Rick Santorum
Landmark Case: Will the United States Choose Religious Tolerance or Marijuana Intolerance?
Religious tolerance is one of the founding principles of the United States. As the election process has unfolded we have heard about perceived religious persecution of Christian America, especially from Rick Santorum. Yesterday he suspended his campaign for president and vowed “We’re going to continue to fight for the Americans who stood up and gave us that air under our wings that allowed us to accomplish things that no political expert would have expected.”
The continued “fight” will likely revolve around religion but will Santorum and the rest of the government support religious tolerance for other groups? The Oklevueha Native American Church utilizes marijuana as a part of their religious rituals. As the title of this article suggests, will our country choose religious freedom or continue to wage war against individual liberties? A new lawsuit, Oklevueha Native American Church of Hawaii Inc. V. Holder, may force the federal government to make that choice. The suit may stimulate a national conversation on marijuana and stop the federal government from avoiding an honest discussion with the American people.
Earlier this week the Ninth Circuit Court of Federal Appeals ruled that Okleveuha Native American Church could sue the federal government over marijuana seizures. The decision reverses the ruling from a lower court decision rendered by U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway. The group is seeking protection through the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the case is the result of authorities seizing marijuana from Rex Mooney, member of the church. The Okleveuha Church is affiliated with the larger Native American church and already has been granted legal use of peyote for religious rituals.
The Okleveuha Native American Church aims to promote education on “American Native indigenous ceremonies.” With peyote already being having been granted legal status for religious uses, it would seem like typical petty pot politics to prevent marijuana from attaining the same legal status. The case may prove to be historic on several levels. For one, it could be an extremely pivotal moment for religious rights for the original Americans, and may also force the federal government into legalizing at least some form of marijuana use.
Romney Victories and Oaksterdam Raid May Motivate Marijuana Activists
This week did not provide medical marijuana patients with the news they were hoping for. Mitt Romney picked up precious delegates in the Republican primaries and has all but assured his position in general election. Unfortunately for patients, this means that the two main candidates campaigning for president of the United States do not seem willing to discuss sensible marijuana reform. Advocates and patients were also disappointed to learn that the iconic Oaksterdam University was raided by federal agents.
Marijuana advocates have always had to assume a glass half full position and as always, there were some developments to rise out of the ashes of disheartening news. On Tuesday Mitt Romney won the primaries in Wisconsin, Washington D.C. and Maryland. The victories separate him from the rest of the pack and has produced an almost insurmountable lead for the former Massachusetts Governor. Unless a political catastrophe occurs for team Romney, his lead in the delegate count (658 to Santorum’s 281), 1,144 needed in total) should be enough to secure the nomination. The election is now likely to shift from Republican infighting to the inevitable battle between President Barack Obama and former Governor Mitt Romney.
Unfortunately for medical marijuana patients these are two candidates who do not appear ready to address the issue of reform with the American public. President Obama has sidestepped the issue several times over the past few months and Mitt Romney has repeatedly made it clear that he does not support medical marijuana. The good news is that another major political figure has reignited the issue of medical marijuana. Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson appeared on “The Colbert Report” earlier this week and was more than willing to engage in many social issues such as gay marriage and marijuana legalization. Johnson may not have a particularly great chance at capturing the presidency, but he may offer a third party option that can generate more excitement than we have seen in recent years. Any exposure the former New Mexico governor gets could put pressure on both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney to explain why they are not supportive of compassionate relief.
Another blow to the medical marijuana community came in the form of a federal raid of Oaksterdam. Federal authorities have not disclosed the exact reasons as to why they raided the university. Reports do indicate that the IRS was involved, so the potential for profiting or tax issues could have caused the raid. The university was set up to try and help legitimize marijuana and to promote education and safety. There is still hope for a future University as supporters have vowed to reopen “The Princeton of Pot.” Supporters also suggested the federal government would be better off allocating resources toward the horrific shooting on the Oikos University campus.
The medical marijuana community has endured much more than a raid and presidential candidates ignoring them. Many are forced to illegally acquire medicine and deal with the risk of being arrested if they seek relief. The resiliency that the community has shown for decades is not easily shaken and will certainly not be deterred by stubborn political candidates or a building being closed. Education is more than lectures in a brick and mortar building, and it cannot be suppressed.
Mitch McConnell links Marijuana with Death as Santorum has big day in Primaries
The information age is making it more difficult for politicians to make fraudulent statements and avoid any repercussions. Years ago, a politician may have said something at a rally or to a local reporter that would not make it to the national discussion. This has obviously changed drastically as those who try to regulate our social behavior do not even seem to understand quite how it works.
Mitch McConnell is the latest example of an out of touch representative who may be haunted by his impulse statements. The Senate Minority Leader seemed to learn little from Lamar S. Smith’s failed crusade to crush the internet with the SOPA legislation which encountered an embarrassing political death. The SOPA bill clearly appeared to suffer from a lack of research and analysis as to just how far reaching it would be. Mr. McConnell recently told a constituent in a letter that he cannot support marijuana legalization because “it leads to death”. He then also said that THC was available in pill form indicating that legalization is not necessary. The Minority Leader was likely referring to Marinol, which has proven to ultimately not be nearly as effective medically as unprocessed natural marijuana. McConnell took his statements even further and said he had concerns that marijuana legalization would not be following “the scientific process” of the FDA.
Advocates of marijuana will most certainly take offense to McConnell’s statement about the scientific process. This has become the new criticism as decades of fear mongering talking points against marijuana have been proven hollow. However, many are left to scratch their heads as to how exactly marijuana is supposed to closely follow “the scientific process” of the FDA if our government officials use every resource at their disposal to deny any such research.
Marijuana reform has the support of the majority of Americans and Mr. McConnell and those like him may regret their stubbornness on this issue. This is not the only area where the GOP seems to be out of step with Americans. The race for the Republican nomination for president has turned largely into a battle of antiquated ideologies. The race is now about eliminating abortion rights, contraception, and women’s health. Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973 and women (who vote in higher numbers than men) may not want our culture to backtrack 40 years and give up their privacy. Many political analysts expected the Republicans to campaign on the economy, energy policy, and jobs.
The information age is here to stay and expand, our elected officials need to realize that there now can be a quick backlash for empty politically charged statements. We will see if President Obama and those vying for his job will take note.
Speaking of those running against the president, Rick Santorum had a big day on Tuesday. He was the winner in the coveted southern states of Mississippi and Alabama keeping himself in the race. Mitt Romney won in Hawaii as Newt Gingrich was not victorious in any state yesterday. Many are urging Gingrich to drop out of the race as his chances of rebounding seem slim. Analysts predicted that Gingrich’s best chances resided in the south. Although the day was a disappointment for Romney, who is still struggling to gain the support of conservative voters, he did get 1/3 of the delegates yesterday maintaining a healthy lead in the race.
Super Tuesday filled with Highlights
While the NCAA tournament will begin later this month, another “March Madness” occurred yesterday. Super Tuesday was the largest vote to take place this year besides the actual presidential election. Ten states participated in the vote Tuesday which treated political junkies to a dramatic day and a guarantee that the race for the Republican nomination will continue.
Mitt Romney had a chance to place an almost insurmountable distance between him and Rick Santorum. Mr. Romney may not have ended the race but his 5 wins including the highly coveted Ohio, places him in great position to secure the nomination. Romney also won in Vermont, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Idaho while Santorum was victorious in North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Newt Gingrich won in Georgia, the state where he served in Congress and launched his political career, and the Alaska caucus takes two weeks to finish completely.
As the battle within the GOP waged on yesterday, there was another important news story that may have gotten lost during the frantic elections but was a big part of this Super Tuesday. Joe Biden was in Honduras to meet with many Central American leaders, including Felipe Calderon, the president of Mexico who has a firsthand look at the violence and Cartel power due in large to America’s drug policy. Calderon has already implied that the U.S. should consider a new approach as the violence in Mexico has escalated. Mr. Biden may get an earful from the struggling countries in the Central America region as they are looking for desperate help from the U.S, help that does not even need to cost money except for the paper and ink the reformed laws would be written on. Biden said on Monday that “there is no possibility” of the U.S. enacting legalization efforts. He then followed up by saying it would be worth discussing, which of course only adds to the confusion as to what the U.S. is willing to do to solve the problem.
Although the political process in the United States can often leave a bitter taste in our mouths, keeping up with current discussions and issues is still necessary in order to have any chance at reform. Besides Ron Paul (who appears to have little chance of securing the GOP nomination) every candidate including the president seems ready to battle with marijuana advocates and ignore the desperate need for economic and medical reform, all of which marijuana can provide. We hope the community makes it a goal to focus on the next Super Tuesday in 2016, where marijuana reform should be front and center or hopefully it will be an issue we have already moved past.
http://youtu.be/EQwrB1vu74c
Victory for Romney in Florida, But could it be a Victory for Patients?
The GOP primaries have experienced intense debate and battles from the candidates. Prior to the process even started, Mitt Romney was considered both your hands lower front runner. When the process was going ahead the press was treated with a unforeseen surprises. First, Bachmann Wanted won the very first official event from the election campaign, the Ames Iowa Hay Poll. After that we had the fall and rise of Ron Perry and Herman Cain (due largely for their promoted mistakes).
Even while lately like a couple of days ago, Newt Gingrich might have been considered the leader for that GOP nomination, but his comments on The spanish language being “the word what from the ghetto” considered him lower in a condition having a large Hispanic population. Furthermore, Gingrich was without his best debate performances prior to the Florida election. He was removed message and elevated eye brows together with his comments regarding his desire to have a moon base. Although Gingrich still obtained well with individuals who connect themselves as “very conservative”, many voters were worried about the perception that he’s not really a viable candidate for any national election.
With Tuesday’s victory, Mitt Romney has clearly established themself because the leader. Mitt Romney cruised to victory by winning 46% from the election instead of Gingrich’s 32% (Ron Santorum finished 3rd with 13% and Ron Paul trailed within the 4th position with 7%) . Following a reduction in Sc lately, team Romney was charged with being too soft and experts predicted the former Governor will have to intensify his attacks on Newt Gingrich. This is just what happened as Romney considerably outspent the previous Speaker of the home through campaign contributions as well as with the aid of Super Pacs.
With patients already being disenfranchised with how Leader Obama has handled medicinal marijuana, many were wishing for any GOP candidate who’d enact true reform. While Ron Paul might be that candidate, his performances within the primaries appear to become losing momentum with every passing condition primary (a number of this really is because of his supposed racist news letters). Although an advocate of medicinal marijuana throughout the eighties, Newt Gingrich lately made very aggressive comments against medicinal marijuana as well as went so far as adoring Singapore’s criminal justice system (Singapore is renowned for its very violent and harsh legislation).
Mitt Romney has lengthy mentioned his opposition to medicinal marijuana. Reviews have resurfaced about him leaving without responding to questions from the motorized wheel chair bound patient struggling with muscular dystrophy who found relief with cannabis. Furthermore, battling patients won’t find encouragement using the statement Mitt Romney made yesterday. Within an interview with CNN’s Soledad O’brien, Mitt Romney mentioned he “was not worried about the poor.” He stated his focus was around the middle-class since the weakest within our nation “have a security net”. Many experts and patients question precisely what back-up he’s mentioning too. He clearly doesn’t have aim of marketing cheaper alternative treatment which may give a true back-up for America’s poor.
Santorum Surges at Iowa Caucus then Stalls with Marijuana Claims
Apparently from nowhere, presidential hopeful Ron Santorum has increased and set a scare a week ago into Mitt Romney together with his close second place finish in the Iowa Caucus. Mr. Santorum lost to Romney with a razor thin 8 votes as marijuana privileges supporter Ron Paul finished 3rd. Although Santorum will come up with his surprise surge sustainable with just as much media presence because he can, he found his distance to this news to have an altogether different reason.
Despite the fact that Santorum has formerly accepted to smoking marijuana attending college, he is a longtime opponent associated with a legalisation. He’s even known as for any pause and tuition aid for individuals who’ve smoked marijuana. However, Ron Santorum finds comments he earned a few days ago all around the news in a campaign visit the College Convention 2012 forum, organized by Colonial College. Inside a question and answer session having a Nh college crowd Santorum was booed heavily for many questionable solutions. One answer that didn’t sit well using the youthful crowd was Santorum’s reason why same sex marriage shouldn’t be permitted because he stated “If reason states that if you feel it’s Suitable for two, then you’ve to distinguish beside me why it isn’t Suitable for three.” Everyone else was equally displeased as you individual requested Santorum why the GOP supports condition privileges with the exception of the situation of medicinal marijuana. Santorum responded by saying “I have no idea my medicinal marijuana laws and regulations perfectly.” Everyone else wasn’t pleased with his answer and known as for any more in depth articulation of his point of view. Regrettably Mr. Santorum accompanied his statement with “I form that opinion from my very own existence encounters and getting encounters. I visited college, too,” apparently reluctant to elaborate further.
The campaign stop will certainly ‘t be a highlight for that Santorum campaign. However, his campaign shouldn’t to become taken gently. Some experts believe that Mitt Romney may ultimately secure the nomination, Santorum’s surge comes at any given time where conservatives happen to be very vocal regarding their displeasure with Mitt Romney like a conservative. Santorum has effectively colored themself like a obvious alternative for conservatives. Newt Gingrich attempted to make use of this method in the small rally too, but Santorum comes with an infinitely more powerful status if this involves conservative bread and butter issues for example family values.
By tonight the outcomes from the Nh primary will begin to trickle in. Although Santorum can always be considered a lengthy shot to win the 2012 Republican nomination, he will certainly make the floor slippery for Mitt Romney’s unsure footing towards the top of the hill. In 2008 Mitt Romney seemed to be the first favorite until John McCain increased and switched round his entire campaign. While Ron Santorum might not have the nation’s support that John McCain loved, he is able to certainly be considered a thorn within the side of Romney through the relaxation from the primaries. We ought to hear a great deal on condition privileges because this process plays out, just like the situation was using the Nh university students, we’re awaiting our political figures to develop a reason concerning the current condition of marijuana enforcement. That’s obviously unless of course you’re pleased with Mr. Santorum’s “I have no idea my medicinal marijuana laws and regulations perfectly,” statement.
 
Please Be Aware: Lately the votes were recalculated and Ron Santorum has become considered the Champion from the Iowa Caucus.