freethefly

You seem to equate "legalization" with "free for all, do as you please." With legalization come rules, laws, and regulation along with fines and/or prison time for those who do not abide by the rules. Legalize all drugs? Personally, I think the people who use drugs such as heroin, cocaine, and meth, as well as ectasey and any of the other chemicals that are being use have a serious problem. Locking up addicts have proven to have no affect. While the small-time offender sits in a jail cell the control of the drug trade remains in the hands of the cartels. Legalization would shift the control. As it is right now, two of the most widely used hard drugs are schedule II. Cocaine and methamphetamine are already manufactured for medical use. The same should be for heroin as well as marijuana. A shift in control should be treatment oriented and not all out law enforcement. Legalizing would not mean that a person could walk to a near by store and buy heroin, but a person (addict) would be required to go to a clinic for the drug. Monitoring and weening would be the goal. There will still be the black market, but I believe it would be extremely small scale much like the illegal alcohol and tobacco markets. Hence, the reason for laws to govern distribution and use. Down sizing the black market would greatly reduce the number of smaller players. Reducing the profit margin would attract less willing to get involved. If an addict could get his/her "fix" of medical grade heroin at a state ran clinic for very little cost while being treated for addiction, why would he/she go to a dealer? The only alternative to trying a new route is to do the same thing and we all know what a failure it has been. Organizations such as NORML, LEAP, and ASA serve to provide information on the alternative routes and do give credibility to the argument. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

They were all life long, front line people in the drug war. Why would you consider these people to not be credible? I tend to believe that they know more than the average person on the subject. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

You done went and let this closely kept secret out of the bag... you MUST be an...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i6OrOZwtmA "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

But what a way to lose an eve... It seems to me that the points that Bertorelli is pointing out, the terrorist are well aware of and take full advantage of the incompetence that has washed over the agencies that are in place to stop them. Red tape alone makes the world a dangerous place. Knee jerk reaction should not be confused with good intention. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

VERY sharp points Like these? Those are points that we all can agree on.

I feel the same way. I don't like the guy, but I'm not going to wish death on him. There are an equal number of people on both sides that I am not fond of... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMAIsqvTh7g "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

All I can say is WOW, Nanook! You are very well uninformed on so many levels. First, I'll speak from personal experience as to the medical value of mj. It works for me and it works for many others. You've pointed out several times that "They" (by "They". I am assuming that you are referring to such organizations such as http://www.safeaccessnow.org/ ) only use the medical argument to get high. Really holds no water as "They" would get much more higher on the powerful narcotics that are legal. There is a reason other than the pot works that it is preferred over narcotics. With narcotic, it is extremely hard to get motivated. Not so with pot. The "lazy pothead" image is a stereotype promoted through the media for entertainment. It's great comedy. Think of this, the people who made those movies were pot smokers and not at all lazy. My doctors have recommended for 15 years that I continue to smoke in order to keep weight up, nausea and to tolerate a number of side effects. There has been many of times that I do not smoke for anywhere between a week up to several months. The difference is extremely noticeable. During the times that I do smoke, I am anything but lazy nor am I not intelligent (one of the points that mj opponents harp upon). I am a 4.0 college student. In two more years I'll have my bachelor's degree in automotive and motorcycle technology. I fully plan on continuing on to a master's degree. I seldom sit still. The same goes for everyone whom I know who use marijuana. The movement to legalize would not have come this far if pot consumers were the Hollywood stereotype. For the majority of my life, I have worked extremely hard. I served time in the military, worked near 10 years performing UX/IND NDT rail inspection in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. I perform each test meticulously without one single incident behind me. I have worked in a factory building the commercial refrigeration that is in our grocery stores. I have worked as an independent contractor in construction and I have welded miles upon miles of pipe without one single break. I have never tested rail high just as I would not had done it drunk. In factory, I did. I was also on the medication Dronabinol (Marinol)(I'll be going back on it next month) http://www.drugs.com/mtm/dronabinol.html, in my experience, Dronabinol is far more dangerous than real THC. You never really know when the effect will come on. At times it was very intense while at other times it was barely effective and did nothing to alleviate the side effects of my drug cocktail. With smoked (sometimes vaporized, which eliminates the smoke as the organic material that makes up the bud is not combusted) mj the dosage effect is near immediate. I can do it during breakfast and by the time I was heading for work the immediate effect has worn off and what remained was a sense of well being. The medical aspect is reality. However, I do agree that there are those who are latching on just to smoke mj. Some of the conditions also seem ridiculous, yet I am not a medical professional and am only more knowledgeable of my own condition. I can't say what works for me will work for another but, there is plenty of evidence to say otherwise. I do not hear you arguing that the government should keep morphine from terminally ill patients, why then would you argue to do so with mj? Your argument concerning the economics of legalization is laughable. Read the report. It was headed by Milton Friedman. http://www.prohibitioncosts.org/index.html There are numerous studies and reports by the leading experts in the field from around the world that your argument is but an annoying sound. Moving on to your assertion that he rest of the world would balk if the U.S. decriminalized, if not legalized is false as much of the industrial world have now come to know the difference between a hard drug and mj. http://eldd.emcdda.europa.eu/html.cfm/index5769EN.html . S.A. have recently became more lax on personal use http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/LIBRARY/southam1.htm and from Wiki (I know, not the best resource, but does contain references)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_and_medical_status_of_cannabis. Mexico has just this year decriminalized personal use of mj along with other types of drugs that I personally do not agree with yet, I can see the reason for doing so. Locking up small time users does nothing to alleviate the problem has history has shown. Incarceration has a horrible track record. America's own record for mj arrest dates back to 1937. Samuel Caldwell received 4 years in Leavenworth for the unspeakable crime of possessing two marijuana cigarettes. Although penalties are far less severe today, it is still a burden none the less a law that should not be in the first place. There has also been a growing movement within law enforcement http://www.leap.cc/cms/index.php It's not only medical users and recreational users who see the fallacy in the governments reasoning but there are those within it's own agency's who have come to realize that the war on marijuana has had no results and has only escalated to an astronomical waste of resources that could had been used in an area of greater concern. The rescheduling of mj as a schedule 1 drug (Dronabinol enjoys a schedule 2 classification) in 1970 has only served to demonize an otherwise basically harmless substance when compared to the legal alternative. There are many myths concerning marijuana. The most prevalent being that mj is more powerful than the mj of the 60's and 70's. Untrue, as THC is just that, THC. The difference being that some pot has a higher concentration than other strains gives the impression that pot is far more dangerous. Given that no one person has ever died from an overdose (in my life so far I have never known of any person even overdosing on pot), the use of the term "Dangerous" should be omitted in discussion. We had sensimillia back in the 70's. Hydroponic is not anything new. There has always been the many tiers to quality mj. The "more dangerous" argument therefore can be stroked off the list. http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/factsmyths/ http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/ In conclusion, you may not agree with me, and honestly I do not expect that you will. You may think that I am an awful person and honestly, I somehow expect you to, given your statement concerning this issue. I am not posting this to change your opinion. Only you can change your opinion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36KLuAZd8Qk "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

ohhhhh, that is colder than the ice on the road. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

Put this on your list of questions to ask. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

Wrong way of thinking... consider this... it's your ass on two wheels with nothing between you and the asphalt. My bike is 100% perfect. I perform all of my own maintenance (I am a certified H-D tech) and know bikes inside out. I want my ride to handle without question. If my ride so much as make one out of place sound, it is on the digitech. If it so much as wobble or weave when it shouldn't, I'm doing a thorough suspension check. You wouldn't jump a canopy that is questionable, would you? You shouldn't ride a bike that is questionable. Have it thoroughly checked by a qualified technician. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

If anything tell the seller that you want to have the bike checked out by a technician at a reputable motorcycle dealership. If the bike is all that he says that it is, he shouldn't balk at doing this and the cost of a thorough check-up should come out of the price of the bike. If he gives you crap about doing this, he is trying to pull wool over your eyes, At that, move on to your next choice. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

It is snowing here in the land of Oz (Kansas). How, oh how I wish I were back in the beautiful and always sunny warm state of Missouri. Actually my home in Mt. Vernon is only 78 miles from here, but the roads are icy and I have yet to get me some of those way cool spiked ice bike tires to throw on my sled. I thought Santa would bring me some, but that fatass prick screwed me over again on my share of the loot, and after I stopped trying to off his ass for the crap he brought me in 1968 (yeah, I can hold a grudge). Well, the game is back on, you fat, sweatshop bastard! Next year I am calling in favors from the heavy hitters and I will take you and that queer ass Rudolf down in a hail of depleted uranium rounds that will have your lard glowing deep into mother fucking earth.! Fat boy, if you are reading this, you have just been warned. Best steer clear cuz I am a hell of a shot and with your ass wider than the side of a barn, I will not miss, this time! Sorry about the tangent, Santa just brings out the worst in me. Enjoy your melon, Squeak. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

Hippies.They're everywhere. They wanna save the earth, but all they do is smoke pot and smell bad (Cartman)... and some make really cool conga drums! Nice drum. I'm impressed. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

Hell, I ride with a guy who often rides his moped up at the H-D tech center. My bike is the FLSTFI all the way to the left. Eds bike is the Moped to the right, the Road King belongs to Beans. We get some awful strange looks as we are rolling down Hwy 69. That thing can top out over 50mph! "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

http://www.kbb.com/motorcycle/retail/1999/yamaha/yzf600r/82387?r=628585151223738240 He's asking too much if the thing is not showroom condition. Jap bikes are a dime a dozen and never hold any actual value. If this thing has slammed the ground, there could be damage that may not arise until later. We had a Road King out here at the H-D tech center that cost the guy a pretty penny after we disassembled it. Slightly bent swingarm, spiderweb cracks where the pivot shaft goes through the transmission case. The guy could had avoided buying a bike that had been hit and poorly repaired had he checked the rear alignment by measuring the rear alignment from axle center to pivot center on both sides.( The bike rode straight only because the alignment was off center to make it do so) Truth is, most people are mesmerized by the shine and fail to check the most important parts of the bike. Another bike that came in looked good but, had internal engine damage that would not be readily noticed by someone who is not a technician. It had a barely noticeable vibration. Flywheel alignment was off. Most likely culprit is that the bike had slammed the ground at one time that caused the flywheels to shift on the crankpin. I would steer clear of any bike that has been wrecked, unless you have the ability to do the future repairs yourself as the labor cost of repairs will quickly surpass the value of the bike. Keep in mind that most folks who are selling their old bike are not going to tell you the whole story. You want to buy a used bike? Go to a reputable bike dealer that has good techs. They are in business for a reason and most likely will give you a better deal as the bikes they are selling will have been thoroughly checked out. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

A cowboy appeared before St. Peter at the Pearly Gates. 'Have you ever done anything of particular merit?' St. Peter asked. 'Well, I can think of one thing,' the cowboy offered. 'On a trip to the Black Hills out in South Dakota, I came upon a gang of bikers, who were threatening a young woman. I directed them to leave her alone, but they wouldn't listen. So, I approached the largest and most tattooed biker and smacked him in the face .. Kicked his bike over, ripped out his nose ring, and threw it on the ground. I yelled, 'Now, back off or I'll kick the shit out of all of you!' St. Peter was impressed, 'When did this happen?' 'Couple of minutes ago......' "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

Never heard of this stuff, so... http://www.mentalhealth.com/drug/p30-r01.html Damn, if ya wanna kill yourself, jumping without a rig just might be more enjoyable "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

Even spiders have a limit to who they'll let fuck em! Don't feel bad. I've been turned down by near every spider I've hit on. Next time, try a brown recluse. Lonely and easy... however, be careful, dem bitches are biters "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

Women parking http://video.yahoo.com/network/100000089?v=4533761&l=100022574 "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

Back in the 70's my girlfriend and I always played this song as we took the horses to shows. Just a good old fashion rodeo song http://www.youtube.com/user/Termite58#p/u/26/GVifGoIYAG0 "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

Don't know anything about the guy in the first pic, or even what he is doing, I didn't take the pic. Second pic is my nephews kids. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

The greatest motorcycle song of all times! (and a traditional Thanksgiving day song) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQCKgf8gTnw&feature=PlayList&p=67C199542FD5FBF9&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=1 And... the story http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g266Uwp6ZnI "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

My record collector buddy has that LP if your ever interested, he is selling out a lot of his collection! P.N.S. was a staple in our garage band back in the early 70's. Let me know how much he wants for it. "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

P.N.S (Paul's New Song) (Paul Cotton) Illinois Speed Press. Great band that was very popular in the Midwest in the early 70's. They got the most airplay on K-SHE 95 (The worlds oldest rock station) in St.Louis. Paul Cotton is best known for his work with Poco. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TCs9B7nA34 "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young

HaHaHa... oh yeah... how old are you... in time, young feller... you too will succumb to the knowledge that we of the older generation have fallen prey so sadly to. Best to just pay your dues and fall in line... and if you're real smart... learn to nod in agreement (does not exactly mean that you agree, only that wind had past her lips and made a somewhat intelligible sound and that you have acknowledge that such an event had incurred)... I wish that I knew what I know now... when I was younger... ohh la la. Words to live by... Poor old Granddad, I laughed at all his words I thought he was a bitter man he spoke of womens ways they'll trap you and they use you before you even now for love is blind and you're far to kind to ever let it show I wish that I knew what I know now when I was younger I wish that I knew what I know now when I was stronger the can-can such a pretty show will steal your heart away but backstage back on earth again the dressing rooms are grey they come on strong and it ain't too long for they make you feel a man but love is blind and you soon will find you're just a boy again when you want her lips, you get her cheek makes you wonder where you are if you want some more then she's fast asleep leaves you twinkling with the stars poor young grandson there's nothing I can say you'll have to learn, just like me and that's the hardest way ooh la la ooh la la, la la, yeah I wish that I knew what I know now when I was younger I wish that I knew what I know now when I was stronger Sadly, we are used and abused before we even touch lightly on this knowledge... tread softly young grasshopper... "...And once you're gone, you can't come back When you're out of the blue and into the black." Neil Young