Willie Nelson’s Teapot Party Endorses…uh…whut? Oh, Nevermind

(Willie Nelson finds Nirvana)

 

Willie Nelson’s Teapot Party was formed last November after the singer was arrested for pot possession. The goal of the party is support candidates who think the way the Teappotters to do. Which pretty much means legalizing marijuana.

Just three days ago Willie Nelson endorsed former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson as the GOP nominee; Johnson admits to smoking pot and is pro-legalization. Heck Johnson even attended a bunch of pro- hemp and pot rallies across the country! Non of this “I never inhaled,” namby-pambyism from him.


But then–after Willie endorsed and Johnson sent out an acceptance quote and it was all over the media, Willie changed his mind. Instead, he told campaign advisers, he likes Dennis Kucinich for president.

Nelson now says

I think I will wait and see where he [Johnson] stands on other things. My bad. Sorry. I still think he is a good guy but so is Dennis and if he decided to run I would personally vote for him. If it came down to either him or Gary I’m already committed to Dennis. They both have said they support legal pot…This will blow over and the world moves on. No harm done. We sound like a bunch of pot smokers, that’s all…The more I get into politics the more I realize that I am a guitar player.

The presidential election is more than just a one-issue race. And while the Teapot Party might want to take a page from corporations by backing a candidate form each party, in the end endorsing a candidate is a serious business which requires more than just a a bong’s worth of thought.

 

[HT: Celeb Stoner]

Weed and Unions: Good for America!

Connecticut is showing tremendous support for medical marijuana and decriminalization.  And why not? Pot is good for the American economy and for the American worker!

CA Potheads: Vote! There’s More on the Ballot than Marijuana.

So now everyone who wishes to vote in California has registered, the legislative analyses have been mailed out and it’s time to get down to srs bsns.

Californians, it is really important to vote in this election. So fill out your mail-in ballot and leave it for the postperson if you think you can’t manage to get to the polls (gods know I am fairly langurous and prefer the simple stamp to actually leaving the house.)  There are some important races on the ballot, and if you don’t vote, you really need need to STFU about how things are being run.

Okay, along with the gubernatorial and senate races, there’s Prop 19 which should be enough to get you to the polls, ye slackers, stoners, and sybarites!  Politics make strange and sometimes hot bedfellows: There are non-smokers who are yes supporters;  wake’n'bakers who are no;  medical/215 clients and casual users who have divergent views yea vs nay; and people who are still trying to figure out what “space” with regards to a minor means–and if  passing out pot brownies at a party constitutes “personal use.”

Whether or not you are voting for legalizing pot because you are appalled at the way the war on drugs is being run and want the state to have some cash; or against it because of the patchwork of jurisdictional laws and  potential environment impact of acres of indoor growing  on non-renewable resources, figure out what works for you and go vote.

If Prop 19, which is ahead in the polls passes, United States Attorney General Eric Holder is gonna crack down in Cali. Hopefully medical won’t be impacted. I hear the cry across the land

Oh noes I’m a on list!

Prop 19 will feel the effect of whoever is elected as State Attorney General, a post now held by gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown.

Well,  Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley who is running as the Republican candidate is really opposed to CA’s 215 medical marijuana business, and even more so to Prop 19. Earlier this month, he told an audience at a UC Davis debate:

I really am strongly opposed to Proposition 19 for many reasons. I would be inclined to advise that it is unconstitutional and pre-empted by federal law.
Cooley stood with LA County Sheriff Lee Baca–IMO a hypocrite who has co-signed the thuggish cult of Scientology for decades, riding on their parade  floats and speaking at their events, despite the cult’s  clear cut violations of human rights, child labor laws, and basic human decency–on Friday October 15 when Baca said Prop 19 was superseded by federal law and if passed, would be found unconstitutional.
Proposition 19 is not going to pass, even if it passes.
As Los Angeles County District Attorney, Cooley cracked down on dispensaries from the time of the passage of 215 on. He doesn’t like pot, he doesn’t like pot being sold. And goodness knows what he would do to 215, but maybe I am just being all Cassandra on the walls of Troy again. Like I was about Holder and the Feds.
Candidate Kamala Harris–former San Francisco District Attoney whose endorsements were plastered all over HempCon by both the for and against 19 pot advocates and, per UC Davis School of Law Dean Kevin Johnson
sees herself as an attorney general who will focus on issues not just involving crime and law enforcement, per se, but also issues of environmental justice, protecting consumers and more broad issues
–took a more cautious approach on Prop 19 at the UC Davis  debate.
I believe that if it were to pass, it would be incumbent on the attorney general to convene her top lawyers and the experts on constitutional law to do a full analysis of the constitutionality of that measure … and what action, if any, should follow.
Prop 19 comes down to states’ rights, as by the way, so does AZ Prop 1070. As with AZ 1070 expect Constitutional challenges. The Drug Enforcement Agency anticipates suing if Prop 19 passes.
What will be fascinating if Prop 19 passes–and it is eight points ahead in the polls, with the LA Weekly Dennis Romero pointing about that Holder’s remarks:
Way to piss off Californians so much that we might actually pass this thing…Kiss our Golden State ass.

–is that potentially Tea Party/states rights/militia types and libertarians could cuddle up with liberals, libertines and hippies to fight for an elected initiative that runs contrary to Federal policy. Sit back, order in pizza, and start the pop corn, it’s a smoking Constitutional cause and democracy’s finest hour. Dude.

Late Night: Altar-ed States, Pastors and Pot

While one Colorado clergyman is fighting his arrest for possession of pot (claiming his status as clergy in the Ministry of THC allows for sacramental reefer use), a pastor in California is up in arms over the NAACP’s support of the November ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana use.

Rev. Jason Wimler is claiming the cannabis found in his car by Colorado State Troopers late last year was for sacramental use for a ceremony he hoped to perform during the Christmas holiday. His attorney Daneyl Joffe was granted the right to file a brief on jury instructions specific to religious use of cannabis. Joffe’s point is that the Colorado Constitution allows for

the free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination

though some might argue that Wimler’s pot possession fall under this part of the law:

but the liberty of conscience hereby secured shall not be construed to dispense with oaths or affirmations, excuse acts of licentiousness or justify practices inconsistent with the good order, peace or safety of the state. (emphasis mine)

Meanwhile the NAACP in California has come out in support of the legalization of marijuana because as  Alice Huffman, the state NAACP president, says:

There is a strong racial component that must be considered when we investigate how marijuana laws are applied to people of color. The burden has fallen disproportionately on people of color and young black men in particular.

Sacramento minister Ron Allen–bishop of the Greater Solomon Temple Community Church in Oak Park and  president of the International Faith-Based Coalition, a Sacramento group representing 3,600 congregations–is not too happy about this:

Most African American pastors are disappointed, absolutely disappointed with the decision. If anyone should know the effects of illicit drugs in the black community, it should be one of our most respected civil rights organizations.

Yes, Bishop Allen, but if pot were legal, then it wouldn’t be illicit, no would it? Maybe Bishop Allen should check out the ministry of THC, which claims both Jesus and Moses used cannabis oil as for holy anointing. Hallelujah!


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