Marijuana initiatives win big in Tuesday's voting

[kasalt]

Nine out of 10 marijuana-related ballot initiatives passed yesterday, and one initiative against marijuana was defeated.

Here are a few of the results:

MICHIGAN: MPP's medical marijuana initiative passed by 63% to 37% in Michigan, making it the 13th state to protect medical marijuana patients from arrest and jail. See http://www.stoparrestingpatients.org/ for details.

MASSACHUSETTS: MPP's landmark initiative to decriminalize marijuana in Massachusetts passed by 65% to 35%. The measure removes the threat of arrest and jail for possessing an ounce or less of marijuana, replacing it with a $100 fine, which can be paid through the mail without lawyers or court appearances, just like a speeding ticket. This is the first time in history that voters have passed a statewide initiative to decriminalize marijuana! See http://www.sensiblemarijuanapolicy.org/ for details.

FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS: A measure to make adult marijuana offenses the lowest priority for local law enforcement passed by 66% to 34%. See http://www.sensiblefayetteville.com/ for details.

HAWAII COUNTY, HAWAII: A measure to make adult marijuana offenses the lowest priority for local law enforcement passed by 53% to 39%. See http://www.projectpeacefulsky.org/ for details.

FOUR DISTRICTS IN MASSACHUSETTS: Voters in four out of four state House districts passed four nonbinding public policy questions directing each district's state representative to vote in favor of legislation that would allow seriously ill patients to use medical marijuana if they have the approval of their physicians. See http://www.dpfma.org/ for details.

Source: http://www.mpp.org/

[lewi]

At last this amazing plant will be able to help people who really and truly need it to survive.

http://www.davidicke.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38565

Help Defeat Cancer Everyone Vote Yes !!

[emus alb]

It is an amazing plant. People just need to be careful not to abuse it.

EDIT: Check this out - http://www.mpp.org/library/2008-ballot-initiatives.html

[anyuser]

any word about Texas?

[lightgiver]

http://www.jackherer.com/chapters.html

http://www.jackherer.com/chapter07.html

Jack Herer explains why hemp is the #1 Natural resource - YouTube

If all fossil fuels and their derivatives, as well as trees for paper and construction were banned in order to save the planet, reverse the Greenhouse Effect and stop deforestation; then there is only one known annually renewable natural resource that is capable of providing the overall majority of the world's paper and textiles; meet all of the world's transportation, industrial and home energy needs, while simultaneously reducing pollution, rebuilding the soil, and cleaning the atmosphere all at the same time... and that substance is -- the same one that did it all before -- Cannabis Hemp... Marijuana!

The Emperor Wears No Clothes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[kasalt]

any word about Texas?

Sure, have a look:

http://www.mpp.org/states/texas/

[earthwalkr]

Back before time, I was against marijuana because of the abuse I saw around me. My two brothers who were highly intelligent and creative, abused the plant and had an extremely hard life because of it.
But time went on and in 2000 I had a chance to see the plant from another view. A family member grew this wonderful plant and supplied the med clubs here in northern California. I met with so many patients that could not function without this plant. I could give many examples but I will share my own.

I had major emergency surgery that resulted in an abdominal hernia, very painful. Too many days and nights not able to eat without pain and if I did choose to eat the pain was worse!! :eek:
No doctor prescribed meds worked at all!!!!! I was desperate and soon to go on vacation. I knew it wouldn't be any fun for me, being in pain 24/7.
A family member kicked me down some excellent weed, which I hesitated taking. Early am on vacation, the pain was soooooo bad, I was crying.

"Okay", I said, "I'll try it, but just one hit, no more!"
I took one hit and waited. Within 2 minutes, NO PAIN! NO PAIN !
To really test it out, I went out to a restaurant to have breakfast; sausages, eggs, potatoes, the works! Let's really test it!
NO PAIN! Had lunch, NO PAIN! Went out and had dinner and NO PAIN!
It finally wore off at 5 am, 22 hours after the ONE HIT!!
Because of this, I had my one hit everyday of the vacation and had NO PAIN!
I now became a believer in this plant to help out with pain issues. The interesting side note on this is that I never felt high or stoned. Many patients I have met have said the same thing. They take just enough for pain relief and they do not feel high.

Since then, my research of this plant has shown me ALL that it can contribute to our lives. It is so versatile and easily grown as a crop.
Legalizing should be a no brainer. The PTB do not want us self medicating and taking away from the power of the pharmaceuticals and doctors. Prescription drugs is an industry with alot of power behind it. They do not want you growing and taking your own medicine.
So sad. We'll do it anyway!!! :D

[motleyhoo]

I have been donating to MPP for 5 years now. I am involved with several charities and I can say MPP is one of the most responsible organizations I have had contact with.

Thanks for contributing that story, earthwalkr.

[gripit]

and this (http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig5/armentano-p1.html) to go along with Rick Simpson's 'run from the cure'.



Unlocking a Cure for Cancer – With Pot

by Paul Armentano


Who could imagine that cannabis might one day offer hope as a cure for cancer? The United States government, that’s who.

For the past 30 years, U.S. officials have willfully ignored clinical research indicating that marijuana can inhibit the growth of certain type of malignant tumors. However, the recent publication of a trio of clinical studies and a pair of scientific reviews have effectively blown the lid off "Cancergate," and revealed that pot’s medical value may be far greater than ever presumed.

THE EMERGING EVIDENCE

Last year, five scientific journals published prominent articles trumpeting cannabinoids (compounds in marijuana) as potential anti-cancer agents.

These include:

* Clinical trial data published in January 2003 issue of the Journal of the American Society of Clinical Investigation that found cannabinoids significantly inhibit skin tumor growth in mice. Investigators of the study concluded, "The present data indicate that local cannabinoids administration may constitute an alternative therapeutic approach for the treatment of non-melanoma skin cancer."
* Clinical trial data published in the March 2003 issue of The FASEB Journal that found that the "local administration of a non-psychoactive cannabinoid inhibits angiogenesis (tissue growth) of malignant gliomas (brain tumors)."
* A clinical review in the October 2003 issue of the prestigious journal Nature Reviews Cancer that concluded that cannabinoids’ "favorable drug safety profile" and proven ability to inhibit tumor growth make them desirable agents in the treatment of cancer. According to the review’s author, tumors inhibited by cannabinoids include: lung carcinoma, glioma, thyroid epithelioma, lymphoma/leukemia, skin carcinoma, uterus carcinoma, breast carcinoma, prostate carcinoma, and neuroblastoma (a malignant tumor originating in the autonomic nervous system or the adrenal medulla and occurring chiefly in infants and young children).
* Clinical trial data published in the November 2003 issue of the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics that found the administration of the cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD) inhibits the growth of human glioma cells both in vitro (e.g., a petri dish) and in animals in a dose-dependent manner. Investigators concluded, "Non-psychoactive CBD produce[s] a significant antitumor activity both in vitro and in vivo, thus suggesting a possible application of CBD as an antineoplastic agent (something which prevents the growth of malignant cells.)"
* And finally, a clinical review in the December 2003 issue of the journal Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets that summarized "the demonstrated antitumor actions of cannabinoids," and elaborated on "possible avenues for the future development of cannabinoids as antitumor agents."

AND SUBSEQUENT MEDIA BLACKOUT

Despite these stunning findings, media coverage of them in North America has been virtually non-existent. As noted by Richard Cowan, editor of the website MarijuanaNews.com, "The New York Times, The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times all ignored this story, even though its newsworthiness is indisputable: a benign substance occurring in nature destroys deadly brain tumors."

Why the media blackout? For starters, all of these studies were conducted overseas. And secondly, not one of them has been acknowledged by the U.S. government.

U.S. KNEW IN ’74... AND AGAIN IN ’96!

This wasn’t always the case. In fact, the first ever experiment documenting pot’s anti-tumor effects took place in 1974 at the Medical College of Virginia at the behest of the U.S. government. The results of that study, immortalized in an August 18, 1974 Washington Post newspaper feature, were that "THC slowed the growth of lung cancers, breast cancers and a virus-induced leukemia in laboratory mice, and prolonged their lives by as much as 36 percent."

Despite these favorable preliminary findings, U.S. government officials banished the study, and refused to fund any follow up research until conducting a similar – though secret – study in the mid-1990s. That study, conducted by the U.S. National Toxicology Program to the tune of $2 million concluded that mice and rats administered high doses of THC over long periods had greater protection against malignant tumors than untreated controls. However, rather than publicize their findings, government researchers shelved the results – which only became public one year later after a draft copy of its findings were leaked in 1997 to the journal AIDS Treatment News, which in turn forwarded the story to the national media.

Nevertheless, in the nearly eight years since the completion of the National Toxicology trial, the U.S. government has yet to fund a single additional study examining pot’s potential as an anti-cancer agent.

SCIENCE IGNORED NO MORE

Fortunately, researchers at Madrid, Spain’s Complutense University, School of Biology have generously picked up where U.S. researchers so abruptly left off. In 1998, the research team – led by investigator Manuel Guzman – discovered that THC can selectively induce program cell death in brain tumor cells without negatively impacting the surrounding healthy cells. Then in 2000, Guzman’s team reported in the journal Nature Medicine that injections of synthetic THC eradicated malignant gliomas (brain tumors) in one-third of treated rats, and prolonged life in another third by six weeks. A commentary to the study noted that the results were the first to convincingly demonstrate that cannabis-based treatments may successfully combat cancer.

Today, Guzman believes that enough favorable clinical evidence exists supporting pot’s anti-cancer properties to warrant clinical trials in humans. "The scientific community has gained substantial knowledge of the palliative and anti-tumor actions of cannabinoids during the past few years," Guzman wrote in the October 2003 issue of Nature Reviews Cancer. "Anti-tumor compounds should selectively affect tumor cells [and] it seems that cannabinoids can do this, as they kill [malignant] tumor cells but do not affect their non-transformed counterparts and might even protect them from cell death. ... As cannabinoids are relatively safe compounds, it would be desirable that clinical trials using cannabinoids ... could accompany [ongoing] laboratory studies to allow us to use these compounds in the treatment of cancer." Guzman concludes the article by noting that the Spanish Ministry of Health recently approved a human clinical trial – the first ever – aimed at investigating the effects of intracranially administered THC on the life expectancy of volunteers suffering from malignant brain tumors.

"Cannabinoid research continues to show tremendous potential in the treatment of cancer," summarizes University of Southern California professor Mitch Earleywine, author of the book Understanding Marijuana: A New Look at the Scientific Evidence. However, he laments that the "vast majority of this work originates outside the United States, often in countries that lack our economic and scientific advantages. Let’s hope that our drug policy won’t stymie the battle against the second leading cause of death in America."

Indeed. Let’s not add a potential treatment for cancer to the ever-growing list of victims of pot prohibition.

[hawk]

It is an amazing plant. People just need to be careful not to abuse it.

Lol, Too late for that. LMAO!

[gripit]

I abuse the hell outta MJ, I crush it into bits and light it on fire!

Only users lose drugs :)

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/1549/emotmarijoint.gif (http://img294.imageshack.us/my.php?image=emotmarijoint.gif)

[kasalt]

I'd just like to say a few words to whoever it was who gave this thread a 1-star rating. Perhaps you would like to see the profits from the sale of cannabis remain largely in the hands of organized crime--murderers and kidnappers and the like? For my part, I'd like to see the money made from cannabis taken out of the black market and given over to law-abiding people.

What do you have to say to that? I hope you have the courage to debate me.

[gripit]

Agreed, 1 star is bullshit. This is a step in the right direction, Americans have been living under the some of the most draconian MJ laws in the world. Why? Because it's the cure for all!

If it is a plant of Mother Earth, we should be able to grow it, trade it and use as we wish. ZERO LAWS, PERIOD.

[bowtiedaddy]

It is an amazing plant. People just need to be careful not to abuse it.

EDIT: Check this out - http://www.mpp.org/library/2008-ballot-initiatives.html

As with anything, really. It is a most enjoyable plant, that's for fucking sure.

[bowtiedaddy]

This is wonderful news. There is a decrimilization very similar to one of those that just passed puttering around in Committee in the WA legislature. We'll see where that goes. Legalization would be about time. What's the worst that would happen? People would actually relax a bit? :D Terrible.

[markomac]

Back before time, I was against marijuana because of the abuse I saw around me. My two brothers who were highly intelligent and creative, abused the plant and had an extremely hard life because of it.
But time went on and in 2000 I had a chance to see the plant from another view. A family member grew this wonderful plant and supplied the med clubs here in northern California. I met with so many patients that could not function without this plant. I could give many examples but I will share my own.

I had major emergency surgery that resulted in an abdominal hernia, very painful. Too many days and nights not able to eat without pain and if I did choose to eat the pain was worse!! :eek:
No doctor prescribed meds worked at all!!!!! I was desperate and soon to go on vacation. I knew it wouldn't be any fun for me, being in pain 24/7.
A family member kicked me down some excellent weed, which I hesitated taking. Early am on vacation, the pain was soooooo bad, I was crying.

"Okay", I said, "I'll try it, but just one hit, no more!"
I took one hit and waited. Within 2 minutes, NO PAIN! NO PAIN !
To really test it out, I went out to a restaurant to have breakfast; sausages, eggs, potatoes, the works! Let's really test it!
NO PAIN! Had lunch, NO PAIN! Went out and had dinner and NO PAIN!
It finally wore off at 5 am, 22 hours after the ONE HIT!!
Because of this, I had my one hit everyday of the vacation and had NO PAIN!
I now became a believer in this plant to help out with pain issues. The interesting side note on this is that I never felt high or stoned. Many patients I have met have said the same thing. They take just enough for pain relief and they do not feel high.

Since then, my research of this plant has shown me ALL that it can contribute to our lives. It is so versatile and easily grown as a crop.
Legalizing should be a no brainer. The PTB do not want us self medicating and taking away from the power of the pharmaceuticals and doctors. Prescription drugs is an industry with alot of power behind it. They do not want you growing and taking your own medicine.
So sad. We'll do it anyway!!! :D

That's a great story. Not one I have come across before. Like you I have witnessed so many people abuse it, I've abused it myself and not touched it as a result for 7 years.

But like all things in life, its the quality of the product as well. I can honestly say I was on BAD crap. When I lived in North Carolina for a few months, even though I was still staying off it, I did try the weed there and it was NOTHING, like the stuff I had.

Everything is about moderation in life. These people who are germ freaks and wash too much, or wear face masks and gloves, end up sicker than the average Joe because they are reducing their exposure to sickness and germs. Once the body gets a simple cold they crumble.

[jonbongjovi]

praise jah!

time to free the weed.. and overgrow the govts of babylon..

[motleyhoo]

I abuse the hell outta MJ, I crush it into bits and light it on fire!

Only users lose drugs :)

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/1549/emotmarijoint.gif (http://img294.imageshack.us/my.php?image=emotmarijoint.gif)

I don't abuse it. But it should be my right to pick a weed out of my own backyard and smoke a little bit of it to take the edge off of a long, hectic day of hard work or pain. The sheer lunacy of this situation is beyond comprehension.

Read my response to the big pharma article that was posted in Today's News and the lunacy should be quite apparent.

.

[gripit]

I don't abuse it. But it should be my right to pick a weed out of my own backyard and smoke a little bit of it to take the edge off of a long, hectic day of hard work or pain. The sheer lunacy of this situation is beyond comprehension.

Read my response to the big pharma article that was posted in Today's News and the lunacy should be quite apparent.

.

Read it, 100% bang on.

Big Pharma's biggest enemy always has been and always will be...Mother Nature. They will stop at nothing to vilify the medicinal wonders of the world so they can peddle their deadly garbage.

[supertzar]

How do you "abuse" a medicinal herb? The term abuse has been used to give a negative connotation to the use of Cannabis, the closest thing to a panacea in the whole world.

I don't subscribe to "moderation in all things," either. It's one of those blanket generalizations that makes the world a little flatter. I'm not going to do hard drugs in moderation. I won't do them at all. I am going to smoke the shit out of some good herb, though and it won't be in moderation whatsoever if I feel like it - and I probably will. ;)

[lizzy]

Legalizing the herb is right but being done for the wrong reasons.......

TO TAX / CONTROL AND PROFIT EVEN MORE FROM IT'S DISTRIBUTION.

[gripit]

Legalizing the herb is right but being done for the wrong reasons.......

TO TAX IT.

As I have stated before, legalization is actually worrisome. They will shut down 'compassion clubs' where ppl can safely purchase MJ for whatever ailment with their medical MJ card. They will make growing laws WAY worse than they are now and force you to buy from them.

However, for now, this is good news for our American friends.

[dv8_]

I don't hear it mentioned that smoking a little pot cures menopause. Now, what man in the world wouldn't want THAT to happen?

[supertzar]

Legalizing the herb is right but being done for the wrong reasons.......

TO TAX / CONTROL AND PROFIT EVEN MORE FROM IT'S DISTRIBUTION.

What is wrong with legalizing because it is the world's best source of medicine, food, fuel and fiber? I am struggling to understand how what you said can be justified in any way.

[lizzy]

What is wrong with legalizing because it is the world's best source of medicine, food, fuel and fiber? I am struggling to understand how what you said can be justified in any way.

hi supertzar.....please re-read;)......I said I am for legalizing.....it is a miracle herb with many uses,.....but when they do legalize it , it won't be for our benefit but theirs' (tptb)......taxation and control...

(and hopefully a ton of peeps now jailed for using will be freed immediatly)


gripit, (hi), below gives a good example of "control".....

As I have stated before, legalization is actually worrisome. They will shut down 'compassion clubs' where ppl can safely purchase MJ for whatever ailment with their medical MJ card. They will make growing laws WAY worse than they are now and force you to buy from them.

However, for now, this is good news for our American friends.

[gripit]

hi lizzy :)

supertzar; I know you grow your own tobacco, and I support that :) However, when I'm in charge of the NWO, I am also going to reinstate the 'forced hemp growing law', I hope you don't mind ;)


Where did the word 'marijuana' come from? In the mid 1930s, the M-word was created to tarnish the good image and phenomenal history of the hemp plant...as you will read. The facts cited here, with references, are generally verifiable in the Encyclopedia Britannica, which was printed on hemp paper for 150 years:

*

All schoolbooks were made from hemp or flax paper until the 1880s; Hemp Paper Reconsidered, Jack Frazier, 1974.
*

It was LEGAL TO PAY TAXES WITH HEMP in America from 1631 until the early 1900s; LA Times, August 12, 1981.
*

REFUSING TO GROW HEMP in America during the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries WAS AGAINST THE LAW! You could be jailed in Virginia for refusing to grow hemp from 1763 to 1769; Hemp in Colonial Virginia, G. M. Herdon.
*

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other founding fathers GREW HEMP; Washington and Jefferson Diaries. Jefferson smuggled hemp seeds from China to France then to America.
*

Benjamin Franklin owned one of the first paper mills in America and it processed hemp. Also, the War of 1812 was fought over hemp. Napoleon wanted to cut off Moscow's export to England; Emperor Wears No Clothes, Jack Herer.
*

For thousands of years, 90% of all ships' sails and rope were made from hemp. The word 'canvas' is Dutch for hemp; Webster's New World Dictionary.
*

80% of all textiles, fabrics, clothes, linen, drapes, bed sheets, etc. were made from hemp until the 1820s with the introduction of the cotton gin.
*

The first Bibles, maps, charts, Betsy Ross's flag, the first drafts of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were made from hemp; U.S. Government Archives.
*

The first crop grown in many states was hemp. 1850 was a peak year for Kentucky producing 40,000 tons. Hemp was the largest cash crop until the 20th Century; State Archives.
*

Oldest known records of hemp farming go back 8000 years in Persia. Hemp industrialization began 5000 years ago in Central Asia and North Africa, in ancient Persia, China and Egypt.
*

Rembrandts, Gainsborough's, Van Gogh's as well as most early canvas paintings were principally painted on hemp linen.
*

In 1916, the U.S. Government predicted that by the 1940s all paper would come from hemp and that no more trees need to be cut down. Government studies report that 1 acre of hemp equals 4.1 acres of trees. Plans were in the works to implement such programs; Department of Agriculture.
*

Quality paints and varnishes were made from hemp seed oil until 1937. 58,000 tons of hemp seeds were used in America for paint products in 1935; Sherman Williams Paint Co. testimony before Congress against the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act.
*

Henry Ford's first Model-T was built to run on hemp gasoline and the CAR ITSELF WAS CONTRUCTED FROM HEMP! On his large estate, Ford was photographed among his hemp fields. The car, 'grown from the soil,' had hemp plastic panels whose impact strength was 10 times stronger than steel; Popular Mechanics, 1941.
*

Hemp called 'Billion Dollar Crop.' It was the first time a cash crop had a business potential to exceed a billion dollars; Popular Mechanics, Feb., 1938.
*

Mechanical Engineering Magazine (Feb. 1938) published an article entitled 'The Most Profitable and Desirable Crop that Can be Grown.' It stated that if hemp was cultivated using 20th Century technology, it would be the single largest agricultural crop in the U.S. and the rest of the world.



http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/8796/emotjointun9.gif (http://img21.imageshack.us/my.php?image=emotjointun9.gif)

[supertzar]

hi supertzar.....please re-read;)......I said I am for legalizing.....it is a miracle herb with many uses,.....but when they do legalize it , it won't be for our benefit but theirs' (tptb)......taxation and control...

(and hopefully a ton of peeps now jailed for using will be freed immediatly)


gripit, (hi), below gives a good example of "control".....

Oh, okay. Sorry. I am so used to people dogging my favorite plant I get a little overly defensive. I'm sure you understand.

Yeah, there will probably be a limit to how much THC can be in store-bought "marijuana" or something.

supertzar; I know you grow your own tobacco, and I support that However, when I'm in charge of the NWO, I am also going to reinstate the 'forced hemp growing law', I hope you don't mind


The NWO enforcing hemp growing under Gripit's command...cognitive dissonance setting in...don't know if I can hold out...much...longer...???

[gripit]

The NWO enforcing hemp growing under Gripit's command...cognitive dissonance setting in...don't know if I can hold out...much...longer...???

Yup, this is what everyone's field and living room will look like :)

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/5838/hemp3.jpg (http://img27.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hemp3.jpg)
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/hemp3.jpg/1/w1152.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img27/hemp3.jpg/1/)

http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/1974/marijuanapile.jpg (http://img520.imageshack.us/my.php?image=marijuanapile.jpg)
http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/marijuanapile.jpg/1/w600.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img520/marijuanapile.jpg/1/)