MonRoe MeNace's blog: "Everything Pertaining to Weed"

Supporters of marijuana’s legalization need to develop political skills and learn more about what it takes to be successful advocates and influential citizens. Public opinion is moving in the direction of reform; this is a good time to increase the pressure on our Congressional representatives to consider the legalization option. The persistent use of marijuana in the United States provides constant pressure on Congress to recognize the failure of prohibition, as does the widespread cultivation of marijuana throughout the country. Confronting Congress with public support for legalization, though, is necessary to develop cannabis reform as an important political priority. In many respects marijuana’s legalization is a simple numbers game. When enough people contact Congress in favor of legalization, Congress will act. It’s really as simple as that. There are 22 million adults in the United States who use marijuana in the course of any year. We need to convince 1% of them to contact their Congressional Representatives at least once a year as well. That will take some time, organization, and persuasion. There are 435 Congressional Districts represented in the Congress. On average there are 50,000 marijuana users in each district. Some states have more users per district, such as New York (58,000) and Oregon (71,000) and others have less, such as Indiana (46,000) and Alabama (40,000). If 1% of marijuana users contacted their Congressional Representatives in favor of legalization, that’s 220,000 direct appeals in favor of ending prohibition. It may seem like a difficult objective, but it’s actually only 500 people from each Congressional District, and that’s only 50 people each convincing 10 friends to take a stand. It’s not going to happen overnight, and that’s why the HIGH TIMES 420 Campaign will roll on all year, every year, until we get the job done. Below are five easy steps you can take to contact your Congressional Representative. All you have to do is look up your complete zip code on the web, go to the Web site of Congress, look up your Congressional Representative, and send them an email to let them know you recommend they consider marijuana’s legalization. Here is short sample message you should send your Representative today: State and local police departments arrest over 700,000 individuals each year on marijuana charges. However after decades of arrests marijuana remains uncontrolled, widely available, and increasingly profitable. In the last 25 years marijuana cultivation developed into a massive, illicit, and untaxed market worth tens of billions of dollars. In my opinion marijuana law enforcement diverts important criminal justice resources from more important efforts to fight violent crime. A federal tax on marijuana sales would be a valuable source of revenue for drug treatment and other under-funded social programs. Most important, regulation of marijuana can decrease teenage access to the drug, something prohibition has failed to do over the last 35 years. It is time for the Congress to consider marijuana’s legalization in the United States. Where do you stand on the issue of marijuana law reform? Do you support the continuation of our current failed policies, and if so, why? Or are you willing to consider new approaches to control the marijuana market and reduce marijuana’s availability to teenagers and children? Follow the steps below and when you get to step #5 either write your own message or copy the message above and paste it into the text box at the Congressional Web site. In any event, it’s time for you to “Send Your Message” to your Congressional Representative and let them know you support marijuana’s legalization. Then, email the link to this column to all your friends and encourage them to also send a message to Congress in support of marijuana’s legalization! Arresting people for marijuana use is stupid and wrong. So is failing to take action to stop it. Be smart. Roll on with The 420 Campaign and help bring about the end to marijuana prohibition in the United States. Contact Congress Today. Contacting your Congressional Representative: 1. If you don’t know the four digit extension of your zip code, look it up here. 2. Go to this Web site provided by the House of Representatives: http://www.house.gov/writerep/ 3. Follow the instructions under the banner “To contact your Representative:” First, select your state of residence from the pull down menu. Second, enter your zip code and your four digit extension. Third, click the “Contact your Representative” button. 4. On the next screen, fill in your name, address, phone number, and email address. Then click the button that says “Continue to Text Entry Form.” 5. Enter your message in the text box on the screen and then click the 'Send Your Message' button to submit.

Here are a bunch of links to organizations and groups that are trying to help with the reform of MARIJUANA laws. If you for the legalization of marijuana read up and show your support! NORML National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws www.norml.org Students for a Sensible Drug Policy www.ssdp.org Students for Sensible Drug Policy seeks to reduce the harms caused by drug abuse and drug policies. Drug Policy Alliance www.drugpolicy.org Envisioning new drug policies based on science, compassion, health and human rights and a just society in which the fears, prejudices and punitive prohibitions of today are no more. Marijuana Policy Project www.mpp.org MPP believes that the greatest harm associated with marijuana is prison. To this end, MPP focuses on removing criminal penalties for marijuana use, with a particular emphasis on making marijuana medically available to seriously ill people who have the approval of their doctors. DanceSafe www.dancesafe.org Promoting health and safety within the rave and nightclub community. North American Syringe Exchange Network www.nasen.org Dedicated to the creation, expansion and continued existence of syringe exchange programs as a proven method of stopping the transmission of blood borne pathogens in the injecting drug using community. Media Awareness Project www.mapinc.org Minimize the harm associated with marijuana. Law Enforcement Against Prohibition www.leap.cc Current and former members of law enforcement who support drug regulation rather than prohibition. Mothers of the New York Disappeared www.nymom.org Mothers of the New York Disappeared is a grassroots organization working to reform New York State's Rockefeller drug laws, increase awareness about the destructive results of the expanding prison system, and promote transitional services for the formerly incarcerated and their families. Drug Sense www.drugsense.org A daily compilation of drug-related news excerpts. Change the Climate www.changetheclimate.org A campaign, founded by parents and business professionals, to educate the public about the tremendous waste of our tax dollars for the "war on marijuana" and the increasing threat to our basic civil liberties. Drug Reform Coordination Network stopthedrugwar.org The Drug Reform Coordination Network was founded in 1993 and has quickly grown into a major national and global network including parents, educators, students, lawyers, health care professionals, academics, and others working for drug policy reform from a variety of perspectives, including harm reduction, reform of sentencing and forfeiture laws, medicalization of currently schedule I drugs, and promotion of an open debate on drug prohibition. Mothers Against Misuse and Abuse www.mamas.org MAMA's approach is based on Personal Responsibility and Informed Decision Making, with Respect for Human Dignity Flex Your Rights www.flexyourrights.org Advice for citizens to assert their rights during encounters with the police. Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies www.maps.org Supporting psychedelic and medical marijuana research since 1986. Drug War Facts www.drugwarfacts.org Updated regularly, Drug War Facts provides reliable information with credible citations on important criminal justice and public health issues. Harm Reduction Coalition www.harmreduction.org The Harm Reduction Coalition (HRC) is committed to reducing drug-related harm among individuals and communities by initiating and promoting local, regional, and national harm reduction education, interventions, and community organizing. Pot Pride www.potpride.net An organization promoting equal rights for marijuana smokers in line with alcohol and tobacco users. Cannabis Consumers Campaign www.cannabisconsumers.org Silences the myth of marijuana smokers as extreme, unproductive members of society Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp www.crrh.org Sponsors of the Oregon Cannabis Taxation Act Common Sense for Drug Policy www.csdp.org Common Sense for Drug Policy is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization with offices in Washington, DC; Lancaster, PA; and Los Angeles, CA, dedicated to expanding discussion on drug policy by resonating the voices of those raising questions about existing law and educating the public about alternatives to current policies. Criminal Justice Forum www.criminaljusticeforum.com The Criminal Justice Forum dares to examine how the criminal justice system really works. Forfeiture Endangers American Rights www.fear.org Reforming state and federal asset forfeiture laws. Peter McWilliams www.mcwilliams.com His fight for liberty lives on Reconsider www.reconsider.org A forum for discussing alternatives to the war on drugs Christians For Cannabis www.christiansforcannabis.com What would Jesus do about the War on Drugs? Unitarian Universalists for Drug Policy Reform (UUDPR) www.uudpr.org Developing and promoting more just and compassionate drug policies.

Where do you stand? Here are our top ten reasons marijuana should be legalized: 10. Prohibition has failed to control the use and domestic production of marijuana. The government has tried to use criminal penalties to prevent marijuana use for over 75 years and yet: marijuana is now used by over 25 million people annually, cannabis is currently the largest cash crop in the United States, and marijuana is grown all over the planet. Claims that marijuana prohibition is a successful policy are ludicrous and unsupported by the facts, and the idea that marijuana will soon be eliminated from America and the rest of the world is a ridiculous fantasy. 9. Arrests for marijuana possession disproportionately affect blacks and Hispanics and reinforce the perception that law enforcement is biased and prejudiced against minorities. African-Americans account for approximately 13% of the population of the United States and about 13.5% of annual marijuana users, however, blacks also account for 26% of all marijuana arrests. Recent studies have demonstrated that blacks and Hispanics account for the majority of marijuana possession arrests in New York City, primarily for smoking marijuana in public view. Law enforcement has failed to demonstrate that marijuana laws can be enforced fairly without regard to race; far too often minorities are arrested for marijuana use while white/non-Hispanic Americans face a much lower risk of arrest. 8. A regulated, legal market in marijuana would reduce marijuana sales and use among teenagers, as well as reduce their exposure to other drugs in the illegal market. The illegality of marijuana makes it more valuable than if it were legal, providing opportunities for teenagers to make easy money selling it to their friends. If the excessive profits for marijuana sales were ended through legalization there would be less incentive for teens to sell it to one another. Teenage use of alcohol and tobacco remain serious public health problems even though those drugs are legal for adults, however, the availability of alcohol and tobacco is not made even more widespread by providing kids with economic incentives to sell either one to their friends and peers. 7. Legalized marijuana would reduce the flow of money from the American economy to international criminal gangs. Marijuana’s illegality makes foreign cultivation and smuggling to the United States extremely profitable, sending billions of dollars overseas in an underground economy while diverting funds from productive economic development. 6. Marijuana’s legalization would simplify the development of hemp as a valuable and diverse agricultural crop in the United States, including its development as a new bio-fuel to reduce carbon emissions. Canada and European countries have managed to support legal hemp cultivation without legalizing marijuana, but in the United States opposition to legal marijuana remains the biggest obstacle to development of industrial hemp as a valuable agricultural commodity. As US energy policy continues to embrace and promote the development of bio-fuels as an alternative to oil dependency and a way to reduce carbon emissions, it is all the more important to develop industrial hemp as a bio-fuel source – especially since use of hemp stalks as a fuel source will not increase demand and prices for food, such as corn. Legalization of marijuana will greatly simplify the regulatory burden on prospective hemp cultivation in the United States. 5. Prohibition is based on lies and disinformation. Justification of marijuana’s illegality increasingly requires distortions and selective uses of the scientific record, causing harm to the credibility of teachers, law enforcement officials, and scientists throughout the country. The dangers of marijuana use have been exaggerated for almost a century and the modern scientific record does not support the reefer madness predictions of the past and present. Many claims of marijuana’s danger are based on old 20th century prejudices that originated in a time when science was uncertain how marijuana produced its characteristic effects. Since the cannabinoid receptor system was discovered in the late 1980s these hysterical concerns about marijuana’s dangerousness have not been confirmed with modern research. Everyone agrees that marijuana, or any other drug use such as alcohol or tobacco use, is not for children. Nonetheless, adults have demonstrated over the last several decades that marijuana can be used moderately without harmful impacts to the individual or society. 4. Marijuana is not a lethal drug and is safer than alcohol. It is established scientific fact that marijuana is not toxic to humans; marijuana overdoses are nearly impossible, and marijuana is not nearly as addictive as alcohol or tobacco. It is unfair and unjust to treat marijuana users more harshly under the law than the users of alcohol or tobacco. 3. Marijuana is too expensive for our justice system and should instead be taxed to support beneficial government programs. Law enforcement has more important responsibilities than arresting 750,000 individuals a year for marijuana possession, especially given the additional justice costs of disposing of each of these cases. Marijuana arrests make justice more expensive and less efficient in the United States, wasting jail space, clogging up court systems, and diverting time of police, attorneys, judges, and corrections officials away from violent crime, the sexual abuse of children, and terrorism. Furthermore, taxation of marijuana can provide needed and generous funding of many important criminal justice and social programs. 2. Marijuana use has positive attributes, such as its medical value and use as a recreational drug with relatively mild side effects. Many people use marijuana because they have made an informed decision that it is good for them, especially Americans suffering from a variety of serious ailments. Marijuana provides relief from pain, nausea, spasticity, and other symptoms for many individuals who have not been treated successfully with conventional medications. Many American adults prefer marijuana to the use of alcohol as a mild and moderate way to relax. Americans use marijuana because they choose to, and one of the reasons for that choice is their personal observation that the drug has a relatively low dependence liability and easy-to-manage side effects. Most marijuana users develop tolerance to many of marijuana’s side effects, and those who do not, choose to stop using the drug. Marijuana use is the result of informed consent in which individuals have decided that the benefits of use outweigh the risks, especially since, for most Americans, the greatest risk of using marijuana is the relatively low risk of arrest. 1. Marijuana users are determined to stand up to the injustice of marijuana probation and accomplish legalization, no matter how long or what it takes to succeed. Despite the threat of arrests and a variety of other punishments and sanctions marijuana users have persisted in their support for legalization for over a generation. They refuse to give up their long quest for justice because they believe in the fundamental values of American society. Prohibition has failed to silence marijuana users despite its best attempts over the last generation. The issue of marijuana’s legalization is a persistent issue that, like marijuana, will simply not go away. Marijuana will be legalized because marijuana users will continue to fight for it until they succeed.