Someone has to start to break the taboo against marijuana, and it might as well be Zach Galifianakis. Strange, we would’ve assumed Lawrence O’Donnell would’ve done it.
What I think is horrible about all of this, is that we criminalize young people. And we use so many of our excellent resources … for things that aren’t really causing any problems. It’s not a toxic substance.
Former Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders • Arguing the case for pot legalization. But before you pot-heads get too excited about having a mainstream, respected ally, we just want to point out how she lost her job. Elders, who served (controversially) under President Bill Clinton, is known for saying things like this. She once argued in favor of teaching masturbation in schools – an argument that caused her firing just fifteen months in. We wonder what our boy Dr. Koop thinks about all this. source
We will vigorously enforce the (federal law) against those individuals and organizations that possess, manufacture or distribute marijuana for recreational use, even if such activities are permitted under state law.
Obama Attorney General Eric Holder • In a pledge he made to uphold the nation’s marijuana laws even as California appears to be heading towards legalization with Prop 19. Yo, Eric, you wanna get a hit of this? You need to mellow out, man. It’s not that bad. source
On the sliding career scale, 11 pot plants is really nothing. It beats suggesting that the media is run by Jews. Or being completely unable to take a joke made by Jon Stewart. But CBS Radio reporter Howard Arenstein and his wife, Orly Azoulay (a correspondent for Israel’s most popular newspaper) were arrested yesterday for having 11 pot plants growing in their yard. Arenstein, by the way, has covered some really big stories, including 9/11 and the DC sniper incident. Will a little pot do his entire career in? Good question. source
Isn’t it weird how the government still plays the anti-pot line? See, in the latest version of the annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health, illicit drug use among the populace is up approximately 0.7 percent in 2009, to 8.7 percent. The study says the increase “was also driven in large part by the use of marijuana.” National Drug Control Policy Director Gil Kerlikowske seems to be convinced that marijuana’s possible medicinal effects don’t make it medicine, but continue to make it “an entry drug.” Whatever. More numbers:
21.2%of young adults screwed with illicit drugs in 2009, which is very high
<50%of young adults think that pot is harmful – the lowest level since 2002
23.3%of all people use tobacco products, a new all-time low source
Bad move, Bill GatesTip to anyone, anywhere, anytime: Don’t have a discussion using the phrase “death panels” in reference to health care. Because if you do, you’re going to show up on Glenn Beck’s news site, The Blaze. The size of this particular hornet’s next is freaking huge, dude.
judges ≠ scientistsThe legal decision that decided in favor of a family whose child was linked to her autism is gonna give hope to folks like Jenny McCarthy. The truth is, the science doesn’t support it. Neither does the case, which was found under grounds very specific to the situation.
Touré tokes up The Rolling Stone writer and MSNBC contributor had a pretty hilarious rant about California’s pot proposition, ending it with this clever one-liner: “The people who are railing the hardest against decriminalization are those who are most in need of a smoke!” Win.
Wonder what they’re smoking. Wanna know the proof that cannabis is about to become legal in California? Because now medical marijuana shops are blatantly advertising their wares. It’s official: The tide has turned in their favor. Cheech and Chong are winning. source