Attn, DC Reasonoids: Wed. Happy Hour Counterprogramming; Premiere of Waiting To Inhale

Yes, yes, Reason is having a happy hour celebrating our October issue tomorrow night (details here), but there's another event going on that is pretty spectacular: The world premiere of the medical marijuana documentary Waiting To Inhale and a panel featuring the Marijuana Policy Project's Rob Kampia, the Drug Policy Alliance's Ethan Nadelman, the Office of National Drug Policy Control's David Murray, and former ONDCP deputy director Andrea Barthwell. The panel discussion will be moderated by journalist Clarence Page. In short, it's one of those exceptionally rare moments when drug policy reformers and prohibitionists actually talk with each other. As such, it's an event well worth attending. Here are the details:

WHAT: Screening of "Waiting to Inhale," followed by debate on medical marijuana

WHO: Clarence Page, David Murray, Andrea Barthwell, Rob Kampia, Ethan Nadlemann

WHEN: Wednesday, Sept. 13, 7:30-9:30 p.m.

WHERE: E Street Theater, 555 11th St. NW, Washington, D.C., 202-452-7672

Tickets are $7 each. More info here and here.

And here's a bonus: Some of the headliners at this event will be coming to Dragonfly after the event, so you can take in both this excellent film/panel discussion and the Reason show all in one night.

Comments

[brian bennett]

sounds great -- wish i could make it.

but i wish even more that it doesn't just turn out to be the same tired-assed arguments (from both sides) being repeated over and over just like they have been over the past four decades. it's been nothing but the same old tired assed arguments from both sides ad infinitum. here's a hint: nobody cares.

it's bad enough that the prohibs have been getting by on the same weak "debate points" for decades ... but so are the reformers. pay attention: the people themselves, in general, simply do not give a crap what the drug reform movement has to say. it's time to change the dialogue and figure out how to make the common man give a crap. so let's go ethan and rob, let's see you actually come up with something that inspires anyone to give a crap -- let alone actively work to change things. without an army you're just in a perpetual circle jerk with the opposition. that may be good for job security, but it sucks for the republic and the ideals for which it allegedly stands.

to combat the "drugs are bad" mantra constantly being crammed into the heads of every american over the past nearly four decades will require much more than nadelmannn and kampia have offered to date. without soldiers, the reform movement will go nowhere. and with the "leaders" just repeating the same crap over and over for the past 30 years, we can hardly expect any progress to occur over the next 30 years either. hey -- doing the same thing over and over with the expectation of a different result is called "insanity" -- and there is plenty of it in evidence from both sides of the aisle.

it's time to shit or get off the pot -- leadership requires having a gameplan and an ability to inspire others to act. let's see what you've got. oops, i already have. what a shame.

[allan]

brian... C'mon.

Just because we have not only gotten nowhere but now have Mexico's cartels growing ganja HERE... wait... thats not just "not going anywhere" but a rapid, head over teakettle backslide. I'm not sure how slippery the slope is... but it must be pretty slick.

What do want these guys to do? A sit-in at Souder's office? A smoke-in at ONDCP? Like what do you want? Willie Nelson and friends doing a "Legalize It" tour? Or a gigantic "Weedstock" on the Wash DC Mall? Someone organizing a boycott of all drugwar profiteering corporations?

Yes. Lets not stand on our laurels. What has been accomplished has been because of the trench fighters... but now... now is time to kick the Prohibitionists butts. If they can steal ballots (Measure 59, Wash DC) and kill cancer patients (Peter McW) what are our limits of propriety?

btw... I hear Andrea Barthwell skipped out on the debate. Seems Calvina Fay was out back with a doob... and Calvina is one who knows how to skip debates too.

[allan]

brian... C'mon.

Just because we have not only gotten nowhere but now have Mexico's cartels growing ganja HERE... wait... thats not just "not going anywhere" but a rapid, head over teakettle backslide. I'm not sure how slippery the slope is... but it must be pretty slick.

What do want these guys to do? A sit-in at Souder's office? A smoke-in at ONDCP? Like what do you want? Willie Nelson and friends doing a "Legalize It" tour? Or a gigantic "Weedstock" on the Wash DC Mall? Someone organizing a boycott of all drugwar profiteering corporations?

Yes. Lets not stand on our laurels. What has been accomplished has been because of the trench fighters... but now... now is time to kick the Prohibitionists butts. If they can steal ballots (Measure 59, Wash DC) and kill cancer patients (Peter McW) what are our limits of propriety?

btw... I hear Andrea Barthwell skipped out on the debate. Seems Calvina Fay was out back with a doob... and Calvina is one who knows how to skip debates too.