The news about marijuana these days couldn't be worse! What got into his mind, smuggling a terrible substance like this?

According to peer reviewed, scientific research, the active ingredients in hashish and marijuana can kill or shrink at least ten different types of cancerous cells, including lymphoma, leukemia, ER negative breast, prostate, bladder, brain, colorectal and non-melanoma skin cancer.

Further research suggests that the cannabinoids in pot can stop the progress of degenerative nerve diseases, prevent Alzheimer's disease, prevent brain damage caused by binge drinking, and stimulate the growth of new brain cells in the hippocampus.

Obviously, it's so much better to be a writer than a cannabinoid smuggler. People will respect you much more.

Until they get sick, that is. Then a writer can't help you much and you wish for the cannabinoid smuggler instead.

He profited from the War on Drugs as a smuggler, and now he is profiting from the War on Drugs as a writer, by keeping TV viewers pumped up on the same adrenaline rush that used to fuel his so-called "empty" life.

Is there a moral to this story at all?

The moral must be that war is good.

And look at this story -- war is especially good for Salon.

There's nothing in this story that questions this war in any way.

All this story does is tell us the safest way to extract financial profits from the War on Drugs is to become a writer and exploit the hell out of it.

War profiteer? Geeze, when are we going to stop punishing people?

The guy did some bad things, paid for it by doing time and came out the other side to fit back into society as a writer/film maker. What's wrong with that? Isn't that the outcome we say we want?

Isn't that the whole purpose of a "correctional" system in the first place? To "correct" people?

The thing that bothers me about attitudes like Patricia's is that it points out how there is no room left in America for forgiveness.

In our society now you get one chance not to screw up and get caught and if you do, you're hounded and branded for the rest of your life. There are people and politicians out there just

waiting to hound you out of every community you move to, ensure you can't make money off telling about your experiences, can't get a job, can't re-enter the finance and credit system, in short, can't do anything except turn back to crime. If we're going to do that, why not make everything a life sentence or a capital crime and be done with it?

This author worked on a movie about my wife's grandfather, Joseph Stassi... There are many, many grandchildren, but she's the first born of the first born...

That movie did not seem to make it out of the festival, and we'd love a copy... The whole family would be delighted.. Maybe chat...

tmeacham-gmail

That's it. There was a time Salon provided interesting, well-written, carefully researched articles on slightly unusual subjects aimed at well-rounded, intelligent people. Now, they cannot even get the name Cannabis ruderalis right. Meanwhile, the letters pages have turned into a message board for trolls and idiots (not sure which category Patricia falls into). Who would have thunk it?

I got a Premium subscription as soon as they became available, but I will not be renewing again -- the "articles" simply aren't worth it anymore. Shame on you, editors, for killing off my favourite Web read.

(I am pretty sure it all started really going down the drink when Charles Taylor got the sack...)

Let's quibble, if Mr. Kartheiser wants to quibble. It isn't Salon which referred to 'ruberalis'. It was Mr. Stratton himself who

referred to 'ruberalis' and the interviewer faithfully and accurately quoted him. And we want

that from an interviewer, don't we? Perhaps that

part of the interview could have been ammended to

read " ..(sic)ruberalis".

And now a thought: marijuana used to be legal in this country. Illegalizing it created the

opportunity for smugglers to smuggle the newly

illegalized drug marijuana. Just as prohibition

created the opportunity for mafias to smuggle

alcohol for money. And wasn't marijuana outlawed

just about the time alcohol was about to get re-

legalized? Is it too much of a stretch to think

that the government realized that without outlawed

drugs to keep smuggling, the big new drugrunning

mafias would go out of bussiness? And is it too

much of a stretch to think that the government

outlawed marijuana, opium, etc., in order to keep

the government-empowered and government sponsored

Organized Crime Industrial Complex in bussiness?

Every time I speak my mind openly and honestly, I get called a troll or an idiot. I think it's really funny. It's keeping my antipathy towards the anti-humanist left alive and beating like a heart.

But Denville, even though you insulted me and treated me like I don't have any rights to express myself, I will back you up on a fact. It is cannabis ruderalis. I have no idea what "ruberalis" is supposed to mean.

Just one more example of the poor fact checking that goes on here.

If Salon supposed to keep building outrage against the right wing's rejection of physical reality, they MIGHT CONSIDER hiring a fact checker of their own.

But then the postmoderns aren't supposed to believe in facts or physical reality. They hate that as much as they hate humanism.

So where does leave us now?

I think you should stay, Denville, because you're perfect for Salon. You're good at calling people idiots and trolls, you're good at dehumanizing humans, so this is EXACTLY where you belong.

The thing that bothers me about attitudes like Patricia's is that it points out how there is no room left in America for forgiveness.

If we wanted to be forgiving, then we'd legalize marijuana, wouldn't we? Then he wouldn't have even had to go to prison.

Or at least we could let sick people use it without so much DRAMA! Couldn't we?

What does Stratton do? He makes a living from the drama. He makes a living keeping Americans involved and interested in the drama, he helps keep Americans dependent on all of this drug war drama.

He's making money -- he's getting rich -- on the lack of forgiveness in this country.

I guess you just don't get it. Maybe I'm going too far over your heads.

If I confuse you, then just call me an idiot or a troll. YOu'll feel better and you won't have to think any more.