The things in my head go 'round and 'round

I got this announcement from Derek Rosenzweig of Philly Norml last night:

I’m writing to you tonight to give you some excellent news! I have just heard from the sponsor of our bill, PA State Rep. Mark Cohen, that our bill will be introduced this Wednesday, April 29.

This is great news, and it marks a significant milestone in our fight to give patients the right to use medical marijuana. Currently, the following State Reps. have signed on as co-sponsors:

Delaware County
Greg Vitali
Philadelphia County

Vanessa Brown
Mike McGeehan
John Sabatina
Michael O’Brien

We still need more co-sponsors if this bill is to get past the first committee which hears it – either Health and Human Services, or Judiciary.

About the bill

Patients cannot get arrested for possession or personal cultivation
Patients and caregivers will have cards identifying them as such
Doctors can not lose their license for recommending cannabis in a valid doctor-patient relationship
A comprehensive list of ailments for which smoked, vaporized, or orally consumed cannabis or cannabis extract (hashish or hash oil) is found to be beneficial to the patient by either curing or easing symptoms
A procedure for adding ailments and diseases to that list

This is an important bill for folks in Pennsylvania. Please support it through your assemblymen.

Namaste.

As a loyal cable viewer, MLW and I have had Comcast since the day we moved into our abode. And we have had no real complaints. Just the usual grousing about the rate increases, the channels that we don’t get, the reception on some of the channels that we like, the slowness of the internet, blah, blah, blah.

We are spoiled. Admittedly so. And then Verizon FIOS came to town and we get interested. We read all of the BAZILLION pieces of information that inundated us daily in our mail. We talked to friends who had made the switch, and then we talked to a guy who was selling the package door-to-door.

Ok, I actually shut the door in his face when he came round to sell it. I am friendly that way. But I thought better of it, and when I saw him in the neighborhood later that afternoon, I went out and apologized for being an ass and invited him in.

Yes, I apologized. Make a note of this, because it doesn’t happen every day.

We jumped on the Verizon bandwagon. Ok. They bought me with $150 in cash, and a year of free stuff. Go figure, I am a “stuff” whore. Which brings us to today. I have a tech stringing line, and doing stuff to the back of my house, and to my “Box”.

I am not feeling it.

What I am feeling is that good feeling that you get knowing that every TV in my house is going to be able to watch whatever the heck you want to watch on them. Though I have my reservations about The Princess having access to Pay-Per-View available to her. As she hasn’t gotten the concept of who is ACTUALLY PAYING FOR HER PAY-PER-VIEW as of yet. But what ev’s, you know?

So we will see as the day progresses as to how good a feeling I have. Right now, I am without telephone. Big deal, I don’t answer it during the day anyway.

L8R

There is a major discussion going on in Pennsylvania right now. And it involves slot machines.

Yeah, gambling.

In 2004 the voters in Pennsylvania legalized casino gambling. That is, slot machine gambling. Table games have not been legalized at this point. The revenue from slots was to give property tax relief to state residents.

That hasn’t happened yet.

And now, Governor Rendell wants to allow all 14,000 bars and restaurants in Pa. to offer slot machines to their patrons. This is where the discussion begins.

Gambling preys on the weakest members of our society. If you disagree with that statement, look at the folks who flood the casinos in Pa. Our parents, and grandparents. Our retirees. And these members of our society are just like the rest of us. Some of them can gamble without concern, and some can’t. The biggest concern is the ones who can’t.

In 2006 Governor Rendell passed legislation that would allow the casinos to offer unlimited drinks to its patrons. More controversy. Visions of a crowed casino full of drunken slot machine players comes to mind.

Again, some folks can handle it, some can’t. We, as Americans, have a concern with being our brothers keepers. We want to believe that everyone is responsible for themselves, that we don’t have to help those of us who might need it.

But I think that we are wrong in that vein.

What about you?

I got tagged by a friend to do this exercise where you talk about 7 things that people don’t know about you.

That is easy. At least for me. You guys don’t really know diddly squat about me.

Until now.

I could easily become one of those people who never leave their homes.
My job has me dealing face to face with people every day. I listen to their gripes, and I massage their egos. I manipulate people to get the work that I need to be accomplished done. And when I get home I would just rather not have to talk any longer. Cause there is a little bit of slime on me that just doesn’t seem to come off.

I have a better realtionship with my Father today than I did when he was alive.
My Dad died in November of 1996. Growing up, I didn’t have what I would have categorized as a great relationship with him. I know that my parents loved me. I loved them. But I know that I disappointed my Dad numerous times. And he just wasn’t that communicative to discuss it with me. Now that he is gone, I talk to him every day. I ask him for advice, and when I look in the mirror in the morning he is there looking back at me.

If I could make a living at it I would be playing music.
Music is how I dealt with growing up. Music is how I helped put myself through college. I would gladly drop what I am doing right now to play again.

Don’t ever make the mistake of talking about my intellect.
For some reason, just because I am a large person, some people think that I am not intelligent. I carry a 140 IQ. Much higher than the average population. Don’t talk down to me, and don’t mistake what you see with what I am.

I have the attention span of a gnat.
I don’t know if it is ADD, or what, but I am easily bored.

That is not 7, but that is all that I got for now.

Namaste.

Being a member of one of the founding families of New Jersey I found this to be very interesting.

New Jersey Legislature To Hold Hearing on Medical Marijuana
Ask your representatives to support A 804 and S 119!

NORML is pleased to announce that Senate Bill 119, which seeks to enact legal protections for authorized medical marijuana patients, will be heard by the senate health committee on Monday, December 15, at 9:30 AM in Room 11 on the 4th floor of the New Jersey State House Annex. Members of the public are encouraged to attend.

This legislation, along with its House companion Assembly Bill 804, will help to ensure that medical marijuana patients in New Jersey will no longer have to fear arrest or prosecution from state law enforcement. However, these bills will only receive serious consideration if your elected officials hear an unmistakable message of support from their constituents.

Please take two minutes of your time today to contact your state Senator and tell them to support medical marijuana. If your Senator sits on the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee, then it is especially important that they hear from you. For your convenience, a prewritten letter will be sent to your representatives when you enter your zip code below.

There you have it.  My Christmas gift to you.  The only one that will never wear out, or go out of style.

Whatever you do, don’t give up.

As my family well knows, I have my highs, and my lows.  And that is putting it mildly.  The highs are full of activity and grand ideas.  The lows are full of sulking, and silence.  I am either the life of the party, or the one in the corner dressed in black not talking to anyone.

Sorry people I love.  Just haven’t gotten the brain chemistry right as of yet.

Right now, being in a middle period, I am doing a lot of thinking of success.  What it means to me.  What I have, and what I don’t.  And whether or not all of that makes a difference.

And I keep coming back to the title of this little bit of rambling.

Don’t ever give up.  No matter what, because there is no real success or failure.  Everything happens the way that it is supposed to.

Say what?  Am I being real here?

You have better damned well believe it.  Here is an example.  I am making banana bread.  If I don’t add a particular ingredient, will it be ruined?  Or as they say here in Pennsylvania, ruin’t?  The answer depends on your perception.  If you look at the situation without emotion, the end product is a result of the process used to produce it.  The bread turns out the way it is supposed to because of what I put into it.

Wrap your head around that one for a minute.

I am also bottling beer today.  If I don’t put priming sugar in the wort before I bottle it, there will be no carbonation.  It will be flat.  And exactly the way it is supposed to be since I didn’t put priming sugar into it.  Process.  It is all about process.  What you put in to something is what you get out of it.  So there really is not success or failure, there is only your interpretation of the results.

Wow.  That makes my head hurt.

Remember that all through this part of the year when we are rushing around, and not really paying attention to what is going on around us.  You can spend all of your time not paying attention to anything, or you can be in the now.

So what does this have to do with succcess or failure?  I have my ideas, but let’s hear some of yours.

My family and I wish you and yours a safe, and sane holiday season.  And beyond that, we wish you and yours peace, prosperity, health, and love.

Namaste.

National Geographic will be airing an episode called Marijuana Nation on Tuesday, December 2.

Here is an clip from it:

This was espisode is by Lisa Ling, a reporter who has spent years covering the failed Drug War that has been waged by the Federal Governent.

Must see TV for everyone.

Namaste.

Branding. It is an important part of a website, and blogging.

I say that it is a conundrum, but it is really just a confusion. Why? Because since Michigan Proposal 1 passed, there has been little or no talk about it. We know that it will go into law as of December 4th. We know that the framework of how it will be regulated won’t be in place until sometime around April 2009.

But what else is going on? Are the citizens just to sit around and hope that everything is going the way that it should?

I am confused.

After a few days of letting it sink in that Proposal 1 did pass, I am ready to talk about it.

First, I am really happy that the voters in Michigan took this important step in aiding their neighbors by giving them an alternative to drugs to help combat pain and suffering. Use of a natural product rather than a man-made one is always preferrable.

Michigan now has 10 days to verify the results of the vote, and then 120 days to put it all into action. My advice to the residents of Michigan?

Don’t screw this up. Proposal 1 still has a group of folks who did not want it to pass, and that group of folks includes people in law enforcement. Do not screw this up.

We, in Pennsylvania are working for what you just voted for. We want to use your success to help our citizens who are suffering. Here is an article written by Derek Rosenzweig:

Smoke Blowing in the Winds of Change
By Derek Rosenzweig, PhillyNORML – 11/5/2008

With the astounding victory this 2008 Election of Barack Obama and Democrats in the House and Senate, the people of the United States have stood up to re-claim the American Dream. For decades the world has seen us as a beacon of hope and opportunity, but the last eight years have marred that image for many. Now the time has come for our country to prioritize and set a new course.

Massachusetts’ and Michigan’s voters had the chance to show where their priorities lie by voting on ballot initiatives which would liberalize marijuana policies. In Massachusetts, citizens voted over 65% to decriminalize possession of an ounce or under of cannabis, making it punishable only by a civil fine of $100. In Michigan, voters decided 60% – 40% to allow sick and dying patients to cultivate and use marijuana under their doctor’s care.

Over the last few months I’ve spoken with dozens of patients throughout Pennsylvania who suffer from ailments including chronic pain from a botched surgery, obsessive compulsive disorder, severe arthritis, HIV/AIDS, PTSD, and other conditions. Some of these patients are on disability and can’t work. All of them are on all sorts of medications, often times to the level that it incapacitates them or simply doesn’t give them the relief they need. Then they take one or two puffs on a joint and it brings them almost immediate relief.

Pennsylvanians have, for the most part, long taken a rational view of how to deal with the problems that we face collectively. Now that we as a nation start to walk in a new direction, we as a Commonwealth must do the same thing. Our citizens – our friends, loved ones, co-workers – deserve the chance to live their lives with dignity and self respect, but for many of the patients I spoke to that simply isn’t the case right now. The condition their medications put them in precludes a normal life. For these people the simple fact that medical marijuana actually helps their lives become bearable makes it an easy choice to use it. From a medical standpoint, marijuana has huge potential as a medicine, it’s safer to use than most pharmaceuticals, and its side effects (ie, the high) are well within tolerance limits.

The problem for them is how are they getting it, and what are the potential consequences of illegally obtaining and using this drug as a medicine. For some, it can mean getting fired from a job (and losing health benefits) for testing positive on a urine test, and for others it could mean they’re severely unlucky and get arrested. Depending what they get caught with they could be in jail for 30 days or 5 years. Some ailments require a large amount of cannabis to effectively treat, and under our current laws that amounts to a potential death sentence. We have to be better than this.

That’s why it’s so important that this Commonwealth takes the advice of the voters in Michigan and allows our friends, loved ones, and co-workers to use marijuana as medicine under the care of their doctor. Thirteen states – over 25% of our nations’ citizens – now have the right to use cannabis under state law, and President-elect Obama has publicly stated numerous times that those patients in medical-marijuana states will not have to fear Federal interference during his administration. Until the Federal government changes marijuana’s status as a Schedule 1 drug, Pennsylvania must create its own system of legal cultivation and distribution so that doctors can legally – and without worry of losing their license – prescribe or recommend cannabis to a patient. Pennsylvanians for Medical Marijuana, along with PhillyNORML and the Marijuana Policy Project, are working together to introduce a bill in the General Assembly which would do just that. It’s the least we can do to show where our priorities lie.

Comment at our online forum at http://www.phillynorml.org/forum/index.php?action=post;topic=548

- Derek Rosenzweig