Politics and Marijuana Legalities
I thought I would start a new thread about our collective various state's marijuana laws, and all things related.
I think it is safe to assume that all of us here live in a prohibitionist state where access to medical marijuana is either so restrictive as to be pretty much meaningless (Texas) or where there is a total ban against this mostly harmless plant.
Myself, I am a member of NORML and LEAP. These are two organizations that take the fight to the levels I am not equipped to go. I also petition my states legislature, governor, and representatives on a regular basis for the right to decide what path of medical treatment I want to take, and what medications I want to use along that path. I also lobby for the total legalization of our beloved plant as well.
Anyone else active in the process?
What about elections and the people running for office? Is marijuana legalization a factor you consider when you go to vote? Is your candidate pro or anti cannabis? Is this a single issue for you, or just one of many?
In Texas, some people will complain about who is governor and the laws; but just remember that we do have our foot in the door here. Considering the amount of Reefer Madness prevalent in Austin, that is an amazing thing to see. Also, we are this ---><--- close in opening up the restrictions even more by removing the penalties and stigma doctors face with prescribing marijuana.
“They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.” ― Andy Warhol
Comments
The problem is that legalization just leads to excessive overregulation and taxes. It's a god damned plant. Government should have as much to do with cannabis as they do with dandelions.
I'm not going to ask government to do a damn thing. I'll do what I want. I do not need them to control every aspect of my life.
Sitting through jury duty today....they are charging this poor guy with a felony for a half full vape cartridge. Unfortunately for him I wasn't selected for his case. I am not about the government regulating my weed but how the fuck can people justify putting someone in jail for this. The status quo is Bullshit based off bullshit.... The powers that be are morally bankrupt and will continue to drag this out and keep their gravy train rolling.
Thanks for taking this to a new thread! (To those who do not know, this topic came up in a thread about Sinsemilla...smart move to bring it out of there, into the open.)
I vote cannabis. Political candidates I favor are no-brainer supporters of cannabis. The political climate today is such that a vote for cannabis is a vote for compassion and common sense. I consider it a radical position to support a cannabis ban. Despite having the personality of a bitter lollipop with razor blade pieces inside, I want to be better as a person and I demand better from everyone else, especially politicians. If you deny a human being the right to self-treat, I believe that is a violation of the constitution. Correction: That is a violation of the constitution.
I am an Ohio resident. There are dispensaries here; full of pretty buds that--somehow!!!--fail to produce oil despite having outrageously high THC percentages, according to the "lab testing data" on the bottles; said buds also somehow fail to get me high, even when smoked, combustion being illegal here. (I'm told we're supposed to vaporize our flowers, not burn them. Completely unenforceable. And, really? If I put Vicodin in my shampoo is that illegal, too? Bad analogy...there are better ones. It might actually be a good idea to keep Vicodin out of hair products.) So dispensary weed sucks; the extent to which it sucks may or may not be a uniquely Ohio thing. But so much of this weed comes from the same producers that sell to, for example, Pennsylvania. Where is the THC going, folks? Conspiracy theories abound and I have to say...they're convincing.
Anyone know of a lab that will test this stuff? It would be fascinating to expose the lying rats. I'll pay.
I'm a NORML member but am not actively "taking it to the streets." Frankly, talking about legalization is an invitation to be punished by authority figures. Despite that it's "legal" here now, they are out for blood, still! They can't help themselves. Heads down is best, at least publicly. My participation in the resistance is to speak about the effectiveness of cannabis as a treatment for...just about everything. People who look askance at my lifestyle might reconsider their own behaviors if they knew what kind of sickness could be alleviated in their own life. Persistent fungal infections under your toenail? A dab of concentrated oil puts that down immediately. OTC products do not. Prescription products do not! You may think, "well that's a dumb use of Phoenix Tears." To which I reply, do your thing, I'll do mine. There are at least 20 long-grain-rice-sized gloops of RSO in a 3g syringe on this site. Do the math: 20/$75. That's the cost of treating my toenail fungus one time, which knocked out an infection that had plagued me for, I kid you not, five years. Good luck getting those results with a product from CVS.
I have a book's worth of preparations that do all the things your great-grandmother knew how to treat but that now we go to clueless doctors for. I also spend a lot of time learning ancient healing traditions because...they work. (And my own family, like many others, grew up in a post-WW II boom that saw us throw out the baby with the bathwater with respect to nutrition and health.) So I advocate for health and nutrition in general and everyone hates me. It's a long game, though.
@georgetirebiter Are you a writer? Because if not, you should be.
Ha! Thank you.
Speaking of which, where is the good writing about cannabis politics and culture? Leafly has a good article once in awhile. But it seems their main thing is to link to cannabis dispensaries, not provide a thoughtful reading experience.
Where do other people keep up with...not just cannabis news but other stuff, too? Articles on the history of landrace strains, what Robert Boyle (of Boyle's Law fame) thought about his cannabis experiences in India, medical research news...???
Here are a few broken links to what I like to peruse while waiting for my next order.
Add a 'dot com' to these:
- hightimes
- cannabisculture
- 420magazine
- weedfeedofficial
Add a 'dot org' to these:
- texasnorml
- mpp
- lawenforcementactionpartnership
Add a 'dot net' to this:
- marijuanamoment
Cool. Thanks! A couple new ones for me.
On March 12th, the House Veterans Affairs Committee (HVAC) passed two separate pieces of legislation pertaining to cannabis policy.
The first bill, HR 712, known as the VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act of 2019, would direct the Veterans Administration to conduct research on marijuana in regards to a wide variety of ailments commonly associated with service-related issues.
The second bill, HR 1647, known as the Veterans Equal Access Act of 2019, would allow V.A. doctors to fill out the state-legal medical marijuana recommendations. Presently, V.A. doctors are forbidden from providing the paperwork necessary to complete a recommendation, thus forcing military veterans to seek the advice of a private, out-of-network physician.
copy-n-paste from NORML website 03/12/2020
Too many non-smokers involved in policymaking. Decriminalize it and give tax incentives to small independent growers ( local micro brewery's). Tax the shit out of corporate growers (Budweiser) my biggest fear of legalization is big companies sucking up little quality growers and homogenizing weed into a mass-market commodity. It will be more available but the amazing strain diversity and quality and
would be at risk... keep it with the hippies!!!!
This is Texas related, but the research done will have an impact on future cannabis development.
Broken link, add "edu" where the *** is:
https://today.tamu.***/2020/04/08/is-it-hemp-or-marijuana-scanning-technology-may-provide-an-instant-answer/
fyi.. "legal" cbd flower / shatter has been available everywhere (even in illegal states) and has excellent quality / strains. Can be picked up at quality headshops and definitely does NOT conform to the .3% THC rule. They probably send the ditch weed samples to the lab for testing. Speaking from experience , most of CBD flower would test at ~ 5 - 10% thc level consistently and will get you very stoned for 3-4 hours. These strains also have 15+% CBD so the bodily effects are much greater than normal thc level strains...