Marijuana Measure 80 should be DOA at polls
Marijuana aficionados have been trying to legalize pot through the back door in Oregon for years
Sep 28, 2012 | 62 Comments
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Comments
Thomas Jefferson, our first Patent Officer, decided that his invention to process cannabis was too important for mankind for him to patent it for himself. Jefferson said that "Hemp is of first necessity to the wealth & protection of the country." Who knew, really? It just shows that they really cared about jobs and the economy, rather than some ridiculous war against a plant.
We have endured 75 years of cannabis prohibition that was based on racial discrimination and falsehoods. History, if we observe it, shows that prohibition has been an utter failure ... and that Measure 80 is a citizen initiative aiming to end this ridiculous failure.
Never had ya figured to be an 'old wheezer'... retiredbs.
And that is exactly why I am a faithful paid-subscriber to the News-Register. I like to learn something new every day, even if learning it was accomplished via this online comment feature.
Bless you, and thank you for allowing us, Jeb Bladine.
Sincerily & Respectfully,
Michael Tubbs Sr
Grand Ronde, OR
Do you seriously doubt that Washington knew the medicinal effects of "Indian Hemp" when he instructed his gardener to "sow it everywhere"?
If you don't know what "Indian Hemp" is, Google "William Brooke O'Shaugnessy" and inform yourself.
Besides, to keep Cannabis illegal while tobacco and alcohol are sold freely would be *MURDEROUSLY STUPID*.
On 16 October we'll see whether the DC federal court agrees with the absurd "Schedule I status" of Cannabis. I can hardly wait.
Do we do away with age limits, also?
Our world, our country, our community, our families are in great shape. Everything in our society is going fine. All is well in the world. We don't need clear minded, clean living, hard working, sharp, industrious people in Oregon. No, what we need is legal pot. Let's join together and make it legal for everyone to numb out, haze over and live in the fog.
I really see very little difference between being inebriatedstoned in this day and age. I'd suppose your question "Do we legalize all now illegal drugs, just because 'prohibition doesn't work'?"
My answer to your query would be, not entirely. For some, their perspective/view/take and/or whatever, concerning pornography/pornographic acts depicted and/or displayed in any manner, no matter how you've hashed it, should not be lightly excused..or..dismissed.
Not too long after entering the age of cablevison the laws of our land began to change. Why?
Me? Do I have an interest in this particular argument? No, not really, I've tried Marijuana in the past, and one..or..two tokes later, I'm hating life non-stop for at least the following 8 to 10 hours...NO THANK YOU!
"A little further down Page 1, the bill cites one source claiming marijuana has been used for more than 10,000 years without a single overdose. How that possibly could be proven is certainly a mystery."
Ok, sure, but we have clinically proven the you can't consciously ingest the amount of cannabis required to overdose. So sure, is there true evidence no one has ever overdosed? No. Is it possible? No.
This article is ridiculous, it says
"The law, if passed, would supersede all previous state laws and ordinances regulating cannabis except driving while impaired, so evidently the authors do agree there is some impairment of users."
Oh no! They've revealed our secret! Not. No one claimed that weed doesn't impair you temporarily. Alcohol does the same thing, and that's why you cant drive when you drink it. End of argument. Really? That's they best they've got? A recycled anti-drinking and driving line?
This is the best part, they try to demonize Paul Stanford (the creator of Measure 80) by mentioning that he owns medical marijuana dispensaries. Aha! That's it! They've struck us deep! There's no coming back from that!
Really? Of course someone is going to make money from this bill passing. A lot of people will. And it'll likely even pay for the Social Security of the worm that wrote this article. There are anesthesiologists making millions off of there drugs. Does that mean we should get rid of anesthesia?
Vote yes on Measure 80, and next year will pass a bill illegalizing idiotic journalists.
Do we legalize all now illegal drugs, if a person "hasn't overdosed on the drug"?
Do we do away with age limits, also?
Some, perhaps.
If parent(s) signs on/give the green light to their child, perhaps.
This statement is dripping with bias. I thought news was supposed to be anti-biased?
To be clear, there are those that disagree and have strong arguments against the legaliization of marijuana- even if I will be outnumbered here.
That's why you'd found it under the banner of---> Opinion, in the Perspective section.
At the moment I'd made that comment, I'd had sharing wine with family at the dinner table, and 17 year olds marching off to war with a parent(s) blessing in mind.
I'd suppose that in different times and eras, some (parents) may..or.. may not have objections to allowing their 15 year old to sit down with a grandfather, smoke Cohiba Esplendido's and sip 190 proof 'White Lighting' on a particularly sunny afternoon.
Any thoughts?
The kids argument. Well lets see. The kids all ready are faced with the choice even if the medical laws as they are. Nothing is going to change other then more jobs, money flowing and a "BOOM" of a new/old industry. What is the next "BOOM" to bring us out of this hole we are in? Like I said, do your own searches. There is endless supply of them. The confussed mind says no. Get informed and be a voter. Even if you choose to vote yes or no, you have made a informed decission...
Steve Bagwell
Managing Editor
don't make it easier for kids to get drugs!
santor, it is an aggressive incorrect leap on your part to assume that "the News-Register wants us to support the gangs and cartels that sell marijuana to children and perpetrate violence" from the editorial.
You asked, "Why do you support the black market instead of regulated outlets?" Again, a false view on your part.
All in all, your straw man argument has zero validity.
I would have to say it's a possibility that half of the staff my be more pro then against...
Kids all ready have it available. Its a personal choice. Try being better parents and educating your children. It's like anything else. You hide something from someone and their curiosity gets the better of them.
Guns for instance. If you hide your guns from your kids, they are going to be curious why is this being hidden from me. What is this thing that is so important that my mom or dad need to have but I can't see. If you like guns and give your child a bb gun to shoot till they have a blister on his or hers finger and educate gun safety, they are not going to be curious about yours. I'm not saying give your children pot. I am saying kids arn't dumb. I'll bet most of them are insulted when missled or lied to or have something hidden from them.You can't hide them from it In this day and age, it is all over TV and the internet. The best a person can hope for is to educate and help the child make a informed decission when faced with it. You are living in a dream world if you think kids don't have easy access to it all ready... I remember when I was a youngster way before any notion of legalization, medical laws were inacted, it was around as early as I can remember. No, my parents didn't smoke it to my knowledge. It has been and all ways will be. Thats reality.
As clearly stated on the page, the News-Register's editorials reflect the views of its editorial board, which consists of senior news executives. We do not poll, survey or consult the staff.
As a board, we simply offer our views for consideration. Others are free to offer theirs. Ultimately, the free marketplace of ideas and the workings of the ballot box will determine what prevails, and we'll all live with it.
Steve Bagwell, Managing Editor
That back door statement was a joke. How many DA's, law enforcement or polititians use back door practices to get votes, convictions, arrest ect. I went down to the capitol building a couple of summers ago to listen to our DA make a presentation to a panel on medical marijuana. He started out saying how he knows it is needed in the beginning to sliding in verbage in the end that would make it virtually impossible to have any doctor put a signature to the application. Please...
Where there is a will, there is a way.
This is just my opinion, I would rather my under age child smoke pot then drink. Judgment is out the window once the drinking starts... Hypothetically speaking...
Check it out.
Fletch,
Wouldn't it be terrific if they weren't exposed to either one (alcohol and pot)? And if they were exposed, to realize how destructive both are.
You said, "This is just my opinion, I would rather my under age child smoke pot then drink".
I'm not one to cut others from enjoying things such as alcohol or marijuana to protect another group. Education is where it's at.
Don't get me wrong, I do not want any under age persons using alcohol or Marijuana. But it's there for them to choose to use it or not. Why do you keep saying " wouldn't it be nice " Get real! Figure it out. Try and figure out a way to Have a better system of it in our scociety verses fighting a lost battle... Goverment has been trying to keep it down to know aveil.
Did you know that the human body carries natural cannabinoids in its make up? That why medically, marijuana is such a good fit to our chemical system for fighting pain and other symptoms that are suppressed or wiped out all together from medical marijuana. http://www.naturalnews.com/036526_cannabinoids_breast_milk_THC.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabinoid
It has been beaten into our psyche that marijuana is bad by the goverment who has been influenced by big business. Do your recearch. You don't have to like it, But it isn't going away. I just calls em' as I sees em'... It would appear to me, that your psyche has been bruised more then mine...
Bayer has been given exculsive rights to market a product called Sativex in the UK. It's about to get a whole lot bigger. I knew big business could stay away for to long...
You said, "Prohabitions does not work. If a person wants something and makes up their mind, their going to get it."
So using your set of values, would you suggest doing away restrictions on legal drugs, cocaine, heroin, speed limits, thievery and many other situations that are prohibited?
I'll have to ponder that. It's an apples and orange thing off the tip of my brain...
I don't think marijuana should be flantate and commercialized. Like the tabacco industry having the adds pulled. Good Idea. I do think marijuana does have a roll in our scociety. Adults are just that. Making decissions and being free to do it is part of being an american.
I guess I'm thinking that a person should have the right to smoke a cigarette in a bar if the owner of the bar permits it. I don't need goverment deciding that it's all or nothing. I think if a person wants a smoke free bar to have a beer in, Then go to a bar that does not permit smoking. I think the guy who owns that bar should not be hit with a discrimination law suit for wanting to cater to a particular crowd... After all, with proper education of the facts, if a person decides he or she wants to smoke that cigarette, their adults making up their own mind...
I guess I don't like the all or nothing approach. I wish there were spots in each state where I could ride my Harley 120 mph If wanted to and not get busted. Like the Autobohn. I suppose I am ok with designated areas...
It's for your protection. So they say.
So from what I understand about cocaine and heroin, They are both extremely addictive unlike marijuana, They have no health benifits. All you have to do is look at the photos of before and after that are out there. I think marijuana is schedualled wrong for one, and will be challanged on 10/16/2012 on that very schedualling. I've seen first hand what meth does to people, I really don't know anyone to my knowledge that uses cocaine or heroin, but from what I have seen with meth, That stuff is just wrong... I think that stuff was designed to give to soldiers to make them mindless killers... From what I have seen from results of meth use, it certainly makes one seem mindless to me...
Fletch,
I think we can find some agreement here. I also believe that a person should be able to have the choice to live their life in any way they choose. I do limit my thoughts in that as soon as their life infringes upon the life of any other person in any detrimental way, it is not acceptable behavior. I have no problem with individual behavior or use of anything if it is done in a vacuum. I do have a problem with uses of any mind altering materials that affect anyone other than the user.
The list of legal mind altering materials is long. ALCOHAL, Chocolate, , aspirin, the phedrins, caffeine ect.
I think you misunderstood Kona's meaning in the first place, but that's something else entirely.
I just don't understand the hostility over someone else expressing a simple opinion. Is it not a free country? Do we not value the freedom of all to speak their minds? We having one opinion does nothing to diminish your right to have another.
Steve
Many years ago I would get a little upset when an editorial did not coincide with my thoughts. At some point I realized that any editorial that prompted people to think about issues and differences of opinion was valuable. This editorial succeeded and I appreciate it. "Fletch", I appreciate your difference of opinion and I am sure that there are many who would agree with your stance. Thank you.
Thanks KONA, Back @ cha!
I am curious now that you have revealed your opinion on this subject NR. Where is the basis of your opinion derived from? I try to do my homework and use my lifes experiances to form my opinions. I'm just curious if I have missed some piece if info that my sway my opinion. I have smoked pot and I understand the effects it has on my person. Have you? Or is your opinion formed on hearsay and conjecture? Once again, there is no hosility here...
We have an editorial board. We research issues, then discuss them until we reach some sort of majority opinion that may not necessarily be shared by all. It's really that simple.
We reach opinions on a vast range of issues, and readers are perfectly free to embrace or reject them, as they see fit.
We are under no illusions about our ability to affect the outcome of a statewide issue. Yamhill County's votes will disappear in a vast avalanche of votes from elsewhere, and who's to see we will actually have any influence even on the paltry sum cast locally? In all likelihood, very little.
We offer opinions to spur thought and discussion, not to rule the world.
Good Old Boy Club? I have no idea how you might possibly arrive at any such conclusion. If you mean you think we are in cahoots with some sort of Oregon power structure, I can assure you that we are not. The fix is definitely not in from outside.
We're just ordinary folks who call 'em as we see 'em in really quite ordinary ways. I can't see why it should stir any fuss at all. None of our other measure stands have, and we've editorialized on every one of them, including casinos and commercial fishing, counseling no and no.
Steve Bagwell, Managing Editor
Firstly, there is no need to apologize for spelling. Some of the most intelligent people I have known have regularly made spelling errors.
Secondly, what specifically bothers you about the editorial? Is it the general position that there should be a "no" vote on Measure 80, or is it the way it was written. From your comments, it seems that there is more to it than the simple contrary opinion expressed by the editorial board.
Thirdly, as I stated previously, I could only endorse smoking pot if it did not affect any other person. I can not endorse the use of alcohol when the use affects people other than the user. I will support your position if you can explain that how the widespread use of marijuana will not have negative affects on nonusers of marijuana in Oregon.
I was at a resturant in portland this morning having breakfast. I was sitting at the bar becuse I like a good bloodymary from time to time. The barkeep was a young gal covered in tattoos and piercings. Looking of one stereo type or another. I Listen to here talking to another customer. It seems they recognize one another from PSU. She and this customer were telling each other about their study programs. The male had been attending PSU for the last 6 years and the gal was in graduate program. The male had a sence of no direction as I heard it. like he was spinning his wheels a little bit. The gal was offering counceling to him because she understood how use her classes and credits to put her through school the quickest with optimum results. I was quite impressed. She has traveled to South America and been back to finish her program. Very motivated!
I asked her if she was a registered voter and she was. I asked her if she was going to vote. She said she knew nothing about any of the measures and said no. We had been talking about how Great Oregon is earlier in the conversation. I just left it as it would be nice to have smart young motivated people such as yourself to have a say in matters that will affect you. After all, you do live in Oregon. It seem young people are very disenchanted with goverment as it is. Votes matter and so do voters.
The 'spin' on the whole thing KONA. All of the above you mentioned... No facts behind their opinion so on and so forth. Kona, I will get right back with you...
The Global Drug Commission came out with a report last summer. It was a conclusion on the data gathered over the last 50 years of " The War On Drugs." Their conclusion was that Americas policies are negatively impacting the current state of drug use through out the world. The GDC was put together by the UN.
http://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/reports/
Remember, there is 50 years of experiance behinde the summary of this report.
Like I said above. Become informed and if vote yes or no, at least you became informed. Kona, look at that report from June 2011. Its on the link.
I just read the report from the GDC on the war on drugs and it's effect on HIV around the world. Very interesting! Please read it or at least skim through it. The first 3 pages give a good over all perspective of what the world thinks on the current policies used. It is backed up by real facts and information. One reason this sticks out to me is, I can put faces to who is making these reports. Their photo is on their website. Real people from around the world. It's a 'BIG PICTURE" look @ the current drug policies.
Please feel free to read these reports on the links I posted. It may or may not change your outlook on topics you may or may not report on...
In return, let me share this media release from some of your fellow Measure 80 supporters:
Vote Yes on Measure 80
author: Marijuana4kids e-mail: marijuana4kids@gmail.com
Marijuana4kids supports Oregon Measure 80 — The Oregon Cannabis Tax Act.
While it is true that Measure 80 only allows the sale of ready to smoke Marijuana to adults over the age of 21, there is a loophole in the law that will allow anyone of any age to buy marijuana seeds. Marijuana4kids believes that allowing kids to grow their own marijuana will teach them responsibility and useful gardening skills. "Johnny Can Weed All By Himself," an aspect of Measure 80 some might find more than a little surprising, is that the seeds for marijuana could legally be sold at your local 7 Dees or the Portland Nursery. This is because all seeds are classified as hemp, which is unregulated under the measure. Even 12- or 16-year-olds, who are otherwise restricted under the Cannabis Tax Act from possessing marijuana, could legally buy seeds.
It is much better for Johnny to grow his own after school 420 weed, than to buy it from the crack dealer down the street. Help us pass this Measure 80 so kids can learn to work hard and grow their own. Find us and help at facebook.com/voteyeson80.
Really?
Steve
I honestly think that this page is some sort of joke or put up by some anti 80 group. For all I know, You could of put up this page...
However, both pages are extremely elaborate, with many, many image and word postings. It's pretty hard to imagine someone going to the incredible trouble it would take to pull off a hoax of that magnitude.
You can rest easy on my account. I most certainly had nothing to do with it. I merely re-posted a release that came my way.
Steve
Fletch, I read the Global Drug Commission report that you cited. Thank you.
I cannot condone the widespread use of marijuana. I wouldn't like it if our governments gave the use the "go ahead". I don't condone our government being a major player in the gambling business either, but that is a different gig with poor outcomes.
Are there people out there that will buy into such nonsensical crap just because they'd read it on the internet? No doubt.
That is if it isn't picked-up and used on Chappelle's show first....LOL... .
@Kona et al,
Does it never occur to you that whether it is legal or not has no bearing on whether people are going to use it?
I'm 37 years old, have spent much of my life in Oregon. I grew up around pot smokers, have worked with them at all levels of blue collar and white collar occupations throughout my career. School teachers, lawyers, dentists, etc. The need to control it is a sad vestige of a paranoid people. You are surrounded by pot smokers every day of your life. Get over it.
It is completely delusional to believe any of these people will not smoke pot because it is illegal. That is the whole point. What legalization does is take organized crime and the black market out of the equation (and NO this is NOT a "straw man" argument, is critically relevant and precise. Much of the Norcal/Oregon black market is controlled by Mexican drug cartels). It also alleviates the cost and suffering, yes human suffering, of marijuana smokers who are imprisoned or otherwise persecuted for their behavior.
The drug war is a failure. As to the idea that this bill should not pass on semantics is a terribly short sighted conclusion. Yes the nation needs a better policy, the fastest way to get it there is for individual states to assume their rightful place under the constitution and make their own laws. Measure 80 is exactly what is needed. If Oregon won't start the ball rolling, who will?