You might have questions or wonder what the deal is with that plant that everyone keeps talking about. Cannabis, marijuana, weed, reefer…watch this full, 7-part video series for a rundown on the state of marijuana in our world today. Start with Part 1 here:
The rest of the videos (all 7 parts) can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/user/YTdocs
MADISON: Ed Thompson was awarded the first-ever Ben Masel ‘Defender of Liberty’ award by the Wisconsin and Madison chapters of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) at ‘A Cannabis Fair’ in Kendall Wisconsin on Saturday. Dozens of attendees watched as the award was presented by Wisconsin NORML vice president Gary Storck, and Ed spoke for several minutes after accepting it. Jacki Rickert also spoke about her friendship with Ed.
Thompson, a former Tomah Mayor, was the 2002 Libertarian candidate for Wisconsin governor and received over 10% of the vote on a platform that included protecting patients who use medical cannabis. Jacki Rickert, namesake of Wisconsin medical cannabis legislation – The Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act” — served as Thompson’s Buffalo County campaign chair.
Ed Thompson has been battling pancreatic cancer since his diagnosis in 2010 while campaigning against State Sen. Kathleen Vinehout (D-Alma) as a pro-medical cannabis Republican. He still nearly prevailed despite having to curtail campaigning due to his treatments. He is the brother of former Wisconsin Governor and US Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson.
Thompson also served with award namesake Ben Masel when Masel was active in the Libertarian Party. Ed’s supper club in Tomah, the Tee Pee, has hosted several Wisconsin NORML state meetings including one in 2010 where Tommy Thompson dropped in to say hello to Ben Masel.
MADISON: Medical cannabis supporters will gather next Tuesday at the King St. corner of the State Capitol to remember victims of medical marijuana prohibition. This year will mark the third year for the vigil, which runs from 4-6pm. The vigil will feature tributes to patients who fell victim to medical cannabis prohibition as well as Madison guitarist Mark Shanahan. Shanahan will begin the event by performing the Wisconsin medical cannabis anthem, “Legal Medicine Blues” at 4pm.
The vigil is again being organized by the medical cannabis advocacy group Is My Medicine Legal YET?, along with the Madison and Wisconsin chapters of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and JRMMA.org.
The list of names of those who passed away without legal access to medical cannabis read at the vigil grows each year. Last year the passing of Madison medical cannabis patient activist Mary Powers still hung heavy on friends at the event. This year, attendees will be remembering longtime Madison activist Ben Masel, who died April 30 after being diagnosed with cancer earlier this year. At the conclusion of the vigil at 6pm, attendees will parade around the Capitol in support of medical cannabis in Wisconsin.
in a letter from Paul Ryan to one of his constituents:
Thank you for contacting me to express your support for H.R. 1983, H.R. 1984, and H.R. 1985, regarding the legalization of marijuana. I appreciate you taking the time to let me know your views on this important issue.
As you may know, on May 25, 2011, Representative Barney Frank introduced H.R. 1983 which would allow for the rescheduling of marijuana and would allow medical marijuana to be used in accordance with the laws of the various states. This bill was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on May 25, 2011, where it is currently pending.
Representative Jared Polis introduced H.R. 1984 on May 25, 2011. This bill would allow states to certify a business as legitimate for purposes of a financial institution’s suspicious activity reporting requirements. It also would facilitate unambiguous compliance of such businesses with state law and provide regulatory relief for financial institutions. H.R. 1984 was referred to the House Financial Services Committee on May 25, 2011. It is currently pending in this committee.
H.R. 1985 was introduced by Representative Fortney Pete Stark on May 25, 2011. This bill would allow a deduction for expenses in connection with the trade or business of selling medical marijuana pursuant to state law. It was referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means on May 25, 2011, where it is currently pending.
Please be assured that I will continue to follow these pieces of legislation carefully. Should these bills be brought up for a vote on the House floor, I will be sure to keep your thoughts in mind.
While many have expressed their belief that legalizing marijuana could solve some of the problems facing America today, I do not believe that our nation would be best served by eliminating the penalties for marijuana usage. Marijuana leads to many of the problems that affect our nation—from uncertain futures due to low school achievements by students with drug habits to drug trade money funding terrorist activities.
Furthermore, marijuana impairs an individual’s ability to function. With more than a million drunk-driving cases a year and nearly 10 percent of the adult population heavily involved with alcohol, the availability of more mind-altering substances could become a harmful policy. Private intoxication hurts the individual, but public intoxication has the potential to hurt innocent victims. Policy makers should advocate policies that support a healthy, productive and safe society.
In the meantime, if you wish to share additional information with me concerning this issue, please feel free to contact me by calling, emailing, writing, or faxing me. Please be advised that mail sent to my Washington office is subject to an additional two-week delay due to increased mail security.
Thank you again for contacting me on this issue. If I can be of further assistance to you regarding this or any other matter, please do not hesitate to contact me. I am always happy to respond and be of service to you.
Sincerely,
Paul Ryan
Serving Wisconsin’s 1st District
Clearly, if Mr. Ryan took the time to be educated on the subject, he’d find very quickly (just by Googling “marijuana toxicity”) that cannabis (aka marijuana) is in fact non-toxic. It’s even less toxic than water.
In fact, according to former DEA Judge Francis Young, “Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within a supervised routine of medical care.”
That’s all Wisconsinites ask for. A little bit of medical care. It costs the state nothing and would make the state (and the rest of the nation) a windfall. Not to mention the thousands of jobs that would be created overnight. After all, isn’t that the reason Governor Walker was put into office in the first place? To create jobs? Things sure are pretty quiet on capitol hill as far as people’s health and job security are concerned.
