Leave the Man Alone

bullet image In Defense of Willie Nelson

Willie and Family now have an unlikely new champion: State Sen. Charlie Albertson, who just cut a song defending the outlaw singer. […]

The song, called “Leave the Man Alone,” refers to the Jan. 28 citations issued to six members of Nelson’s band on either possession of marijuana or possession of non-tax-paid alcohol. The band’s bus was outside the Duplin County Events Center in Kenansville.

Not bad. But here’s my favorite song written about Willie:
I’ll Never Smoke Weed With Willie AgainCelebrity bloopers here

bullet image What passes for journalism…

The gunman who charged into the Pentagon Thursday and opened fire was intelligent but troubled, and had struggled with a longtime marijuana addiction, a family friend said today.

bullet image Letter-writer extraordinaire Robert Sharpe:

For non-violent offenders with chronic substance abuse problems, drug treatment is a cost-effective alternative to incarceration. Unfortunately, drug courts are being misused for political purposes. Record numbers of citizens arrested for marijuana possession have been forced into treatment by the criminal justice system. The resulting distortion of treatment statistics is used by shameless drug warriors to claim that marijuana is “addictive.”

Zero-tolerance drug laws do not distinguish between occasional use and chronic abuse. The coercion of Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis into taxpayer-funded treatment centers says a lot about government priorities, but absolutely nothing about the relative harms of marijuana. For an objective take on marijuana, look to Canada.

After months of research, the Canadian Senate concluded in 2002 that marijuana is relatively harmless, marijuana prohibition contributes to organized crime, and law enforcement efforts have little impact on patterns of use. In the words of Senator Pierre Claude Nolin, “Scientific evidence overwhelmingly indicates that cannabis is substantially less harmful than alcohol and should be treated not as a criminal issue but as a social and public health issue.”

bullet image Students debate drug policy — it was The Libertarians, College Democrats, College Republicans and College Socialists.

I loved this part.

The students also debated the merits of medical marijuana use. The Republicans were the only students opposed to using it for medical purposes.

Instead, they suggested harnessing substances in marijuana used for medical reasons to eliminate the negative effects of smoking.

The other debaters fired back, defending their stance in favor of medical marijuana.

“The Republicans keep stressing a safe way to harness the [medical substances] — it’s called a vaporizer,” said Socialist Paige Heimark (freshman-history and psychology).

bullet image Sanitizing history

How the DEA Scrubbed Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello Poppy Garden from Public Memory

Jefferson had planted opium poppies in his medicinal garden, and opium poppies are now deemed illegal. Now, the trouble was the folks at the Monticello Foundation, which preserves and maintains the historic site, were discovered flagrantly continuing Jefferson’s crimes. The agents were blunt: The poppies had to be immediately uprooted and destroyed or else they were going to start making arrests, and Monticello Foundation personnel would perhaps face lengthy stretches in prison.

[Thanks, Dan]

bullet image When this AP story came out, it pissed me off for the same reason, but I didn’t get around to writing about it. Scott Morgan took care of it, instead. How Can We Stop Drug Gangs From Growing Pot in the Woods? Legalize Pot

This Associated Press report is over 1,200 words long, yet does not contain one single idea for addressing the problem. Not even a stupid hopeless drug war idea like “we need more funding for eradication,” or “we need to get everyone to stop using marijuana.” Apparently, the AP is simply content to point out to us that our most precious natural resources are being slowly destroyed by Mexican marijuana cartels and there isn’t a damn thing anyone can do about it.

But, of course there is.

bullet image DrugSense Weekly – a weekly review of the most interesting or relevant articles in the press and on the web related to drug policy reform.

bullet imageDrug War Chronicle – weekly update of drug war news and analysis from Stop the Drug War.org.

…. consider this an Open Thread

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24 Responses to Leave the Man Alone

  1. DdC says:

    Shouldn’t Willie Be Left Alone? By Jackson Simpson
    CN Source: National Ledger September 20, 2006 Arizona

    And the bewildered herd is still believing
    Everything we’ve been told from our birth
    Hell they won’t lie to me
    Not on my own damn TV
    But how much is a liars word worth
    And whatever happened to peace on earth

    New Willie Nelson Song Condemns War in Iraq
    Published on Thursday, January 1, 2004 by Reuters

    Shocking! Willie Nelson Busted for Pot
    Pot Haze Invites Raid on Nelson Bus
    Willie Nelson’s Tour Bus Cited For Moonshine, Marijuana

    Willie Nelson: Hemp and the Family Farm U2b

    “Marijuana is a herb and a flower.
    God put it here. If He put it here and He wants it to grow,
    what gives the government the right to say that God is wrong?”

    – Willie Nelson

  2. Just me says:

    When you live in a world of the insane and you are sane,guess who the odd man out is. I believe we are living in such a world. Insanity is the norm so it is not recognized as the problem. Those resisting insanity are recognized as the problem.

    Prohibition is akin to poking a stick and your eye but not stopping it because you dont think that the action of poking it in your eye is the problem , rather you must cut of the offending arm to stop the pain.

    The gunman who charged into the Pentagon Thursday and opened fire was intelligent but troubled, and had struggled with a longtime marijuana addiction, a family friend said today.

    I can see it already. Those in power will blame cannabis.” No this guy didnt have a pre-existing mental problem , he didnt have a problem with the government first , rather , he smoked some devil weed which caused him to act on his fears. Cannabis is the devils weed , this proves it!” Insanity all.

    Leave WILLIE Alone !! Free Marc !!! End our wars !!

    War ,war ,war and more war.

    Ain’t got no money for schoolin’
    Ain’t got nno money for the poor,
    Ain’t got no mo’ney for the sick,

    We got money for what was that ya say?
    WAR !WAR !WAR!WAR!
    We’ll steal you kids money for..YES!
    WAR ! WAR !WAR ! WAR!
    WAR ! WAR !WAR ! WAR!
    WAR ! WAR !WAR ! WAR!
    Ain’t got no money to fix the roads,
    Aint got no money to bail you out,
    Ain’t got no mo’ney for your future.

    But we got mo’ney for wall street !
    And we got mo’ney for…you guessed it,
    WAR !WAR !WAR !WAR !WAR !
    We’ll steal your graaa’nd kids mo’ney for …yes you got it!
    WAR! WAR! WAR! WAR! WAR! WAR!
    WAR ! WAR !WAR ! WAR!
    WAR ! WAR !WAR ! WAR!
    Whats war good for anyway but killin an makin’ you and me poor?

    WAR! WAR! WAR! WAR! WAR! WAR!
    WAAAARRRRRRRRRR!!!!!
    See it! Signit! End it!
    http://buelahman.wordpress.com/2010/03/03/time-to-end-the-illegal-occupations-sign-the-petition/

    http://kucinich.us/afghanistan/

  3. Just me says:

    Correction.

    *Prohibition is akin to poking a stick (In) your eye but not stopping it because you dont think that the action of poking it in your eye (isnt) the problem*

    I should really proof read better ……

  4. ezrydn says:

    I’m amazed that more and more people haven’t picked up on the vaporizer concept yet. I was talking with a prohib the other day and he came right out and said that vaporization was the same as smoking. REALLY? You believe THAT?

    I fell in love with my vap the moment I fired it up.

    Just as the prohibs are tied up in Reefer Madness, the also believe that “smoking” is the only way. Prohibs only see the “harm,” not the “reduction.” They’re incapable of looked at a “whole picture.”

  5. Just me says:

    On the lighter side:

    I wish I could smoke weed with Willie my friends,
    Just to see what those good ol’ boy mean,
    Nothing wrong with drool on your chin,
    Id be glad to smoke weed with Willie again.

    A contact high would be fine with me,
    Even if it mean standing outside the bus,
    Some power stuff would make drool on your chin,
    I wouldnt mine smoking some weed with willie again.

    So pass me that fatboy slowwly my friend,
    Im not seeing so so good,
    got drool on my chin,
    I smoked that stuff with Willie again.

    Ok Im not the best song writer, but it makes me feel good.

  6. Chris says:

    Wow.. so much content posted in the past few days.

  7. Bruce says:

    Airshow Fireworks Food Festivities Fun
    Honest handsakes and fair Barter
    Cigarette? Splendid.
    Nothing wrong with drool on your chin, lol
    RIP ‘Chinook’
    drool and tears

  8. ezrydn says:

    Anyone catch this “quiet” little change of events?

    “CBS Reverses Decision: NORML Times Square Ad Okayed”

    http://www.cannabisculture.com/v2/node/22469

    One more windmill toppled.

  9. Just me says:

    Wow EZ. That flow in under the radar , nice and quiet like many prohibs wanted it, since they couldnt stop it.

  10. audacity of hype says:

    Just read an article about a man in Texas getting 35 years for 4.6 grams of marijuana. I believe the harsh sentence was due to the fact that he was within 1000 yards of a daycare center. Meanwhile the fleecing of the country continues by banksters and their bought and paid for politricks.

  11. Chris says:

    I’ve watched several documentaries about cannabis. Can anyone suggest some that are more about drug prohibition than drugs?

  12. allan420 says:

    @ Chris – try American Violet (available at NetFlix to rent and I highly recommend it), Traffic, Training Day, Blow… just off the top of my head. I’m sure others can add some more good ones.

  13. Chris says:

    http://www.constitutionparty.com/party_platform.php
    I’m reading through it, never heard of the Constitution party before. I’m kind of interested in how their views differ from libertarianism.

  14. Chris says:

    Oh man, joke party. The vibe I’m getting from this is that they want state’s rights and the bill of rights to be followed to the letter, except all of the conclusions they come to seem to be in direct opposition to that. The cognitive dissonance is astounding; They want the bill of rights to be upheld, which would include separation of church and state, but at the same time say the two are inseparable. Their position on “Drug Abuse” (not drug policy, that would make it seem like a legitimate issue to discuss policy surrounding drugs) that the states must be allowed to “restrict access to drugs” and “stop the flow of illegal drugs”… in the form of embargoes and tariffs. Likely. At the same time, they support the right to privacy, but apparently not that we own our own bodies. No word on repealing the CSA or anything there.

  15. brownies says:

    ‘American Drug War:The Last White Hope’ is one of the best documentaries about the drug war ever, track it down it is well worth it.

  16. chris says:

    http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10/n156/a03.html
    id quote it but I’m on my phone. The writer asks us to compare the danger of death due to seizures to marijuana addiction. And they’re playing that totally strait… wow.

  17. Just me says:

    Chris, heres the link for that last story you gave a MAP link to, I hope some of you will visit this Quad Cities new rag and straighten out Mr Endress on his view of cannabis and the fact that hes just a cop , not a scientist or doctor.

    http://www.qconline.com/archives/qco/display.php?id=482046

  18. allan420 says:

    @ Chris – thanks for using MAPinc! The DrugNews archive is the best… and they always need volunteers and money. MAP is and has been the best tool available for drug policy reformers for news and opinion. Become a Newshawk, letter writer or step up and become a volunteer editor… keep MAP rocking!

    When the news breaks, MAP fixes it!

    Does drug policy have you lost and confused? Use your MAP!

  19. DavesNotHere says:

    Illinois legislation introduced.

    House Bill 4810 Rose/Sacia – requires drug testing for welfare benefits (exempts seniors in nursing homes)

    House Bill 4452 Mitchell – requires substance abuse testing as a condition for filing nomination papers for office of State Representative/State Senator

    Substance abuse testing to run for state office? Does substance include alcohol, and how do you test for abuse?

    I hate Illinois Republicans almost as much as Illinois Democrats. (Rich Whitney, Green for Governor)

  20. Pete says:

    DavesNotHere — As far as Bill 4452, if it’s drug testing, that’s still un-Constitutional. So far, the Supreme Court has not allowed mandatory suspicionless drug testing as a condition of working for the government (except in safety-specific job, which legislator is not).

    I’m not sure if substance abuse testing is intended to be something else.

  21. I found your blog very interesting. I will check back often to read your updates.

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