On the ballot...

Voters in Michigan will have a chance to vote for the legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes come this november. As this is the first step to decriminalization and overall legalization, I urge all Michigan voters to take the initiative and support the movement. Also, if there are any other states that will have medical marijuana on the ballot to post it up and help get the word out. If we all put our pipes down long enough to get out there and take a stand, I'm sure we will see true progress in the war against the war.

though it may be a great step forward for those who view weed as medicine, don't be fooled into believing this has any effect on legalization or even decriminalization. the legalization for medical use may even be seen as a major hindrance for any real positive steps in full legalization.

As more and more states support medical marijuana and the number of medicinal users becomes greater and greater, due to the fact that many people would rather smoke weed than take potentially addictive pharmaceuticals, the government will not take long to realize the amazing taxing potential of marijuana. The big drug companies will also see they are losing money but this could work both ways. They could either lobby for legalization, being that the pharm companies have some of the greatest lobbying power in washington, or they could turn medical marijuana into a closely regulated tiny pill and leave all the non-patients in the dark.

undertheice said:

though it may be a great step forward for those who view weed as medicine, don't be fooled into believing this has any effect on legalization or even decriminalization. the legalization for medical use may even be seen as a major hindrance for any real positive steps in full legalization.

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IM NOT REALLY AN ACTAVIST, BUT RIDE-ING THE BACK OF THE DISABLED TO GET A BETTER FOOT HOLD ON THIS "WAR-V-WAR" AND THEN DISMISSING US AS A HINDRANCE, IS NOT A REAL COOL, PEACE, CANNABIS STATEMENT AS FAR AS IM CONCERNED,,,PLEASE RETHINK....MY FEELERS GOT HURT..LOL
A FIVE YEAR MED CARD HOLDER IN OREGON, SUPPORTER OF NORML, AND ANYTHING TO RIGHT THIS WRONG STARTED YEARS AGO...
BUT IF IT WASN'T FOR US MEDICAL PAT. ALL U PPL THAT ARE SCRAMBLING TO MEET ARE NEEDS, FOR WHAT, (TO SUPPORT THE CAUSE) JUST DOSN'T MAKE ANY SENSE....YOU SHOULD BE THANKING US. FOR HAVEING OUR HOMES RAIDED AND MAKING THE COURT DATES, BEING A CRIPLET AND ALL. GETTING IT IN PAPERS EVERYDAY, COURT ROOMS EVERYDAY, GOING WITHOUT OUR MEDS BECUASE OF DUMB ASS DOCTOR COPS, AND ON THE MICH. BALLOT, KEEP YOU OUT OF JAIL,...ITS US THE DISABLED, WERE THE DISMISSED/HINDRANCE, BECAUSE WERE DIFF. I COULD LECT. FOR DAYS ON THIS....BUT I DONT WANT TO FIGHT, IT HAS BEEN SOMEWHAT OF A GROUP SOCIETY EFFORT.. WITH THE DISABLED AS A SHIELD....JUST MY THOUGHTS.... CRIPLET, MEDICAL CARD HOLDER, SUPPORTER OF THE CAUSE, AND A NORML MEMBER.......

CALL IT LIKE IT IS...A DISMISSED, HINDRANCE....WOW!!!! OOOOWWCH...
YOUR WELCOME, NOW LETS SMOKE SOME TOGETHIER, IF I GET TO SICK WILL U GROW MINE FOR ME...???? OR WOULD THAT BE A HINDRANCE.

IN OREGON WE HAVE 3 CARDS PER PATIENCE...
PATIENT, CAREGIVER, GROWER....
PROB. VOTED IN BY US, SO THE POSSABILITIES FOR EXPANDING ARE STARTED...
IF IT WASN'T FOR US THE WAR WOULD STILL BE BARIED IN CONGRESS UNDER THE SAME MOUNTAIN OF PAPER WORK IT'S BEEN FOR YEARS.

WE STILL ARE THE FRONT LINE AND MAJOR PUSHER TOWARDS THE LEGALIZATION OF CANNABIS. DBB. ALL.

B. THC R+D said:

RIDE-ING THE BACK OF THE DISABLED TO GET A BETTER FOOT HOLD ON THIS "WAR-V-WAR" AND THEN DISMISSING US AS A HINDRANCE, IS NOT A REAL COOL, PEACE, CANNABIS STATEMENT AS FAR AS IM CONCERNED

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....and don't misconstrue my statement. the healing properties of our herb were always understood to exist and we were fighting this battle long before medical use became the cause du jour. however, it is a simple fact that all legalized medical use can lead to is a sad attempt by the pharmaceutical companies to regulate what we have always grown freely. even should usage be allowed through prescription, that still allows the government to prohibit about 90% of the population from enjoying this harmless herb.

i dismiss no one and am happy to see so many get their much needed medical supplies, but your fight is not necessarily mine. just because we fight a common foe does not mean that our aims are the same. even the battle for full legalization is merely the tip of the iceberg. the real war is against governments who feel they have the right to decide what is best for the people regardless of how those citizens may feel about it and then enact laws to punish those that just wish to fully enjoy their lives without harming anyone else. i don't see that we have ridden on the coattails of the community of medical users. rather, i see that you have been gathered under the umbrella of the ongoing war.

Even more onerous is how government has used the War on Drugs as a lever to gain more control over the people. Just one area; our money laundering laws. In the name of the Drug War, like with the 16th Amendment, our once coveted financial privacy has been eroded away. Other than under-the-table cash transactions, its gone. Other areas are the confiscation of private property, even if the person isn't charged/convicted of a drug crime.

In every totalitarian country, in order for the government to gain control over the people, they had to "invent" a common enemy. In Nazi Germany, it was the Jew. Here, the "Jew" is the "drug user and/or drug dealer. With 9-11 we've added "Terrorist" to the list.

Vi

MAN, U COULD SEE THAT..!!! LOL, TO CLEAR, LARGE TYPE, BAD EYES, EASIER FOR ME TO READ, NOT YELLING. A DEBATE,,, NOT A PERSONAL ATTACK!!!!. I HAVE READ YOUR STATEMENTS A COUPLE TIMES AS NOT TO MIS-SPEAK.

TO START, I DO SEE YOUR SIDE! THE GOV. NEEDS TO LET US SELF GOVERN OUR OWN LIVES, AND BUTT OUT. GOV'S ARE ALL ABOUT CONTROLL, BUT THEY ARE RUN BY US...A NEW GENARATION WITH A MUCH MORE OPEN MIND, IS NOW TAKING OFFICE...TIMES ARE CHANGING, BUT IT WILL BE US THE VOTERS THAT STOP THE BILLS THAT START THE LIMITATIONS, LIKE THE ONE THERE AFTER HERE IN OR. NOW, NORML IS PUSHING USE THE CARDHOLDERS, TO BE THE FRONT AND SHOW ARE SUPPORT, THEY SAID IT IN THE MEETING, THEY KNEW THEY WERE DOING IT, BUT SAID HEY...AND A SHOLDER SHRUG...(WHAT DID THAT MEAN??)
YES THE FIGHT HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR LONGER THAN CAN BE REMEMBERED BASICLY, STILL WITH LITTLE MOVEMENT IN THE CAUSE AND STILL THE HEAVY HAND OF THE GOV. KEEPING IT DOWN...
NOW ALMOST EVERY BILL HAS SOMETHING ABOUT CAREGIVER OR PATIENT IN, IT. I DO MIND BEING THE FRONT LINE, IT CANT BE THE STROGEST FOOT THE FIGHT HAS TO PUT FORWARD, BUT THEY ARE.....!!! AND I FEEL IF YOUR VOTING FOR THESE RIGHTS OF MINE NOW,,,,IT IS STILL FIGHTING FOR THE SAME CAUSE, A DIFF. BRANCH BUT I FEEL THE SAME TREE. WE ARE ALL TRYING X-BLK. MARKET TO LEGAL, BLK. MARKET, AND LEGAL, IF WERE GETTING THE DOOR OPEN, THEN HELP US GET IT CRACKED FURTHER, AND ONLY THE FUTURE WILL TELL. DOPERS DO STICK TOGETHIER. AND I DONT THINK WE WOULD DO THAT TO ARE THE CAUSE OR GIVE BACK THE SOMEWHAT FEEDOMS WEVE GAINED NOW. I HAVE NOT MET ONE CARD H., THAT DIDN'T SUPPORT THE TOTAL LEGALIZATION OF CANNABIS.
I DO AGREE ITS NICER UNDER THIS UMB. BUT THIS UMB. HAS BEEN THERE FOR EVER, NOW A LARGER GATHERING OF THE DISABLE HAVE GOTEN THIS UMB. TO OPEN MORE, AND IF THE RUNNER OF THE UMB. DOESN'T REALIZE THIS, THEN THERE MUST BE A PROB... IN IF THE CARD HOLDERS GOT STINGY AND GREEDY, AND LEFT THIS UMB. IT WOULD SLAP SHUT SO FAST IT WOULD BE SCARY, PROB. RUN THE CAUSE BACK TO THE 50/60 ERA.

THE FOUNDATION THAT ADDED ME IN GETTING MY FIRST CARD, THE THC FOUD. FOR MED PAT. ASSISTANCE, CHANGED THERE NAME ABOUT 2YRS AGO, TO THE LEGALIZATION OF CANNABIS FOR RESPONSIBLE ADULTS....WHY??? BECAUSE THE FIGHT GOT REALLY BIG IN OR. WITH SOME PATIENT BACKINGS $$$ (REVINEW TO FOUDATION), THAT IT CHANGED THERE CAUSE??? THEY STILL DO THE SAME THING. GET PPL'S CARDS SIGNED. I FEEL THE NAME CHANGE CAME BECAUSE OF THE CRIPLET $$$ SO NOW LETS HAVE THE ACTAVIST STEP IN, NOW MORE SHOWY OF THEM IN THE UMB. I NOTICED...AND WERE NOW NOT NEEDED...I JUST DONT GET IT..... IF THE CAUSE STUMBLE, NOT BECAUSE OF US, I WOULD LIKE TO BET, RUNNING THE CRIPLET'S UP FRONT AGAIN WILL BE FIRST ON THE LIST TO GET THE CAUSE GOING AGAIN...THESE ARE MY WINDED THOUGHTS SORRY, I AM ENJOYING THIS DEBATE, AND POINT OF VIEWS, I HOPE YOUR OPEN MINDED ENOUGH TO SEE A LITTLE OF MY SIDE....ALLWAYS FOR ANY CAUSE, GIVING US ARE RIGHTS AS ANIMALS ON THE PLANET IM FOR...DBB.
ALL.

ONE THING THAT DOES WORRY ME IS "HERION", JUST A TOPIC. LEGALIZ IT AND TAX DOLLARS NOW HAVE TO SUPPORT STEET USERS AT THE END OF THERE LIVES IN HOSPITALS, WITH TAX MONEY, OR JUST LET THEM OD ON THE STREET AND SEND TO DUMP.....???

B. THC R+D said:

TO START, I DO SEE YOUR SIDE! THE GOV. NEEDS TO LET US SELF GOVERN OUR OWN LIVES, AND BUTT OUT. GOV'S ARE ALL ABOUT CONTROL, BUT THEY ARE RUN BY US...

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governments seldom allow the people to run their own lives. they begin as tools of the people and soon begin to take on a life of their own. they gather within them a core group filled with the lust for power and before you know it corruption has changed them from a means to an end in themselves. though in theory we are in control of our government, that has long since ceased to be the case.

A NEW GENERATION WITH A MUCH MORE OPEN MIND, IS NOW TAKING OFFICE...TIMES ARE CHANGING, BUT IT WILL BE US THE VOTERS THAT STOP THE BILLS THAT START THE LIMITATIONS....

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the more things change, the more they remain the same. as each new batch of bureaucrats comes along, they tend to mold themselves into the mistakes of the past. it's not that they start out believing the lies that kept their predecessors in office, but that they come to realize that those lies are what is needed for them to retain the control they seek. when that control is threatened they are always more than willing to disregard the will of the people and ignore even the most strident demands of the public.

I FEEL IF YOUR VOTING FOR THESE RIGHTS OF MINE NOW,,,,IT IS STILL FIGHTING FOR THE SAME CAUSE, A DIFF. BRANCH BUT I FEEL THE SAME TREE....

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any cause that aims to strip power from government and hand it back to the people is a branch on that tree. i suppose that the mmj movement might be considered a leaf on the branch of legalization. the problem is that even total medical legalization merely redefines governmental control, it in no way lessens the stranglehold they have over our freedoms. the best it can hope to do, aside from giving folks much needed medicine, is create another bureaucracy to oversee a new revenue source.

IF THE CARD HOLDERS GOT STINGY AND GREEDY, AND LEFT THIS UMB. IT WOULD SLAP SHUT SO FAST IT WOULD BE SCARY, PROB. RUN THE CAUSE BACK TO THE 50/60 ERA....

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any steps forward are only temporary at best until government's grip on the people is totally eradicated.

have no doubt that the pharmaceutical companies are working night and day to come up with an alternative to the simple pleasure of smoking weed. given time they will come up with a substitute that lacks what they consider to be the pesky side effect of a euphoric state. once they have done that cannabis will once again be labeled "the evil weed" and we will be hard pressed to retain the few forward steps that have been made.

IF THE CAUSE STUMBLE, NOT BECAUSE OF US, I WOULD LIKE TO BET, RUNNING THE CRIPLET'S UP FRONT AGAIN WILL BE FIRST ON THE LIST TO GET THE CAUSE GOING AGAIN...

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the organizations such a norml have latched onto medical users like the anti-tobacco folks latched onto our children. they have become the poster children of anti-prohibition in an attempt to wring sympathy from those who incapable of that emotion.

ONE THING THAT DOES WORRY ME IS "HEROIN"

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the world is full of dangerous things. water, in large enough doses, is fatal and carbon, the basic building block of life on this planet, has become the fall guy of the global warming scam, but these things aren't prohibited or even restricted (yet). there will always be users and abusers, no amount of control can change that. to prohibit anything merely because there are folks out there that will misuse it is just another example of the nanny-state's overly intrusive governing style.

Have no doubt that you are noit the only one top realize the drug companies are out there. Thats why we wrote and colected signatures fro the ballot proposal that allows patients or a caregiver to grow their own. No new beauracrcy is needed, just an ID card from Community Health.
One of the differences between now and five years ago that I have noticed is in the press. Medical Marijuana, and the treatment of patients is bringing some folks out of the closet about Marijuana, and I don't just mean medical. The Kalamazoo Gazette. Kalamazoo, Michigan has had letters to the editor published on both sides of the issue. They hjave stated that the voters will have to decide this issue, because the politicians lack the backbone. Ethan Needelman spoke here recently and was asked aboput the old hippie norml group. He seemed to feel we have been betrayed by the Middle class. Oh they still toke, they just won't tell anyone, they are still waiting for us to do it. VV