TAXPAYERS SUBSIDIZING THE WRONG SIDE OF THIS DEBATE …
S.C. governor Nikki Haley‘s administration is using federal tax dollars to fund an anti-medical marijuana initiative – the equivalent of taxpayer-funded lobbying against several pending pieces of legislation.
The initiative – dubbed “The Blunt Truth” – is run out of the S.C. Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services (DAODAS), one of several agencies that operates directly under Haley’s authority.
According to its website, The Blunt Truth exists “to spark a discussion in South Carolina about marijuana, the impact of its legalization in other states, and how we can prepare our youth and citizens to make smart choices about its use.”
Spark? Really?
Whatever the program’s stated intention, a quick look at its promotional material (.pdf here) reveals a full-fledged propaganda offensive against marijuana.
And not just recreational pot, either …
Last spring, the group put on a taxpayer-funded conference (.pdf agenda here) in which participants were specifically warned about the “medical marijuana and legalization ruse.”
They were also taught different ways they could advocate against medical marijuana.
The Blunt Truth is funded by federal grant money obtained from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. That’s especially curious considering the U.S. Surgeon General – the highest health official in the land – has already stated publicly that “medical marijuana can be helpful” when it comes to treating a wide range of illnesses, diseases and disorders.
Seriously, feds … which is it?
Anyway, are efforts by The Blunt Truth’s government bureaucrats taking root? Not really. As of this writing, the group has only 332 Facebook likes – many of which are from dedicated supporters of medical marijuana legalization. The group’s Twitter presence is far smaller – just 59 followers.
It’s more tax money down the drain, in other words …
Nonetheless, taxpayer-funded lobbying is slowing momentum for long-overdue medical marijuana legalization – most notably in the person of S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) director Mark Keel.
Rather than doing his job and improving the state’s abysmal crime statistics (or addressing its rampant public corruption), Keel has made himself a fixture at medical marijuana hearings – monopolizing them with lengthy, uninformed monologues about the evils of pot.
This website has repeatedly argued on behalf of the full legalization of all drugs – for any purpose – arguing that government’s various prohibitions against them violate individual liberty (in addition to government’s “war on drugs” being a costly, deadly failure).
But the fact that there is even an argument over the legalization of medical marijuana – especially the narrowly-drawn legislation proposed by S.C. Senator Tom Davis and S.C. Rep. Jenny Horne – is truly baffling.
We’re not talking about legalizing pot, we’re talking about mothers who are trying to reduce the frequency and severity of their children’s seizures – or combat veterans returning home who are seeking a remedy for their post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Don’t believe us? Here from them in their own words (here and here).
It’s time for this nonsense to stop …
71 comments
“Keel has made himself a fixture at medical
marijuana hearings – monopolizing them with lengthy, uninformed
monologues about the evils of pot.” Ok Will, being that I have not attended any of the hearings, what is he saying that is “uniformed”? Oops, that should be “uninformed”. My bad.
The debates have centered around medicinal marijuana, primarily CBD Oil contains which lacks the necessary amounts of THC (the psychoactive ingredient that gets you high) to get you high. Chief Keel has relied on what if cases dealing with recreational marijuana to highlight his position and at times used completely bogus information. Additionally, not even as it relates to marijuana Chief Keel has attacked bills related to industrialized hemp saying it will be used to mask marijuana, a lie because hemp plants seed out marijuana plants within 11 km rendering them useless, and stated there is no commercial use, also a lie considering the BMWs manufactured here in SC use hemp plastics as well as testimony from a company in Charleston with buyers wanting to give them a 7 figure contract to produce hemp pellets as an alternative to coal. I understand if you are against using marijuana, either recreationally or medicinally, but flat out lying and fear mongering is a cop out, no pun intended. Many people are misinformed about medicinal marijuana, its history, possible benefits, and possible downsides. The main reason for this is its classification as a Schedule I drug meaning according to the federal government it has no medicinal benefit making it nearly impossible to study the possible benefits. Coincidentally enough another schedule 1 drug, heroin, is chemically nearly the same thing as opioids prescribed across the country which have led to “epidemic levels” of abuse and addiction across the country according to many leading medical organizations, governments, and think tanks. Although I truly could care less about whether or not marijuana is legal, I do think that law enforcement has bigger fish to fry than worrying about some college kids smoking pot and throwing the football on the horseshoe. And by the way I am saying this as someone who has attended most of the meetings on industrial hemp and medical marijuana to observe for a client who is opposed.
Everyone needs to pull up Blunt Truth website and click on each header
It is my belief that whoever designed the website (it is a well designed web site) either has or is currently smoking weed, dropping acid, popping peyote buttons or all three
please share the peyote????
Medical aside, people smoke dope to get high.
Lovin it, looks like I’m getting a few down votes. :) :) :) :)
You owe the rest of us answers to the following questions:
#1. Why are you not concerned with the fact that we have all been stripped of our unalienable rights, leaving us totally subordinate to a corporatized, despotic government and a heavily armed and corrupt, militarized police force whose often deadly intrusions into our homes and lives are condoned by an equally corrupt and spineless judiciary?
#2. Why do you wish to continue to spend $50 billion a year to prosecute and cage your fellow citizens for choosing substances which are not more dangerous than those of which you yourself probably use and approve of, such as alcohol and tobacco?
#3. Do you honestly expect the rest of us to look on passively while you waste another trillion dollars on this ruinously expensive garbage policy?
#4. Why are you waging war on your own family, friends and neighbors?
#5. Why are you so complacent with the fact that our once ‘proud and free’ nation now has the largest percentage of it’s citizenry incarcerated than any other on the entire planet?
#6. Why are you helping to fuel a budget crisis to the point of closing hospitals, schools and libraries?
#7. Why do you wish to continue spending precious resources on prohibition related undercover work while rapists and murderers walk free, while additionally, many cases involving murder and rape do not even get taken to trial because law enforcement priorities are subverted by your beloved failed and dangerous policy?
#8. Why are you a supporter of the ‘prison industrial complex’ to the extent of endangering our nation’s children?
#9. Will you graciously applaud when, due to your own incipient and authoritarian approach, even your own child is caged and raped?
* It is estimated that there are over 300,000 instances of prison rape a year.?* 196,000 are estimated to happen to men in prison.?* 123,000 are estimated to happen to men in county jail.?* 40,000 are estimated to be committed against boys in either adult prisons or while in juvenile facilities or lock ups.?* 5000 women are estimated to be raped in prison.
#10. How much worse does it have to get before you’re able to read the paintings on the wall of your cave?
I owe you nothing.
Like I said, people smoke dope to get high. This I know from personal experience and my life is so much better with out it. I don’t need it, if you do, keep smoking your dope and getting high. I really don’t care.
I, like you will voice my opinion, that’s our Constitutional right. If you live in South Carolina, which I doubt, keep smoking dope and breaking the law or better yet move to Colorado. Take your ten asinine questions with you and paint them on your own cave wall.
Continue to spend your days and night trolling the internet for dope
stories to copy and paste on, it seems from your profile that is all you
do.
Actualy we are just trying to right a wrong that has been done to our country by placing a harmless plant as the most dangerous chemical in the world. Have you ever wondered why Nightshade is not illegal to grow? It has no medicinal purpouse but is leathal… still legal to grow and have…. no back to your ever so important Opinion… Do you support marriage for all people and genders? Because its the same fight but on a smaller scale with cannbis. Why is it illegal? Well, if you can answer that with credible scientific data showing the ORIGINAL reasons why it is, I will fight to keep it illegal. I look forward to your response.
Keep up the good fight, as I’ve already stated it should be legal and taxed the same as tobacco and alcohol, in other words tax the hell out of it.
Did you miss the part that my opinion of dope comes from personal experiences and that my life is much better without it? That’s the only scientific data I need.
As far as your comment about marriage, nice straw man. I could give a damn what you or anyone else does as long as you pay for it yourself.
Now for, “we are trying to right a wrong”, maybe you but malcolmkyle is nothing more than a troll and not a very good one at that.
I thought the conversation was about compassionate MEDICAL use….
I am convinced there are a group of stoners who wake up every day in the basement of their parents house, fire up the computer, and search Google for articles related to pot. Then they cut and paste long tedious posts related to pro-pot positions, smoke a J, eat a family size bag of Cheetos, and go back to sleep.
If you need proof check out malcolmkyle’s discus profile.
I personally think it should be legal and taxed the hell out of.
It’s funny. I have friends in Colorado that still buy pot illegally…the legal shops are too expensive (comparable to prices in SC) because of the taxes.
Like cigarettes in NY. Someone is always out to game the system. I have thought about some grow your own requirement but really haven’t thought it all the way through.
Actually i do it from my house and in particular, my office that i own and pay taxes on. I have a 6 figure a year career in an industry that you only touch the surface of and you call us dumb for wanting to feel good… huh… I wont go in to anymore this battle is almost over and cannabis will be legal.
Funny. However, most “stoners” (the adults anyway) actually have jobs or own their own businesses. They are doctors, lawyers, teachers, plumbers, congressmen, firefighters, vetrans. They are your neighbors. They go to church with you. You see them at the gym and the grocery store. They don’t act like Jeff Spicoli…they are normal people.
You were on a roll up to the church thing. Look we are all entitled to opinions and you seem to have a good attitude about it all. I don’t see any downside to the RESPONSIBLE use of pot. Same as alcohol, too much of a good thing is harmful when you are driving. I came very close to getting killed by a dude that was stoned out of his mind driving at 6:45 AM. I am into Liberty and personal responsibility,it’s my thing.
A much better side effect than most of the pharmaceuticals out there!
It should be illegal for government to lobby for anything to anyone. The people should be the masters of government, not the other way around.
Government can’t balance a checkbook let alone effectively pave a road or effective handle any of its “core functions”.
It’s leadership comprised of people that routinely cheat on their spouses and self-aggrandize- people whose few talents include the ability to lie routinely,convincingly
and unashamedly in order to retain power.
There is nothing government should be recommending to anyone.
They sure do throw are the word “fact” around a lot. “Fact: marijuana is addictive”. Yeah? Well so is Porn and MSG. Who’s lives were ruined by that? Alcohol and tobacco ruins lives, but SC will gladly take part in taxing it… It sounds like a lame DARE program for elementary students.
It’s right up there with “TEAM together everyone achieves more” and all that other mindless bullshit that people try to use to keep you in line… Don’t reinvent the Bible.
i smoked pot pretty much daily for 45 years, had to give it up to get my captain’s license, other than not losing my car keys all the time and killing off a half gallon of ice cream in the middle of the night, i feel no side effects.
I haven’t smoked pot for 37 years. There is no blood on my hands from drug cartels and the money I might have spent on marijuana has benefited my family instead.
If people could grow and buy/sell it legally they wouldn’t have to pay the cartels to buy it.
Organized crime did the same damn thing with alcohol during prohibition.
since the early 80s the best pot has been home grown here in America, and i did’nt buy that crappy cartel weed, just because one man’s recreation is not yours does not mean their families suffer, ever gone on vacation or play a round of golf? how about buying that nice car? are those people making their children suffer?
I was on the golf course once and picked up with another twosome. On the second hole one of them lit up a joint. I told them to play ahead of me, I did not wish to be part of the dope smoking. I didn’t notice them after the third hole, they left the course, must have thought I was going to call 911. They didn’t know I never carry my cell phone on the golf course, out of respect for other golfers, which they did not have.
well you could have fucked their lives pretty good if you wanted to, why not them? was it because they could afford the sport or you personally would not jail somebody for smoking a joint?
Like I’ve said I don’t care what anyone does as long as they pay for it them self. As far as jail, only if it came down to me or them. When this happened I was still wearing a U.S. Army uniform and I would not have thrown my career away for you or anyone else and that includes family.
I haven’t golfed in 15 years. My favorite thing to do was buy 2 really nice cigars and smoke them during play. Even had a holder tee for it while I made my shots. I have quit smoking since and I always wonder how I would feel if I played a round. I have all but quit drinking as well but when I am sitting around enjoying a campfire I have tended to have some cold beer and find myself thinking about cigars and cigarettes.
Some might say that golf is my dope, some might say…and they could be right and I like it that way.
But why out side is ones mans choice of cigar wrong? Maybe if you would have removed your from your azz. Then you might have stopped and relized that you were outside!!!!!!!!!!!!
The eradication of cartels is one of the best reasons to legalize it, IMO. None of the legal pot $ is going to cartels…
Wish we had a blunt.
Don’t forget our “education lottery”
Prohibitionists like Nikki Haley are even willing to commit murder rather than admit defeat:
“Frustrated that people continued to consume so much alcohol even after it was banned, federal officials had decided to try a different kind of enforcement. They ordered the poisoning of industrial alcohols manufactured in the United States, products regularly stolen by bootleggers and resold as drinkable spirits. The idea was to scare people into giving up illicit drinking. Instead, by the time Prohibition ended in 1933, the federal poisoning program, by some estimates, had killed at least 10,000 people.”
—an extract from: The little-told story of how the U.S. government poisoned alcohol during Prohibition with deadly consequences.
Like abortion, pot for recreational use is not something I want for my family members, but yes if medically they needed it. That said, a free people should make their own choices. My only caveat being it disqualifies you for Govco ASSistance . Feel the same way about drunks. I have this crazy idea that Govco help for the needy should go to the truly needy, I know, I’m a lunatic.
Anti-Abortion laws are christian and i am not christian. Keep your theocracy out of my democracy please. Same goes for drug laws.
You sure see what you want to see, are we all required to see like you?
A great man once said “It does me no harm if my neighbor says there are twenty Gods or no Gods”, do you know who that was?
BTW it’s a representative republic.
there is no mention of god in the constitution… All gods, not just yours need to stay out of it. A wise man was not being legislature to death with christian morals… just look at the republican candidates… All im saying is that everyone needs to keep their gods out of everyones law and order. I don’t need a god to be kind to my fellow man.
“All gods, not just yours need to stay out of it.”…like I said you see what you want and assume much, which god would you say is mine?
Let’s just say keep all theology out of our government. Did you fail debate class?
Didn’t offer debate class when and where I went to school.
You may not need god to be kind to your fellow man, just like you don’t need god to belittle them on the internet.
and yes, that was Jefferson. Who also was a big proponent of separation of church and state.
don’t ask a question on the internet that google can find, we all look smart like you ;-)
Made you jump.
As I did you ;-)
Oh, here is the full quote. It is talking about his personal beliefs and how they should not affect your neighbor… like using them to make laws your neighbor has to follow… “The rights of conscience we never submitted, we could not submit. We are answerable for them to our God. The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg. … Reason and free enquiry are the only effectual agents against error.”
and not to point out your lack of scientific knowledge but cannabis and abortions are a bit different. That would be like saying, I dont think mangos should be legal because i like monkeys too much to let that happen…. This is why prohibitionists cant have anything nice…
What’s your problem dude? Taz simply said the he didn’t want anyone in his family to get an abortion or use pot unless medically necessary. I didn’t see any religion or prohibition ideas in his post at all…on the contrary, he typed “free people should make their own choices”.
you don’t see any religious influence on abortion and women’s health laws?
There are a lot of things we don’t want for family members, but it’s their right to choose for themselves.
“That said, a free people should make their own choices. ”
What is with people on this article? Is everyone high? Just because I am not a fan doesn’t mean I want to punish those who don’t agree.
Personally, it’s one of those subjects that brings out the fighter in me. I am generally a very laid-back person; however, when it comes to not allowing Americans to have freedom to do what they want with their own bodies (as well as not allowing us to use substances that are helpful), I see red. I do not think I was mean or nasty in my response to you.
As with any controversial issue, there are a lot of folks fer it, a lot of folks agen’ it. The rest are in the middle, really not givin’ a shit.
Those against it usually cite the crime and a lifestyle of non-compliance of those hooked and stalled on drugs, and they have a point. Those for it need to hire a good PR firm and recruit some major pharmaceutical firms to get on board in a way where they could profit from making it legal.
Big-Pharma has no interest in something that can help people without including big $ for them. Who do you think is really behind the continued criminalization of a naturally occurring herb/weed? Big-Pharma, that’s who. They would lose money if people could legally get their hands on, or grow for themselves, a plant that could help them without the poison that big-pharma makes.
Big Pharma will be needed because the growth, production, and distribution will not be as simple as growing, producing, and distributing turnips or tomatoes..
Before we die, we might live to see heaping piles of dope down at the farmers market on tables. LOLZ
That is very possible, given the acceptance of the product with certain people.
Never did smoke that much of it when I was young, in some ways, it was harder to get and more expensive(relatively speaking) than it is now.
People seem to be doing a good job of it in CO without Big Pharma.
Big Pharma made it illegal in the first place so they could eliminate ALL competition for their “patent” medicines.
:)-*****
I needed that.
Them eyes is awful squinty.
Yet another example of a rogue government bought off by special interests and obstructing the will of the people. Med MJ has enjoyed 70-90% support nationwide for decades.
fuck medicinal;still too expensive.get real;legalize/decriminalize it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkumhBVPGdg
I have had enough and I am angry! I am angry at those of you who have not taken a stand on an incredibly important issue and instead sit quietly on the sidelines. I am sick and tired of the control the pharmaceutical and alcohol industries have over our government. Every single day there are millions of Americans being tortured for the sake of these industry’s profits. The evidence is overwhelming that medical marijuana is as effective, if not more so, than many prescription drugs for a multitude of medical conditions but with far fewer side effects. The debate is over!
Sixty three percent of peer reviewed studies indicate positive results from using medical marijuana. How much more evidence does this government need to prove the benefits of medical marijuana and get it off the schedule of controlled substances so that Americans can start benefiting from using it to ease their suffering?
The United States Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Yet these very rights are being denied to millions of Americans every day.
What kind of life does someone who suffers from intractable chronic pain have? What kind of life do those who end up overdosing on narcotic painkillers in an attempt to stop the pain have? What kind of life do those who see no way to escape the pain but through suicide have? Life is more than just a biological function. Life means living and functioning freely in a compassionate, civilized society.
What kind of liberty does someone who suffers from disease have? What kind of liberty do those who are confined to thier beds have? What kind of liberty do those who are unable to leave thier house because they are always too sick have? Liberty does not just consist of social and political freedoms but also the freedom to remove the constraints that prevent us from enjoying those freedoms.
What kind of happiness does someone who cries themselves to sleep every night have? What kind of happiness does someone who has no hope of a better future have? What kind of happiness does someone who watches a loved one slowly wither away, knowing a cure is out there but the government, supposedly of, by, and for the people, refuses to make available have?
We, the suffering millions of people in these United States of America, demand our unalienable Rights of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. We demand that our government throw off the shackles of the robber baron corporations who prevent a natural, safe, effective medication from being available because they fear what they cannot control and profit from. We demand that our representative government do what is right and remove medical marijuana from the schedule of controlled substances immediately.
It is unconscionable to delay rescheduling of medical marijuana any longer. What are you going to do about it? Are you going to be compassionate and stand with those whose voices go unheard or will you stay quiet, unmoved, uncaring…at least that is until it is you who needs medical marijuana?
STEP 1: Sign the petition to Legalize Medical Marijuana Nationwide.
https://engage.drugpolicy.org/secure/legalize-medical-marijuana-nationwide
STEP 2: Sign the petition to Senator Grassley urging him to hold a vote on the CARERS Act in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
https://engage.drugpolicy.org/secure/demand-vote-medical-marijuana
Please click the share button and share this post with your friends so that we can get maximum exposure for these petitions. You or your loved one’s life may depend on it.
Thank you!
OMG! This drives me insane!! I’m behind FITS on this issue, especially medical marijuana. I went to a workshop last year where a SLED officer in the state DEA spoke, and it made me nuts! He was so over-the-top and insulting, it was ridiculous. I hear so many people saying, “We would support medical cannabis is the FDA approves.” They trust the FDA! And then there’s the fact that the FDA takes forever; and even then, approves dangerous drugs because they’re in the pocket of Big Pharma. This particular LEO said to me if I could send him definitive research, he might change his mind. Don’t these people read more than their own supporting information? Just recently, I’ve read so much about THC killing cancer cells. Oh, but it’s OK to kill people with chemo, right? Then there’s also the news that in states with legal med-cannabis, deaths from painkiller overdoses is way down.
Legalization of all drugs would put the cartels out of business and bring in more money to the government. If more money was spent on education and state-of-the-art rehab, and less on the “War on Drugs,” there would be less of an addiction problem. But, then, do you think law enforcement would be happy with being shrunk? I don’t think so. And let’s not forget the prison industry.
This just boggles my mind. There are far too many who are still under the influence of “Reefer Madness” and prescription drugs!
The state should give just as much support to the other side to balance the issue.
I don’t get the trollish behaviors by some on this thread, particularly those behaviors directed at Tazmaniac and idcydm. I don’t believe either expressed support for the modern version of “Prohibition” and I think both were at least okay with legalization.
Before you jump on me, I think legalization would save the country a ton of money and jail space each year, as well as putting a lot of crooked cops and judges out of an income. This despite my background and having had a wife who was addicted to the stuff, making her exceedingly irresponsible and difficult at times. Before you start with the crap that it is not addictive, let me add that anything can be addictive to the right person, even sun tanning.
You guys might do a better job of getting your messsge out if you toned down the pitbull attitudes and actually read what people were saying before jumping in their shit.
Frankly we need the agriculture revenue. At this point not going full legal just sends profits and tax revwnue we could be collecting to Colorado and the pacific NW.
South Carolina’s politicos are completely OUT OF TOUCH with the wants and NEEDS of the electorate! It’s time for a wake up call! Please contact your (supposed) Reps. and let them know what YOU think! Talk to your neighbor, write a letter to an Editor; let’s keep the pressure ON. NOW is the TIME! Thanks! http://www.18karatreggae.com/2016/03/26/61-americans-want-marijuana-legalization-now/