the cream cheese to the sauce with constant stirring. Drain the pasta and return to the pot (the cooking one silly). Pour the sauce over the pasta, mix and serve hot.
You can garnish with capers, chives, or chopped green parsley. Serve with green garlic toasted.
Recommended beverage: Chateau St. Jean Chardonnay or Gloria Ferrar Carneros Pinot Noir.
Caution: This recipe will not produce any leftovers.
