DEAN BECKER: The failure of Drug War is glaringly obvious to judges, cops, wardens, prosecutors and millions more. Now calling for decriminalization, legalization, the end of prohibition. Let us investigate the Century of Lies.
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DEAN BECKER: Welcome to this edition of Century of Lies. I think we’ve got a great show lined up for you. Without too much preface here I want to bring in this gentleman who has kind of been in the fore, been in the front of changing these laws, educating folks and just making a difference in so far as the drug laws and, in particular, regards to marijuana.
With that I want to welcome Mr. Patrick Clark. He’s with WeGrow and he’s a friend of my friend, Richard Lee of Oaksterdam University. How are you doing, Patrick?
PATRICK CLARK: Hey, how are you doing? I’m doing real good.
DEAN BECKER: What caught my attention is last week I was out there on Facebook and I saw this link to a group of studies and I want you to go along with me here kind of describing what marijuana does, the types of maladies for which it is beneficial.
This website talks about 700 uses of medical marijuana sorted by disease and links to these studies and yet the government continues to say there’s not enough information to change the laws. Your response, Patrick.
PATRICK CLARK: As far as the government approach it is basically a crime against humanity that marijuana is still illegal. On the website, http://www.weedbay.net, at the bottom of the page there’s a small box which links to a listing of 700 clinical studies involving marijuana and cannabinoids. Basically it covers everything from Alzheimer’s to Wilson’s disease, from Hepatitis to Hiccups.
Some of the studies there are just abstracts. Some of them are full studies. The collection of clinical studies actually comes from a lady up in Montana. Her name is Granny StormCrow. She’s about 65-years-old. She’s been collecting these studies for years.
She first released them to the public around 2007. Some of the studies date back to 1998 or so. She’s been updating the studies about twice per year. I haven’t updated along with her but on Monday I am going to update it. She’s got it all in a PDF.
All she really asked is if you know somebody with these maladies or symptoms or diseases share these links with those people. It’s a great collection of clinical studies. It clearly shows that there is research on marijuana and medical marijuana and the cannabinoids.
When people say there are no studies this is a good place to point them to because there has been extensive research. The DEA and FDA has tried to block it in a catch 22 where the DEA won’t let anybody study it. Some of these studies come from reputable sources in other countries.
It’s a great thing to have and a great thing for activists to have.
DEAN BECKER: Again, we’re speaking with Patrick Clark.
Patrick, I want to come back to these 700 studies but you just brought up a point that the DEA tries to prevent more major studies or additional studies, in general, from being done. There’s a story coming out of the Arizona Daily Sun about University of Arizona physician who is bidding to study medical marijuana at that state-run school but the elected officials are trying to tell her that if they allow this to happen the DEA will take…that the federal government will take away funding from the university and do all this kind of stuff.
The fact of the matter is is this is just one more example of trying to quash the truth. Am I right Patrick?
PATRICK CLARK: Absolutely. There’s another one, Dr. Krager. He’s been trying to get DEA and FDA approval to grow high potency marijuana and study it. He started about 5 years ago. I was very active then and I remember when he first started this. He’s with a university as well.
He tried to get access to growing medical marijuana so he could research it and he’s been nothing but shut down. It’s been 5 years. I think he’s finally been granted access but after 5 years think of all the research they could have done but didn’t because of the DEA’s blockage of this.
DEAN BECKER: And maybe the hundreds of thousands of arrests that wouldn’t have been needed to occur. I want to go back to that story from the Arizona Daily Sun. There’s a paragraph in here:
“Clearing up the question of where [Professor] Sisley can do the research is only part of the problem. She still is looking for the approximately $250,000 she needs, most to pay that the DEA charges researchers for marijuana.”
That’s more outrageous than the cartels isn’t it?
PATRICK CLARK: Well that’s certainly a hefty fee. I hope they are claiming revenue neutral or at least revenue positive because that’s a hefty fee to place on anybody who is simply trying to do research for the benefit of the public.
DEAN BECKER: To close out from that Arizona thing. They’re talking about they want to see if people who ( the health director) said he wanted to find out if people who complain of chronic pain who now can buy marijuana to reduce the amount of opiates that they buy…he said that should provide some evidence of whether marijuana (generally considered less dangerous) may be a better alternative.
Less dangerous?! It’s never killed anybody. Your response, Patrick Clark.
PATRICK CLARK: Marijuana certainly never has killed anyone and it’s been proven quite effective in getting people off harder drugs. Opiates are considered in that realm as well.
There’s a whole bunch of stuff. There was an operation here in the Bay area called Green and Sober to try to get people from alcohol to marijuana simply because it’s a safe, healthy, effective treatment for people and it works.
DEAN BECKER: It works, indeed. I have seen it often enough to know. I’ve seen MS patients who…their face, their body, their whole composure changes with just a few hits of cannabis. It’s preposterous to think that we should not give this a try.
Once again we’re speaking with Mr. Patrick Clark. Again, the website where folks can reach you, Patrick?
DEAN BECKER: And you are in the Bay area out there in California – Oakland or San Francisco?
PATRICK CLARK: I’m usually in Oakland.
DEAN BECKER: I introduced you by talking about you’re a friend of my friend Richard Lee. Richard started up Oaksterdam University which has educated thousands of people on how to plant, grow, harvest, cure, treat, sell marijuana. Before that ever happened you and him had a beginning project did you not?
PATRICK CLARK: Actually we did. He was always interested in low-income Oakland patients growing their own medicine. In that regard he worked with a known horticulturalist in the area. With my website we became involved.
He sponsored a grow class that happened every third Saturday every month. It took place at the Bulldog Coffee Shop which is right across the street from old Oaksterdam University. That’s all centralized around 17th and Broadway in downtown Oakland.
We held classes for 2 hours every Saturday. At first there wasn’t a whole bunch of people showing up. Our first meeting was like 2 and then the next month we had maybe 6 and the next month we had 8 and then the next month we had like 15. Richard wanted to find us another business that would house our class every third Saturday. It turned out really well and I still have friends that I met from that experience. All of them are life-long medical marijuana advocates. It’s been a good thing.
Richard has my utmost appreciation for everything he’s done. He’s done a lot for the uptown area of Oakland which is known as Oaksterdam. He’s done a lot for patients. He’s done a lot within the city of Oakland getting it to be more acceptable. I understand he might be back in the Houston area pretty soon so I’m not sure how that goes. He’s definitely a freedom fighter and I have much respect for Richard Lee.
DEAN BECKER: You bet. I consider him to be one of the greatest patriots in America today because of his commitment, his giving of more than one million dollars trying to get Prop 19 to try to legalize marijuana in California.
PATRICK CLARK: He did. He put up a million of his own money for Prop 19 trying to legalize marijuana in California for adults. That was back in 2010. We were narrowly defeated. They say when it’s not a Presidential election year it’s harder to get things through.
I’m just looking forward to when California does legalize it for adults and follow Washington and Colorado. I was hoping to be the leader of the pack but whenever it happens it will be good news for us.
DEAN BECKER: I want to go back to the 700 uses of medical marijuana webpage. As you indicated it goes from ADD to Wilson’s disease. I was going to print it out and bring it in here to make it easier to talk about it but I didn’t have enough paper in my printer because there is so much information there.
Let’s just start with ADD. We have 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 studies listed under ADD. Under AIDs we got 1,2,3,4. ALS we got 1,2…6. Appetite Stimulate – wow – it runs off the page. The fact of the matter is these studies have proven to the layman and to hundreds if not thousands of doctors in California and in other states where medical marijuana is allowed…it’s a small cadre of steel-hearted individuals that stand forth proclaiming that this war on marijuana is necessary isn’t it?
PATRICK CLARK: I think it’s really true that doctors who listen to their patients and figure out what was helping them – their use of marijuana as medicine. That’s an important thing that these doctors accept these studies and that the general public do as well because there’s certainly (like you were saying) you didn’t have enough paper to do it.
On Monday I’m actually going to be updating the list and it’s going to be in .pdf form. As a warning it’s 686 pages long. You probably won’t have enough paper to print it.
These studies one at a time or in their aggregate show America is waking up and people have the resources to in depth advocacy of medical marijuana through these studies.
DEAN BECKER: Yeah and this truth - speaking to my guest on the prior half hour – is being more and more recognized, spoken of openly, honestly by legislatures, newspaper columnists and even broadcasters. This truth is becoming harder to ignore for these drug warrior types isn’t it?
PATRICK CLARK: The stigma of marijuana use is slowly declining. I’ve been fortunate enough to watch it happen. When I started in medical marijuana advocacy you never heard about it on TV, you never heard about it on the radio. You might have heard about it from websites and underground newspapers.
Richard Lee was one of the first ones that brought in NBC. He brought in National Geographic. He was featured in PBS Frontline. These big news sources came in and they found out this was very, very profitable to start covering medical marijuana and marijuana news in all forms.
We’re starting to see it now. I watch a lot of TV – sitcoms now and then – almost all of those mention marijuana now. There’s hardly a week that goes by where there’s not a medical marijuana special. Discovery channel did a thing on Harborside Health Center entitled “Weed Wars” that showed some of the behind the scenes operations.
These things are great because if you’re sitting on a jury and there’s a marijuana case in front of you pretty much the prosecutor is going to ask you, “Have you ever heard of medical marijuana?” With all these sources being flooded with this information there’s practically nobody who hasn’t heard about it.
Pretty soon we’re going start seeing jury nullification and people who have used marijuana and refuse to find somebody guilty of doing the same – I think that’s a great thing. It’s eventually going to be the downfall of this drug war as we know it.
DEAN BECKER: I’ve got to agree with you 100%. It seems that more and more comedy shows even drama shows there’s a little bit to do with marijuana - some not so tongue and cheek, some more open and honest, some actually seeming to embrace the idea of medical marijuana. It’s starting to, as you say, take its toll and educating people to the truth on this matter.
Even in Texas we’ve had a couple of trials in the last couple of years where the juries refused to convict despite the evidence, glaring evidence to the contrary because they knew the people were medical marijuana patients and they didn’t want to see them go to jail. I think that’s taken hold across America isn’t it?
PATRICK CLARK: I think so. I recall one case where the medical use of marijuana was allowed in Texas. That’s a good thing even though it’s a non-medical state. But it is taking hold. Every time we can get on the air and every time we’re on MSNBC or one of the other major news shows and Bill O’Reilly – anytime we do that it just brings awareness.
It’s a situation where marijuana isn’t going to go away. Pretty soon it’s going to be legal. It’s just a matter of when.
DEAN BECKER: 1 week ago or 2 weeks ago I captured a clip that I used on-air where Bill O’Reilly was talking about he knows doctors and lawyers who use marijuana instead of drinking alcohol and they seem to be doing just fine but he still wants them to go to jail. I don’t know – it’s crazy isn’t it?
I wanted to bring up a thought. We were speaking of Richard Lee. He has been a big supporter of the Drug Truth Network as well. I want folks to know that. He has donated T-shirts and sweatshirts and so forth to use during the pledge drive to raise funds for our fine station here.
Once again, folks, we’ve been speaking with Mr. Patrick Clark. Your website again, please.
PATRCK CLARK: That’s my personal site. I’m actually the IT Director at WeGrow hydro stores which are the first nationally franchised hydro stores. Our main website there is http://wegrowstore.com
DEAN BECKER: Patrick, one more time, the website where these links to the 700 uses of medical marijuana can be found.
PATRICK CLARK: It’s at http://www.weedbay.net at the bottom of the lead page you’ll find a little box with a link to the 700 clinical studies for medical marijuana.
DEAN BECKER: Alright, once again, I appreciate you being with us. We’ll have to do this again. I thank you for your commitment to the truth and trying to bring about change to these stupid drug laws. Thank you, sir.
PATRICK CLARK: Thank you and keep up the good work. You’re making a big difference.
DEAN BECKER: Thank you, Patrick.
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DEAN BECKER: Long time listeners to the Drug Truth Network know the story of Mr. Adam Assenberg, his wife, Carla, and their children and the circumstance that almost drove them into bankruptcy and Mr. Adam Assenberg into jail but those days are over. Tell us what’s going on, Adam.
ADAM ASSENBERG: What’s going on is on December 11 th of last year there was a ruling in the Court of Appeals from a gentleman by the name of Scott Shupe who ran the first dispensary in Spokane, Washington. The Court of Appeals ruled that he did not violate any laws for running a dispensary. The Court of Appeals went further and said that dispensaries are legal in the state of Washington.
DEAN BECKER: How does that apply to your situation? Let’s back up a little bit. What happened when the police came knocking?
ADAM ASSENBERG: When the police came knocking they really didn’t come knocking to me because I was on my way to my doctor’s appointment. They just pulled me over off to the side of the road, handcuffed me and told me I was being arrested for being a narcotics dealer.
DEAN BECKER: And this was because you were growing some cannabis plants, right?
ADAM ASSENBERG: Yes, growing cannabis plants for medical patients.
DEAN BECKER: Let’s talk about the law, how it applies and how these law enforcement officials misapplied it. What happened?
ADAM ASSENBERG: Basically the law says you are allowed 24 ounces for a 60-day supply or 15 plants. What they don’t understand is that sometimes it takes more than 15 plants to get that 24 ounce supply.
DEAN BECKER: When they came to your house how many plants were there?
ADAM ASSENBERG: That was the interesting part about it, Dean. They claimed that I had 82 plants at my house but 46 of those were in a cloning machine and 6 more on top of that so you’re looking at well over 52 plants and the police say I’m allowed to have 70. Well, 52 should not even be counted until they develop roots.
DEAN BECKER: This brings to mind that Washington State and Colorado have now legalized marijuana up to an ounce for personal possession. How is that circumstance impacting your case?
ADAM ASSENBERG: I’m willing to strictly just keep helping medical patients who are card holders. I’m not going to go into the recreational aspect at all.
DEAN BECKER: Fair enough. You’re acting as a citizen the best you can to remain under the laws in affect.
What does this ruling portend for the future in so far as perhaps civil action?
ADAM ASSENBERG: I see civil action taking place later on.
DEAN BECKER: Once again we’ve been speaking with Mr. Adam Assenberg who had his case overturned in the state of Washington. I think that portends well for not just you but for all citizens of your state correct?
ADAM ASSENBERG: Not only for this state but with my federal argument. That’s where I’m going to go next with this. Just as soon as I win my civil suit against the Quad-city Drug Task Force in Whitman County I’m going after the federal government for violating the guidelines set forth for what a Schedule I narcotic really means in the government’s eyes.
DEAN BECKER: Well they certainly have a distorted perception do they not?
ADAM ASSENBERG: It says clearly under U.S. Federal Code that for a drug to be a Schedule I narcotic it must meet three classifications and the most highly questionable is Section B where it says it cannot have any current medical value in the boundaries of the United States without stipulating who those medical authorities are.
So an orthopedic surgeon or anybody else can recommend that it has medical value and that’s a recommended medical value in the United States.
DEAN BECKER: How are you moving forward now, Adam?
ADAM ASSENBERG: The next thing I have to do is make a motion with the court to get my medicine back because they refuse to give it back to me when all charges were dropped. In the Scott Shupe case he already got back $80,000 and 3 jars of medicine. I’m having to go through multiple seizures and take extreme pharmaceutical opiates right now because I don’t have enough cannabis thanks to the Quad-city Drug Task Force.
DEAN BECKER: I want to thank Adam. I want to inform you that earlier on this program we had a gentleman talking about the more than 700 studies which show the positive benefits of cannabis. It’s preposterous notion the federal government puts forth isn’t it?
ADAM ASSENBERG: It is. That’s why we need to educate the people out there that the government has been lying to us and it’s high time for it to stop when it’s money that they are diverting for all these attacks on us could be used on our school systems, on our roads, on our health care system.
Why are we paying $1,700 a month to a pill manufacturer for a synthetic marijuana? I just found out today my Abenza blood thinner pills cost tax payers $3,000. The kind of money that we are giving out to pharmaceutical companies needs to stop. It’s just too outlandish.
DEAN BECKER: Indeed it is. Adam, if folks would like to learn more about your circumstance, your situation where would they find it?
DEAN BECKER: I’ve got 99 bullets in my gun
I’m gonna put those dirty hippies on the run
Class war they want – they will get
I’ll buy a billion more bullets for their heads
Rich man’s greed will make him dead
Each poor man’s got a single bullet for his head
Class war is such a bitch
But now it’s payback time for the rich
And the final score is 99 to 1
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DEAN BECKER: Pure, frickin’ madness.
Even in Texas things are beginning to change. The following message courtesy of Dallas/Fort Worth NORML.
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ANNOUNCER: Our country’s wasted 2 and one-half trillion dollars arresting, jailing and killing its citizens with an increasing militarized police force. We have created a war to enforce a moral code of injustice on all Americans.
The prohibition of marijuana has not only failed in its promises but actually created additional serious and disturbing problems throughout society. Repealing the prohibition of marijuana does not mean we endorse its use. It is a call for wiser law enforcement and public health policy.
Prohibition is giving control of marijuana production and distribution to drug cartels and street gangs. This promotes disrespect for law and reinforces ethnic and generational divide between the public and law enforcement.
Every year nearly three-quarters of a million Americans are arrested for marijuana possession – far more than all those arrested for violent crimes in America. The cost of marijuana prohibition exceeds 12 billion dollars annually in its failing strategy.
There is not less marijuana but more. There is not less crime but more. The cost of government is not smaller but vastly greater. Respect for law has not increased but diminished.
As Texans we urge our leaders to support the passage of legislation to remove the penalties for the possession of marijuana and regulate its use, production and sale as it’s done with other substances such as liquor.
The prohibition of marijuana has kept liberty in the dark for many years. It’s time to let it out and ring the bells of freedom because we are Americans and we will be free.
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DEAN BECKER: the website for the Dallas/Fort Worth NORML organization is http://dfwnorml.org
Alright folks that’s about it. A little song from Willie I’d like to share with you.
[singing] Roll me up and smoke me when I die
And if anyone don't like it, just look 'em in the eye
Say I didn't come here, and I ain't leavin'
So don't sit around and cry
Just roll me up and smoke me when I die.
[talking] You know folks there is no truth, justice, logic, scientific fact, no reason for this drug war to exist. Please do your part to end this madness. Visit our website http://endprohibition.org. Prohibido istac evilesco!
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For the Drug Truth Network, this is Dean Becker asking you to examine our policy of Drug Prohibition.
The Century of Lies.
This show produced at Pacifica Studios at KPFT, Houston.
Transcript
Transcript
Century of Lies / January 6, 2013
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DEAN BECKER: The failure of Drug War is glaringly obvious to judges, cops, wardens, prosecutors and millions more. Now calling for decriminalization, legalization, the end of prohibition. Let us investigate the Century of Lies.
-----------------------
DEAN BECKER: Welcome to this edition of Century of Lies. I think we’ve got a great show lined up for you. Without too much preface here I want to bring in this gentleman who has kind of been in the fore, been in the front of changing these laws, educating folks and just making a difference in so far as the drug laws and, in particular, regards to marijuana.
With that I want to welcome Mr. Patrick Clark. He’s with WeGrow and he’s a friend of my friend, Richard Lee of Oaksterdam University. How are you doing, Patrick?
PATRICK CLARK: Hey, how are you doing? I’m doing real good.
DEAN BECKER: What caught my attention is last week I was out there on Facebook and I saw this link to a group of studies and I want you to go along with me here kind of describing what marijuana does, the types of maladies for which it is beneficial.
This website talks about 700 uses of medical marijuana sorted by disease and links to these studies and yet the government continues to say there’s not enough information to change the laws. Your response, Patrick.
PATRICK CLARK: As far as the government approach it is basically a crime against humanity that marijuana is still illegal. On the website, http://www.weedbay.net, at the bottom of the page there’s a small box which links to a listing of 700 clinical studies involving marijuana and cannabinoids. Basically it covers everything from Alzheimer’s to Wilson’s disease, from Hepatitis to Hiccups.
Some of the studies there are just abstracts. Some of them are full studies. The collection of clinical studies actually comes from a lady up in Montana. Her name is Granny StormCrow. She’s about 65-years-old. She’s been collecting these studies for years.
She first released them to the public around 2007. Some of the studies date back to 1998 or so. She’s been updating the studies about twice per year. I haven’t updated along with her but on Monday I am going to update it. She’s got it all in a PDF.
All she really asked is if you know somebody with these maladies or symptoms or diseases share these links with those people. It’s a great collection of clinical studies. It clearly shows that there is research on marijuana and medical marijuana and the cannabinoids.
When people say there are no studies this is a good place to point them to because there has been extensive research. The DEA and FDA has tried to block it in a catch 22 where the DEA won’t let anybody study it. Some of these studies come from reputable sources in other countries.
It’s a great thing to have and a great thing for activists to have.
DEAN BECKER: Again, we’re speaking with Patrick Clark.
Patrick, I want to come back to these 700 studies but you just brought up a point that the DEA tries to prevent more major studies or additional studies, in general, from being done. There’s a story coming out of the Arizona Daily Sun about University of Arizona physician who is bidding to study medical marijuana at that state-run school but the elected officials are trying to tell her that if they allow this to happen the DEA will take…that the federal government will take away funding from the university and do all this kind of stuff.
The fact of the matter is is this is just one more example of trying to quash the truth. Am I right Patrick?
PATRICK CLARK: Absolutely. There’s another one, Dr. Krager. He’s been trying to get DEA and FDA approval to grow high potency marijuana and study it. He started about 5 years ago. I was very active then and I remember when he first started this. He’s with a university as well.
He tried to get access to growing medical marijuana so he could research it and he’s been nothing but shut down. It’s been 5 years. I think he’s finally been granted access but after 5 years think of all the research they could have done but didn’t because of the DEA’s blockage of this.
DEAN BECKER: And maybe the hundreds of thousands of arrests that wouldn’t have been needed to occur. I want to go back to that story from the Arizona Daily Sun. There’s a paragraph in here:
“Clearing up the question of where [Professor] Sisley can do the research is only part of the problem. She still is looking for the approximately $250,000 she needs, most to pay that the DEA charges researchers for marijuana.”
That’s more outrageous than the cartels isn’t it?
PATRICK CLARK: Well that’s certainly a hefty fee. I hope they are claiming revenue neutral or at least revenue positive because that’s a hefty fee to place on anybody who is simply trying to do research for the benefit of the public.
DEAN BECKER: To close out from that Arizona thing. They’re talking about they want to see if people who ( the health director) said he wanted to find out if people who complain of chronic pain who now can buy marijuana to reduce the amount of opiates that they buy…he said that should provide some evidence of whether marijuana (generally considered less dangerous) may be a better alternative.
Less dangerous?! It’s never killed anybody. Your response, Patrick Clark.
PATRICK CLARK: Marijuana certainly never has killed anyone and it’s been proven quite effective in getting people off harder drugs. Opiates are considered in that realm as well.
There’s a whole bunch of stuff. There was an operation here in the Bay area called Green and Sober to try to get people from alcohol to marijuana simply because it’s a safe, healthy, effective treatment for people and it works.
DEAN BECKER: It works, indeed. I have seen it often enough to know. I’ve seen MS patients who…their face, their body, their whole composure changes with just a few hits of cannabis. It’s preposterous to think that we should not give this a try.
Once again we’re speaking with Mr. Patrick Clark. Again, the website where folks can reach you, Patrick?
PATRICK CLARK: http://www.weedbay.net
DEAN BECKER: And you are in the Bay area out there in California – Oakland or San Francisco?
PATRICK CLARK: I’m usually in Oakland.
DEAN BECKER: I introduced you by talking about you’re a friend of my friend Richard Lee. Richard started up Oaksterdam University which has educated thousands of people on how to plant, grow, harvest, cure, treat, sell marijuana. Before that ever happened you and him had a beginning project did you not?
PATRICK CLARK: Actually we did. He was always interested in low-income Oakland patients growing their own medicine. In that regard he worked with a known horticulturalist in the area. With my website we became involved.
He sponsored a grow class that happened every third Saturday every month. It took place at the Bulldog Coffee Shop which is right across the street from old Oaksterdam University. That’s all centralized around 17th and Broadway in downtown Oakland.
We held classes for 2 hours every Saturday. At first there wasn’t a whole bunch of people showing up. Our first meeting was like 2 and then the next month we had maybe 6 and the next month we had 8 and then the next month we had like 15. Richard wanted to find us another business that would house our class every third Saturday. It turned out really well and I still have friends that I met from that experience. All of them are life-long medical marijuana advocates. It’s been a good thing.
Richard has my utmost appreciation for everything he’s done. He’s done a lot for the uptown area of Oakland which is known as Oaksterdam. He’s done a lot for patients. He’s done a lot within the city of Oakland getting it to be more acceptable. I understand he might be back in the Houston area pretty soon so I’m not sure how that goes. He’s definitely a freedom fighter and I have much respect for Richard Lee.
DEAN BECKER: You bet. I consider him to be one of the greatest patriots in America today because of his commitment, his giving of more than one million dollars trying to get Prop 19 to try to legalize marijuana in California.
PATRICK CLARK: He did. He put up a million of his own money for Prop 19 trying to legalize marijuana in California for adults. That was back in 2010. We were narrowly defeated. They say when it’s not a Presidential election year it’s harder to get things through.
I’m just looking forward to when California does legalize it for adults and follow Washington and Colorado. I was hoping to be the leader of the pack but whenever it happens it will be good news for us.
DEAN BECKER: I want to go back to the 700 uses of medical marijuana webpage. As you indicated it goes from ADD to Wilson’s disease. I was going to print it out and bring it in here to make it easier to talk about it but I didn’t have enough paper in my printer because there is so much information there.
Let’s just start with ADD. We have 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 studies listed under ADD. Under AIDs we got 1,2,3,4. ALS we got 1,2…6. Appetite Stimulate – wow – it runs off the page. The fact of the matter is these studies have proven to the layman and to hundreds if not thousands of doctors in California and in other states where medical marijuana is allowed…it’s a small cadre of steel-hearted individuals that stand forth proclaiming that this war on marijuana is necessary isn’t it?
PATRICK CLARK: I think it’s really true that doctors who listen to their patients and figure out what was helping them – their use of marijuana as medicine. That’s an important thing that these doctors accept these studies and that the general public do as well because there’s certainly (like you were saying) you didn’t have enough paper to do it.
On Monday I’m actually going to be updating the list and it’s going to be in .pdf form. As a warning it’s 686 pages long. You probably won’t have enough paper to print it.
These studies one at a time or in their aggregate show America is waking up and people have the resources to in depth advocacy of medical marijuana through these studies.
DEAN BECKER: Yeah and this truth - speaking to my guest on the prior half hour – is being more and more recognized, spoken of openly, honestly by legislatures, newspaper columnists and even broadcasters. This truth is becoming harder to ignore for these drug warrior types isn’t it?
PATRICK CLARK: The stigma of marijuana use is slowly declining. I’ve been fortunate enough to watch it happen. When I started in medical marijuana advocacy you never heard about it on TV, you never heard about it on the radio. You might have heard about it from websites and underground newspapers.
Richard Lee was one of the first ones that brought in NBC. He brought in National Geographic. He was featured in PBS Frontline. These big news sources came in and they found out this was very, very profitable to start covering medical marijuana and marijuana news in all forms.
We’re starting to see it now. I watch a lot of TV – sitcoms now and then – almost all of those mention marijuana now. There’s hardly a week that goes by where there’s not a medical marijuana special. Discovery channel did a thing on Harborside Health Center entitled “Weed Wars” that showed some of the behind the scenes operations.
These things are great because if you’re sitting on a jury and there’s a marijuana case in front of you pretty much the prosecutor is going to ask you, “Have you ever heard of medical marijuana?” With all these sources being flooded with this information there’s practically nobody who hasn’t heard about it.
Pretty soon we’re going start seeing jury nullification and people who have used marijuana and refuse to find somebody guilty of doing the same – I think that’s a great thing. It’s eventually going to be the downfall of this drug war as we know it.
DEAN BECKER: I’ve got to agree with you 100%. It seems that more and more comedy shows even drama shows there’s a little bit to do with marijuana - some not so tongue and cheek, some more open and honest, some actually seeming to embrace the idea of medical marijuana. It’s starting to, as you say, take its toll and educating people to the truth on this matter.
Even in Texas we’ve had a couple of trials in the last couple of years where the juries refused to convict despite the evidence, glaring evidence to the contrary because they knew the people were medical marijuana patients and they didn’t want to see them go to jail. I think that’s taken hold across America isn’t it?
PATRICK CLARK: I think so. I recall one case where the medical use of marijuana was allowed in Texas. That’s a good thing even though it’s a non-medical state. But it is taking hold. Every time we can get on the air and every time we’re on MSNBC or one of the other major news shows and Bill O’Reilly – anytime we do that it just brings awareness.
It’s a situation where marijuana isn’t going to go away. Pretty soon it’s going to be legal. It’s just a matter of when.
DEAN BECKER: 1 week ago or 2 weeks ago I captured a clip that I used on-air where Bill O’Reilly was talking about he knows doctors and lawyers who use marijuana instead of drinking alcohol and they seem to be doing just fine but he still wants them to go to jail. I don’t know – it’s crazy isn’t it?
I wanted to bring up a thought. We were speaking of Richard Lee. He has been a big supporter of the Drug Truth Network as well. I want folks to know that. He has donated T-shirts and sweatshirts and so forth to use during the pledge drive to raise funds for our fine station here.
Once again, folks, we’ve been speaking with Mr. Patrick Clark. Your website again, please.
PATRICK CLARK: http://www.weedbay.net
DEAN BECKER: htpp://weedbay.net
PATRCK CLARK: That’s my personal site. I’m actually the IT Director at WeGrow hydro stores which are the first nationally franchised hydro stores. Our main website there is http://wegrowstore.com
DEAN BECKER: Patrick, one more time, the website where these links to the 700 uses of medical marijuana can be found.
PATRICK CLARK: It’s at http://www.weedbay.net at the bottom of the lead page you’ll find a little box with a link to the 700 clinical studies for medical marijuana.
DEAN BECKER: Alright, once again, I appreciate you being with us. We’ll have to do this again. I thank you for your commitment to the truth and trying to bring about change to these stupid drug laws. Thank you, sir.
PATRICK CLARK: Thank you and keep up the good work. You’re making a big difference.
DEAN BECKER: Thank you, Patrick.
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DEAN BECKER: Long time listeners to the Drug Truth Network know the story of Mr. Adam Assenberg, his wife, Carla, and their children and the circumstance that almost drove them into bankruptcy and Mr. Adam Assenberg into jail but those days are over. Tell us what’s going on, Adam.
ADAM ASSENBERG: What’s going on is on December 11 th of last year there was a ruling in the Court of Appeals from a gentleman by the name of Scott Shupe who ran the first dispensary in Spokane, Washington. The Court of Appeals ruled that he did not violate any laws for running a dispensary. The Court of Appeals went further and said that dispensaries are legal in the state of Washington.
DEAN BECKER: How does that apply to your situation? Let’s back up a little bit. What happened when the police came knocking?
ADAM ASSENBERG: When the police came knocking they really didn’t come knocking to me because I was on my way to my doctor’s appointment. They just pulled me over off to the side of the road, handcuffed me and told me I was being arrested for being a narcotics dealer.
DEAN BECKER: And this was because you were growing some cannabis plants, right?
ADAM ASSENBERG: Yes, growing cannabis plants for medical patients.
DEAN BECKER: Let’s talk about the law, how it applies and how these law enforcement officials misapplied it. What happened?
ADAM ASSENBERG: Basically the law says you are allowed 24 ounces for a 60-day supply or 15 plants. What they don’t understand is that sometimes it takes more than 15 plants to get that 24 ounce supply.
DEAN BECKER: When they came to your house how many plants were there?
ADAM ASSENBERG: That was the interesting part about it, Dean. They claimed that I had 82 plants at my house but 46 of those were in a cloning machine and 6 more on top of that so you’re looking at well over 52 plants and the police say I’m allowed to have 70. Well, 52 should not even be counted until they develop roots.
DEAN BECKER: This brings to mind that Washington State and Colorado have now legalized marijuana up to an ounce for personal possession. How is that circumstance impacting your case?
ADAM ASSENBERG: I’m willing to strictly just keep helping medical patients who are card holders. I’m not going to go into the recreational aspect at all.
DEAN BECKER: Fair enough. You’re acting as a citizen the best you can to remain under the laws in affect.
What does this ruling portend for the future in so far as perhaps civil action?
ADAM ASSENBERG: I see civil action taking place later on.
DEAN BECKER: Once again we’ve been speaking with Mr. Adam Assenberg who had his case overturned in the state of Washington. I think that portends well for not just you but for all citizens of your state correct?
ADAM ASSENBERG: Not only for this state but with my federal argument. That’s where I’m going to go next with this. Just as soon as I win my civil suit against the Quad-city Drug Task Force in Whitman County I’m going after the federal government for violating the guidelines set forth for what a Schedule I narcotic really means in the government’s eyes.
DEAN BECKER: Well they certainly have a distorted perception do they not?
ADAM ASSENBERG: It says clearly under U.S. Federal Code that for a drug to be a Schedule I narcotic it must meet three classifications and the most highly questionable is Section B where it says it cannot have any current medical value in the boundaries of the United States without stipulating who those medical authorities are.
So an orthopedic surgeon or anybody else can recommend that it has medical value and that’s a recommended medical value in the United States.
DEAN BECKER: How are you moving forward now, Adam?
ADAM ASSENBERG: The next thing I have to do is make a motion with the court to get my medicine back because they refuse to give it back to me when all charges were dropped. In the Scott Shupe case he already got back $80,000 and 3 jars of medicine. I’m having to go through multiple seizures and take extreme pharmaceutical opiates right now because I don’t have enough cannabis thanks to the Quad-city Drug Task Force.
DEAN BECKER: I want to thank Adam. I want to inform you that earlier on this program we had a gentleman talking about the more than 700 studies which show the positive benefits of cannabis. It’s preposterous notion the federal government puts forth isn’t it?
ADAM ASSENBERG: It is. That’s why we need to educate the people out there that the government has been lying to us and it’s high time for it to stop when it’s money that they are diverting for all these attacks on us could be used on our school systems, on our roads, on our health care system.
Why are we paying $1,700 a month to a pill manufacturer for a synthetic marijuana? I just found out today my Abenza blood thinner pills cost tax payers $3,000. The kind of money that we are giving out to pharmaceutical companies needs to stop. It’s just too outlandish.
DEAN BECKER: Indeed it is. Adam, if folks would like to learn more about your circumstance, your situation where would they find it?
ADAM ASSENBERG: http://marijuanafactorficition.com That is my regular line. Later on today I will have a copy of my court dismissal online. If you want to go to my business website just go to http://marijuanafactorfiction.com
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[ country music intro ]
DEAN BECKER: I’ve got 99 bullets in my gun
I’m gonna put those dirty hippies on the run
Class war they want – they will get
I’ll buy a billion more bullets for their heads
Rich man’s greed will make him dead
Each poor man’s got a single bullet for his head
Class war is such a bitch
But now it’s payback time for the rich
And the final score is 99 to 1
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DEAN BECKER: Pure, frickin’ madness.
Even in Texas things are beginning to change. The following message courtesy of Dallas/Fort Worth NORML.
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ANNOUNCER: Our country’s wasted 2 and one-half trillion dollars arresting, jailing and killing its citizens with an increasing militarized police force. We have created a war to enforce a moral code of injustice on all Americans.
The prohibition of marijuana has not only failed in its promises but actually created additional serious and disturbing problems throughout society. Repealing the prohibition of marijuana does not mean we endorse its use. It is a call for wiser law enforcement and public health policy.
Prohibition is giving control of marijuana production and distribution to drug cartels and street gangs. This promotes disrespect for law and reinforces ethnic and generational divide between the public and law enforcement.
Every year nearly three-quarters of a million Americans are arrested for marijuana possession – far more than all those arrested for violent crimes in America. The cost of marijuana prohibition exceeds 12 billion dollars annually in its failing strategy.
There is not less marijuana but more. There is not less crime but more. The cost of government is not smaller but vastly greater. Respect for law has not increased but diminished.
As Texans we urge our leaders to support the passage of legislation to remove the penalties for the possession of marijuana and regulate its use, production and sale as it’s done with other substances such as liquor.
The prohibition of marijuana has kept liberty in the dark for many years. It’s time to let it out and ring the bells of freedom because we are Americans and we will be free.
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DEAN BECKER: the website for the Dallas/Fort Worth NORML organization is http://dfwnorml.org
Alright folks that’s about it. A little song from Willie I’d like to share with you.
[singing] Roll me up and smoke me when I die
And if anyone don't like it, just look 'em in the eye
Say I didn't come here, and I ain't leavin'
So don't sit around and cry
Just roll me up and smoke me when I die.
[talking] You know folks there is no truth, justice, logic, scientific fact, no reason for this drug war to exist. Please do your part to end this madness. Visit our website http://endprohibition.org. Prohibido istac evilesco!
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For the Drug Truth Network, this is Dean Becker asking you to examine our policy of Drug Prohibition.
The Century of Lies.
This show produced at Pacifica Studios at KPFT, Houston.
Transcript provided by: Jo-D Harrison of www.DrugSense.org