La Main Verte

Elections américaines (04/11/04 09:06)


Diverses infos :

Mauvaises :

- Bush "4 more years"
- L'Oregon a rejeté une mesure qui aurait grandement facilité l'accès au cannabis thérapeutique en augmentant la quantité légale que les patients auraient pu détenir, et en créant des "dispensaires" de drogues réglementés par l'Etat. 65 % des électeurs ont voté cette mesure 33 : 42 % pour, 58 % contre (490.300 contre 667.600).

- Alaska : la légalisation du cannabis semble être rejetée. On en parle ici :
http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0 ... 571,0.html
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/monde/article ... 9565.shtml


Bonnes :

- Au Missouri, 69 % de votants (contre 31 %) ont accepté la Proposition 1 rendant légales la possession et la consommation de cannabis pour des malades, avec prescription médicale. Les médecins prescripteurs de cannabis ne seront plus poursuivis ni arrêtés.
La Proposition 2 est passée avec 60% de oui. Cette initiative pro-décriminalisation qui stipule que les cas de délits liés au cannabis ("misdemeanor marijuana cases"), détention et usage je suppose, doivent être jugés par le Tribunal Municipal et punis par une amende maximum de 250 $.



Pubdate: Tue, 02 Nov 2004
Source: Associated Press (Wire)
Copyright: 2004 Associated Press
Cited: Measure 33 http://www.yeson33.org/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Measure+33

OREGON VOTERS REJECT MEDICAL MARIJUANA MEASURE

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Oregon voters rejected a ballot measure Tuesday that
would have greatly eased access to medical marijuana by raising the amount
patients could legally possess, and creating state-regulated dispensaries
for the drug.

With 65 percent of the statewide vote counted, Measure 33 trailed 42
percent to 58 percent -- with 667,647 voters rejecting the measure and
490,301 voting for it.

In the other health-related proposal on the ballot, a measure to cap
so-called pain and suffering awards in medical malpractice lawsuits was too
close to call with 65 percent of the vote counted. Measure 35 would put a
half-million dollar lid on non-economic damages, while allowing juries to
fully award compensation for lost wages and medical costs.

Returns posted shortly after 10 p.m. showed 575,492 voters had rejected
Measure 35, and 573,425 had approved it, or a 50 percent to 50 percent tie.

Oregon's Measure 33 was one of three on marijuana policy on ballots in
Western states Tuesday, including a potentially history-making proposal to
decriminalize marijuana in Alaska.

Critics of Oregon's measure said it was aiming toward the same goal of
legalization, although through the backdoor of easing rules on medical
marijuana.

"The failure of Measure 33 simply confirms my belief in the ability of
Oregon's voters to spot a wolf in sheep's clothing," Benton County District
Attorney Scott Heiser said.

"Measure 33 was nothing more than an attempt to legalize recreational drug
use under the guise of helping the suffering," he said. "Obviously, the DAs
of Oregon are very pleased to see the voters soundly rejecting this
disingenuous measure."

Longtime medical marijuana advocate John Sajo, director of Voter Power, the
group that sponsored Oregon's original 1998 medical marijuana law and led
the Measure 33 effort, said the campaign failed because it was underfunded.

"We were trying to make some relatively big changes with a small budget,"
he said.

The measure would have required the state to buy the drug for low-income
patients, and would have allowed the commercial sale of pot to people with
medical marijuana cards.

"Our opponents did a good job distorting what the measure would do,
painting it as legalization, which it was not...Marijuana is medicine, and
patients need to get it," Sajo said.
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake

==================================================================

Pubdate: Wed, 03 Nov 2004
Source: Columbia Missourian (MO)
Copyright: 2004 Columbia Missourian
Contact: editor@|columbiamissourian.com
Website: http://www.columbiamissourian.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2282
Author: Luke DiStefano
Cited: NORML http://www.norml.org/
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Higher+Education+Act

BOTH POT PROPOSITIONS PASS BY A LARGE MARGIN

With a Doctor's Consent, Chronically Ill Patients Can Legally Use Marijuana.

With the passage of two marijuana-related initiatives Tuesday, Columbia

voters have placed the city on the progressive edge of drug-law reform in
the United States.

With more than half the ballots tallied, voters were approving Proposition
1 69 percent to 31 percent as of press time. The measure makes it legal for
chronically ill patients to possess and use marijuana with a doctor's
consent. Physicians who prescribe marijuana to patients will no longer face
arrest and prosecution.

Supporters of the measure were elated with the results, which represent a
landmark in Missouri.

"This result shows that these issues aren't partisan; people recognize that
these laws affect all of us," said Amber Langston, campaign manager for the
Columbia Alliance for Patients and Education, one of the initiative's sponsors.

The ordinance that will now go into effect, however, does not include a way
for patients to lawfully acquire marijuana, meaning they will still be

forced to purchase the drug on the street. Proponents are hoping to
introduce a bill in the General Assembly that would allow patients who have
been prescribed marijuana by a doctor to obtain the drug legally.

"Hopefully, a statewide medical initiative would be the next step," said
Jim Bob Schell, a member of the MU chapter of the National Organization for
the Reform of Marijuana Laws. "It's nice that people in Columbia want this,
but we need to keep it going."

Proponents were optimistic that legislators would be supportive.

"I'm hopeful that people are compassionate to the seriously ill," said the
organization's president, Amanda Broz.

Proposition 2, a decriminalization initiative stipulating that misdemeanor
marijuana cases be tried in Municipal Court and punishable by a maximum

fine of $250, was passing 60 percent to 40 percent.

Schell hailed its passage as a victory in the war against what some see as
unfair drug laws.

"What (its passage) says is that people of Columbia believe possession

shouldn't be a jailable offense," Schell said. "And it certainly shouldn't
minimize somebody's ability to go to college."

Proposition 2 was drafted in response to the Higher Education Act, a 1998
law that revokes federal education funding for anyone convicted of a
drug-related charge.

Voters turned out in droves to support the medical initiative. Guy Marsh
brought a uniquely personal angle to the polls.

"I used to have to sneak my mother some pot when she was in chemotherapy to
help with her nausea," he said after casting a "yes" vote for Proposition 1.

Wes Wingate, who voted for both of the initiatives, was one of those
affectedby the Higher Education Act.

"I actually lost my financial aid, and that was a big part of it for me,"
Wingate said. "Columbia can be the first to have more reasonable laws. That
says a lot about our town."

USA:election outcomes makes things urgent (04/11/04 09:07)



Bonjour,
Pour information, ci dessous un message de Dana Beal aux USA qui fait le bilan des votes sur les propositions en matiere de drogues, et qui espere que les europeens sauront marquer le coup le 7 mai 2005, lors de la marche mondiale pour le cannabis.

Please find below some fresh informations from Dana Beal, about what happened in US elections, and especially about the Drugs related issues, and who urges europeans to be able to make a big international demonstration on May 7th, 2005 for the Global march for cannabis liberation.

Bien cordialement,
Yours sincerely,

FARId - ENCOD

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: election outcomes makes things urgent
Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2004 20:19:15 -0500
From: Dana Beal
To: farid@no-log.org



The re-election of the American Dictator, Bush, makes the situation of international drug reform much more difficult. It is urgent that we have 300 cities worldwide--major cities--with marijuana marches May 7. Reformers in the U.S. have to be able to point to a worldwide movement to convince the media not to belittle us after this train-wreck. We must look at the failures of the Kerry camp to exploit the potential advantage they had with drug reform and harm reduction as revealed by the following:

From the MPP:


At Least 17 of 20 Marijuana Initiatives Pass. Montana Becomes 10th Medical Marijuana State

WASHINGTON -- November 3 -- Proposals to reform marijuana laws racked up record-setting vote totals across the country Tuesday, leaving reformers cheering despite a few setbacks.

Montana voters approved a medical marijuana measure, Initiative 148, by an overwhelming 62% to 38%, eclipsing the previous record for any state's first vote on a medical marijuana initiative, the 61% support received by a medical marijuana measure in Maine in 1999.

In Alaska, Measure 2 scored the highest vote percentage ever achieved by a statewide proposal to abolish marijuana prohibition entirely and replace it with a system of regulation. With 43% of the vote, Measure 2 outpolled previous attempts in Alaska, Nevada, California, and Oregon -- none of which received more than 41% of the vote.

Efforts to replace prohibition with regulation got a huge boost from Oakland voters, who approved Measure Z by 64% to 36%. The measure commits the city of Oakland to supporting the taxation and regulation of marijuana in California and makes personal marijuana offenses the lowest priority for Oakland law enforcement.

In Ann Arbor, Michigan, voters overwhelmingly passed a local medical marijuana initiative, Measure C, 74% to 26%. In August, Detroit voters passed a similar measure by a 60% to 40% margin.

Voters in Columbia, Missouri, gave big wins to two separate reforms: A medical marijuana proposal, Proposition 1, passed by 69% to 31%; and Proposition 2, which replaces jail time with a maximum $250 fine for marijuana possession, also received a solid endorsement with 61% of the vote.

With advocates gearing up to lobby for medical marijuana bills in legislatures around the country next year, Vermont voters showed officeholders the danger of opposing such reforms. Vermonters handed stunning defeats to three leading opponents of that state's medical marijuana law-passed by the legislature earlier this year after a
contentious, three-year battle. MPP, which led the campaign to pass the law, funded an extensive grassroots campaign aimed primarily at defeating legislators who opposed the measure and backing those who had supported it. The campaign included voter identification, direct mail, and an aggressive get-out-the-vote effort staffed by a large network of in-state volunteers.

State Rep. Spike Robinson (R-Chittenden 4) lost to Democratic challenger Denise Barnard, 57% to 43%; Rep. Ruth Towne (R-Washington 3-3) was upset by Democrat Steve Green, 52% to 48%; and Rep. Nancy Sheltra (R-Orleans 1) lost her seat to Progressive Winston Dowland by 14 votes. The results shifted control of the Vermont House of Representatives to the Democrats-viewed by medical marijuana supporters as a positive development due to the unrelenting hostility of the House GOP leadership during last year's session.

MPP also supported two incumbents whose seats were in jeopardy: State Reps. Floyd Nease (D-Lamoille 3) and Steven Maier (D-Addison 1), both of whom won reelection by comfortable margins.

Massachusetts voters passed 12 of 12 advisory referenda on marijuana policy reform: five in support of medical marijuana, six in support of making marijuana a civil offense similar to a traffic ticket, and one in support of taxing and regulating marijuana.

Two of Tuesday's results were disappointing to reformers. Oregon voters defeated Measure 33, which would have allowed state-regulated medical marijuana dispensaries and increased the amount of medical marijuana patients may possess. In Berkeley, California, uncertainty remained about Measure R, which would facilitate the establishment of medical marijuana dispensaries. As of Wednesday morning the measure was trailing narrowly, but with enough absentee ballots still left to
be counted to put the measure over the top.

"Election Day was a great day for marijuana policy reform," said Rob Kampia, executive director of MPP. "The passage of the initiative in Montana makes it the 10th state to allow patients to use, possess, and grow their own marijuana for medical purposes. Voters in at least 16 of 17 cities or districts passed medical marijuana or broader
marijuana policy reform measures. And we wrested control of the Vermont House of Representatives from the Republicans, who watered down and nearly killed our medical marijuana bill earlier this year," referring to the Vermont medical marijuana law.

The 10 states that have medical marijuana laws are Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.

"Other than in Alaska, the only other marijuana policy reform measures to be defeated were in Oregon and possibly Berkeley, and both of those initiatives would have radically expanded already- existing medical marijuana laws by authorizing the sale of marijuana," said Kampia. "The lesson of Election Day is that moderate medical
marijuana initiatives on the local and state levels always pass, local initiatives to roll back penalties for recreational marijuana users were also universally passed, and we just broke the all-time record of support for any statewide measure to end marijuana prohibition," he said, referring to the Alaska initiative.

MPP spent more than $2,000,000 on the Alaska, Montana, and Oregon initiative campaigns, as well as providing more than $200,000 to activists who ran the local initiative campaigns in California, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Missouri.


P.S:Do you have a phone for Bushdoctor in Vienna?

traduction ???

For a good translation i can suggest you to return at school, or find a women from Ireland (yes , it's better, from Ireland, i've tried ) or try with an online translator like this (isn't the better):
http://babelfish.altavista.com/

So, just one way: MOVE YOUR ASS!

At last, i can just tell you "s'il vous plait" says "please" in english.
Best regards

Alaska:INITIATIVE TO LEGALIZE POT FAILS BIG (07/11/04 11:16)

Echec du référendum pour la légalisation du cannabis en Alaska, malgré la
mobilisation massive de ses partisans.
Un fait divers sordide, un jeune de 16 ans qui a assassiné sa belle-mère et
l'a mise au congélateur, alors qu'il était stone, a pu troubler l'opinion...


Pubdate: Wed, 3 Nov 2004
Source: Anchorage Daily News (AK)
Webpage: http://adn.com/election04/e_night/story ... 4960c.html
Copyright: 2004 The Anchorage Daily News
Contact: letters@adn.com
Website: http://www.adn.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/18
Author: Tataboline Brant
Cited: Proposition 2 ( http://www.yeson2alaska.com/ )
Cited: Marijuana Policy Project ( http://www.mpp.org )
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/marijuana+initiative
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

INITIATIVE TO LEGALIZE POT FAILS BIG

A massive spending campaign by the fans of legalized marijuana in
Alaska failed to convince voters.

With about 82 percent of precincts reporting Tuesday night, voters
rejected by a crushing margin the notion that pot should be legal for
adults 21 and older to possess, grow, buy or give away. Backers of
Ballot Measure 2 spent huge sums making their case in print and
broadcast media, vastly outspending foes.

The proposal, which would have allowed for state regulation and
taxation of pot, did not appear to be doing better than a similar but
more ambitious initiative in 2000. People on both sides of the issue
this year thought, or worried, Measure 2 had a fighting chance because
it asked less of voters than the one in 2000. Alaska voters leaving
the polls Tuesday cited everything from the state's substance abuse
problems to fears about stoned drivers or sending a mixed message to
kids as reasons why they voted against the measure.

David Finkelstein, treasurer of one of the main groups pushing for
legalization, conceded defeat. He said the campaign had a lot of
momentum until about mid October, when federal officials, including a
deputy White House drug czar, visited the state with an anti-drug message.

"Then there was that horrific, gruesome murder story that was super
depressing," he said, referring to the recent arrest in Anchorage of a
16-year-old who was charged with first-degree murder for killing his
stepmother and dumping her in a freezer while high on marijuana. "It
sort of derailed the message there for a while," Finkelstein said.
Matthew Fagnani, chairman of the sole opposition group to Measure 2
and president of the local drug-testing firm WorkSafe Inc., said he
was "very happy" about the results. "Today is a good day for the sake
of the future of Alaska's children," he said.

U.S. Attorney Tim Burgess said he was relieved and heartened that
Alaskans took the issue seriously. "Substance abuse and drug addiction
are a tremendous problem in Alaska," he said. "It is something that
the law enforcement community realizes because they have to deal with
it every day."

Alaska voters had gone both ways in the past. They legalized marijuana
for medical purposes in 1998. Two years later, 59 percent of voters
turned down a proposition similar to Measure 2, though that
initiative, which included retroactive amnesty and possible
reparations for people convicted of pot crimes, didn't fail as
miserably as some expected given its reach. About 41 percent of voters
approved it.

One of the four groups pressing for legalization this time around was
bankrolled to the tune of $850,000 by the Washington, D.C.-based
Marijuana Policy Project, which also funded legalization efforts in
Nevada, Oregon and Montana this year. Another of the groups, which did
most of the legwork to get legalization on the ballot, had hundreds of
Alaska supporters, according to its campaign finance reports. The pro
side argued that marijuana was innocuous enough that it shouldn't be
the government's business if people want to smoke it. They said the
unsuccessful prohibition of pot wastes millions of dollars and that if
the state would regulate it, they could save money, get rid of the
black market and make pot harder for kids to get but easier for
adults, including medical marijuana patients, to obtain.

Former Kotzebue police chief Paul Nolton, 46, disagreed. "We didn't
need another legal drug out here," he said after voting in the
northwestern hub community Tuesday morning, where temperatures hovered
around zero. "Alcohol has caused enough problems." Maija Johnson, 27,
also of Kotzebue, agreed. "If I could have voted to make alcohol
illegal, I would have," she said. "There's so much substance abuse."
To the southeast, in Fairbanks, Catherine Witt, a public educator,
said she voted no because of the mixed message legalization would send
to kids while Shelly Huhtamen, 30, said she worried pot would lead
users to harder drugs. Huhtamen added: "I have a 4-month-old and I
don't want to be driving, wondering if other drivers are stoned." Ann
Rippy, 48, also of Fairbanks, said she couldn't make up her mind. "I'm
so divided on that one I didn't even vote." Rachel Nelson, 32 of
Sitka, voted for legalization. "I know a lot of people with cancer and
HIV and it's helped them," she said. "Pot is going to be here whether
we like it or not, so it might as well be legal."

In Anchorage, Beverly Bradley-Acuna, 61, said she voted against
legalization. "I think it would encourage too many people from the
Lower 48 to come up here and that would increase crime," she said. Wev
Shea, a former U.S. attorney for Alaska, called the returns
"wonderful." "It's going down strong," he said, adding that he thought
talk radio shows in the state and the Alaska State Medical
Association, which came out against legalization, helped to defeat the
measure, as well as all the Outside funding.

"I think it just became clear to people that this was an Outside
movement to basically experiment with Alaska," Shea said.

Finkelstein said it was too soon to say if legalization proponents
would put the issue before Alaska voters again. He said the public
discussion about pot has been going on in Alaska since the 1970s and
he didn't think it would end any time soon. Clearly the election
results show a significant minority of residents are willing to try a
different approach to marijuana regulation, he said.

"Alaskans have shown they are open to change but they have to be
confident they know what they are going to get," he said. "The final
step will have to be even more moderate."
__________________________________________________________________________
Distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake

Ca n'a rien à voir avec le canna, c'est en anglais et donc ça n'a rien à faire ici mais je le poste quand même

17 Reasons Not to Slit Your Wrists...by Michael Moore

11/5/04

Dear Friends,

Ok, it sucks. Really sucks. But before you go and cash it all in, let's, in
the words of Monty Python, 'always look on the bright side of life!' There
IS some good news from Tuesday's election.

Here are 17 reasons not to slit your wrists:

1. It is against the law for George W. Bush to run for president again.

2. Bush's victory was the NARROWEST win for a sitting president since
Woodrow Wilson in 1916.

3. The only age group in which the majority voted for Kerry was young adults
(Kerry: 54%, Bush: 44%), proving once again that your parents are always
wrong and you should never listen to them.

4. In spite of Bush's win, the majority of Americans still think the
country is headed in the wrong direction (56%), think the war wasn't worth fighting (51%), and don't approve of the job George W. Bush is doing (52%). (Note to foreigners: Don't try to figure this one out. It's an American thing, like Pop Tarts.)

5. The Republicans will not have a filibuster-proof 60-seat majority in the
Senate. If the Democrats do their job, Bush won't be able to pack the
Supreme Court with right-wing ideologues. Did I say "if the Democrats do
their job?" Um, maybe better to scratch this one.

6. Michigan voted for Kerry! So did the entire Northeast, the birthplace of
our democracy. So did 6 of the 8 Great Lakes States. And the whole West
Coast! Plus Hawaii. Ok, that's a start. We've got most of the fresh water,
all of Broadway, and Mt. St. Helens. We can dehydrate them or bury them in
lava. And no more show tunes!

7. Once again we are reminded that the buckeye is a nut, and not just any
old nut -- a poisonous nut. A great nation was felled by a poisonous nut.
May Ohio State pay dearly this Saturday when it faces Michigan.

8. 88% of Bush's support came from white voters. In 50 years, America will
no longer have a white majority. Hey, 50 years isn't such a long time! If
you're ten years old and reading this, your golden years will be truly
golden and you will be well cared for in your old age.

9. Gays, thanks to the ballot measures passed on Tuesday, cannot get married
in 11 new states. Thank God. Just think of all those wedding gifts we won't
have to buy now.

10. Five more African Americans were elected as members of Congress,
including the return of Cynthia McKinney of Georgia. It's always good to
have more blacks in there fighting for us and doing the job our candidates
can't.

11. The CEO of Coors was defeated for Senate in Colorado. Drink up!

12. Admit it: We like the Bush twins and we don't want them to go away.

13. At the state legislative level, Democrats picked up a net of at least 3
chambers in Tuesday's elections. Of the 98 partisan-controlled state
legislative chambers (house/assembly and senate), Democrats went into the
2004 elections in control of 44 chambers, Republicans controlled 53
chambers, and 1 chamber was tied. After Tuesday, Democrats now control 47
chambers, Republicans control 49 chambers, 1 chamber is tied and 1 chamber
(Montana House) is still undecided.

14. Bush is now a lame duck president. He will have no greater moment than
the one he's having this week. It's all downhill for him from here on out --
and, more significantly, he's just not going to want to do all the hard work
that will be expected of him. It'll be like everyone's last month in 12th
grade -- you've already made it, so it's party time! Perhaps he'll treat the
next four years like a permanent Friday, spending even more time at the
ranch or in Kennebunkport. And why shouldn't he? He's already proved his
point, avenged his father and kicked our ass.

15. Should Bush decide to show up to work and take this country down a very
dark road, it is also just as likely that either of the following two
scenarios will happen: a) Now that he doesn't ever need to pander to the
Christian conservatives again to get elected, someone may whisper in his ear
that he should spend these last four years building "a legacy" so that
history will render a kinder verdict on him and thus he will not push for
too aggressive a right-wing agenda; or b) He will become so cocky and
arrogant -- and thus, reckless -- that he will commit a blunder of such
major proportions that even his own party will have to remove him from
office.

16. There are nearly 300 million Americans -- 200 million of them of voting
age. We only lost by three and a half million! That's not a landslide -- it
means we're almost there. Imagine losing by 20 million. If you had 58 yards
to go before you reached the goal line and then you barreled down 55 of
those yards, would you stop on the three yard line, pick up the ball and go
home crying -- especially when you get to start the next down on the three
yard line? Of course not! Buck up! Have hope! More sports analogies are
coming!!!

17. Finally and most importantly, over 55 million Americans voted for the
candidate dubbed "The #1 Liberal in the Senate." That's more than the total
number of voters who voted for either Reagan, Bush I, Clinton or Gore.
Again, more people voted for Kerry than Reagan. If the media are looking for
a trend it should be this -- that so many Americans were, for the first time
since Kennedy, willing to vote for an out-and-out liberal. The country has
always been filled with evangelicals -- that is not news. What IS news is
that so many people have shifted toward a Massachusetts liberal. In fact,
that's BIG news. Which means, don't expect the mainstream media, the ones
who brought you the Iraq War, to ever report the real truth about November
2, 2004. In fact, it's better that they don't. We'll need the element of
surprise in 2008.

Feeling better? I hope so. As my friend Mort wrote me yesterday, "My
Romanian grandfather used to say to me, 'Remember, Morton, this is such a
wonderful country -- it doesn't even need a president!'"

But it needs us. Rest up, I'll write you again tomorrow.

Yours,

Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
http://www.michaelmoore.com