Know the Facts - Change the Law

Know the Facts - Change the Law
Life - Liberty - Pursuit of Happiness

Friday, May 7, 2010

YouTube - SWAT Raid . Cops Shoot Pets With Children Present

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WARNING: If you are a piggy apologist, or have a weak Constitution, this video may not be for you. For those who do not believe this happens, watch and be educated.
 
 
Under the cover of darkness, a team of militarized SWAT agents enter a family home and immediately engage in gunfire — killing one of two family dogs (wounding the other), and likely inflicting lifelong trauma to the family's seven-year-old son. The end result of SWAT team's action? Police seized a small amount of marijuana (a few grams), and associated paraphernalia (a grinder). The man in the video ultimately pled guilty to misdemeanor drug charges and paid a $300 fine.
 
Imagine that - a SWAT raid, children traumatized for the rest of their lives - all for a $300 misdemeanor fine.

Columbia police officials are now reviewing the conduct in the video, which has sparked local and national outrage. It should. In 2004, 60 percent of Columbia voters approved The Columbia Smart Sentencing Initiative (Proposition 2), which amends the city criminal code to depenalize the possession of marijuana and associated paraphernalia to a fine-only offense. Nevertheless, police in Columbia are continuing to terrorize families over an activity that its citizens have deemed to be a minor offense punishable by a small fine.

 

If this video shocks and outrages you, join the Delaware Cannabis Society in demanding an end to police brutality in the name of a failed war on ganja consumers. Unlike NORML, we NEVER charge to join, and there are no dues. All it takes is for you to stand and be counted.

 

If you are not shocked and outraged, SHAME ON YOU, you have no soul.

Friday, January 22, 2010

SAFER

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Sign a petition and join us in boycotting Starbucks and other corporate interest supporting the destruction of marijuana legalizations.free website counters

 

Law enforcement groups are fighting to maintain Marijuana Prohibition and their industry of arresting and prosecuting people for marijuana. SAFER is fighting back and we need your help.

SAFER

Friday, January 15, 2010

MEETING UPDATE for Jan 14, 2010

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For those who have been keeping track on the Delaware Cannabis Society and Hempman blogs http://hempmansays.blogspot.com/, you probably know that meetings to set up the Cures Not Wars Million Marijuana March for Wilmington, Newark and Dover started about a month ago. You probably also know that we have been meeting at Bourbon Street on Philadelphia Pike in Claymont on Thursdays at 8:00 PM.
 
You also probably know that the way we run the Delaware Cannabis Society is with the emphasis being on making it easy and inexpensive for anyone to be an active member. We charge no membership fees, for instance. Outside of required quarterly business meetings, other meetings can be held in a variety of ways. These organizational and activism meetings are usually held by member interest.
 
Member interest in a physical meeting this week was very low. Most people feel like we can deal with the things discussed in the last meeting either through phone calls (439-0313 for more information), or dedicated list discussions via email. There is no meeting this coming week unless members ask for one.
 
As there has been no interest in any aspect of the DCS projects in the Newark and Dover area, we are scaling those projects way back. If you are a DCS member in one of those areas, perhaps you could help with projects and not let those areas fade away.
 
Here is what we are asking members to work on for the next two weeks.
 

Membership Drive:

 
Unlike other organizations, Delaware Cannabis Society only supports legislation that actually improves the prohibition problems. Bad laws such as Senate Bill 94 that make it harder for patients to get medicine and/or create bad prohibition law are not progress. SB 94 will only protect a small, rich base of patients at the expense of the liberty of others. DCS is for ALL uses of ganja.
 
DCS never charges a membership fee. All that is required of members is that they do something. Members must either choose to be in the phone tree or use the blog and email lists. Most people choose the digital route over the phone tree. Members should try to attend at least the four business meetings each year.
 
Nonetheless, every project needs members to make them happen. I know that every single person on this list knows others who are interested in re-legalizing ganja. Have a meeting with them, no matter how formal/informal. Talk about the items on the club agenda. Get back to the blog or email list and let us all know what you talked about or did and either come to the next scheduled meeting to make a report, or simply write on list. Better yet, get your group to sign up for the email/blog lists so everything becomes automated.
 

FUNDRAISING IDEAS

The next meeting is pretty much the deadline for fundraising ideas. As we talked about in the last two meetings at Bourbon Street, without fundraising, Wilmington, Newark and Dover will be very simple events once again. The only members coming to meetings want to spent the available money on an even in the North Wilmington area.
 
Unless some groups step forward to do fundraising in those areas soon, it will be too late to do anything this year. Don't let that discourage you from taking part in other ways, the marches will still be held.
 

SENATE BILL 94

After discussing the actual contents of Senate Bill 94 in detail, the consensus remains that DCS can not support SB 94. No one has had a cogent argument for supporting SB 94. Several members who are also patients who could benefit from SB 94 agree that they would not want their illness to be used as a tool to pass bad legislation that makes things worse for others.
 
If you want to discuss the talking points about our non-support of SB 94, either read the blog (that's what it is for) or email or call 439-0313.
 
We really wish we could find a cogent reason to support SB 94. If you think you have a good point, let us know. This is a great topic for your group's meetings.
 
 

Next Scheduled Meeting

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

8:00 PM

 The Dining Room of Bourbon Street

Philadelphia Pike in Claymont

 
Agenda to be posted on the blog
 
Call for directions: (302) 439-0313
 

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Delaware Cannabis Society Meeting Minutes

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As we continue to make the Delaware Cannabis Society an open organization that costs nothing to join but your own dedication to re-legalizing ganja for everyone, we will now post our meeting minutes, agendas and updates to our blog site at http://hempmansays.blogspot.com and through our email lists.
 
We have weekly meetings on Thursday evenings, but may be moving the time to accommodate more people. Many who showed up for past Thursday's meeting at Bourbon Street on Philadelphia Pike in Claymont said the location was great (we now even have a dining room dedicated to our meetings!), but we might need to consider a different night. Let us know if Thursday night at 8:00 PM is good for you!
 
Bourbon Street was great. They have decent enough food for a good price, and as a restaurant/tavern they can accommodate all ages.
 
We also want to conduct monthly meetings in Dover. Since no one from the Dover area was able to come to this meeting, we are asking people from Dover to volunteer to scout a reasonable meeting place for us.
 
You do not have to call before hand, you can scout, visit a location, and talk to management about a local group who wants to hold club meetings there. You do not have to be specific about what we do. Email or call (302) 439-0313 with what you find out. If several people scout locations, we will present them all for consideration. It is also good to have a backup plan just in case.
 
Membership has been stagnant, which usually happens this time of the year. But it is important to remember that all the stuff that happens over the Spring and Summer have to be developed now. Even small events take advance planning. We can provide many resources, but all of it takes advanced planning.
 
We have money for promotion, at the moment. But, there is no money for production. What that means is that if any given city on the present list (Wilmington, Newark, Dover), or any other location, wants to do something bigger than simply walking the street and handing out posters, we will need to plan on what we will be doing, budget what will be needed, and find financing and do fundraisers ASAP.
 
Without support, the Wilmington leg of the march may be moved to Claymont this year, as locals there have started planning and want to do fundraising. If you want to help support Wilmington at Rodney Square for the march, let us know. Next week we will decide if we want to keep Wilmington as a sponsored city.
 
We talked about Senate Bill 94. The consensus, after much serious consideration of the exact wording of the bill, as well as statistics from other states with such bills, Delaware's almost non-existent ganja arrest rate and the nature of ganja arrests, the group has so far decided that while we remain committed to helping patients, SB 94 is not the vehicle for rational law reform. Unless ganja is re-legalized, no patient is truly safe, and bills such as SB 94 encourage cops to arrest more of everyone else.
 
It was great to see a dozen activists come together and talk so positively about serious re-legalization activity this past Thursday, let's keep building on what we have.
 
 
Remember to add the blog to your list of regular websites to visit, since some information that we may discuss at meetings may only be posted there. Please feel free to make use of the Delaware Cannabis Society communications system as it grows. Visit the blog to call us and leave a message. Selected messages will be posted on the blog and may be distributed through email updates.
 
Unlike other organizations, you are not forced to attend meetings (though it would be great to see more people at meetings). If you follow the materials on the blog, and write before a meeting, we can accommodate reading your comments into the meeting minutes.
 
We will also post appropriate video comments. Contact us if you want to make a video comment.
We will also be accommodating video comments at future meetings.
 
Please take a few moments to send emails to your representatives and senators demanding the re-legalization of marijuana.
 
The links to send free emails to your state congress critter along with suggested text are at
 
Send emails to your State Senator and Representative FREE!
http://hempmansays.blogspot.com/2009/10/send-emails-to-your-state-senator-and.html
 
(302) 439-0313
 
 

Ganja arrest incident to the commission of crime still the number one reason for ganja arrests

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free website countersSome important notes, here. The ganja arrest, like all ganja arrests in Delaware, was incident to the commission of another crime.  The ganja arrest was almost non-incidental – charged and released. If not for asinine ganja prohibition laws, the ganja would no more have been a part of the bust and story than if they had a six pack of beer in the fridge or a pack of cigs in their pockets.

Finally, the invasion of the home in the story was done without a warrant, no drugs were found in the home, and the cops acted against the innocent homeowners with brutality (typical for pigs in this state).

 

Graver and Jamison Spangle, 35, of Georgetown, were arrested at a local pharmacy, said state police spokesman Cpl. Thomas Guarini.

Spangle, who was in possession of marijuana, was charged with marijuana possession and released, Guarini said.

6 arrested in drug raid near Rehoboth Beach

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Former Philly cop pleads guilty to drug charges | delawareonline.com | The News Journal

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The REAL cost of prohibition law. If prohibition law did not exist, no black market dealers to invade would exist and corrupt cops would not be drawn into plotting violent attacks.

 

Former Philly cop pleads guilty to drug charges

Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — A former Philadelphia police officer faces a minimum of 15 years in prison after pleading guilty today to planning the violent home invasion robbery of a drug dealer.

Alhinde Weems pleaded guilty to distributing crack cocaine and plotting to use his badge and gun as part of the robbery.
Federal prosecutors say Weems twice sold drugs to an informant and bought a kilogram of supposed cocaine from an undercover agent. The plot escalated to a plan to rob the agent's supplier.
Authorities say Weems offered weapons for the robbery and planned to use his badge to gain entry to the house.
The 34-year-old Weems had been a member of the Philadelphia Police Department for five years.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 3.

Former Philly cop pleads guilty to drug charges | delawareonline.com | The News Journal

FUN Stuff!