March 31st, 2008 by Peter Bonginelli
filed under: Medical Marijuana, News
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AMARILLO, Texas — Drug enforcement continued to enforce unfair drug laws with zeal in Texas, arresting an HIV patient using marijuana to treat his illness. Jurors deliberated less than 15 minutes Tuesday before reaching a not guilty verdict for Tim Stevens, 53, whose attorney used the defense that marijuana use was a necessity to treat nausea and vomiting. Thank god the people of this country still have common sense.
According to Stevens’ attorney Jeff Blackburn, it’s the first successful use of the necessity defense in a Texas marijuana case, and can hopefully sway juries in the future to show their compassion in such unfair situations. "I think this verdict will help send a message to lawmakers to catch up with the way ordinary people really think," Blackburn said. "I think it’s important."
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February 19th, 2008 by Peter Bonginelli
filed under: Medical Marijuana, Opinion
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Vaporizers: Why It Is Time To Legalize Marijuana
There may finally be no reason for the government to keep marijuana a criminal act, as the defense for the drug war has completely fallen apart over the past couple years. Each argument that John Walters (the drug czar) and his predecessors have put forth for the criminalization of marijuana has no merit. Below I will go over each argument that the federal government has put forth for the criminalization of weed, and prove to you that the only reason marijuana is still legal is corrupt media officials and politicians with ties to big business.
1.Claim: The main ingredient delta9-tetrahydrocannibinol is a mind-altering substance. Most recently, Josh Walters has been spending millions of dollars on advertisements claiming Marijuana causes schizophrenia.
Actually, Marijuana is only mind altering for a short period of time, after which the brain returns to a normal state. Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan as recently as a month ago found that marijuana increases brain cell growth. Synthetic cannabinoid was injected into mice and there was actually growth in the hippocampus, which is crucial in forming memory and is believed these cells help fight depression and mood disorders. So if anything about the mind is being altered, it is for the better. The schizophrenia argument has been shot down by every psychologist in the field that I have talked to. If you want to read more about why this article is false read here.
2.Claim: Marijuana today is 25 times stronger than that of the 1960s, and can be cut with dangerous chemicals that may cause cancer.
There is no lethal dose of marijuana. While, taking 25 times your recommended Tylenol amount will kill you, smoking marijuana with 25 times as much THC will just cause you to feel a more intense high. In fact, the numbers are more like 4 to 6 times stronger and this is largely due to advancements in cultivation technology over the years. Dangerous chemicals may or may not make it to the marijuana before it gets to the smoker, however it is only because marijuana is illegal and unregulated that this is the case. In fact, marijuana itself has been shown in studies that date back to the 1960s that marijuana slows and may even help prevent cancer. Read about how cannabis can slow cancer.
3.Claim: Marijuana is harmful to your lungs.
This is only true when cannabis is consumed by smoking. Over the past couple years vaporizers have been an emerging technology in the herbal smoking world. Vaporizers heat the herbal substance to between 350-380 degrees and therefore it eliminates 99% of carcinogens. So smoking with a vaporizer basically refutes the one and only scientifically sound argument that supporters of cannabis prohibition have.
So how with no scientific basis is marijuana still illegal? The answer lies in the media. Frankly, articles like this don’t get this same kind of exposure that fox news can have. They are quick to promote studies showing marijuana increasing gum disease, but will never promote one that shows positive benefits. In fact fox news has a history of censoring and altering news in the favor of big business. Here is one example where fox censored news that Monsanto’s cow growth hormone causes cancer.. The oil, paper, and cotton industries all benefit from the legalization of hemp and marijuana because hemp can replace plastics, paper, textiles and fuel. In addition cannabis has a much higher yield per acre than any other ethanol producing plant.
Politicians are responsible for this too. They are not listening to the people. In national polls, 60& of people want marijuana decriminalized and 80% support its medicinal use. 45% Support the legalization for use by adults. The only explanation for this is that the politicians controlling marijuana policy have interests with big business.
So in attempt to take a stand and challenge the status quo I want you to read this, and think about what I have presented you. If you find an argument for a reason you feel marijuana should be illegal, post it on this blog and I will respond in this article. If you support what I am trying to say, then digg this article or feel free to reproduce and submit this article* anywhere you can so that we can try to combat the propaganda mainstream media is spreading. With the power of the internet we have the potential to dispel propaganda no matter how much money the government spends!
Get involved however you can, I propose a toast to the cause of marijuana legalization!
-Peter Bonginelli
*If you want to reproduce the article on your own blog please credit this website.
February 3rd, 2008 by Peter Bonginelli
filed under: Random
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Interesting article I found on http://www.chrisbrunner.com. Go there to read the much longer full version. You’d be suprised what people think about our favorite herb:
As we grow up, we’re lead to believe certain things whether they’re taught to us or they’re implied by the people we’re around… many of these things are true, but some simply aren’t. Please note that the intent of this article is not to advocate the use of drugs but to assail the use of misinformation. Without further delay, here is my top 10 list of marijuana-related myths:
Marijuana is more harmful than tobacco - Many people think smoking marijuana is just as harmful as smoking tobacco, but this is not true for many reasons. (For example, most marijuana smokers smoke the bud, not the leaf, of the plant. The bud contains only 33% as much tar as tobacco; Not one case of lung cancer has ever been successfully linked to marijuana use; Cannabis, unlike tobacco, does not cause any narrowing of the small air passageways in the lungs.)
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