BILL MAHER SMOKES WEED ON TV TO MAKE A STAND FOR MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION

This is not the first time Real Time’s Bill Maher has been outspoken in his love of cannabis but last night Maher took a major stand for marijuana legalization.

He said “progress doesn’t just automatically snowball.” Maher brought up how more than 500 dispensaries have been shut down in Los Angeles and legal dispensaries “still can’t get banking services.” In addition he argued with other rights like gay marriage, no one stood to lose money if the law changed. With legalization lots of people could lose a lot of money. (Read: War On Drugs, big Pharma, etc. )

Maher then brought up the story about Raymond Schwab, the Kansas City war veteran who had his children taken away when the government caught wind of his plan to move to Colorado to grow pot for other veterans. His diatribe climaxed when he lit up a joint on the show. You can watch the segment now.  
Take nothing for granted!

ZERO FATALITIES FROM MARIJUANA OVERDOSES

With the legalization of marijuana in the United States (23 states now have legalized the plant in some form) its detractors argue that the number of deaths from marijuana overdoses would be on the rise as well. 

Clearly this is not the case as there have been a big fat zero, not one death from marijuana overdoses this year or last according to the data released by the CDC. Contrarily, 25,760 people died from overdosing on prescription drugs according to the CDC figures.

National Overdoses CDC Marijuana Overdoses
Source: CDC

While marijuana overdoses are non existent, overdoses from prescription opioids rose to the point that the CDC described the levels as “epidemic.”

“More persons died from drug overdoses in the United States in 2014 than during any previous year on record,” the CDC reported earlier this month.

And Alcohol, the most readily available intoxicant, has killed more Americans than any other abused substance. 30,700 Americans died from alcohol-induced causes last year. The sad fact is this doesn’t even include alcohol-related deaths like drunk driving or accidents. The figure would be almost three times higher.

According a report in American Scientist, “alcohol is more lethal than many other commonly abused substances.” The report further puts the lethality of various substances in perspective:

Drinking a mere 10 times the normal amount of alcohol within 5 or 10 minutes can prove fatal, whereas smoking or eating marijuana might require something like 1,000 times the usual dose to cause death.

With the knowledge laid out above it’s absolutely absurd that there remains a prohibition on marijuana at the federal level. Yes  the fed has just recently lifted the ban on Medical Marijuana, it’s high time (pun intended) to end the prohibition entirely.

Please comment and share this article if you agree!

Read more at the Source: Huffington Post.

Congress lifts the Federal Ban on Medical Marijuana

Well we knew it was going to happen, and happen it did indeed! Congress ends the Federal Ban on Medical Marijuana.

Deep inside the 1,603-page federal spending measure Congress added a provision that effectively ends the federal government’s prohibition on medical marijuana. 

This bans federal agents from policing its users or raiding dispensaries in any state or district where it is legal.

The spending plan, with the medical pot provision within it, became law when President Obama signed it last Friday. In states that had legalized medial marijuana, police could still prosecute for using or distributing medical marijuana because federal law trumps state law. This provision represents a massive turning point in the probation of marijuana.

Bill Piper, a lobbyist with the Drug Policy Alliance said: “The war on medical marijuana is over. Now the fight moves on to legalization of all marijuana.”

At present, thirty-two of the 50 states and the District of Columbia have already legalized some form of marijuana use, or its ingredients, for medication. For this reason, the new law “is a victory for so many,” says Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a Californian Republican and co-author of the provision. “This is […] the first time in decades that the federal government has curtailed its oppressive prohibition of marijuana.”

“The federal government should never get in between patients and their medicine,” said Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland).

The benefits of cannabis are numerous, which is why the herb needs to be legally available in every state. Studies have shown that cannabis oil helps treat everything from glaucoma and multiple sclerosis to nerve and seizure disorders, and chronic pain. In addition, hemp is not only a nutritious food (hemp seed), the crop can be used to make clothes, building materials, and fuel – among other uses.

If you believe this news deserves to go viral, please share this article and comment your thoughts below!

Source: LA TIMES