Obama and/or Holder could change the nation's medical marijuana policy on Monday morning ...

[Fly by night]

... if they wanted to.

They need no additional authorization, from Congress or anyone else, to do so.

The DOJ has the authority to determine where drugs are classified in the Controlled Substances Act. They have delegated that authority to the DEA. IF the Obama administration would take the advice of anyone and/or everyone who has looked at this issue, they could reclassify cannabis on Monday morning to a more appropriate schedule (I nominate Schedule 4.)

Once cannabis is removed from Schedule 1, the game is up. We all know it.

So don't give Obama and/or Holder any leeway on this one. They already have the power to substitute science, common sense, compassion AND the will of the overwhelming majority of the people on the ENTIRE GODDAMNED PLANET for the senseless, unsuccessful and unceasing war on "illegal smiles", on the faces of sick and suffering people (among many others).

The fact that they haven't, and apparently don't intend to, is unacceptable.

To me. And to most of the rest of the sentient beings on this ENTIRE GODDAMNED PLANET.

What say ye?

[Fly by night]

1. One self-kick for the drug-worrying unrec-cers in our midst.

Y'all know who y'all are.

[Fly by night]

2. ... of which there appear to be several.

Why aren't y'all in church, with the other church ladies?

[hobbit709]

3. They all belong to the Church Of The Holy Unrec.

[Fly by night]

4. Poised to enter negative territory on the hit parade, I can only say ...

... Love hurts. So does the truth.

Now back to the Garden.

[hfojvt]

39. interesting - no replies for 19 minutes

but you seem to have self kicked it into a pretty substantial life.

[elocs]

8. When DUers whine about UnRec, especially the OP author, it earns an automatic UnRec from me. n/t

[Occulus]

14. Glad you won't be able to play that game when DU3 rolls out.

You're part of the problem with that system, elocs, and you should be ashamed of yourself for your childish behavior on that score.

Recc'd to counter you, specifically.

[DisgustipatedinCA]

21. So you'll unrec any thread in which...

...someone "whines" about unrecs? Thanks for the formula. It will be loads of fun watching you unrec threads with which you agree after I whine about unrecs in those threads just for sport. Got any other legalistic and formulaic rules you'd like to share?

FlyByNight is the real deal. He has suffered at the hands of our government, and your whiny little post (yep I said it) is reprehensible and extremely petty alongside the real and consequential things the OP has to say.

[girl gone mad]

24. I automatically rec in threads where DUers are whining..

about other DUers whining about unrec.

So there.

[Bonobo]

27. When I see that people unrecced for stupid reasons, it earns an auto rec from me.

I hate spiteful people.

[sabrina 1]

28. Rec because I want to know when an OP is being unrec'd

I'd also like to know why, but the silent unreccers just hit and run most of the time.

[dgauss]

31. Rec for the OP but also for the reasons mentioned in every other response to your comment

The mindlessly reflexive unrec is a little worse than the unrec feature in general.

[Fly by night]

62. From you, elocs, an unrec is a compliment. Thanks.

And my thanks also for those who responded to my least-favorite Wisconsin election fraud facilitator.

[nashville_brook]

5. k and r

[EFerrari]

6. If they end the destructive "drug war", how will they justify

funding counter insurgency in the hemisphere?

[Kaleko]

30. Good point. n/t

[bemildred]

7. Correct.

But fear still rules the day here.

[femrap]

9. It's a plant....let it

grow and let humans use it. If anything should be illegal, it should be liquor. I'm sick of putting up with 'leaders' who are bought and paid for by multi-national corporations.

Shit, Obama smokes cigarettes! Give me a break. Pot is Goddess/God's way of saying, 'Relax, humans.'

[CrispyQ]

16. One clever DUer suggested the following bumper sticker, as a reminder that it was once legal.

[femrap]

25. Very Effective Message! nt

[Tuesday Afternoon]

51. love it!! right click/save and thanks

:) :smoke:

[DonCoquixote]

18. actuallly

It can be grown regaulated and taxed like every other vice, and hopefully, since it is useful for gasohol and clothes, it can get to the point where kids go "why would I smoke that, don;t they make that into t-shirts.?"

The point being is that Cannabis is useful for many other things other than the drug, frankly, we do not need any God or Goddess telling humans to relax, nor for that matter inhale burning plants to do that.

[Fumesucker]

23. And we certainly don't need people ingesting the waste products of yeast fermentation..

To "relax"..

Right?

[DonCoquixote]

29. The point is

Cannabis has many many other uses then just to get buzzed, and that alone makes it useful. I also think that if those uses were focused on instead of getting high, it would help. But of course, no, the main reason people want it is for recreational users to get high, which those of us who would rather see forests saved and oil replaced can just consider a "side effect."

I do not need any God or Goddess to tell me to relax, it is because God or Gaia made the world they did that I do not relax.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

and a very salient point it is too

how ever I do enjoy me some "side effect" indeed, I do.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

53. dupe due to damn laptop. ugh. sorry.

[jmowreader]

42. The part you make clothes from is different from the part you smoke

At least I HOPE you don't smoke the stalks!

[Tuesday Afternoon]

52. harsh

can you imagine!

[jmowreader]

70. And no fun at all, either...

since the THC forms in the leaves.

[mdmc]

10. Drug gangs are in the last thoes

dead enders :eyes:

[Zorra]

11. Herb is detrimental to corporate profits. There's no way the multinationals would

ever let their representatives free the herb.

[Pathwalker]

12. MI Court of Appeals declared dispensaries illegal,

forcing them all to shut down. It's a bullshit decision, because first; the case before them was about patient to patient sales, not dispensaries; second, they declared them illegal because they weren't mentioned in the law that made MMJ legal. This is the result of the fight by our AG, who actively fought against the law in the first place. And, considering how conservative our State Supreme Court is, there is little hope of this being overturned, or even a stay while the appeal goes forward. People are angry, and in tears, but they don't care.

[meow mix]

13. k&r but it will "send the wrong message to our wittle childrens"

why this obsession with letting these children dictate a zer-tolerance the policy, for all american adult citizens? its bizzare. or just a convenient excuse.

then to toss them in jail upon thier 18th birthday of course :rofl:

[wildbilln864]

15. k & r! nt

[CrispyQ]

17. Their masters in the prison industrial complex won't allow it.

An excellent piece by Time for Change here.

Prison Slave Labor, Victimless Crime Legislation, & the Prison-Industrial Complex
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1828007

I live in Colorado & many of the local municipalities are making it more & more difficult & expensive to operate grow operations & dispensaries. The attitudes surrounding MJ are stunningly backward.

[Rageneau]

19. The Iraq War, the Afghanistan War and the DRUG War all now belong exclusively to Obama.

IOW, It is exclusively because of Obama's war-mongering leadership that we have these things.

[loyalsister]

20. If only it were that simple

Unfortunately, states have classified chemicals as illegal whether the federal government has or not. K2 was banned in MO. I assume there could be some maneuvering via courts to overturn it. But, the point is fed state and city laws come into conflict the issue is much more complicated than a simple reclassification.
The legal application of reclassification would still require changes in state and local laws and regulations. Alcohol is regulated differently in some areas. In MO, most cities have open container ordinances. However, state law does not prohibit open containers of alcoholic beverages. The laws frequently collide.
The point is, a simple reclassification on a federal level does not necessarily open a door that would make it truly safe to use it and avoid legal troubles or even prison. It could only serve to give people a false sense of security.
I'm all for reclassification, but it would be only one step towards a road change policies regarding cannabis.
This is definitely one to work on locally. We have decriminalized it in my city, but fed and state laws still apply. More cities and more pressure on states is key.

[Fly by night]

59. It IS that simple.

Reclassifying cannabis to Schedule 4 removes the DEA from the equation. It would also remove the power of the USDOJ to interfere with lawfully established mmj programs and to interfere with (at least four) states' efforts to legalize mj for recreational purposes.

Of course states would still have the option of regulating cannabis as they saw fit. Here in Tennessee, we have already classified cannabis as Schedule 6 since once upon a recent time (1986-92), we HAD a legal mmj program, as did seven othe states during that time period.

So yes, Obama and/or Holder could act on their own to hasten the end ofreefer madness. The fact that they haven't and apparently won't is a real puzzle to those of us who supported Obama when he said that mmj should be treated like any other medicine. He said that at least four times during the 2008 campaign.

Say what you mean and mean what you say, Mr. President. Otherwise, get off the pot.

BTW, my thanks to everyone who K&R'ed this thread. I did spend yesterday in the Garden and then had to drive to Mississippi for the funeral of my Dad's best friend, someone who grew up making moonshine with his uncle (my grandfather, a small town physician) and so could relate to my own disdain for senseless and unsuccessful social control.

[BoWanZi]

22. K&R but I really think that big pharma is behind the whole mess keeping it illegal

Big pharma doesn't want to lose their cash cows of pain killers. If people could grow their own pain killers, why bother with paying for Vicodin or whatever.

Until Big Pharma is able to get pot growing under their control somehow, it will continued to be lobbied illegal.

[wildbilln864]

26. exactly!

their own pain killers.
their own anti-depressant,
" " fuel,
" " fabric,
" " paper,
" " food.
link

[jmowreader]

43. Yeah, right. YOU try making your own paper...

It's possible to do, but it takes quite a bit of equipment ESPECIALLY if you're planning on running it through a computer printer.

[Jim_Shorts]

40. DEA has given 55 licenses to drug companies for their pot farms

They sell a thc pill, Marinol.

Might be interesting to see some little guys manufacture a thc pill and try to sell it to people with a prescription, but then I don't see any difference between selling a pill or parts of the plant.

There is also money to be made in the prison industry.

[truedelphi]

47. That is so true. Even way back in the nineties,

scientists who worked for Big Pharma wrote peer reviewed papers on how a particular cannibinoid can ease MS, or help with various other health problems.

And now two decades down the road, and we know even more about how marijuana helps. Threre is proof it shrinks certain types of cancerous tumors.

But <sigh> until the Big Corporations and all their damn money for political campaigns are somehow forced out of the equation, marijuana will continue to be illegal.

[loyalsister]

66. Big liquor, too

Budweiser has a very powerful lobby.

[mirrera]

32. For you I log in and Kick!..nt

[pam4water]

33. Oh goodie they are throwing us a bone. I'll make sure to bury it back yard before it smells to much.

This is just like when they changes their policy on gay marriage cause it we the smallest bone they could throw to the base. I hope fewer people fall for it this time.

[MessiahRp]

35. Unfortunately they're NOT throwing us this bone.

:(

[Safetykitten]

34. I need someone to teach me how to smoke dope. I think I may be missing out.

[provis99]

41. you could ask Obama. He's admitted to both pot and cocaine.

And like every other hypocritical President, it's alright for him to use drugs, but not anyone else, including those who need it as medicine.

[IrishAle]

36. You know.. One would expect -->

... the usual Drug companies to hate the thought of a natural and unpatended cannabis to make a legal comback, and fight it tooth and nail.


But you would think the corperate food lobby (which is very powerful) would want it available because of the huge increase in food sales that would come with it.


and aside: also, the food industry most likely would be the major producer of commercial grade cannabis.

[RaleighNCDUer]

37. A big reason why they won't?

If it was re-scheduled, there would be no excuse for selling billions of dollars of military hardware to other countries in support of their (our) war on drug - of course, most of those countries had no laws against cannabis until WE made it illegal, then insisted THEY make it illegal if they wanted our aid, and upon making it illegal and getting our aid they spent that aid buying our weapons to fight that which was not illegal before we came along.

It comes back to the MIC, just like everything else.

[Fly by night]

60. Yes, the USA seems to export only two things: armaments and arrogance.

The world could do without either. So could we.

[Kurmudgeon]

38. I say IF Obama does anything, it'll be after 2012 so he doesn't give the GOP any ammunition.

[davidthegnome]

44. Heh, I suppose they could.

They aren't going to, but I suppose they could. You do realize how hard the DOJ has been cracking down on marijuana usage and sales? Despite what candidate Obama had to say regarding marijuana, President Obama is a very different sort of fellow. The Nobel peace award is rather ironic, like the award he received (in a closed meeting, barred to press) for creating greater transparency in government. Call me a cynic but... Obama has a reputation of doing one thing and saying another and even of being rewarded for doing so. I don't deny that he's done several good things - but if anyone is maintaining hope that he'll change the medical marijuana policy to something more reasonable... well, I have a an ark to sell you, built by Noah. It's for the coming flood.

[jmowreader]

45. If he did it, say hello to President Bachmann

Let's be wild here and say they really did reschedule pot from Schedule I to Schedule III. Any schedule less restrictive than Schedule I would be okay, though.

The first fucking thing that would happen is, all the right-wing news outlets would announce that the president wants Your Children To Use Drugs! Because obviously that's the only reason the president would change pot from "totally illegal under all circumstances" to "available by prescription only," right? If you thought the stupid-ass light bulb paranoia was bad, wait till we're dealing with non-Schedule I weed.

As for this "the multinationals would never allow it" shit I keep hearing...why WOULDN'T they allow it?

The paper companies would like it because it's cheaper and faster to grow than trees are.

The cotton companies wouldn't care; it may be a stronger more durable fiber, but it's more competition for linen than cotton because the processing of hemp is very similar to that of linen. (Hemp and flax are both "bast" fibers--the fibers are found in the stalks, and you've got to do a complex, time-consuming process to break down the lignin that holds them together. There won't be a "hemp gin" like there is for cotton.)

The tobacco companies would like it. If you have a drug that is commonly consumed as cigarettes, can you think of a better industry to sell it than one that makes cigarettes? And imagine the Altadis Company's joy at learning they can sell pre-rolled blunts. Pot doesn't really compete with cigarettes--a LOT of people smoke both tobacco and marijuana.

Alcohol companies? Pot is quite often a complimentary product to weed rather than a replacement for it. Many people smoke pot and drink beer at the same time. So...why not BUDweiser? A strain of weed specifically selected to enhance the enjoyment of their fine beer. (And yes, I know just about any pot would make Budweiser better.)

As for the drug companies...they'd like it because they could sell it. I don't think it would impact their sales very much because pot doesn't do everything (quick example: Plavix, which cuts down on platelet agglomeration. Marijuana doesn't do that, so if you have a guy on Plavix you CAN'T switch him to weed.) and doctors would continue to prescribe other things that do what pot does.

[Liberty Belle]

50. He should wait and do this after the election.

Hopefully he wins. But even if he loses, it could be done by executive order before he actually left office. That way it doesn't jeopardize his reelection chances.

[jmowreader]

69. Try telling that to some of these people...

The world wouldn't come to an end if he did it in 2013, but to listen to some of our loudest pot supporters he's no Democrat if he doesn't legalize it tomorrow morning.

Another problem: if he wins the 2012 election and goes into 2013 without a Democratic Congress--BOTH houses--the Republicans will stop work on everything and we'll have another Post Office Congress--one that doesn't do anything but ceremonial bullshit.

[Upton]

71. Never expected him to legalize it..

but is it asking too much that he keep his promises?

"The Justice Department going after sick individuals using this as a palliative instead of going after serious criminals makes no sense."

"I would not have the Justice Department prosecuting and raiding medical marijuana users. It's not a good use of our resources."

Candidate Obama

http://granitestaters.com/candidates/barack_obama.html

[Fly by night]

61. Between 70-80% of the US voters support mmj. If Obama became one of them again, ...

... it would go a long way to slowing and reversing his decline in the polls. It would also help insure his reelection.

BTW, I disagree with most of your other points (particularly about alcohol and prescription drugs). But I am using my sister-in-law's laptop and my big fingers are having a tough time negotiating her keypad. So I'll save my response for another day with a bigger keyboard.

[RainDog]

46. kickin' it old school :) n/t

[DeSwiss]

48. K&R n/t

[Tuesday Afternoon]

49. I stand with ye and the rest of the sentient beings on this ENTIRE GODDAMNED PLANET.

:patriot:

[me b zola]

54. K&R

[webDude]

55. Maybe if you suggest that this could be used as a distraction from being raped...

...by Wall Street, then he would do it. It's too good a tool to be used by "the man" to keep everybody down.

[on point]

56. Don't even want to answwer questions posed on it in public forums. Ducking reality again.

[Hubert Flottz]

57. I predict that Obama and Holder will play to the CONservatives

one more time on this one. The Nixonites will win again.

[Warren Stupidity]

58. The Endarkentment.

We are living through the nadir of the post enlightenment era. Venal stupidity reigns. There will be no sane drugs policy, not while there is tax rent to be extracted by the prison industrial complex from the bewildered peasants of this world.

[Javaman]

63. Don't hold your breath.

not going to happen.

[Beartracks]

64. Global Warming & the War on Drugs

When I hear Rick Perry (and so many other right-wingers) remark that global warming scientists fudge data to keep the global warming myth alive so that dollars will flow into their research projects... I think of the war on drugs. Because once again, conservatives aptly demonstrate that they will accuse others of that in which they themselves are complicit. For what is the war on drugs if not the kind of massive policy fraud like that which they accuse global warming of being -- one that has enormous, negative consequences on society to boot? At least money flowing to climate scientists doesn't make global warming worse; yet money flowing into the drug wars actually facilitates the conflict it purports to fight.

===========================

[a2liberal]

65. K&R but why just medical? (n/t)

[LWolf]

67. Obama COULD do a lot of good things that he won't. nt

[SfromCanada]

68. I say 'bravo.'