We can't lie. I'm not saying we are, but all of our claims need to be completely factual and true. As we move forward in the legalization movement, we're going to have tough opponents that use lies and slander to make their case. We must stay truthful to our audience as to not create any confusion and cast the shadows of doubt on them. No fabrication of facts, we don't need them. Crowded jails, narco-terrorists, drug cartels smuggling in anything and everything through their drug lines, we don't need any more evidence that the current system is not working. We just have to get out there and convince everyone else that we're not a bunch of pot smoking hippies.

filed on the 18th, approved by the City Attorney this week. we start gathering signatures in 5 days.. :)

News Release From the City of Tacoma, Washington www.cityoftacoma.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 1, 2011

MEDIA CONTACTS Karrie Spitzer, Community Relations, [email protected], (253) 591-5790 Rob McNair-Huff, Community Relations, [email protected], (253) 591-5054

Petition filed to amend municipal code related to marijuana An initiative petition was filed with the City Clerk that, if approved, would require the City “to amend Tacoma Municipal Code Title 8 to provide that marijuana or cannabis offenses be the lowest enforcement priority of the City of Tacoma.”

The initiative process is governed by Tacoma City Charter Section 2.19 and state law. As a result, an official ballot title was filed with the City Clerk today. Pursuant to Charter Section 2.19 (f), persons dissatisfied with the ballot title may seek judicial review within five working days of the transmittal.

The ballot title will become final and signature gathering may begin in five working days of the transmittal of the official title to the Clerk.

I posted this on r/trees, but it will never get any traction.

I'm posting a copy of it here because this seems like the best place to plant the seed. There's almost no chance of anything like this hitting the front page, but if a few people in this subreddit see it then the idea is out there. Maybe that will have to do.

I've been smoking for a long time. Most of that time I've never thought why weed was illegal. I just smoked it anyway.

In the last couple of years, though, I've researched and studied the matter. I found the whole subject incredibly messy and contorted. Thousands of arguments are out there, and even more counterarguments.

Then one day last month I finally employed the most important tool for this kind of thing - Occam's Razor.

Occam's sounds like a faggy contrived thing to say. However, it has a simple meaning. If none of the arguments make any sense, then the simplest reason is probably true - no matter how improbable it may seem.

Here's the con:

Cannabis, and previously alcohol, are illegal soley because it is a simple way to extract worth from the poor and uneducated.

Bullshit, I hear you say. Let's take this a little bit further.

What is the worth of a poor black man to the US economy. In earnings, at a decent job, they're worth maybe £20,000 to the economy and next to nothing in taxes.

In jail they cost the country an average of $27,134 - taken from NC State Corrections.

Now here's the con, and it's a thing of beauty. I swear I love this, and whoever came up with this is a genius. A soulless genius who puts logic above human rights, but a genius nonetheless.

That money is tax money, right, it must be paid. There can be no argument or obstruction against these taxes.

And I still can't get over how awesome this is...

That tax money doesn't just disappear into the ether - it gets spent on staff and services. Don't be distracted here by prison privatisation. That's just a tiny slice of the true loss.

Think of every state prison.

• Electricity and heating - who owns the companies that provide these services?

• Uniform / clothing procurement - who own the companies?

• Prison factory work - how much does an inmate get paid, and who profits from the sale of these goods?

• Why is the three strikes rule of benefit to anyone?

If you want to blame anything, blame game theory and the sociopaths who employ clever people to make incomprehensible wealth.

And if you think that's amazing, think of the trillions of dollars spent retaking Iraq. I say retaking, because we already took it 14 July 1958.

Don't be blinded by the bullshit.

EDIT

As an aside I started thinking about this because of a tragedy that happened a few miles from my house. It's not about cannabis, it's about heroin. Now I know a lot of people think smackheads deserve everything they get, but please drop your emotional defences for just long enough to digest this:

A man lived with his daughter. That man was addicted to heroin. He spent all his money on heroin. He spent his child allowance on Heroin. He lived entirely for Heroin.

That doesn't mean he didn't love his daughter, he did, and his daughter loved him. Every time she'd be taken into care because her food and care money had been spent on her father's Heroin addiction. And every time she'd go right back as soon as she could. She loved her dad unconditionally.

Then, finally, it happened again and she was taken into care. She hated care. She couldn't take care, and all she wanted was for someone to help her dad so she could live the life she rightly deserved.

In the end she met another teenager, also emotionally fraught by the addiction and subsquent death of her young boyfriend.

Together they walked to the Erskine Bridge, a popular site for suicide jumpers, and lept together to their deaths. Two pretty 15 year old girls with thier whole lives ahead of them, and they were driven to suicide.

But let's play the blame game. It was thier drug addicted family that made them kill themselves.

No, it wasn't, that's out and out bullshit. This is why. You've heard of this new caring model where addicts are dosed with real heroin, instead of Methodone. They do it in lots of forward thinking countries in Europe.

Well guess what country started that kind of care - the UK did. The same UK that now staunchly objects to any form of legal control of Heroin Addiction. And this wasn't the recent study, this particular clinic was closed after it aired on an American TV programme, and someone called up the British government and told them to stop that shit. Stop it right now!

And on a financial note: "The NTA said an independent expert group, set up to advise the government, had concluded that there was enough "positive evidence of the benefits" of the programme to merit further pilots. The NTA is understood to be keen to evaluate the financial implications of the scheme. At £15,000 per user per year, supervised heroin injecting is three times more expensive than other treatments."

(The reason heroin is so expensive is because the UK supplier has a monopoly - not really a surprise - Sativex anyone?)

It costs £40,000 to imprison someone for a year in the UK!

Oh, and what happened to the Heroin Addict dad with the suicidal daughter? He killed himself as well.

Can we please stand up and put an end to this.

Please.

http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2011/02/25/please-pick-up-the-phone-and-call-frank-chopp-360-786-7920

From the article:

"Right now, the bill is stuck in another committee, the Public Safety and

Emergency Preparedness Committee, which is chaired by an ex-cop, anti-pot

madman whose delusive excuses for opposing marijuana reveal that the

Dickerson's bill is otherwise dead. So it needs to be pulled into the Way and

Means Committee.

Who has the power to do that? House Speaker Chopp. He's not just the famously

timid speaker of the house. He represents Seattle. But if he can't do this—just get

a hearing on an issue that even the Seattle Times and The Stranger agree

on—then what's the point of having him down in Olympia?

So please call him and ask for a hearing on House Bill 1550: (360) 786-7920

Email him [email protected]"

There have been a lot of consistent articles of great interest published on The 420 Times web site. If you haven't already, then please check them out over at http://www.the420times.com/

You'll see them submitting links on r/trees from time-to-time with some of the best and most relevant stories related to "medical marijuana and natural healing". Most importantly they're devoted to bringing you news on the everyday issues of cannabis patients and users and also now fully in support of the Trees non-profit initiatives.

What's more.. The publisher and owner of The 420 Times is an Ent along with the rest of us and so are his editors! So you can consider this a 'homegrown operation' if you will. Try to show them some love if you see them posting around Trees.

I just want to also mention that if you live in SoCal then you can actually pick-up their print publications of The 420 Times at 7-11 stores throughout Los Angeles County. Good read and also free to pick-up!

I believe this is a good match for Trees with pairing a free magazine and online blog with the size and scope of The 420 Times because for too long we were lacking a news source that speaks to the community. In further support of Ent businesses we salute The 420 Times. Thank you for reaching out to us. Look forward to working together to the same beat of reason.

I've been meaning to sit down and write this since Prop 19 failed. No doubt part of the legislation's failure came from within: growers, dealers, and smokers who feared the changes that might come with legalization. However, it is highly probable that they did not compose a majority of the people who voted no.

So how do we convince that majority to vote "yes"? Lets look at what we're up against: 70 years of anti-cannabis propaganda. Decades of being characterized as lazy, incompetent, or even dangerous in the media.

Now, its starting to change. There was a lot of speculation about Harrison Ford's behavior on Conan the other night. I don't support going high on national television. But speaking out about it like Zach or Pitt is fantastic. It shows people that you can use the drug and still be wildly successful.

However, many people will still look upon drug use in Hollywood as par for the course. That's why we need to provide back up to the Ents in Hollywood at home, whenever we can.

I should note that most of my friends have been able to acquire medicinal cards, as have I. Even without a card, cannabis offenses are the lowest priority for the cops. So we don't worry too much about stealth. No doubt many of will have to exercise more caution.

Ents, the time has come to stand up and be proud of your hobby. We, as a community, must work to break stereotypes and show people that cannabis users are actively contributing members of society, and bring attention to the fact that regular cannabis use is far healthier, both physically and psychologically, than alcohol abuse.

We cannot hide anymore. Drop hints here or there that you use it on the weekends. Don't proselytize. Don't be obnoxious. Just make people around you aware that you use cannabis. Then just lead your normal life. Show them that it has no effect whatsoever on your ability to be a productive individual. If cannabis is an active part of your productivity (say you're an artist or a musician), all the better!

Since Prop 19 failed, I have adopted this philosophy for myself. I have been open with my primary care physician and counselors about my medicinal use, and the benefits it has bestowed upon my ADHD. I am working on regulating my medicinal use more so I can go to my neurologist in two weeks and tell him the truth too. (See my post about Doctors and Medicinal Marijuana from about a month ago, for more explanation on that situation.) I explained to one of my college professors, my advisor, that I was having success on the drug, and then explained the concept of a "green card" to her (her request). I have another teacher (not a professor) who seems chill; I'm going to double-check with him at the end of the semester to be sure that it wasn't apparent when I was attending class high.

I make no secret of anything. I've also been struggling with memory problems and a lack of motivation. I've been open about that, too, with those around me, and emphasized my awareness of the problem, and my intent to address the overuse and cut back on the amount I'm smoking.

It is my hope that by being open about my use, people will become more comfortable with the idea of legalization. Whether they consciously recognize it or not, it becomes a more normal part of the American lifestyle for them. Ultimately, it should seem as ridiculous to them that its illegal as it does to us.

I have recently sold my solar panel business cause construction got hit really hard and I wanted to do something different. For over the past two years the only thing I have been able to think about is owning a dispensary. Right now I have the money and I have the location but I KNOW there is much more to do. My questions are, where should I start legally? Are there companies in law and business that can consult me? DAE know anyone in the business that I can contact? I am very serious about this life goal! I have sold my car, my condo, and drastically moved my life into austerity for it (no more cigs, no more eating out at restaurants, and I even toke less so i don't spend allot of $$$ on weed). I appreciate all the ents taking time to read this, this has been a drastic move on my part but I figure without taking all this risk I would still be sitting on my ass. Oh and I live in Cali!

He worked on the Obama campaign and also recent measure 66 and 67 in Oregon and other Democratic initiatives in Massachusetts. He wants to help Trees with our campaigns. I just need to get in touch with him but I want to continue brain-storming with everyone here before asking for his help.

6-730 @ Fern Hill library 765 So. 84th St. 98444. This is a Sensible Washington volunteer meeting, and members of Pierce County NORML will also be on hand.. great chance to come meet the people who will be out legalizing marijuana this year! come be a part of it.. thanks!

Let's get down to business. I'd like to thank those responsible for the hosting, and Cinsere for living up to the name.

I'd like to start discussing the website in full detail regarding content, pages, information, stories and etc.

1. Most importantly I'd like to address the domain. Weedit.org is great, but as someone pointed out trees are much better than weeds. (can't remember the thread) So I'd like to open up a quick vote, but I believe the domain should have trees in it (trees.for.everyo.ne, tre.es justtrees.com )

2. Content for the website.

• What pages will there be?

• What will the blog categories be?

• What will the blog talk about?

• What sites will we link to?

1. setting up social media we need to get the links out there. I can set everything up for perfect SEO + Social media integration + blah blah blah

2. Responsibility + Roles Who does what? Lets figure this out, figure out chain of command, etc etc.. This will be NOTHING without organization....

3. Potential advertising profit. Where does this money go? Who are the members of this Not For Pofit organization!

Please discuss trees wordpress theme basic concept

edit: no comments on the theme?