The 1st
Official Word from the Federal Government on Marijuana
Submitted to Congress
On
March 22, 1972
Using
the Federal Governments Findings as a Possible Defense
"Believe
me, the only excuse for government is to give service to the
people."
Raymond P. Shafer
From the
Patient-Members perspective, the statement made by the Shafer
Commission rings even true today:
Excerpt:
The
current law implies an overwhelming indictment of the behavior
which we believe is not appropriate. The actual and potential
harm of use of the drug is not great enough to justify intrusion
by the criminal law into private behavior, a step which our
society takes only 'with the greatest reluctance.
It is huge
class struggle. Regarding MMJ, The Conservative belief is that
they are correct, and the whole world needs to see it the way
they do. In the name of American Freedom!
Regarding the
controlled substance abuse Act -
October
27, 1970
Part F of the
Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970
established the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse—known
as the Shafer Commission after its chairman, Raymond P. Shafer—to
study marijuana abuse in the United States.
Raymond
P. Shafer - A
Brief History of the Man
His Father was pastor of
the 1st Christian Church. He was a Eagle Scout As a
Boy. As an adult he was Presented the Distinguished Eagle Scout
Award. He attended Allegheny College. There, he was Member of
Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. He later attended Yale Law School. His
classmates at Yale included former President Gerald Ford, &
William Scranton.
In 1942, Shafer Joins the
Navy as a Naval Intelligence Officer and later serves on PT
boats.
He served in over 80
combat missions in Worlds War II as PT-359 boat Commander. Later
he became and executive officer of Squadron 27, and was one of
the 1st PT boats to penetrate the defenses of a
historic battle at Manila Bay. During his tour in the Pacific
Theatre, he earned the Bronze Star, & The Purple Heart.
After the war, Shafer
returned to the states and began a private law practice. In 1948
he was elected the DA of Crawford County, PA. In 1958, he was
elected to the state Senate. In 1962, he was elected Lieutenant
Gov. of PA.
In 1966,
Shafer
was victorious by a margin of nearly a quarter of a million
votes and became Gov of PA. as Governor, Shafer was best known
for championing reforms to the state constitution. By the
beginning of Shafer's term as Governor, a constitutional
convention was meeting to overhaul state government. Shafer was
bound by the previous rules and was limited to one term. After
leaving the state government, he became a major player in
national Republican politics as the unofficial leader of the
third largest Republican state party in the country. His
contribution to The Republicans, and true Bipartisanship
continued for years after leaving the governors mansion.
In 1970, President Nixon
appointed Shafer as chairman of the National Commission on
Marijuana and Drug Abuse, also known as the Shafer Commission.
He was criticized in this role by many conservatives after the
panel recommended the decriminalization of marijuana use.
The Shafer
Commission Report
While the Controlled
Substances Act was being drafted in a House committee in 1970,
Assistant Secretary of Health Roger O. Egeberg had recommended
that marijuana temporarily be placed in Schedule I, the most
restrictive category of drugs, pending the Commission's report.
On March 22, 1972, the Commission's chairman, Raymond P. Shafer,
presented a report to Congress and the public entitled
"Marijuana, A Signal of Misunderstanding," which
favored ending marijuana prohibition and adopting other methods
to discourage use.
Specifically, the
Commission recommended "a social control policy seeking to
discourage marijuana use, while concentrating primarily on the
prevention of heavy and very heavy use." The report noted
that society can provide incentives for certain behavior without
prosecuting the unwilling, citing the example that "the
family unit and the institution of marriage are preferred means
of group-living and child-rearing in our society. As a society,
we are not neutral. We officially encourage matrimony by giving
married couples favorable tax treatment; but we do not compel
people to get married."
The Commission
recommended decriminalization of simple possession, finding:
The criminal law is
too harsh a tool to apply to personal possession even in the
effort to discourage use. It implies an overwhelming
indictment of the behavior which we believe is not
appropriate. The actual and potential harm of use of the drug
is not great enough to justify intrusion by the criminal law
into private behavior, a step which our society takes only
'with the greatest reluctance.
The Commission found that
the constitutionality of marijuana prohibition was suspect, and
that the executive and legislative branches had a responsibility
to obey the Constitution, even in the absence of a court ruling
to do so:
While the judiciary is
the governmental institution most directly concerned with the
protection of individual liberties, all policy-makers have a
responsibility to consider our constitutional heritage when
framing public policy. Regardless of whether or not the courts
would overturn a prohibition of possession of marihuana for
personal use in the home, we are necessarily influenced by the
high place traditionally occupied by the value of privacy in
our constitutional scheme.
The Commission also
recommended that the distinctions between licit and illicit
drugs be dropped, finding that "the use of drugs for
pleasure or other non-medical purposes is not inherently
irresponsible; alcohol is widely used as an acceptable part of
social activities"[1].
The Nixon administration
did not implement the study's recommendations. However, the
report has frequently been cited by individuals supporting
removal of cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances
Act[2].
-------------------------------------
Needless to say, Shafer
did not last at this position. Despite an inspiring life of
service to his country, and to his party, because he was not
endorsing the war on Marijuana, he did not last long at his
position as Chairman of the National Commission on Marijuana and
Drug Abuse.
After Shafer left that
position, He still had more to give. he served a brief stint as
CEO of financially troubled Teleprompter company. Following
Watergate, he returned to public service after being named
special counsel to new Vice-President Nelson Rockefeller, a
position he held from 1974 to 1977.
From 1977 to 1988 he was
a partner with the accounting firm of Coopers & Lybrand. He
also served briefly as president of his alma mater, Allegheny
College, from 1985 to 1986. He has also served on the Council on
Foreign Relations.
A section of Interstate
79 in Pennsylvania is named "The Raymond P. Shafer
Highway" after him, as are residence halls at Edinboro
University of Pennsylvania and Indiana University of
Pennsylvania and the auditorium at Allegheny College.
---------------------------------------
How is it that The Shafer
Commission Report, the 1st official statement from
the US Government regarding marijuana, has been forgotten? This
OFFICIAL document, Submitted by a life long American patriot,
appointed by the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT who served his country with
distinction as a Republican maverick, should be the foundation
of today’s defense, as was as the founding argument toward
legalization.
In closing, I would like
to say that capitalism mixed in with public servitude / politics
does not mix well. A certain group of people who feel compelled
to force there beliefs and opinions on people who think so
entirely different, is a futile attempt to mold the world in
there own image. It confuses me as to what the definition of
freedom is to some Americans?
The relevance of the
Shafer commission needs to be brought to the forefront of this
fight. It is the most relevant document regarding marijuana that
the federal Government has ever written.
Even moreover the fact
that Shafer concludes it is not dangerous, he clearly states
that it is a struggle between a group of people who think it is
okay to use, and people who think it’s the “Devil’s
Lettuce”.
Take what Chairman
Raymond Phillip Shafer, and the Federal National Commission on
Marijuana and Drug Abuse, also known as the Shafer Commission
has concluded. Then take what The medical association and
thousands of very smart doctors are saying. People that it’s
pretty safe to say, more than likely far exceed the intellectual
capacities of a paid public observer who is not going to accept
change, or a politician serving his own selfish interests.
The time to approach this
issue with a solely reality based approach has come. The era of
technology is awakening the masses and getting them involved!
The argument that the government is worried about the health
risks is absolutely laughable. Cigarettes & Alcohol kill
more Americans every year, and every bottle of booze or pack of
smokes has a government Tariff stamp on it. The FDA has become
nothing more than a Federal disclaimer to protect the people
making the pills that will help your ailment, if they don’t
kill you 1st. And if they do kill you, you have no
recourse. Warning of death was on the label!
In the history of
humankind, ingesting marijuana in any form has NEVER be
attributed EVER to a single death. And the government still can’t
determine whether it’s a danger??? - It should be illegal in
government for someone’s bullshit agenda to trump the facts,
and most of all , the will of the people.
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