BREAKING TABOO- "yes, we Cannibus"

Guests for today's show at 4pm PST / 7pm EST on www.newdissidentradio.com are the owner of a new smoking accessory store Bryan Connor, comedian Suzzanne Monk and correspondent Rev. Jeffrey Brunk. Tune in today for a little Pot, a little Gender discrimination and a really awesome show. Brought to you by Blaze-Jane.com

Breaking the Stereotypes: I promise - someone
you know smokes pot and he or she doesn't look like a dweeb like this dude.

 by Lakota Phillips 

“The War on Drugs, which is celebrating its 40th year, has been a colossal failure. It has curtailed personal freedom, created a violent black market, and filled our prisons. It has also trampled on states’ rights: Sixteen states have legalized “medical marijuana” — which is, admittedly, often code for legalizing pot in general — only to clash with federal laws that ban weed throughout the land.” 

The canyon of discord between those opposing the legalization of marijuana and those supporting has slowly but steadily narrowed over the past decade, especially recently as the info highway known as the internet has dispelled for some the many myths and outright lies associated with use of the drug.  Now to be clear – the federal legislation is NOT mandating that use, distribution and growth of pot be made legal. Instead it is putting it in the hands of the states, which is where it should be.  It would however, if passed as proposed, allow those 21 years and older to buy marijuana at licensed outlets. The number of stores per county would be set by the state Liquor Control Board. Also, taxes would be levied by the Liquor Control Board and could net the state an estimated $215 million a year in new revenue. I don’t have a problem with that. I’d rather see the money go into the hands of the states. Plus we tax the shit out of alcohol and tobacco – might as well throw cannabis onto the pile. The proposed measure would apply drunken driving laws to those driving under the influence of marijuana and it would allow qualified people to grow it for medical purposes without being slapped in handcuffs.

Face it. Alcoholism is far more deadly than potism. Terms like “reefer madness” and “lazy pothead” create a misguided social stereotype that keeps people misinformed. We are such suckers for negative spin in America.

Some quicky myths dispelled:

• Of the more than 800,000 people are arrested for marijuana each year, the vast majority of them for simple possession., approximately 88 percent were charged with possession only.  Them’s a lot of taxpayer court costs right there.
• Most marijuana users never use any other illicit drug – it is not a gate-way drug
• Most people who use marijuana do so only occasionally. Fewer than 10% of those who try marijuana meet the clinical criteria for dependence, while 32% of tobacco users and 15% of alcohol users do.
• Marijuana use has not been shown to increase risk of cancer.
• Marijuana has been proven helpful for treating the symptoms of a variety of medical conditions.
• Marijuana use rates in the Netherlands are similar to those in the U.S. despite very different policies.
• Unlike alcohol, Marijuana has not been shown to cause long-term cognitive impairment and There is no compelling evidence that it contributes substantially to traffic accidents and fatalities.

One of the big questions this raises though is how does it impact the possible legalization of harder drugs... and should it?

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/270520/right-marijuana-editors