Our nation is addicted to a chemical substance.  The criminal lords that run this international ring have infiltrated our government to the highest levels.  Their influence in world affairs is unprecedented.  They ignore our laws and no matter their crime never see a single day behind bars.

They have every single person in our nation addicted to their product.  They destroy families, small businesses, wildlife habitat, and jobs then expect us to keep paying for their mistakes.  People keep dying, animals are driven to extinction and many billions of dollars are the cost of their business.

These people are not criminal Colombian drug cartels.  Sadly they are the people that provide the very life blood that drives our cars and lights our homes.  Their product is energy and if our nation had the courage to look ahead in the 1970′s they would now be as outcast and reviled as their cocaine and heroine counterparts.

What would we all think of Sarah Palin and John McCain if they stood up and said ‘snort baby, snort’ instead of ‘drill baby drill’?  How about a President of The United States that was a failed cocaine lord?  Even better a Vice President that was formerly the number one man in a Colombian drug ring and now was trusted to negotiate a deal with them?  What would you think of a DEA that did drugs with the cartels and sought prostitutes through them?

You may think I stretch the realities of life a little bit by making this comparison.  I would like to point out a few realities that are part of our everyday world.  Using illegal drugs is a choice.  Addiction happens to many people that use drugs.  Using coal and oil to light your home and drive your car is NOT a choice.  There are alternatives to our oil and coal addiction but just like a rehab clinic they are expensive and not readily available to the common working citizen.

I feel the reason that power alternatives are not affordable and illegal drugs are is our government.   Street drug prices are a true look at supply and demand.  The price is based on how much product is available and how many people seek to purchase it.  On the flip side of the coin we have world wide mega corporations with agents in every government making payoffs and supplying drugs and women while the heads of PACs and lobbying groups fix the price and write the rules by which they operate.

Drugs and weapons are a story as old as time.  The use of coal, oil, salt and other natural resources is just as old.  What we fail to see in our country is that the worlds largest supplier of weapons and guns that the cartels use is our own nation.  We also fail to acknowledge that the largest consumer of the product that the cartels produce is also our own nation.

Drug dealers can now be convicted for murder in some jurisdictions for supplying a product that a person died from.  Three quarters of the prisoners held in our nation are currently incarcerated for nonviolent drug crimes.  Thanks to our current drug laws we have more people in jail or prison in our nation at taxpayers expense than ANY other nation in the world, including China.

I am left to wonder how many energy providers are in jail or prison?  They kill people through neglect of their mines and oil rigs.  The toxic emissions from their power plants and autos kill untold thousands, but just a bit slower than a needle in the arm.  They ignore safety regulations in their coal mines resulting in the death of innocent workers.  They LIE about safety test results on their oil rigs resulting in more deaths of innocent workers.  Why are these leaders of criminal activity not on trial or even charged with a crime?  PAC’s, lobbies and REAL clout is why.  They are nothing more than the biggest and baddest gangsters in the world.

What would the public outcry be if it was five million barrels of cocaine being spilled into the Gulf Of Mexico every day?  What if it was heroine washing up on the beach and killing wildlife?  How would you react to crystal meth killing off endangered species, wiping out 85% of our nations seafood and destroying thousands of livelihoods along with the environment?

Is there a difference?

Dick Cheney former vice president of the United States. Former CEO of Halliburton ( where his real alligence lies). He just loves him some oil derricks. This is the ugly face of big oil corporations.

Post by BobbiV

The Republican Party has used fear as a way to influence voters and raise money for as long ad I can remember.  When I was a little girl growing up in the Midwest, it was fear of the Communist Soviets and nuclear bombs.  I vividly remember the drop and cover drills in school.  That was when all of us kids scrambled to get under our wooden desks so we would be safe from a nuclear bomb.  Looking back I believe we were told to get under these desks to ensure there was sufficient kindling around us.

By the time I was a teenager the nuclear threat was growing a bit stale and although we still worried about it, we weren’t afraid every minute of the day.  In general, our parents had grown accustomed to it and countered with their fears with well stocked bomb shelters in back yards.  Life went on as normal except for the new bunker in the yard.

Then we were attacked by another enemy in the form of drugs.  Reefer Madness swept the land and no one was safe.  The “War” on drugs was started and young people found themselves being watched far more closely than was needed by concerned adults.

Then there was the next red scare in Southeast Asia and it seemed we were suddenly into a war in a part of the world we had never heard of.  Now the fear for many of us hit very close to home.  Friends, lovers, fiances and brothers were grabbed up by the draft and many would never return home alive.  We became angry and we took to the streets in protest against ‘the establishment’.  We were protesting the inequality of women and minorities, the ability of our government to kill us in an undeclared war and the general mess to which this country had been reduced.  The rest is history which you all probably know well.

Again, life went on almost normally if you didn’t look too closely at what was happening.  The air became more gray with smog, our water became less clear, neighborhood stores disappeared only to be replaced by large discount chains.  The environment was going to hell…..but, we were fat, comfortable and above all, safe.

As a citizenry we had started to break out of our fear mode.  We were realizing the environment needed tending and we were looking to a much better future.  But all during this time the Republicans still worked as hard as it was possible for them, to make us quake with fear again.  There were the drugs, of course, but now they were joined by new friends.  Immigrants were ruining our country…be afraid.  Minorities were stealing our jobs…be afraid.  The white population was being subjected to reverse discrimination…be afraid.  The gays were going to convert our children…be afraid. There are sex offenders on every corner…be afraid.  In other words, be afraid of everything that wasn’t white, male, conservative and above all Republican.

September 11, 2001 was an event that changed everything.  It was a brazen attack on our country that killed 3,000 innocent people.  It was horrible and no one in this country thinks it wasn’t.  But it was also made to order for the fear mongers.  The citizens hadn’t listened, we hadn’t been afraid enough.  We had let down our guard.  Thank heavens the Republican leaders were here to save us.  Glory be, yes!

They saved us so well they ran our economy into a ditch, started a war against the wrong country, sold the military to corporations  and left a lot of folks over supplied with plastic sheeting, duct tape and a huge supply of canned tuna under their beds.

I can’t speak for anyone else, but I wasn’t really afraid during the fear mongered earlier episodes of my life and I absolutely refuse to be afraid now.  I am proud and unafraid of our black president.  In fact, I like Obama.  I am proud to support health care reform and I am not afraid of it.  I am unafraid of Socialism, Communism or any other ism you want to throw out there.  I will not live in fear and I will not allow you to convince me I must live in fear.

Republicans, if fear is all you’ve got then you are done.  You have completely overplayed your hand.  Step off the stage now before you humiliate yourselves further.

One clarification, I am afraid of Fundamentalism in any religion.

At the Marijuana Policy Project’s Fifteenth Anniversary Gala, Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong picked Sarah Palin as the person in politics they would most like to smoke marijuana with.  They seem to believe that the former Republican Governor of Alaska is probably growing her own at home and they believe she sounds like and says things like a stoner.

Politics makes for strange bedfellows, but it is hard to imagine Sarah Palin having the giggles, or having plain old fun of any kind.  She is too obsessed with every move and action being a pose.  She is just too calculating and self centered to ever  just be Sarah.  In fact, I highly doubt she even knows who Sarah Palin is.

Watch the interview with Cheech and Chong to get a laugh.  Heaven knows we all need one after the last week.

Post by BobbiV

Nevada is joining the line up of states that are trying to legalize the sale and use of marijuana by adults twenty one and over.  It seems if lawmakers don’t act on the petition within forty days of its presentation to them,  then the proposition will appear on the ballot in 2012.

Could it be that my home state, which was formerly one of the reddest of the red, is finally coming into the twenty first century?  Living here, I know that the changes that are finally coming to this state have a lot to do with the sour California economy.  We are getting an influx of transplanted residents from the Golden State to the Silver State.  That is okay and will help our economy recover as our population grows and new businesses along with the jobs they bring come to our state.

I can tell you though, the older residents of Nevada resent the transplanted citizens from other states.  They complain loudly that everything is being ruined here by new people coming in. Personally, I think they are just showing their teabagger stripes and they want to keep their small towns very white, very insular, very Christian conservative and very, very Republican.  They feel new comers are threatening their strangle hold on their towns and thereby ruining the state.  In other words, the feel very afraid.  These people are our home grown teabagger and birther population and they are really serious about their fear. They listen to Beck, Rush and Fox.  They buy every bit of the right wingnut spiel.  If anything goes wrong they automatically blame the new people and the liberals not their legislators or conservatives.  It is like a programmed reaction and it is sad to see.

I am sure some Nevada heads will explode because of this petition and if marijuana is made legal in the state, it may be the ‘real Nevadans’ excuse to go to war against the inevitable changes.  But a new day is dawning here and things will change, if the ‘real Nevadans’ want the change or not.  Nevada is a state with lots of problems and an unbelievably high unemployment rate along with a bad economy.  Clinging with a death grip to the old ways that have not worked simply is not an option.  New things must be tried, new jobs created and new revenue sources found.

The legalization of marijuana offers this state a quick and reliable source of new business, jobs and revenue.  Most of the younger and lots of the middle aged and older people in this state already smoke marijuana.  Let’s make it a legal, safe and revenue producing product.

From The Nevada Appeal:

The proposed statute would create a system allowing the cities and counties to license up to 120 retail sales outlets for marijuana statewide. It would also allow the state to license and regulate up to 50 marijuana cultivators.

In addition to hefty licensing fees ranging from $2,500 for a retail license and $5,000 for a grower’s license, he said the wholesalers would pay a $50 per ounce excise tax to the state and retailers would charge sales taxes on the pot they sell.

Key features of the proposal, he said, include a system of packaging allowing law enforcement to track any bad products back to the grower.

Anyone 21 or over would be legally allowed to buy and use marijuana from one of the licensed retail outlets along with paraphernalia. Stores would be prohibited from keeping  records that could be used to identify customers and local governments would be barred from enacting laws to block the legal stores.

Stores and cultivators would be kept at least 500 feet from schools, child care establishments and religious centers. Gas stations, convenience stores, night clubs, casinos and dance halls would be prohibited from becoming pot sellers as would bars and liquor stores.

In addition, no advertising would be allowed.

Adults would be allowed legally to possess up to an ounce of marijuana.

Read the rest here http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20100106/NEWS/100109757/1070&ParentProfile=1058

Come on Nevada – the twenty first century awaits you.

By BobbiV

Sometimes you see something that gives you hope for logic and intelligence to win out over ignorance and fear.  When I watched this video I felt a little bit of that kind of hope.  The whole idea espoused here is almost elegant in its logic.  It was also nice to see a video with people actually considering what they were saying and giving a thoughtful opinion.  It sure beats the spittle throwing screaming of the teabagger and birther types with their knee jerk reactionary spiel.  It also far out classes the Christians and conservatives with their wailing about the end of the world as we know it.

I post this video here for all the readers of luna canus as an end of the year gift and to hopefully inspire some logical thought on the issue of marijuana and the so called drug war.

Let us hope for cooler heads on this subject in the decade to come.  Maybe, if we are lucky, solutions may be in the not too distant future.

In the meantime, I wish you all a very Happy New Year and a safe celebration.  Hello to the second decade of this young century and may it be more sane and prosperous than the first one.  Enjoy!

By a fifty three to forty three percent majority, Americans are willing to legalize marijuana.  However, by a wide margin, they do not favor the legalization of other drugs like cocaine and ecstacy.

This all brings us back to the fact that marijuana should not be considered in the same category as other drugs.  It falls closer to the category of alcohol, but even that is a stretch. In truth, marijuana should really be in the category with garlic, basil, flea bane, catmint and the rest of the herb family.

Yes, marijuana is medicinal.  Just look at the relief Cancer and AIDs patients get from the herb, plus the fact that many studies have proven the plants medicinal uses.

Hemp is an easy to grow replacement for cotton and makes sturdy cloth.  It could save hundreds of trees in our forests just by using  it to make paper.  This would be good for the environment.

The good things about the marijuana herb far outweigh any bad. ‘ Reefer Madness’ was and is just propaganda that mainstream America was suckered into believing.  The American government has known how to use fear for quite some time and ‘Reefer Madness’ proves it.

More and more Americans are backing away from the lies and old wives tales.  They are seeing marijuana for what it is.  An herb that has great medical and commercial value and is easy to grow.  A cash cow crop that small farmers could rely on to keep them in the black and a big tax revenue just waiting to happen.

So when will this herb be legalized?  That is up to the people of the United States.  Far more important things are on the plates of legislators right now.  But, if I had to bet, I’d say legalization is just around the corner and not in the distant future as it once seemed.

See the results of the poll here http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/view/34651/most_americans_support_legalizing_marijuana

It is time to change the laws regarding marijuana and its uses.

It seems as though the legalization of marijuana and hemp should be on the agenda to help bring our economy back and give relief to sick people who need it.

One of Michigan’s budding industries is truly a growth industry.  While famous for many things like its cars, lakes and militias there are new business opportunities for people in Michigan and other states that many are looking fill.  The risks involved are high as any business venture  but that is not stopping people from being on the cutting edge of new laws and seeking work that could bring financial growth not only for their families but their states as well.

This fast growing industry is just that, growing marijuana for medical use.  Currently a dozen states allow the legal, regulated and TAXED growth of medical marijuana in some form.  Make no mistake though, this is an industry where in many areas the law is still vague and many will seek a way to discourage those who wish to become growers.

Though legal in these states the federal law is still clear, the growth and distribution is against the law on the federal level.  That obstacle was recently removed by President Obama’s order to federal law enforcement agencies to honor state law on the matter.  This however is only a Presidential order and not a change in federal law.  The next President could just as quickly make those who legally grow marijuana in their states criminals once more.  So the warning is there no matter what, you enter this industry at your own risk.

That is not stopping  Americans who are out of work and beyond unemployment help from seeking a way to keep themselves from becoming homeless as well.  Given the small area needed for the growth of plants and the relative ease with which they grow,just about anyone can grow marijuana.  The way the state laws are written, there will not be one major “pot lord” popping up in these states.  The amount of plants you can grow is limited, inspections of your growing area are required and a tax stamp is placed on the product you sell.

So, do not go out and plow up your back yard just yet.  I strongly recommend that you check with your state and county law enforcement and D.A.’s office as to what exactly is required for you to become a grower.   Also, do not advertise what you are doing.  There are many out there who look at legal growers as not only competition but  potential targets.  Street dealers can swoop in and steal the fruits of your labor and gangs can get down right nasty if they think you are cutting in on their turf.  So keep it private and keep it safe.  Also remember that the D.E.A. is just a door knock away.

If you are determined to become a grower though, now would seem to be the time to get into the business.  It is still the ground floor of what may soon be a multi billion dollar industry in the United States.  As the people of our nation begin to realize what the ancient Egyptians and Romans knew, as we return to the preachings of our founding fathers who encouraged farmers to grow marijuana we are beginning to see this drug as a medicine.  From helping cancer and AIDS patients to those with eyesight issues this drug can be used for multiple medical uses.

The other benefit of this plant is the lack of waste product.  Yes the most valuable part of it is its buds but unlike other plants the remainder of the hemp plant can be used as well.  When our country was fighting for independence soldiers uniforms were made from ‘homespun’ cloth.  While all cotton grown in the colonies was sent back to England, we made cloth from the hemp plant.  When there was an excessive tax on paper by the English government, our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution were written on hemp paper.  Hemp was used to make everything from sails for fighting ships to musket wadding.  With the hemp plant there are numerous applications for the entire plant and not just the ‘fruit’.

For several decades 0ur country has spent hundreds of billions of dollars combating marijuana use.  The majority of criminals in our prisons are there for drug possession.  When you combine the revenue our nation could make off of legal growth and the money we could save in law enforcement and prisoner incarceration this issue seems like a no-brainier to me.

As many in Michigan have found out there is money to be made in growing hemp.  There are also risk involved so be forewarned.

To read more about Michigan’s hemp industry click here:

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091112/
NEWS06/911120424/&template=artiphone

Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong provided much laughter to me back in high school.  Now it seems they are back and I am happy to see them together again.

These two guys stood up for legalization of hemp and marijuana when it was, to say the least, not a popular opinion to have.  They also made the other side look like fools with their biting comedy.  For me, they make me laugh every time I see them even if they don’t say anything.  Maybe its the memories of all the laughs in the past, I don’t know.  I just know they make me happy.

The video below is from the Geraldo Rivera Show and also has Ann, the man,  Coulter.  I know, I know, its Fox.  But its the one I have, so enjoy it and stay mellow.  Besides, it ties in so nicely with the article about the Portland, Oregon marijuana cafe.