Legalize Truth..

NOTE TO MODS: This thread is only going to explore the medical benefits of marijuana.. Nothing in this thread that I will present will violate the T&C.. I have gone over the Terms & Conditions many times.. And there is nothing in them, That states a discussion on the medical benefits of marijuana is against the board rules.. I believe it is time to stop Demonizing Marijuana on the site..

If this thread is removed..All I ask is that I will not be fined points, Or lose my posting privilege..As, There is NOTHING in the T&C against this conversation.. www.abovetopsecret.com...

[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/37d9f0d0d4d0.jpg[/atsimg]

Now I will present my Thread, Now that I have cleared that up..

PART ONE: THE UN-JUST HISTORY OF CANNABIS..

Often times people assume that marijuana has become "illegal" through a process that involved scientific, medical, and government hearings, And that it was made illegal to protect the citizens from a dangerous drug..

This could not be further from the truth..Those who voted on the legal fate of Cannabis never had the facts straight, They were dependent on information supplied by those who had a specific agenda to deceive lawmakers.. This is called "Propaganda" in my book..

If You start to dig into the history of cannabis You’ll start to see that the first federal vote to prohibit marijuana was based on a documented lie..

Dig a little deeper, And you will soon realize that the criminalization of marijuana is based around Fear, Racism, Protection of Corporate Profits, "Terrible Journalism", Corrupt Legislators, and of course greed.. Notice a pattern ? These are the "building blocks" of Most conspiracy theory's.. And for good reason..

For most of human history, marijuana has been completely legal..Marijuana has been illegal for less than 1% of the time Since it's discovery.. Its known uses go back further than 7,000 B.C.. In fact This is a quote from one of Our founding fathers..

"Make the most of the Indian hemp seed, and sow it everywhere!"- Mr. George Washington

These are some of the Reasons Marijuana was originally criminalized..

The Mexican Connection: In the early 1900s, the western states developed significant tensions regarding the influx of Mexican-Americans. The revolution in Mexico in 1910 spilled over the border, with General Pershing’s army clashing with bandit Pancho Villa. Later in that decade, bad feelings developed between the small farmer and the large farms that used cheaper Mexican labor. Then, the depression came and increased tensions, as jobs and welfare resources became scarce.One of the “differences” seized upon during this time was the fact that many Mexicans smoked marijuana and had brought the plant with them.However, the first state law outlawing marijuana did so not because of Mexicans using the drug. Oddly enough, it was because of Mormons using it. Mormons who traveled to Mexico in 1910 came back to Salt Lake City with marijuana. The church was not pleased and ruled against use of the drug. Since the state of Utah automatically enshrined church doctrine into law, the first state marijuana prohibition was established in 1915. (Today, Senator Orrin Hatch serves as the prohibition arm of this heavily church-influenced state.)Other states quickly followed suit with marijuana prohibition laws, including Wyoming (1915), Texas (1919), Iowa (1923), Nevada (1923), Oregon (1923), Washington (1923), Arkansas (1923), and Nebraska (1927). These laws tended to be specifically targeted against the Mexican-American population.When Montana outlawed marijuana in 1927, the Butte Montana Standard reported a legislator’s comment: “When some beet field peon takes a few traces of this stuff… he thinks he has just been elected president of Mexico, so he starts out to execute all his political enemies.” In Texas, a senator said on the floor of the Senate: “All Mexicans are crazy, and this stuff [marijuana] is what makes them crazy.”

Jazz and Assassins In the eastern states, the “problem” was attributed to a combination of Latin Americans and black jazz musicians. Marijuana and jazz traveled from New Orleans to Chicago, and then to Harlem, where marijuana became an indispensable part of the music scene, even entering the language of the black hits of the time (Louis Armstrong’s “Muggles”, Cab Calloway’s “That Funny Reefer Man”, Fats Waller’s “Viper’s Drag”).Again, racism was part of the charge against marijuana, as newspapers in 1934 editorialized: “Marihuana influences Negroes to look at white people in the eye, step on white men’s shadows and look at a white woman twice.”Two other fear-tactic rumors started to spread: one, that Mexicans, Blacks and other foreigners were snaring white children with marijuana; and two, the story of the “assassins.” Early stories of Marco Polo had told of “hasheesh-eaters” or hashashin, from which derived the term “assassin.” In the original stories, these professional killers were given large doses of hashish and brought to the ruler’s garden (to give them a glimpse of the paradise that awaited them upon successful completion of their mission). Then, after the effects of the drug disappeared, the assassin would fulfill his ruler’s wishes with cool, calculating loyalty.By the 1930s, the story had changed. Dr. A. E. Fossier wrote in the 1931 New Orleans Medical and Surgical Journal: “Under the influence of hashish those fanatics would madly rush at their enemies, and ruthlessly massacre every one within their grasp.” Within a very short time, marijuana started being linked to violent behavior.

Alcohol Prohibition and Federal Approaches to Drug Prohibition

During this time, the United States was also dealing with alcohol prohibition, which lasted from 1919 to 1933. Alcohol prohibition was extremely visible and debated at all levels, while drug laws were passed without the general public’s knowledge. National alcohol prohibition happened through the mechanism of an amendment to the constitution.Earlier (1914), the Harrison Act was passed, which provided federal tax penalties for opiates and coc aine.The federal approach is important. It was considered at the time that the federal government did not have the constitutional power to outlaw alcohol or drugs. It is because of this that alcohol prohibition required a constitutional amendment.At that time in our country’s history, the judiciary regularly placed the tenth amendment in the path of congressional regulation of “local” affairs, and direct regulation of medical practice was considered beyond congressional power under the commerce clause (since then, both provisions have been weakened so far as to have almost no meaning).Since drugs could not be outlawed at the federal level, the decision was made to use federal taxes as a way around the restriction. In the Harrison Act, legal uses of opiates and coc aine were taxed (supposedly as a revenue need by the federal government, which is the only way it would hold up in the courts), and those who didn’t follow the law found themselves in trouble with the treasury department.In 1930, a new division in the Treasury Department was established — the Federal Bureau of Narcotics — and Harry J. Anslinger was named director. This, if anything, marked the beginning of the all-out war against marijuana.

These are just a Few of the outrageous claims, Backing up The Criminalization Of Marijuana.. Now that you know a bit more about the Un-just history of cannabis, we can move on to the next part of this thread..

Part Two: Medical Use

cannabis, Has a Well documented past for medical benefits, Since human history has been recorded..

Marijuana prohibition, has effectively denied thousands of patients who could benefit from its therapeutic use.. Research shows that cannabis is a valuable aid in the treatment of a wide range of medical ailments.. Including pain relief, particularly of neuropathic pain (pain from nerve damage), nausea, spasticity, glaucoma, and movement disorders..

The list doe's not stop there..Modern research suggests that Marijuana is also a powerful appetite stimulant, specifically for patients suffering from HIV, the AIDS wasting syndrome, or dementia..Not to mention Marijuana's medicinal properties may protect the body against some types of malignant tumors..

More than 60 U.S. and international health organizations support granting patients immediate legal access to medicinal marijuana under a physician's supervision..

But due to this plant's "Chronic" past.. Patients are demonized and looked at as, "Drug addicts", And treated as criminals.. Suffering the consequence's of Disobeying a Terribly FLAWED "Federal law".. Like we don't have Real criminals running around, Committing actual crimes.. We need to trouble our law enforcement with this as well?

This is where the issue comes in.. It is hard to have a solid debate on this subject, Due to the fact that as it stands.. Marijuana is considered a Schedule 1 substance.. And is Also Regulated and treated as such..

I find it funny that, Cocaine.. A far more dangerous substance is only considered a schedule 2 substance.. If you don't know a Schedule 2 substance has less regulations as a schedule 1 substance..

So what does this tell the youth of today? That Cocaine is less dangerous then marijuana use ?

So now you see, The very REAL flawed law in place against Marijuana.. And for every Argument that can be brought up, Such as it is a gateway drug.. I can respond with and alcohol, and tobacco are not? Witch are Also both readily available? You tell me how that makes since ?

I would like to close this with a quote.. "It's time to Legalize the truth"

T-V

No, don't legalize... Decriminalize.

Not sure if the T&C allows this type of content though.

So long as the people do not care to exercise their freedom, those who wish to tyrannize will do so; for tyrants are active and ardent, and will devote themselves in the name of any number of gods, religious and otherwise, to put shackles upon sleeping men.
— Voltaire

reply to post by LifeIsEnergy


I have gone over the T&C many, many times.. And there is nothing prohibiting this discussion.. The removal of this thread would not be warranted, for any reason.. There is nothing inappropriate with what i have displayed..

Originally posted by Jesustoked
What would jesus do?

www.guardian.co.uk...

reply to post by TechVampyre


Good job. There has been many things that have been banned or illegalized because of its medical properties. It won't be long before they do the same thing for exotic remedies that heal the body and soul of most aliments. $&F

reply to post by TechVampyre


I read something very similar once, and I didn't even think to post a link. Makes you wonder though, right?

all i have to say to this is i agree 110%

decriminalization still leaves room for black market/drug deal operations, at least with marijuana. completely legal would reduce that greatly. police need to be focused on arresting the real criminals and arresting the people who deal hard drugs like coke, heroin, pcp, etc...


also, like coc aine, heroin is a schedule 2 drug and will more then likely remain that way because of the overwhelming amount of money the government makes off of both coke and heroin

reply to post by Jesustoked


Completely agree, And this proves my point further.. If it was good enough for "Jesus" and society is based around his teachings..

Then why cast out a possible, major part of his "teachings"..?

Originally posted by LifeIsEnergy
No, don't legalize... Decriminalize.

Not sure if the T&C allows this type of content though.

There is nothing against the T&C's in this thread. You can discuss it as long as personal use isn't brought up. There are a few other threads on marijuana and its benefits.

It should be legalized. It's a plant with medical benefits. The pills the pharma companies pop out like candy are FAR worse for you than marijuana could ever be. I don't see people on the show "Intervention" for marijuana use. I am watching it now and this poor girl is addicted to 20+ pills a DAY for her arthritis, if cannabis was legal she probably wouldn't need all those pills and she would be able to function in her daily life.


It always comes down to money and profit.

Originally posted by TechVampyre
There is NOTHING in the T&C against this conversation.

Just hope other people posting in the thread don't derail it and ruin it for you. Happened to me one time. Straight to the trash bin.

But I agree, ATS staff really should stop demonizing discussions regarding marijuana. Medicinal use is a current and relevant social debate we should be able to explore.

People should be allowed to do whatever they please, as long as they don't harm another individual.

Its called Freedom, and its "high" time that the people of the earth try living it.

reply to post by XelNaga


Yeah but legalizing it will only result in gov. takeover of it. Then they will make you buy a license to grow it only allowing "suitable" people to do so (corporations), and tax consumers to high hell (no pun), and regulate its quality, and regulate its seeds (strains), and regulate and regulate and regulate......

If decriminalized its "black market" worth will drop considerably because anyone and everyone can grow it themselves then. So I don't agree.

PS. Only said it might be against T&C because I had a thread like this removed, but all is good with me.

Decriminalize not legalize - Facebook group

ETA:
legalization means that the FDA will regulate drug quality and purity, thus manufactured pot will have to meet "safety standards".. additionally grower permits will be issued.. so that the govt can profit from legalized pot.. but no one else can. Sound good to you?

Great thread, if only it would make an impact where it matters. I'd like to add something that I wrote for my wife's project. It deals more with the finance part of it or whatever, but some might find it interesting.

The United States is currently in the midst of one of the worst financial crisis in history. The news is filled with reports regarding the devaluing of the American Dollar, the rising national debt and what we owe to other superpowers like China due to them buying our "toxic assets". Our elected leaders within the federal government claim to be doing everything they can to cut spending, however Republicans and Democrats cannot come to an agreement as to what should be cut and as a result, an imminent government shutdown looms due to the inability to come to a consensus regarding next year's federal budget. Many government programs are topic for debate when it come to cuts; Department of Defense funding, Medicare and Medicaid, Social Security, even education. Yet a 15 billion dollar a year elephant stands in the middle of the room, and it represents our country's failing war on drugs. I wish to present the monetary waste that goes into this "war" and that by ending it by drug legalization, the United States would not only save billions, but could also make billions as well via taxation, as we do with alcohol and tobacco, thus injecting much needed revenue into the U.S. economy.

An attempt by the federal government to wage a war against a public vice has all happened before in 1919 with the passing of the National Prohibition Act. This act prohibited the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcoholic beverages. It's passage caused an uproar amongst the population, as many citizens felt that it was a violation of their constitutional rights. Additionally, due to public concern regarding criminal behavior, such as organized crime, and the general discontent caused by the outlaw of alcohol, the law was overturned 14 years later. As a result, state and federal governments decided to imposed a tax on the sale of alcohol, thus generating revenue. That move in itself has been so effective that in 2008 alone, the federal government earned over 5 billion dollars on the taxation from the sale of alcohol. (The Urban Institue-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center, 2010).

Many similarities exist between the prohibition and our current war on drugs. Both were unpopular, difficult to enforce and cost a lot of money. The biggest issue that concerned both was the increase in crime. During the prohibition, organized crime, reports of corruption within the courts and local police were common, and we hear the same thing today. (Vollmer, 1931) Crime in general as it related to alcohol was on the rise and the same can be said now in the case of crimes involving illegal drugs. In fact, in the year 1999 alone the F.B.I, just one of the many United States law enforcement agencies which handle drug enforcement, reported approximately 1.5 million arrests for crimes related to drug abuse violations, 36 percent higher than in 1990. (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1999) . Based on our history, we should be able to see that attempting to take away something from the people that they want and will do anyway, no matter the consequences, is a fruitless endeavor that does nothing except make matters worse. As you are about to see, this senseless war on drugs is an extremely expensive endeavor. Who is paying for this? You and I, the American taxpayers, and it costs a lot of money.

The Federal Government has numerous bodies and agencies in place to combat the war on drugs, spending approximately 15 billion dollars in 2010 alone. (Executive Office of the President of the United States, 2011) The two primary recipients of American tax dollars are The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). The ONDCP, which was established in 1988, can be considered the war on drugs overall manager, as it oversees the nation's anti-drug efforts and establishes a program, budget, and guidelines for cooperation among federal, state, and local organizations. It also sets forth policy for the implantation of prevention, treatment, recovery, and market disruption programs which are funded by the federal government. In 2010 these programs cost us 428 million dollars. (Executive Office of the President of the United States, 2011). The DEA, whose mission is to enforce drug laws and regulations of the United States and to bring to justice those who violate the laws both domestically and internationally, was allocated a budget of 2 billion dollars in 2010. (Executive Office of the President of the United States, 2011). As crime rises due to drug control, so do the costs. An example can be seen with DEA's staffing and budget increases from 1972 to 2009. In 1972, the DEA had a staff of 2,775 employees with a budget of 65 million dollars. In contrast, the year 2009 was at 10,784 employees with a budget of 2 billion dollars. (DEA Staffing & Budget, 2009). The above examples just cover spending as it pertains to enforcement and policy making , and all things considered, 15 billion dollars a year is a huge amount of money and encompasses a lot of manpower being thrown at an issue that refuses to go away, especially in a time when every dollar counts. Common sense should tell us that if something isn't working, then it's time to try something else. Yet, more and more money and time is being squandered yearly, and the amount only gets bigger once you factor in correctional measures. In the year 2000, 57% of the population incarcerated in federal prisons were serving time for drug offenses ( which includes possession and distribution), with each individual serving an average of seven years. (Smith & Motivans, 2006) Some might think that's a good thing and that the war on drugs is working, however, paying for a prisoners room and board is not cheap, and at $22,632 a year per prisoner, the amount spent adds up quick. (Stephan, 2004)

So, that is where your money is going every year. Government sponsored prevention, treatment and recovery programs, federal law enforcement, and federal correctional facilities. Where is the profit in this? It is quite obvious that the assumed problem is not getting any better, or cheaper to combat for that matter, so why continue? Is it morals? If so, it's not our Governments place to dictate between right and wrong. That should be on an individual. I honestly believe that it would be in the governments best interests to legalize, regulate and tax drugs. This in itself could be the shot in the arm our economy has needed.

There are many proponents of drug legalization, mainly marijuana, as many deem its adverse health effects to be no worse than cigarettes. Not only that, but data obtained from the USMS shows that marijuana alone is the number two drug which was involved in all drug related arrests. (Smith & Motivans, 2006) So obviously it would make sense to legalize one that would generate more revenue.

Numerous studies have been conducted which detail the proposed legalization of marijuana and its ability to make money via taxation. One such study was conducted by Harvard's Department of Economics and not only covered federal spending and profits, but state as well. It goes to show that if marijuana were taxed at the same rates as alcohol and tobacco, the government could gain six billion dollars annually. (Miron, 2005) The savings due to ending the criminal persecution is also shown, stating that the federal government alone would save an estimated $2.4 billion a year. (Miron, 2005)This report also raises a very interesting statement, which just goes to show how the prohibition of marijuana is a waste of time and money by stating "For example, under current rules regarding parole and probation, a positive urine test for marijuana can send a parolee or probationer to prison, regardless of the original offense. These rules might change under legalization, implying additional reductions in government expenditure." (Miron, 2005) Additional reports have been published discussing not only the legalization of marijuana, but all drugs. One such report, The Budgetary Impact of Ending Drug Prohibition which was prepared by the Cato institute, showed that it is estimated that the government would save $15.6 billion in law enforcement expenditures should all drugs be legalized with an additional revenue via taxation of $46 billion annually. And that is just on the federal level. (Waldock & Miron, 2010). The interesting thing about this report is that it deals with both federal and state governments, and closes by saying The total impact of drug legalization on government budgets would be approximately $88 billion per year. And as we can see all around us, its not just the federal government having monetary issues, but the individual states are having trouble as well, and drug legalization could very well be the solution. After all, it should be quite apparent that the war on drugs has been ineffective thus far.

As we saw during the prohibition, when alcohol was outlawed, crime flourished and money was wasted by attempting to enforce the law, but when the prohibition was repealed, crime went down and money was made. Could the same thing happen with regards to illegal drugs? I think so, and many other do too. Public opinion today shows that 43% of Americans support the legalisation of Marijuana (Rasmussen, 43% Say Marijuana Should Be Legalized, 42% Disagree, 2010), an increase from the year before. (Rasmussen, 41% Favor Legalizing and Taxing Marijuana, 2009). With that being said, lets go back to the Wickersham report for a moment. In the report, while disscussing societies discontenet it was said "From the beginning ours has been a government of public opinion. We expect legislation to conform to public opinion, not public opinion to yield to legislation." (Vollmer, 1931) It would appear that many Americans are waking up to the fact that rather than our government cutting bits and pieces from other federal programs in hopes that money will be saved, perhaps it is time to do away with a whole program and make money in the process. Besides, who has granted our government the authority to decide what you and I can and cannot do. Why can we consume alcohol, which has been responsible for 22,073 deaths in 2006? (U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES, 2009) Why can we purcahse and use tobacco products, which caused 443,000 people to die prematurely or from exposure to secondhand smoke. On top of that, another 8.6 million live with a serious illness caused by smoking. (Centers for Disease Control, 2011) In contrast, it's been reported that in all the medical literature available, there is no case describing a proven, documented death contributed to marijuana. (YOUNG, 1988) Already, numerous states have made efforts to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes, which is a solid first step in ending the war on drugs. However, problems are encountered when states take action simply because federal law trumps state. Therefore legalization would be the most effective if it was done simultaneously on the federal level, with states enacting their own laws in support of federal regulations.

It should be apparent by statistics alone that wasted manpower, tax dollars and time has gone into fighting the war on drugs. To add insult to injury, this wastefulness is happening at a time when federal spending is at an all time high and drastic measures are being enacted or imposed in order to reign in our budget. I strongly feel that the United States should end its wasteful war on drugs, and take the same steps they did with alcohol after the repeal of the prohibition in order to generate revenue. Representative Ron Paul said it best when making comparisons between the alcohol prohibition and the war on drugs when saying:

Repeal of alcohol prohibition certainly did organized crime no favors. So too today, if we wanted to pull the rug out from under violent drug cartels, create legitimate job opportunities in place of the black market, realign the priorities of law enforcement, and make room in prison for the people that ought to be there, we need to end the insanity of the War on Drugs.

It's my sincere hope that others politicians wake up to the realization that drug prohibition, when mandated by the federal, is a wasteful endeavor that does more harm than good.

Brilliant work. As I have been trying to point out to others.

Thank you so much for putting it out here in the open. May ATS keep it available to all.

reply to post by Juston


Great addition to the thread! It is going to take me a few minutes to read over what you have provided.. Thanks you all for the contribution..

Note to all: Please lets keep this about the medical benefits, and lets stay on subject and avoid the thread going to the trash bin.. This would be very appreciated thanks all..

I'm looking forward to a long discussion on the topic.

Its more than just profit and money. They don't want the commoners to enjoy it, since it floats away your troubles. They want us fighting and angered all the time, weed is anti that. People should fear coffee drinkers more than thc smokers imo. There is weed substatute you can buy which is legal which lol actually works, but no thc in it. Natural>man made

I live in Boulder, Colorado, and out here medical marijuana is in steady supply. I'm not sure about all the technicalities of its decriminalization, because even the mildest of legalese makes my eyes cross. Dispensaries actually outnumber coffee shops now, and this is a college town. You can't go two blocks with stores on them without seeing at least one, and more usually three, dispensaries. I'm all for decriminalization, but honestly, it's kind of annoying. And they all have terribly lazy names.

The only aactually bad part is that everyone says that it takes almost no effort to get a "Card." Most of the dispensaries actually have an in-house physician who will -- allegedly -- write you a prescription if you can convince him(orher) that you have some kind of chronic pain which Advil/Aspirin does nothing to help.

Personally, although I am not a smoker, I am all for its full decriminalization. but come on, guys, at least pretend a little harder!

I just wanted to chime in here so you all understand ATS' no drug talk policy.

We do not frown upon discussion related to drugs, as you can see by the forum entitled Alternate Substances. What we do frown upon is the discussion of personal usage of drugs.

Also ATS is a family friendly site. There are hundreds, if not thousands of places on the internet, where you can discuss issues relating to drugs. What we allow here on ATS is the discussion of conspiracies in relation to drugs, such as the war on drugs among other things.

The reason we are strict in these forums are because no matter what the topic, some members cannot discuss the topic without adding stories of personal usage. This will not be tolerated.

Member such as myself fought long and hard to have this forum so we could discuss these issues. Trust me, we fought, and this was long before I was a mod. We were given this forum under the strict guidelines listed above and failure to adhere to those guidelines might cause higher management to decide it's not worth it.

So please post accordingly, we don't want to remove any subject any more than you do. But this is a member generated content website, we make decisions based on YOUR posts, not our thoughts.

~Keeper
ATS Moderator