Free the Weed!

Fox News called us all trolls for trying to free the weed.

We should take it as a compliment!

The story, from NORML:

On three separate occasions, the White House has asked the public to provide them with feedback on the top public policy questions facing the nation. And on three separate occasions, the leading question for the new administration — as chosen on and voted by the American public — pertained to the legalization of marijuana.

One might examine these results and conclude that marijuana law reform is an issue that is becoming increasingly popular with America’s voters. Of course if you’re Fox News, you interpret these results another way:

Obama's Effort at Online Transparency Stymied by Internet Trolls

“Three and a half million people participated in the event, but the ‘trolls’ had their way: Following a coordinated campaign by marijuana advocates to vote their topic to the top of the list, questions on the future of the U.S. dollar and the rising unemployment rate were superseded by questions about legalizing pot as an economic remedy.”

Got to hand it to the folks at Fox. (PS: For the record, Wired makes the same accusation!) National polls show that the public’s support for legalization has never been greater. Leading political and media pundits are now demanding that we end the criminal prohibition of pot. Yet despite all evidence to the contrary, the old guard at Fox News cynically clings to the notion that nobody supports taxing and regulating marijuana aside from a handful of “Internet trolls.” We report, you decide, huh?

Of course, Fox News didn’t come up with this spin on their own. After all, it was White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs — yes, the same Robert Gibbs who couldn’t come up with one valid reason to oppose regulating pot besides “uh” — who initially tried to downplay the popularity of marijuana law reform, telling the New York Times that “advocates for legalizing marijuana, … includ[ing] NORML, had mounted a drive to rack up votes for the question.”

So let’s set the record straight shall we?

For the record, NORML did not engage in any deliberate campaign to "rack up votes" through the use of list-servs or their thousands of e-zine subscribers, nor did they even circulate information about the poll to the oodles of reefer-heads on their Facebook and Myspace websites.

No campaign, I repeat. THIS IS FROM THE PEOPLE; THIS IS REAL. As Paul Armentano of NORML writes:

The simple explanation for the White House poll results is this: Marijuana law reform is immensely popular with the public. That’s why we win initiatives — time and time again. And that’s why when the public is asked whether they support ending prohibition they say ‘yes’ — in overwhelming numbers!

As my colleague Scott Morgan writes at stopthedrugwar.org: “This is a movement, and it isn’t going away. Our issue is bigger than the organizations backing it.” He’s right.

Americans are demanding a serious and objective political debate regarding the merits of legalizing marijuana. They have come to this conclusion on their own — simply by witnessing the failure of the drug war all around them.

It seems that these politicians (even the ones with their fingers perpetually in the air, kissing voter ass and endlessly angling for re-election) don't understand how incredibly FED UP everyone is, tired of WASTING MONEY BUSTING POT SMOKERS.

The economy is in the shitter, and there is a cannabis cash cow beckoning. Why can't they see it? What is taking them so long?

There is money to be had, and time is wasting.