Watch: 5 Benefits To Legal Weed (& The 1 Big Thing Stopping It)

Judge Jim Gray isn't the bleary eyed stereotype of an advocate for the decriminalization of marijuana. Gray, who has never tried the drug, is a former attorney in the Navy JAG Corps, prosecutor, and a Judge in conservative Orange Country, California. Judge Gray isn't in favor ending the War On Drugs in spite of that experience. He's a passionate spokesman for drug policy reform BECAUSE of his experience in law enforcement.

In this exclusive interview, Judge Gray lists five immediate benefits of of AB 390, The Marijuana Control, Regulation, and Education Act. The state assembly bill was introduced by Tom Ammiano a Democrat from San Francisco that would decriminalize the sale, production and use of marijuana for adults in California.

Judge Gray also discusses the dangerous addiction that many government agencies have to the funding made available to them by the drug war.

(Sidenote: This is an eight minute video. I'm personally so sick of souindbite journalism that reduces every issue to 10 seconds argument chunks that I want to scream - so this ain't that. It's a person explaining a position in depth. God bless the internet.)

If you're interested in more detail on how the War On Drugs is really a War On Children, Judge Gray's experience as a judge and prosecutor shown him both the futility and cruelty of prohibition.

Comments

[kingfish007]

very well done.

[Hawaii5-0]

The the message that the only reason pot is still illegal is to fund our war on pot and prisons. Law enforcement and incarceration IS more important than balanced budgets.

[ab390yes]

If you live in California, please visit
http://yes390.org
to support California Assembly Bill 390.
AB 390 would legalize marijuana for adults over 21 in California.

[senorlou]

Best speech on the War on Drugs that I've ever heard. I live in LA and buy medical MJ. The states will be the ones who make the change. Last I looked, 13 states have decriminalized medical MJ and allow access for patients. It just keeps on growing. I expect to be able to smoke a joint in a coffee shop here in LA within 5 years. Come on down!

[sense11]

Wow, well that is just a bunch of good information and it is fire you can use when your point of view is attacked by people that get drunk everyday and want to look down on you for smoking some harmless weed. Its all about the federal money.

[TrnsNtnl]

The drunks look down on you and the ones doing coke prosecute you or make the laws. Hypocracy = drug war.

[senorlou]

None of the drunks I know look down on me for smoking my MMJ. They're usually looking up at me, since they're often passed out on the floor. I hate it when they throw up on my shoes.

[ab390yes]

If you live in California and you want to help get this legislation passed, please visit
http://sites.google.com/site/ab390yes

[worldlyhick]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/04/world/americas/04mexico.html

This is the link to the NYT article that discusses the meeting of the Attorney Generals. It's "Holder Meets with Attorney General of Mexico".

It says he wants to reduce amounts of cannabis required to prosecute under Federal law for possession. Sounds like a huge step back to me.

[senorlou]

This is what the article says:

-- And with marijuana sales central to the drug trade, Mr. Holder said he was exploring ways to lower the minimum amount required for the federal prosecution of possession cases. --


It doesn't even state what the amount is right now. Do you know what it is?
I'm allowed to buy - from a medical MJ co-op - no more than 6 ounces of the sacred herb a month (might be 8). No more. That's not too much - am I going to freak out about that?
I also don't belive I'm allowed to have more than 12 plants growing on my property. See, I'm giving you real numbers. So what are the real numbers here? Are we talking grams, ounces, pounds, or metic tons?
As far as I saw - Obama stopped the raids on the co-ops. Co-ops were happy all over California, probably still are.

[worldlyhick]

That's a good question. I haven't found any information relevant in that context, except that any amount of cannabis is illegal under federal law already.

In my state, and in lots of others, you can't have any cannabis, no matter how sick you are, or you are risking big legal trouble.

I agree it is a good thing that the Obama administration promised to stop DEA raids of medical cannabis dispensaries and patients. I did hear about a raid last week though.

[beyondliberal]

Amen!
The judge states that 75% of drug offenses are MJ related; only 25% are for heftier, more dangerous drugs. Lumping MJ with meth and heroin is SOOOOO counter-intuitive.
In the 1930s. MJ was outlawed because blacks and "bohemians" were the users. The law was meant to control those who did not conform to the status quo.
Thomas Jefferson and George Washington were users of MJ and growers of hemp. Benjamin Franklin was a user. The use of MJ certainly didn't hurt their minds!
I've been a smoker for 39 years and have a qualifying condition. Is that the only way I can stay out of prison (at least here in CA)? God forbid the feds bust me and hand down a 10-year sentence for the "abuse" of an herb that I must use to cope with my illness!

[worldlyhick]

There is an article at the New York Times about AG Eric Holder and Clinton in Mexico.

AG Eric Holder states he wants to reduce the amount of cannabis required to be able to prosecute at the federal level for possession! I guess he wants to throw a few more thousand people in prison for possession of cannabis.

Please take a look at this article.

[senorlou]

Can you post a link please? I just see the Obama Admin. laying off the states, which is great.

[309blank]

he is ABSOLUTELY right that

[lisakaz2]

Excellent interview. Judge Gray makes sooo much sense. I hope more ppl see this. We cannot afford not to act on what he says. Incredible how money to the fed (yet again) corrupts us all.

[zizyphus]

While poor Americans fight for the right to take a herbal medicine known for it's safety, and are imprisoned for doing so, our Federal Government, behind our backs, is patenting the molecules. It seems that cannabis has antioxident and neuroprotective molecules that prevent brain damage after ischemic stroke.

US Patent No 6630507, Issued on October 7, 2003
Abstract
Cannabinoids have been found to have antioxidant properties, unrelated toNMDA receptor antagonism. This new found property makes cannabinoidsuseful in the treatment and prophylaxis of wide variety of oxidationassociated diseases, such as ischemic, age-related, inflammatory andautoimmune diseases. The cannabinoids are found to have particular­applicatio­n as neuroprotectants, for example in limiting neurologicaldamage following ischemic insults, such as stroke and trauma, or in thetreatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease,Parkinson's disease and HIV dementia. Nonpsychoactive cannabinoids, suchas cannabidoil, are particularly advantageous to use because they avoidtoxicity that is encountered with psychoactive cannabinoids at high dosesuseful in the method of the present invention. A particular disclosedclass of cannabinoids useful as neuroprotective antioxidants is formula(I) wherein the R group is independently selected from the groupconsisting of H, CH3, and COCH3.##STR1##

Assignee
The United States of America as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services

[clevelandchick]

Amazing interview! Especially the last segment, how the war on drugs really is a war on children and puts them in harms way, destroys families. I think that was the part that really got me angry at our leadership. I hope this new push to legalize marijuana gains some traction, this war on drugs is so destructive.

[Raymond Worrilow]

Once again. all I notice is arguing between Democreats and Republicans..... Where are the Americans that work for the people.. If it was just a rumor, I wouldnt take it seriously.. But OVER AND OVER again I have seen some VERY bitter arguments, and it didnt matter who was correct. The argument was the simple fact that the other person was a member of a different party then them..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvGWG7Gmogg

[senorlou]

What you have right now is one party that is trying to work for the people - Democrats - and the other party trying to foist more toxic "ideas" on how to shoot this country back into the dark ages. Prohibition never worked and never will. It works great for drug cartels, but that's about it.

[followedthemoney]

Funny story from several years ago. A major University held a seminar on IH and the Feds showed up with their video cams thinking it would be a collection of MJ growers coming in to learn more about their 'product'. As it turned out, the gathering was comprised of major corporation officials, ones who might be interested in getting in on the ground floor and reps from some of those companies who will fight its legalization.
If you want to know were the REAL obstacles are, you have been looking in the wrong places.
AG Canada is now experimenting with IH and New Zealand, a place which is rocky and difficult to produce any ag crops now boasts the IH products to be one of their biggest exports. I suppose, because of the money pigs and misinformation, the USA will be the last inline to utilize this crop for creating jobs and helping to reverse our balance of trade deficit.