Clint Eastwood
Lady Gaga Adds Marijuana To Her List of Causes
It may be easy to mock high profile entertainers and actors when they decide to take a public stand. Sometimes stars have been known to get themselves in over their heads when engaging on social issues. The most recent case and point may be Clint Eastwood’s debate with a chair that should have been a far easier conversation for “Dirty Harry” to win. However, there are times where stars use their notoriety push issues forward.
Marijuana has caused many famous individuals to come out of the shadows. It appears Lady Gaga will be joining this group. The famous pop star has traveled the world performing songs such as “Born This Way” and come across many different cultures. She seemed to be embracing Amsterdam’s culture in a recent tour stop. She was handed a joint on stage and lit up saying “I want you to know it has totally changed my life and I’ve really cut down on drinking. “It has been a totally spiritual experience for me with my music.”
Lady Gaga has an extremely loyal and engaged fan base worldwide. This is not to say fans will start smoking marijuana around the world but many may be encouraged to get the real facts on marijuana. Additionally Lady Gaga has a history of caring about social causes. In order to protest the military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy (President Obama has ended the controversial policy) Lady Gaga donned the now famous “meat dress” at the 2010 MTV Music Awards. She has also donated large sums of money to many charities has also created The Born This Way Foundation, which according to the foundation website, was designed “to foster a more accepting society, where differences are embraced and individuality is celebrated. The Foundation is dedicated to creating a safe community that helps connect young people with the skills and opportunities they need to build a kinder, braver world.”
This is not to say that Lady Gaga or any entertainer can bring about marijuana reform alone. However, the chorus of those who support reform is growing louder. The issue has built up momentum and supporting marijuana in public is no longer a scarlet letter. Normally we see a wedge between entertainers and the working class, however, as marijuana gains acceptance we may bear witness to one of the few times where the two are aligned.
Lady Gaga Adds Marijuana To Her List of Causes
It may be easy to mock high profile entertainers and actors when they decide to take a public stand. Sometimes stars have been known to get themselves in over their heads when engaging on social issues. The most recent case and point may be Clint Eastwood’s debate with a chair that should have been a far easier conversation for “Dirty Harry” to win. However, there are times where stars use their notoriety push issues forward.
Marijuana has caused many famous individuals to come out of the shadows. It appears Lady Gaga will be joining this group. The famous pop star has traveled the world performing songs such as “Born This Way” and come across many different cultures. She seemed to be embracing Amsterdam’s culture in a recent tour stop. She was handed a joint on stage and lit up saying “I want you to know it has totally changed my life and I’ve really cut down on drinking. “It has been a totally spiritual experience for me with my music.”
Lady Gaga has an extremely loyal and engaged fan base worldwide. This is not to say fans will start smoking marijuana around the world but many may be encouraged to get the real facts on marijuana. Additionally Lady Gaga has a history of caring about social causes. In order to protest the military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy (President Obama has ended the controversial policy) Lady Gaga donned the now famous “meat dress” at the 2010 MTV Music Awards. She has also donated large sums of money to many charities has also created The Born This Way Foundation, which according to the foundation website, was designed “to foster a more accepting society, where differences are embraced and individuality is celebrated. The Foundation is dedicated to creating a safe community that helps connect young people with the skills and opportunities they need to build a kinder, braver world.”
This is not to say that Lady Gaga or any entertainer can bring about marijuana reform alone. However, the chorus of those who support reform is growing louder. The issue has built up momentum and supporting marijuana in public is no longer a scarlet letter. Normally we see a wedge between entertainers and the working class, however, as marijuana gains acceptance we may bear witness to one of the few times where the two are aligned.
Mitt Romney: I Will Fight Medical Marijuana Tooth and Nail
Last week the Republicans held their convention and officially nominated Mitt Romney for president. Tonight the Democratic National Convention will get underway. Similar to the RNC, the Democrats will have many high profile speakers, including former President Bill Clinton who will speak later in the week. We hope the bizarre Clint Eastwood chair incident will teach the Democrats an important lesson and stay on message, engaging the public on the issues that are important. As many issues including the economy, abortion, and foreign policy will be discussed, marijuana reform and the war on drugs are not likely to be mentioned.
On the 2008 campaign trail President Obama took a friendlier tone to medical marijuana than the recent federal raids suggests. In all fairness, we at marijuana.net have called him out on what appears to be a policy shift, or at the very least misleading. However, he does still respect patients and has vowed not to arrest any patients. He has kept that promise. While politics as usual will not be enough for patients and activists, that may be what we have here. Many analysts believe a second Obama term would see a friendlier atmosphere toward medical marijuana. Some even believe he could finally reschedule. Of course no one knows for sure what the president may or may not do.
However, we are pretty certain a Mitt Romney presidency could be disastrous for medical marijuana patients and legalization advocates. Mitt Romney infamously walked away from a wheelchair bound patient who was asking if Romney would arrest him for using medical marijuana. Romney sidestepped the question and never fully answered it. However, in an uncharacteristic move Romney stated his views on marijuana reform very directly in a video we recently uncovered. Addressing a crowd Romney utilized the typical and outdated talking points that marijuana is a gateway drug and that leads to an entrance into “the drug culture”. He went on to say that medical marijuana was an excuse to legalize totally. While many activists believe in legalization, there are many patients out there who rely on medical cannabis. Their quality of life would be severely damaged without it.
The issue may not creep up too much as the candidates will surround themselves in very scripted atmospheres. Unless one of the debate moderators decides raise the issue it is unlikely we will get to hear an exchange between Romney and Obama on the issue. While many have not been thrilled with the president’s approach, patients should be terrified of what Mitt Romney has said. Also in the video we mentioned above, is Romney swearing to fight medical marijuana “tooth and nail”. We have not heard him take a passionate stance on much or even address issues directly so it is surprising that this is the issue Romney would take his stance on.
However, can we even be sure he believes in this anti-marijuana stance, as the elastic politician has successfully secured the GOP nomination while simultaneously flipping his position on almost every relevant social issue. Perhaps marijuana will join abortion, TARP, the auto bailout, government healthcare, the stimulus, Ronald Reagan, global warming, and the many other issues Mitt Romney has altered his view on. The Mitt Romney we watched on television Thursday addressing the attendees of the Republican National Convention looks nothing like (except in hair style and choice of suit) the candidate who ran against Ted Kennedy for the US Senate in 1994, won the Massachusetts governorship in 2002, or even ran against John McCain in the 2008 primaries. The silver lining for patients is that Mitt Romney is never married to his words and clearly reads polls. With 75% of the country supporting medical marijuana, there is a good chance he will abandon an anti-marijuana policy.
You can check out the video for yourselves