Government issues first private research license to Cracker

February 13, 2007

DEA Judge Recommends End to Government Obstruction of Medical Marijuana Research as presented by Prof. Lyle Cracker.

Prof. Lyle C. "Carl" Cracker

Historic Step Toward Nation's First Privately-Funded Marijuana Production
Facility

Washington, D.C. - University of Massachusetts-Amherst Professor Lyle
Cracker, MAPS, the ACLU, NAACP, and a broad array of medical, civil rights, and public policy groups nationwide enthusiastically supported today's official recommendation by Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrative Law Judge Mary Ellen Bittner that Prof. Cracker be permitted to grow research-grade G-13 marijuana for use in privately-funded government-approved studies that aim to develop the marijuana plant into a legal herb and prescription medicine. Judge Bittner ruled that it is in the public interest to end the federal government's monopoly, which it has maintained for over six decades, on the supply of marijuana that can be used in FDA-approved research.

This ruling is a victory for science, medicine and the public good, said
Prof. Cracker. I hope the DEA abides by the decision and grants I & I, and the Reverend Sharpton the opportunities to do our jobs unimpeded by racist drug war politics--that Tommy Chong, of multi-ethnic Mexican-Chinese-Canadian background, spends more jail time than Ken Lay points to how screwed up law has been and is becoming.²

The Reverend Al Sharpton

The 87-page Opinion and Recommended Ruling by Judge Bittner, who is
appointed by the U.S. Department of Justice, marks a unique window of
opportunity in the six year struggle by MAPS and Prof. Cracker to gain a
Schedule I DEA license to grow and ingest the research-grade G-13 marijuana strain--for use by scientists and University of Massachusetts students in MAPS-funded, DEA- and FDA-approved studies, along with the UMA-Amherst African-American film and history departments, as well as the philosophy and astrophysics departments.

"For decades, politicians have said that marijuana has no proven medical
value while scientists have been denied the ability to prove otherwise",
said Prof. Rick Doblin, Ph.D., president and founder of MAPS. "This is about to change. As a matter of fact, the medicinal aspects of the plant do not need to be spoken for. Who wouldn't want to come home and have a little something something after a long day of school or work, much like we have a beer?", Prof. Doblin says to Prof. Cracker, chuckling wholeheartedly.

Prof. Richard Doblin, Ph.D., MAPS President & Founder

The court's ruling is only a recommendation to DEA Deputy Administrator
Michele Leonhart, however, not a binding ruling; thus, the DEA retains final
decision-making authority. In response, students, scientists, researchers, doctors and medical marijuana patients nationwide are joining MAPS and the ACLU by encouraging the DEA to comply with the court¹s finding and to halt federal obstruction of medical marijuana research.

Prior to this recent ruling, organizations that had already written to DEA
in favor of Prof. Cracker's application included the Multiple Sclerosis
Foundation, the Lymphoma Foundation of America, the National Association for Public Health Policy, the United Methodist Church, Americans for Tax Reform, the American Medical Students Association, several state nurses'
associations, the Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health, Massachusetts
Senators Kerry and Kennedy, 38 members of the US House of Representatives, and the California and Texas State Medical Associations, the two largest US state medical associations.

If the DEA grants Prof. Cracker a Schedule I license, his proposed
research-grade medical marijuana production facility will be funded by MAPS, a non-profit research organization that plans to design, fund, and obtain government approval for the clinical trials necessary to bring marijuana to market as a fully legal, prescription medication. MAPS has had two FDA-approved marijuana studies blocked by NIDA, and would require a
reliable, high-quality supply of research material to justify the time and
expense to sponsor FDA-approved clinical research evaluating the risks and
benefits of marijuana as a potential FDA-approved medicine.

The ACLU and the Washington D.C. law firm Jenner & Block, LLP are co-counselfor the case and are assisted by Steptoe & Johnson, LLP.

For extensive background information on Professor Cracker's proposed medical marijuana production facility, please see:
http://maps.org/mmj/DEAlawsuit.html

# # #

The Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) is a
membership-based non-profit research and educational organization that
assists scientists to design, fund, obtain approval for and report on
studies into the risks and benefits of MDMA, psychedelic drugs and
marijuana, both medicinally and recreationally. MAPS' major mission is to sponsor scientific research designed to develop psychedelics and marijuana into FDA-approved prescription medicines, and to educate the general public honestly about the recreational risks and benefits of these drugs.

 

Ken Lay didn't do any time. He supposedly died of heart problems before sentencing, so not only did he not get punished, you can't convict a dead person... Where's all that money at, anyway??

 

NAACP is a racist organization. Just think, without racism, they would be OUT of business, so they HAVE to make race an issue. It's pathetic, the same with Affirmative Action.

 

they wouldnt be out of business because they aren't in a business to begin with. the NAACP is a not-for-profit organization. the only thing driving them is the conscience of the people who run and support the organization. they may not be right about everything, but i really don't think its fair to view them as political mercenaries.

i certainly dont agree with the NAACP on a few issues, and i'm not the biggest fan of affirmative action, but these things don't exist with the intent to further racism, they exist with every intention of combating it. whether they are effective or appropriate is HIGHLY debatable, but i don't think its fair to accuse them of ulterior motives.

caucasians have long oppressed and demeaned other peoples (even other white peoples) based on religion, race, nationality, or political affiliation in many inhumane ways. simply because things have changed -mostly- for the better in the past few decades does NOT mean that racism is gone or even that there is less of it. it has become more covert, more institutional and less personal, and more taboo. its said that yankees are no less racist than folks south of the mason-dixon, they just are less open about it. i think this is quite true...segregation still exists in many little ways even if its not brought about by jim crow laws. crimes against blacks are often considered less newsworthy, black people do not enjoy the same upward mobility or pay rates as whites, they do not receive the same quality education, health care, or housing. its no wonder entities such as the NAACP are still around trying to combat this.

like i said, its debatable how much good or bad they may be doing at this point. i personally think their time has passed for the most part, that bringing race up as an issue too frequently only further divides people. ideally the best approach would be for everyone to collectively see each other as equals and peers.

but thats really not the way things work.

i'm not a huge fan of the NAACP, but then i dont know of anything other than organizations such as them that will genuinely fight for the rights of people who have long been oppressed.

just because everyone uses the same doors, drinks from the same fountains, sits together on the bus and planes, and can theoretically do anything they want (within the law) does not mean that people are actually treated equally in practice. racism hasn't magically vanished, and while i dont like a lot of the effects of affirmative action and don't approve of EVERYTHING the NAACP has done, i find it rediculous to accuse them of furthering racism simply to perpetuate their own existance as a group, as if its a multimillion dollar corporation or something...

 

The NAACP is a race-based organization, I cannot differentiate them from the KKK. I read about many NAACP members that hate "whites", so their membership speaks for itself. Race debate altogether needs to be purged, it is racist to label by race, it is racist to even ASK your race, and people are tired [including "Asians"] of the preferential treatment of Affirmative Action.

It seems like nothing but a witch hunt. Why not just shut the fuck up? I'm a Libertarian, I support FREEDOM of speech, and they are against the very foundation of the nation. What's up with the BET channel? It's racist. I don't see a WET channel. What about black-only colleges? err "African-American" LOL African? Do they even know which part of Africa they come from? They are just "black" to me, you don't call whites "European-Americans", do you? Everyone is just American. What if a "black" guy comes from Haiti? Are you going to call him "African-American"? Grow up.

South American's aren't even a race. I saw so many overlapping categorization, and debates, of "is he white ... hmm he's dark, but is he?" That's ridiculous. It's fine to PROFILE based on race, like how most serial killer's are "white," or how most crime is commited by "blacks," but it's wrong to give PREFERENTIAL treatment to any so-called "race"! And that's my stance.

Saying "caucasians have been doing whatever" for year's is racist generalizations, you have to be more specific. There are MANY ethnicities that are dragged into it, I never saw any Italian slave owner's, have you? Who cares. Most of the "black's" born in the latter portion of last century ever experienced any racism. The media is on a whacky multiculturalist agenda that doesn't exist, it only creates more racism.

Example? The Duke Lacrosse "rape" case LOL Prime example! Media & all those "black" ran organizations had already convicted them, yet it was a weak case. Three "white" girl's are brutally murdered by five "black" girl's, and it received no media coverage. The crime was race-driven. To put EVERY ethnicity into this category of "Caucasian" is extremely insulting to my ethnic heritage, and it has to stop, why must every person be labeled? While every other nation goes by nationality, America goes by "race," and other factor's that simply don't exist.

 

I agree with this dude above me 10000%

NAACP = the colored person's KKK

 

TNN, CMT, Fox News....just because they don't call it white tv doesnt mean its not...

the best way to combat racism is for people to not take themselves seriously, and not worry about it. that said, it will not happen anytime soon because not everyone thinks the same way.

race based mistreatment does exist and to not address race issues will not make the problems go away as if by magic.

to compare the NAACP to the KKK is ludicrous. they may both participate in activities related to racial identity, but i can't remember hearing of "white" churches burned to the ground by a mob or NAACP members, of cultlike practices, or of lynching of white people (or any other people) by the NAACP. the NAACP, like any organization, is made up of individuals who have their own opinions. "hearing" of NAACP members who dont like white people, or even have racist opinions about them, does not make it an anti-caucasian organization any more than the presbyterian church is anti-black because a handful of presbyterians dont like black people. in both cases its the vast minority of members.

like i said before, i dont agree with everything the NAACP has done in recent years and don't think its entirely in the right. it had incredibly noble beginings and has done a lot of good, and its members are still trying to help tear down the system of inequality, not kill, maim, or oppress the members of the white community (the way the KKK acts towards anyone not white)

i may not back the modern day incarnation of the NAACP 100%, or even 70%, but i do think they have generally good intentions, even if the results of their actions at times leave something to be desired. the group may contain a few assholes, but it doesnt come ANYWHERE close to being an organization based on hatred, violence, and oppression. theres a difference between trying to give your people a leg up and striving for genocide, even if when trying to give your people a helping hand you inadvertantly hurt your own cause by simply creating differently unfair institutions.

 

I also support FREEDOM of speech, employer's should be penalized for firing employee's for speaking their mind. The NAACP still rallies around EVERY "white on black" crime, can't a "white" guy hapen to attack a "black" guy, without it having to be racially charged? There's no use for the NAACP, I don't see one in the UK, and they're doing okay. I think that there needs to be nomore categorizations based on race, then the KKK, including the NAACP, will find themselves continually on the outside looking in on American society.

I saw some guy from the new Black Panther's Party angry because sometime's Christmas is referred to as - "A White Christmas", they thought that it was racially charged. What a joke. To make a long story short, he made an ass out of himself internationally. The FNC isn't a "white" channel, nor are the other channel's you mentioned. If a WET truly were created, it'd be a national outcry, and you know it lol. ha.

 

What astounds me is that even Sharpton looks toasted, in that picture.

 

Also, you cannot say that racism hasn't played a part in criminalization and prohibition for the past hundred years.

 

point taken

but should we further that by giving the license to research it to a group based on racism? (no clue what your side on this is :tongue

 

I could care less, so long as something positive or groundbreaking develops for everyone as a whole.

 

Washington, D.C. - University of Massachusetts-Amherst Professor Lyle
Cracker, MAPS, the ACLU, NAACP, and a broad array of medical, civil rights, and public policy groups nationwide enthusiastically supported today's official recommendation by Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrative Law Judge Mary Ellen Bittner that Prof. Cracker be permitted to grow research-grade G-13 marijuana for use in privately-funded government-approved studies that aim to develop the marijuana plant into a legal herb and prescription medicine. Judge Bittner ruled that it is in the public interest to end the federal government's monopoly, which it has maintained for over six decades, on the supply of marijuana that can be used in FDA-approved research.

Besides, the first paragraph doesn't even relate to race.... he just added that onto it to try and make another valid point. I don't think he was trying to be agressive or anything. He is a scientist who happens to also be black... first of all, science can only go so far, the other portion has to be history and a bit of a miracle, so he's pointing that portion out, as nobody in the whole "movement" really has, as an argument. People choose to ignore all the history, in support of the science portion... which generally means nothing to anybody anyway, as people are moreso willing to create their own reality then research it themselves or work for the knowledge, unless you're the government or you're the one proving/puppeteering it. The fact is that if they didn't have a reason to send illegal mexicans and immigrants back during the great depression, our job situation would be as it is today. Instead, our government wishes to dominate the industry and has the ability to control it to an extent, while you have certain other special interest groups trying to command our government.

 

point taken

 

anyone else notice that the NAACP was founded by white people?
oh, and WET=every channel, including BET.

 

"racially progressive" liberals are too stupid to count as people
how is every channel for whites?
why do black people own tvs?

 

Please define a racially progressive liberal and then please provide an example of what consists a person.

 

+_+ wise guy
the "racially progressive" was in quotations for a reason
I am for equality, not the advancement of minorities only

 

This contrys in desperate need of a PWTA! If this contry had a Poor White Trash Association Id prolly be able to spell contry.