Bud Hi
Active member
Hell yea! I don't live near Knox, but caught this news:
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/jan/10/cohen-to-speak-at-marijuana-gala/
NASHVILLE - U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen will be a featured speaker at the Marijuana Policy Project's 15th anniversary gala. Also on the bill: comedian/actors Cheech and Chong.
The Washington-based nonprofit favors a legal, regulated system for marijuana sales and allowing states to decide their own marijuana policies.
Cohen, a Democrat representing Memphis, has long supported the decriminalization of marijuana for medical use. In 2007 he spoke from the House floor about a friend who used the drug to ease his pain as he lay dying of pancreatic cancer. He was speaking in support of an amendment that would have prohibited the federal Drug Enforcement Administration from enforcing federal laws against medical marijuana in the states that had legalized it.
A member of Cohen's staff confirmed his planned appearance, but Cohen didn't immediately return calls from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Marijuana Policy Project Director of Government Relations Aaron Houston said Cohen has been "a strong ally over many years" going back to his time as a Tennessee state senator.
"The dirty little secret about medical marijuana is that it's really popular," Houston said, noting that Cohen won a seat in Congress in 2006 despite opponents trying to make an issue of his support for it.
Cohen created a buzz on the Internet last spring when he harangued FBI Director Robert Mueller for calling marijuana a gateway drug that leads people to stronger and more dangerous drugs.
"They probably started off with milk and then they went to beer," he said. "... The gateway theory doesn't work."
In the same exchange, Cohen suggested that legalizing marijuana could help reduce the violence associated with the Mexican drug trade.
"Is there some time we're going to see that we ought to prioritize meth, crack, cocaine and heroin and deal with the drugs that the American culture is really being affected by and lives are being lost?" he asked.
Marijuana Policy Project spokesman Mike Meno said there are no other congressmen slated to speak at the Jan. 13 event in Washington, D.C., but "there are a few who are being talked to." Other speakers include former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson and comedians Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong, known for their jokes about marijuana use.
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2010/jan/10/cohen-to-speak-at-marijuana-gala/
NASHVILLE - U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen will be a featured speaker at the Marijuana Policy Project's 15th anniversary gala. Also on the bill: comedian/actors Cheech and Chong.
The Washington-based nonprofit favors a legal, regulated system for marijuana sales and allowing states to decide their own marijuana policies.
Cohen, a Democrat representing Memphis, has long supported the decriminalization of marijuana for medical use. In 2007 he spoke from the House floor about a friend who used the drug to ease his pain as he lay dying of pancreatic cancer. He was speaking in support of an amendment that would have prohibited the federal Drug Enforcement Administration from enforcing federal laws against medical marijuana in the states that had legalized it.
A member of Cohen's staff confirmed his planned appearance, but Cohen didn't immediately return calls from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Marijuana Policy Project Director of Government Relations Aaron Houston said Cohen has been "a strong ally over many years" going back to his time as a Tennessee state senator.
"The dirty little secret about medical marijuana is that it's really popular," Houston said, noting that Cohen won a seat in Congress in 2006 despite opponents trying to make an issue of his support for it.
Cohen created a buzz on the Internet last spring when he harangued FBI Director Robert Mueller for calling marijuana a gateway drug that leads people to stronger and more dangerous drugs.
"They probably started off with milk and then they went to beer," he said. "... The gateway theory doesn't work."
In the same exchange, Cohen suggested that legalizing marijuana could help reduce the violence associated with the Mexican drug trade.
"Is there some time we're going to see that we ought to prioritize meth, crack, cocaine and heroin and deal with the drugs that the American culture is really being affected by and lives are being lost?" he asked.
Marijuana Policy Project spokesman Mike Meno said there are no other congressmen slated to speak at the Jan. 13 event in Washington, D.C., but "there are a few who are being talked to." Other speakers include former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson and comedians Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong, known for their jokes about marijuana use.