Since the marijuana industry bought off ALL of the companies authorized to collect petition signatures in Colorado, it’s not surprising how deep corruption runs through that industry. Some dirty tactics have been going on for years. (Please read Part 1 and Part 2 of exposing the deceptive tactics of the marijuana industry.)
In 2012, Oregon Attorney General candidate Dwight Holton was defeated in the Democratic primary, because he had inspired the wrath of the marijuana industry. Only 25% of Oregon’s Democrats voted, but that success gave marijuana lobby the boost it needed to threaten anyone who would dare go against them.
The Oregon Attorney General’s race shows how vindictive the marijuana lobbyists really are. Dwight Holton, former acting US Attorney for Oregon, was highly regarded as a prosecutor (pictured below). But he also prosecuted marijuana violations, while opponent Ellen Rosenblum promised to go lightly on “medical” marijuana, and even courted the marijuana businesses. She won. The biggest contributors to her campaign were Drug Policy Action and John Sperling, founder of University of Phoenix and a billionaire marijuana contributor. Citizens for Sensible Law Enforcement, a marijuana legalization group, spent more $53,000 in radio ads against Holton. The political reason to oppose Holton was that he was a relative newcomer to the state of Oregon, but the true reason he lost was that the marijuana forces came out to defeat him.
Dwight Holton ran for Attorney General in Oregon, but lost because he faced “the wrath of the weed vote.:” He is now CEO of Lines of Life, a non-profit committed to the prevention of suicide.
In fact, a headline earlier this year reminded politicians of Dwight Holton’s fate and warned that lists will be kept of those who support local marijuana bans in Oregon. There’s much written about the corruption in the state’s marijuana businesses, both in the past and in the present.
Carmen Trutanich also “was one of a number of politicians to suffer the wrath of the weed vote” in the California primary on June 5, 2012. In California, Los Angeles City Attorney Trutanich lost his bid for District Attorney because of his stance towards marijuana businesses, according to one of the marijuana blogs.
Since 2012, the marijuana lobby has promised backlash against politicians who aren’t with them. By 2012, financiers such as Peter Lewis and George Soros were giving big donations to the legalization campaigns in Colorado and Washington. This year Sean Parker has already given more than $2 million to the legalization effort in California.
Politicians who don’t support the marijuana industry’s agenda — using “medical” marijuana as a backdoor to full legalization — are accused of wanting people to die or wanting to send innocent people to jail. Those who are skeptical of the efficacy of “medical” marijuana are painted as individuals lacking compassion in well- orchestrated smear campaigns. In 2014, some politicians felt the backlash through dishonest television ads. Using the word “compassion” helps initiatives pass, although in reality it’s about corruption and full of entirely different motives.
Will politicians stop calling out graft and corruption in the marijuana industry because they face slander and revenge from the pot lobby?
The Television Ads
In 2014, Americans for Safe Access, a “medical” marijuana lobbying group (funded by Soros?), ran television advertisements on MSNBC in Maryland and South Florida. They targeted two members of Congress who voted “no” to the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment in their districts, Republican Andy Harris of MD and Democrat Debbie Wasserman Schultz of FL. The Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment was the first major victory for the heavily-funded marijuana lobby.*
Has anyone ever investigated how much the marijuana lobby pays “patients” to advertise and go on TV on behalf of medical marijuana?
The ad in Maryland claimed that Rep. Harris’ vote would result in sending Maryland’s patients to prison. A voice said: “Congressman Andy Harris thinks it’s OK for medical marijuana patients to go to federal prison.” The ad was juxtaposed with the image of a 4-year-old boy who suffers from epilepsy and his mother.
We need more politicians who are brave and who stand up to this political corruption to protect the children. The bravery of Steve Cooley, Dwight Holton, Carmen Trutanich, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Andy Harris, and Linda Newell in Colorado, is much appreciated.
*The Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment prohibits funds to the Drug Enforcement Agency (FDA) to be used for “medical” marijuana in states that have authorized state “medical” marijuana programs.
Is the Marijuana Lobby Trying to Buy Your Legislature and Your Votes?
If marijuana has a medical application that can be proven, Merck and Pfizer will probably see the benefit of getting into the 4.2 billion dollar business. Marijuana companies, like pharmaceutical companies, contribute heavily to politicians and lobbying efforts. Unlike the pharmaceutical industry, they don’t go through a rigorous testing and approval process. The marijuana industry uses pesticides, even banned pesticides, but it promotes itself as organic and natural.
Medical marijuana “caregivers” have no accountability and liability, and their lobbyists know it. We think it is wrong when the marijuana industry lobbyists give parents with very sick children false hope.
Marijuana lobbyists should not be seen as having pure and “compassionate” motives, as they pretend.* The public has a right to know that CBD for epilepsy does not always work.
A few of the children treated with an artisanal CBD (cannabidiol, the derivative of marijuana used for epilepsy) have died, and some of the children treated with cannabis oil for cancer also died.
In Montana a few years ago, Cashy Hyde’s father was featured on TV, saying his son had been cured of cancer using cannabis oil. Sadly, the boy eventually died, sometime after the startling announcement that he had been cured. The constant nurture and love from his parents probably helped to extend his life.
A man in Iowa who advocated for marijuana also died of cancer. In Australia, a little girl whose father had been treating her neuroblastoma with cannabis oil died in May. Receiving constant love, attention and kind wishes from others sent good vibes into the world, but no medical professional thought it had an effect on the cancer.
When reading about the remarkable claims advocates of medical marijuana propose, please remember the placebo effect. We don’t know why placebos cure some people and not others. It could be the power of belief, or the result of a person’s own immune system having the ability to fight the disease.
Parents Opposed to Pot objects to the tactics of marijuana lobbyists because:
They give partial truths, attempt to sway public opinion while hiding essential facts.
They engage in unfair defamation of character and advertising. Two years ago Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Rep. Andy Harris were targeted with cruel and slanderous attacks because of their votes regarding medical marijuana. Rep. Wasserman Schultz recently voted to allow veterans to be allowed marijuana — although it makes PTSD worse.
They outpsend the opposition to marijuana legalization and target youth with their advocacy, while pretending to be grass roots. Smart Approaches to Marijuana was founded after the vote to legalize in Washington and Colorado.
*The 1996 ballot in legalizing marijuana in California was called the Compassionate Use Act and people were led to believe it was only for terminally ill people with cancer and AIDS. In reality, only 3-5% of the marijuana has been used for these conditions.
The Ketogenic Diet is a recognized and successful treatment for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases, but Montel Williams spoke on the floor of the Pennsylvania State Legislature last week to say he uses “medical” marijuana for MS. Williams became upset when Rep. Matthew Baker spoke up to say the MS Society doesn’t recognize marijuana as treatment for MS. The billion dollar marijuana industry pretends there are no other solutions to major medical conditions; they frequently play the compassion card to dupe Americans into supporting them.
The Ketogenic Diet is often a successful treatment for children with several types of epilepsy, including Dravet’s Syndrome. Studies show that 65% of children treated with the Ketogenic Diet have a reduction of seizures by more than 50%. Ketone bodiesContinue reading Ketogenic Diet Treats Multiple Sclerosis, Epilepsy→
