Heritage Foundation: "Don't Legalize Pot"

[Matt Collins]

http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2010/09/Legalizing-Marijuana-Why-Citizens-Should-Just-Say-No



Founded in 1973, The Heritage Foundation is a research and educational institution—a think tank—whose mission is to formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.

[Matt Collins]

Someone should send an e-mail to the author of that policy study and ask them that if the HF is really about limited government and freedom, then why are they advocating prohibition?

Here is his contact information:
http://www.heritage.org/About/Staff/S/Charles-Cully-Stimson

[Sola_Fide]

Reagan was right to make drug control a major issue of his presidency. Illegal drugs such as marijuana are responsible for a disproportionate share of violence and social decline in America. Accordingly, federal law, representing the considered judgment of medical science and the nation’s two political branches of government, takes the unequivocal position that marijuana is dangerous and has no significant beneficial uses.



Wow.



Wrong!

[freshjiva]

Mark Levin equates the Heritage Foundation with the word of God. Anything that is propped up by Mr. Levin is overtly neoconservative and/or socially-conservative. They are incredibly inconsistent in their idea of freedom and limited government.

Ron Paul is right. Liberty has been chopped up into pieces. What's infinitely worse is that it has been chopped up into pieces by the very people who claim to be defenders of it. Heritage Foundation is at the forefront of this list.

[Sola_Fide]

In short, no state will likely be allowed to legalize marijuana on its own, with such serious, negative cross-state spillover effects. Yet even if California could act as if it were an island, the legalization route would still end very badly for the Golden State. There is strong evidence to suggest that legalizing marijuana would serve little purpose other than to worsen the state’s drug problems— addiction, violence, disorder, and death. While long on rhetoric, the legalization movement, by contrast, is short on facts.


Has this social-con ever read the Constitution? Ever?

[silentshout]

I sent them an email :) i think someone else should send one, though. Mine was pretty short, and i don't know too much about this foundation.

So tired of seeing political groups use the word "freedoms" without even stopping to think about their hypocrisy.

[jclay2]

I would really love to here these so called "freedom lovers" how alcohol is any different. As hypocritical as you can get.

[specsaregood]

I would really love to here these so called "freedom lovers" how alcohol is any different. As hypocritical as you can get.

I hear they like their legal heroin, aka: oxycontin much more.

[amy31416]

They called me once, soliciting donations, and they are total Reagan spazmos. The woman I talked on the phone with seemed irritated when I brought up Goldwater or Ron Paul--they never called back and stopped sending stuff.

Maybe they'd be okay to work with on some specific things, but for the most part they're status quo Republicans. In their defense though, they mostly seem to try to ignore Ron Paul, rather than smear him...that's one step up from the status quo GOP.

[Imperial]

Anything that is propped up by Mr. Levin is overtly neoconservative and/or socially-conservative.

Can anybody find the massive logical fallacy in this thread?

And I guess Ron Paul is a horrible candidate. After all, he was supported by Stormfront.

[Brett85]

The Heritage Foundation has always been a statist organization. They certainly don't believe in limited government conservatism. At the very least conservatives should believe that the states should have the right to legalize pot.

[Elwar]

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/13/washington/13gitmo.html
The senior Pentagon official (Charles Stimson) in charge of military detainees suspected of terrorism said in an interview this week that he was dismayed that lawyers at many of the nation’s top firms were representing prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and that the firms’ corporate clients should consider ending their business ties.


On February 2, 2007, a Department of Defense spokesman announced that Stimson had decided to resign because the controversy had "hampered his ability to be effective in" his office.

[dannno]

Subject: Poorly researched article by Charles Stimson


http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2010/09/Legalizing-Marijuana-Why-Citizens-Should-Just-Say-No

Nearly every statement in the above article is completely untrue and it is extremely discrediting to The Heritage Foundation. Let's start with the fact that your organization supposedly promotes 'freedom' and 'free enterprise', yet you publish an article that advocates prohibition? That doesn't make any sense at all. Do you even know what freedom and free enterprise mean (1)?

The author seems to ignore countless studies that cannabis does zero long-term damage to cognitive function and intelligence, even when testing heavy long-term users (2) (I am providing references below). Not only that, I can attest to these studies myself as I recently graduated with honors, receiving a Master's Degree with a perfect 4.0 GPA. I was working full time while in grad school and cannabis helped me reduce stress and prioritize so I could get all of my work done. I use cannabis medicinally on a daily basis. I'm guessing I'm probably more intelligent than half of the staff in your organization, so you might consider how personally insulting the article is to me.

The author also ignores countless studies that show ZERO link between cannabis and lung, throat and neck cancer (3). In fact, there are many studies which show cannabis is an amazing anti-cancer agent (4)! Did the person who wrote this article do any actual research?

Cannabis does not make people violent, the legal drug alcohol makes people violent. In fact, cannabis makes people less violent. Also, Portugal has had amazing results from decriminalization of drugs, including less crime (5). I mean, this stuff is so far off base I really can't believe we are still having these ridiculous discussions in this day and age.


May I suggest that you have somebody else write a counter-piece to this to help balance the negative spin and complete falsehoods that make up the article in question?


Thanks,

Dannno


(1) http://www.investorwords.com/2085/free_enterprise.html

(2) Jack Fletcher of the University of Texas has been testing the mental skills of heavy long-term cannabis users in Costa Rica for the past 25 years. Studying those who have smoked in the range of ten joints per day for more than thirty years, Fletcher has detected only minor cognitive impairments that fall well within normal ranges. Brian page, an anthropologist from the University of Miami who also took part in the study notes that, “The effects are subtle and sub-clinical.” [14]

According to a study published by the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science, cognition is definitely not impaired by the chronic use of cannabis. A battery of scientific tests, including the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, the Benton Visual Retention Test, and the Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test, in conjunction with urine analysis by the enzyme immunoassay method, were used to determine that heavy, long-term cannabis users showed no cognitive impairment compared to standardized norms. [15]

[14] “Planet Science: Marijuana special report.” New Scientist, February 21, 1998

[15] Schaeffer, Andrysiak, and Ungerleider, “Cognition and long term use of ganja.” Science, Vol. 213, pp. 465-466, July 24, 1991


(3) http://www.webmd.com/lung-cancer/news/20060523/pot-smoking-not-linked-to-lung-cancer

(4) http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/17/health/webmd/main2696726.shtml

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Marijuana_helps_in_battle_against_c_04022009.html

(5) http://reason.com/archives/2009/06/22/drug-decriminalization-in-port

[dannno]

Somebody needs to write them an e-mail about how our country's heritage is tied to hemp, and how there is evidence that many of the founding fathers smoked it and Lincoln's favorite past time was smoking sweet hemp and playing his harmonica.

If cannabis isn't part of America's heritage, I'm not quite sure what is.

[Elwar]

http://www.facebook.com/people/Charles-Stimson/100000737836813

Charles Stimson likes:
Mitt Romney
FreedomWorks
Michele Bachman

[RedStripe]

The Heritage Foundation is a laughable joke. It's where mediocre minds get paid corporate cash to defend authoritarianism, social talibanism, militarism, and the wealthy ruling class.

Fuck those assholes.

[Elwar]

The Heritage Foundation is a laughable joke.

Heritage is where Rush Limbaugh and Hannity get their talking points that get swallowed by the masses.

[specsaregood]

If cannabis isn't part of America's heritage, I'm not quite sure what is.

Getting stoned, getting the muchies and then eating apple pie? Can't get much more american. :)

[Bruno]

Heritage is where Rush Limbaugh and Hannity get their talking points that get swallowed by the masses.

And their "Intellectual Firepower!" :rolleyes:

[Imaginos]

Mark Levin equates the Heritage Foundation with the word of God. Anything that is propped up by Mr. Levin is overtly neoconservative and/or socially-conservative. They are incredibly inconsistent in their idea of freedom and limited government.
Levin is a piece of shit.
Along with other neocons and their sons and daughters, he should be sent to the Middle East as a front line-soldier.
I hope Hell does exist so Levin and his fellow traitors could enjoy dry-style sauna for eternity.

[freshjiva]

Can anybody find the massive logical fallacy in this thread?

And I guess Ron Paul is a horrible candidate. After all, he was supported by Stormfront.

Not quite following you...explain?

[BuddyRey]

Why does the Heritage Foundation have such a penchant for the drug war? It's undoubtedly one of the most expensive, most wasteful government programs in existence. Hell, universal healthcare would probably be more cost efficient; not that I'm proposing that either, but really... how full of crap do you have to be to support Communist social engineering and call yourself a conservative?

[Austrian Econ Disciple]

HF is a Neo-Con think-tank...why anyone gives them the time of day beats me.

[Bruno]

Why does the Heritage Foundation have such a penchant for the drug war? It's undoubtedly one of the most expensive, most wasteful government programs in existence. Hell, universal healthcare would probably be more cost efficient; not that I'm proposing that either, but really... how full of crap do you have to be to support Communist social engineering and call yourself a conservative?

Who funds them? That's usually a good place to start.

Between 1985 and 2003, Media Transparency reports that the following funders provided $57,497,537 (unadjusted for inflation) to the Heritage Foundation [4]:

Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation
Scaife Foundations: Sarah Mellon Scaife, Scaife Family, Carthage
John M. Olin Foundation, Inc.
Castle Rock Foundation
JM Foundation
Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation
Philip M. McKenna Foundation, Inc.
Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation
Roe Foundation
Rodney Fund
Ruth and Lovett Peters Foundation
Orville D. and Ruth A. Merillat Foundation
Bill and Berniece Grewcock Foundation
Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation
William H. Donner Foundation
Walton Family Foundation
Armstrong Foundation
John Templeton Foundation
William E. Simon Foundation
Right Web says of the Heritage Foundation:

"The foundation received $2. 2 million from the Federation of Korean Industries in the early 1980s. Initially it was believed this donation came from the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (which would make the Heritage Foundation a foreign agent of Korea), but the Federation later stated that the donation came at the encouragement of the KCIA."
"The Heritage Foundation's income has increased every year since 1981. The progression has been: 1981--$7. 1 million; 1982-$8. 6 million; 1983--$10. 6 million; 1984--$10. 7 million; 1985-$11. 6 million; 1986--$14. 0 million; 1987--$14. 3 million; and 1988--$14. 6 million. In 1988, foundations provided 38 percent of Heritage's income, individuals provided 34 percent, and corporations gave 17 percent; the remainder came from investments and sales of materials."[5]

Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation
From SourceWatch
Jump to: navigation, search
The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, according to The Bradley Foundation 1998 Annual Report, was giving away more than $30 million per year.[1]

According to the Media Transparency web site, the Foundation's "resources, its clear political agenda, and its extensive national network of contacts and collaborators in political, academic and media circles has allowed it to exert an important influence on key issues of public policy. While its targets range from affirmative action to social security, it has seen its greatest successes in the areas of welfare 'reform' and attempts to privatize public education through the promotion of school vouchers....

"The overall objective of the Bradley Foundation, however, is to return the U.S. -- and the world -- to the days before governments began to regulate Big Business, before corporations were forced to make concessions to an organized labor force. In other words, laissez-faire capitalism: capitalism with the gloves off.

"To further this objective, Bradley supports the organizations and individuals that promote the deregulation of business, the rollback of virtually all social welfare programs, and the privitization of government services. As a result, the list of Bradley grant recipients reads like a Who's Who of the U.S. Right ... Heritage Foundation ... Madison Center for Educational Affairs ... American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, literary home for such racist authors as Charles Murray (The Bell Curve) and Dinesh D'Souza (The End of Racism), former conservative officeholders Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, Jack Kemp and William J. Bennett, and arch-conservative jurists Robert H. Bork and Antonin Scalia....

"Other Bradley grantees include ... Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace; and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation" ... Potomac Foundation and Encounter Books. [2]

Contents [hide]
1 Board of Directors and Personnel
1.1 Board of Directors (2005)
1.2 Officers
1.3 Former staff
2 Contact
3 Other SourceWatch Sources
4 External links


Board of Directors and Personnel

Board of Directors (2005)
Thomas L. Rhodes – Chairman
Reed Coleman – Vice Chairman
Michael W. Grebe – President & CEO
William L. Armstrong
Terry Considine
Pierre S. du Pont
Thomas L. Smallwood
Brother Bob Smith
David V. Uihlein, Jr.

[TNforPaul45]

Drugs are only legal for the Rulers, not the Ruled.

[speciallyblend]

HF can take this joint and shove it where the sun don't shine!!

[daviddee]

...

[Bman]

Illegal drugs such as marijuana are responsible for a disproportionate share of violence and social decline in America.

You know I read this and I just want to put the dude against a wall and yell "BECAUSE OF THE STINKIN' LAWS YOU HORSE TOOTHED JACKASS!!!"

Of course I'm sure he's studied plenty on prohibition and yet still fails to see a correlation. Un-freakin-believable.

[KurtBoyer25L]

Why is it a matter of empirically evaluating whether somebody thinks a product will do more harm than good for individuals & then THEREFORE using force to prohibit or subsidize its production or use? Why isn't it simply protected by personal rights in a free country? Given the premise that something can be outlawed if its bad for people, they can shut down McDonalds. Maybe one day they will.

[KurtBoyer25L]

P.S. I always thought that a Think Tank was that giant square contraption you fought at the end of Iron Tank on Nintendo.

[johngr]

The prohibitionists need to be attacked this way: "unless you can guarantee to interdict all drugs by prohibiting them, what you advocate, in effect, is the government granting a lucrative franchise to violent thugs and massive social welfare to government bureaucrats."

[Working Poor]

Why does the Heritage Foundation have such a penchant for the drug war? It's undoubtedly one of the most expensive, most wasteful government programs in existence. Hell, universal healthcare would probably be more cost efficient; not that I'm proposing that either, but really... how full of crap do you have to be to support Communist social engineering and call yourself a conservative?

Probably they get kick backs from the drug cartels someone needs to asks the "heritage Foundation" how much they are receiving from the drug cartels to spout thier nonsence.:mad:

[LibertyEagle]

HF is a Neo-Con think-tank...why anyone gives them the time of day beats me.

Not everyone you don't agree with 100 percent is a neoconservative.

[AuH2O]

Who funds them? That's usually a good place to start.

Between 1985 and 2003, Media Transparency reports that the following funders provided $57,497,537 (unadjusted for inflation) to the Heritage Foundation [4]:

Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation
Scaife Foundations: Sarah Mellon Scaife, Scaife Family, Carthage
John M. Olin Foundation, Inc.
Castle Rock Foundation
JM Foundation
Claude R. Lambe Charitable Foundation
Philip M. McKenna Foundation, Inc.
Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation
Roe Foundation
Rodney Fund
Ruth and Lovett Peters Foundation
Orville D. and Ruth A. Merillat Foundation
Bill and Berniece Grewcock Foundation
Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation
William H. Donner Foundation
Walton Family Foundation
Armstrong Foundation
John Templeton Foundation
William E. Simon Foundation
Right Web says of the Heritage Foundation:

"The foundation received $2. 2 million from the Federation of Korean Industries in the early 1980s. Initially it was believed this donation came from the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (which would make the Heritage Foundation a foreign agent of Korea), but the Federation later stated that the donation came at the encouragement of the KCIA."
"The Heritage Foundation's income has increased every year since 1981. The progression has been: 1981--$7. 1 million; 1982-$8. 6 million; 1983--$10. 6 million; 1984--$10. 7 million; 1985-$11. 6 million; 1986--$14. 0 million; 1987--$14. 3 million; and 1988--$14. 6 million. In 1988, foundations provided 38 percent of Heritage's income, individuals provided 34 percent, and corporations gave 17 percent; the remainder came from investments and sales of materials."[5]

Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation
From SourceWatch
Jump to: navigation, search
The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, according to The Bradley Foundation 1998 Annual Report, was giving away more than $30 million per year.[1]

According to the Media Transparency web site, the Foundation's "resources, its clear political agenda, and its extensive national network of contacts and collaborators in political, academic and media circles has allowed it to exert an important influence on key issues of public policy. While its targets range from affirmative action to social security, it has seen its greatest successes in the areas of welfare 'reform' and attempts to privatize public education through the promotion of school vouchers....

"The overall objective of the Bradley Foundation, however, is to return the U.S. -- and the world -- to the days before governments began to regulate Big Business, before corporations were forced to make concessions to an organized labor force. In other words, laissez-faire capitalism: capitalism with the gloves off.

"To further this objective, Bradley supports the organizations and individuals that promote the deregulation of business, the rollback of virtually all social welfare programs, and the privitization of government services. As a result, the list of Bradley grant recipients reads like a Who's Who of the U.S. Right ... Heritage Foundation ... Madison Center for Educational Affairs ... American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, literary home for such racist authors as Charles Murray (The Bell Curve) and Dinesh D'Souza (The End of Racism), former conservative officeholders Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, Jack Kemp and William J. Bennett, and arch-conservative jurists Robert H. Bork and Antonin Scalia....

"Other Bradley grantees include ... Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace; and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation" ... Potomac Foundation and Encounter Books. [2]

Contents [hide]
1 Board of Directors and Personnel
1.1 Board of Directors (2005)
1.2 Officers
1.3 Former staff
2 Contact
3 Other SourceWatch Sources
4 External links


Board of Directors and Personnel

Board of Directors (2005)
Thomas L. Rhodes – Chairman
Reed Coleman – Vice Chairman
Michael W. Grebe – President & CEO
William L. Armstrong
Terry Considine
Pierre S. du Pont
Thomas L. Smallwood
Brother Bob Smith
David V. Uihlein, Jr.

The Bradley Foundation funds just about every group on the right. If you think one person on the board of a grantmaking foundation is the reason a think tank made this policy decision, you're crazy. Why hasn't CATO come out for the Drug War then? They're funded by Bradley too.

[Elwar]

Why hasn't CATO come out for the Drug War then? They're funded by Bradley too.

Perhaps they were focussing more on getting Fred Thompson elected..

http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/is-fred-thompson-a-small-government-conservative/

[Bruno]

The Bradley Foundation funds just about every group on the right. If you think one person on the board of a grantmaking foundation is the reason a think tank made this policy decision, you're crazy. Why hasn't CATO come out for the Drug War then? They're funded by Bradley too.

And which side of the political fence is historically most against legalization of Marijuana? The Republican Party. Who helped Reagan from the beginning and still uses his words daily on Sean Hannity's show for publicity? Heritage Foundation. What did Reagan do within days of entering office? Escalate the Drug War with the Just Say No campaign.

And I am a little crazy. Thanks! :)