The Healthy Toker’s favorite congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts announced on the Friday, May 1st Real Time with Bill Maher that he is planning on reintroducing his legislation that would remove federal penalties on marijuana.

The original HR5843 was introduced On April 17th of 2008 and has since been stalled in numerous sub committees. The significance of this bill is obvious and numerous congress people had signed on as sponsors.

Sponsors of HR5843

• Sep. 16 Fortney Pete Stark cosponsored this bill
• Jun. 25 Barbara Lee cosponsored this bill
• Jun. 24 Earl Blumenauer cosponsored this bill
• Jun. 05 Jim McDermott cosponsored this bill
• May. 22 Zoe Lofgren cosponsored this bill
• May. 20 Tammy Baldwin cosponsored this bill
• Apr. 24 Wm. Lacy Clay cosponsored this bill
• Apr. 17 Barney Frank sponsored and Ron Paul cosponsored this bill

We’ll keep an eye out and update you when there is more news about this.

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This is just too good to pass up, so I thought I’d share in case you don’t see it elsewhere. The talkative half of Penn & Teller, Penn Jillette, weighs in on the Michael Phelps fiasco which leads in to an epic rant on the war on drugs. Anyone who is a fan of their “Bullshit!” show know that he’s sharp as a tack and knows how to make a point. Enjoy!

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It’s been a busy and exciting couple weeks when it comes to marijuana decriminalization in California.

There is a lot of controversy surrounding the legal status of Marijuana in California. Voters passed laws that allowed the cultivation and distribution of Marijuana for medical purposes. This however is trumped by the federal law which bans any and all  possession or distribution of marijuana in all forms. Under former President Bush’s appointed leadership there were frequent DEA raids on the distribution centers drawing harsh criticism around the country and specifically throughout California where the voters will was being challenged.

Whatever your opinion is on whether marijuana should be made legal, it seems outrageous that a doctor can not prescribe his patient a drug that has a long list of proven benefits. This is the point where the current marijuana laws are negatively effecting American citizens health, and it is going to be the tipping point.

The DEA raids continued in California

The California voters steadfastly protested and criticized the attorney general’s decision to raid and prosecute the individuals who sold medical marijuana .Alas there is a shining light as Obama stated on while on the campaign trail that he would not order raids on medical marijuana dispensary’s

After a slow start, but true to his promise Attorney General Eric Holder made this announcement concerning DEA marijuana raids California medial marijuana distributors. Stating basically that in regards to medical marijuana Obama’s position on the campaign trail is now U.S. policy.

This is amazing news for the marijuana decriminalization movement. There has been a very noticeable uprising in the coverage and discussion in the news regarding legalizing marijuana. The current economic state and specifically the up rise in violence by drug gangs on the Mexican border are all acting as catalysts to open the discussion.

Hell Has Frozen Over

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New Jersey is set to become the 14th state to allow medical marijuana for terminally ill patients as prescribed by a doctor. The bill, proposed by Sen. Nicholas Scutari  D-Linden, would allow sufferers of specific illnesses the ability to grow up to six marijuana plants or have them grown at authorized treatment centers.

The bill passed the State Senate by a vote of 22-16 and is now set to go before the New Jersey assembly.

“For the sake of our most vulnerable, our sick and dying patients struggling for relief, now is the time for New Jersey to join the growing list of states allowing compassionate use of medical marijuana,” said Roseanne Scotti of the Drug Policy Alliance, a group that supports the bill.

The compassion shown by the 13 states up to now is more than promising, the dominoes are falling one by one. There is a lot more attention in the media, and also open discussion among adults concerning the benefits of medical marijuana as well as an economic stimulant.The marijuana legalization movement has a lot of steam.

Everybody needs to do their part, even if it is something as small as correcting misinformation when you hear it. The propaganda against marijuana is so hard ingrained into the public that an entire consciousness shift is necessary.

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As you can probably tell, I am a pop culture junkie, hence the homage to the Colbert Report.  Obviously I’m going to go ahead and weigh in on that whole “Michael Phelps smoking pot photo” brouhaha that has everybody talking.

Well Mr Phelps, we here at the HealthyToker are not going to give you a hard time about toking.  As a matter of fact, we’ll “tip our hats” to you for it.  After all, we believe in it, it’s all natural, its a good time, and sadly you could have been doing keg stands and it would have garnered less attention thanks to the USA’s ass backwards drug policies.

However, Mr Phelps, a “wag of the finger” from us here at HealthyToker for using a bong.  Your lungs, the ones that have won you like, what a dozen gold medals (14, but who’s counting?) between 2 olympic competitions?  Those pink babies are priceless.  Worth more than their weight in platinum and there you are mucking them up with, ugh, smoke.  Next time Michael do your self a favor, use a vaporizer.  Or better yet, get together with some friends and bake some.  I’m sure you swim enough laps to sweat off the butter, and what’s more?  You wouldn’t have lost a Kellog’s sponsorship over a photo of you eating a brownie.

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