Welcome John. I am so looking forward to discussing the failed war on drugs and your fact fulled, fun and very moving documentary. Before we get started, pups, please stay on topic, no off topic crosstalk, no attacks, etc. Hit reply to reply to specific comments, remember to hit “send comment button,” and to refresh your browser to update! The safety zone is for immediate loading and unloading only. No parking.

And yeha, my tpying sucks

Whew–Hi John!

High is awesome..tell us what got you you started on making the movie.

High John, welcome.

With marijuana sales central to the drug trade, Attorney General Holder said he was exploring ways to lower the minimum amount required for the federal prosecution of possession cases.

But that seems weirdly counter to the orders for the DEA, which is federal. They are bypassing cracking down on medical marijuana dispensaries and users. Granted the MM dispensaries as state sanctioned, and street sales aren’t but come on, the cognitive dissonance here is ridiculous. In CA less than an ounce is a fine. Would Fed law supercede that?

And really, wtf are they thinking?

Hi, Lisa!

Thanks, I’m glad you liked the film. And before I begin talking about it, I’d actually like to make a slight correction. You mention the medical marijuana patient in the film, but that particular section was talking to patients who can’t get access to already-legal opioid painkillers like codeine, oxycodone, etc. Just wanted to clear that up.

As for the film, I got started about five years ago, teaming up with my producer Bob Schubring, whom I’m still in business with today, in trying to get this whole drug war thing sorted. My interest in the topic began in high school, when I took part in a debate class in which one of the topics was marijuana legalization. I took the affirmative position, liking a challenge, and discovered that marijuana wasn’t the reefer-madness killer drug it had been portrayed as.

Oh, and I won the debate.

Federal law always supersedes state law. And I’m not surprised by the disconnect, as the right hand frequently doesn’t know what the left is doing in federal cases.

I’m not precisely sure what the thinking on that is, but I imagine it’s one area of fed. law enforcement not following in the vein of another.

Welcome to the Lake, John
*passing around brownies*

Do you think your movie has moved the dialog forward on legalization? — you made a lot of sure points in the film.

Also, I am so curious about marijuana tax stamps. In many states you must buy and affix a tax stamp to a specific amount of pot, which varies state by state. If you don’t then that’s an additional fine…yet what happens if you purchase the stamp? They know you have pot or are going to at some point. It seems almost like entrapment

Lisa, where did you see/find “Attorney General Holder said he was exploring ways to lower the minimum amount required for the federal prosecution of possession cases.”?

And a quick personal plug, everyone feel free to follow me on Twitter (that’s what all them kids’re doin’, right?), and the official site.

Hey John. Interesting film. The backgrounders from Reefer Madness broght back a lot of memories.

I’m assuming that the prosecution of the doctor for providing pain killers was done under the Bush Administration? Has he been able to regain his practice at all or did the prosecution just leave him with hundreds of thousands in debts and not even a “Gee, we’re sorry we destroyed your life?”

I kinda want ot collect them…http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=6668

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04…..38;emc=rss

Yum, brownies.

And I’m trying to move it forward. Every little bit helps (though the mainstream media has pretty much ignored me). There have been a surprising number of pot docs coming out in the past few years, which is an encouraging sign.

Quite frankly, though, I think we’ll be legalizing it within 20 years, if for no other reason than the majority opposition will have died off by then.

I would contest the ability of the various levels of government to legalize and tax pot. Seems that there would be a fairly large sub-set of folks who would start growing their own if they felt they wouldn’t be hassled over it.

He was left buried in debt and without a practice. He was able to restore his medical license, but now is being prosecuted again for allegedly selling prescriptions for cocaine, and we’ve been unable to get in touch with him. I don’t know what’s going to happen.

I do lay most of the blame at the feet of the DEA and US Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan.

Reefer Madness

I have my uncle’s license from 1947 wich allowed him to dispense opium and coca under NY law

That certainly a possibility, though I would say that most people who do that do so out of necessity. After all, people can legally grow their own tobacco, but you rarely see that.

If it were legalized, I’d imagine most would transition to purchasing it without having to exercise their green thumbs.

It hangs in my office next to the clock from the manufacturers of Welbutrin XL…

P.S. Never underestimate the IRS’s ability to collect a tax. ;-)

I think everyone should be allowed to grow three plants :D

Hi John!

As a side note, though I have smoked pot about eight or nine times, I find it doesn’t really suit me, and tends to give me a headache afterward. So I’m not really selfishly engaged in the need to legalize…inasmuch as selfishness doesn’t include basic human rights.

Hi tw3k!

And I’m not sure what the limit on that should be. I know we have similar limitations, usually varying state by state, about how much wine or beer an individual can produce without being licensed, so perhaps a system like that would be preferable. As to what the limit should be? No clue.

Thanks; did you catch this from the article? ““Mexico has never been a weak state,” Mr. Medina-Mora said. “It is not today. It will never be in the future. We have faced even more difficult problems than this one. And it is relevant to put this in perspective.”

But he added: “What is at stake is the ability of Mexico to keep peace and tranquillity for its citizens. That is why our objective is not ending drug trafficking. It is to remove power from these groups and remove their ability to seize and to kidnap our right to live in peace.”

And Holder’s staement seems something for media consumption given ” Federal law already allows for the prosecution of marijuana trafficking at any level (21 U.S.C. § 841), and, even simple possession (§ 844).

Nate Silver makes the same point today over at 538. Lifetime usage is over 50% up until age 55 or so, then it drops precipitously.

Federal decriminalization died back in the Carter administration when Stroup outed Bensinger for cocaine usage. Shortly thereafter the Parent’s movement got started by Sue Rushke, and that was the end of decrim for a long time.

I see several things happening in Obama’s second term. To lay the groundwork we need to bring science back into Drug policy. What do you think of the new Drug Czar?

Oh, and welcome to the Lake

For me it’sa freedom and liberty issue as well as a revenue source, and a way to cut down on prison spending. those youngsters in prison could be doing something else with their lives…and not at the high price of room in the grey bar hotel!

digg is open

Your logic has a very high probability of being correct; simply contrast the numbers of people who will take the time to buy bulk tobacco and roll their own cigarettes versus the number of people who smoke cigarettes.

Last month, Attorney General Eric Holder said the federal government would stop raiding marijuana distributors in states where it is legal.

but raided a popular SF dispensary 3/25

Teddy Partirdge’s diary

my apologies if I missed this in anyone’s links

I currently have no opinion on the new drug czar, but I’m going to attempt to get an interview with him, and I’ll even give him the same terms as I did with John Walters: Anytime, anyplace, any day, from date of request until six months from now.

Even with all that, he still turned me down. He was, as a flunky at the ONDCP explained, busy doing important drug czar things in Hawaii. Because we all now how good weather and an ocean breeze makes people want to mainline heroin.

I grew up in Kentucky and raw tobacco (unprocessed direct from the plant) is just a nasty taste. The cigarette companies process it (after it has been through a multiple drying process) to make it palatable.

I’ve smoked buds straight from the plant AND smoked hemp that grew wild, The hemp just gave you a headache but fresh buds from a sensi plant can be quite tasty.

An interesting stat on imprisonment vs treatment:

Jail vs. Treatment:

Average annual cost…

Incarceration = $25,900
Regular Outpatient = $1800
Intensive Outpatient = $2500
Long-term residential = $6800

Of course, legalizing it would but dispensaries out of business..and they are a big business. Right now all the available licneses seem to be gone and like liquor licenses can be bought only form those who already have them, though I suppose those dispensaries would just transform inot pot shops..heck they pay taxes

It usually does. ;-)

I was glad you mentioned The Straight Program in the film. A lot of firedogs are familiar with it’s owner/founder Mel Sembler… and many more people should know.

I think if it were legalized, the smartest dispensaries would transition into mainstream acceptance (in other words, stop calling varieties by stupid, teenager names like “bubba kush”). I was interviewed on a conservative talk show called The Mark Reardon Show a few weeks ago, and he mentioned how most of the people in the legalization movement need to take a shower once in awhile, and I sadly agreed that this was usually the case.

Those are the people who tend to have little to lose by admitting they’ve smoked pot. We need more people who can admit to it and dispel the myth of the lazy, unsuccessful pot smoker.

Like I tried to start in my video “A Brief List of People Who Have Smoked Marijuana.”

Have you calculated the money spent just on pot “crimes”?
Life-hours lost?

I can.not.believe we refuse to learn the lessons of Prohibition, look at the role THAT played in the establishment and growth of organized crime.

Not to discount your valid point, I think about the convenience of packaged goods and the buying habits of consumers. Certainly people can roll their own cigarettes to cut costs, yet most buy packs or cartons of factory-made cigarettes. Your point is a good one though. While many are not confident in their own horticulural abilities, there would surely exist an underground market for the home-grown weed produced by green-thumbed afficionados.

Many say McDonnas sucks but they line up in the drive thru.

There was an extended segment about Sembler that ended up on the cutting room floor. Hopefully I’ll be able to YouTube it in the near future.

Actually Hawaii is doing some interesting things with treatment for meth – Kleiman talks about it a lot when he is talking drug policy.

oops I see you have numbers in comment 34

Oh and everyone please go Digg this up: http://digg.com/political_opin…..h_The_True

That is a wonderful idea. Would make a wonderful oxdown post when you do.

I did a lot of that with the animated portion of the doc, which is up on YouTube: The Drug War In a Nutshell

I appreciated your analysis of the increased strength of pot…placebo effect ? “Oh dude this like so much stronger than the mud bud I used to sneak off my older brother in high school..”

I’ll remember that when it’s time. Probably the next clip to go up will be the disturbing prison footage sequence.

Why Marijuana Legalization is Gaining Momentum

Well, learning to roll (cigarettes or joints either one) is not always that easy and has elements of being an art to do it consistently and well.

And McDonalds usually does suck although I do make an occasional exception for their sausage biscuits

Also, for what my friends who do things say, dispensary pot and dude-down-the-street-dealer pot are pretty much equal in price..what the market will bear.

NORML did a series of advertisements on successful pot smokers like Carl Sagan.

I came out as a pot smoker sometime in 2002 or so for Mikki Norris and Chris Conrad’s Cannabis Consumers project. I am fairly successful academically (MA in pure math, MS in computer science) and professionally as a software engineer.

OH MY GOD, that prison footage was atrocious! and gave me insight into Abu Ghraib

It’s not entirely placebo, it DID increase from 20 years ago (though not at the level the drug czar’s office claims), but people tend to adjust their consumption.

For comparison, if you have ten shots of beer, and ten shots of vodka, would you be as drunk after each respectively? Of course not, so people adjust consumption based on strength and their own tolerance.

One cannot cut costs anymore by rolling your own cigs. April 1st the tax went from less than a dollar a pound to almost 25 dollars/lb. A bag of Drum at my local safeway went from 4.99 to 13.99 overnight.

http://www.weedfarmer.com/joint_rolling/index.htm

Dispensaries will give a break for low income patients. Dude down the street won’t.

Makes sense to me. It takes the ‘economics’ (supply and demand) out the equation. Seems like the ‘War on Drugs’ attacks that front. Plus, I would think, that a nice variant of cannabis would go well with heirloom tomatoes.

*sigh*

Definitely part of the solution. I included their “Mike Bloomberg” radio commercial in the doc, where he famously answered the did-you-smoke-pot question with, “You bet I did, and I enjoyed it!”

this is a great movie and i highly recommend it.

legalized it. regulate it as we do with alcohol and tobacco, and tax it.

One of the most successful hard-drug treatment programs I’ve heard about was in Liverpool in the 80’s and early 90’s. A clinic was run by Dr. John Marks, which prescribed heroin and cocaine to users as long as they didn’t commit any crimes (or they’d be cut off). None of the injection drug users contracted HIV, and local police conducted a study that found a reduction in theft, burglary, and property crimes of 94 PERCENT. And there were fewer drug users in the neighborhoods since they didn’t really have nearly has many people to sell to.

In 1992, 60 Minutes did a broadcast on it, which rankled US and British government officials, and the program was unfortunately shut down, leaving the 450 people that had used the clinic in the lurch, and many of them returned to crime.

WMD @ 57

That is a strike against them from the beltway and big pharma point of view… don’t you think?

yet packs didnt go up that much did they?

Back in the 1970’s my parents had a Tops Cigarette rolling machine. It was a hand-held non-electric manual mechanical roller. It was easy to use. Mom and Dad rolled cigs with it until they got lazy and or bored with it. IIRC, one could install filters in the process.

In general, I think trying to eliminate something with a “war” is bad terminology, the “war” on drugs in particular. For one, it places drug users as “the enemy” and makes police the soldiers in the fight. It’s a poor way to conduct social policy.

As these former DEA and law enforcement officials would agree: http://leap.cc/

Thanks, glad you liked it! And yes, definitely legalize, tax, and fix a big part of this whole godforsaken mess in Mexico and elsewhere.

I think many generic drugs can be had at a discount by low income people. I know I’m paying less for a generic ACE inhibitor now that I don’t have health insurance than I was paying in copays when I did have health insurance. And this was without me telling the pharmacist anything about my income, just that I was no longer insured.

However Rx opiates, even generics aren’t on the discount list at Walgreens or target….

companion planting

Do you think if Keith Stroup hadn’t been so irritated about paraquat that he outed Bensinger we might have seen Carter follow the Shafer Commission’s recommendation to decriminalize?

It’s pretty clear that you’re well versed in history of US drug policy, I just wonder if what your take on that sorry episode is.

Obama might change the “War On Drugs” to the “Bust Your Ass and Send You To Rehab Class”. Its the same no matter what you call it, though I see your point, there is no discernable difference in the end result.

Opioid drugs are horribly restricted, as the patients in the film tell you. And was, in fact, the cause of Dr. Heberle’s massive court battle and hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.

Opiates are an interesting question… not patentable really. High abuse potential, and very needed for those that need them.

James Wimberley over at RBC has posted a couple of times that we should be buying the whole Afghan crop and getting it to developing nations to treat chronic pain. Even after the entire crop is put to that use pain would still be undertreated in the developing world.

That’s tough to say, but I think that public support hadn’t reached the point where it was politically viable to legalize/decriminalize, even without all that. We are, however, moving towards that point, as I said up above, in about 15 to 20 years’ time.

For those interested, you can read about the spraying program right here.

Yup, But taxes are still collected and campaign contributions still funnel in when big pharma profits/controls it, even generically.

Hippies handing out freebies, without taxation considered or worse, growing their own medine/recreation… well that just can’t be tolerated. /s

As I said above, rehab is preferable to prison any day, even on a purely economic level. Of course, legalization is the logical endpoint.

As we learned last week rehab doesn’t always work, or it can take many many times…harm reduction has a great deal of value…and either are pref to incarceration

in 15 years we’ll have roughly half of the people under age 70 having some experience with smoking marijuana.

I’m going to work to try to get policy changed sooner.

Druglibrary is a very useful resource.

I would also hasten to add that decriminalization is, in my mind, a foolish stopgap measure. It does nothing to address the bloated problem of the black market in marijuana sales, much of which is funneled to bad, bad people (see the Mexican drug chaos).

No, not even close!

Of course sooner is better. We might even reach that point, what with the states falling one by one to allow medical marijuana programs. As Keith Stroup said in the doc, med. marijuana softens up the public to the issue.

And, when I move to Los Angeles in a few months, I’m going to be doing an online video series about medical marijuana, a head to toe look at it, the people who use it, etc.

Prohibition didn’t work. The War on Drugs isn’t working. It’s time for a new paradigm — one which will create revenue and cut costs in the criminal justice system. It seems so simple.

Lisa summed it up
The answer is clear.

In what I read in the run-up to tonight’s post, I thought you were going to reveal in the movie who profits from keeping things the way they are now.

John, do you think it’s just old fogey fears?
Or is there really an organized effort against legalizing pot from those that DO profit from the incarcerations and the confiscations?

dispensaries do collect taxes.

I agree big pharma isn’t going to be real happy about grow your own medicine. That said GW Pharmaceuticals makes medicines from whole cannabis, and has Bayer behind their marketing in Europe and Canada.

true dat

I think the main thing keeping it illegal is what I call “booga booga” – the ease at which those in favor of the status quo can scare people that their children will end up as burned out slackers.

Medical use will help change that – as people without any experience with cannabis see that their neighbors are OK after using it as medicine for a few years it will be harder to demonize usage in any form.

There’s no easy answers. People like Mel Sembler, for instance, profit from the drug war, and it keeps all the people at the DEA employed. If marijuana were legalized, half of the entire budget and staff of every drug control agency would vanish, as those resources would no longer be needed (or perhaps they would stay on, as the government has never not been wasteful, right?).

The most important single factor is what the public thinks. Obama would sign a bill to legalize if it passed through Congress, of this I’m sure. But would he admit to that? Of course not, because it would be a red-hot poker that the Republicans could use to discredit him. So if the public turns, so does Congress, so does the law.

nicely said. terror creep anyone?

it’s nice to have a companion while planting! :)

High, John, I’m glad I didn’t miss you. I loved the movie! I’ve been looking for something like this for a long time to counter the ridiculous arguements why it should remain illegal.

My pediatrician, Dorothy V. Whipple, wrote a book in the late 60’s called Is the Grass Greener? She used to tell all her teenaged patients that pot was much less harmful and less addicting than alcohol and if we felt the need to relax as we got older, we should smoke instead. She’s the only one who told us the truth, way back then.

My mother would not have been able to die with dignity at home were it not for my mad scoring skillz when she had breast cancer and couldn’t eat. The impetus for her trying it was the time she vomited on the manicurist after a chemo session. I wish she hadn’t had to be humiliated for her to consider it. She was a very law abiding lady.

What the hell is going on in Mexico? How will this affect our languid movement toward decriminilization?

I think the recent DEA arrests in CA occurred under the pretense they were giving medicinal away to the lower income folks and not paying taxes (sales taxes?) on the value of what they gave away.

California has a tax and regulate bill that will be up for debate in 2010. Will Obama allow CA to experiment? I know federal enforcement is pretty low in Alaska and has been since Ravin. Ravin actually was affirmed after an attempt to overturn it via initiative.

Agreed. Also, the ONDCP loves its “stronger pot” campaign, because it taps in on the fears of the baby boomers and younger that their children will somehow be harmed by it.

But on a purely scientific level, the difference between experiencing the effect and overdose with marijuana is shockingly high. With caffeine, it’s 100 to 1 (so 100 cups of coffee could theoretically kill you), with marijuana it’s 40,000 to 1. So even if you smoked a whole ounce, you’d need to smoke an additional 2500 pounds to die. Even on Tommy Chong’s best day…no.

It is really important for dispensaries to pay their state and local taxes. Giving it away is fine, selling at a discount is fine..but pay your taxes!

Agreed on booga booga.. I used to ask fellow smokers.. in my younger days when I still smoked, about legalization.

I was always amazed how many stoners literally believed they should go to jail if caught… rather than decriminalize it.

The new rule is that federal agencies will no arrest federal drug law violators unless they are also violating state law, as well. So medical marijuana clinics that have been legally opened in a state would be okay, as would, presumably, that law.

That’s an interesting theory. I don’t think the health and safety code requires uniform pricing by dispensaries, just a uniform tax rate… so dispensaries are following state law when offering sliding price schedules for low income patients.

Here are some articles btw courtesy of http://sesw.blogspot.com/2009/…..llion.html

# Legalizing Marijuana Tops Obama Online Poll (middletownmike.blogspot.com)
# Pondering Obama’s Marijuana Stance (usnews.com)
# Obama Won’t Legalize Pot, Wonders If Online Community is a Bunch of Stoners (lafiga.firedoglake.com)
# Pot Saved My Life, Mr. President (bravenewfilms.org)
# Why Do Politicians Act Like Assholes? (sesw.blogspot.com)
# Cannabis Sanity (andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com)

Mexico is crazy right now, with everything having reached a head. The best place to find all the info is Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Drug_War

And I think it could hopefully only positively affect drug policy, what with people now saying, “Perhaps we should rethink how we’ve been doing this?”

Once again, don’t fuck with the IRS.

This wouldn’t be medical, this would be legalization of adult recreational use in California.

Here’s a link.

The administration of the military school I attended in the late ’60s figured to bring in some recovering addicts from the Federal Narcotics Hospital/Prison to speak to us about the evils of drugs.

They were getting their wishes fulfilled until the one addict who had told us his story of heroin addiction, answered a question about grass by stating that it should be legalized and wasn’t nearly as bad as even cigarettes and alcohol, much less compared to heroin.

BTW, check out John Walters’ response to the chaos in Mexico:

[Former U.S. Drug Czar John] Walters said increased violence in border areas of Mexico was partly a result of criminal organizations compensating for reduced income from the supply of drugs by turning to other activities, such as people-smuggling, and continuing to fight over turf.

U.S. law-enforcement officials — as well as some of their counterparts in Mexico — say the explosion in violence indicates progress in the war on drugs as organizations under pressure are clashing.

“If the drug effort were failing there would be no violence,” a senior U.S. official said Wednesday. There is violence “because these guys are flailing. We’re taking these guys out. The worst thing you could do is stop now.”

As Radley Balko said in the post, “Awfully big of Walters to so boldly sacrifice Mexican lives in order make it marginally more difficult for Americans to get high.”

Carlos Santana has somethings to say http://www.pastemagazine.com/a…..marij.html

And I am sure there are others who wil come out more and more…

Hemp would be a welcome addition to our agricultural mix.

Yes, but it would still be state law, which would mean it would be okay under the new policy.

Again, presumably.

And I’m sorry I forgot to say: So sad to hear about your mother, though I’m glad she did, indeed, find some dignity in her passing.

I would think Mexico being in the drug business legally could be fine.but there is the side effect environmentally..overuse of fertilizer for instance…

I like Carlos, found him a personal secretary once upon a time. And I like Paste.

Random, interesting fact:

A World Health Organization survey of 110,000 teens from Europe and the US found that 28% of Dutch teens smoked marijuana as compared with 41% of American teens, and 23% of American teens had experimented with other illicit drugs as compared with only 6% of European teens.

Oh noes! Twitter is down! Now how will I randomly vomit my thoughts at all hours?

Lots of different social factors at work there..but I def see a corallation between Netherlands acceptance and US ban…forbidden fruit is often sweeter…

It would, but I am told if hemp were grown industrially, it would really put the hurt on cannabis growers. The two varieties cross pollen into impotent hemp.

If the feds were serious about reducing pot.. they would have encouraged hemp growth a long time ago.

John, one thing you touched on in the film was the lack of actual research into marijuana. Recently there’s been some intriguing information that it may inhabit the growth of some cancers. Can you expand on that?

We’ve reached the tipping point, I think, where more people have tried it at one time or another than not tried it. Who they going to believe, the government or their lying…head when they are told lies about how it affects them?

Now to get Ammiano’s bill passed. Probably 2011 or later so we won’t need Schwarzeneggar’s signature.

There was, as I mentioned in the film, some basic research done on this back in the 70’s, but no one really touched it after that. Recently, a report came out that found that THC, the active component of marijuana, can help fight brain cancer:

The active chemical in marijuana promotes the death of brain cancer cells by essentially helping them feed upon themselves, researchers in Spain report.

So, hilariously, it gives cancer cells the munchies.

This might also help explain why long-term longitudinal studies of heavy pot users have found no increase in cancer risk, and occasionally a negative correlation.

I read a study last year that said there is some small evidence that it also may, I say may, regenerate brain cells, iirc the only substance ever even suspected of doing so.

We’re going to try and get in touch with his office, I’d like to help tie the film to his efforts somehow, so we’ll see how it goes.

I think Billy Martin’s research at Virginia found some evidence of this. Tashkent at UCLA found lower levels of precancerous lesions in lungs of cannabis smokers too.

That was in regards to Alzheimer’s, which researchers at Ohio State (go Bucks!) found marijuana could block, and may stimulate the formation of new brain cells.

The issue with medical marijuana is to some extent sucking in the smoke and holding it in; new vaporizers eliminate that, but joints are really sticky…

Mentioned in the film, in re brian cancer treatment.

It’s amazing how little we know about our botanical wonders on this lovely little blue ball.

that’s good news…

Israeli research suggests it is good for stroke and TBI victims = something about glutamate inhibition.

The spanish research showed decrease in glioma growth. I wasn’t aware that there was a mechanism proposed for how this happens.

I was keenly interested in this research when it was first coming out – my step son had an inoperable brain stem glioma, I got a full copy of the article to his neurologist/oncologist… radiation seemed to work for him and he’s thriving 8 years after first diagnosis.

the toking Schwarzenegger?

There are always the brownies. Still passing them around Elliott?

Speaking of which: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPHTrnvNRgY

LOLOL!

So, hilariously, it gives cancer cells the munchies.

Wow, it’s true, even discussing pot can distort time…things have gone super fast tonight! We are almost out of time (and munchies!)

He won’t be a leader on this issue. I can’t see him signing a legalization law. Maybe it is a Nixon goes to China kind of thing that only a Republican can legalize cannabis.

Yeah, I’m plum out of Cheetos.

Plum flavored Cheetos? /s

and marijuana is also “suspect” in enhancing female libido

I want my “mariviagra”

Thank you all some munch..uh much for coming by and chatting. John, congratulations on a very mind expanding film and for an awesome discussion!

*plumb, smarty pants.

Thanks again for having me, Lisa and everyone at FDL! Please rent, buy, or download (legally, please) the film and tell others about it. Makes a great conversation piece, or coffee table DVD!

You can find all the places to get it right here: http://www.truehigh.com

Here’s my Twitter: http://twitter.com/truehigh/

And here are the convenient links for you:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/produ…..B001GFBO0S

iTunes: http://tinyurl.com/clnqw2

Netflix: http://www.netflix.com/Movie/H…..694952_0_0

Thanks John.

Drug policy has been an avocational interest of mine for over 30 years. I look forward to helping new policies through implementation soon.

Thanks John, for the visit and a really good movie.

Thanks John, come back and post on Oxdown, please!!

Will do. ;-)

Oh yes,
anyone else?

LOLOL! in college, my roommate came back from a break with pot brownies — but she just tossed the bag into the mix and so there were actually sticks sticking out of the brownies. Oh yeah, we ate them — playing bridge no less!

It still makes me laugh out loud thinking about it.
*waving to Suzy*

And thanks LaLisa and Bev.

You can find links here too on FDL book salon!

I’m prone to making puff pastry dough with cannabis butter – then baking fruit turnovers, just a touch of honey on the crust for sweetness.

Cannabis butter is dangerous stuff. Had it on toast one morning the second time I was in grad school… a couple hours later i’d forgotten doing so and was wondering why I was high, then I remembered i’d gotten toasted that morning.

Still very Diggable if you haven’t done so yet!

Amen,
Thank you John, thank you Lisa, thank you Bev and pups too, for a fun-filled educational discussion.

If only the truth ruled.

Mercy!!
How does one make cannabis butter?

thankyou all!

hey there !

mad scoring skillz

imagine visiting your mid west Corp HQ and being invited to the CEO’s private dining room for lunch – thinking the whole time it was gonna be a big phat attagirl for landing a huge corporate account.

. . . only to get there and have the good man ask you to show him how to score weed for his ailing mother. and then going over to the family home to give rolling lessons. did I mention I later got a promotion ?

I was so touched by this man’s earnest and valiant attempts to provide relief for a loved one

oh wow.

emptywheel up
Save American Jobs: Close Your Chase Account

wmd1961, you must tell us your recipe for butter!

Thank you John for this lovely movie. I’ll pass it along.

‘ere, Teddy.

cbl, everything we do in our life has a “higher” purpose, is how I look at it.

How you?

Get low grade cannabis (leaf, not bud). Melt butter add cannabis. Add water to keep butter from scorching. simmer for 2 or more hours. Several cannibinoids will isomerize in a non reducing environment below 140 degrees C (which molten butter will be – the water not only keeps the butter from scorching it also keeps temperture below boiling). Isomerization means some non active fractions will become active – so this is a good use of low grade cannabis.

filter – I use a ladle to dip clean clarified butter out initially, then cheesecloth. Cheese cloth filtered butter should be chilled, then undesirable solid material and water fractions discarded (water is basically bong water)

Be careful. Dosing is not easy to titrate. I tend to make dough with half butter, half cannabis butter. Eat a small confection, wait for 90 minutes before eating any more. Typically I use 6 ounces of leaf and 4 pounds of butter, this results in butter that will surprise you if you eat it on toast.

here’s a 10 minute youtube on cannabis butter

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0aSr4buihA

guess I shouldn’t be surprised there’s tons of this stuff online

That recipe is going to be hella strong! 2 oz leaf & bud per stick of butter – that’s 8 ounces per pound!

just now caught her emphasizing – it is for baking and therefore very strong.

I Can’t Believe It’s Not . . .

and thanks for the recipe

This is a great post! Thank you John and Lisa. HR 1866 was introduced this week by Ron Paul and co-sponsored by Barney frank, among 9[?] other co-sponsors. ” To amend the Controlled Substances Act to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of…”
My rep is Rick Larsen,Wa. A blue dog who voted with the Repubs to protect CEO bonuses.
Maybe this is an issue for his redemption as a representative of an Ag state. Maybe. He won’t stand up for medical marijuana. Big Pharma keeps a tight leash.

As a former pot-head, I agree… with most of the stuff here… I think

Nemmind.

;~P

watertiger is upstairs!
Late Nite: Michele Bachmann Stars in “Birth of an Aberration”

Marijuana is a gateway drug. It leads to Doritos, Funions, and sometimes Oreos.

Winners smoke weed.

A majority of Americans are pro legalization.

Get on with it Obie.

My neighborhood is not a training ground for the military industrial complex.

Enjoy.