Removing The Taboo Of Mj.

[greenbuddha]

US MA: Column: Barney Frank Looks To Remove Another Taboo

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URL: http://www.mapinc.or...1/n577/a04.html

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Votes: 0

Pubdate: Tue, 13 Sep 2011

Source: Standard-Times (New Bedford, MA)

Copyright: 2011 South Coast Media Group

Contact:male2('letters','s-t.com'); letters@s-t.com

Website: http://www.southcoasttoday.com/

Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/422

Author: Jack Spillane

 

 

 

BARNEY FRANK LOOKS TO REMOVE ANOTHER TABOO

 

Barney Frank did what he does best Monday afternoon: He talked courageously about an issue that makes most politicians crawl under the table.

 

Frank, at a late afternoon talk at Gallery X in downtown New Bedford, was absent the usual accompaniment of local mayors and legislative delegation members.

 

The same folks who fall over each other to piggy-back on Frank's usual SouthCoast appearances were gone this time. Because Barney Frank was in New Bedford to talk about the need for the United States of America to end the hypocrisy of marijuana being illegal.

 

Frank, along with Republican Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, in June sponsored federal legislation that would legalize marijuana, allowing each of the 50 states to develop their own rules for the use of marijuana within their borders.

 

Long a champion of civil liberties, Frank asked the crowd of about 60 people which group of people a police officer would be more afraid to approach without bringing something: a crowd drinking alcohol or a crowd smoking pot.

 

The cop probably wouldn't worry about bringing anything to approach the marijuana smokers, he said. "If he felt he needed to bring something, it would more likely be a bag of potato chips," he added to howls of laughter.

 

Frank described the marijuana-use issue as one of personal freedom, saying federal prohibitions against behavior should be reserved to things that cause great harm. "In a free society, most things should be none of the government's business," he said.

 

The federal prohibitions against marijuana use, Frank said, were adopted in the 1930s when marijuana was primarily used by the counterculture and was far less mainstream than it is now. The government makes money on taxing the sale of alcohol, he noted, but loses money policing the enforcement of marijuana laws.

 

The SouthCoast's congressman for 28 years went on to say he believes most politicians support marijuana legalization privately but are reluctant to go public out of political fear. There's "a cultural lag" with the politicians on the issue, he said.

 

"In this case, I believe the public is ahead of the politicians," he said, predicting that pot use will be legalized within five years. The government, Frank said, will simply not be able to afford to keep policing it.

 

Frank, who in a nearly 40-year career as a politician has advocated for positions as unpopular as legalized prostitution in Boston's Combat Zone to the right of the Westboro Baptist Church to yell "God hates fags" at soldier funerals, told the pro-marijuana crowd that if they want change, the best thing they can do is write, in their own words, to any elected official who represents them. He gave them the tea party model, which he said lobbies, writes congressmen and organizes in primary elections.

 

The only thing holding back the mainstream politicians, Frank said, is that they believe supporting marijuana legalization is "not respectable."

 

"I want to remove the taboo," he said.

 

And that's Barney Frank.

MAP posted-by: Matt

 

 

 

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[Kevin]

Barney Frank is correct when he said 'supporting marijuana legalization is not respectable' but he also knows supporting 'cannabis legalization' is respectable.

 

'Marihuana/marijuana' perpetuates hate by name alone and is not respectable. The name alone dishonors our healing plant as it is associated with only horrible things.

 

I did it years ago, but what folks everywhere need to do if they wanna remove any part of the bad juju taboo is to stop speaking and writing the 'M' word. It only perpetuates the decades of racism and hate associated with it. Then decide that 'for evermore I will refer to my healing herb by its rightful and respectable name, Cannabis'.

 

The first step in breaking the taboo is to make the 'M' word itself extinct.

 

 

 

 

 

Peace.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[+EdwardGlen]

Education is paramount in helping to end the prohibition of cannabis. And its costly ($50 Billion) a year in tax payer money wasted on cannabis criminal justice system costs alone.

 

This article is four years old but taking into consideration inflation and how politicians and LE likes to spend money you can bet its really very close $50 Billion a year now.

 

Pot Prohibition Costs Taxpayers More Than $40 Billion Per Year, Study Says

 

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