When the Controlled Substances Act was created in 1970 a blue-ribbon commission was chartered by President Nixon to study marijuana’s proper placement. The recommendation in 1972 was that personal cannabis use should be decriminalized and it should not appear in the scheduling. Obviously Nixon ignored those suggestions.
Forty years later we live in the ‘Just Say Drug War’ era. Still, the status of marijuana has always been overseen by Congress and the President. They have been the quiet players at the poker game thus far. But the increase in aggression by the DEA and US Attorneys has produced an interesting result.
When the Washington state Legislature recently passed a bill to regulate a dispensary system for patients the fed came down like a ton of bricks on the political process. Governor Chris Gregoire (a former US Attorney in her own right) vetoed the bill. But then she turned around to announce plans to bring together the now 16 medical marijuana Governors in a unified lobby for re-scheduling to category II.
Gregoire currently leads the National Governors Association. Having the elected leaders of these states actively seek an end to federal cannabis prohibition could be a significant pressure point on Senators and Representatives in Washington DC.
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by Scott Morgan, May 12, 2011, 01:59pmLINK
On Tuesday, I asked the enormous online community at reddit.com to help send a message to the President in response to the recent federal effort to shut down medical marijuana programs around the country. Reddit users voted to make this issue a top priority, resulting in an absolutely massive viral letter-writing campaign directed at Obama's website WhiteHouse.gov.
Only the White House could tell us how many messages they received, but if this is any indication, I think we got their attention:
Remember the Berlin Wall coming down in 1989? After 38 years, it just came down; no one predicted it. History was made by people making history, peaceful history, defying the powerful despots of East Germany. Then all the other Eastern European commissars and dictators were cast aside into the 'dustbin of history' within a year of that momentous but unanticipated event. Who knew the power of removing another brick from a wall?Be sure to pop over to Cannibis Culture to read the full article!
In Canada, we are about to see a historical event happen this Monday May 2nd, days away. We are about to see what could be the New Democratic Party government of Canada, relegating the tyrant Stephen Harper and his evil Conservatives to that same dustbin where other tyrants lay obsolete and despised.
Kan said "the myth of the safety of nuclear energy" was prevalent among government and utility officials and Japan needs to "humbly reflect" on such wrong perceptions.LINK
