DiFi's “Saving Kids from Dangerous Drugs Act of 2010”

URGENT! Please call or write to your US Representative to vote NO on the current version of “Saving Kids from Dangerous Drugs Act of 2010” (S.258).

Read the bill for yourself here: http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-s258/show

****If you don’t know your US Representative’s name and contact info, you can search by ZIP code here: http://www.opencongress.org/people/representatives****

Basic info: Introduced by prohibitionist Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) in January 2009. Passed by Senate via “unanimous consent” (no roll call vote). Received by House on July 30, 2010. If signed into law, S.258 will double penalties for anyone who manufactures, creates, distributes, dispenses or sells medical marijuana (MMJ)-infused edibles. Penalties are tripled or more for additional offenses.

Why this matters: Feinstein claims that this bill is aimed at “drug dealers who target children by flavoring drugs to taste like candy.” Her website states that “the legislation [will] increase criminal penalties for anyone who markets candy-flavored drugs in an effort to hook young people.” However, the broad language of S.258 will not just affect “drug dealers.” It will also negatively affect the entire MMJ industry – patients, caregivers, edibles manufacturers, and dispensaries.

If S.258 passes, patients will no longer have the choice to medicate with edibles. For some patients, smoking is simply not an option due to their condition. Others just prefer not to smoke. MMJ patients are already breaking federal law. If passed, S.258 will at least double the penalties they could face.

Possible alternatives to consider:

• Amend the bill to allow state-licensed MMJ-edibles manufacturers, caregivers, and providers to continue to operate without facing additional penalties.
• Require product packaging to display prominent warnings that (a) the product must be kept away from minors and (b) the distribution of the product to anyone who is not a licensed MMJ patient is prohibited.
• Any other reasons why you think this bill should not be made into law.

And, finally, remind your Representative that federal recognition of MMJ as an effective alternative to traditional medicine would eliminate the need for legislation like this altogether.

****If you don’t know your US Representative’s name and contact info, you can search by ZIP code here: http://www.opencongress.org/people/representatives****

Great response to the evil that is BSL

I just found out that Ohio Rep. Tyrone K. Yates has introduced a bill to amend Section 955.111 of H.B. 568 to include a statewide ban of all "pit bull" type dogs. I think Sarah is right on point with her excellent Letter to the Editor.


Mayor FitzGerald and Council Members:

I recently read that Lakewood will hold a council meeting next week to consider banning the Pit Bull breed in Lakewood, Ohio. As a citizen of Lakewood and an animal lover, I would like to voice my concern on the passing of this bill.

Like most stereotypes, Pit Bulls are misunderstood and mistreated, only creating more negative reactions to their breed. If we take the time to truly understand what the problem is, we may then be able to fix it. Just as building more prisons in our state will not fix the problem of crime, banning a certain breed in our city will not fix the problem of uneducated citizens treating animals poorly and without love and respect. The only way to fix the problem of crime is to educate, just as the only way to fix the "problem" of "violent breeds" is to educate people on how to properly care for an animal.

I encourage you to really look at the problem at hand, instead of the symptom. The problem is not the Pit Bull, but the uneducated person. Just because a child may hurt another child, do we ban that child from the city? No. We either educate the child or the parent on how to be better, on how to do things differently. We cannot "ban" everything just because people do not understand or take the time to figure out how to make things better.

I volunteer in a shelter, have worked with many Pit Bull breeds, and it never fails to amaze me how loving these creatures really are when they are treated with love and kindness. If you raise a child to be a criminal, they will commit crimes. It is the same for an animal. It is not the animal's fault that they are brought up in a family who ties them to a tree, has little or no human interaction with them, gives them nothing to chew on or eat, leaves them out in all types of weather, and then is surprised when they go to pet the dog and it bites them. This dog is in a prison, scared of humans due to no interaction, and due to maltreatment. You would bite, too.

Here's a short story from the shelter where I volunteer. There was female a Pit Bull found sitting next to a garbage dumpster, her nine healthy, beautiful babies in box in the dumpster. Amazingly, they were all beautiful and healthy, and NOT amazingly, once we retrieved them all, Momma was a star mother. To think someone would so carelessly dump 9 one -week old babies into a dumpster goes to show how much a necessity education really is.

Please really consider this bill before deciding to pass what I would consider a "quick fix". Look at all angles, as our shelters will be filling up with helpless animals who did not choose to be in this position.

Sincerely,
Sarah Chahy
Lakewood Resident

FREAKIN' AWESOME!

So, this is the funniest freaking thing that I've seen in a while. If that were the US, that guy would be soooooo fucked!

Boy, they REALLY make tourists feel welcome here!

Tue May 27, 11:07 AM ET

TOKYO (Reuters) - One of the travelers who arrived at Tokyo's Narita airport over the weekend may have picked up an unusual souvenir from customs -- a package of cannabis.

A customs official hid the package in a suitcase belonging to a passenger arriving from Hong Kong as a training exercise for sniffer dogs Sunday, but lost track of both drugs and suitcase during the practice session, a spokeswoman for Tokyo customs said.

Customs regulations specify that a training suitcase be used for such exercises, but the official said he had used passengers' suitcases for similar purposes in the past, domestic media reported.

"The dogs have always been able to find it before," NHK quoted him as saying. "I became overconfident that it would work."

Anyone who finds the package should contact Tokyo customs as soon as possible, the spokeswoman said.

(Reporting by Isabel Reynolds; editing by Sophie Hardach)