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Archive for July, 2008

Openly gay congressman Barney Frank, D-Mass, announced a proposal on Wednesday to make it legal for pot smokers to light up. The proposed HR 5843 bill would call an end to federal penalties targeting Americans carrying less than 100 grams of marijuana.

“The vast amount of human activity ought to be none of the government’s business,” Frank said at a news conference on Capitol Hill, CNN reported. “I don’t think it is the government’s business to tell you how to spend your leisure time.”

Frank, surrounded by legislators and marijuana advocacy spokespeople, said that laws aimed at marijuana users place undue burdens on law enforcement resources, punish ill Americans whose doctors have prescribed the substance and unfairly affect African-Americans.

Frank was specific that use—not abuse—of the currently illegal substance, would be decriminalized under his plan.

But, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, which oppose legalizing marijuana, list it as a Schedule I controlled substance that offers no accepted medical benefits and has a high potential for abuse.

Frank’s proposal, House Resolution 5843, titled the Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2008, which is co-sponsored by Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, would express support for “a very small number of individuals” suffering from chronic pain or illness to smoke marijuana with legal retribution. Cannabis can help treat a range of illnesses, including glaucoma, asthma, multiple sclerosis, HIV/AIDS and seizures, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

Nearly a dozen states have already approved allowing degrees of medical marijuana use, and Frank said it’s time the government stops wasting its resources arresting people in compliance with their states’ laws.

If the resolution passes, smokers holding up to 100 grams—about 3½ ounces—of marijuana would not be arrested. The resolution it would also allow a “nonprofit transfer,” of up to an ounce of cannabis.

Allen St. Pierre, NORML’s spokesman, equated Frank’s proposal with current laws dealing with alcohol consumption. Alcohol use is permitted, and the government focuses its law enforcement efforts on those who abuse alcohol or drive under its influence, he said.

“We do not arrest and jail responsible alcohol drinkers,” St. Pierre said.

Source: Gay Wired

I regard this as a profoundly positive development.

This UFO was hovering over my back yard this afternoon. Think I wil send the pic in to Mufon for verification.

“The Dope Fire” Jim Greenwood, circa 1984, Nikon F3 20mm f3.5 TX-400 pushed to 1600ASA

I really like this shot and asked Jim to give me the background on it:

Ah, the Dope Fire. That was fun. I was a stringer for three years for the AP while at IU in Bloomington. This was about 1984 or 1985. Monroe County is just, or was, just a bunch of hills and sticks. I think most industry moved out of there in the 70′s and 80′s. RCA had a major Laserdisc and CD pressing plant there that went bust, but the University is about it. It’s always been a place for all sorts of unsavory types to blend in, and there has been a lot of crazy crime there over the years. Anyway, The Sheriff didn’t have a chopper in those days, and the DEA was corrupt at that point, so he sent up single engine planes to troll for dope. This occasion, they found A LOT of weed way back in the holler, and had County Jail inmates slashing and burning the stuff. I’ve wondered over the years if that mightn’t have been a directive directly from Nancy Reagan her ownself, as I knew some of them had to be serving some Simple Possession time. I am just speculating from memory about the laws of the time, and some specifics may be inaccurate. I think this was long before mandatory sentencing and definitely before Three Strikes. It was one of many interesting stories I have covered, and I felt pretty good about my take.