Free Republic

Is there something toxic in the hair piece? Singer Tony Bennett isn't just a liberal, he's an embarrassing liberal who says the wrong thing at the wrong time. The Hollywood Reporter passes along that at the pre-Grammy bash of record producer Clive Davis, Bennett took the news of Whitney Houston's untimely death as an occasion for a political statement demanding America legalize drugs like the Netherlands. "First it was Michael Jackson, then Amy Winehouse, now, the magnificent Whitney Houston," he began. "I'd like every person in this room to campaign to legalize drugs." But it gets worse. "Let's legalize drugs...

At a Monday event in Iowa, Texas Rep. Ron Paul and his son, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, were greeted at the Steeplegate Inn in Davenport with a trademark “Occupy” mic check. “Mic Check” said one attendee loudly, as the GOP presidential candidate made his way to the podium. In the movement’s call-and-response pattern, others shouted back, “Mic check.” But rather than belittle the to-be speakers with lethargic policy jibes, as has been done to other GOP presidential candidates, the attendees belted out compliments. “Thank you, Dr. Paul, thank you for opposing the indefinite detention of Americans!” they shouted.

Brain abnormalities that make teenagers more likely to smoke cannabis have been identified for the first time by Australian scientists. Their study of more than 100 Melbourne teens also confirmed that cannabis harms the brain, adding weight to a raft of previous research on damage caused by long-term use of the drug. Researchers from Monash and Melbourne universities took high-tech images of the brains of 155 primary school students when they were 12. Four years later when they reached their milestone 16th birthday, the students were asked whether they had used cannabis. Of 121 who responded, 28 admitted to using...

“Teenagers and young adults who use marijuana may be messing with their heads in ways they don’t intend,” reports Harvard Health Publications. Also: Evidence is mounting that regular marijuana use increases the chance that a teenager will develop psychosis, a pattern of unusual thoughts or perceptions, such as believing the television is transmitting secret messages. It also increases the risk of developing schizophrenia, a disabling brain disorder that not only causes psychosis, but also problems concentrating and loss of emotional expression. In one recent study that followed nearly 2,000 teenagers as they became young adults, young people who smoked marijuana...

TUCSON — In three separate incidents over a 24-hour period, Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents seized more than 1,940 pounds of marijuana with an estimated value of $970,000. Yesterday morning, Ajo station agents working northwest of Lukeville discovered 11 bundles of marijuana abandoned in the desert. The narcotics, weighing 569 pounds with an estimated value of $284,500, were seized and transported to the Ajo station for processing. Early Thursday, the Ajo station All Terrain Vehicle Unit discovered 14 bundles of marijuana abandoned in the desert northeast of Lukeville with assistance from a U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter. The narcotics,...

Stupid Hippies crying over dead trees...

TUSCON, Ariz ( KTLA) -- Jared Lee Loughner, the alleged Tucson gunman, was described Saturday as a politically radical loner. Now an internet trail emerged in which he apparently railed against the US government and told friends: "Please don't be mad at me". There are unconfirmed reports that 22 year old Jared Lee Loughner once met with Rep. Giffords in 2007. A former high school friend said that he had often talked about meeting and talking with the congresswoman. Arizona court records show Loughner has twice been charged with previous offenses. The first, in October 2007, related to the possession...

Pat Robertson says a lot of things that people don’t like. At the beginning of the year, he blamed the devastating earthquake in Haiti on a supposed pact earlier Haitians had made with Satan (I discuss this here). Robertson is closing the year with something that absolutely shocked me when I heard about it. He has come out against the War on Drugs, or at least against mandatory minimum sentences for marijuana offenses.

So in summary, here are some historical lessons to remember. One: Always, always, remember that the soft-on-drugs crowd is overrepresented in the media. Two: Bringing out crying pro-pothead mothers is a sign of desperation not demographics. Three: Remember that the best argument against drugs is the pothead (who doesn’t make it to the polls because he slept in). Four: More people have access to the internet and can see that Holland’s “marvelous” soft-on-drugs revolution was an Orwellian lie. Five: Potheads are lethargic activists.

From FSP early mover Mike Ruff in Manchester: To all my friends and acquaintances who are struggling for Freedom elsewhere, and see little progress: As many of you may be aware, I have long since become disillusioned with the political process, and prefer to do my pro-Freedom activism in the social and economic realm. That being said, and while I encourage people to do the same, I don’t denigrate the efforts of those principled activists who remain in the political front of the battle–I have said for years that the correct strategy for winning this fight is to push on...

Friend -- Two years ago, I met 10 of you. Just before I accepted our party's nomination in front of 80,000 people in Denver, I spoke with 10 grassroots supporters who had won a trip to meet me backstage. I still remember the time we spent together -- because these are the people, like you, who stood with me in 2008, and got me through the tough fights since. But we face another test on November 2nd that will say a lot about our future -- and I need you by my side again. A Supreme Court decision I strongly...

We all know about NPR tote bags given as rewards during pledge week. The tax funded "public radio" station KPFA in Berkeley gives away "Marijuana Growers Guide" by Rosenthal for a $150 pledge. KPFA is part of "Pacifica", the ultra liberal, wackadoo radio network. And yes they are partially tax supported.

Special to the NNPA from Black Voice News (NNPA)—The California State Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is endorsing a ballot initiative for this November to legalize and tax recreational marijuana use. In addition, a recent poll suggests that Californians support the measure as well. NAACP State President Alice Huffman said the organization is backing the initiative, to counter marijuana arrest rates. She contends that it unfairly targets African Americans and other minorities. From a recently published article, Huffman states: “There is a strong racial component that must be considered when we investigate how...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A nationwide coalition of 34,000 minority churches is condemning the California NAACP for supporting a state ballot initiative that would legalize recreational use of marijuana. The California State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People announced support for the November ballot measure, saying current laws unfairly target non-whites. But the Rev. Anthony Evans, president of the National Black Church Initiative, says drugs have "ravaged" the black community with too much violence and death to consider legalization. Evans says his church will no longer contribute to the NAACP because of its position on marijuana....

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin – one of the most influential conservative women of our time – said during a recent appearance on Fox News that she doesn’t have a problem with people smoking marijuana in their own homes. “If somebody’s gonna smoke a joint in their house and not do anybody else any harm,” she explained, they should be left alone. It’s great to see Palin adopt a more libertarian view on soft drugs. I wish the conservative movement as a whole would follow in her footsteps. If you believe in liberty and individual, rather than collective responsibility for...

Sarah Palin says recreational pot smoking is "relatively speaking a minimal problem" in America. ... "I think we need to prioritize our law enforcement efforts," she said. "If somebody's gonna smoke a joint in their house and not do anybody any harm, then perhaps there are other things our cops should be looking at to engage in and try to clean up some of the other problems we have in society." Allen St. Pierre, the director of NORML, which supports liberalizing drug laws, said Palin's position on pot is perfectly in line with her identity as a politician. "If you're...

Still wearing dark false eyelashes after a night in the Franklin County jail, a Beverly Hills, Calif., woman accused of bringing 23 bales of marijuana to Columbus faced charges in U.S. District Court yesterday. Drug Enforcement Administration agents picked up Lisette Lee, 28, at Port Columbus on Monday night after she arrived on a chartered jet from Van Nuys, Calif., with a bodyguard, two assistants and 13 large suitcases. Inside the suitcases, agents found 506 pounds of marijuana, according to a DEA complaint. The DEA esimated the street value of the drugs to be $500,000. Lee, reportedly a California socialite,...

Marijuana is causing America to be more and more dysfunctional. Its time we recognize that we have a problem. Educational info on marijuana

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A man was arrested after placing pot in the security tray at a courthouse checkpoint. Cleveland County Deputies Steve Lucas and Jacob Wheeler said when Vaughn Ray Jones Jr. first went through the courthouse security checkpoint on Tuesday he put his belongings in a tray, including a bag of marijuana. When the deputies tried to arrest the 28-year-old, he ran off and got away. But on Wednesday, Jones returned at almost the same time to the checkpoint. This time Jones was wearing a hat in an apparent attempt at disguise. Deputies handcuffed Jones and took him into...

Voter dissatisfaction with Republicans and Democrats is at historic levels, and the tea-party movement is hoping to play kingmaker in the November elections. The country’s current breed of discontent is ideal for the tea parties, because economic concerns are foremost, allowing the movement to sidestep the divisions between its libertarian and conservative wings. As the elections near, however, voters will want to know where the party stands not just on the economy but on social issues. A perfect illustration is drug policy, where conservatives advocate continued prohibition but libertarians argue for legalization. Which way should the tea party lean when...

Medical cannabis workers in Oakland announced Friday that they have voted to join a major labor union, saying they hope the move will make them more respectable in the eyes of the community. The workers at Oaksterdam University, which trains people to work in the medical marijuana industry, as well as employees of the Patient ID Center, dispensaries and even a medical marijuana gift shop said they are now members of the Retail, Statewide Agriculture, Food Processing and Community Patient Care Union, United Food Commercial Workers Local 5. The union, which is based in San Jose, represents more than 26,000...

Firebomb thrown into medical marijuana business on day of important vote by City Council Someone threw a Molotov cocktail through the window of a Billings medical marijuana business early Monday and spray-painted on its storefront, the second such act in as many days, authorities said.The attempted arsons come as the Billings City Council is scheduled to vote Monday night on whether to place a six-month moratorium on new medical marijuana businesses. A rock was used to break the glass of Montana Therapeutics at 4:30 a.m. Monday, and a beer bottle filled with gasoline was lit and thrown inside, Billings police...

HELENA, Mont. (AP) -- Someone threw a Molotov cocktail through the window of a Billings medical marijuana business early Monday and spray-painted "NOT IN OUR TOWN" on its storefront, the second such act in as many days, authorities said. The attempted arsons come as the Billings City Council is scheduled to vote Monday night on whether to place a moratorium on medical marijuana businesses operating in the city.

The D.C. Council has passed a measure to legalize medical marijuana, sending the bill to Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty. Under the measure passed Tuesday, the nation’s capital would join 14 states that allow medical marijuana. Patients with chronic illnesses such as AIDS or cancer could obtain marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation. It would be given out at five to eight distribution centers.

Decades ago comedy partners Richard “Cheech” Marin and Tommy Chong got audiences high on laughter with their stoner-inspired stand-ups, so it's no surprise that the pot-stirring duo are particularly buzzed these days about getting the drug legalized. "It is going to be legalized, I’m going to be conservative here and say it will be legalized nationally in the next three years," Cheech assured Pop Tarts. "The writing is on the wall." His counterpart is predicting four years for legalization to come into play across the entire USA and blames the "right wing media" and "propaganda" for making people fearful of...

The city's new district attorney and the state Supreme Court are moving to all but decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use in an effort to unclog Philadelphia's crowded court dockets. Under a policy to take effect later this month, prosecutors will charge such cases as summary offenses rather than as misdemeanors. People arrested with up to 30 grams of the drug - slightly more than an ounce - may have to pay a fine but face no risk of a criminal record

It sounds like a joke to say that isn't not fair to call William the Red a "pot-smoking, hippy"... to hippies. But it's not. Many hippies actually distrust Big Government/Big Fascism, bearing an oft-forgotten libertarian streak. But former Massachusetts Governor William the Red loves Big Fascism. How outrageously leftist is Weld? The Republican Senate pretty much rubber-stamped anyone Clinton nominated, but not Weld. The Massachusetts Democrats opposed him by flanking him to the right. He appointed the brother of fugitive crime boss Whitey Bulger to run the state university system. As leftist as his politics are, he is no 'man...

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5 / AP) - The California Republican Party is just saying no to a November ballot initiative that would legalize marijuana in the state. The less-than-surprising news that the state GOP would oppose a measure known as the Tax Cannabis Act was announced Wednesday on the party's Web site. ... Party chairman Ron Nehring said the health and public safety costs of expanded marijuana use would far outweigh any tax revenue raised from legalizing the drug.

The conservative Townhall.com website, owned by the Salem Communications company, a Christian firm, is distributing a column by Steve Chapman claiming that the legalization of marijuana will somehow undermine the power of the Mexican drug trafficking organizations and usher in a new era of peace and tranquility north of the border. The silly column more appropriately belongs on a website associated with George Soros, the moneybags behind the drug legalization movement. "Mexico is the biggest supplier of cannabis to the United States," he writes. "Control of that market is one of the things that Mexican drug cartels are willing to...

Supporters of the initiative collected well more than the 433,971 signatures needed for it to go before voters in the fall, again putting the state at the forefront of the nation's drug debate. An initiative to legalize marijuana and allow it to be sold and taxed will appear on the November ballot, state election officials announced Wednesday, triggering what will probably be a much-watched campaign that once again puts California on the forefront of the nation's debate over whether to soften drug laws. [Snip] With polls showing that a slim majority of voters support legalization, the legalization campaign will be...

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- It's official: Californians will decide whether legal marijuana should be used to plug the state's $20 billion budget gap. California residents are expected to vote this year on whether legalization should be approved to raise nearly $1.4 billion in state revenue. ...."With the state in the midst of an historic economic crisis, the move towards regulating and taxing marijuana is simply common sense," Ammiano said [the bill's sponsor]

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -- Police in Iowa City accused a 77-year-old man they arrested on traffic charges earlier this year of swallowing his hidden marijuana stash while seated in a squad car. Authorities served an arrest warrant on misdemeanor marijuana charges Thursday on Howard Switzer, and later released him on his own recognizance. Police said they observed Switzer making an illegal left turn on Jan. 31 and arrested him for driving with a revoked license.

Back in the 1970s, when I was first exposed to the idea of decriminalizing illegal drugs, it seemed like a good idea. My interest was abstract: I didn’t smoke pot. My wife and I signed a marijuana decriminalization petition one evening around 1980 for a group that acted like they had fallen out of a Cheech and Chong movie. They asked if we could contribute a joint or two to the cause. They were utterly shocked when we told them: “We don’t smoke pot.” They just could not imagine that anyone would support decriminalization without a more personal interest. There’s...

WASHINGTON — The longer people use cannabis or marijuana, the more likely they are to experience hallucinations or delusions or to suffer psychosis, according to a study released Saturday. The study found that people who first used cannabis when they were aged 15 or younger were twice as likely to develop a "non-affective psychosis" -- which can include schizophrenia -- than those who had never used the drug. The research led by John McGrath from the University of Queensland in Australia was based on a survey of 3,801 people with an average age of 20.1 years, the US-based Archives of...

PALM BEACH GARDENS - For Ozzy Osbourne fans, it was a chance to get up close and personal with the legendary rocker. But one fan attending the rocker's book signing in Palm Beach Gardens tonight, instead found himself drawing the attention of Palm Beach Gardens police officers. Officers found marijuana and fireworks on the man, Gardens police spokeswoman Ellen Lovejoy said. The man was in the Barnes & Noble bookstore at Legacy Place, where Osbourne was promoting his autobiography.

This is a half-hour archived show in which William F. Buckley discusses his position on legalizing drugs in America. The interviewer is Richard Heffner. http://www.archive.org/details/openmind_ep181

FLINT, Mich. - Authorities say a man accused of stealing a car then reporting it stolen remains in custody after telling Flint police he was robbed at gunpoint while trying to buy crack cocaine with a credit card. The Flint Journal says the man reported Thursday night that a 2003 Chevy Malibu had been stolen. Police reports indicated the vehicle was previously stolen out of Lapeer, about 50 miles north-northwest of Detroit. The suspect is being lodged at the Genesee County Jail.

Wednesday, February 03, 2010 By Paula Reed Ward, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette A California man who became unruly on a cross-country flight on Sunday is charged in federal court with interfering with the flight. Kinman Chan, of San Francisco, was flying from Philadelphia to San Francisco aboard a US Airways flight, when he began acting strangely. At first, he was waving, smiling and making odd gestures to a flight crew member, according to a criminal complaint. Then, he went to the restroom on the plane shortly after takeoff and began to scream. When another crew member knocked on the door, Mr. Chan...

(edit) Five activists filed a ballot initiative Monday that would legalize all adult marijuana possession, manufacturing and sales under Washington state law — one of the most sweeping efforts at changing marijuana laws around the country this year.Its sponsors include two Seattle lawyers and the director of Seattle's annual Hempfest. They call themselves Sensible Washington, and say that in a time of dire budget woes, the state government should stop spending money on police, court and jail costs for people who use or produce marijuana. (edit) Volunteers are lining up to collect the more than 241,000 signatures required to place...

FRIDAY, Jan. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Almost 5 percent of aging Baby Boomers in the United States are abusing drugs, a new government report shows. That's about 4.3 million adults over the age of 50 who are smoking marijuana, abusing prescription medication and engaging in other illicit drug activity -- a number that far exceeds that of their parents' generation. "This is becoming more and more apparent in practice," said Dr. Ihsan M. Salloum, chief of the Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse: Treatment and Research at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. "You have both prescription drugs...

Baby Boomers Still Doing Drugs as Seniors HealthDay Reporter by Amanda Gardner healthday Reporter Fri Jan 8, 11:49 pm ET FRIDAY, Jan. 8 (HealthDay News) -- Almost 5 percent of aging Baby Boomers in the United States are abusing drugs, a new government report shows. That's about 4.3 million adults over the age of 50 who are smoking marijuana, abusing prescription medication and engaging in other illicit drug activity -- a number that far exceeds that of their parents' generation. "This is becoming more and more apparent in practice," said Dr. Ihsan M. Salloum, chief of the Division of Alcohol...

Marijuana advocates are hailing the Mile High City as "America's Cannabis Capital." Denver smokes mega-cities like Los Angeles -- which has "Hollywood hype" and an estimated 1,000 medical marijuana dispensaries -- when the number of medical pot dispensaries are calculated per capita... That means Denver pot dispensaries outnumber by nearly 2-to-1 the 208 Starbucks in state of Colorado. And there may be more dispensaries operating in Denver that haven't applied for a sales-tax license... So, while the city of Los Angeles, with a population of 4.02 million, has one dispensary for every 4,065 residents, Denver (Pop. 598,707) boasts 1 dispensary...

When Neil Young warbled about the needle and the damage done; when Steppenwolf begged for God to damn the pusher; the focus was on the drug, its harmful effects and the evil people who sold it on the street. Good people have tried to slow the scourge of mind-altering drugs, calling for everything from brutal enforcement ("... (I)f I were the president of this land ... I'd declare total war on The Pusher man/I'd cut him if he stands, and I'd shoot him if he'd run/Yes I'd kill him with my Bible and my razor and my gun," sang Steppenwolf...

George W. Bush is gone from Washington but his legacy, like an abandoned toxic waste dump, lingers on. Like President Franklin Roosevelt before him, President Bush helped redefine American freedom. And like Roosevelt's, Bush's changes were perversions of the clear vision the Founding Fathers bequeathed to us. What did freedom mean in the era of George Bush? In Iraq in September 2004, the U.S. military constructed Camp Liberty, a tent compound to house Iraqi detainees next to the Abu Ghraib prison. (The torture scandal and photos had been revealed in late April.) Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller declared that Camp Liberty...

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PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. — Bay County deputies say a 23-year-old man who was shocked with a stun gun died after choking on a large bag of marijuana during an attempted arrest.

Tiger Woods' mistress Jaimee Grubbs has been described as a cocktail waitress but a RadarOnline.com investigation has discovered that she's been serving up something a lot more potent! Jaimee has been working in a medical marijuana "pharmacy," RadarOnline.com is reporting exclusively. The woman who had a several-years affair with the athlete regarded as a golfing legend has been working at Organic Remedies in Studio City, CA, RadarOnline.com learned exclusively. VIDEO INTERVIEW: Tiger Offered Mistress Job Medical marijuana is legal in California but is widely abused and it is an open secret that medical marijuana cards can be obtained for the...

A woman in Canberra blew a .385 yesterday, one of the highest ever recorded. BAC numbers of .40 are supposed to mean death. Read the linked article for more information.

It may have been the year of one of her classic films, Some Like It Hot, but a home movie found after 50 years in an attic apparently demonstrates that Marilyn Monroe may have enjoyed pot too. A silent reel-to-reel colour film, dating probably from the late 1950s, shows a relaxed star taking a quick puff from what is alleged to have been a joint of marijuana while sitting on a couch with at least two other people. But, as President Bill Clinton and other politicians might put it later, she did not inhale, not much anyway. The film shows...

A video of Marilyn Monroe allegedly smoking marijuana has been made public some 50 years after it was filmed. The film was recently bought for $275,000 (£166,000) by US collector Keya Morgan, who is making a documentary on the death of Monroe in August 1962. He tracked it down to an attic in New Jersey - the person who filmed it said it was taken at an informal gathering in 1958 or 1959. The film shows a personal side rarely seen in public since the actress achieved stardom. At one point in the film, Marilyn points her nose toward her...