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Searching for the user name BonesSB came up with these two hits, both have to do with pot. I know that this is a long stretch but lots of people reuse the same user name for multiple sites. If it is the same user it would make sense that they would be worried about privacy based on the following links.

http://www.hipforums.com/newforums/showthread.php?t=381456&f=221
http://cannabis.com/viewProfile.php?user=Bonessb

Just saying...

I don't see driving and being stoned as being responsible for example same as drink driving. I really meant theres a time and a place to be stoned and being responsible you would keep your use to those times and places.

Actually I don't see driving while stoned the same as driving while drunk either. Being drunk is more dangerous. At least when stoned a person is likely to be more careful. And while reaction tymes are slower than when not stoned reaction tymes when drunk are even slower. Stoned drivers are more "risk adverse".

Falcon

I think the biggest problem is that Bush did actually try to do something about this back in 2003 with proposing tighter regulation over the GSE's that had been cooking the books and buying members of congress.

I think the link you provided is from a hearing over that very action Bush attempted to take. McCain also attempted to do something in 2005 and admittedly, they were more focused on the GSEs but they were the primary enablers/exaggerator of the problems we see now. I think if Bush's or McCain's legislation would have been implemented, it probably wouldn't have stopped all the problems but it would be a lot like building a damn that can hold back the water to limit the amount of flooding down stream. The mess wouldn't have been near as bad as it is or that people are making it out to be.

It isn't like he didn't try...

There was more problems then bush. Look ate the parts that specifically talk about Fannie and Freddie getting busted for FEC violations and paying 3.8 million in fines or the leaders of those institutions cooking the books and so on. This problem was much larger then Bush and for once, I can actually agree that government was bought and paid for. Well, enough of it was to stop reform.

BTW, don't get hung up in the site I linked to. Everything is linked back to the congressional record and other government sources and the bulk of the article is more or less a reprint of a NYT story but you can verify what it says.

Because it competed with the logging/paper industries.

Oh, you mean now? Because once it had been made illegal (disproportionately inconveniencing the black and hispanic populations more than the whites), the white majority found a lovely subject, handily associated with "those" people to demonise and organise a moral crusade against.

Since alcohol and tobacco are still legal it's got fuck-all to do with protecting the children, apart from amongst people who grew up believing the complete bullshit propaganda spouted by the US government for most of this century.

I could very well be wrong, but I'd guess the beer industry lobbyists have a lot to do with this.

I wonder if he has a "profile" at any of the cannabis / marijuana websites like http://overgrow.com/ marijuana.com, http://cannabis.com/ (shortcut url: http://cann.com/ ) too?

Anyways, you may want to direct him to Drug Abuse Help http://www.drugabuse.com/ ... in particular the message board there - honest, non-biased discussion.

Ron

In the 1960s, imprisoning a half million people for smoking pot in the USA would have seemed laughable. Forty years later, that is roughly the number of people in prison for non-violent drug offenses, many of them for marijuana.
    http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/409/toohigh.sh tml

Many other prisoners are also there for things like theft related to a drug habit (despite that addiction is often more a medical problem, or sometimes also from an economic problem leading to depression which our society refuses to deal with).

One major reason pot was pushed to be illegal is because hemp is such a versatile product and threatened timber and paper monopolies (although there were other factors as well).
    http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/stories/2003/12/22/ whyIsMarijuanaIllegal.html
    http://www.cannabis.com/faqs/hemp2.shtml
    http://www.theagitator.com/archives/002065.php

So, will it be any surprise if copyright laws go the same way -- towards Richard Stallman's "Right to Read" cautionary tale?
    http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
Will there be a half million kids in prison for using file sharing software in a couple of decades? Or just even using GNU/Linux? :-)

What a surprise to click on Slashdot and see news about cannabinoids - I feel like I'm reading my own site ...

I operate CANNABIS.COM ... shortcut url http://cann.com/

Some informative pages to check out:

Lots of cannabis Research information *with sources listed*
http://www.cannabis.com/research/

TR-446 Toxicology and Carcinogenesis Studies of 1-Trans-Delta9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (CAS No. 1972-08-3) in F344 Rats and B6C3F1 Mice (Gavage Studies)
http://www.cannabis.com/research/tr446study.shtml
(mirror of the study published by the U.S. National Toxicity Program)

Cannabis News
http://www.cannabisnews.com/

And finally, Erowid's Cannabis Vault...
http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis.sht ml

Ron Bennett

What a surprise to click on Slashdot and see news about cannabinoids - I feel like I'm reading my own site ...

I operate CANNABIS.COM ... shortcut url http://cann.com/

Some informative pages to check out:

Lots of cannabis Research information *with sources listed*
http://www.cannabis.com/research/

TR-446 Toxicology and Carcinogenesis Studies of 1-Trans-Delta9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (CAS No. 1972-08-3) in F344 Rats and B6C3F1 Mice (Gavage Studies)
http://www.cannabis.com/research/tr446study.shtml
(mirror of the study published by the U.S. National Toxicity Program)

Cannabis News
http://www.cannabisnews.com/

And finally, Erowid's Cannabis Vault...
http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis.sht ml

Ron Bennett

"That's not to say you're wrong or right, but to point out that science in this area is difficult to produce and interpret for many reasons."

Not least of which because drugs' very illegality makes studying the users and effects massively harder.

And the fact that, since the 1950s at least, the US government has spent billions telling people pot (for example) provably leads to everything from rape to murder to psychosis to funding terrorism. To now publically back down and actually scientifically examine if they were baselessly bullshitting the populace for the last half-century (in fact, initally for purely economic reasons) would be a credibility and PR catastrophe, not least of which because of the millions who've grown up in the mean-time believing every word they were told on the subject.

Marijuana wasn't made illegal because of Mexicans. It was made illegal because the president who passed the bill to make it illegal was endorsed by companies that manufactured paper and harvested cotton. At the time, hemp products were in a position to take the market away from the cotton and paper industries.

Don't have any links to verify, because I read it in Uncle John's Bathroom Reader. But here's another link for you ( don't know how acurate it is ): http://www.cannabis.com/untoldstory/hemp_2.shtml

HEMP: THE WORLD'S MOST BENEFICIAL NATURAL RESOURCE?

AMAZING FACTS ABOUT AN AMAZING PLANT

* On an annual basis, 1 acre of hemp will produce as much fiber as 2 to 3 acres of cotton. Hemp fiber is stronger and softer than cotton, lasts twice as long as cotton, and will not mildew. Many textile products (shirts, jackets, pants, backpacks, etc.) made from 100% hemp are now available.

* Cotton grows only in moderate climates and requires more water than hemp; but hemp is frost tolerant, requires only moderate amounts of water, and grows in all 50 states. Cotton requires large quantities of pesticides and herbicides--50% of the world's pesticides/herbicides are used on cotton. But hemp requires no pesticides, no herbicides, and only moderate amounts of fertilizer.

* On an annual basis, 1 acre of hemp will produce as much paper as 2 to 4 acres of trees. From tissue paper to cardboard, all types of paper products can be produced from hemp. Global demand for paper will double within 25 years. Unless tree-free sources of paper are developed, there is no way to meet future demand without causing massive deforestation and environmental damage. Hemp is the world's most promising source of tree-free paper.

* The quality of hemp paper is superior to tree-based paper. Hemp paper will last hundreds of years without degrading, can be recycled many more times than tree-based paper, and requires less toxic chemicals in the manufacturing process than does paper made from trees.

* Hemp can be used to produce fiberboard that is stronger than wood, lighter than wood, and fire retardant. Substituting hemp fiberboard for timber would further reduce the need to cut down our forests. Hemp can also be used to produce strong, durable and environmentally-friendly plastic substitutes. Thousands of products made from petroleum-based plastics can be produced from hemp-based composites. Mercedes Benz of Germany has recently begun manufacturing automobile bodies and dashboards made from hemp.

* It takes years for trees to grow until they can be harvested for paper or wood, but hemp is ready for harvesting only 120 days after it is planted. Hemp can grow on most land suitable for farming, but forests and tree farms require large tracts of land available in few locations. Harvesting hemp rather than trees would also eliminate erosion due to logging, thereby reducing topsoil loss and water pollution caused by soil runoff.

* Hemp seeds contain a protein that is more nutritious and more economical to produce than soybean protein. Hemp seeds are not intoxicating. Hemp seed protein can be used to produce virtually any product made from soybean: tofu, veggie burgers, butter, cheese, salad oils, ice cream, milk, etc. Hemp seed can also be ground into a nutritious flour that can be used to produce baked goods such as pasta, cookies, and breads.

* Hemp seed oil can be used to produce non-toxic diesel fuel, paint, varnish, detergent, ink and lubricating oil. Because hemp seeds account for up to half the weight of a mature hemp plant, hemp seed is a viable source for these products.

* Just as corn can be converted into clean-burning ethanol fue

Really getting my monies worth from TM registrations, such as for CANNABIS.COM, Marihemp, and HempNation - and is so reassuring [sarcasm] to know the Dept of Homeland security, in light of heighten alert and numerous terror threats, is proactively working 24x7 to protect trademarks and patents; author of the article confused the two.

Ron Bennett

Altered trees that make better paper, insect-resistant cotton, potatoes that contain the right kinds of starches.

Why not just use hemp? Which has evolved with the rest of the planet over many thousands of years?

In addition to these new man-made plants, which wouldn't have occured without us, being less nutritious, usable, and light-weight conserning the ecosystem, they are also less tested.

Reefer madness still spookin' ya?

Solar - majorly toxic panels, if theres enough to cause a difference there's an increase in the earths reflectivity changing global climate

Use plants, those are safe and can be yummy, too. Some can also be used to produce more than 25,000 products, ranging from dynamite to Cellophane.

Wind - changes rainfall patterns and global climate

Please back up those "facts" with the relevant data.
Besides, a turbine farm blocks less air than a few skyscrapers.

Tidal - changes sediment flow rate causing erosion elsewhere, and reduces velocity of water which might affect global currents, changing global climate

And nuclear plants might have nasty accidents that kill thousands and sneaky goings-on that kill too few to get as much attention.

of course i did not preview... so they are going to keep engineering plants to patent and sell, because there is money in patented plants and not in what occurs naturaly, instead of lifting a law that was enacted due to lobbyists from corporate industry. sound familiar? and even though hemp was illegal, farmers were asked to grow it during WW2 because nothing makes better rope. Or paper, or fiber, more nutritious than soybeans.

Popular Mechanics Hemp Article

But some Feds have recently been getting sneaky - they're going to the people who made these arguments, and asking them things like "So this censorware stuff you said was less restrictive isn't working, and isn't usable in public libraries? Would you be interested in testifying in court as an expert witness?". It looks like they may be trying to overthrow the least-restrictive-means argument, by contending that filters aren't that much less restrictive, and trying to Catch-22 us into letting them censor the net like they tried to before.

Peacefire is the group that was sued for revealing Cyberpatrol's blacklist, but also for publishing the password-cracker that lets you get around Cyberpatrol's restrictions. The EFF archives on filtering are at this link on eff.org, but they're a bit out of date (unless you believe the year is "19100" :-). The Censorware Project is more recent.

A reasonable fraction of the many blatant errors in Cyberpatrol's agenda need to be "explained by incompetence rather than attributed to malice"; classifying everything on the net is an impossibly large job, much of the gruntwork gets done by bots with only minimal accuracy, and there's certainly not enough time for real human attention to most of it. That doesn't excuse their lack of fixing problems they've been notified about, or the biases that do appear to be in that product and in many others. "Hackers" - oh, nooo! keep your kids away from them!

The referenced article has its mistakes as well - the Libertarian Party may occasionally be accused of being Republicans who smoke dope, and some of its members are, but that's pretty much a mischaracterization :-) It'd be much more accurate to classify most of the members as computer geeks who don't do real politics because that involves talking to non-geeky people in a way that's interesting to them and doing a lot of plain boring time-consuming hard work like precinct-walking.

Many programmers including Bill Gates and Steve Jobs have used psychedelics at one time or another. So while many techies steer clear of heroin, cocaine, etc, they may indulge cannabis (marijuana), shrooms, or even LSD...as well as using 'clubdrugs' like Esctasy at parties.

I personally don't use illicit substances now, but I have and don't regret it at all...in fact I now run the largest cannabis (marijuana) website in the world - CANNABIS.COM (or just CANN.COM for those too stoned to spell :-)

Life would be boring without drugs :-;