RainDog
RainDog's JournalAaron Neville and bassist Rob Wasserman
This is another GREAT song that RLJ's dad wrote - on the same cd. (Rob Wasserman, Duets)
This is my favorite version by Hoagy
(who, fwiw, like Carl Sagan, enjoyed some reefer from time to time)
New Hampshire House Votes to Legalize Marijuana (x-post link only)
http://www.motherjones.com/documents/1006028-nh-hb-492Maryland: Marijuana Legalization Bill Introduced
http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/51046/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=12769Lawmakers in Maryland have introduced The Marijuana Control Act of 2014, which aims to legalize the possession, cultivation, and retail sale of cannabis to adults. The proposed legislation removes all criminal and civil penalties for the possession of up to one ounce of marijuana and the personal cultivation of up to 6 marijuana plants by those over the age of 21. The bill would also create a system of retail cannabis outlets, cultivation facilities, and marijuana product manufacturers. Versions are expected to be filed in both the state Senate and the House of Delegates.
"Our experiment with marijuana prohibition has failed,” stated Senator Jamie Raskin at the press conference announcing the bill, “We got ourselves out of alcohol prohibition by regulating and taxing the product, and we should employ the same exit strategy with marijuana. If we can regulate alcohol, we can regulate marijuana.”
According to a 2013 ACLU report, Maryland possesses one of the highest rates of marijuana possession arrests of any state in the country. Maryland arrests over 23,000 individuals for simple marijuana possession every year, at the cost over of 100 million dollars. Despite only constituting 30% of the state's population and having similar use rates to their white counterparts, African Americans account for 58% of the state's marijuana possession arrests.
Polling data, commissioned by the ACLU in 2013, found that 53 percent of Maryland voters support making marijuana legal for adults and regulating it like alcohol. Only 38 percent said they were opposed to this change.
CBS Baltimore link to announcement: http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2014/01/16/maryland-marijuana-bill-will-regulate-tax-cannabis-like-alcohol/
Indiana: New bill would decriminalize small amounts of marijuana
just got this email alert from MMP - passing it along. pass, pass...pass.
Dear Supporter,
Senator Karen Tallian has taken an important step towards improving marijuana laws in Indiana by introducing SB 314.
http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2014/bills/senate/314/
This bill would reduce the penalty for possessing a small amount of marijuana to a civil fine. Please contact your state representative and senator and ask them to support her bill.
Link to the MPP petition site: https://secure2.convio.net/mpp/site/Advocacy;jsessionid=9037DAA691A3B8B44A19EC7EBA5AD9E4.app253b?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=2217
Currently, a person who possesses up to 30 grams of marijuana in Indiana faces up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $5,000. Indiana’s penalties are some of the harshest in the country. SB 314 aims to fix that by establishing a more reasonable approach. Under the bill, a person who possesses up to 2 ounces of marijuana could not be arrested or jailed and would only be subject to a fine of up to only $500. Importantly, a civil infraction is similar to a speeding ticket and is not considered a criminal offense — which could affect employment, housing, or student loans.
This legislation is a major step in the right direction for Indiana’s marijuana laws. Please take a moment and tell your legislators to support SB 314.
Then, please pass this message to friends, family and relatives in Indiana!
Medical marijuana bill introduced in Pennsylvania Senate (Tues)
http://www.buckslocalnews.com/articles/2014/01/16/bucks_news/doc52d7153bd5f87169539316.txtBut don’t count on the bill becoming law anytime soon. Gov. Tom Corbett has refused to sign any such bill until the federal Food and Drug Administration approves cannabis for medical purposes.
Nevertheless, the bill’s bipartisan sponsors — state Sens. Daylin Leach, D-17, of Upper Merion, and Mike Folmer, R-48, of Lebanon County — are lobbying hard for its passage.
Leach has launched a social media campaign highlighting children who could benefit from medical marijuana. Folmer plans to hold a public hearing designed to educate his fellow legislators on the benefits of medical cannabis.
“This is a drug we need to get to these kids,” Leach said. “If it were a derivative of a yucca plant, it would be in every CVS in the country.”
Will Marijuana Decide the Florida Governor's Race?
http://www.drugpolicy.org/blog/will-marijuana-decide-florida-governors-raceAlthough Crist approved increased penalties for marijuana possession as governor, he – unlike Gov. Scott – supports the proposed medical marijuana ballot measure. Crist held the governor’s office from 2007-2011 as a Republican, before switching parties. No Democrat has won a governor’s race in Florida since 1994.
A medical marijuana victory at the ballot box in Florida would certainly be a breakthrough in the South, a breakthrough in one of the most populous states in the country, and a breakthrough in a bellwether state in American politics. But if the measure plays a deciding role in the outcome of the governor’s race, it could also finally put to bed the misperception that drug policy reform is a third rail in American politics.
Although marijuana reform is often compared with marriage equality as another emerging political issue on the cusp of mainstream acceptance, support for marijuana reform (especially medical marijuana) is actually much stronger. While support for full marijuana legalization has skyrocketed to 58 percent in recent years, support for medical marijuana has consistently remained way up in the 75-80 percent range since the 1990s.
Louis Armstrong
said he smoked gage, or ganja all his life because he grew up in the U.S. and had to deal with racism on a daily basis. A creative, happy, boundary-breaking genius of a musician - who was arrested for possession at one point. As was his wife. Luckily he was acceptable enough to white America because, beyond his path breaking work, he was so happy all the time. So he didn't end up serving prison time.
The rumor was that Louis Armstrong had Richard Nixon smuggle in some pot for him at one point. Even if the story isn't true, I sure wish it were...
http://www.veryimportantpotheads.com/armstrong.htm
CNN reporting on Denver cannabis tourism
The reporter - inside a van of people smoking - paying $300.00 per person (!) to drive around Denver, visit different shops, smoke in the van, see the sites...and the reporter seems to have unintentionally inhaled...
DEA Negotiated With Mexican Drug Cartel (x-post)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/13/dea-negotiated-mexico-drug-cartels_n_4590832.htmlAccording to the report, U.S. agents held more than 50 secret meetings with cartel operatives on Mexican territory between 2000 and 2012 -- without informing Mexican authorities.
El Universal writes:
Without the presence of Mexican authorities, as bilateral agreements stipulate, without informing the Mexican government, the agents of the DEA met with members of the cartels in Mexican territory, to obtain information about their rivals and at the same time and establish at the same time a network of informants of narco-traffickers, who signed cooperation agreements, subject to results, so that they can obtain future benefits, including charges being dropped in the United States.
Several of the documents were related to the Chicago trial of Jesus Vicente Zambada-Niebla, the son of Sinaloa leader Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada.
As Business Insider noted in 2012, Zambada-Niebla alleged while in detention in Chicago that the U.S. government struck a deal with Mexico's Sinaloa cartel to finance and arm the drug traffickers in exchange for information. Zambada-Niebla was arrested after having met with DEA officials, and believed that the alleged deal implied he was immune from arrest or prosecution.
Apparently the DEA and Justice Dept. Negotiated with drug cartels in Mexico without informing the Mexican govt. Using informants is standard police work. I'm sure the rationale was the fear that govt. officials were corrupt.
Remind me of this... October 03, 2011
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/03/nation/la-na-atf-guns-20111004
Emails show top Justice Department officials knew of ATF gun program
...this sounds like it was something Bush had already put in place.
Profile Information
Gender: Do not displayMember since: 2002
Number of posts: 28,784
