Vermont man who flattened police cruisers with tractor is folk hero to some

The Republican ^

[matt04]

He fought the law, and the law got crushed.

The man who drove a tractor over several police vehicles in northern Vermont last week is on the verge of becoming a modern-day folk hero to some, with various online sites cropping up to canonize and defend the "simple farmer" from Newport, Vt.

Roger Pion, 34, was so angry about his arrest last month on marijuana and other charges, he took the law into his own hands, so to speak, and flattened 6 police cruisers and a van from the ">Orleans County Sheriff's Department.

The Aug. 2 incident got Pion arrested. But it also got the farmer some big-time media exposure as his story went national, sparking everything from T-shirts to ballads to Internet sites dedicated to "freeing" him. Since the episode, various websites have declared Pion a patriot and a saint — even a sainted patriot. A Facebook page, "Roger Pion, the magnificent," describes him as a hardworking farmer and father from a "down-to-earth family" that now needs help footing his legal bill.

Friends and family claim Pion has been subjected to abuse and harassment from law enforcement officials, while law enforcement officials claim Pion has a documented history of being "uncooperative and aggressive" during past police encounters, the Burlington Free Press reports.

[hummingbird]

“Git-R-dun!”

[varyouga]

If you do smoke it, it will reduce lung capacity temporarily. However, it has never been separately linked to chronic lung disease or cancer like tobacco smoke. There has never been a single recorded case of a smoker with lung disease only from smoking cannabis – the ones with lung disease all also smoked tobacco. Tobacco itself is radioactive (look it up) and the particles enter deeper into the finer passages of the lungs.

The most recent study:

Study Finds Periodic Pot Smoking Doesn't Harm Lungs(Journal of the American Medical Association)
http://copd.about.com/b/2012/01/11/study-finds-periodic-pot-smoking-doesnt-harm-lungs.htm

Also, it doesn’t have to be smoked. It can be vaporized with a device barely larger than a lighter. Or can be easily made into a tincture or pills using only kitchen utensils. All the products are 100% non-toxic even at impossible doses.

With tobacco, you can actually die from spilling nicotine extract on your skin. “A person can overdose on nicotine through a combination of nicotine patches, nicotine gum, nicotine inhaler cartridges and/or tobacco smoking at the same time. Spilling an extremely high concentration of nicotine onto the skin can result in intoxication or even death since nicotine readily passes into the bloodstream from dermal contact.” - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicotine_poisoning

[DannyTN]

"It shows schizophrenia rates have not increased even as cannabis use has increased exponentially around the world since 1970."

I don't know what you are looking at but this researcher shows a huge increase in bipolar disorder.

"According to the 1969 book, Manic Depressive Illness by George Winokur of Washington University, Bipolar Disorder used to be fairly rare. In 1955, only one person in every 13,000 was hospitalized for it. Today, by contrast, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, Bipolar Disorder affects an astounding one in every forty adults in our country!!! "

Source

[wideawake]

Even the Founders would agree that arresting a man with possession of a plant and “resisting arrest” was a violation of the man’s freedoms.

I highly doubt it, since the Founders had no problem enforcing laws - passed by a representative assembly - against trafficking in fermented corn mash without paying the duty.

The principle remains the same: if you don't like the laws passed by your legally elected representatives, use the First Amendment and the ballot box to change them.

[DannyTN]

"Show me this study"

Harvard University Reports on Understanding Risks to the Brain from Marijuana

This article by drugfree california has a whole list of research studies.

[Vendome]

Like those reliable studies on glowbull warming.....

[The Cajun]

Hot damn!
Now that's what I need in the way of a new lawn tractor, wonder how big a Bush Hog it'll pull?

[DannyTN]

"Like those reliable studies on glowbull warming....."

Yes they plan on enriching themselves through investments in alternative green pot and bringing on global government by linking pot to brain damage. /s

[Altariel]

The Anti-Federalists also were opposed to allowing the federal government to claim for itself authority not granted to it within the bounds of the Constitution.

Washington and Jefferson grew hemp on their property. I deduce you would support police raiding Monticello and Mount Vernon, were they alive and doing so today.

[JustSayNoToNannies]

It shows schizophrenia rates have not increased even as cannabis use has increased exponentially around the world since 1970.

I don't know what you are looking at but this researcher shows a huge increase in bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder is not the same as schizophrenia, whose rates are indeed flat: "But here's the conundrum: while marijuana went from being a secret shared by a small community of hepcats and beatniks in the 1940s and '50s to a rite of passage for some 70% of youth by the turn of the century, rates of schizophrenia in the U.S. have remained flat, or possibly declined. For as long as it has been tracked, schizophrenia has been found to affect about 1% of the population." (http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2005559,00.html)

[Altariel]

Better get it now, before “tractor control” laws are on the books.

:-)

[Gator113]

That fool is going to lose a very nice tractor, the farm, family and freedom.

[dragnet2]

The principle remains the same: if you don't like the laws passed use the ballot box to change them.

Pollyanna seems fast asleep.

The U.S. Government in the past decade has totally flooded the U.S. with millions of foreigners, Muslims, and illegal aliens, all of whom vote.

You can be confident our electoral process has been totally undermined and compromised.

[bert]

He went to Ben And Jerry’s to ask for SANCTUARy but alas, they were closed so he got arrested

[DannyTN]

"Bipolar disorder is not the same as schizophrenia"

There is a debate about that. Some doctors think it is the same, some don't.

[wideawake]

The Anti-Federalists also were opposed to allowing the federal government to claim for itself authority not granted to it within the bounds of the Constitution.

The anti-Federalists were opposed to the existence of the Constitution itself. Hence their name.

Washington and Jefferson grew hemp on their property.

People made their own rope in those days - you understand that hemp was not cultivated as a recreational drug at that time, right?

I deduce you would support police raiding Monticello and Mount Vernon, were they alive and doing so today.

While we're engaging in strange hypotheticals, I expect the police would be more concerned about the hundreds of human beings being held in bondage on the property.

[varyouga]

It’s the same BS in every study. I’ll go through the Hav’aaad one line-by-line:

Addiction
The concentration of THC (the herb’s psychoactive component) in marijuana has been increasing in recent years. Addiction specialists are concerned that this increased potency might accelerate development of dependence.

I thought it was interesting that they don't even call it a drug. Again, nothing but false concerns and “mights” with no conclusive evidence. In reality, cannabis is no more addictive than gambling, video games, TV or facebook. Cannabis has absolutely no physical withdrawal in 99% of users and the 1% of heaviest users might experience poor sleep and appetite. Severe alcohol withdrawal is PROVEN to cause DEATH.

Anxiety
At low doses, THC can be sedating. At higher doses, it can induce intense anxiety. Although some people find that marijuana calms them down, the most commonly reported side effects of this substance are intense anxiety and panic attacks.

Again, nothing at all conclusive about permanent damage. Yes, it causes anxiety in 20-30% of people but they don’t use it after the first few times. People that don’t use it do so because it is their own personal preference and has nothing to do with the law or unavailability. Prohibition has made this plant worth more than its weight in $20 bills and a 10-year-old can grow it. Prohibition of this plant is pointless and IMPOSSIBLE!

Mood disorders
In people with bipolar disease, marijuana can bring on manic episodes and increase rapid cycling between manic and depressive moods. Several studies also suggest that in some people, regular marijuana use may trigger depression.

Obviously people already WITH a mental disease should avoid psychoactive drugs. Again, nothing conclusive that shows it does anything to healthy people. Alcohol abuse is 100% proven to cause brain damage, body damage and mental illness.

Psychosis
Marijuana intensifies psychotic symptoms and worsens outcomes in people with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders. The results of several large observational studies also strongly suggest that using marijuana can increase the risk of developing psychosis, particularly in young people.

Again, nothing definite or conclusive. They use these qualifiers to hide the fact that there is no direct link, only an indirect link in behaviors. Using the same method of behavior study, you can “strongly suggest” that tobacco use “can increase the risk” of developing schizophrenia since 320% more schizophrenics regularly smoked tobacco than the general population.

[Road Glide]

“That fool is going to lose a very nice tractor, the farm, family and freedom.”

Up in Orleans county, folks probably know each other better than in many places. If Mr. Pion faces a jury of his “peers” in the county courthouse in Newport, they may tend to go a bit easy on him.

This is the “Northeast Kingdom” of Vermont, and isn’t quite the same as around Burlington, where the leftists thrive.

By the way, a beautiful part of Vermont and Newport’s a nice town to stay for the evening if you’re up that way...

[wideawake]

Pollyanna seems fast asleep.

Clever.

The U.S. Government in the past decade has totally flooded the U.S. with millions of foreigners, Muslims, and illegal aliens, all of whom vote.

According to our Constitution, foreign-born citizens and people of any religion are allowed to vote. The government has not flooded the US with immigrants - people have always voluntarily decided to come here. There is very little proof that many illegal aliens vote - probably more disqualified felons vote than illegals. Certainly more corpses do.

You can be confident our electoral process has been totally undermined and compromised.

Because you say so? There is clearly corruption in the system, and there always has been. Tammany Hall, anyone?

Self-satisfied, smug cynicism may be the hipsterized equivalent of thinking, but in order to "be confident" about the veracity of strangers on the Internet, I prefer data to attitude.

[JustSayNoToNannies]

Some doctors think it is the same, some don't.

I haven't seen anyone say it's the same (related, yes) - and the fact remains that schizophrenia rates have been flat over the decades when marijuana use skyrocketed.