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420 Campaign - Can-Do Cannabis Reform

While the rhetoric at the highest levels of government will continue to dismiss marijuana’s legalization as a viable policy option, watch what they do rather than obsess about what they say.

Fri, Mar 27, 2009 5:01 pm


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The goal is marijuana’s legalization. The strategy, though, is to advance reform, to advance on a wide front and to advance as deeply as possible into enemy territory. Legalization, decriminalization, medicalization, hempification…these and any other manifestation of reform are all part of the same realization, which is this:  Now is the time for cannabis reform. It’s green light time. Cannabis reform is a can-do proposition.

 

Normally it makes good strategic sense to focus on the concentration of forces, to mass your resources and attack where your opponents are weakest. However, right now the opponents of cannabis reform are in retreat. State governments are broke. The federal government is broke. The drug war is bankrupt – effectively, morally, and financially. This is not a matter of over-confidence; this is the reality of economics, public policy, and public perception.

 

The Obama Administration has already acknowledged its general intention to let state governments innovate new approaches to marijuana policy. While specifically addressing medical marijuana policy in California and other states the Obama approach acknowledges the long-standing reality that marijuana laws are primarily state responsibilities. The states have been opting out of the federal prohibition on marijuana over the last 35 years through decriminalization, conditional discharge, widespread use of probation for marijuana possession cases, and other enforcement and sentencing policies. Given the fiscal crises facing the country, this trend is not likely to be reversed any time soon.

 

Indeed, at the federal level we’re already seeing signs that the administration is looking to enhanced treatment-oriented policies as the centerpiece of national anti-drug efforts. For example, the most significant anti-drug aspect of Obama’s budget concerns funding for drug courts that promote treatment rather than incarceration for drug offenses.

 

While the rhetoric at the highest levels of government will continue to dismiss marijuana’s legalization as a viable policy option, watch what they do rather than obsess about what they say.

 

Meanwhile, the task for reformers is to increase the visibility and public support for new approaches to marijuana-related issues. Politicians, opinion leaders, the media, and government officials are all open to persuasion that it’s time to take a fresh look at innovative policies to reduce the cost of prohibition.

 

Entrepreneurship is based on new combinations of goods and services, and it is a process of creative destruction. New policies attract support and funding away from old policies and destroy them in the process. The way to destroy prohibition is to attract new support to innovative policies. Whether it is a legalize and regulate approach in California, medical marijuana legislation in Florida, decriminalization in Texas, or hemp development in North Dakota, these and other emerging policy alternatives add to the ongoing process of creative destruction of costly, failing, and out-dated prohibitionist approaches.

 

So spread the word to your friends and colleagues. Form discussion groups on campus. Write letters to the editor of your local newspapers. Email your state and federal legislators and tell them of your support for new approaches to drug policy. Project Vote Smart will connect you with your legislative representatives at the state and federal level. Email your friends about the 420 Campaign. Get involved with reform groups. Support the Marijuana Policy Project, support NORML, support the Drug Policy Alliance, support Students for Drug Policy Reform, support Americans for Safe Access. All of these groups will assist you in contacting legislators, political leaders, and the media.

 

Take a look at public events and you’ll see that marijuana reform is a topic of increasing popularity. The strategic focus these days is to sustain and advance the momentum of this newfound interest. That’s why cannabis reform is a can-do proposition. If you want to see marijuana legalized, then you have to participate in actions that make this a reality. Right now, the most powerful activity is to spread the word about reform, any kind of reform, to both supporters and to the general public.

 

The opponents of reform are in retreat, but that won’t last for long. They’re already trying to take a new stand, particularly in the form of labeling reform as surrender. It won’t take long for the advocates of prohibition to make up new scare stories and new ways to repackage the tired old clichés they’ve relied on for decades. Fact is, they’re pretty good and drumming up hysteria about drugs in general and marijuana in particular. But that’s why it is so important to spread the word now about the need for new approaches to these old and costly prohibitionist policies. 

 

An opportunity is present to change the nature of the public debate in a fashion that can keep prohibitionists on the defensive. The financial reality is painful for anti-drug warriors these days. The government has too many problems to address and not enough money to address them with, and prohibitionists have little to show for all the money they’ve spent over the last few decades. Consequently, these are great days to push the cause of reform.

 

Cannabis reform is a can-do proposition these days. Spread the word. Make your opinions heard, and make them count.



» add a comment

Objective Bystander

Oct 13 2009, 8:57 am

I think some of the problems with legalizing marijuana is the image presented by a great number of it's proponents. I mean, on these few posts here alone, the pictures they conjure up are of people maybe in their 20s or maybe even younger crying out, "Damn the man". Most likely unshaven, unkempt, and only half informed. I mean, the punctuation alone has been horrendous. Can you honestly expect any congressional member or senator to give you even a second glance when you can't even compile your argument into a properly formatted sentence? If marijuana has any chance to be legalized, you have to remove the counterculture image and make it appear mainstream. You have to present a valid, clear, concise argument. And drop the medicinal marijuana argument or you’ll end up screwing yourselves. By the way, does anyone not see that if marijuana is legalized, it’ll be similar to alcohol? Moonshine is still illegal. Do you really think that if the government can make a buck off the taxation of mass produced marijuana, they won’t maintain bans on the private growing of the plant? These are just some of the considerations to take into account. I support the legalization of it but I want to see it done right. Not just to spite “the man” or so some neo--hippies can hang out in the woods in their L.L. Bean jackets listening to Sublime and “rap” about how there could be an entire universe in your fingernail or some crap like that. Get your acts together first, then take action.

matrix

Jul 21 2009, 11:52 am

you say stones have no morals? which morals yours or the ones that have been feed to you by your master.. Cops are just brainwash popets from a hier aristocracy. Legalize,Tax


No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property,

Momo & Sunshine

Jul 15 2009, 7:32 pm

Pot is the best thing for everything. We smoke a lot and would love to become an activist for the cause. We just dont know how to get started. Any suggestions? Dont stop til its legal.

420 DuDe

Apr 20 2009, 12:35 pm

Just wanna wish every stoner HAPPY 420 ..
Smoke a JOINT on the hour !!

Best day in the whole year !!!
Marijuana is the BEST & Enjoy your BUZZZZZZZ !!

Peace to all Stoners !!

eddie 4/20

Apr 11 2009, 8:43 am

if you live in florida andd wanna see a change go to

www.pufmm.com/petition.php

LETS GET THE MEDICAL MARIJUNANA PASSED IN FLORIDA

herb alafonz

Apr 10 2009, 1:20 am

"cartels are anti legalization" :true and that explains in plain terms where the blame lies for those murders,which is with the men that killed them, i do believe that if legalized many large producers both here in the states and outside our borders will look at going legit as opposed to facing market collapse financially it would be prudent to allow the large supplier to continue producing in the same location and let it fall into the agricultural import/export laws already in place with with the country the crop originates. and if it is here in the US and if they want to produce anything larger than personal use it gets taxed and distributed in the retail market like tobacco or wheat thus opening up an incredible large and diverse industry with drops ranging from production,import/export,not to mention competition for governmental supply jobs, essentially a race for capitalist supremacy with everyone trying to push their trademarked brand of chronic,small operations will start looking for small buisiness loans and could one day become the next fuckin phillip morris as long as we dont let any of the existing company's like big tobacco buy us out.and lastly if the supplier didnt want to go legit he is still losing a huge profit because on the street level ppl are getting it in the grocery stores and gas stations and if they do go legit the have to open their doors to the government wich means no more heroin is coming in with their weed. thats my high as fanatasy what do yall think?

KillaCole

Apr 10 2009, 12:38 am

I was put on probation in New York State in 2007, for a non-drug related crime. This means I get a drug test once a month, and am unable to use marijuana at all since marijuana stays in your system for about 3 - 6 weeks. So, I have turned to other drugs to medicate myself with. These drugs include, but are not limited to: alcohol, cocaine, painkillers, exstacy, angel dust, lsd, mushrooms, etc., all of which I never would have tried unless I was on probation because they only stay in your system from 1-7 days. The using of these "hard" drugs has led me to more legal problems including a DWI, and a resisting arrest. This all could have been prevented if I was just allowed to use my normal medicine, marijuana. But, now I have become addicted to a few of these "hard" drugs, and it has led to many problems for me. One of these problems was going through rehab. I would just like to thank all of the NYS taxpayers for paying close to $40,000.00 for my rehab bill, which is the cost of just one person. I won't even mention the 30 other people who were in there with me! I guess what I'm trying to say is IF YOU LEGALIZE MARIJUANA, YOU WILL DRASTICALLY DECREASE THE NUMBER OF OTHER PROBLEMS! Plus, I would just like to sarcastically say to the law enforcement team in NYS, Thank you for allowing me to fund the increase in use of these "hard drugs", and to completely ruin peoples lives! I hope you're happy!

lngtimsmker

Apr 9 2009, 7:56 am

how many people had to die durning the alcohol Prohibition before the government changed the rules

Libertarian From Hell

Apr 3 2009, 3:23 am

Massachusetts Cop said: "In the mean time, you can all chip in for all the murdering in Mexico. Stoners have no morals."

Ooh, is that supposed to make pot smokers feel guilty? Is it supposed to make them feel ashamed? Sorry there Dudley Do-Right, but no government has the moral authority to tell people what they can or can't put into their own bodies. If you're so concerned about the murders in Mexico- or for that matter if you're so concerned about immorality, you should be working to legalize cannabis!

The egg or the chicken?

Mar 31 2009, 2:32 pm

Are we to blame or is the government to blame for the cartels?
Yes,we buy illegal drugs,and yes we are breaking the law,but it is a law based on racial prejudice and economical pressure
from big business back in the 30's. In an effort to remove the marijuana tax act,the President at the time, freaked out and declared the war on drugs,and we have been wasting billions of dollars trying to enforce a moralistic law that can't be enforced.
No morality law will ever be enforceable,because there is no way to make everyone THINK and agree to the ideals of the
law makers.

glich86

Mar 29 2009, 5:08 pm

Mass cop you also forget that there are very many cops that are being bought off with much less moral than some stoners that i know so quit being so self righteous and join the rest of the population and this decision needs to be left to the people to decide wether or not marijuana should be legal or not and as far as the mexican cartels go ron paul summed it up the best the cartels are against legalization b/c their markets thrive off of these prohibition laws which didnt work in the 1930s and are still not working today so why not learn from history instead of repeating it? Plus its not just the cartels that are doing this in mexico it is also people just trying to survive in desperate times people do desperate things so you cant just blame this on the cartels b/c if you havent eatin in a week and someone comes and offers you a table of food for you and your family but you gotta do something illegal for them you will b/c you want to provide for your family and get that money, money is the root of all evil but unfortunatley we need money to survive and not all of us can be cops and make 55,000 dollars a year so they do the next thing instead of being over worked and under paid you commit crime b/c its much easier to steal something than it is to find a job, and marijuana cultivation will create a wide spread job field and produce mass amounts of money which there will b enough to go around as far as other drugs im not concerened about them just marijuana

High East

Mar 29 2009, 1:59 pm

Hey, Mass cop. You support these crime lords by supporting tyrannical laws and prohibition.

If you really believe in the movements to remove all rightful liberty from the American people then maybe you and all your fascist friends should go to the border and fight the cartels yourselves. Why put good Americans lives at risk for YOUR fascist war?

grizzly adams

Mar 29 2009, 12:22 pm

yo mass cop your a dumb fuck you prob smoke cigs rght? thats a plant that they add chemcals to any chemcals in ganja nope sorry cant say that there is. what other drugs have chemcals so just keep trainng all the people who work for tabbaco companies to mix chemcals and sht thatll kll your kids. fucken stupid cop think they know all when they really know nothng

Ghostwolf

Mar 28 2009, 11:23 pm

To the mass.cop, YOU need get YOUR head out the sand. YOU are no one to talk about morals. It's people like YOU that support a useless and failed drug war and are responsible the drug murders in Mexico as well as world wide. Legalized and regulated marijuana will put these people out of business and the violence will end. Get yourself educated. The only way you could even believe that we who suffer in pain are responsible for killings anywere and that are helped by marijuana is that we are forced obtain it illegly because of people like YOU. WAKE UP!!!

John Galt

Mar 28 2009, 12:46 pm

First thing's first: Fuck you Mass Cop.

Second, Obama is full of shit; a lying puppet, empty-suit, can't-do-anything-save-read-off-a-teleprompter, affirmative-action President. He fooled all you liberals into voting for him, but in reality he's no better than Bush.

You all should really watch The Obama Deception, on YouTube. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw

Ha, I fully support the legalization of cannabis, but the thing is: even if they DO legalize it, that will only be a move to appease and distract you while they take more and more of your freedoms away, and increase the debt that we the taxpayers have to pay back.

So, don't mistake any legalization effort by the Federal Government as a good thing. It needs to come from the States up. The Federal Government is the most corrupt organized-crime-syndicate that ever existed.

Again, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw

nailed it

Mar 28 2009, 9:58 am

nothing makes me want to kill mexicans more than smoking a fatty.....

Massachusetts Cop

Mar 28 2009, 12:34 am

In the mean time, you can all chip in for all the murdering in Mexico. Stoners have no morals.

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2009 HIGH TIMES CALENDAR

This year HIGH TIMES is proud to offer the 2009 Ultimate Grow Calendar, featuring hot tips from the world's foremost cannabis cultivator, Jorge Cervantes. Packed with monthly summaries and daily grow tips, this calendar aims to keep you on track, whether you are growing indoors or outside.

Covering everything from temperature control to nutrient programs and featuring simple but timely reminders to look ahead in the season, this year's Grow Calendar is the first of its kind and is sure to be a useful tool for all growers, beginners and experts alike.

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