Tag Archives: Rep. Andy Harris

Marijuana Lobby Plays Retribution and Slander to the Max

July 15, 2016

The Power and Deception of the Marijuana Lobby

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.

Pro-pot groups also claimed that they defeated California Attorney General candidate Steve Cooley in 2010. Cooley was no friend to medical marijuana violators in southern California. He lost in a very close race that took weeks to count.

2012: “The Wrath of the Weed Vote”

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.

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.

Bite — 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.*

The ad that ran against Rep. Wasserman Schultz alleged that the Congresswomen thinks it’s ok for medical marijuana users to go to federal prison. It flashed an image across the screen of an elderly man and his wife, who has Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, a fatal neurological disease. It is well understood in legal circles that “patients” who use “medical” marijuana for their own illnesses have never gone to jail.

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.

Since that time, both Harris and Wasserman Schultz have made made some concessions in how they vote for medical marijuana. The industry must be congratulating itself.

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.

Medical Marijuana, Politics

On Marijuana Oils and Misleading Promises

June 30, 2016

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.

The Press should investigate how much the marijuana lobby spends to advertise and go on TV on behalf of passing “medical” marijuana laws.

Treating Cancer with Marijuana Oils?

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.

It is understandable why some parents with little hope for their child would prefer such oils over harsh chemotherapy.

We do not criticize the parents for trying alternative treatments. However, advocacy for these parents should not be used to further the agenda of legalization.

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.
They intentionally use the term “medical marijuana” when they mean cannabidiol (CBD), which lacks the psychoactive qualities of regular marijuana. The confusion justifies teens who “dab” with highly potent Butane Hash Oil BHO) because they believe it’s harmless and even medicinal.

(Read Part 1)

*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.

Medical Marijuana, Mental Health

Ketogenic Diet Treats Multiple Sclerosis, Epilepsy

June 16, 2015 Leave a comment

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 bodies Continue reading Ketogenic Diet Treats Multiple Sclerosis, Epilepsy →

Featured, Medical Marijuana

Medical Marijuana Hoax: Do Patients Go to Jail?

November 4, 2014 Leave a comment

“I know of no patient-only person sent to federal prison for use of marijuana,” said Law Professor Douglas Berman, a specialist in marijuana law at Ohio State University.

Even before states started legalizing marijuana for medical or recreational use, the federal government didn’t throw defendants in prison simply for using marijuana Vanderbilt University Law Professor Robert Mikos explained. He added, that’s because prosecutors are focused on suppliers and distributors. This information is from an in-depth analysis of Politifact Florida, reports of the Tampa Bay Times and the Miami Herald.

The Compassion Card and the Hoax

Why do marijuana advocates constantly play the compassion card? Or pretend we don’t care about children with epilepsy or cancer?

How is it medicine if they give it names like Purple Poison, White Widow, Body Buzz, Lemon Skunk? Why is it that only 2-5% of the medical marijuana patients are terminally ill with cancer or AIDs, the conditions that may benefit from the nausea and appetite stimulation of medical marijuana with its THC?

Why is it that so many patients have chronic conditions and “need their medicine” continuously. Is the industry trying to make them hypochondriacs, or are the marijuana providers (“caregivers”) nurturing dependence? Most medicine is supposed to cure a person and get them to the place where the medicine is not needed. Our view is that more precautions are needed for medical marijuana.

Fraudulent Practices

Once medical marijuana passes in a state, fraud is encouraged. For example in Michigan a doctor wrote medical marijuana prescriptions for more than 60 so-called people he never saw as patients. He made $16000 in cash, but the medical marijuana providers reaped more than $1.3 million in profits over 2 years.

Also, in Michigan (not one of the hotbeds of marijuana), 20-year old so-called patient recently started an explosion at his parents’ house, from trying to extract hash oil from marijuana. We need to ask ourselves why so many people who are so young are so disabled?

Recently, the Deputy Attorney General James Cole said that California needs to start regulating it’s medical marijuana or the federal government will do it. Legalizing marijuana doesn’t solve unregulated medical marijuana, as Washington proves.

More than two years ago signs like this one in Pompano Beach were put up in Florida, in anticipation of Amendment 2, to be voted on today, November 4

Americans for Safe Access

A few months ago Americans for Safe Access sponsored some television ads suggesting that cancer patients go to prison. They specifically targeted members of Congress who did not vote in their favor. Representative Andrew Harris, one of the Representatives attacked in an add, explained in front of Congress that medicine was more precise than prescribing “two joints a day,” or “a brownie here, a biscuit there.” “This is not medicine,” Harris said.

“This would be like me as a physician saying, ‘you know, I think you need some penicillin. Go chew on some mold.’ Of course I wouldn’t do that. I write for 250 mg of penicillin, [every] 6 hours, times 10 days. I don’t write, ‘chew on a mold a couple of times a day.'”

Rep. John Fleming, another doctor who formerly worked in a chemical dependency program and has published a book about addiction, spoke, warning of what marijuana does to the brain development of young people. Recent medical studies and reports only clarify this message, making the warning stronger.

In Colorado all that its necessary to be a caregiver is that they are over age 21. Compare that to the training of a pharmacist, nurse practitioner and physicians.

We condemn the way Americans for Safe Access, United for Care and other lobbyists have been essentially dishonest about medical marijuana. They imply that having a different opinion shows a lack of compassion. We also blame them and other groups for not explaining that cannabidial oil which helps for seizure is a component of marijuana and not marijuana. We ask them to stop posturing for one thing when they really want something else. (Read Part 2 of the Medical Marijuana Hoax: Mental Health)