February 25, 2011

It definitely appears as of late that the DEA and its prohibitionist allies have intensified the already quite intense anti-Cannabis repression on all levels. Just recently, the Oklahoma mom was given a 10 year sentence for 31 dollars worth of pot, a harassment of Las Vegas Medicinal Cannabis establishments are in full “swing” the open war against patients’ rights and Medicinal Cannabis is waged in every State that considers it, and the so-called “random drug tests”, which I consider a cornerstone of prohibitionist repression are on the rise. The organization “Join Together” reported a couple of days ago that 10 States even consider random drug tests for public assistance recipients, the abhorrent invasion of privacy notwithstanding, while also in defiance of previous court decisions declaring such practices unconstitutional.

The war on Medicinal Cannabis patients continue unabated, with absolutely brutal measures such as denial of housing subsidies and outright dismissals (as in the case of Walmart vs. Joseph Casias, a cancer patient and employee of the year, fired for testing “positive” for his medication – the Medicinal Cannabis. Children are encouraged to “rat” on their patents for growing Cannabis, a situation altogether close to what the “Hitler Youth” did in Nazi Germany. And what about political prisoners held in American prisons for their Cannabis Freedom activism – people like Marc Emery, Chris Bartkowicz and Roger Christie? We can can continue on and on with the cases of anti-Cannabis/Medicinal Cannabis brutality, but we also have to cover at least some of the factors that make it possible for this whole outrage to exist.

First of all, let’s meet some of Cannabis Freedom opponents, the unsavory lobbyists for alcohol and tobacco industries, the Big Pharma, the “hate groups” such as “Heritage Foundation” and “Family Research Council”, as well as, of course, the monstrous entity already described in my other blogs – the “Prison-Industrial Complex”. Without the staunch support by these individuals and entities it would be very difficult for the DEA to maintain the level of repression that it is currently able to maintain. It should be clear to everyone that money and profits motivate the alcohol and tobacco lobbies, for these people know well the so-called “gateway drug theory” for the scientific garbage that it is, and they realize that if more people choose a much safer way to relax with Cannabis, rather than with alcohol, the huge profits of the industry may take a serious “hit”. The same goes for Big Pharma, as Medicinal Cannabis can and will eventually serve as a safe, effective and inexpensive alternative to many of pharmaceutical chemicals currently on the market. Dr. Lester Grinspoon, Professor-Emeritus of Psychiatry of the Harvard Medical School, said it best:

“Cannabis will one day be seen as a wonder drug, as was penicillin in the 1940s. Like penicillin, herbal marijuana is remarkably nontoxic, has a wide range of therapeutic applications and would be quite inexpensive if it were legal”.

A big difference from the racist ramblings of the first Cannabis prohibitionist, Harry Anslinger”, and paranoid and anti-scientific declarations of his admirer, President Richard Nixon. Then we have the “hate groups”. Their numbers are said to be increasing, something that does not surprise me especially, considering the contentiousness and violent tendencies underlying this society, something that will have to be addressed sooner or later.

It is noteworthy that the “hate groups” don’t just oppose the Cannabis Freedom, they oppose everything progressive, everything that may promote human liberty and understanding. They oppose Gay Rights, reproductive freedom, stem-cell research, safe sex education, you name it! Of course, Cannabis/Medicinal Cannabis Freedom is no exception, and I believe that very few people would expect it to be. But what about the rest of the population? Why more people are not “rising up” (or speaking out) against these enemies of Liberty? How could they be allowed to go as far in their despotism as to even turn into “nothingness” the basic tenet of this democracy – the Presumption of Liberty, that the Shafer Commission pointed to even back in 1972? How can even now, for example, a bunch of rogue “politicos” in Montana abolish the Medicinal Cannabis Law, duly voted for and supported by absolute majority of the population? Why in these hard economic times, our so-called “representatives” would be willing to enact massive cuts in many essential programs, but no one “dares” to speak about cutting the over-bloated DEA “marijuana enforcement” budget, or the budget of its “clients”, the Prison-Industrial Complex”?

Well, now is the time to turn to what I called earlier the cornerstone of the DEA system of repression, the so-called “random drug tests”. This system is actually so ingenious that even the KGB itself would probably “admire” it. Aren’t we surprised that in poll after poll absolute majority of Americans voice their support for marijuana decriminalization and for Medicinal Cannabis Legalization, and yet these issues are not advancing nearly fast enough? Some people would probably say, Well, Dr. “K”, aren’t you exaggerating a bit? If, according to you, most people support these Initiatives, why aren’t they speak up? Why don’t they try to advance the causes they believe in so much, and openly demand the change of brutal and outdated anti-Cannabis “laws”, the end to DEA absolute dominance, and the end to the whole failed “drug war”, for that matter? The answer is FEAR! Fear is the all-time favorite weapon of all the tyrants in history, applicable to impose their will in so many different diverse situations. You see, it is one thing to answer to an anonymous “poll”, but it is quite another matter to come out openly, and to declare the opposition to the DEA and its minions publicly.

What if a person who decides to do that occasionally indulges in the safe relaxation with Cannabis in the privacy of his own home? Well, the DEA and its allies want to make sure that such privacy does not exist. Because an open protest may easily lead to a “random drug test”, and if it comes out to be positive, a person’s life is severely damaged, if not destroyed, on so many levels. And, of course, any marijuana arrest will have a ruinous effect on a person’s life, even according to well-known Christian Conservative Pat Robertson and the former US Surgeon-General Joycelin Elders. Even the politicians are not “immune” to the fear-tactics and blackmail by the DEA and its allies. The DEA is good with attaching “labels”, and few politicians will risk being labeled as “soft on drugs”, be it for the support of Medicinal Cannabis or Cannabis Legalization in general. What this all means, is that we need to extend our education to employers as well.

This is where we can demonstrate that the random “drug screens” the way they are done now, are completely counterproductive. Because of a “safety mechanism” built in the Cannabis plant (addressed in other articles), Cannabis metabolites leave the system slowly, making their “detection” possible for a long time, as opposed to alcohol, cocaine, opiates, many tranquilizers, or methamphetamine. So people, including the young people, indulge in alcohol, hard drug, and prescription drug abuse often because these substances are much less likely to be detected, especially if a “binge” happens on Friday night, for example. This is exactly why Cannabis prohibition goes far beyond simple “denial of good”, but instead fosters the evil that is not known or understood by many people. Let’s not forget for a moment that Cannabis use suppresses violent urges and behaviors, which alcohol (and cocaine), on the other hand, effectively promote.

In this highly stressful society people do look for ways to relax and “unwind” from all the trials and tribulations they have to go through all the time. Alcohol, hard drugs, or dangerous, physically addictive prescription drugs are hardly suitable for this purpose, and the DEA Utopia of a drug-free society is unrealistic and deceptive. The substances (including alcohol and prescription drugs, and even something as simple as sugar)surround us on all sides, and the safe substance use will eventually have to be taught, just like the safe sex in the past, especially when the “powers that be” recognized that abstinence is not really a viable option.

Even though there is no way out of presenting this rather bleak picture of the DEA repression, its dominance will come to a crushing end. This is, as I already pointed out in other articles, simply philosophically inevitable. The reason is that ALL the DEA scare tactics are based on “unreality” Cannabis is not physically addictive, the so-called “gateway drug” theory is invalid, there is no “teenage drug use” has not increased in any country (or State) that decriminalized Cannabis, and the much touted drug Marinol is not at all the same as Medicinal Cannabis. To deny the remarkable medicinal properties of the Cannabis Plant is not a “rational” thing to do altogether. History and philosophy prove that when a public policy, (and I mean any public policy), is based on a total “unreality”, such policy will collapse miserably, with the people of the future incredulous as to how it survived for as long as it did!

So, what are we to do in the face of a continuing and intensifying Anti-Cannabis repression by the DEA and its allies? Is their a solution that we can pursue? Yes, there is, but any solution will require the overcoming of “consciousness of fear”! Also, it is crucial that we register to vote and actually vote on election days. I agree with Bill Maher that it is disgraceful that only 11% of 18- to 29-year-olds actually voted in the last election! Well, youngsters, do not count on our generation to legalize Cannabis for you, as most of the “baby boomers” are too brainwashed by decades of misinformation to make themselves into an effective force for this kind of change! Make sure you vote, and make sure you target any politician ranting or acting against the Cannabis Freedom for a certain defeat! The voting booth is one of the few places where people may feel reasonably safe against the DEA reprisals. Another thing that is mandatory if we want the Cannabis Freedom to prevail is to comment at the news articles that come every day on the Internet. Yes, this will entail personal “exposure”, but this is one thing that may greatly influence both editorial attitudes and public opinion. Also, if tens of thousands of people suddenly start to comment, the repressive apparatus at our enemies’ disposal will be simply overwhelmed. Make sure also that you talk with your friends, parents, grandparents, and even teachers about Cannabis and stand up to the deception and disinformation surrounding this issue.

To win the Cannabis freedom will require determination, courage, and a concerted effort of tens of thousands of people, but when the prohibition finally falls, and its perpetrators are exposed for what they are, and for the crimes against humanity that their actions caused, the reward, both physical and spiritual, will be “sweet” and long-lasting!

February 20, 2011

According to great German “pessimistic” philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, “All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident“. Even though Schopenhauer spoke in general, about any truth, this quote applies to Cannabis Liberation Movement as if it had been specifically “coined” for it. Right now, as it appears, Cannabis activists are in the second stage of their “truth”’s journey through the “stages” on its path to eventual and inevitable acceptance, even though the “opponents” are not relaxing their viciousness even with regards to compassionate use of Medicinal Cannabis, and continue to oppose is on many fronts and on many levels, using intimidation and blackmail of politicians (among other maneuvering) to advance their evil agenda.

A few people have asked me about what they personally can do to bring about the defeat of Cannabis prohibition. This is what I will try to address in this blog, but for right now let me just say that we, all of us, need to revive the old slogan of the Musketeers, “ONE FOR ALL, AND ALL FOR ONE”! The reason we need to mobilize and organize into a strong and coherent force for change is that we have powerful adversaries, who indiscriminately use fear to thwart progress, and the fear-tactics that these opponents of freedom use are really not new or “original”. “A Course in Miracles” says it well:

“And fear, with ashen lips, blinded and terrible to look upon, is lifted to the throne of love, its dying conqueror, its substitute, the “savior” from salvation”.

Let us go over some of the prohibitionists’ fear tactics, so that we have a more coherent picture of what we are facing, and then we can look at how these “scare-tactics” are maintained, how they can be debunked, and what is the role of each and every one of us individually in achieving this goal.

A favorite prohibitionist scare-tactic has been that Cannabis is “addictive”. Yet, Cannabis use does not lead to a formation of what is known as “physical withdrawal syndrome”, the physical dependence that develops to alcohol, nicotine, and many of the prescription drugs on the market. Having some “flu-like symptoms” for a couple of days after heavy and prolonged Cannabis use hardly qualifies as “addiction”, and it is not even close to what we call “physical addiction”. Let’s talk for a moment about methadone maintenance therapy for opiate addicts. We cannot place anyone on methadone, no matter how bad he or she “feels”, or how much opiates he/she reports to have been using. The rules (both State and Federal) are very specific. We must document the presence of an objective “physical withdrawal syndrome” in order to establish a diagnosis of “physical dependence”, and for opiates this would include needle tracks, goose-flesh, rapid heard beat, increased bowel sounds, diarrhea, signs of infection (including fever) from using dirty “equipment”, and some others. Most people have heard of a terrible physical withdrawal of alcohol, including seizures and DT’s, or of a strong physical addiction to nicotine, making it so much difficult to quit smoking. It is fairly clear that Cannabis use does not lead to a formation of physical dependence, as its use is not accompanied by the “physical withdrawal syndrome”.

Another favorite scare-tactic is that Cannabis is a “gateway drug” leading to the use of other, much more dangerous substances, such as heroin and cocaine. I am not going to spend much time on this “theory” as it has already been thoroughly debunked and even declared “half-baked” by a recent large study. Suffice it to say is that to say that Cannabis “leads” to other drug use is the same as to say that drinking coffee leads to alcoholism, or that using alcohol “leads” to LSD, for example. The “gateway drug” theory is completely invalid, it is a non-existing entity, and yet many politicians still act as if it were “universally accepted”, and even make important public policy decisions based upon this non-existent entity, In fact, the recent research is showing that Cannabis may potentially serve as an “exit substance” for recovering alcoholics, hard drug, and prescription drug addicts, because rather than leaving these people “in the cold” for the sake of “total abstinence”, Cannabis use may help alleviate some accompanying emotional problems, such as anxiety, insomnia, depression, and mood swings that contribute to a relapse to alcohol/hard drug use in so many cases.

I gather it was a big “disappointment” for the prohibitionist camp when another recent large study determined that there is no connection between smoking Cannabis and lung cancer. Not only there is no such connection, but Cannabis has been recently demonstrated to have a wide-ranging anti-cancer activity with many potential applications. One of the biggest scare-tactics that the prohibitionist utilize is what they perceive as a potential increase of “teenage use” of Cannabis if it is legalized. First of all, in country after country where the Cannabis decriminalization has taken place, this particular effect is no observed. Portugal would be the case in point where the overall substance use (and criminality) were decreased by as much as 10% as a direct result of decriminalization of a personal possession of “substances”, including, of course, Cannabis.

I have stressed repeatedly that I am not in favor of any teenage substance use (except for medical reasons), but it is the nature of young people of this age to “experiment”, and it would be much safer in all respects if they “experiment” with Cannabis, rather than with alcohol, cocaine, amphetamines or “Oxycontins”. What I am trying to say is that when we talk about the “gateway drug” theory, the exact opposite of it is actually true, as the recent Federal study itself concluded when it was determined in December 2010 that, even though the Cannabis use among teenagers is slightly up, the much more dangerous “indulgences” such as tobacco smoking and, (especially), binge drinking are significantly down. Now, how would that possibly “fit” into the so-called “gateway drug” theory?

The DEA and its prohibitionist allies designate Cannabis Plant as having “no accepted medical use”. This ignorance and arrogance do not stop to amaze me. For thousands of years Cannabis plant has been used as medicine in multiple cultures, and it never even occurred to anyone to suggest that it is “not medicine”. How can the DEA possibly feel “entitled” to contradict the testimonies of thousands of people and to say in effect that all those patients are lying simply in order to obtain a “dangerous drug” and to “get high”. Bit, just all other “dogmas” in history collapsed when it became obvious that they were not based on “reality”, the DEA dogma will inevitably collapse as well, or a good portion of philosophy on these issues should be abandoned; but really, I don’t think that the DEA should delude itself more than it already does, and harbor any such unrealistic hopes.

There is one more point to be made here. The DEA constantly brings up that Cannabis is “illegal” on the Federal Level, no matter what the States do, and this is a perfectly “circular” argument, because first, the DEA is the very one who imposes this “illegality”, and second, the “illegality” is a human concept, it is not immutable like the “law of gravity”, for example. Well, let’s go now to what each and every one of us can do to bring about the eventual defeat of Cannabis prohibition. As I mentioned earlier, we need to adopt “One for all, and all for one” Musketeer attitude all over again. The only way to win (any) Civil Rights struggle is to overcome the “consciousness of fear”.

Now, isn’t it surprising that during the “anonymous” polls, a decisive majority of the voting public speak in favor of decriminalization of Cannabis. But yet, not nearly as many people are willing to write comments to the relevant articles, as they appear on line, or to sign petitions, or to write to politicians, or to raise these issues during “town hall” meetings, etc. Why is that? The consciousness of fear! It is one thing to answer an anonymous poll, but it is quite another thing to “come out of the closet” as a Cannabis Freedom activist, and for many people this would require a certain courage. The only possible way out of this dilemma is numbers. Yes, numbers of people who chose to overcome the consciousness of fear in Eastern Europe more than 20 years ago, in Tahrir Square only days ago, and in Cannabis Liberation that is still to come full-force.

But what if, you ask me, the DEA and its allies continue to disregard “reason”, proceed with its repressive tactics, and even decides to “crush” the upsurge in “free thinking” about Cannabis by intensifying its “witch-hunts”. Is that possible? Yes, of course, it is possible, but it will never succeed in the long run. To increase the repression as a response to a Liberation Movement has occurred to many despots in history, and it always failed. Let’s see what will happen of the anti-Cannabis repression becomes even more severe: the alcohol, hard drug use, prescription drug use and violence will all increase. Is our society ready for such an eventuality just to protect the DEA “dogmas”? I don’t think so.

In this regard, and at the risk of being somewhat repetitive, I emphasize again and again a proven fact that Cannabis use (as opposed to alcohol use) suppresses violent urges and behaviors. This is extremely important in our violence and discord-prone society. Every American housewife asked to vote on Cannabis Legalization, will have to ask herself a simple question, Am I safe around Cannabis users? If we are to prevail, the answer to this question should be an unequivocal “YES”! “One for all and all for one” also implies the necessity of a massive public outcry when any one of use gets arrested. We should protest in Pennsylvania when Roger Christie is a Cannabis political prisoner in Hawaii, we should write to editors and make our voices heard in Illinois when people like Marc Emery, Chris Bartkowicz, Rev. Eddy Lepp and other Cannabis martyrs are deprived of their freedom by the despots operating under a “color” of State and Federal authority.

When we respond in numbers, in such a way that if any of us gets arrested, all of us, in a sense, get arrested, we will “overwhelm” the prohibitionists’ apparatus of repression, and this is the only way to win this struggle. Even right now, during the budget debate, why aren’t politicians talking about slashing the DEA’s so-called “marijuana enforcement” budget when over 50% of the population want the Plant decriminalized (if not legalized) altogether? The challenges that we, as Cannabis Freedom activists face are enormous. Even the ancient Gnostics knew only too well that the hardest fight is a fight against ignorance, but it just does have to be fought. To defeat the prohibitionist ignorance, we will all need to act together, stand up for one another, even face danger on occasion, because the enemy will not give up its “dogmas” easily. What we need to see also is the Medicinal Cannabis patients come out of their solitary “closets” and giving a strong voice to remarkable medicinal properties of the Plant; what we need to see is people speaking the Truth about Cannabis to their friends and relatives, and doing it everywhere, on a massive scale. Our common consciousness is a curious thing, it has the ability (nay, the evolutionary necessity) to progress towards freedom; President Obama was absolutely right when he remarked upon the Revolution in Egypt that the “human soul has freedom as its most important aspiration”. True that, Mr. President, as well as the fact that no amount of repression has ever been able to stifle this deep-seated “consciousness of freedom” as an integral and inextinguishable attribute of the human soul and of the human existence!