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The 2012 Republican Candidates on Marijuana | Marihuana | Cannabis | Hemp

Webmaster — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:44:20 +0000

As we approach the middle of January, Election 2012 is in full swing. Fresh off of the Iowa Caucuses, the six remaining Republican candidates move on to New Hampshire for their January 10th primary. As a non-profit organization, we are not permitted to endorse candidates for public office, but we hope this guide helps inform you of the marijuana policy positions of the various candidates.

(Note: I am not endorsing any of the candidates listed below and this is intended only as an educational overview of the candidates positions on marijuana policy.)

Republican Presidential Candidates 2012

Mitt Romney

Governor of Massachusetts (2003-2007)

Public Statements:

“People talk about medicinal marijuana, and, you know, you hear that story: People who are sick need medicinal marijuana. But marijuana is the entry drug for people trying to get kids hooked on drugs. I don’t want medicinal marijuana. There are synthetic forms of marijuana that are available for people who need it for prescription. Don’t open the doorway to medicinal marijuana.”

(“Ask Mitt Anything” Event in Bedford, NH 2007 – source)

“We’ve got to not only continue our war on drugs from a police standpoint but also to market again to our young people about the perils of drugs.”

(New Hampshire Voter Event, August 17, 2011 – source)

“I believe marijuana should be illegal in this country. It is the pathway to drug usage by our society, which has made great scourges; it is one of the great causes of crime in our cities. I believe if we are at a state were, of course we are very concerned about people who are suffering in pain, and there are various means of providing pain management. And those who have had loved ones that have gone through an end of life with cancer know nature of real pain. I watched my wife’s mom and dad going through cancer treatments suffering a great deal of pain, but they didn’t have marijuana, and they didn’t need marijuana. Because there were other sources of pain management that worked as effectively.”

(Oct. 4 2007 at St. Anselm’s College, Manchester, NH – source)

“But having legalized [medical] marijuana is, in my view, an effort by a very committed few to try to get marijuana out in the public and ultimately legalize marijuana. They have a long way to go. We need less drugs in this society, not more drugs. I would oppose the legalization of marijuana in the country or legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes because pain management is available from other sources.”

(Oct. 4 2007 at St. Anselm’s College, Manchester, NH – source)

Prior Activity: None

Ron Paul

House of Representatives for Texas’ 22nd (1976-1977, 1979-1985, 1997-Present)

Public Statements:

“This war on drugs has been a detriment to personal liberty and it’s been a real abuse of liberty, Our prisons are full with people who have used drugs who should be treated as patients — and they’re non-violent. Someday we’re gonna awake and find out that the prohibition we are following right now with drugs is no more successful, maybe a lot less successful, than the prohibition of alcohol was in the ’20s.”

(Comments Post-Iowa Caucus, 01/04/12 – source)

“Well, removing [marijuana] from the jurisdiction of the federal government and allowing the states to regulate it, like they would alcohol. And this seems to be strange for a lot of people, but I’m only going back to 1937 when that’s the way it was handled. The states always did this, and I’m motivated strongly also because the states legalize it for the use of medicinal purposes and it is helpful to people who have cancer or are getting chemotherapy. So this is not a huge radical idea, it’s something that was legal for a long, long time. And the war against marijuana causes so much hardship and accomplishes nothing. So I would say that marijuana, as far as causing highway problems, is miniscule compared to alcohol, and yet we knew prohibition of alcohol was very bad. So this is just getting back to a sensible position on how we handle difficult problems. And, for me, it should be the states.”

(Kudlow Report, June 23, 2011 - source)

“The role of the federal government is to protect our liberties. That means they should protect our religious liberties to do what we want; our intellectual liberty, but it also should protect our right to do to our body what we want, you know, what we take into our bodies.”

(Jay Leno Show, Dec. 2011 – source)

Prior Activity:

Co-sponsored HR 2306: Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011

Sponsored HR 1831: Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2011

Rick Santorum

House of Representatives for Pennsylvania’s 18th District (1991-1995)

US Senator from Pennsylvania (1995-2007)

Public Statements:

“There is a difference between legitimate issues of character — someone’s behavior — and the issue of whether someone who has done something wrong in their life, now because of those mistakes, can’t talk about what is the right thing to do. Politicians who have stumbled personally, are capable of making values-based arguments. I don’t think that’s hypocritical. That’s a dangerous line that many folks tend to cross over — that because you made a mistake, you can’t talk about this or that issue. We all make mistakes.

For example, I smoked pot when I was in college. Does that mean that I can’t talk about drug use? Does that mean that I can’t talk about how that’s a bad thing? Of course not. You learn from those experiences.

Even during that time, I knew that what I was doing was wrong. But just because I failed, that does not mean that I shouldn’t be able to talk about it. That’s a different issue. It’s not hypocrisy, as long as you don’t say, ‘I thought it was right, and now think it was wrong.’ If you knew what was going on, and most people do, you have moments of weakness. It happens to all of us. But that should not deter people from talking about what they believe is right.”

(National Review, March 2011 – sourc e)

“Well, yeah, I admitted you know, back when I was running for the Senate, that when I was in college that I smoked pot and that was something that I did when I was in college. It was something that I’m not proud of, but I did. And said it was something that I wish I hadn’t done. But I did and I admitted it. I would encourage people not to do so. It was not all it’s made up to be.”
(Piers Morgan Tonight, August 31^st, 2011 – source)

“I would think that [legalizing marijuana] would be an activity that is not consistent with American values.”
(Ames Straw Poll, September 2011 – source)

“I am adamantly opposed to the legalization of marijuana and other illegal narcotics I believe that this would lead to increased drug usage, especially among young people. While it is true that many Americans blatantly defy federal laws against the trafficking, sale, and use of illegal drugs, I believe a greater number of people are deterred from illegal drug use by the threat of arrest and prosecution.”

(1998 Constituent Letter Supplied to NORML – source)

“I believe that the drugs which are currently illegal should remain illegal. I am committed to maintaining the federal government’s role in the “war on drugs”, which is fought on many fronts by federal agents, local law enforcement, substance abuse counselors, teachers, parents, and concerned citizens.”

(1998 Constituent Letter Supplied to NORML – source)

Prior Activity:

Voted ‘Yes’ on HR 3540 in 1996 to add an additional $53 million (raising the total to $213 million) to international narcotics control funding, and pay for it by taking $25 million from international operations funding and $28 million from development assistance.

Newt Gingrich

House of Representatives for Georgia’s 5th District (1979-1999)

House Minority Whip (1989-1995)

Speaker of the House (1995-1999)

Public Statements:

“I think Jefferson or George Washington would have rather strongly discouraged you from growing marijuana and their techniques with dealing with it would have been rather more violent than our current government.”

(New Hampshire Voter Event, January 2012 – source)

“I would continue current federal policy, largely because of the confusing signal that steps towards legalization sends to harder drugs…I think the California experience is that medical marijuana becomes a joke. It becomes marijuana for any use. You find local doctors who will prescribe it for anybody that walks in.”

(Yahoo! News Interview, November 28th, 2011 – source)

“I don’t have a comprehensive view. My general belief is that we ought to be much more aggressive about drug policy. And that we should recognize that the Mexican cartels are funded by Americans. In my mind it means having steeper economic penalties and it means having a willingness to do more drug testing.”

(Yahoo! News Interview, November 28th, 2011 - source)

“I think that we need to consider taking more explicit steps to make it expensive to be a drug user. It could be through testing before you get any kind of federal aid. Unemployment compensation, food stamps, you name it.

It has always struck me that if you’re serious about trying to stop drug use, then you need to find a way to have a fairly easy approach to it and you need to find a way to be pretty aggressive about insisting–I don’t think actually locking up users is a very good thing. I think finding ways to sanction them and to give them medical help and to get them to detox is a more logical long-term policy.”

(Yahoo! News Interview, November 28th, 2011 - source)

Prior Activity:

Introduced and Sponsored the Drug Importer Death Penalty Act of 1996

Rick Perry

House of Representatives from Texas’ 64th District (1985-1991)

Lt. Governor of Texas (1999-2001)

Governor of Texas (2000-Present)

Public Statements:

“Crucial to understanding federalism in modern-day America is the concept of mobility, or “the ability to vote with your feet.” If you don’t support the death penalty and citizens packing a pistol, don’t come to Texas. If you don’t like medicinal marijuana and gay marriage, don’t move to California….”
(“Fed Up! Our Fight to Save America From Washington” by Rick Perry)

“When the federal government oversteps its authority, states should tell Washington they will not be complicit in enforcing laws with which they do not agree. Again, the best example is an issue I don’t even agree with—the partial legalization of marijuana. Californians clearly want some level of legalized marijuana, be it for medicinal use or otherwise. The federal government is telling them they cannot. But states are not bound to enforce federal law, and the federal government cannot commandeer state resources and require them to enforce it.”
(“Fed Up! Our Fight to Save America From Washington” by Rick Perry)

“[If] you want to go somewhere where you can smoke medicinal weed, then you ought to be able to do that.”

(Daily Show Interview, November 2010 – source)

“We can win the war on drugs but we have to fight it first. I know, I have to deal with this.”

(Republican Jewish Coalition 2012 Presidential Candidates Forum – source)

“The Governor does not support legalizing any drug. The Governor supports federal drug laws where appropriate. And while the Governor is personally opposed to legalizing the use of medical marijuana, if states want to allow doctor prescribed medical marijuana, it seems to him that under the 10th amendment, they have the right to do so.”

(Perry Spokesman Mike Miner to the Washington Post – source)

Prior Activity: None

Jon Huntsman

Governor of Utah (2005-2009)

US Ambassador to China (2009-2011)

Public Statements:

“Question: would you prosecute growers and sellers of marijuana in states where it has been made legal?

Jon Huntsman: I would let states decide that.”

(Townhall in Exeter, NH, June 2011 – source)

“I never saw him inhale.”

(Huntsman’s Childhood Friend in Politico – source)

Tags: Mj, 2012, 2012 candidates, 2012 republican candidates, Marijuana, Marihuana, Hemp, Cannabis, Cannabinoids, New Hampshire, Mitt Romney, Governer Massachusetts, war on drugs, prohibition, edicinal marihuana, medicinal marijuana, Ron Paul, Texas, abuse of liberty, liberty, freedom, non-violent, alcohol prohibition in the 20′s, 1920, 1937, state regulated, alcohol, intellectual liberty, religious liberty, federal government right to do to our body what we want, ending federal marijuana prohibition, Industrial Hemp Farming Act f 2011, HR 1831, HR 2306, Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act of 2011, Rick Santorum, Pennsylvania, war on drugs, committed,, role fought on many fronts, federal agents, local law enforcement, substance abuse counselors, eachers, parents, concerned citizens, educated citizens, professional research, scientifically backed up factual research, HR 3540, International narcotics control funding, war funding, violence agitator, Newt Gingrich, Georgia, drug testing before federal aid by Newt, food stamps, unemployment compensation, federal ‘aid’, detox, drug importer death penalty act 1996, Rick Perry, Texas, Fed up!, Republican Jewish Coalition 2012, Jon Huntsman, Utah, US Ambassador to China

A Practical Guide to ‘Free-Energy’ Devices (via Free Energy Community)

Webmaster — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 19:20:07 +0000

This is just spectacular!

A Practical Guide to ‘Free-Energy’ Devices Overview: This document contains most of what I have learned about this subject after researching it for a number of years. I am not trying to sell you anything, nor am I trying to convince you of anything. When I started looking into this subject, there was very little useful information and any that was around was buried deep in incomprehensible patents and documents. My purpose here is to make it easi … Read More

via Free Energy Community

To all the Moms of my planet… (via Miss Bikini Miami™ 2011)

Webmaster — Fri, 06 May 2011 19:32:14 +0000

To all the Moms of my planet…

I send you lots of love, good vibrant energy, to cure and ease any difficulties or problems….

May you have a clear wishful weekend, you are the ones chosen to create life.

Hope you truely value the priceless gift you carry….

Happy Mothers Day & Weekend from MissBikiniMiami.com, MiamiRSVP.com and my family.

Namaste

To all the Moms of my planet… I send you lots of love, good vibrant energy, to cure and ease any difficulties or problems…. may you have a clear wishful weekend, you are the ones chosen to create life. Hope you truely value the priceless gift you carry…. Happy Mothers Day & Weekend from MissBikiniMiami.com, MiamiRSVP.com and my family. Namaste … Read More

via Miss Bikini Miami™ 2011

A hi-tech new way to find the cheapest prices for gold bullion, GoldShark

Webmaster — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 08:50:42 +0000

From Dollar Collapse:

Back in November Wired Magazine published an article (Bargain Junkies Are Beating Retailers at Their Own Game) about how technology is giving shoppers access to every store’s prices and circulating huge coupons (think GroupOn).

Apparently, if you’re looking for a Blu-Ray player, chainsaw or new mattress, you pull up one of these sites and ask who is charging what, and they’ll tell you, which saves a lot of money and legwork.

But what about gold or silver? Sorting through bullion dealers’ mark-ups, shipping charges, insurance, and trustworthiness is a nightmare, especially for beginners. From a buyer’s perspective, this market is ripe for a technological fix.

And last week it got one, with the launch of GoldShark. The brainchild of the folks who run Ohio-based Trusted Bullion (a DollarCollapse.com advertiser), its beta version allows a user to input a hypothetical order — say, 10 one-ounce Gold Eagles — and see the prices of the various dealers, including shipping, tax, and insurance. It also displays the Better Business Bureau rating of each dealer, something that matters once you find out that at least one brand-name dealer carries an “F” rating.

Just a question of point of vue! « .::funOFuture::.

Webmaster — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 15:14:05 +0000

No more second LCD for your car to play DVD while on the road. The Toyota’s dual-screen DVD and navigation system safely leads you to destination while others are enjoying DVD with the same screen.

Toyota has developed a dual-purpose navigation system making it possible for the driver to check a road map on the display while a passenger watches a TV program or a DVD. The system features two different screens depending on the angle you look at. The audio data for the navigation are directed to the driver while the sounds of the TV series or Hollywood movie are directed to the ear of the passenger.

The special Alphard edition, called the AS Limited Dual AVN Special, costs $31,732. Toyota will consider adopting the navigation system for other models if customers react favorably.

Just a question of point of vue! « .::funOFuture::..

Close Internet sales tax loophole – St. Petersburg Times

Webmaster — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 05:27:55 +0000

The bookstore chain Borders did not cite Florida’s outdated sales tax law last week when it announced it would shutter four of five Tampa Bay stores as it enters Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. But the competitive disadvantage for the state’s retailers that the Florida Legislature refuses to address is at least partially to blame. As long as Internet-only sellers such as Amazon.com can get away with not collecting state sales tax and effectively sell their products for at least 6 percent less, Florida merchants pay the price. It’s past time for lawmakers to work toward a level playing field.

Hollow campaign rhetoric and intellectual dishonesty are to blame for this fundamental unfairness that easily could be addressed. Florida’s Republican leaders, afraid of being accused of raising taxes, have refused repeatedly to act even as some of their biggest allies — the Florida Chamber of Commerce, Associated Industries of Florida and Florida Retail Association — and the respected nonpartisan fiscal watchdog Florida TaxWatch have begged them to do something.

Those groups recognize reality: The status quo undercuts Florida commerce in multiple ways. In-state retailers’ see their prices undercut by Internet-only suppliers, costing them business. That drives down their need to hire employees. It also costs state and local governments billions annually in lost tax revenue, meaning fewer resources to staff everything from schools to prisons.

A University of Tennessee study estimates Florida will lose at least $2.4 billion in revenue this year due to Internet sales where no tax is collected. That’s roughly two-thirds of the state’s $3.6 billion deficit. Yet neither Gov. Rick Scott nor anyone in legislative leadership shows any interest in addressing this enormous loophole. Perhaps Medical Marijuana Legalization could drive this balance where it should be lol.

Step 1 would be joining the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board, a consortium of 23 states representing nearly a third of the country’s population that is working to pressure Congress to embrace a nationwide compliance system for Internet merchants.

The members agree to align their tax policies to make it easier for retailers to voluntarily comply across state lines. And while Florida would face some upfront costs, the ultimate payoff — a sales and use tax that fairly captures all transactions in the state — would more than compensate for the initial minor expense and inconvenience.

Even a fair sales tax policy in Florida might not have saved Borders’ four Tampa Bay locations or the jobs of the company’s local employees. But it most surely contributed to the retail stores’ demise. How is that good for Florida’s workers or its economy?

via Close Internet sales tax loophole – St. Petersburg Times.

Graphic/Web/Blog Design Internship Opportunity

Webmaster — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 17:00:29 +0000

The RSVP Network is looking for a talented and highly motivated student to intern in our Licensing department. Intern will get to work on a variety of projects including but not limited to designing products, patterns/textiles, packaging, presentations, flash, and graphics.
Rising juniors and seniors preferred. Strong skills in Adobe Creative Suite are required.

Specifics:
Computer Skills required- Strong Knowledge of Illustrator, InDesign & Photoshop.
This internship will consist of the following responsibilities- Assist design team with a variety of product, pattern work, web blasts, packaging, store signage, & printed materials. We look for interns who have a strong color sense & are comfortable creating swatches, working with fonts & drawing in Illustrator as well as working in Photoshop with product images. We are interested in students in the following majors- product design, textile/surface design, graphic design, and illustration with strong design program skills who can work hand in hand with the design team. We love interns with a go-get-em attitude who can execute individual projects and work in small teams. Ideally, we like our interns to commit to 2 days a week, but will work with students’ school/other work schedules. School credit may be arranged based on the requirements of your school.

To apply, please send your resumé and a link to your portfolio or a few examples of your work.

Salary – unpaid/for school credit
Type of Job – Internship

We will be interviewing thru this month.

New toys for our arsenal.

Webmaster — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 08:48:07 +0000

We just added five new assets to our network empire:

1- Miamipolis.info ( Forthcoming… )

2- MissBikiniMiami.com (for competitions & etc), MissBikiniMiami.info (for information)

3- MiamiCarsRus.com (for buyers) MiamiCarsRus.info (for sellers & banks/finance companies)

The Human Journey

Webmaster — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 18:59:53 +0000

From Africa to Astoria by Way of Everywhere

The Astoria section of Queens, New York, is one of the most ethnically diverse communities on Earth. At the 30th Avenue Street Festival in July 2008, people of all heritages and complexions mingled among booths offering up Thai charms and Peruvian sweaters, Mexican corn and Italian zeppole. The sun was hot, the mood merrily multicultural. Through the crowd walked a tall, blond man with pale skin rapidly turning red. He stopped occasionally to talk to people, and if he found them obliging, asked if they could spare a few cells from the inside of their cheeks.

For the past four years Spencer Wells and his colleagues with National Geographic and IBM’s Genographic Project have been traveling the globe, collecting DNA in cheek swabs and blood samples from hundreds of indigenous groups. By comparing their DNA, the project has been retracing the ancient history of human migrations since our species originated in Africa some 200,000 years ago.

The Genographic Project focuses on the Y chromosome in males, which is handed down intact from father to son, and on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which a mother passes to her offspring. Over generations, small, harmless mutations accumulate on these two snippets of DNA; to Wells and other scientists these genetic markers constitute a history book. As ancient human populations migrated out of Africa, splitting off from each other and entering new lands, they accumulated different patterns of markers that reflect that history. Each individual today retains such a pattern.

In recent centuries those prehistoric paths have reconnected in New York and other immigrant havens. “From the beginning of the project,” Wells says, “I’ve wondered if it would be possible to sample all the major lineages on Earth on a single street.” On 30th Avenue he almost did—the 193 volunteers turned out to be carrying genetic markers for virtually all the major migrations that peopled the continents. The only missing lineage was the oldest one, which Genographic scientists found in Khoisan hunter-gatherers in southern Africa; their ancestors initially diverged from other modern humans more than 100,000 years ago.

The DNA of small, relatively unmixed groups like the Khoisan still preserves clear signals of their unique population histories. In places like Queens, where people from around the world have been swapping DNA for generations, those histories are being lost; a Y chromosome, say, doesn’t reflect the whole ancestry of its owner, let alone of a population. If the Genographic Project usually targets populations that have so far escaped the melting pots, it’s precisely because those pots are such a rich confusion of genes.

“Everybody talks about Astoria like it’s Greek,” says George Delis, a retired community manager and a Greek immigrant himself. “Well, it’s not Greek. It’s everything.” —Jamie Shreeve

Alcohol vs. Marijuana (via Peace & Nonviolence Project)

Webmaster — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 18:03:29 +0000

What’s your take on the matter? I really would like to know how you feel about one or the other or both!

Let us know and you could win some free stuff, possibly an iPad or iPhone.

Source:Online Universities … Read More

via Peace & Nonviolence Project