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Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist
Registered: 03/10/07
Posts: 48,358
Last seen: 6 days, 18 hours
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Letter from my senator
#10466668 - 06/07/09 04:30 PM (14 years, 9 months ago) |
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I got this in the mail the other day. Looks like it sat around her office for a couple weeks before she mailed it out.
What should I do about it? Call her every day until she changes her mind? Schedule a meeting? Send in a creative reply? Find out where she eats lunch and sit at her table?
If anyone else out there is in California, please contact her and let her know that marijuana should be less illegal.
http://www.feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ContactUs.Home
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Mr.Al
Alphabet soup
Registered: 05/27/07
Posts: 5,388
Loc: N.S.A. D.C.
Last seen: 2 months, 28 days
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I can't read that print dude.
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Alan Rockefeller
Mycologist
Registered: 03/10/07
Posts: 48,358
Last seen: 6 days, 18 hours
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Re: Letter from my senator [Re: Mr.Al]
#10470917 - 06/08/09 01:07 PM (14 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
I can't read that print dude.
Click on the little white expand icon at the bottom right part of the image.
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Mr.Al
Alphabet soup
Registered: 05/27/07
Posts: 5,388
Loc: N.S.A. D.C.
Last seen: 2 months, 28 days
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She is a pompous ass.
These career politicians are completely disconnected from the reality their constituents live in.
Politicians do not produce value. They speak about "helping" people through government programs which acquire their funding by government sanctioned robbery.
She supports research in medical marijuana. That is such bullshit. They always say nonsense like "more research is needed". IT HAS BEEN USED AS MEDICINE FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS, EVEN BEFORE WHAT WE CALL RECORDED HISTORY.
Fucking idiocy.
She is a parasitic oxygen thief!
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veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
Posts: 17,504
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The issue of Prohibition in some ways is like the issue of abortion, you are either for it or against. It is unlikely that anyones mind will be changed at this point (* see below). I am that way myself. There is nothing that anyone can say to me that will have me support Prohibition. I haven't even heard a persuasive argument for Prohibition in decades.
Senator Feinstein does make it easy to refute her because she says quite plainly why she is against legalization.
Quote:
I know the tragedy that drug abuse causes in the lives of the addicted and on victims of drug-related crimes and their families.
I have seen the devastation drugs can inflict on a community.
Ironically these are just three of the same arguments why I am for legalization.
"addicted" - She is buying into the debunked notion that cannabis is addicting or leads to the use of addicting drugs, the 'Gateway Theory'. Cannabis is not addicting. Well, certainly not in the same way alcohol or tobacco is addicting. More like the way caffeine or video games are addicting. The only remote connection that cannabis leads to addicting drugs is because of Prohibition. Because cannabis is illegal people are forced, unless they grow their own, to purchase from the black market where they are likely to come in contact with the 'hard' addicting drugs. It is the same as if aspirin was made illegal, the only place to get it might be the local heroin/crack dealer.
"drug-related crimes" - The crimes associated with drugs are a direct result of Prohibition. If someone becomes addicted to heroin, let's say, they might have to resort to stealing to pay for their habit. The price is so high because it is illegal. If a housewife becomes addicted to her legal valium, she can go to a local drug store and pay $4 for a refill. She is not made an outcast, a criminal, that is forced to pay hundreds of dollars for a few dollars worth of drugs. And if she wants to get off of valium, a doctor can treat her as a patient because she has a medical problem.
"devastation" - Neighborhoods, cities, and now even countries, are being devastated by Prohibition. Armed gangs roam the streets of our cities selling crack and heroin to addicts. They kill each other for territory, and innocent citizens who get caught in the cross-fire. These gangs, and the cartels down south, were created as a direct result of our policies. When a politician makes the decision to continue Prohibition, they make the decision to guarantee an unending supply drugs distributed by violent criminals.
Even if Senator Feinstein, and others, agree with the fact that Prohibition causes the problems that she claims she wants eliminated, I'm not confident that it will change anyone's mind. They will come up with another reason. But never the real reason. The problem now is there are no valid reasons to continue Prohibition, except for maybe one. Money.
There is a ton of money to be made from Prohibition. They create a market for drugs, and a situation where there is an abundance of drugs and then pour billions of dollars to pretend to stop it. It is major industry. And people from all walks of life benefit from it, including politicians.
* The main thing that is driving cannabis legalization now for many politicians is the poor economy. The economy, as is it's nature, will get better. If cannabis is not made legal and taxed before the economy recovers, it will push legalization back years. It is similar to the mad rush for oil exploration or electric/alcohol/hydrogen cars when oil prices are high. When prices drop, like now, the voices demanding "drill baby drill' and money for development are almost nonexistent because it is no longer profitable.. till the next time.
So, back to your question, whats the best way to change the senators mind. I suppose just keep the public debate going. When the public overwhelmingly supports an issue, the politicians will eventually fall in line whether they want to or not.
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FurrowedBrow
Free yourself from yourself
Registered: 10/26/06
Posts: 2,439
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Re: Letter from my senator [Re: veggie]
#10502166 - 06/13/09 11:05 PM (14 years, 9 months ago) |
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^There's a good rebuttal Mr. Alan. That is one very influential lady. It would be a huge deal if she supported legalization.
-------------------- Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies - Become a member! I prefer dangerous freedom to peaceful slavery. ~ Thomas Jefferson
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Mr.Al
Alphabet soup
Registered: 05/27/07
Posts: 5,388
Loc: N.S.A. D.C.
Last seen: 2 months, 28 days
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Re: Letter from my senator [Re: veggie]
#10503711 - 06/14/09 09:18 AM (14 years, 9 months ago) |
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Quote:
veggie said: The issue of Prohibition in some ways is like the issue of abortion, you are either for it or against. It is unlikely that anyones mind will be changed at this point (* see below). I am that way myself. There is nothing that anyone can say to me that will have me support Prohibition. I haven't even heard a persuasive argument for Prohibition in decades.
Senator Feinstein does make it easy to refute her because she says quite plainly why she is against legalization.
Quote:
I know the tragedy that drug abuse causes in the lives of the addicted and on victims of drug-related crimes and their families.
I have seen the devastation drugs can inflict on a community.
Ironically these are just three of the same arguments why I am for legalization.
"addicted" - She is buying into the debunked notion that cannabis is addicting or leads to the use of addicting drugs, the 'Gateway Theory'. Cannabis is not addicting. Well, certainly not in the same way alcohol or tobacco is addicting. More like the way caffeine or video games are addicting. The only remote connection that cannabis leads to addicting drugs is because of Prohibition. Because cannabis is illegal people are forced, unless they grow their own, to purchase from the black market where they are likely to come in contact with the 'hard' addicting drugs. It is the same as if aspirin was made illegal, the only place to get it might be the local heroin/crack dealer.
"drug-related crimes" - The crimes associated with drugs are a direct result of Prohibition. If someone becomes addicted to heroin, let's say, they might have to resort to stealing to pay for their habit. The price is so high because it is illegal. If a housewife becomes addicted to her legal valium, she can go to a local drug store and pay $4 for a refill. She is not made an outcast, a criminal, that is forced to pay hundreds of dollars for a few dollars worth of drugs. And if she wants to get off of valium, a doctor can treat her as a patient because she has a medical problem.
"devastation" - Neighborhoods, cities, and now even countries, are being devastated by Prohibition. Armed gangs roam the streets of our cities selling crack and heroin to addicts. They kill each other for territory, and innocent citizens who get caught in the cross-fire. These gangs, and the cartels down south, were created as a direct result of our policies. When a politician makes the decision to continue Prohibition, they make the decision to guarantee an unending supply drugs distributed by violent criminals.
Even if Senator Feinstein, and others, agree with the fact that Prohibition causes the problems that she claims she wants eliminated, I'm not confident that it will change anyone's mind. They will come up with another reason. But never the real reason. The problem now is there are no valid reasons to continue Prohibition, except for maybe one. Money.
There is a ton of money to be made from Prohibition. They create a market for drugs, and a situation where there is an abundance of drugs and then pour billions of dollars to pretend to stop it. It is major industry. And people from all walks of life benefit from it, including politicians.
* The main thing that is driving cannabis legalization now for many politicians is the poor economy. The economy, as is it's nature, will get better. If cannabis is not made legal and taxed before the economy recovers, it will push legalization back years. It is similar to the mad rush for oil exploration or electric/alcohol/hydrogen cars when oil prices are high. When prices drop, like now, the voices demanding "drill baby drill' and money for development are almost nonexistent because it is no longer profitable.. till the next time.
So, back to your question, whats the best way to change the senators mind. I suppose just keep the public debate going. When the public overwhelmingly supports an issue, the politicians will eventually fall in line whether they want to or not.
It is total ignorance in how markets function that prevent the career politician from understanding that prohibition creates the potential for organized (and often violent) crime syndicates to profit enormously from the very act of prohibition.
Career politicians are not businessmen. They don't have a clue as to how markets really function.
This woeful ignorance of economics is why I scream about government leaving everything having to do with business alone... I advocate for a free market system.
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Poid
Shroomery's #1 Spellir
Registered: 02/04/08
Posts: 40,372
Loc: SF Bay Area
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I e-mailed Feinstein about legalizing cannabis like 5 years ago, and she pretty much said the same thing to me as Boxer said to you. These idiots in Washington won't change their minds, they care more about their political career/reputation than they care about the people they represent.
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Mr.Al
Alphabet soup
Registered: 05/27/07
Posts: 5,388
Loc: N.S.A. D.C.
Last seen: 2 months, 28 days
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Re: Letter from my senator [Re: Poid]
#10643283 - 07/08/09 05:53 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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Quote:
Poid said: I e-mailed Feinstein about legalizing cannabis like 5 years ago, and she pretty much said the same thing to me as Boxer said to you. These idiots in Washington won't change their minds, they care more about their political career/reputation than they care about the people they represent.
I think we should bring back the tar & feather game.....
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Poid
Shroomery's #1 Spellir
Registered: 02/04/08
Posts: 40,372
Loc: SF Bay Area
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Re: Letter from my senator [Re: Mr.Al]
#10645073 - 07/08/09 11:27 PM (14 years, 8 months ago) |
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-------------------- Well I try my best to be just like I am, but everybody wants you to be just like them. -- Bob Dylanfireworks_god said:It's one thing to simply enjoy a style of life that one enjoys, but it's another thing altogether to refer to another person's choice as "wrong" or to rationalize their behavior as being pathological or resulting from some sort of inadequacy or failing so as to create a sense of superiority or separation as yet another projection of a personal fear or control issue.
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