West Hollywood Councilman Gets Behind Full Legalization Of Pot

• Legalize it. Use it for fuel worlwide. Forget about the oil stop drilling, stop the wars. We would probably evolve to start living longer too. oh well.

• Electric cigarettes honestly seem the thing to do, for me at least. And you can smoke them anywhere.

• I added your blog to my RSS feed, thanks for the blog post! Looking forward to another blog post soon! Thanks!

• Gaps and Verges (University of Central Florida Contemporary Poetry)Poetry-A to Z.

• The only California governor candidate in support of the legalization of marijuana is Laura Wells. Look her up! We need a governor in California that supports this initiative because it shows who is really listening!

• To Our California Friends, PLEASE point the way forward for the rest of America. If you guys vote to legalize, it will roll across this country like a tidal wave. This upcoming vote will be historic beyond belief. Thank you for your wisdom and courage.

• Let us recall that the AMA in 1988 proclaimed that cannabis is the most successfully medically therapeutic drug for reducing pain in the joints, a thousand times more effective than the really dangerous drugs such as alcohol, big pharma killers, etc. I applaud the growers in Humboldt and Mendocino counties for their clean production methods. The willfully ignorant can have their fill of dangerous cigarettes, thoroughly corrupted menaces such as the so-called DEA. Does it cause cancer like the DEA thumblebums say? Totally wrong. Marijuana is safely used by inhaling heated water vapor that passes through a marijuana pipe. THERE IS NO SMOKE THAT CAUSES CANCER OF THE LUNGS THIS WAY.

• There are tens of thousands of people currently experimenting with several different recreational cannibinoids (synthetic chemicals that give very similar body/mind effects of Marijuana). The advantages to this? These drugs aren't screened for in urine tests(and so use is more rampant in the military than our leaders care to know/admit) Disadvantages? The long term effects of at least one of the chemicals (JWH-018) is theorized as being monstrously carcinogenic to the lungs... but time will tell on that one. Short term... people can actually overdose on these chemicals (and do). Thoughts on this? I feel that the criminalization of cannabis, a drug used for thousands of years without incident(even the most biased researchers can't correlate heavy usage with cancer at all), is causing far more harm than good. People need to realize that, hey, other people don't want to be sober all the time. Maintaining cannabis in a Schedule 1 status is just driving people to achieve intoxication in dangerous ways, or at the very least, driving them to drink (and Alcohol is incontrevertibly more dangerous than this option, physically AND metally). If you're interested in educating yourself further on the subject, I highly recommend reading about Donald Tashkin's research at UCLA, spanning more than 3 decades from a person who was initially biased against cannabis use.

• 0 deaths EVER cause by marijuana...actually proven, in many tests, to stimulate the brain rather than kill brain cells...Many many uses (stronger ropes, paper that doesn't yellow and deteriorate with age, etc)...much cheaper and safer medical supplies...many possible medical advances...money for the government How could this be considered a bad thing?!? Hell, caffeine kills many more people than cannabis, and it's addictive (cannabis isn't). Not only that, but how can Salvia divinorium be legal in many of our states when it has a lot of the same effects as weed along with hallucination, and it can be stronger in the higher strands?!?

• Hiring the right wedding planner will make your special day even better! Everything will be taken care of according as to how you would do it yourself. Seriously think about spending a little more money for a better result.

• Besides the obvious medical and recreational benefits. Supporters of legalization seem to be forgetting to mention the huge huge benefit of industrial use of cannabis. Cannabis can be used for thousands of high quality things like paper, rope, clothing, shoes, glue, cellophane, building materials, plastic like materials, the list goes on and on and on, But one of the most important uses of cannabis is bio-fuel. Since cannabis can be grown almost anywhere in the world it can produce at least four times as much ethanol than any other crop, including corn. Think of the enormous profits our American farmers could gain from growing a crop that be used for so many purposes. Legalize and bring the profits and benefits of this amazing and harmless plant back to the American people. Please take the time to watch this very informative documentary, then pass it along to as many people as you can. Thank you. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9077214414651731007#

• Legalize pot & gay marriage = billion$ in revenue for California!!

• I commend all who have worked so hard to get as far as you have in California. In fact, my daughter is the Chancellor at the Oakland branch of Oaksterdam University, and I couldn't be more proud of her profession. I, however, live in the conservative state of Florida...which is way down the line of states that will come around to legalizing marijuana anytime soon. I come from the Woodstock generation, and never would have guessed that it could possibly still be illegal in the year 2010. Shame on us! This really takes us back to the days of alcohol prohibition. How can alcohol possibly be legal and marijuana NOT be?! I've seen so many lives destroyed by alcohol. My own father, aunt, and uncle were all alcoholics. I never met my father-in-law because he died of alcoholism. But, I have yet to lose anyone to pot. Nobody I know has gone on to heroin because they smoked a joint. It should be legalized and regulated. And doctors should get hip to its benefits and lay off prescribing so many harmful, addicting drugs. I have had my share of medical issues, and all docs want to do is give more drugs. And just like was said in a previous comment, if I vaporize even just a little bit, I can take fewer opioids. To me, that's a good thing. One less pill is one pill less. I'm 60 years old now, and I don't wanna die until I see this entire country get with it. What on earth is taking so damn long?!

• I'm happy for everyone in California, at least you don't have conservative redneck bible pushing assholes like I do here in Georgia. I believe in God, and so far I havn't seen a single sentence that says it's wrong at all. The only thing I can think of is if you center your life around it/idolize it. Which just about everyone wouldn't anyway. I have epilepsy which causes seizures and marijuana has helped me far more than anything else has, the same goes for my mom who also has epilepsy and fibromyalgia, along with cronic arthritus, an enlarged heart and also suffers from nerve damage from a car wreck which broke her neck a few years ago. She is perscribed more than 10 different strong pills which she takes multiple doses a day. Guess what? If she smokes a bowl with me she doesn't have to take but 2 or 3 of those pills. Neither of us have a criminal record or a history of violence. So what exactly IS wrong with marijuana? Not a damn thing.

• If you live in Oregon, please support the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act (OCTA)! It's also known as I-73. Please support OCTA! http://cannabistaxact.org/

• IT'S ALL ABOUT CONTROL OVER US AMERICAN PEOPLE. THEY KNOW THE DRUG IS NOT DANGEROUS, THEY PROBABLY, SMOKE IT TOO! IT'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE ABOUT THE CONTROL AND MONEY.

• IF ANYTHING ALCOHOL, IS MORE DANGEROUS THEN WEED. YOU DON'T HERE OF ANYONE GETTING ANGRY ON WEED OR CRASHING A CAR BECAUSE OF WEED. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT TRYING TO CONTROL US AS USUAL. I VERY RARELY SMOKE WEED, AND I KNOW IT EFFECTS PEOPLE DIFFERENTLY. BUT I KNOW THAT IT MAKES YOU FEEL RELAXED AND HAPPY ISN'T THAT A GOOD THING? KINDA LIKE A VALIUM BUT BETTER BECAUSE IT'S MADE FROM THE EARTH NOT FROM A CHEM. LAB. THIS IS JUST MY OPINION.

• I agree with Samantha. As I read the comments on articles dealing with cannabis, I find about a 10 to 1 ratio for outright legalization of cannabis everywhere I go. Among my acquaintances, including those that don't use cannabis, I find an overwhelming numbers have no problem with outright legalization. Apparently, the only people that want to maintain prohibition are those that profit from it. And those that do not profit from it are tired of paying a kings ransom to keep prohibition going. Vote to legalize, VTL. I believe that the numbers are there to pass it.

• Legalizing mariquana inside California will be the next best step in political campaigning. The next politics of CA will need to be behind the mariquana act like me. Cahnges are coming to this country if I'm in it or not.

• Seems like an all around decent person to me (supports the arts, the LGBT community, defends human rights, etc.). This might be one of the last people I'd "vote out."

• This should not matter to Anyone. He should have supported and or suggested marijuana legalization initiatives brought up by politicians, we don't need him on a ballot initiative. Vote him out anyway, he did nothing to help for change.

• Smart guy! I wish him well!

• This should not matter to Anyone. He should have supported and or suggested marijuana legalization initiatives brought up by politicians, we don't need him on a ballot initiative. Vote him out anyway, he did nothing to help for change.

• RabidinL.A. - right on the money, man. Samantha - I know! Independent of the political agenda of the article (in favor or against prohibition) the vast majority of comments tend to be pro legalization of all mj use (medical and recreational). It's definitely going to happen, and that's really exciting. Never thought I'd live to see that AND a Black president. Gives you hope...

• Here! Here! It's wonderful to see ANOTHER politician supporting legalization! Folks, don't just sit there, though. Hard as it may be for some of us, financially, it is really, REALLY important that we not only support those political figures who come out in support of ending prohibition, but we need to support their campaigns financially. In this world, it's ALL about the money (and the votes, of course). Here's the deal, when we support them financially, they see that we honestly mean business. They tell other politicians, "Hey,these guys are supporting me with CASH!" and before you know it, more of them start to support the cause. Yes, the money entices them, but it prompts them to look deeper. If they refuse to support legalization, VOTE THEM OUT!!!!!

• 7,000 people were murdered by the Mexican drug cartels last year because we in the US kept marijuana illegal, many of the victims were children, police officers and politicians. This year the cartels are on track to kill at least 9,000 more. Who supports keeping it illegal?

• I see articles like this and I always scroll down to see the comments. I have yet to see a set of comments where the anti-legalization comments account for more than ten percent of the total. That comes at no surprise for me. What does come at a surprise is how the government can continue to ignore what the people really want, full legalization. I've heard the Gallup poll totals for legalization are approximately 46%, but that's a very low percentage in my opinion. Where do they get their swatch of the demographic for such a poll? Nobody called me. It's time for legalization. It's time to do the will of the people. Legalize it already! This time, the legalization effort ISN'T going away!

• Before I laud Councilman Duran's stance, the last statement, "Marijuana is no more dangerous than alcohol" needs correction. Marijuana is not NEARLY as dangerous as alcohol. Unlike alcohol, marijuana has never killed anyone. Now, I applaud and thank Councilman Duran for his support of the legalization of marijuana. I wish my city's council would support the large majority's wishes and represent us accordingly.

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