Marc Emery (Prince of Pot) on 60 Minutes

Yahoo Canada ^ | March 2, 2006 | Camille Bains

[headsonpikes]

Pot crusader Marc Emery says his appearance on the news program 60 Minutes on Sunday will be an opportunity for Americans to see him as just an ordinary guy who regards himself as the Luke Skywalker against their government's Darth Vader tactics.

[mugs99]

He looks wasted.

Yeah, that DEA guy is definitely loaded on something!

[mugs99]

I don't really have a dog in this fight

Yes you do. Your very freedom is at stake. The War On Drugs is not about drugs. It never has been.
.

[mugs99]

I know that he died years before the Controlled Substances Act was written.

The Controlled Substances Act was enacted in 1970.
Harry Anslinger, the father of the Controlled Substances Act, died in 1975.
.

[mugs99]

One of the reasons I posted the article was to show what other laws he has helped change.

Thanks for posting. He has my support.
.

[mugs99]

Great tagline!!!

[Mojave]

Harry Anslinger, the father of the Controlled Substances Act, died in 1975.

That's correct.

The Controlled Substances Act was enacted in 1970.

The quotes were from the 1930's.

[winston2]

Marc Emery seems bent on making money from drug dealing.

There is a bit of truth in this remark, but let us explore - deeper. Good quality cannabis would sell for about $2.00 per ounce instead of from $100. to several hundred per ounce if it weren't for our government spending over 10 Billion dollars per year and arresting about 700,000 otherwise innocent citizens per year to deliberately inflate the price.

Incidentally - in the 60 Minutes show last evening the lead segment was a story about how hospitals charge uninsured citizens way more money than is charged to patients covered by insurance and Medicaid. It was pointed out that cardiovascular stents cost up to $3000. per each + other hospital costs. Now compare that to Marc Emery selling cannabis seed and we get back to Mojave's remark about making money. Some people need stents in their veins to continue living and we have a few companies charging huge prices for relatively small pieces of metal. Marc Emery was simply making it possible for U.S. citizens to acquire cannabis at about the $2.00 per ounce price instead of from possibly dangerous sources at the government inflated price. This is the skimpy on this point. If I didn't make it clear enough, just ask and I'll elaborate.

[winston2]

Back in this thread are several articles and reports regarding some of the issues you mention in your post. The profitability of keeping it illegal is one. The agent this evening was plainly just a model role player who suited the the storyboard.

I meant to ping you on my post #327. It is an answer to Mojave, but related to your point about profitability. It is our huge federal prohibition expenditures that keep the price of cannabis artificially high and the reason that organized crime stay interested in it. Sadly, it is also the reason for over 700,000 arrests per year and the damage done to those individuals livelihood.

[winston2]

The Controlled Substances Act was enacted in 1970.
Harry Anslinger, the father of the Controlled Substances Act, died in 1975.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mojave seems most interested having us forget how much Harry Anslinger influenced the draconian cannabis laws. That ain't gonna happen.

God bless Mr. Anslinger's progeny. I've often wondered how they are doing. I am curious how many of them enjoy cannabis.

[Lady Jag]

Fascinating take on the show. I like your comparison with the medical story. Profit is the motive for nearly everything and profit seekers are often corrupted by their quests, even to the point of gouging innocent medical victims. Ironically, medical mistreatment is an argument for those stints as well as medical marijuana.

[Lady Jag]

Having read quite a bit on Hoover's FBI ties with the Mob, one wonders if ties still exist. On trips to DC, I always find it curious the FBI building is still named after him. As far as I'm concerned, he was the antonym of the definition of Law Enforcement.

He was perfect at pursuing the small guy and courting the big crooks.

[Fury]

Interesting thread and discussion.

Having never smoked pot, I guess I don't have the experience from which to draw on personally about how it effects me, etc. I have seen several folks after smoking pot and I would say the vast majority of them acted like one would act after imbibing a larger amount of alcohol.

Ultimately, in the society we live in, laws will be passed based on (hopefully) what the public believes is important/not important.

I would not call the police if I observed my neighbor next door smoking pot. I don't condone smoking on the premises (mainly because I don't like to pick up cigarette butts or the smell) and the same would hold true for someone who wanted to smoke pot on the premises.

[mugs99]

The quotes were from the 1930's

It wasn't about the quotes. It was about your lack of knowledge pertaining to Harry Anslinger.
.

[mugs99]

I am curious how many of them enjoy cannabis.

It wouldn't surprise me if the DEA preacher we saw on the show was a smoker. They're above the law and can enjoy the finest.
.

[mugs99]

He was perfect at pursuing the small guy and courting the big crooks.

Nothing has changed. The big crooks 'contribute' big bucks to politicians. It's all about the money.
.

[Lady Jag]

What do you know about Anslinger?

Over the weekend, I spotted a comment that he first said marijuana and its users were harmless and, of course later, he was its biggest opponent, but I never did find where and why he turned around. Do you know if there's any evidence pointing to why?

[Lady Jag]

It wouldn't surprise me if the DEA preacher we saw on the show was a smoker. They're above the law and can enjoy the finest.

I have heard countless stories of how LEOs always have the best cannabis. No proof, but there is too much circumstantial evidence indicating that it's true, and I have been shown two instances of evidence that impress.

[Lady Jag]

It's always about money.

[Mojave]

[Show me that reference in the Controlled Substances Act.]

It wasn't about the quotes.

The quotes weren't from the CSA and they were decades apart from it.

[mugs99]

The quotes weren't from the CSA and they were decades apart from it.

LOL!
Slip and slide...It wasn't about the quotes, it was about your error in fact.
.