‘Culture’ Articles
Written by mindfulhal on 30 December 2010
I found this article while studying Rastafarianism. I read it first and then absorbed the date — over eight years ago now. Such a compelling, firm message emerges at the end of the article that it just makes me shake my head in sadness to find us here eight years further down the road.
There are a precious few more LOCAL legal exceptions now, but throughout the United States we still face the daily threat of losing our children, our families, our jobs, our medicine, our freedom.
Despite the much-publicized freedom in this country to pursue one’s spiritual development as s/he decides. Despite the fact that we pride ourselves in being a compassionate nation that gives health care to those who need.
My freedom to choose this religion (and others) is still being restricted even though you are statistically more likely to be harmed tripping over your couch than by my meditative use of cannabis. And yet if I practice this religion and/or grow or use marijuana even for a medical reason I have a significantly higher likelihood of being anally raped in prison over the next 10 years. I am not being glib. (If you laughed, I’m happy that I entertained you but you should know that I’m very motivated when it comes to the health and integrity of my anal sphincter.)
But in all seriousness, my freedom of religion has been adjusted and my access to a natural, extraordinarily effective, inexpensive and demonstrably safe mode of health care has been blocked.
So has yours.
Please take 5 minutes and read this article. Maybe send a note to the author if he’s still around and tell him he’s still right. And while you’re writing, write a letter to send to each one of your government representatives asking them what they are doing specifically to make cannabis safely available to adults. And then keep writing just a bit more, on your calendar, with a recurring monthly appointment to revise those letters and send them again. If you need help writing them, I’m your man. Just click on that Contact link I have all over the website.
May 29, 2002
Federal Court Rules in Rastafarian Case
In an opinion issued Tuesday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, some marijuana-using Rastafarians may be protected under a religious-freedom law passed by Congress in 1993.
The case began in 1991 when Benny Guerrero, returning from a trip to Hawaii, was stopped by officials at Guam’s international airport. Mr. Guerrero evidently attracted the eyes of authority because he was carrying a book about Rastafarianism and marijuana. A search of Guerrero’s luggage turned up five ounces of marijuana and some Cannabis seeds. He was arrested and charged with importation of a controlled substance.
In his defense, Guerrero argued that he was a practicing Rastafarian and that his use of marijuana was religious. His importation of the herb was, he argued, protected under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a law that blocks the federal government from unjustifiably infringing on a person’s practice of religion.
After litigating the case for more than ten years, the Ninth Circuit ruled on Tuesday that while the Religious Freedom Restoration Act might protect some Rastafarians who possess or smoke marijuana as part of their religious practices, it does not protect the importation of marijuana, even if that marijuana was intended for religious use. According to the Ninth Circuit, while the practice of Rastafarianism sanctions the smoking of marijuana, nowhere does the religion sanction the importation of marijuana.
As Guerrero’s lawyer Graham Boyd pointed out in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, the court’s ruling was “equivalent to saying wine is a necessary sacrament for some Christians but you have to grow your own grapes.”
The ruling also has much in common with the current situation facing people, such as AIDS and Crohn’s Disease patients, who find that marijuana alleviates some of their pain and provides other medical benefits such as increasing their appetite. Although eight states now permit citizens to use marijuana for medicinal purposes with the approval of their doctor, the federal government has loudly stated its intention to criminally prosecute anyone who dares to supply a sick person with medical marijuana. Thus, people whose health is already compromised are forced to shovel dirt and labor over a Cannabis garden, or make friends with a marijuana dealer.
According to the latest Household Survey on Drug Abuse, over 16 million Americans used an illegal drug in the last 30 days. The overwhelming majority of these people, just like the overwhelming majority of people who use legal drugs, did so responsibly and without problems. Some of those people may find that their use of an illegal drug occasioned a religious experience, and others may find that use of an illegal drug provided pain relief that they have been unable to achieve by any other means. To the extent that the vast majority of these 16 million Americans used an illegal drug without causing harm to others, our criminal justice system ought to leave them alone and instead focus on protecting us from dangerous criminals.
Instead, the government has just requested over 19 billion dollars of tax-payer money to fight yet another year of the “war on drugs” and it’s not about to let religion, medicine, or basic human rights, for that matter, stand in its way.
Lost in the haze of its zero-tolerance prohibition policy, and drunk on its hyperbolic rhetoric about how marijuana leads you through the Devil’s gateway, the government continues to flex its weary muscles in an antiquated effort to save as many souls from damnation as possible.
Enough is Enough.
Richard Glen Boire is legal counsel for the Center for Cognitive Liberty & Ethics.
Read article on source website.
Tags: legalization, marijuana, medical, rastafarianism
Posted in Culture, Education, Politics | 2 Comments »
Written by mindfulhal on 03 June 2010
Google “Marc Emery” and you’ll see the marijuana legalization conflict unfold in living color before your eyes. Mr. Emery has for years sold marijuana seeds from Canada into the U.S. and recently started a federal prison sentence of FIVE years. He has made millions in his business ventures and funneled millions back into his marijuana legalization efforts.
Often overlooked in this story is his wife Jodie. She’s been right there working for our civil rights in Canada and the U.S. She’s gotten so sick of it (I’m assuming) that she’s running for office in Canada. If you’re there, please support her. If you’re not there, please support her. Her husband is in prison for doing things that led directly to me being able to use pot legally in California during my chemo. I may post more later about how to help Marc in prison — there are ways — but you can also find that. Google is wonderful!
For now, please read this article that was tweeted to me today.
I believe the article was written by Tracey Cox (@successfulrebel). Ms. Cox interviewed Jodie Emery recently while researching for her upcoming book, The Successful Female Rebel.
Full Article: http://thesuccessfulrebel.blogspot.com/2010/06/interview-with-jodie-emery.html
Jodie Emery and husband Marc, from jodieformla.ca.
Tags: growing, jodie emery, legalization, legalize, marc emery, marijuana, pot, tweet, tweets, twitter
Posted in Culture, Politics | No Comments »
Written by mindfulhal on 02 June 2010
From Colorado, not California, but it’s an interesting case. Certainly a person may abuse marijuana and cause danger to children, but it’s nice to know that Colorado courts at least saw that this is not the default:
Full Story: http://www.lawweekonline.com/2010/05/parents-medical-marijuana-use-isnt-child-endangerment-court-rules/
By Matt Masich, LAW WEEK COLORADO
DENVER — A parent’s use of medical marijuana does not necessarily constitute child endangerment, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. The determination of whether medical marijuana use presents a threat to a child’s safety should be made on a case-by-case basis, the court held.
Medical marijuana has been legal in Colorado for a decade, but urinalysis testing for marijuana is still used in some child custody matters. The parenting plan agreed to by divorced couple David Lyman and Catherine Parr called for the father to undergo “[o]ngoing UA’s [urinalysis tests] and drug screenings to demonstrate that he does not return to marijuana use.”
But a week after signing the parenting plan, Lyman learned he had been granted a license to use medical marijuana to treat back and knee pain resulting from a motorcycle accident.
Lyman filed a motion to asking a magistrate judge to waive the urinalysis requirement, but the magistrate said Lyman had voluntarily signed the parenting plan ordering urinalysis and was “stuck with it.”
A year later, El Paso County District Judge Rebecca Bromley upheld that order, but modified it to say Lyman could only have supervised parenting time until he could demonstrate to the court that his use of medical marijuana is not detrimental to his child. Bromley also held that Lyman could not petition for unsupervised visitation until he submitted a clean hair follicle test.
A three-judge Court of Appeals panel released 2-1 decision reversing Bromley’s more stringent order but upholding the original order calling for urinalysis.
“[T]he record does not show that father’s use of medical marijuana represented a threat to the physical and emotional health and safety of the child, or otherwise suggested any risk of harm,” Judge Daniel Taubman wrote in the court’s opinion. “Thus, father’s use of medical marijuana cannot support the trial court’s restriction on his parenting time.”
The court also vacated the order for hair follicle tests. However, the court was very clear on what it was not deciding.
“[W]e do not express an opinion as to whether medical marijuana use may constitute endangerment; rather, we conclude only that endangerment was not shown here,” Taubman wrote. “We also express no view on father’s constitutional right to use medical marijuana and whether the exercise of this right should bar UAs and drug screening.”
The court also said nothing in its decision would stop Lyman from arguing that his constitutional right to use medical marijuana should bar urinalysis testing. Neither does the opinion prevent Parr from asking for a hearing to restrict Lyman’s parenting time.
Judge David Furman wrote a special concurring opinion, saying that the best interests of the child should be the only thing considered in making a parenting plan, regardless of Lyman’s constitutional right to use marijuana.
Noted marijuana attorney Rob Corry represented Lyman on the appeal; Parr represented herself pro se.
Picture from http://bit.ly/av8xvL, another good blog entry!
Tags: children, marijuana, medical
Posted in Culture | No Comments »
Written by mindfulhal on 25 May 2010
I just found this article and I love it! I’ve been struggling with how much to talk about pot with my kids. With legalization looking possible in California, more parents may need to take some action. Take 5 minutes and read this. It’s a good one!
Read this short article at: http://bit.ly/aZwY6W
Tags: legalization, marijuana, pot
Posted in Culture | No Comments »
Written by mindfulhal on 24 May 2010
You know, the world can be a damned unfriendly place. It’s always astonishing to me just how unkind a complete stranger can be, for example when you’re not the model driver in traffic or you’re just trying to get the time. It’s even more astonishing just how generous and giving random people can be. There is both in the world and so I guess it’s all about what you focus on.
In any case, I want to shine a light on Mike from howtogrowbud.com. Mike knows a lot about a lot, particularly about blogging and about marijuana. This blog, The Plant Rant, is a blog baby — just getting started. I don’t know much about blogging and I know less about marijuana. But I am passionate about helping newbies like me with the knowledge I DO have. Mike seems to have the same goal. He reached out to me when most would have ignored my comment to his blog post, and he spent HOURS helping me get set up. He taught me about social networking and more about the world of marijuana and gave me growing tips. It was like phone conversation gold, boys and girls. I took notes until my fingers cramped.
Mike likes what I’m doing, and even supported me by making me an official ‘friend’ of howtogrowbud.com and also by linking to my site directly. If you don’t manage any websites, you might not realize what a big deal that is. It’s a big fucking deal, Mr. President.
So HTGB is in The Plant Rant Links now, and I’m steering all the good karma I can toward Mike and the rest of the gang. They do good work keeping the community informed and entertained, and Mike particularly is someone to listen to if you’re interested in legalizing this wonderful plant.
Note: if you’re sensitive to sexy pictures (no nudity), note that his site has clear links to ‘Ganja Girls’, who are just beautiful girls off the street who volunteer (actually compete) to pose showing their support for pot use. Might not be for everyone, so if this isn’t your thing, don’t click on it!
http://www.howtogrowbud.com ALSO FOLLOW ON TWITTER — @howtogrowbud
Tags: growing, legalize, marijuana, pot, twitter
Posted in Culture | No Comments »
Written by mindfulhal on 16 May 2010
From NPR today: “For decades, illegal marijuana cultivation has been an economic lifeblood for three counties in northern California known as the Emerald Triangle. The war on drugs and frequent raids by federal drug agents have helped support the local economy — keeping prices for street sales of pot high and keeping profits rich. But high times are changing. Legal pot, under the guise of the California’s medical marijuana laws, has spurred a rush of new competition. As a result, the wholesale price of pot grown in these areas is plunging.”
See the rest of the article here:
Tags: business, marijuana
Posted in Culture | No Comments »
