Pubdate: Sat, 04 Jul 2015 Source: Trentonian, The (NJ) Column: Passing the Joint Copyright: 2015 The Trentonian Contact: http://www.trentonian.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1006 Author: Ed Forchion, NJWeedman.com For The Trentonian WHAT ARE THEY SMOKING RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT? This week our infamous governor, Chris Christie, made headlines again with the announcement of his presidential campaign, following the release of polls showing an all time low approval rating by NJ residents. He's also ranked 11th, last place, among all the Republican candidates. Among the many crazy policies he has proposed is his stance on weed. He recently stated that he would go after legal cannabis states if elected president. With the public support for cannabis growing, and the number of states with legal recreational and medicinal cannabis growing, does Christie really seriously believe the majority of Americans will support a candidate with prohibition campaign? He must be high. Let's hope this presidential run will force him to resign as governor of New Jersey. A petition is floating around, signed by thousands supporting a "Resign, Recall, Impeach" campaign. He's not the only one who is stoned. Donald Trump also announced his presidency on an antiimmigrant platform, angering not just the entire Latino community and immigrants, but also some of his biggest clients with this rant, "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people." Statements like this show what a pompous ass he is. When Univision, NBC Universal, and Macy's ended ties with him he didn't apologize for his statements, instead he told them they were for illegal immigration! You see, he lives in the ultra-rich white guy bubble. Trump and I go way back to my Atlantic City days working at the Trump Plaza. I worked for him for two years as a busboy at Ivana's (198588) the gourmet 5 star restaurant in the former Trump Plaza. Ivana's was named after his first wife, Ivana Trump. During these two years I waited on Ivana and Donald dozens of times and heard his conversations and demeanor. While I admired him, and watched him wine and dine the likes of Hershel Walker, Mike Tyson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Lee Iacocca, Liza Minelli, and Bill Cosby to name a few. Working for him at the casino where he lived in an lavish penthouse suite, I saw him wine and dine celebrities and business tycoons like the Hovmanian Brothers and fly around in his helicopter. All day long all the staff there treated him like the emperor he thought he was. They were paid to do that. That's why he says crazy stuff like this and thinks he can become president. He's used to yes men and servants tell him how great his moronic and racist ideas are. Many of Trump's former casino employees are immigrants, yet in his bubble Trump is so disconnected to reality he has no idea how his own employees lived or the issues they faced. In the south racial tensions have been high as six black churches burn and the controversy over the racist confederate flag has escalated after the mass murder of 6 African American persons in Charleston... Yet both Trump and Christie remains clueless. President Obama impressed many by singing Amazing Grace at and Trump is yelling how he is going to build the biggest wall to keep Mexicans out. Talk about insensitive, but what did you expect him to say "blacklivesmatter" lol. One percenters like Trump have never supported people of color or immigrants, despite statistics showing that the number of Latinos, and Latin American immigrants, has been steadily growing throughout the US. Is Trump delusional or like Christie, is he just high too? On a higher note, this week was good for cannabis reform. July 1st marked the first day of legal recreational cannabis in Oregon. Now residents can legally possess up to 8 oz and grow up to 4 plants. Folks in Portland counted down to midnight and growers gave out free weed to the crowd. Oregon is the fourth state to legalize along with Colorado, Washington, Alaska, and DC. However on the east coast, we remain in the dark ages of cannabis prohibition. Annually, 22,500 people are arrested for cannabis possession in New Jersey. However, he probably didn't even notice the continued prosecution of medical patients and their families since he's spent the majority of his time campaigning out of state. If he were here he'd know that the police throughout the state still have no training on the CUMMA laws for medical marijuana patients, and that prosecutors were still wasting resources going hard after cannabis consumers. This week The First Church of Cannabis in Indiana held its inaugural service, complete with police standing outside ready to arrest followers who smoked cannabis. In a last minute change of plans, church pastor and cannabis activist, Bill Levin decided not to include cannabis in the service. Instead he vowed to test the limits of the Religious Freedom Act in the courts. This is surprising, considering how enthusiastic Bill was on our radio show, FullyBakedRadio.com. When we interviewed him he seemed committed to using the church as a sanctuary for cannabis smokers. It's a shame the police were able to intimidate them into not smoking but they still gathered and had a party to celebrate. Now that the bill is on candidate Christie's desk, the governor has an opportunity to increase his approval ratings and get support for his presidential campaign. Will he take the HIGH road and give kids access to medicine or just piss more people off and sink further into disgrace with a veto against canna-KIDS? Who doesn't' want to help sick children? Christie, do the right thing and sign the bill! - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom