Thursday, March 25, 2010

Tax Cannabis 2010 Makes the Ballot in California

Oh lord, I just found out about this via facebook and I AM PUMPED!

This november could possibly be the greatest victory the drug reform movement has ...ever... had.

Go to www.taxcannabis.org to read more about it!

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Americans Fall Victim to Mexican Drug War


Yet another heart wrenching story has come out of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, a border city known for the violence and corruption caused there by drug cartels.

Last Saturday, Lesley Enriquez, 35, a U.S. Consulate worker attended a child's birthday party in Ciudad Juarez with her husband Arthur Redelfs, 34 and their 7 month old daughter. As they headed home for El Paso, Texas authorities say that a car began to follow them, and soon laid fire on the innocent family. Authoritied say the car was riddled with bullets. Witnesses say that Redlfs, who was driving, seemed to try to escape the barbaric onslaught via one of the bridges that cross the Rio Grande to find safety in America, his homeland, but could not outrun the gang. Enriquez and Redelfs were found dead, their terrified young daughter unharmed in the back seat. Family explains that the couple, expecting a second child were innocent victims of the escalating violence in Juárez," and "had unblemished records where they worked and were not involved in anything wrong whatsoever. They will be deeply missed."

No arrests have been made, but authorities say that the murders were committed by a local gang called Los Aztecas. The gang is allied with the notorious Juarez Cartel according to Mayor Jose Ferriz.

In response to these slayings the White House released a statement claiming

"We will continue to work with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and his government to break the power of the drug trafficking organizations that operate in Mexico and far too often target and kill the innocent"

While "working" with the Mexican government sounds like a good plan, it should be noted that the problems with drug cartels in border cities like Ciudad Juarez have been escalating for years. As the estimate of wholesale illegal drug earnings ranges from $13.6 billion to $48.4 billion annually it should come as no surprise that people will fight both each other and the government to gain control of the market. The only solution to the drug war in Mexico is for America to legalize and regulate current illicit drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana as these drugs are largely supplied to Americans through Mexican trafficking.

The tragic deaths of Americans Lesley Enriquez and Arthur Redelfs should serve as a call to action to all Americans who are fed up with the senseless violence in Mexico, and should serve as a call to action to demand change. Regulation of illicit drugs would save countless lives by taking power away from the drug cartels, who are benefiting from our failed policies.

cnn coverage

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Walmart fires cancer patient: Whaaaaaaaa?



Hi again everybody, today I'm here with a little bit of news that's pretty widely circulated, but here I go regurgitating it for your pleasure. Momma bird!

Joe Casias, 29, of Michigan was terminated from his job at Wal-Mart last November after testing positive for marijuana. What the company failed to recognize was that Casias was prescribed medical marijuana for... Sinus Cancer and a Brain Tumor.

Yes, they fired somebody with brain cancer for using medication prescribed by their doctor to relieve sinus pressure and tension. He was also an exemplary employee earning associate of the year during his time with the company, and no mention of unsatisfactory performance was given as a reason for his termination.

Casias is discussing his options with an attorney, and thanks to all of the negative attention they have earned, Wal-Mart has issued a statement that they will not contest his rights to employee benefits.

But this is still grossly inadequate, why was this man fired at all? Michigan law explicitly states that :

A qualifying patient who has been issued and possesses a registry identification card shall not be subject to arrest, prosecution, or penalty in any manner, or denied any right or privilege, including but not limited to civil penalty or disciplinary action by a business or occupational or professional licensing board or bureau...

This incident is proof that the ongoing dialogue about marijuana and work to alleviate the social stigma connected to it must continue.

If you'd like to leave Wal-Mart a comment about how this makes you feel: click here.

You might start your complaint off like... "The termination of Joe Casias for his medical marijuana use was a poor decision, and I am appalled by the company's lack of compassion in dealing with this issue."

But then again, that's just a suggestion. You could also email them at ethics@wal-mart.com

ssdp protest on facebook

ABC News Article

Friday, March 19, 2010

Confrence Reinforces Youth Movement Against Drug War- Brian Reimer

Every time the prevailing zeitgeist of a civilization shifts, it is often times been by the hands of a well-organized youth movement. In fact, in the past one hundred years, every single political and social change that has occurred is due in part to student movements. Youth activist groups like the SDS in the 1960s and the National Union of Students in the United Kingdom have been striving for the advancement not only youth, but humanity as a whole.

In the tradition of such great organizations, Students for Sensible Drug Policy has been making great strides and winning major victories in the drug policy reform movement. Last weekend in San Francisco, California, students from around the globe gathered at the Fort Mason Center for SSDP’s 11th annual international conference. The results were nothing short of ground breaking.

With an attendance of several hundred students from chapters around the world, one could feel energy and excitement for activism everywhere SSDPers met. With the congregation of so many excited student activists it is without a doubt in my mind that the drug policy reform movement will never end until every single law and poorly organized policy in the United States and Worldwide are changed to reflect commonsense and compassion.

Attending the conference has been a life-changing event for many others and myself. Not only were we enlightened on the current state of affairs in the drug policy movement; we also were given the tools of action to bring back to our chapters and communities. The SSDP conference in San Francisco will be documented in history as a great turning point in this nation’s policies.

The future of this movement rests at the hands of every single SSDPer that attended the conference and those who are enlightened by those who attended. We are at a crossroads in our nation and history will look back upon this time as the beginning of the series of events that Students for Sensible Drug Policy was a highly responsible party. History has proven that, with an energetic base of students that is united under a common banner, nothing is impossible.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

SSDP International Conference: Brains + Drugs Do Not Make Fried Eggs

What happens when enough people focused on a singular goal manage to gather together in one place? New expressions of the collective inevitably emerge whether they come as pieces of artwork, breakthroughs in thought, or in magnificent cities. I often found myself wondering as a child what it would be like to stand at the epicenter of a pivotal moment in history as I leafed through stories about the American Revolution, Vietnam, the Civil rights movement and countless other times and places. I have the understanding and intuition now that I am much closer to knowing what this feels like. The conference at San Francisco was easily the most sensational gathering of like minded activists, researchers, lawyers, students, and politicians I could have ever hoped to attend. From beginning to end I felt that this movement was not only alive but vitalized and thriving. I need to emphasize how encouraging and powerful this experience was. This change is happening now, and we are engulfed completely in the fluctuating current of its unfolding.

We all arrived in San Francisco on Thursday March 11th. We were excited to explore the city, meet people, and see what the conference had in store. We didn't know what was waiting for us.

On Friday I took a tour with many of my fellow students and colleagues to the Oaksterdam district of Oakland just outside San Francisco. We were there to visit Oaksterdam University – which teaches the cultivation of medical marijuana plants as a course of study. All of my expectations were surpassed as we entered this place.

The university is split between a few buildings in the district, all within 2 blocks or so of one another. It is well maintained and operated by very knowledgeable and passionate people. The construction of the main building is very simple, with a large lecture hall and a horticulture lab as well as the usual office rooms on the lower level. It was all very professional and clean as one would expect of any educational institution.

When I walked into the horticulture lab my jaw hit the floor. They were growing some of the most beautiful, largest, well taken care of plants I have ever seen. Not only this, but there was such an incredible number of the plants – over 4 dozen by my guess. I don’t even know how much smoke-able marijuana that would yield, but it’s a seriously large quantity by anyone’s standard.

So of course I had to figure out how this was done so flagrantly but kept completely legal at the same time. I had visions of the DEA swinging by ropes from helicopters and smashing through the windows as we walked around. Apparently it’s operated under the same conditions as a dispensary anywhere else. A group of patients and caregivers who are legally allowed to grow marijuana under the current state legislation get together and form a collective. The exact names of the laws and fine print details evade me, but I will link to their website at the end of the article if you would like to do your own research.

We visited a few of the coffee shops and got a little bit of background information about their impact on the area. Currently the city of Oakland allows 4 coffee shops/dispensaries to exist by permit. In the past there were as many as 16, but the others were shut down because of this policy. Even with only these 4 however, an economic rejuvenation has taken place in the Oaksterdam district. Not only are the coffee shops themselves successful, but they stimulate other businesses such as restaurants and shops of various sorts. From what I understand this part of town was quite run down and unseemly to hang around before Mary Jane moved into the neighborhood.

Although marijuana is not technically legalized for casual use by anyone, current legislative policy in the city of Oakland prioritizes enforcement of marijuana laws below minor offenses such as jaywalking. Under this circumstance there are establishments that sell marijuana for casual use to persons over the age of 21.

On this microscopic scale, we have clear evidence that drug policy reform not only allowed the effective treatment of people with a wide variety of ailments, but also breathed new life into a struggling economy by building a university, opening businesses, and drawing in tourists such as myself. This place is the absolute cutting edge of a new drug policy that envisions scientifically proven beneficial substances as a tool for the alleviation of common suffering and reinvigoration of dilapidated communities.

This is so huge for the reform movement. This is proof that, at least on some scale, a near analogue to the Amsterdam model of marijuana policy works in America. I am so tired of hearing people talk about cultural incompatibility with marijuana use as opposed to alcohol. I’m going to say it again to let you know how juiced I am. THE. MODEL. WORKS.

“You mean they aren’t all a bunch of schizophrenic nut bags robbing each other and committing acts of adultery in the missionary position?”

“Not at all Uncle Sam, hell they just pay taxes and listen to music that tells them not to pay their taxes now!”

We also got to see a presentation on what is undoubtedly the next step in drug policy reform in California. There was a man whose name I cannot recall speaking on behalf of the tax and regulate initiative which will hopefully be on the ballot this fall. They plan on making marijuana legal for all adults age 21 and over for casual use. They projected that the tax revenue could be as much as 1.2 billion dollars alone, not to mention that this would facilitate the success of dispensaries all over the state and invoke all the peripheral economic benefits that go along with this flourishing.

The day kept rolling along and we were treated to a few incredible speakers before the first part of Congress began. Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the drug policy alliance, gave an especially moving speech. Afterwards a few resolutions were put before the voting representatives, but none of the resolutions were revolutionary exactly and seemed to be more mincing words than anything else. The candidates for the board of directors presented themselves and gave introductory speeches one by one, and this closed the day’s events at the conference.

Day two was devoted to “drug war education” which entailed many speakers talking about a variety of the aspects of the drug war. Ethan took the stage again to fire everyone up (which he did with much success). Some of the staff repaid him in kind with a birthday wish video, and all of us students were more than happy to sing to him in a glorious cacophony on his special day. Paul Armentano of NORML, Steph Sherer of Americans for Safe Access, and Aaron Smith of the Marijuana Policy Project all spoke as well.

Now at this point there were several panel discussions for much of the day. I first went to a panel titled “Could psychedelics become accepted medicine?”. Three speakers sat on the panel, Rick Doblin of the Multi-disciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, Matt Baggot of UC Berkeley, and Alicia Danforth of the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. They each spoke passionately and informatively about their research and their field of study. Rick Doblin especially captured my attention. His organization, MAPS, has been conducting research with mdma to alleviate post-traumatic stress disorder with quite a bit of success. Alicia spoke of her research regarding end of life therapy with terminal patients in order to soothe their anxieties. I feel that this was probably the most ground breaking panel of any I attended.

After panels were over with, we got to see California Representative Tom Ammiano talk about marijuana legislation in the state and what it was like to be on the inside of things. His outlook was very optimistic if he did stress the difficulty he faced in persuading other state congress members to jump on the bandwagon.

The party and awards ceremony thrown that night was out of this world. Everyone had a great time getting together and cutting loose a bit. The bands, Pandacon and Roots of Creation, were pretty awesome and lots of people, including myself, danced their asses off.

One of the most unexpected moments at the conference struck when everyone representing the Kent State chapter was called up on stage to win the outstanding chapter award. It felt great to receive that sort of recognition - we were and still are so happy to have that honor.

The next day was filled with workshops regarding the development of different advocacy skills, and it was all really informative. I feel like I’m dragging this article out now so I’ll leave specifics alone.

So all in all the trip was a major jump off point to get a better picture of what this movement really looks like and understand the impact we could all have working as a concerted whole. Hope you guys enjoyed the article and that you can make it out next year if you didn’t go.

To all my fellow ssdper’s: I love you all so much and I hope your lives are filled with ssdpness. :)


Maps Website: www.maps.org
Oaksterdam University: www.oaksterdamuniversity.com
California Tax and Regulate Initiative: www.taxcannabis.org
SSDP official website: ssdp.org