Top
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- Share link: Amsterdam
Portugal's drug decriminalization. 2.3.4.5. It is based on single-payer, universal healthcare. 2. More U.S. Imprisonment Does Not Reduce Drug Problems. And: 39% of Prisoners Should Not Be in Prison. |
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Country | Life expectancy. 2015 | Under-5 mortality rate per 1000 live births. 2016. | Maternal mortality rate per 100,000 live births. 2015 | Healthcare cost per person. (2). US dollars PPP | Murder rate per 100,000. 2016 | |
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Canada | 82.2 years. (2) | 4.9 | 7.3 | $4,753 in 2016 | 1.7 | |
USA | 79.3 years. (2) | 6.5 | 26.4 | $9,892 in 2016 | 5.3 | |
Charts. Murder rate in Canada is lower due to far less handgun ownership. Why does National Public Radio, like most media, censor most of these international comparisons? Videos. Republican myths about Canadian healthcare: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65. Nations with better and healthier quality of life: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 |









May 8, 2010 GMM. Cannabis Bevrijdingsdag. 8 Mei




Grass-A-Matazz. November 21, 2006. [19].
Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Social media, Facebook
Edit
Facebook:
- Annual Amsterdam 420 Smoke-out (official group).
- #AMS420 Smoke-Out 4-20-2013.
- Nessuna condanna, per una canna.
- The Cannabis College.
- Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum.
Local links
Edit
Wikipedia: Cannabis by country.
Search for marijuana march videos. And more.
2018, 2017, 2016 Global Marijuana March. Crowd photos.
- Netherlands. Cannabis-related links.
- Coffeeshop map. Resource for planning a trip, or using in Amsterdam.
- Amsterdam 420 Smoke-Out protest + 420 Festival & After-Party
- cannabis bevrijdingsdag (Cannabis Liberation Day).
- cannabis tribunaal
- vereniging voor opheffing cannabisverbod
- vereniging voor cannabis consumenten (vvcc)
- legalize
- cannabis college
- cupwinners.nl
- Hash marihuana and hemp museum.
- legalize.net/allphotos.php - photos for many Amsterdam events.
- Cannabis Seeds
City info
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- Google Maps: Amsterdam.
- Google images.
- Wikipedia: Amsterdam.
- Wikitravel: Amsterdam.
- Wikivoyage:
- Amsterdam coffeeshop directory Great guide to all the coffeeshops.
- WeBeHigh.org - Amsterdam.
Coffeeshops
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Amsterdam is the capital city of The Netherlands (although the government resides in Den Haag (The Hague).
Like in the rest of the country, cannabis consumption is (almost) legal in the city. Of all places in the country though, Amsterdam is the most liberal when it comes to smoking your stuff. In practice this amounts to a very high concentration of 'Coffeeshops' in the centre of the city and the fact that you can smoke a joint anywhere out on the streets. Legal as in "tolerated". It is still "the pure crime". Also you are only allowed to buy 5 grams a day in a coffeeshop.
Although all coffeeshops DO sell coffee, that's not the reason for visiting them. Coffeeshops are the only places in town that are legally allowed to sell cannabis products (stuff that you buy in tourist shops that have cannabis leaves printed on them (like cannabis lollipops and stuff) will NOT have any cannabis in them). Coffeeshops come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, from dark brown, old-fashioned Dutch bars to high-life, fancily decorated coffeeshops with designer furniture and of course the rastafari-themed shops filled with green/red/yellow decorations and Bob Marley posters.
Coffeeshops generally have two menu's: A drinks menu and a cannabis menu. A lot of coffeeshops will have quite an elaborate drinks menu that features various fruit juices (sometimes freshly squeezed), various kinds of tea and coffee, soft drinks and chocolate milk. As from late 2007, there are no more coffeeshops with a licence to sell alcohol.
The quantity and quality of different kinds of weed and hash on sale differs between coffeeshops. Some shops feature only organic weeds, others feature a lot of imports, still others focus on many kinds of hashish. Some are expensive while others are cheap. There are certain kinds of weed (White Widow, Some kinds of haze) and hashish (Moroccan, (super) polm) that will be on sale practically everywhere and their prices give you a good idea of how 'expensive' the shop is on the whole. (for instance: White Widow (which is a great variety left from the nineties) should generally not be sold for more than €8 (8 Euros),- a gram and is normally priced around €7,- a gram).
You are required to consume something in a coffeeshop. When you bring your own weed, you are expected to buy drinks.
I will give a very short list of my favourite shops here with a little description. If anybody has any more favourites, just put 'em up here:
Abraxas: Pretty large shop with some nice decorations. It's always pretty busy here on weekends but that's no surprise: they have a large selection of weed/hash and there are couches lined with Persian tapestry all around the shop. Just sit back, relax, and talk with some of the people on the couches around you, it's easy to socialize there.
Kadinsky: It's a chain of coffeeshops. Normally they're pretty small, with a fashionable and clean minimalist interior. It's a bit posh here compared to other shops but they generally have good service, good seats, large windows and laid-back music with laid-back atmosphere.
The Jolly Joker: On one of the corners of the Nieuwmarkt, this is an old Dutch brown bar. The selection of weed is limited but they stock standard good stuff at a very affordable price. You get a nice view of the marketplace and the wooden interior is not like most other shops.
Rookies: Near Leidseplein. They're not cheap, but their selection of all organic weeds is quite perfect. Their house brand (simply called 'Rookies') is my favourite weed; quite potent and completely uplifting. They also have vaporizers here.
Mellow Yellow: Quite well known with the locals. There's nothing special here actually, but there's a good atmosphere there. They have an elaborate menu with weeds and hashish in every price range. Their deal on Super Polm is the best in the city: 2.5 grams for €11,-!
De Dampkring: The name of this shop is the Dutch word for 'Atmosphere' and literally translates to 'The Circle of Fumes'. It's probably the most expensive shop in town but it's decorated interior is unsurpassed. Made to look like it's made from fairytale-like tree stumps on the outside and with an interior made completely out of illuminated, organic shapes in yellow, red, orange and green, this is something special. Their menu is very elaborate and they have a large selection of very high-potent weeds and hashish. Again, these are all more expensive than anywhere else in the city but this place is still worth checking out.
My advice: Don't spend more than €10,- or €11,- on a gram. Even the most potent weeds like Super Silver Haze, Buddha Haze etc. are sold for about €11,- although some places charge silly prices for them.
La Tertulia: A coffeeshop annex gallery on the Prinsengracht with a beautiful indoor "mineral garden" . A relaxed atmosphere and reasonable prices, with a terrace outside for when the weather permits it.
The legal issue
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In short: Nobody has full knowledge of the precise legal status of cannabis products in Holland, mainly because all municipalities are allowed to regulate the sale as they see fit, however there are some general rules that uphold anywhere in the country:
- You are allowed to possess a small quantity of weed or hashish. Having 5 grams or less on you at any time is perfectly alright and police won't check for larger quantities on you unless you give them a reason (like causing public disturbance or ignoring traffic lights). Police are not looking for anybody that has weed on them, nowhere.
- You are allowed to buy weed at coffeeshops, that's it. They are allowed to sell you a maximum of 5 grams per day.
- It follows that you are not allowed to sell cannabis products yourself.
- In some places (like Amsterdam) you can smoke almost anywhere on the streets. In some other places you are not allowed to just puff away anywhere you want. When somebody asks you to stop smoking your joint either because that's against local regulations OR because they don't want people smoking in front of their property (bar/store/restaurant) you are legally required to comply.
- You are not allowed to take weed across the border but there's no checkpoint at any EU-border. It is known that there are controls on the highway. Possession of small amounts is not considered a legal offense in some places (like Germany or Belgium) but it is in other places (like France). See: Legality of cannabis by country. This does not include smuggeling.
Global Marijuana March
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GMM (years signed up).
Google site search is no longer working well. It only finds a few yearly city lists containing a city name.
Special:Search works: "Global Marijuana March maps". Add city name, and state/province/nation as needed. This will pull up all years in which the city is listed here through 2012. For more years go here.
This city participated or signed up one year (or more) for the Global Marijuana March (GMM), or the Million Marijuana March (MMM).
225 cities from 42 nations signed up for May 4, 2013 or thereabouts.175 cities from 33 nations signed up for May 5, 2012 or thereabouts.
See also: 4/20 event lists. 950 different cities have participated from 82 different nations or subnational areas since 1999.
Global Marijuana March links. | |
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Latest links for Global Marijuana March.
See GMM: basic city lists, detailed city lists, graphics, photos, maps, regions, links, years. Google images: Crowds, flyers: Marcha da Maconha. And: Marche Mondiale du Cannabis. And: Marcha Mundial de la Marihuana. And: Global Marijuana March.
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2018, 2017, 2016 Global Marijuana March. Crowd photos.
Right-click any region for its city list. |
2013
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April 20:
June 16:
- Facebook: Cannabis Brevijdingsdag 2013
2012
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April 20, 2012:
- Cannabis Tolerance Endangered In Netherlands; Protest Planned. By Steve Elliott. December 21, 2011 article.
2011
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GMM, May 8:
- Facebook: Worldwide Global Marijuana March 2011.
- YouTube search: Cannabis bevrijdingsdag 2011 (Cannabis liberation day 2011).
-- VOC | Vereniging voor Opheffing van het Cannabisverbod:
- Photos: Foto-serie Cannabis Bevrijdingsdag II.
- Photos: Heel veel foto’s van Cannabis Bevrijdingsdag: de VOC-mentaliteit in beeld.
- Volledig programma Cannabis Bevrijdingsdag.
- Kom naar Amsterdam op 8 mei en vier onze cannabiscultuur!
April 20:
- Facebook: Stand up and speak out Netherlands rally.
2010
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Cannabis Bevrijdingsdag. May 8, 2010 GMM.
8 Mei Cannabis Bevrijdingsdag (Cannabis Liberation Day), Westergasfabriek terrein, Amsterdam.
- Link: http://www.cannabisbevrijdingsdag.org
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=101821423189542&ref=ts
2009
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9 Mei Cannabis Bevrijdingsdag (Cannabis Liberation Day), Museumplein, Amsterdam.
Amsterdam: Rob - Cyberskeu@gmail.com, Jeroen - Keesthemad@gmail.com Meet up!
- Link: http://www.cannabisbevrijdingsdag.org
- Media: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/10/2565707.htm
2008
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Rob - Cyberskeu(at)gmail.com <Cyberskeu(at)gmail.com>, Jeroen - Keesthemad(at)gmail.com <Keesthemad(at)gmail.com> Meet up!
- Report (from old GMM site):
Due to various goings on here in cannabisland, it's been very hard to generate any interest. Some great new people came along and we all agreed that it would be shameful not to have a protest in Amsterdam. Especially because of the current repressive situation.
So in just 10 days we put an impromptu gathering together on Damsquare. About 150 people gathered and Evert was there with his mobile vaporiser people from the Ccollege. Signature gathering, nice weather and a peaceful gathering fairly left alone by the police. How unlike Antwerp and Moskou/Brazil.
2006
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Legalize! Street Rave
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June 10, 2006:
- Photos: http://goa.trance.fotopic.net/c987023_1.html
- Newsletter-flyer: http://www.legalize.net/warondrugs/p059%20legalize.pdf
- Photos: http://www.legalize.net/more_news.php?item=2&more=1
Grass-A-Matazz
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November 21, 2006:
"Grass-A-Matazz is a, free-of-charge, jazz & Blues event, held during the annual High Times Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam (NL). The Grass-A-Matazz party celebrates, and keeps alive, the connection between Jazz & Marijuana."
- -- Above quote is from this report:
Poster: Image:Amsterdam Grass-A-Matazz 2006 Nov 21.jpg
2005
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Global Marijuana March
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May 7, 2005:
Bush's welcome to the Netherlands.
Photos:
- http://legalize.fotopic.net/c534927.html
- http://www.cannabisculture.com/forums/showflat.php?Number=1079686
Report (from old GMM site):
Report from Amsterdam
On the 7th of May, Bush visited the Netherlands. Worldwide over 181 cities are demonstrating against HIS cannabis policy under the banner of: MMM, the Million Marijuana March!
We were intending to hold a demonstration on the Dam Square but were prohibited from doing so by our city council. We asked for this MMM demonstration even before anybody knew Bush would be around.
As soon as we heard the news that he was coming we decided to hook up with the www.stopbush.nl demonstration to organise against this very dubious and unwanted visit from Bush.
5.000 people showed up despite terrible weather. One of Legalize's board members D.C Lama, and the famous Dutch rapper Def P. sang a song together condemning Bush's drugs policy and the Legalize! truck at the end of the demonstration parade warmed everyone up!
Legalize it street rave
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June 4, 2005:
Photos:
English preview:
Google searches:
- http://www.google.com/search?q=Legalize+streetrave+2005+Amsterdam
- http://www.google.com/search?q=Legalize+street+rave+2005+Amsterdam
2004
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Legalize it street rave
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June 5, 2004:
Report and many links:
Description and photo links:
Photos:
- http://goa.trance.fotopic.net/c199151.html
- http://www.legalize.net/allphotos.php
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfiRwdLQTg0
Legalize It streetparade 2004 in Amsterdam part 1
Saturday June 5, 2004 Legalize! Street Rave. Amsterdam.
2000
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- Preview from above link (spelling corrected):
- AMSTERDAM
- Legalize! Event at: International Court of Justice in The Hague, the famous Vredespaleis (Peace-Palace). The two Saturdays following May 6 Legalize! we will have similar demonstrations in two more Dutch towns. On May 27th we will stage our yearly (4th!) 'Legalize! Street party against the Global War on Drugs' in Amsterdam with a number of mobile sound systems. We will also do our normal parade across the Amsterdam center of town!
- E-Mail: rappa(at)casema.net
- Web: http://www.legalise.org
More info, links, years
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Cannabis is safer
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Return to top. See article: Cannabis is safer.
2018 Global Marijuana March and 420 events
See: Reagan's war on cannabis. And: Holy War on Drugs, Republican-led mass incarceration.
Ronald Reagan, 1980 campaign speech 1: "Leading medical researchers are coming to the conclusion that marijuana, pot, grass, whatever you want to call it, is probably the most dangerous drug in the United States, and we haven't begun to find out all of the ill effects, but they are permanent ill effects. The loss of memory for example." |
- See Reagan say it at 1 minute 7 seconds into this video clip narrated by Woody Harrelson.
- Obama correctly said that cannabis is safer than alcohol. See: Cannabis is safer. He also said marijuana should be treated more as a public health issue than a criminal one. And: Obama signals support for legalizing medical marijuana. [177]. See video.
- USA. 1 in 10 deaths of working-age adults are alcohol-related (disease, overdose, car crashes, falls, violence, etc). 87,798 per year, 2006 to 2010. [178][179][180][181][182].
See longer article: Cannabis is safer.
- Imagine if Mitt Romney had been elected President in 2012 instead of Obama.
- Obama on marijuana legalization. [183]. "My suspicion is that you’re gonna see other states start looking at this". The Washington Post. Jan. 22, 2015.
Above quote is from Sanjay Gupta interview of Obama on April 15, 2015. Interview aired on CNN on April 19, 2015. [184][185][186].
- Obama administration asks Supreme Court to reject lawsuit filed by Republican governments in Oklahoma and Nebraska to stop legal marijuana in Colorado [187]. December 2015.
![]() Obama helped turn around the Reagan-Bush War on Pot, mandatory minimums, mass incarceration. See: US incarceration peaked in 2008. |
Presidents alone can not reschedule it
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- See main article: Presidents alone can not reschedule marijuana.
Neither the president nor the Attorney General can reschedule marijuana by themselves. [190] [191][192]. The two of them together also can not do so. See Wikipedia: Removal of cannabis from Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. See "Process" section.
Since HHS (Health and Human Services) and the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) have again declined to reschedule or deschedule cannabis, then only Congress can do so. But Congress removed help for veterans: Republicans in Congress Won’t Let Veterans Access Medical Marijuana After All. [193][194]. And Congressional Republican committee leaders refuse hearings on CARERS bill to reschedule cannabis. See: Medical Marijuana Advocates Rally to Loosen Restrictions. By Alicia Ault. 23 Mar 2016. Medscape.
- Wikipedia: Drug Enforcement Administration. See "Criticism" section.
- DEA Removes Marijuana Misinformation From Website After Months of Pressure. By Steve Elliott. Feb 13, 2017.
- DEA Pulls Back From Calling Marijuana One Of The 'Most Dangerous Drugs'. By Cody Fenwick. August 16, 2016. Patch Media
- The Science behind the DEA's Long War on Marijuana. 19 April 2016. Scientific American. Unless Congress acts, the DEA has final say on rescheduling or descheduling marijuana.
- Pot Matters: For Legalization, Set Your Sights on the Senate. 23 Mar 2016. By Jon Gettman. "it will be helpful, and indeed crucial, for advancing legalization for Democrats to take control of the Senate." Maybe in 2018?
- FDA Weighs in on Rescheduling Cannabis. By Ben Adlin. 28 Dec 2015. Leafly.
USA. Republican-led war on cannabis
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Jeff Sessions and Granny [20].
The Cannabis War is over and the U.S. Republican Party has lost. They may not know it yet, so keep marching, lobbying, and voting! Please register and vote! See: Reagan's War on Cannabis. And: Drug war, control, and Republican-led income inequality. And: Alternatives to Republican-led mass incarceration.
Virginia Senate Republicans kill bill to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana. Jan. 29, 2018. And: Maine's Republican governor vetoes voter-approved bill to legalize the sale of recreational marijuana. [195] Nov. 3, 2017. And: New Mexico's Republican governor vetoes a bill that would have allowed medical marijuana for opioid addiction. April 7, 2017. And: New Mexico's Republican governor vetoes the 911 Good Samaritan Overdose Prevention Bill. April 7, 2017. And: Idaho's Republican governor vetoes a broadly-supported asset forfeiture reform bill. April 7, 2017.
Jeff Sessions once wanted to execute pot dealers. Jan. 29, 2017.
Jeff Sessions running after cannabis users:
Drug war, mass incarceration, control
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See: Drug war, control, and Republican-led income inequality. And: Drug war causes high U.S. incarceration rate. And: Drug War, mandatory minimum sentencing, handguns. And: US incarceration peaked in 2008. And: Number of marijuana prisoners in the USA. And: List of countries and U.S. states by incarceration rate.
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The majority of people incarcerated in prisons and jails in the USA are in due to drug-related offenses, crimes to get money for drugs, or drug-related parole or probation violations. Wikipedia: Drug-related crime. The number of inmates in the USA has increased almost 5 times over since 1980. The USA has the highest incarceration rate of any nation b c (except for the tiny country of the Seychelles). Compare incarceration rates worldwide. The cost of the U.S. drug war is at least 1.5 trillion dollars. Cannabis is safer! Share link. |
Jail, jail deaths (2), jail healthcare, and bail. A Lot Of People Are Dying At This Understaffed Texas Jail. And: How the Money Bail System Perpetuates America’s Mass Incarceration Problem. 2.3. Dumbass Republican lock-em-up types can't do math. Jail costs a lot more than unpaid fines. Use community service instead, and save tax money on jail and janitorial work. And: Justice Department blasts ‘unconstitutional’ fixed bail schedules. Many innocent people in jail. And: Many marijuana users in jail without bail money. And: Senator Kamela Harris push for bail reform. |
The mentally ill. Rundle Won't Charge Prison Guards Who Allegedly Boiled Schizophrenic Black Man to Death for 2 Hours in Shower. Death Ruled An Accident. Documents Show They Omitted Key Details. Florida inmate in for cocaine possession. 2.3.4.5.. Due to lack of single-payer universal healthcare the mentally ill end up incarcerated and untreated. Prison costs far more than caring for them to begin with. For their non-violent offenses three-quarters of Americans favor ‘rehabilitation’ over jail time, survey finds. Poor health care in general in prisons and jails. Inmates Pay A Small Fortune To See A Doctor. 2.3. |
Felon disenfranchisement & gerrymandering
Edit
Return to top. See: Register and vote for cannabis.
Federal judge: Florida’s felon voting restoration flawed. And: Floridians will vote this fall (2018) on restoring voting rights to 1.5 million felons.
27 percent of all the disfranchised felons in the U.S. live in Florida.

In 2014: 8 of the 10 most gerrymandered districts in the USA were drawn by Republicans.
Republican-led big spending on drug war
Edit
Return to top. See: Cost of Republican-led U.S. drug war.
Trillion-dollar Cost of Republican-led U.S. drug war. And: Its racist application. [196][197].

"After a 40 year trillion dollar war against a plant, The Plant Is Winning". Trenton, New Jersey.
GOP-led spending on endless ground wars
Edit
Return to top. See: Wars and drug wars on demand.
"$5.6 trillion" for endless Mideast wars that started with Bush and CIA WMD lies about Iraq. [198][199]. Interstate Highway System cost $526 billion in 2016 dollars. And: Landing a human on the moon cost $206 billion in 2016 dollars. And: Military veterans defy Jeff Sessions, fight for medical marijuana to kick opioid addiction. Of all the veterans returning from the Middle East, about 60 percent experience chronic pain.
U.S. Republican Party: Greed, Ground Wars, Drug Wars, and Mass Incarceration.
U.S. infrastructure badly needs this money
Edit
- America's infrastructure is falling apart — here's a look at how bad things have gotten By Cadie Thompson. Feb. 12, 2018. Business Insider.
- More than 50,000 American bridges are falling apart. Jan. 29, 2018, by Conor Ferguson. NBC News.
U.S. household debt at all time high
Edit
Return to top. See: Drug war, control, and Republican-led income inequality.
U.S. household debt at all time high. Chart below from page 3 of PDF.
2003 to 2017 (4th quarter). Total Household Debt by Type:

Click to enlarge. Timeline is by quarters.
Black upward-pointing line is student debt. Cumulative percent increase over time:

See source.
U.S. middle class wealth has collapsed
Edit
Return to top. See: Drug war, control, and Republican-led income inequality.
- Income Inequality Is At The Highest Level In American History. By Bryce Covert. July 1, 2016. ThinkProgress. "Incomes for the 99 percent have only recovered about 60 percent of what they lost. But the rich are doing great. ... They captured more than half of all the income growth in the country."

U.S. middle class wealth has collapsed. [21]. And: Just 8 men own same wealth as half the world. See Wikipedia: Wealth in the United States.
Canadian middle class has surpassed USA
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Canada passes US in median income and wealth.
The American Middle Class Is No Longer the World’s Richest. [200].
Median after-tax income in Canada is higher than in the USA. By David Leonhardt and Kevin Quealy. April 22, 2014. New York Times. Why? One reason is that Canadians pay so much less for far better healthcare.
Also, Canada has a higher minimum wage than the USA.
Many nations surpassed US middle class
Edit
Return to top. See: Drug war, control, and Republican-led income inequality.
US middle-class wealth has collapsed. [201].
See median wealth chart to the right.
Median wealth is exactly in the middle. 50% of adults have more, and 50% of adults have less. Wealth is all assets (money, stocks, property, etc.) minus all debts.
Tables - Credit Suisse. Scroll down to XLS links. Download the Complete Wealth per Adult Data by Country for 2016 and 2017 (XLS). This was used to create the table to the right. This is only part of the table. See also: Commons:Convert tables and charts to wiki code or image files. Note that USA is number 24 in median wealth per adult in the table to the right. Canada is number 13.
USA. Richest 10% Own 84% of All Stocks
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Return to top. See: Drug war, control, and Republican-led income inequality.
- The Richest 10% of Americans Now Own 84% of All Stocks. Dec. 19, 2017. Time (magazine). "The top 10% of American households, as defined by total wealth, now own 84% of all stocks in 2016, according to a recent paper by NYU economist Edward N. Wolff."
- Oxfam: 42 Billionaires Hold As Much Wealth As World’s Poorest 3.7 Billion. By Mary Papenfuss. Jan. 22, 2108. HuffPost.
Republicans refuse to raise minimum wage
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Democrats, following Bernie Sanders lead, propose bill to raise minimum wage to $15 by 2024. Republicans oppose raising federal minimum wage. May 26, 2017. [202] [203].
Republicans in several states are lowering the minimum wage — yes, you read that right. By Matthew Sheffield. July 9, 2017. Salon. And: Missouri's Republican governor signs state law lowering St. Louis minimum wage. [204]. July 3, 2017. And: Iowa's Republican governor signs law overturning local minimum wage increases. March 30, 2017.
Chart below is from a Washington Post article on Dec. 29, 2017:
"The U.S. has one of the stingiest minimum wage policies of any wealthy nation."

Why isn't National Public Radio covering this? Why aren't All Things Considered?
Green love
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2018 Global Marijuana March and 420 events
The Global Marijuana March is the first Saturday in May. The first Saturday in May is also World Naked Gardening Day. Your marijuana garden needs love too . (see Google search for it). But, be safe!
Colorado’s Effort Against Teenage Pregnancies Is a Startling Success. Free birth control.
Republicans think they can spend an infinite amount of money (many trillions of dollars) on private-health-insurance-company-based healthcare, and have an infinite number of babies, to feed their appetite for endless ground wars, and for more inmates for more prisons for more drug war. |
Wikipedia: Population milestone babies. |
As with cannabis legalization Colorado led the way.. More info. 2.3.. |
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Canada has universal healthcare
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Canada has single payer healthcare
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Canadian healthcare costs much less
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Half the cost of Obama-Trumpcare
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USA could save $1.6 trillion YEARLY
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Canada has better health outcomes
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- See: Canadian single-payer universal healthcare versus US healthcare. And: End drug war with universal healthcare. And: Canadian single-payer healthcare and Portuguese drug decriminalization.
Average per capita (per person) healthcare cost in chart below includes all costs public and private. See Wikipedia: List of countries by total health expenditure per capita.
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Country | Life expectancy. 2015 | Under-5 mortality rate per 1000 live births. 2016. | Maternal mortality rate per 100,000 live births. 2015 | Healthcare cost per person. (2). US dollars PPP | Murder rate per 100,000. 2016 | |
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Canada | 82.2 years. (2) | 4.9 | 7.3 | $4,753 in 2016 | 1.7 | |
USA | 79.3 years. (2) | 6.5 | 26.4 | $9,892 in 2016 | 5.3 | |
Charts. Murder rate in Canada is lower due to far less handgun ownership. Why does National Public Radio, like most media, censor most of these international comparisons? Videos. Republican myths about Canadian healthcare: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65. Nations with better and healthier quality of life: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 |
Canadian Single Payer: Show health card, get health care paid for by taxes. No deductibles on basic Canadian health care, and co-pays are extremely low or non-existent. And: No bankruptcies and personal medical debt in single-payer countries.
The American Middle Class Is No Longer the World’s Richest. Median after-tax income in Canada is higher than in the USA. [205]. One reason why is that Canadians pay so much less for far better healthcare. So they have more money in their pocket after paying for healthcare taxes and premiums.
Per capita (per person) healthcare costs by country in chart below: [206].

US healthcare spending per person is more than double the average of other developed countries.


This massive wasteful healthcare spending in the USA (compared to other rich nations) accelerated in 1980 (see chart below). How? It happened because non-profit health insurance was taken over by for-profit health insurance companies. They get a cut of all wasteful healthcare spending. The more wasteful, the more profits. Such as exorbitant drug pricing, expensive medical devices, overuse of emergency rooms. It is similar to how for-profit prison companies have an incentive to fill more beds, rather than rehabilitate prisoners.
Non-profit health insurance, and single payer healthcare, do not have these perverse incentives. So they tend to use more early preventive care that requires far fewer expensive drugs, devices, and visits to the emergency room and urgent care. Healthcare, like roads, should be publicly financed, and privately built. Private health insurance, like private toll road companies, are a kind of middleman mafia that skims profits, and shuffles papers, but don't actually do any real work.
Chart below shows the percentage of the GDP (national economy) spent on all healthcare costs (public and private) by year for some countries. Note that around 1980 US healthcare costs skyrocketed compared to other rich countries (all of which have universal healthcare, unlike the USA).
Source for above chart: Are any conservatives in the US for a single payer and a universal health care system, or can they not coexist? Chart is from comment around March 11, 2017 by Dan Munro, "author of Casino Healthcare, and Forbes contributor".
Each 10 million US uninsured equals
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10,000 more deaths yearly. Also:
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Bernie Sanders' projection of 'thousands' of deaths from lost health coverage is well-supported. By Louis Jacobson. June 27, 2017. Politifact. See article sidebar for many sources. [207][208][209][210][211].
10,000 die waiting for disability yearly
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10,000 people died waiting for a disability decision in the past year. Will he be next? By Terrence McCoy. Nov. 20, 2017. Washington Post. "10,000 people died in the past year while stuck in a backlog of judges’ disability cases. ... they can’t work while they wait if they want to be approved."
With Single-Payer Universal Healthcare people get healthcare no matter how much they work or not. And it doesn't matter if they lose their job, or change employers. People don't have to show they are totally disabled to get adequate healthcare. People can try to work now and then as much as their disability allows them, and not lose their healthcare. And they get drug treatment on demand if their pill use gets out of hand.
Portugal has universal healthcare
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Portugal decriminalized all drugs
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Portugal has drug treatment for all
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- See: Canadian single-payer healthcare and Portuguese drug decriminalization. And: End drug war with universal healthcare. And: Canadian healthcare versus US healthcare.
Portugal's drug decriminalization. 2.3.4.5. It is based on single-payer, universal healthcare. 2. Data Shows More U.S. Imprisonment Does Not Reduce Drug Problems. And: 39% of U.S. Prisoners Should Not Be in Prison.
In Portugal few die of overdoses
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- City of Vancouver calls for decriminalization of drug possession. "The city says drastic action is needed as its overdose death total continues to climb". CBC News. Mar 09, 2018. [212].
- Norway to decriminalize all drugs, likely following Portugal's model. Dec. 19, 2017.
Portugal decriminalized possession of all drugs in 2001. Like Canada it has universal healthcare. See: Portugal. Cannabis-related links. See: Wikipedia: Drug policy of Portugal and Wikipedia: Health in Portugal. Nearly all of the European Union (EU) has universal healthcare. [213][214]. See: List of countries with universal health care.
Portugal decriminalised drugs 14 years ago – and now hardly anyone dies from overdosing. 2015 article by Chris Ingraham. Chart below is from the article. As is the quote below:
"The country has 3 overdose deaths per million citizens, compared to the EU average of 17.3."
In 2014 the USA had 147 overdose deaths per million people. [215] [216] [217] [218]

Overdose Deaths Involving Opioids, United States, 2000-2015. Deaths per 100,000. Multiply by 10 to get deaths per million people. Source.
In 2016 the USA had 185 overdose deaths per million people. <~~ See chart in article, and a similar chart below.

Sources: [29][30] "Goulao says 90 per cent of public money spent fighting drugs in Portugal is channeled toward those health-care goals — just 10 per cent is spent on police enforcement." [31][32][33][34].

Map source: Drug Overdose Death Data. CDC Injury Center.

Map colors and rates. Multiply by 10 to get deaths per million population.

Yearly number of overdose deaths by drug. Sources: [35][36][37].
- Overdose stats for the rest of the world.
- Wikipedia charts: Drug-related death statistics. See the upload page.
US charts:
- Overdose Death Rates. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Charts.
- These Are the Drugs That Cause the Most Overdose Deaths. Chart.
- Our nation’s drug overdose problem, in five bleak charts.
- How the opioid epidemic became America’s worst drug crisis ever, in 15 maps and charts.
Ibogaine cure:
- Wikipedia: Ibogaine.
- Facebook: Ibogaine Universe!!!!
- Ibogaine is a healer.
Remove Republicans in 2018 vote
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Return to top.
Will 2018 midterm elections remove Republicans? 2018 ballot issues: marijuana & minimum wage.
- See also: Republican-led Drug War. And: Drug war causes high U.S. incarceration rate. And: Alternatives to Republican-led mass incarceration. And: Cost of Republican-led U.S. drug war. And: Reagan's war on cannabis.And: Drug war, control, and Republican-led income inequality.
- CNN Poll: Trump approval slides to 35%, matches lowest point of presidency. Feb. 26, 2018.
- Trump approval rating hits new low (35%) in CNN poll. 32% in Associated Press–NORC poll. Lowest in history for a first-year President. Dec. 19, 2017 article.
When Active-Duty Service Members Struggle To Feed Their Families. April 19, 2017. NPR.
Chart below from: A Tax Plan to Turbocharge Inequality, in 3 Charts. Dec. 17, 2017. New York Times.

Why isn't National Public Radio covering this? Why aren't All Things Considered?
Will 2018 midterm elections remove Republicans? 2018 ballot issues: marijuana & minimum wage. | |
Republican tax bill hurts the poor more than originally thought, Congressional Budget Office finds. | "By 2019, Americans earning less than $30,000 a year would be worse off under the Senate bill, CBO found. By 2021, Americans earning $40,000 or less would be net losers, and by 2027, most people earning less than $75,000 a year would be worse off. On the flip side, millionaires and those earning $100,000 to $500,000 would be big beneficiaries". |
2 polls: Only 29% of Americans approve of Republican tax plan. 2. |
A or F? How Congress scores on marijuana. 2. By Danielle Keane, NORML political director. 2016. "Of the 233 Democrats in Congress, 208 members (89.3 percent) received a passing grade of a 'C' or higher. Of the 302 Republicans in Congress, 102 members (33.8 percent) received a passing grade of a 'C' or higher." For your state see: Congressional Scorecard. NORML. Grading was based upon members' voting records. |
Independents greatly outnumber Democrats or Republicans in the USA. If anti-cannabis Republicans are to be voted out of power, then all Democrat primaries need to be opened to independents. See Wikipedia: Open primaries in the United States. And: Wikipedia: Blanket primary. And: Wikipedia: Nonpartisan blanket primary.
Will 2018 midterm elections remove Republicans? 2018 ballot issues: marijuana & minimum wage.