Law Atrocious and Horrible Cannabis News

[Fat Freddy]

Unless...UNLESS....Ms. Griner don't know a high post from a low post offense!

Where's Coach Wooden when ya need'em!?

But seriously, how poorly informed does one have to be!?

As one media headline put it, Griner is in for the fight of her life!

Still, FUCK THEM RUSKIES!

And Pooh-ton, the next time you fall down the stairs I hope you break your freakin' neck!

 

[momofthegoons]

McConnell Brags About Marijuana Banking Defeat In Defense Bill, Signaling He’ll Fight To Stop It In Omnibus Spending Too​

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) took to the Senate floor on Wednesday, gloating about how Republicans managed to keep marijuana banking reform out of a large-scale defense bill that was released on Tuesday night. And he said the “lesson must carry over” to forthcoming omnibus appropriations legislation that some lawmakers are now looking at as an alternative way to enact the cannabis reform.

Separately, a Democratic House member said on Wednesday that the fact that cannabis banking wasn’t included in NDAA meant that “at least” one Democratic senator “had a problem” with the reform as well.

Advocates and pro-reform lawmakers have expressed serious disappointment about the setback, as there were strong hopes that the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would serve as the legislative vehicle to finally enact the SAFE Banking Act, which has passed in the House seven times.

McConnell previewed his interest in blocking the effort earlier this week, describing the cannabis provision as one of the “pet priorities” of Democrats that should be kept out of the defense legislation.

His efforts evidently proved fruitful, and he took a victory lap on the Senate floor on Wednesday, while also signaling that he will seek to similarly derail any future attempts to add what he considers non-germane items to omnibus appropriations legislation.

“Just as Republicans insisted, just as our service members deserve, this NDAA is not getting dragged down by unrelated liberal nonsense,” McConnell said. “Good smart policies were kept in and unrelated nonsense like easier financing for illegal drugs was kept out.”



“I’m glad this Democrat-led Congress finally realized that defending America is a basic governing duty. It’s not some Republican priority that Democrats can demand unrelated goodies to be wheeled into it,” he said. “Neither party—let alone a sitting president’s party— can ever have the mindset that they need to be goaded or bartered into supporting our troops.”

Importantly, he also implied that Republicans will be taking a similar approach to prevent cannabis banking reform from being enacted through must-pass spending legislation that’s being eyed by supporters as an alternative vehicle for the lame duck session.

“We made it clear we wouldn’t be going down that road. Our Democratic colleagues finally accepted it,” the minority leader said. “Now that same lesson must carry over into our subsequent conversations about government funding.”

The comments were made around the same time that SAFE Banking sponsor Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) spoke at a House Rules Committee meeting on NDAA, during which he said he will be immediately getting to work to attach the reform to the pending omnibus spending legislation—though he added that he’s lost sleep over recent setbacks and has “unrepeatable” things to say about the Senate over their inability to advance the bill.

“I’m not giving up on this darn thing yet,” the congressman, who is retiring at the end of this session, said, adding that he will need bicameral and bipartisan support “if we try to attach it to the appropriations bill.”

In a separate statement to Marijuana Moment after the meeting, the Perlmutter said that “though SAFE didn’t get done in the NDAA, we successfully elevated the issue and have everyone’s attention, so now we need to get it done.”

“There is time to do it,” he said.

Prior to the NDAA text being released, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) reacted to McConnell’s criticism of putting marijuana banking in the defense bill.

“This is something, again, that’s had bipartisan support. We’ve been working with Republicans. It’s a priority for me,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “I’d like to get it done. We’ll try to discuss the best way to get it done.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) said during an interview on the The Thom Hartmann Program on Wednesday that NDAA’s exclusion of the SAFE Banking language from NDAA meant that there was at least one Democratic senator who dissented from the majority.

“If we can’t do something as minor and reasonable as that, having a bigger overhaul around the war on drugs” is not especially feasible, he said in response to a listener’s question about broader drug policy reform.



“From the Senate, what came over, they couldn’t even send over” cannabis banking, he said. “That means at least a Democratic senator had a problem with hat provision.”

When the host mused about who the senator might have been, Pocan simply smiled and did not answer.

While the omission of banking reform in NDAA has seriously disappointed advocates—and the fight seems to be brewing over enacting it through separate omnibus legislation—details have also been emerging this past week about the so-called SAFE Plus package that Schumer has been working on for months with bipartisan and bicameral offices.

The framework for that package, which could also be introduced and advanced as a standalone, is expected to center on the SAFE Banking Act as well as a separate bipartisan proposal to incentivize state-legal cannabis expungements.

Sources have been telling Marijuana Moment for the past several months that lawmakers have also been discussing adding to SAFE Plus language to protect Second Amendment rights for cannabis consumers by exempting people in legalized states from a federal restriction that bars any “unlawful user” of a controlled substance from owning a firearm. Politico reported on Monday that the current negotiated package does, in fact, include the Gun Rights And Marijuana Act (GRAM) Act.

Meanwhile, at the request of certain Senate offices, the Justice Department wrote a recently disclosed memo earlier this year outlining areas of the SAFE Banking Act that it identified as potentially problematic. While Senate sources said that those issues have been fixed in the latest language, some GOP senators arranged a meeting with DOJ on Monday to go over the concerns.

Those lawmakers who met with department officials were Sens. Pat Toomey (R-PA), Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), according to Politico.

Schumer had said in October that Congress was getting “very close” to introducing and passing the marijuana banking and expungements bill, citing progress he’s made in discussions with a “bunch of Republican senators.”

Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), meanwhile, said following the election that Democrats who want to enact cannabis reform must either do it “now” during the lame duck session or wait until “many years from now” when his party has a shot at controlling Congress again.

Booker previously opposed moving marijuana banking reform before Congress effectively ended prohibition with an eye toward equity. But he softened his position in recent months, becoming increasingly open to moving the incremental legislation.

For some advocates, support for the so-called “SAFE Plus” package will be largely contingent on the details of changes to the banking language, as they’re discontent with the current provisions that have passed the House in some form seven times now.

Specifically, they’d like to see the bill amended to provide funding for Minority Deposit Institutions (MDIs) and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) that lend commercial loans to minority-owned businesses.

They’re further called for changes to require banks that work with the cannabis industry to demonstrate non-discrimination in lending, as Supernova Women Executive Director Amber Senter wrote in a recent op-ed for Marijuana Moment.

These amendments align with some of the SAFE Banking Act recommendations that Cannabis Regulators of Color Coalition (CRCC) outlined in a paper sent to legislative leaders in August.

The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), meanwhile, sent a letter to Senate leadership last week, calling for a floor vote on the SAFE Banking Act “without further delay” by the year’s end.

“This legislation enjoys strong, bipartisan support, would resolve a conflict between state and federal law, and addresses a critical public safety concern,” ICBA, which commissioned a poll demonstrating that support earlier this year, said. “We urge its enactment without further delay.”

Another poll released last week found that three in four American voters—including bipartisan majorities—support ending federal marijuana prohibition, expunging prior convictions and allowing banks to work with state-legal cannabis businesses.

 

[Baron23]

"She was guilty" No shit?

Brittney Griner’s case was difficult for U.S. negotiators for one key reason: She was guilty ​

The release from Russian prison of WNBA star Britney Griner has been greeted with general delight in the United States.​

Announcing the deal that saw her freed on Dec. 8, 2022, President Joe Biden lauded the “painstaking and intense negotiations” that made it happen. Others may have legitimate concerns over the equivalence of the exchange, which saw convicted arms merchant Viktor Bout returned to Russia.


As a longtime scholar of Russian law, I believe the episode prompts a reflection on the application of Russian law in Griner’s case, and, more broadly, consideration about such exchanges in general.


The problem American negotiators face in such situations is that it matters whether the U.S. citizen is guilty of committing the crime alleged under foreign law or whether there has been a miscarriage of justice, incompetent investigation or prosecution, or false accusation.


And from this perspective, the Griner case was difficult.

A question of “direct intent”​

Griner has yet to give a full account of her story, but the available facts suggest that she legally acquired in the U.S., probably in Arizona or California where she is based, vaping cartridges containing hashish oil upon a physician’s recommendation, but not prescription. She then, probably illegally under federal law, carried them across state lines to New York, where vaping cartridges are sold, but cannot be carried to states where they are not legal.


From there, the question becomes a classic law school examination issue: Did Griner violate zero-tolerance Russian legislation on narcotics when she boarded a Russian aircraft in New York — unless, of course, she flew Delta as the only U.S. carrier that goes direct?


Or was the law broken when that aircraft entered Russian airspace, or touched down in Moscow? Or perhaps it was when passengers disembarked at Sheremetyevo International Airport, when Griner passed through passport control, or when the basketball star chose the green customs channel at the airport instead of declaring what she had in the red channel and was found out by a sniffer dog policing the green channel. These were all possibilities, but the green channel was incontrovertible.


Accusations of possession and smuggling of narcotics under Russian criminal law require proof of “direct intent” — that the individual knew or should have known what act they were performing. In this case, passing through the green channel with nothing to declare while carrying a controlled substance would constitute direct intent.


That, as Griner said, she did not “intend to commit a crime” when she packed the vaping cartridges in her hand luggage was immaterial. The question was whether she entered the green customs channel with intent.


The choice she made was to not declare the cartridges. Had she done so, the cartridges likely would have been confiscated, but no offence committed.


Under Russian law, and also that of the U.S., direct intent was present. What she did was, from her government’s standpoint, at best careless and thoughtless. Moreover, it exposed the U.S., in the end, to a unwelcome scenario of exchanges at a most difficult time in the international community.


The personal costs to Griner were not insignificant. It likely cost her a lucrative contract, a criminal conviction and some nine or so months in custody.

Under Russian law, quantity matters​

Russian law — just as many jurisdictions, including many U.S. states — does not recognize medical uses of marijuana. Griner has been travelling to Russia for eight years and will have been expected to know this.


Under Russian law, the amount in her hand luggage qualified as a “significant amount” — the lowest threshold of criminal liability.


Another individual whose situation is receiving more media attention in light of the Griner case is Marc Fogel, an American still serving a criminal sentence in Russia of 14 years for smuggling narcotics. His case fell into the next category —a “large-scale amount” of marijuana, and a more severe sentence. He, beyond doubt, was aware of the risks in bringing it in for personal medical purposes.


There is no question that the sentences imposed on Griner and Fogel were severe. Other alternatives were potentially available, including administrative responsibility — legal code embodying a category of offences we do not have in Common Law jurisdictions. There are sanctions for violations, but they are not treated as criminal.


Without imputing political motives to the apprehension of Griner — which may or may not be justified — the Russian Procuracy will have had reason to assume that both Griner and Fogel acted with direct intent both in the narrow legal sense and in the larger human sense.


Both are familiar with Russia, not casual tourists. They brought in a prohibited substance, had prior experience with and knowledge of Russian legal practice in this domain, and, nonetheless, either carelessly or knowingly brought in a prohibited drug.

The problem of ‘Americanizing’ Russian law​

Another lesson to be learned from the Griner case is that American media frequently experiences difficulty in explaining foreign systems of criminal law. Part of the problem is the “Americanizing” or “Anglicizing” of Russian criminal law and procedure.


In the Griner case, most media reported that she was liable to punishment of up to 10 years, but omitted to say that the Criminal Code imposed a minimum of five years. This understated the gravity of the offence in Russian law.


The nine-year sentence handed to Griner was on the heavy end, but not unheard of or unreasonable and is consistent with the Fogel sentence.


That wasn’t the only misstep in foreign media reporting. The accusation of smuggling was widely and correctly reported, but said nothing about the charge of possession. References were made to a “guilty plea” by Griner, but Russian criminal procedure does not have pleas. The prosecution had to prove its case irrespective of what the accused may say.


There are good historical reasons from the Soviet past as to why acknowledgements of guilt — or “confessions” — do not affect the burden of proof on the prosecution. In this case, however, the burden of proof was easy to satisfy, and Griner’s counsel will have given sound advice in suggesting that she acknowledge guilt after the prosecution had presented its case.


We have yet to hear a more complete version of Griner’s side since her return to the U.S. One must hope that the American negotiators achieved not only the exchange, but an outcome which gives her no record of conviction in Russia and enables her, at an appropriate time, to resume her million-dollar Russian contract if she wishes to do so and circumstances permit.

 

[Fat Freddy]

 

[Baron23]

Fuck those two cops but especially fuck the hospital staff assholes that called them on this patient.

Kansas Democrats Renew Call For Medical Marijuana Legalization After Cancer Patient’s Hospital Room Raided By Police​

Kansas Democratic lawmakers are renewing their call to legalize medical marijuana in the state after police raided the hospital room of a terminally ill cancer patient over possession of cannabis extracts.

Just days before Christmas, officers in Hays, Kansas allegedly visited the patient’s room and confiscated a marijuana vaping device and cannabis extract.

The news of the law enforcement action against the 69-year-old man, Greg Bretz, ignited a strong response from the cannabis reform community. He told The Wichita Eagle that he was using cannabis to relief symptoms of his condition while spending weeks “flat on my back” since being hospitalized three weeks ago.

A doctor, Bretz said, told him to use whatever means necessary to ameliorate the pain. But hospital staff contacted law enforcement after he allegedly vaped in his hospital room, and three officers then paid him a visit. They seized his vape device as well as edible paste containing THC.

Staff at the Hays Medical Center reportedly said they were worried that the vaping device could be a potential fire hazard—though Bretz said he was not on oxygen, raising questions about the concern.

The end result, however, is a terminally ill man facing possible prosecution over the possessing cannabis that he says us used medically.

And Kansas House Democrats were quick to amplify the story to demonstrate the need to enact a policy change in the state.

“House Dems are committed to legalizing access to medical marijuana. [Medical marijuana] is available to ill patients in dozens of states across the country,” the party wrote on Monday. “Kansans shouldn’t be forced to choose between quality, safe health care and abiding by the law.”

Bretz was initially given a ticket to appear in court for an appearance on January 2, but The Salina Post reported that it was later dismissed by more senior police officials.

Hays Police Chief Don Scheibler said that the officers involved “weren’t perfect that day” but he defended their overall performance, saying that current laws put them “in a very difficult position.”

“We want to say this is a law but don’t enforce it,” he said, noting shifting public attitudes about cannabis policy. “That’s gonna be a challenge for us.”

“It’s important that we have these discussions,” Scheibler said. “It’s important that we have clear laws for law enforcement to enforce. And we need to do what we think is best for all of Kansas. Again, the only thing I’m sorry about that day was that man’s got to deal with one of the most private things in his life. And that’s no longer possible now. For that, I’m sorry.”

In any case, Bretz’s story is reminiscent of a 2019 controversy that saw three Missouri police officers visit a hospital and search through the belongings of a man with stage-four pancreatic cancer in a fruitless attempt to find marijuana.

Missouri, which is right next door to Kansas, has since legalized cannabis for adult use following last month’s ballot initiative vote on the reform.

Kansas, meanwhile, remains one of a declining number few states that have kept prohibition on the books even for medical use of cannabis.

The Kansas House of Representatives approved a medical marijuana bill in the last session, but it later stalled in the Senate.

Supportive lawmakers are hoping to see a policy change in the upcoming session. Members of a special committee held a final meeting on medical marijuana issues this month that will be used to inform reform legislation that will be introduced in the 2023 session.

The Special Committee on Medical Marijuana, members of which toured a Missouri cannabis cultivation facility this month as part of their work, went over the wide range of issues that they’ve been discussing with officials and experts in recent months. The plan is to finalize a report with recommendations for the legislature heading into the new year.

At an earlier hearing in October, members focused on the “public policy implications” of the reform, receiving testimony from stakeholders and advocates about how to effectively regulate the market, touching on issues like track-and-trace, the pros and cons of licensing caps and the role that physicians should play.

The bicameral committee, which was formed in June, convened for an initial meeting in October that involved state officials, law enforcement and an Oklahoma medical cannabis regulator giving their perspective on the issue.

In the midst of these discussions, a spokesperson for the top Kansas GOP senator recently said the issue is “not a priority”—prompting pushback from House Democratic leadership.

The spokesperson said that Senate President Ty Masterson (R) recognizes that the reform issue is “maturing,” adding that any federal action “would be more evidence of that.” However, “it is not a priority” for the senator, who wields significant influence over what legislation advances.

While advocates were disappointed that lawmakers were unable to pass a medical cannabis bill by the end of the 2022 session in May—despite considerable momentum and the support of Gov. Laura Kelly (D)—the hope is that the committee’s work will lay the groundwork for meaningful action when the legislature convenes again.

The special panel is comprised of members appointed by the House speaker and Senate president.

House Minority Leader Tom Sawyer (D) said in June that he’s “been pretty frustrated that we have yet to get a bill passed,” while acknowledging that the House voted to legalize medical marijuana last year only to see a relative lack of action in the Senate.

The Senate did hold several hearings on cannabis reform this year, but members never got around to scheduling a vote. Late in the session, legislative leaders formed a bicameral conference committee that was tasked with arriving at a deal that could pass both chambers, although that didn’t pan out by the time lawmakers adjourned.

Democratic lawmakers made a final push to enact medical cannabis legalization before the legislative deadline, but Olson said in May that the “heavy load” his committee had to carry on other issues meant that lawmakers would not be “getting this measure across the finish line this session.”

Members of the House and Senate Federal and State Affairs Committees held two public conference meetings in April to discuss a way to merge the House-passed medical marijuana bill with a separate one that Senate lawmakers began considering this year. At the last official meeting, lawmakers from the House side went through areas where they were willing to concede to differences in the other chamber’s bill, as well as provisions they wanted to keep from their own measure.

Sawyer and Assistant Minority Leader Jason Probst (D) said in January that they wanted to let voters decide on legalizing medical and adult-use marijuana in the state.

The governor, for her part, wants to see medical cannabis legalization enacted, and she said earlier this year that she “absolutely” thinks the bill could pass if “everything else doesn’t take up all the oxygen.”

She previously pushed a separate proposal that would legalize medical cannabis and use the resulting revenue to support Medicaid expansion, with Rep. Brandon Woodard (D) filing the measure on the governor’s behalf.

Kelly has she said she wants voters to put pressure on their representatives to get the reform passed.

Following President Joe Biden’s announcement on pardoning people who’ve committed federal marijuana possession offenses and imploring governors to follow suit, Kelly said that her administration is “focused on legalizing medical marijuana so that Kansans with severe illnesses no longer have to suffer.

She added that they will “continue to consider all clemency and pardon requests based on a complete and thorough review of the individual cases.”

The governor also said in 2020 that while she wouldn’t personally advocate for adult-use legalization, she wouldn’t rule out signing the reform into law if a reform bill arrived on her desk.

 

[momofthegoons]

Kids Taken From Family Following Marijuana Arrest Remain In Tennessee State Custody Following Hearing​

“The state of Tennessee has no respect for Black families. The state of Tennessee has no love for Black children. I’m here to tell you that, baby, it is 2023 not 1823. We are going to fight for our children and we’re going to win.”

By Anita Wadhwani, Tennessee Lookout

Five children taken from a Black family after a traffic stop in Coffee County will remain in the custody of the Department of Children’s Services following a hearing in juvenile court on Monday.

Bianca Clayborne and Deonte Williams were pulled over by the Tennessee Highway Patrol for tinted car windows and driving in the left lane on I-24 without passing as they tried to make their way from their home in Georgia to a family funeral in Chicago last month.

After a search of the family’s car turned up five grams of marijuana—a misdemeanor in Tennessee—Williams was arrested. Clayborne was cited and released with the couple’s five children. “The mother had custody of the children when we were done,” a THP colonel toldChannel 2 News.

Less than six hours later, DCS forcibly took the children from Clayborne as she waited to bond Williams out.

“This family has been without their babies for 30 days,” Courtney Teasley, the family’s attorney said in a news conference outside the Coffee County Justice Center following the juvenile court hearing, which was closed to the public. The youngest child, Teasley noted, is a breast-feeding infant.

Clayborne will also be required to submit to a hair follicle test, Teasley said. Such tests can trace drug usage several months back.

Both Clayborne and Williams submitted to urine drug screens a week after their children were taken.

Williams tested positive for THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. Clayborne tested negative. The couple were then asked to submit to a rapid hair follicle test; both tested positive for methamphetamines, oxycodone and fentanyl.

Both parents deny using these drugs; a Coffee County court administrator said they were inadmissible in court; and an expert said rapid hair follicle tests are known for producing false positives. DCS nevertheless used the results of the rapid test in a court filing as the basis for accusing Clayborne and Williams of severe child abuse. DCS also claimed the kids—7, 5, 3, 2 and four months old—had said their father took them on drug deals.

Williams has called those claims “absolute lunacy.”

The DCS claims were made in court filings a week after the kids were taken away.

Teasley declined to provide any additional details about the hearing, including the reason for the mother’s hair follicle test, citing a court order that prevents her from saying more.

The parents also declined to comment, asking for privacy as they placed their children into a waiting car after the hearing.

The five children were present during the parents’ appearances at the courthouse, with the smallest children variously seen held in their father’s arms or holding their mother’s hand. The children were initially split up and placed into three different foster homes, but are now being cared for by Nashville-area relatives who agreed to serve as a foster family.

More than a half dozen DCS officials—including its chief legal counsel, a deputy commissioner and communications director—were also present inside the small county courthouse, an unusual high-level turnout for a county juvenile court case.

Advocates for the family turning out to show support included Theeda Murphy, executive director of the No Exceptions Prison Collective, who noted that DCS has itself been the subject of intense public scrutiny for the treatment of children in its care, including a lack of appropriate placements that have kept children sleeping on office floors for months.

“I am here today because DCS has been keeping children in offices and in hallways, but has the nerve to come in and say these children are in danger,” she said. “They silence anyone who has the nerve to call out what they are doing.

“The state of Tennessee has no respect for Black families,” she said. “The state of Tennessee has no love for Black children. I’m here to tell you that, baby, it is 2023 not 1823. We are going to fight for our children and we’re going to win.”

Alex Denis, a DCS spokesperson, responding to widespread criticisms the family was subject to disparate treatment because they are Black, stressed the diversity of the agency, including the front line workers involved in removing the five children from their family.

“The case managers that are working this case, they do come from diverse backgrounds,” she said, noting that nearly 35 percent of agency caseworkers and half of the department’s deputy commissioners are African-American.

The case gained widespread attention after a Tennessee Lookout report last week. The Tennessee Democratic Caucus immediately demanded the agency release the children back to their parents. Hours later, DCS filed motions to refer the couple and their attorneys for criminal prosecution for revealing details of juvenile court proceedings. No details were released Monday about the outcome of those motions.

This story was first published by Tennessee Lookout.

 

[Baron23]

This is from the most anal state in the world...a place you can get caned for chewing gum in public.....wow, this is truly contemptible and no....Crazy Rich Asians is just a movie and not reality for most people living in that city state. Fucking awful...just awful.

Singapore to execute man over 1kg of Cannabis ​

What is especially troubling is that Tangaraju... never actually handled the drugs.​

SINGAPORE: A Singaporean man is scheduled to be hanged next week for conspiring to smuggle a kilogram of cannabis, rights groups said, in the city-state's first execution in six months.

Singaporean Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, will be sent to the gallows on Wednesday, according to a notice from the prisons department received by his family and posted on social media by rights activists.

Amnesty International condemned the decision on Friday, calling it "extremely cruel".

"If carried out, this execution would be in violation of international law and in stubborn defiance of continued outcry over Singapore's use of the death penalty," a spokesperson from Amnesty's regional office told AFP.

In many parts of the world -- including in neighbouring Thailand -- cannabis has been decriminalised, with authorities abandoning prison sentences, and rights groups have been mounting pressure on Singapore to abolish capital punishment.

The Asian financial hub has some of the world's toughest anti-narcotics laws and insists the death penalty remains an effective deterrent against trafficking.

Tangaraju was convicted in 2017 of "abetting by engaging in a conspiracy to traffic" 1,017.9 grammes (35.9 ounces) of cannabis, twice the minimum volume that merits the death sentence.

He was sentenced to death in 2018 and the Court of Appeal upheld the decision.

Prosecutors said he owned two mobile phone numbers used as contacts.

"What is especially troubling is that Tangaraju... never actually handled the drugs," rights activist Kirsten Han told AFP.

"He was also questioned by the police without legal counsel and said that he was denied a Tamil interpreter."

High Court judge Hoo Sheau Peng had said that anyone who abets the commission of a crime under the law shall also be guilty of that offence and liable to the same punishment.

Hoo said that "the charge against the accused had been proved beyond a reasonable doubt".

Singapore resumed execution by hanging in March 2022 after a hiatus of more than two years.

Eleven executions were carried out last year -- all for drug offences.

Among those hanged was Nagaenthran K Dharmalingam, whose execution sparked a global outcry, including from the United Nations and British tycoon Richard Branson, because he was deemed to have a mental disability.

The United Nations (UN) says that the death penalty has not proven to be an effective deterrent globally and is incompatible with international human rights law, which only permits capital punishment for the most serious crimes

 

[CarolKing]

A real abuse of power to kill, control and scare people! Living in a country that terrorizes it citizens.

I did see Crazy Rich Asians.

 

[Baron23]

The fuckers actually did it. Fucking barbaric shit, this is. Wow

"Singapore authorities criticized Branson’s allegations, stating that he had shown disrespect for the Singaporean judicial system"​

Damn right he did....we should all disrespect Singapore for this contemptible execution.

11 Executions last year for drug charges. I'm guessing that this gets done to the other half of Crazy Rich Asians population....eh? Sigh

Man executed in Singapore for role in Cannabis delivery ​

Singapore has executed a man accused of coordinating a cannabis delivery, despite pleas for clemency and protests that he was convicted on weak evidence.​

Singapore on Wednesday executed a man accused of coordinating a cannabis delivery, despite pleas for clemency from his family and protests from activists that he was convicted on weak evidence.


Tangaraju Suppiah, 46, was sentenced to death in 2018 for abetting the trafficking of 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of cannabis. Under Singapore laws, trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis may result in the death penalty.


Tangaraju was hanged Wednesday morning and his family was given the death certificate, according to a tweet from activist Kirsten Han of the Transformative Justice Collective, which advocates for abolishing the death penalty in Singapore.


Although Tangaraju was not caught with the cannabis, prosecutors said phone numbers traced him as the person responsible for coordinating the delivery of the drugs. Tangaraju had maintained that he was not the one communicating with the others connected to the case.


At a United Nations Human Rights briefing Tuesday, spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani called on the Singapore government to adopt a “formal moratorium” on executions for drug-related offenses.


“Imposing the death penalty for drug offences is incompatible with international norms and standards,” said Shamdasani, who added that increasing evidence shows the death penalty is ineffective as a deterrent.


Singapore authorities say there is a deterrent effect, citing studies that traffickers carry amounts below the threshold that would bring a death penalty.


The island-state's imposition of the death penalty for drugs is in contrast with its neighbors. In Thailand, cannabis has essentially been legalized, and Malaysia has ended the mandatory death penalty for serious crimes.


Singapore executed 11 people last year for drug offenses. One case that spurred international concern involved a Malaysian man whose lawyers said he was mentally disabled.


The Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network condemned Tangaraju’s execution as “reprehensible.”


“The continued use of the death penalty by the Singaporean government is an act of flagrant disregard for international human rights norms and casts aspersion on the legitimacy of Singapore’s criminal justice system,” the statement said.


Relatives and activists had sent letters to Singapore’s President Halimah Yacob to plead for clemency. In a video posted by the Transformative Justice Collective, Tangaraju’s niece and nephew appealed to the public to raise concerns to the government over Tangaraju’s impending execution.


An application filed by Tangaraju on Monday for a stay of execution was dismissed without a hearing Tuesday.


“Singapore claims it affords people on death row ‘due process’, but in reality fair trial violations in capital punishment cases are the norm: Defendants are being left without legal representation when faced with imminent execution, as lawyers who take such cases are intimidated and harassed,” said Maya Foa, director of non-profit human rights organization Reprieve.


Critics say Singapore’s death penalty has mostly snared low-level mules and done little to stop drug traffickers and organized syndicates. But Singapore’s government says that all those executed have been accorded full due process under the law and that the death penalty is necessary to protect its citizens.


British billionaire Richard Branson, who is outspoken against the death penalty, had also called for a halt of the execution in a blog post, saying that “Singapore may be about to kill an innocent man.”


Singapore authorities criticized Branson’s allegations, stating that he had shown disrespect for the Singaporean judicial system as evidence had shown that Tangaraju was guilty.

 

[Baron23]

So boys and girls....I'm 70, and with some amount of shame I admit that I've consumed cannabis since I was 15 (but...not much), and the one thing I feel I'm on confident ground stating is that cannabis does NOT make you run faster or jump higher. Well, unless its a run to the grocers for more Doritos.

American athlete loses national title over Cannabis test ​

US track and field Olympian Tara Davis-Woodhall has been stripped of her indoor national title and suspended one month following an anti-doping rule violation.​

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced Tuesday that Davis-Woodhall tested positive for THC – the main psychoactive compound found in marijuana – in a sample collected on Feb. 17 after she won the long jump title at the 2023 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships held in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

USADA said Davis-Woodhall's suspension was reduced to one-month because she successfully completed a substance abuse treatment program and her use of cannabis occurred out of competition. She served her suspension, which started on March 21.

Davis-Woodhall, 23, who married Paralympian Hunter Woodhall in October, competed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and finished sixth in long jump.

Cannabis, marijuana, and hashish are currently prohibited during competition under international anti-doping rules.

Davis-Woodhall is the latest track and field star to face an anti-doping violation.

U.S. sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson tested positive for marijuana at the 2021 Olympic trials, disqualifying her first-place finish in the 100-meter dash and effectively knocking her out of the Tokyo Olympics due to a minimum 30-day suspension under WADA's anti-doping code. The timing and duration of the suspension prevented her from competing in Tokyo.

 

[Baron23]

And another entry into the "Singapore ain't like like in the movie" file.

Truly barbaric....absolutely contemptible....fuck Singapore; those fucking savage motherfuckers.

Singapore hangs 2 Cannabis traffickers ​

A man was hanged at Changi Prison in eastern Singapore at dawn today for trafficking 1.5 kilogrammes of cannabis.​

He is the second cannabis trafficker to be executed at the prison in just three weeks.

The 37-year-old ethnic Malay Singaporean was hanged today after a last-minute plea to stop the execution was rejected by the appeal court without a hearing.

In Singapore, trafficking just 500 grammes of cannabis is punishable by the death penalty. The man executed today, whose name is withheld due to his family’s wishes for privacy, was found guilty of trafficking three times that amount in 2019.

He confessed to possessing a far smaller amount of cannabis and tried to reopen the case based on DNA evidence that supported his confession. However, the appeal was rejected by the court, according to Transformative Justice Collective, an NGO fighting against the death penalty in Singapore.

Just three weeks ago, Singapore ignored pleas from the United Nations to “urgently reconsider” hanging 46 year old Tangaraju Suppiah who was found guilty of trafficking 1 kilogramme of cannabis. He was hanged at Changi Prison at dawn on April 26, 2023.

Activists also raised concerns about the weakness of the evidence used to convict Tangaraju as well as that he was not given access to a Tamil interpreter. He was forced to represent himself at his last appeal as his family was unable to secure a lawyer for the hearing.

Richard Branson – founder of Virgin – spoke out online to say that Singapore might be about to execute an innocent man because Tangaraju was “not anywhere near” the drugs at the time of his arrest. In response, Singapore’s Home Affairs Ministry said Branson showed “disrespect for Singapore’s judges and our criminal justice system with such allegations.”

Activist groups pointed out that cannabis is legal in neighbouring Thailand, where anyone over 20 years old can legally buy a kilogramme of cannabis. Transformative Justice Collective said it was “illogical” that someone could be executed for a substance being freely enjoyed, traded, and used medicinally in the same region.

Thirteen death row inmates have been hanged since Singapore resumed executions in March 2022. Despite calls to for abolition, Singapore remains that the death penalty successfully deters potential drug traffickers.

 

[Baron23]

First, I'd rather be boiled alive than go on a Carnival cruise. Second, fuck them and the rest of the cruise industry. There are med patients who absolutely need cannabis and should be able to go on a cruise. Here is a scenario...terminal cancer patient...def terminal in the short term. Their life time dream is to go a cruise but they need cannabis to fight the med side effects and pain. What do you think?

Carnival Cruise Line to continue using drug dogs amid prevalence of Pot ​

Don’t plan on taking any weed along your next Carnival Cruise anytime soon.​

Carnival Cruises will continue to deploy drug detection dogs to search for pot and other drugs, according to a brand ambassador who confirmed the cruise line’s drug policy Tuesday.

Don’t plan on smoking if you’re vacationing on a cruise: Carnival Cruise Line (CCL), Royal Caribbean (RCL), Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH), and every other major cruise line operating or departing U.S. ports bans cannabis consumption on-board. Most display “Drug Free Zone” signs aboard and employ a zero tolerance policy.

Cruise lines follow federal law, which trumps state laws, even though their ships are not flagged in the U.S., so cannabis is prohibited in nearly every circumstance. The open seas are not actually lawless and laws typically extend miles from shore, and most cruises stop in multiple countries.

The Gwinnett Daily Post reports that Carnival Cruise won’t be changing its policy on cannabis anytime soon, after a brand ambassador clarified the cruise line’s efforts to control cannabis use on-board.

“As for the drug detection dogs, well let me say that they have, along with our no tolerance rules and enforcement, made a massive difference to the problem of people thinking it is legal and allowed to use marijuana on their cruise. It isn’t,” Carnival Brand Ambassador John Heald posted on his Facebook page on May 23.

Some cruise guests complained of the weed smell that is common on cruises. Passengers say they get it while ships dock on ports and when they venture into the city.

“They really need more drug dogs when we are getting back on the ship because people pick up drugs in ports and that is when I smell marijuana on the balconies,” a commenter named Janet replied on Heald’s page.

Problems with Drug Sniffing Dogs and Cannabis​

There are a handful of problems with using dogs to sniff out drugs and pot. Commenters raised concerns about allergies to dogs that might be interfering with privacy.

Heald continued, “These uber intelligent and highly trained dogs are used at embarkation and occasionally, not every cruise on every ship will sail as well with their handlers. Again, the ships are large enough for this [to] not be a concern for anyone who is allergic…”


It turns out that the Washington Post asked this same question last March, and a CCL representative confirmed the cruise line’s cannabis policy.

“In case there’s any confusion, let me remind guests that while marijuana and cannabis products may be legal in some states, we are required to follow federal law irrespective of the law in the state where you may be boarding your ship,” CCL President Christine Duffy told the Washington Post.

Since dozens of states have legalized cannabis in one form or another, drug dogs in general are losing their jobs in droves. In other cases, drug-sniffing dogs are getting trained to ignore cannabis. Why? A major exposé from The Chicago Tribune in 2011 claimed that drug-sniffing dogs can pick up on and follow the biases and prejudices of their handlers.

It’s not just dogs. China enlists drug-sniffing red squirrels, while honeybees could soon be the next natural drug locator. Researchers at the University of Cologne in Germany recently published a study in the journal Plos One, entitled “Detection of Illicit Drugs by Trained Honeybees,” showing the promise they have in law enforcement.

Cruise passengers who are caught with cannabis are typically punished quickly, and often kicked off the cruise at the next port.

 

[Baron23]

Two United Airlines employees charged with stealing Marijuana from passenger luggage ​

It is reported that the scheme ran for years.​

Last Friday, the United States Department of Justice charged two United Airlines staff members for stealing marijuana from passenger luggage at San Francisco International Airport. The two are now out on bail and awaiting a trial date.

Stealing weed from passenger bags​

Joel Lamont Dunn and Adrian Webb work for United Airlines in San Francisco, and the two enlisted the help of other personnel at the airport to steal marijuana from passenger luggage. A confidential informant informed authorities of the scheme, which ran for years. Supposedly Dunn was the operation's leader, and Webb was his right hand.


Those taking the marijuana from passenger bags were paid as much as $2,000 per shift, amounting to $10,000 some weeks. The cannabis was taken from luggage and placed in 15-20 gallon trash bags before being transported to the employees' vehicles. In June 2021, Dunn and Webb were seen moving large black trash bags on airport security cameras. In October last year, two accomplices in the scheme were confronted by law enforcement while carrying vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana.


Simple Flying has contacted United Airlines for a statement but has not received a reply at the time of publication.

 

[Baron23]

haha.... @Squiby .....did you see that they collected it in 15-20 gallon trash bags??? That's a LOT of weed being packed by passengers and ripped off by these crooks.

I wonder, do you think they went thru every piece of luggage or.....???

 

[Squiby]

I wonder, do you think they went thru every piece of luggage or.....???

Yes, I saw that and had the same thought. Maybe they xrayed the luggage and opened anything that looked like it contained a bag of weed? Surely travellers would only have packed small amounts...

 

[Baron23]

Of course they did....legal business won't kick back like cartels, right?

Colombia’s Senate rejects bill to legalize sale of Recreational Cannabis ​

Bogotá - Colombia’s Senate on Tuesday rejected legislation to decriminalize the sale of marijuana for recreational purposes to adults.​

The constitutional reform bill received 43 votes against and 47 in favor, thereby falling short of the 54 required for it to be passed during the eighth and final debate on the legislation, just one hour before the end of the current legislative session.


“I don’t consider this a defeat; we have taken a giant step, four years of putting such a controversial issue at the top of the public agenda, of the public debate,” Liberal Party Senator Juan Carlos Losada, who presented the bill, said, adding that it would be introduced again in the next legislative session.


“Continuing to leave a substance that is legal in the hands of the drug traffickers and drug dealers is detrimental to the children of Colombia and detrimental to the country’s democracy,” Losada said.


The use of marijuana for medical purposes is legal in Colombia but successive governments have opted for a prohibitionist policy under the long-standing promise of ending drug-trafficking.


Former President Álvaro Uribe included this prohibition explicitly in the Constitution and that is why now its decriminalization needs eight debates – instead of the normal four – in Congress.


Carrying up to 20 grams of marijuana and growing up to 20 plants for personal consumption has been allowed since 1986, but progressive lawmakers have been pushing for expanded marijuana legalization.


The bill’s proponents had hoped to pass the legislation last Thursday, but Senate President Alexander Lopez adjourned the session due to a verbal confrontation pitting two senators from the Green Alliance party – Inti Asprilla, who supports the bill, and Jota Pe Hernandez, who opposes it.


Debate resumed on Monday, but Lopez once again put off a vote, citing a lack of quorum.


That session ended up mired in controversy, since proponents of the bill had abandoned the chamber when it became clear they were one vote short of the 54 needed to approve the legislation (due to one missing lawmaker – Sen. Alex Florez of the ruling Historic Pact for Colombia coalition).


Lopez subsequently declared a lack of quorum for a vote on the bill, pushing it to Tuesday.


If the bill had been approved, Colombia would have become just the second Latin American country (after Uruguay) to allow the legal sale of personal consumption cannabis to adults.

 

[Baron23]

Man gets life sentence for killing mail carrier who refused to deliver marijuana package​

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A man was sentenced to life in prison Thursday after being convicted of killing a mail carrier who instead of delivering a large package of marijuana to his home left a note in the mailbox requiring him to come to a South Carolina post office to pick it up.

Trevor Raekwon Seward, 25, was found guilty of murder of a federal employee in the course of her duties and other crimes in the September 2019 shooting of 64-year-old Irene Pressley as she delivered mail in rural Williamsburg County, federal prosecutors said.

After finding the note in his mailbox instead of the 2-pound (0.9-kilogram) package of marijuana from California he was expecting, Seward confronted Pressley a few minutes later demanding his package. The U.S. Postal Service mail carrier refused, according to court documents.

Seward then got a semi-automatic rifle and waited for Pressley to come down a street in Andrews, firing about 20 times into the back of her mail truck, prosecutors said.

Several bullets hit Pressley. Seward then drove the mail truck into a ditch on an access road at a hunting club, searched through it to try to find his marijuana and anything else valuable, and then left the Pressley’s body in her truck, prosecutors said.

The marijuana package was later found on the street where Pressley was killed, according to court records.

In court, Pressley’s sister blamed Seward for the death of 97-year-old father.

“He gave up, because you took his daughter’s life,” Elisha Hubbard said according to WPDE-TV, during Thursday’s sentencing hearing, adding that he loved the treats that Irene Pressley would bring him every day.

Seward listened carefully to Pressley’s family as they spoke at the hearing and stood up when the judge asked him if he wanted to speak.

Seward then said he didn’t “want to cause any more confusion. I don’t have anything to say, ” the TV station reported.

The co-defendant who helped Seward look for the mail carrier was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Jerome Terrell Davis, 31, pleaded guilty to robbery and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute marijuana, prosecutors said.

The value of the marijuana in the package was minimal.

At the time of the murder it would have cost around $1,600 in Colorado, where it was legal, according to state revenue data. Even when marijuana was illegal nationwide, the value of the package would not have exceeded $2,600, according to National Drug Intelligence Center data about South Carolina in 2000.

 

[Baron23]

Personally, I think its easy to understand....Fogel is not in the right demographics...on a number of scores (profession, celebrity, sexual preference, race).

Now if he cross dressed he'd have a chance of our government stepping up for him.

My view, about him, Griner, and anybody else in similar situation is that they knowingly and intentionally broke Russian law so I'm puzzled as to why we should give a tinker's damn about them.

Congressional Bill Pushes Biden Admin To Explain Why Medical Marijuana Patient And Others Jailed Abroad Aren’t Considered ‘Wrongfully Detained’​

Bipartisan lawmakers have introduced a bill that would require the State Department to explain to Congress why it has not designated a U.S. citizen incarcerated in Russia over medical marijuana possession, as well as other Americans detained abroad, as “wrongfully detained.”

The legislation is titled the “Marc Fogel Act,” named after a teacher and former U.S. diplomat who is serving a 14-year sentence in Russia for possessing medical cannabis that he lawfully obtained as a registered patient in Pennsylvania.

Lawmakers have worked several angles to get the State Department to classify him as a wrongfully detained individual, a designation that escalates diplomatic efforts to secure his release.

Now Reps. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), Chris Deluzio (D-PA), Mike Kelly (R-PA) and Brendan Boyle (D-PA) are seeking transparency in the process to force the federal government to provide documents and communications related to cases like Fogel’s to understand exactly why he and others who’ve been incarcerated abroad haven’t received the upgraded diplomatic designation.

“The Department has failed to do either and refused to explain its inaction—effectively stonewalling my efforts to bring him home,” Reschenthaler said in a press release on Tuesday. “The Marc Fogel Act will provide transparency into the State Department’s wrongful detainment determination process and help ensure that Americans imprisoned overseas are not forgotten.”

Deluzio said that it’s “far past time for the U.S. State Department to designate Marc Fogel as wrongfully detained in Russia, and this bill will help bring daylight into the process that the Department uses for cases like his and other Americans imprisoned overseas.”

“Mr. Fogel and his loved ones in Pennsylvania’s 17th District deserve to know that their government hears them and is using every tool available to bring him home safely,” he said. “We can strengthen that trust by designating detainment status accurately and by bringing more transparency into the process.”

The bill itself doesn’t explicitly mention marijuana, but the press release notes that Fogel “is serving a 14-year hard-labor sentence for possession of medical marijuana used to treat his severe back injury, a charge very similar to that of WNBA player Brittney Griner,” who also served time in a Russian prison over possession of cannabis oil that she also lawfully obtained as a medical marijuana patient in Arizona.

Unlike Fogel, Griner was designated by the State Department as wrongfully detained before being released as part of a prisoner swap that the Biden administration negotiated.

“Under federal law, Fogel meets at least six of the eleven established criteria to be designated as wrongfully detained by the State Department. He has yet to be classified as wrongfully detained,” the press release says. “Griner was designated in less than three months after her arrest.”

 

[Baron23]

"the cannabis community does not understand that the federal government takes away your Second Amendment rights as soon as you pick up a joint, and it does not matter if the state you live in is legal or not, or if you are dying of cancer."​

​

And this ^^ is what is so utterly contemptible. I know I've gone on about this over and over again but this appalling situation has also continued on and on. We are to accept that legislation passed by a bunch of fuck wad politicians trumps (no pun intended) an enumerated individual right in the Constitution which is the highest law of the land.

And, given the SCOTUS recent rulings on 2A and the requirement for to account for history of firearms, it is to me significant that cannabis was NOT illegal at that time and ownership of arms and possession and/or use of cannabis were NOT mutually exclusive.

"The ATF has updated form 4473 to include the question 11e, and if you lie on this form, you face a year in federal prison for simply lying"​

​

This obviously depends on what your last name is.

Cannabis and the second amendment: a word of warning ​

Cannabis users, friends, please stop compromising your freedom by advertising your guns on social media.​

The ATF released clarification on May 30 to firearm owners after the passage of cannabis legalization in Minnesota, reminding them that until federal law changes, they no longer have a right to own or possess guns or ammunition, that is if they partake in smoking, eating, or vaping the newly legalized, devil’s lettuce.

If you were to ask a convicted felon if they have a legal right to possess a firearm, they would say no. They know this because they were informed by the court that because they were convicted of a felony, the Second Amendment no longer applies to them, and they know that if they’re caught with a firearm, or even ammunition, they face more time in prison for the illegal possession of a firearm, than for the new crime they are caught committing.

If you were to ask someone who has never been convicted of anything, but they carry a medical marijuana card or live in a state where cannabis is now legal and they like to partake occasionally, if they think that they have a right to own or possess a firearm, they would of course say yes, but they would be wrong.

I am really writing this as a public service announcement, in hopes that I don’t see more of my friends do more time in prison for gun charges, for possession of what they thought were legal guns, because it seems that the cannabis community does not understand that the federal government takes away your Second Amendment rights as soon as you pick up a joint, and it does not matter if the state you live in is legal or not, or if you are dying of cancer.

As soon as you toke, take a bong hit, smoke a j, eat a brownie, vaporize or otherwise ingest a Schedule 1 substance, you completely lose your right to own, possess, or handle any type of firearm or ammunition.

Or as the 9th Circuit pointed out in Wilson vs. Lynch:

“Turning to federal firearms provisions, under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3) no person ‘who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance’ may ‘possess . . . or . . . receive any firearm or ammunition.’ In addition, it is unlawful for ‘any person to sell or otherwise dispose of any firearm or ammunition to any person knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that such person . . . is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance.'”

And it gets worse, because what the federal court defines as an “unlawful user” has nothing to do with your state laws, and everything to do with the Controlled Substances Act, and the fact that cannabis is currently a Schedule 1 controlled substance.

State law is always superseded by federal law, when you go into a federal courtroom, state laws are inadmissible, a federal judge will not listen to the defendant argue that any state law supersedes the Constitution of the United States. So even when states pass medical cannabis laws that specifically do not exempt a medical cannabis user from any other rights, the medical cannabis user still loses their right to own and possess a firearm or ammunition under federal law.

So if you are a medical cannabis patient, or a casual user of cannabis, and you get caught by the federal government on any type of charge, your guns will be used against you to enhance your sentence and give you more time in federal prison.

I know many of you would say that policy is very hypocritical in light of how wineries are treated, or beer manufacturers, but we live in the age of hypocrisy and more than anything, I hate seeing good people get additional time added on their sentence for cannabis cultivation, simply because they were in possession of a firearm, even an antique firearm, that was passed down by a person’s dad and kept simply for sentimental reasons, the federal government will use that as a reason to give you additional time.

Prosecutors call them “enhancements” to a sentence, and they love to tack them on, as it gives them leverage against the defendant who is now facing an otherwise obscenely long period of time in prison, not for the cannabis per se, but because of the guns. Gun enhancements have been a trap used by cops and prosecutors in the war on drugs for decades. But back then, criminals understood the Rules of Engagement, and realized they were carrying an illegal firearm, but now, otherwise law-abiding citizens are at risk because they are doing something completely legal in the state they live in, but because of the conflict with federal laws, and the fact that the federal government IS the Second Amendment, their simple possession of firearms makes them criminals in the eyes of the federal government and courts.

We not only live in a hypocritical time, we live in an odd time in history where we as a society have forgotten that privacy was important and we traded our security for “Likes” on Instagram. I’m sure the police departments and federal government loves the fact that most people don’t need people snitching on them, because they’re snitching on themselves. I can’t tell you how many Instagram profiles I have seen with fields of cannabis or indoor grow rooms that look beautiful, and then pistols, or targets from the range. You know what I’m talking about, as you have seen it as well, and so do the police who monitor social media.

Now I say this not to sound like some conspiracy nut, or to make you paranoid, because I’m not, as everything I’m saying is factual. I am saying this because, a lot of people seem to pick and choose the laws that they want to abide by, as you may like the Second Amendment, but you may also like the fact that your state legalized cannabis and now you feel you have a right to grow or smoke, which you do. But you have to know that you’re giving up one right for another right, because if you keep your guns, the same government that has been lying to you about cannabis for most of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, will also use those guns against you in their court of law.

So in short, if you think that the Second Amendment guarantees you a right to bear arms, you are right. But you are giving up that right as soon as you pick up a cannabis product, medical or not, and consume it.

The ATF has updated form 4473 to include the question 11e, and if you lie on this form, you face a year in federal prison for simply lying, so please keep that in mind if you are trying to purchase a new gun, because if you lie, and they find out, and you are denied the purchase of the firearm, you will be charged for lying on the form in federal court.

“11e.: Are you an unlawful (remember, they’re talking federal laws and not state) user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance? Warning: The use or possession of marijuana remains unlawful under federal law regardless of whether it has been legalized or decriminalized for medical or recreational purposes in the state where you reside.”

You may be wondering, how does this affect the firearms I already own? And I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you no longer have a right to own and possess the guns or even the ammunition, if you are a medical marijuana card holder or even using cannabis recreationally in a legal state. If ever you do get arrested by the federal government, they will confiscate all of your guns because technically in their eyes, your rights to possess even ammunition, evaporated when you chose to break federal law and use a Schedule 1 controlled substance.

If you think this is hypocritical, you’re right. If you think that cannabis growers should have the same rights as people who produce alcohol or run a winery, you’re right again. But in order to be legal instead of just being right, you’re going to have to do something about the federal laws and demand equal rights on the federal level. You’re going to have to fight for the federal legalization of cannabis, just like we have had to fight for the legalization of cannabis on the state level. Because until you change the federal laws, you can’t point to a federal law, or the Second Amendment of the Constitution and say that it gives you freedom, while ignoring the other federal laws that say you don’t have it if you break any of their other laws.

So to all my friends who are proponents of the Second Amendment, please stop compromising you and your families freedom by advertising publicly the weapons you own on a Instagram or Facebook, neatly pictured next to your garden and its products. And while you’re thinking about all this, please take some time and call your representatives, and ask them for a solution to this legal conundrum, as we all have to demand equal rights or we will never see them.

 

[vonfatman]

Thanks brother. In anticipation of such sillyness I gave my guns to my family and others over the past several years. My wife thought I was kinda going overboard. Not me. I do not want to live in Kansas.

Spread the word.

Thanks.


vfm