Thoughts and Opinions
Open letter from a Tennessee Mom
Sandy McClurg Bush writes:
I have been hesitant to talk about this publicly for obvious reasons, but have decided that the potential benefits for my family greatly outweigh the risks of negative backlash so here goes nothing…….
As most of you now know our son Cameron has a rare and catastrophic form of epilepsy called infantile spasms. Despite being on medications he is still having anywhere from 3-20 seizures every day, on average. Over the last few weeks I have spent many hours researching something that I now feel has a very real possibility of helping my son, medical marijuana. I believe that many people’s hesitations and oppositions to this are based on misinformation, so I would like to ask all of you to put aside what you think you know about it and allow me to share what I have learned through my many hours of research.
I have… Continue reading
It Is Immoral to Cage Humans for Smoking Marijuana
That’s why Colorado and Washington have the most moral drug laws in America right now.
Under the law in 48 states, here’s what can happen when an adult is thought to possess marijuana: Men with guns can go to his home, kick down his door, force him to lay face down on the floor, restrain him with handcuffs, drive him to a police station, and lock him in a cage. If he is then convicted of possessing marijuana, a judge can order that he be locked in a different cage, perhaps for years.
There are times when locking human beings in cages is morally defensible. If, for example, a person commits murder, rape, or assault, transgressing against the rights of others, then forcibly removing him from society is the most just course of action. In contrast, it is immoral to lock people in cages for possessing or ingesting… Continue reading
Should Grandma Smoke Pot?
At our last June NORMLTN monthly meeting, we learned about an excellent program and movement called “The Silver Tour.”
It teaches seniors about the benefits of medical cannabis. It includes a video called “Should Grandma Smoke Pot” which makes numerous points about why and how to lobby for change.
Take a look at the link, scroll down to the video and enjoy. Please share it with as many people as you can, it’s also available on Youtube and builds a solid, logical case to help us convince TN legislators that it’s time to change the laws.
A simple way to do it, is search this site for your representative’s email and send the link with a short note that states you’re in their district and why you think this is important to look at this and change the law.
We’re making progress but every letter and email we send will… Continue reading
“Marijuana Finally Legalized” Should Be The Headline
Reprinted with permission by Caz Loth.
“Marijuana finally legalized,” is the headline that should be appearing on the front page of newspapers across the country instead of, “The biggest bust in the county,” or “$100K seized in pot bust.” One of the most diversely useful plants on the planet has been co-opted by governments to make money. That’s the simple explanation. Its one more lesson in control when free beings can be told how to self medicate by a power that is out mostly for its own good and often to the detriment of its citizens. How we have allowed a small group of individuals, police, lawyers, judges, correctional facilities and drug dealers to monopolize the benefits of this extremely valuable plant through prohibition is hard to understand.
No government should be able to regulate what plants the citizens of the planet use. All the plants on the planet were… Continue reading
Don’t let the Trolls win.
Whether you’re online or not, there are people who will hate on what you have to say. That shouldn’t prevent you from organizing your community and communicating with members online and offline, yet many people tell me something like, “I don’t want to be on Twitter because then people might say bad things about me.”
I’m going to focus my advice on dealing with trolls on Twitter, because that seems to be the platform where trolls scare people the most. But it applies to any communications, online or offline.
- Stay on-message. If you wouldn’t say it to a reporter, don’t say it online. Simple as that. (If you say something stupid at a press conference, you don’t blame the microphone. An off-message tweet is your fault, not Twitter’s.)
- Only engage if it helps you. Almost no one gets positive value from engaging trolls. Before you engage, ask yourself: am I… Continue reading
They Came to Change the Law: NORMLTN March Meeting at Sunset Grill
They Came to Change the Law: NORMLTN March Meeting at Sunset Grill
The March 2013 monthly meeting of NORMLTN featured about 30 new and returning activists willing to change the laws in TN. We heard from Rev. Aaron Colyer, founder of Tennesseans for Medical Canabis Now, who will visit several state legislators on Tuesday March 5th, MTSU student, Alex, working on showing the film, “Breaking the Taboo” at the college, and the comedian, Neal, who’s preparing a medical marijuana benefit show at The End April 9th and 23rd.
We also went around the room and heard from old and new members discussing why they’ve come. Answers ranged from vets who’d rather smoke for medical reasons than take pharmaceuticals with harmful side effects, to those who want the laws changed so they don’t have to fear persecution and risk losing job, house and freedom if they use marijuana.
We gathered suggestions for improvement,… Continue reading
Marijuana Medicine Brings Relief and Hope
Glenn Christman has been taking care of Nashville area trees for 30 years as The Gentle Arborist.
” Arborculture is the care of trees, speaking for the tree in the work that needs to be done, from feeding and installation to removal with big cranes - that’s my job.” he says.
We’re sitting in his living room and Glenn’s on a couch which is now his bed and office, situated with computer, phones, trays and medicines around him as he continues to work through his illness. Glenn is also an herbalist and has used both modern chemo therapy/radiation and alternatives in his pursuit of health and recovery.
Q: “What is your medical condition and why is medical marijuana important?”
“I was diagnosed in January of 2011 with prostate cancer, which had already metastasized, mostly to my sacrum. So I did a year of natural and home remedies, seemed to be getting… Continue reading
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