Marijuana users okay for FBI, not for college

Ever used marijuana? If you recently graduated from high school, chances are you have. Oddly enough, the federal government denies college financial aid to students with drug convictions, but is now permitting marijuana users to join the FBI:

WASHINGTON — Aspiring FBI agents who once dabbled in marijuana use won't be barred from getting a job with the elite crime-fighting agency, which has loosened its drug policy amid a campaign to hire hundreds of agents.

The bureau's pot-smoking standard, in place for at least 13 years, was revised after internal debate about whether the policy was eliminating prospects because of drug experimentation, said Jeff Berkin, deputy director of the FBI's Security Division. The policy disqualified candidates if they had used marijuana more than 15 times.

[...]

Berkin said the previous policy was based on a scoring system that had become "arbitrary." He also said it created problems for applicants who couldn't remember how many times they had smoked pot when asked in polygraph examinations.

"It encourages honesty and allows us to look at the whole person," Berkin said of the revised policy.

Makes sense to me. Perhaps we can get the FBI to sign on as a member of the Coalition for Higher Education Act Reform.

New ONDCP Ad Will Blow Your Mind!

Since the ONDCP's anti-marijuana ads consistently go from dumb to dumber, they may as well just save tax dollars and air the ones they find after a YouTube search for marijuana commercial parody.

Feds Take Away Children of CA Dispensary Owner

A few years ago this story probably would have astonished me, but today, I'm used to hearing how the federal government will enforce laws to the extreme just because they can. Ronald Bradley Naulls is the owner of Healing Nations Collective in Corona California and at age 26 could be sentenced to 20 years in prison for distributing medical marijuana. Not only was Naulls arrested but so was his wife on suspicion of child endangerment and their 3 children have been taken away to child protective services.

Naulls put it perfectly saying that he is "caught in a fight between the state and federal government." Naulls has pleaded not guilty to charges of drug trafficking. He and his family are merely a casualty of the drug war and the stubbornness of the federal government. It should be so easy to see that this man was helping to bring relief to over 5,000 patients and his actions harmed no one. Now his family is being pointlessly separated and he could spend the next 20 years of his life behind bars, with our tax dollars paying for it.

Related news: The Los Angeles City Council approved plans Wednesday to limit new medical marijuana dispensaries, regulate existing ones and urge a moratorium on recent clinic raids by federal agents!

BREAKING: SSDP better than Congress at sports

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 2, 2007

Drug War Foes are Kings of Capitol Hill Softball League

“One Hitters” Dispel Stoner Stereotypes By Earning League’s #1 Spot

WASHINGTON, DC – The One Hitters, a softball team sponsored by Students for Sensible Drug Policy and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, took over the #1 ranking in the Congressional Softball League last night. The team’s 13-3 record has vaulted them to the top of the league, which is made up of Congressional offices, lobbying and consulting firms, non-profit organizations, and local businesses.

Team leaders are especially proud of the ranking, which contradicts negative stereotypes of drug policy reformers as unmotivated “stoners.” “The drug policy reform community is made up of dedicated, hardworking people who take the issues of drug abuse and drug prohibition very seriously,” said One Hitters captain and SSDP Executive Director Kris Krane. “We take pride in fielding a fun but competitive team that dispels myths and stereotypes about people who care about ending the so called ‘War on Drugs.’”
The One Hitters have competed in the league for five years. Two years ago they made national headlines when the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy refused to play a game due to ideological reasons. “Everyone knows that ONDCP backed out because they were scared of losing to us on the field, much the same way they are afraid to debate us because their policies fail in the court of public opinion,” said center fielder David Guard, who is associate director of the Drug Reform Coordination Network. “We have an open challenge to the Drug Czar to play or debate anytime, anywhere.”

Other teams in the league include the Republican and Democratic National Committees (RNC & DNC Softball), Arizona Senators McCain and Kyl (No Talent AZ Clowns), the Department of Justice (Vote for Pedro), US Customs & Border Protection (Border Liners), Representatives Cummings and Sarbanes (Baltimore Oracles), Bloomberg News (Bloomberg Bombers), Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (Team PhRMA), and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (Outfielders).

*** The One Hitters' next game is against the No Talent AZ Clowns on Tuesday, August 7 at 6:30PM on 23rd and Constitution. ***

The One Hitters are a team in the Congressional Softball League sponsored by Students for Sensible Drug Policy and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, with players representing a variety of drug policy organizations including the Marijuana Policy Project, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, and the Interfaith Drug Policy Initiative.

# # #

Update: The One Hitters are now offering a line of One Hitters apparel!

Do as We Say, Not as We Do!

While I do not support the random drug testing of anybody in the good ol' US of A, I have to say I liked the proposal made by a Camden County Commissioner asking that all board members take drug tests. The reason behind Commissioner Mike Andrews' motion is that if the board wants students to submit to random testing, they should be willing to do so as well.

"We as elected officials are depended upon by the citizens of our county to be leaders and also to set good examples for the children," he said. "I make a motion that from now on all members of this board, as a show of good faith and leadership, submit to random drug and alcohol testing and that these tests ... be carried out by an agency outside of the county to prevent and appearance of improperness, such as the State Bureau of Investigation."

It's not surprising that the board members voted his proposal down 3-1. Why should they have to suffer the embarrassment of pissing in a cup while someone listens intently to every squirt and drop? Why should they have to be punished for testing positive for marijuana or other drug use? After all, clearly it is they're job to create these rules, not to abide by them. I think this shows just how backwards and hypocritical student testing really is.

Supplementing Stephen

Last night's Colbert Report... I am so jealous.

Well played, Aaron Houston. A courageous display of poise in the face of insurmountable, or at least yummy looking, Doritos.

Here is the article that launched Stephen's (that's Mr. Colbert to you) segment about hemp. To summarize, a flamboyantly conservative Republican who emphasizes just how shady he's not wants to legalize industrial hemp.

Here is an article that addresses the differences between marijuana and hemp, which I pulled off NORML's Industrial Use page.

And here, finally, is the Marijuana Policy Project, which Aaron represented so coolly. Don't stop at the home page - check out the action center to support medical marijuana, push for marijuana taxation and regulation, and cut off funding for our ONDCP buddies.

There. I did my homework. I wasn't just squealing about one of the three celebrities I go gaga over. (The others are Jon Stewart and Neil Gaiman. The latter writes books. Oh and then there's Rosario Dawson, she's hot. Anyway.)

Attention heroes

I've emerged from my Potter fan stupor enough to notice that Aaron Houston, lobbyist for the Marijuana Policy Project, will appear on Comedy Central's "Colbert Report" tonight (11:30 p.m. EST).

In fact, who am I kidding? "Noticed." I'm just going to go ahead and paste Micah's message here:

Aaron is a long-time friend and adviser to SSDP's national staff. He has a great sense of humor and is always on message, so I'm optimistic that he'll be able to handle Colbert with poise (as few can). I hope you'll be able to tune in. If you miss it tonight, ComedyCentral posts videos of the show the day after it airs.

Thanks, Micah.

We'll see if he can indeed "handle Colbert with poise", or if he'll get totally slammed by all the oh-so-witty marijuana puns and insinuations that he's high.

P.S. Stephen I have a mite of a crush on you. I know that lots of women (and men) find your manly patriotic aura of sexy truthiness totally irresistible, so this doesn't exactly stand out, but I thought I'd send my humble love over the blogosphere anyway. You slam that ganja-guzzling flower child.

p.p.s. Drug policy reform movement, forget I said that. We say crazy things when we're in crush.

Throwing rocks into the political pond

Someone please remind me why he's considered the "crazy" presidential candidate...


Oh yeah...


;-)

Teachers for sensible drug policy...

This is in no way nearly as important as getting John Walters to resign for illegally supporting 2006 Republican campaigns on taxpayer money (see these three posts). So I humbly request that you kindly take action on that issue before guffawing and/or muttering WTF at the picture below, which my good friend Nicholas Bishop provided as an illustration for this piece of sixth-grader devised silliness:

Love and peace indeed. Nice pin, Professor. Even if he does turn out evil, and even if no one else on this blog likes Harry Potter, at least he supports SSDP. (Did you take action yet?)

If John Walters were personally responsible for releasing HP spoilers, we could really get his goat. But I daresay that his corrupt actions and ideological campaigns that defy all sense of reason and compassion ought to rile up the public just as much, if not possibly more, than spoilers... even considering that it is the last book.

This is what illegal campaigning looks like...

"Drug Czar" John P. Walters with Representative Deborah Pryce in Columbus, Ohio, one of the "god awful places" Walters traveled to in order to illegally campaign for Republican members of Congress last year.

Tell Walters to resign.