When the War on Drugs started a generation plus ago , Gambling was also illegal:

When the War on Drugs started a generation plus ago ,

 Gambling was also illegal: There where no state lotteries or Indian Casinos ,

 and the Mafia and other Org Crime ran gambling:

 But Gambling was making White people criminals, as most of the patrons of Gambling where white , and many were rich: 

 SO gambling became a state enterprise with lotteries , and a heavily taxed one with Casinos, and our culture is much better off for it : the Mafia barely exists anymore: :: Legalize DRUGS end the war on our inner cities.

-----------------

"How America and hip-hop failed each other"

http://www.washingtonpost.com

By Touré, Published: July 13:

"President Nixon announced a war on drugs, but it was President Reagan who started the modern battle in 1982, when hip-hop was in its infancy. This fight would not only shape the black community but also mold hip-hop, a music and culture whose undercurrent remains black male anger at a nation that declared young black men monsters and abandoned them, killing any chance they had at the American Dream."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-hip-hop-lost-the-war-on-drugs/2012/07/13/gJQAlcsJiW_story.html?socialreader_check=0&denied=1

~~ Why is this TechnoPolitical ?
Because Hemp -- whether Industrial 

or Medicinal or Recreational--
is a modern natural solution to
many economic woes ,

and as well,  

to  many costly health problems .

To have a natural un-adulterated
plant ILLEGAL is insane.

Part of technological maturity 

is unterstanding how to
best use what nature 

gives us for free.

Hemp is woven 

into human history. 

{ Pun intented }
Hemp is the strongest natural

 fiber there is.

The USA legalized 

& utilized HEMP
in "World War Two" with
"Hemp for victory"
as it was the 

cheapest and best fiber
for many military uses during WWII.

Also , ever wonder where the name
"Hempstead" came from ?

We

 now have

 a POTUS who has smoked pot , and inhaled-- and liked it.

It is time to legalize, tax , 

and educate everyone 

-- young and old-- 

honestly all about  

the Great Weed.

The TERMINATOR is correct here.
This issue needs public debate !
~~

Schwarzenegger Urges a Study on Legalizing Marijuana Use

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/07/us/07arnold.html?_r=1&hpw

By REBECCA CATHCART

Published: May 6, 2009

LOS ANGELES — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Tuesday that the discussion over whether to legalize and tax marijuana for recreational use in California would benefit from a large-scale study, including international case comparisons, to show the possible impact of such a change.

----------------------------

- 'Industrial' hemp support takes root"

 was a staple of most all economies till just a few hundred years ago. { Ever wonder where "Hempstead", Long Island got it's name from ??}

TO ban hemp farming today is a crime against the environment AND small farmers. Hemp is a low maintenance crop that is cheap and easy to grow. As well , hemp fibers are the strongest of natural fibers. {Remember the Military’s "Hemp for Victory" in WW II ? }
Go to:
Hemp Industries Association
http://thehia.org/index.html

~~~ Industrial Hemp will again be legal crop one day. It is too good of a renewable natural
resource to be used for Food , Fuel, and Fiber to be left undeveloped.
Time will come.
~ ` ` TP

---------------------

USATODAY.com - 'Industrial' hemp support takes root: "Led by Monson, North Dakota's Legislature has passed laws to make hemp farming legal — if the U.S. government ever allows it. The laws would require hemp growers to undergo criminal background checks and agree to subject their plants to tests for THC.

Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Montana and West Virginia also have passed hemp-farming bills. U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, introduced such a bill in Congress in June, but it hasn't advanced in the face of opposition by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the White House's anti-drug office.

The DEA says allowing farmers to grow hemp in the USA would undermine the war on drugs. It says marijuana growers would be able to camouflage their crop with similar-looking hemp plants, and that DEA agents would have difficulty quickly telling the difference.

'Let's not be naïve,' says Tom Riley of the White House Office on National Drug Control Policy. 'The pro-dope people have been pushing hemp for 20 years because they know that if they can have hemp fields, then they can have marijuana fields. It's ... stoner logic.'

Monson says he and his supporters don't intend to grow illegal drugs. 'We have answers for all the (DEA's) concerns.'"

6abc.com: Wrangling Over Denver Pot Vote

6abc.com: Wrangling Over Denver Pot Vote: "DENVER-November 3, 2005 - Denver officials say they'll sidestep a voter-approved city law that decriminalizes adult possession of an ounce or less of marijuana by prosecuting under state law."

Boo - hiss the City of Denver --TP

Techdirt:Should Banks Be Liable For Online Banking Losses?

Techdirt:Should Banks Be Liable For Online Banking Losses?:

"The real issue is that, if banks knew they would be liable for such losses, then you can bet they'd make their systems a lot more secure" ~` EXACTLY

Another difference between tobacco and marijuana : EiTB24.com

~~~ Legalize it . Or at least de-criminal it . It is medicine that works~~~
-----------------

EiTB24.com: "But cannabinoids have been shown to dial down this inflammatory response,inoids -- both those found in marijuana and the versions found naturally in the body -- Melamede explained.

Another difference between tobacco and marijuana smoking, he said, has to do with cells that line the respiratory tract. While these cells have receptors that act as docks for nicotine, similar receptors for THC and other cannabinoids have not been found.

Nicotine, Melamede said, appears to keep these cells from committing 'suicide' when they are genetically damaged, by smoking, for instance. When such cells do not kill themselves off, they are free to progress into tumours. "

Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk

Health News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Although both marijuana and tobacco smoke are packed with cancer-causing chemicals, other qualities of marijuana seem to keep it from promoting lung cancer, according to a new report.

The difference rests in the often opposing actions of the nicotine in tobacco and the active ingredient, THC, in marijuana, says Dr. Robert Melamede of the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs.

He reviewed the scientific evidence supporting this contention in a recent issue of Harm Reduction Journal.

Whereas nicotine has several effects that promote lung and other types of cancer, THC acts in ways that counter the cancer-causing chemicals in marijuana smoke, Melamede explained in an interview with Reuters Health.

'THC turns down the carcinogenic potential,' he said.

For example, lab research indicates that nicotine activates a body enzyme that converts certain chemicals in both tobacco and marijuana smoke into cancer-promoting form. In contrast, studies in mice suggest that THC blocks this enzyme activity.

Another key difference, Melamede said, is in the immune system effects of tobacco and marijuana. Smoke sends irritants into the respiratory system that trigger an immune-regulated inflammatory response, which involves the generation of potential"