Share link: Alternatives. See: Cannabis war. Part of Republican war on poor. See also: Holy War on Drugs, Conservative-led global incarceration. And: Register and vote for cannabis. And: US Taliban Republicans. Their cannabis war. See: Beyond drug war, debt, and wealth concentration. To single-payer healthcare and progressive taxation.
30 Apr 2019: Researchers say there’s a simple way to reduce suicides: Increase the minimum wage. Washington Post.
2018: the year of the autocrat. 25 Dec 2018. The Guardian. "America’s Donald Trump, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping, and a rogues’ gallery of like-minded, second-tier authoritarian figures around the world ..."
Netherlands. 2nd lowest incarceration rate
8 Jul 2016: The Netherlands has a strange problem: Empty prisons. 2nd lowest incarceration rate in Europe. - "there has also been a switch toward using community service sentences and ankle-bracelet monitoring systems."
Nations with better healthcare outcomes
See: Canadian single-payer universal healthcare versus US healthcare.
Germany versus USA
- In which country would you rather raise a family? Germany versus USA. Bernie Sanders video.
Germany's kinder and safer prisons
Germany has much lower incarceration and murder rates than in the USA.
- German Prisons Are Kinder, Gentler, and Safer Than the Ones in America. July 10, 2015 by Maurice Chammah. Vice magazine. From the article:
"Inmates live in rooms and sleep in beds, not on concrete or steel slabs with thin padding. They have privacy—correctional officers knock before entering. Prisoners wear their own clothes, and can decorate their space as they wish. They cook their own meals, are paid more for their work, and have opportunities to visit family, learn skills, and gain education. ... There is little to no violence—including in communal kitchens where there are knives and other potentially dangerous implements. And the maximum time inmates spend in any kind of punitive solitary is eight hours. ... In Germany, prosecutors and judges are not elected. As career civil servants, they are insulated from public opinion."
Finland, the happiest country
Safe, happy and free: does Finland have all the answers? By Jon Henley in Helsinki. 12 Feb 2018. The Guardian. "Last year, on the centenary of its independence, Finland was ranked, by assorted international indices, the most stable, the safest and the best-governed country in the world."
Video. Why is Finland the Happiest Country in the World? 26 Nov 2018. U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders's post.
Finland's open prisons
Listen to the audio too.
- In Finland's 'open prisons,' inmates have the keys. April 15, 2015. Reporter Rae Ellen Bichell. Public Radio International. From the article (emphasis added):
"By the end of this period of 'decarceration,' Finland had one of the lowest rates of imprisonment on the continent. Lappi-Seppälä says crime didn’t increase as a result. 'The lesson from Finland was that it was perfectly possible to drop the use of imprisonment [by two-thirds,]' he says, 'and that did not disturb the crime trend development in Finland.' What did work was a gradual reintroduction into normal life, the kind that the open prisons offer. About a third of Finnish inmates are housed in open prison, and Finland’s Criminal Sanctions Agency says inmates who go through open prisons are less likely to be arrested again. The reoffending rate drops almost 20 percent. Open prisons also cost less."
Switzerland. Cannabis use in prisons
In Switzerland, Marijuana Use Helps Keep Prisons Calm and Safe. "The Swiss prison guards agree that marijuana use among inmates is a good thing." By Kristen Gwynne. AlterNet. August 9, 2013.
Alternatives to incarceration nations
Bernie Sanders post. See data. |
- Canada. Hutt and Taman: The NDP can set itself apart with drug decriminalization proposals. By Emilie Taman and James Hutt. Feb. 15, 2018. wikipedia:Ottawa Citizen.
- Wikipedia: List of countries by incarceration rate.
- Incarceration Nation: Events spotlight movement to end mass incarceration. The Brattleboro Reformer. By Lissa Weinmann. February 10, 2017. From the article:
A December 2016 Brennan Center for Justice study said 39 percent of people in U.S. prisons were 'unnecessarily incarcerated,' and that 576,000 inmates could be swiftly released without endangering their fellow Americans. ... Private philanthropy is playing a major role to build on reform trends, channeling ideas generated from the Obama administration's Data-Driven Justice Initiative to fund evidence-based, alternative programs at the local level that require no action or approval from Washington.
Want to Reduce Crime? Raise Wages
- 30 Aug 2016: Want to Reduce Crime? Raise Wages. By Rachel West and Rebecca Vallas. Morning Consult.
"The first study, from the White House Council of Economic Advisers, finds that raising the minimum wage to $12 by 2020—as proposed by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.)—would reduce criminal activity by 3 percent to 5 percent, saving American communities as much as $17 billion each year. ... A comprehensive approach to criminal justice will thus fall short if it does not also include a path to economic justice."
Denmark teaches empathy in schools
- 26 Apr 2019: Empathy? In Denmark they’re learning it in school. Morning Future. From the article:
the UN’s World Happiness Report, an important survey that since 2012 classifies the happiness of 155 countries in the world, and that for seven years has placed Denmark among the top three happiest countries on a global level. |
Reduce police violence. Complaint forms
- Facebook video: Proof entire police departments are corrupt. All police departments have complaint forms. Citizens have the right to access and file complaints against law enforcement without being intimidated by law enforcement. For more info google: "Miami area police complaint forms" or look at this more detailed video on Youtube:
- What Happens When You Try to File a Complaint Against a Police Officer.
Scotland. Adult at age 16
- Scotland. What can I do at my age?
- Wikipedia: Age of majority and Age of Legal Capacity (Scotland) Act 1991.
Wikipedia: Education in Scotland: "In 2014, research by the Office for National Statistics found that Scotland was the most highly educated country in Europe".
Prolonged adolescence is a waste of time and money. Public high school in the USA costs an average of $12,509 a year per student in taxes. The money spent between the ages of 16 to 18 could be set aside for 2 years of full board and tuition college. See also:
- Finland Will Become The First Country In The World To Get Rid of All School Subjects. March 11, 2017 article. "This new system, which is due to commence in 2020, will be introduced to students at the age of 16, meaning that after completing their initial broad subject studies, they can then choose for themselves which particular event or phenomenon that they wish to study, based on their interests and future prospects."
Voting age of 16 in many countries
Refuse to serve as juror in felony cases
Long sentences are what distinguish American mass incarceration from incarceration in other nations. One way to do your bit in turning this around is to refuse to convict (call someone guilty) in felony cases.
You can refuse to serve as a juror in felony cases. Tell the judge you won't convict. You can do it privately by asking to come up to the bench before jury final selection is made.
Or do it boldly (and educate the jury pool) by holding up your hand while sitting in the jury pool. Then ask your question about whether they want someone as a juror who won't convict. No one can force you to say someone is guilty or not guilty. Jurors alone have this power in a jury trial.
Tell them, if true, that you are willing to be a juror in misdemeanor cases.
Related article:
Vote out overzealous prosecutors
- Overzealous Prosecutors Are Losing Elections. ThinkProgress. 1 September 2016. By Kira Lerner.
"In a year with renewed attention on the corrosive and discriminatory effects of harsh sentencing, notorious, tough-on-crime local prosecutors are increasing being held accountable for perpetuating an overzealous style of law and order. Until recently, these elections were battles of who could appear harsher on crime. The same hysteria over crime and illegal drugs that drove mass incarceration in the late 1980s and 1990s also created intense political pressure."
Women against mass incarceration
- 1 In 4 American Women Has A Family Member In Prison. Now They’re Organizing. 16 Sept 2016. By Nico Pitney. From a linked article: "44% of Black women (and 32% of Black men) but only 12% of White women (and 6% of White men) have a family member imprisoned."
Stop jailing so many kids
- Jailed kids are the forgotten victims of America’s mass incarceration crisis. By Liz Ryan. August 31, 2016. In Quartz.
"The mass incarceration epidemic in the US has been getting much-deserved attention in recent years. What’s less well known is that some of the worst atrocities in the prison system are being committed against children—the US is the largest jailer of children in the world. ... Research proves that incarceration actually increases crime: Young people sent to youth prisons instead of community treatment programs are much more likely to commit more crimes upon release. Across the country, youths, families, and advocates are campaigning for reforms..."
Brilliant solution to homelessness
In jail for being in debt
- More Americans are in debt than ever - and some are being jailed for it, ACLU says. By Scott Berson. Feb. 22, 2018.
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. 2.3.4. See: video. Dumbass Republican lock-em-up types can't do math. Jail costs a lot more than unpaid fines. Community service is better. It saves tax money on jail, and on city cleanup 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. |
Cannabis is safer
Return to top. Full site / Mobile. To Top or End. Note: This section and the following ones are at: Beyond drug war, debt, and wealth concentration. To single-payer healthcare and progressive taxation.
See articles: Cannabis is safer. And:
History of US Republican-led war on cannabis, and their lies about its health effects.
See 2024 GMM-420 on Fandom and on Shoutwiki. See 2024 talk page (no need to log in) to leave event links, and especially compilations.
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Portugal's decrim
Return to top. See: Portugal. Cannabis-related links and decriminalization. See the utter failure of the US Republican-led drug war and mass incarceration: It is killing Americans at the rate of one Vietnam War every 6 months.
There were around 112,100 US drug overdose deaths in the 12-month period ending August 31, 2023, at a rate of 307 deaths per day. 335 deaths per million US population. Only around 10 to 72 total deaths per year in Portugal, a country with universal healthcare, and where all drugs have been decriminalized since 2001. See timeline table of yearly overdose deaths by European country.
Chart from: December 15, 2020 article: Scotland's drug death crisis in six charts. BBC News. |
Harm reduction
Return to top. End the expensive, incarceration-heavy US drug war with Portuguese and Canadian single-payer universal healthcare, and Portuguese decriminalization.
Government debt
Return to top. Share link: Debt ceiling. See: Wikipedia: US debt ceiling.
Save $1.5 trillion:
Per year in the US:
Single-payer
Return to top. Republicans oppose single-payer universal healthcare. US would save 1.5 trillion dollars per year if it instituted Canadian universal healthcare. That is 5.4% of US GDP.
Canada spent 11.2 percent of its GDP for total healthcare costs in 2022. US spent 16.6 percent in 2022. Former US Lawmaker Finally Enjoys Social Policies He Fought for—In Europe.
Medical bankruptcies
Return to top. See: Health Care Costs Number One Cause of Bankruptcy for American Families. And: Americans have high personal medical debt, unlike Canadians. [3][4][5]. High student debt is another problem Americans have due to Republican politicians. Unlike Canadians. Changing the age of adulthood to 17 would free up a year of education money.
US is Broke, not Woke. Healthcare spending and debt ceiling.
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Richer Canadians
Return to top. Many sleepy Americans can't do the math concerning healthcare costs and medical debt. Also, incarceration and family debt due to the GOP-led war on drugs. Also US student debt, and US household debt due to GOP's low minimum wages, etc...
Canadians are richer on average than Americans, and they have more energy because Canadians don't have to take 3 jobs, go bankrupt, or sell their homes, due to medical and student debt. See Wikipedia: List of countries by total health expenditure per capita. See: Student debt balance is forgiven after 15 years payment in Canada.
USA. Two Leading Economists Say Medicare for All Would Give 'Biggest Take-Home Pay Raise in a Generation'. |
Medicare spends 1.4% on bureaucracy. Insurance companies spend 16-20%. See chart. We need Medicare for All. |
Healthier Canadians
Return to top. See: End drug war with universal healthcare and decriminalization. Cannabis is legal across Canada. See Wikipedia: Cannabis in Canada.
|
US Republicans Voted Often to Kill Coverage of Pre-Existing Conditions. [6][7][8].
Health spending
Return to top. Republicans are responsible for the large US government deficit. Because they support the wasteful US healthcare system over the much cheaper single-payer universal healthcare in Canada and elsewhere. See: Canadian single-payer universal healthcare versus US healthcare.
Wikipedia: Health spending by country. Percent of GDP. See Gross domestic product. 11.2% for Canada in 2022. 16.6% for the US in 2022. |
See Wikimedia chart source. |
Wikipedia: Health spending per capita. OECD countries. US dollars, using economy-wide PPPs. Public, private, and total expenditures. $6,319 for Canada in 2022. $12,555 for the US in 2022. |
See Wikimedia chart source. |
Poor and sick:
Return to top. Canadians are healthier on average, and their preventive healthcare is much cheaper! Versus US Emergency Room care. See Wikipedia: Health spending as a percent of GDP by country (gross domestic product). And: Wikipedia: List of countries with universal health care.
"The Easy-to-Digest Republican Party Platform" from Michael Moore has this image: "Keep 'em poor and sick". |
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Republican states;
Prohibition plus;
Return to top. See Wikipedia: Republican states.
See article: US Republican states. It's not just cannabis prohibition. Many maps. It's also their low minimum wages, high Covid death rates, poor healthcare, high household debt, high gun death rates, high homicide rates, high incarceration rates, etc.. See: Drug war and other excessive uses of force. They are autocratic gerrymandered states that have long avoided federal oversight due to the Republican filibuster. See Wikipedia: Filibuster in the United States Senate.
The US Republican Party wants to concentrate wealth at the top. So they want most people to be Broke, not Woke: Trickle-down economics. See: Beyond drug war and conservatism.
The federal minimum wage would be $13.46 in 2022 dollars if its real value had remained at the 1968 level. Even more in 2023 dollars. See graph below.
Note the low minimum wages in the Republican south: |
See Wikimedia SVG map. See PNG map [9] (for Facebook, etc.). |
History of the US federal minimum wage. $13.46 inflation-adjusted peak in 1968. $7.25 an hour now due to Republican filibusters in the US Senate. See Wikimedia GIF chart. |
- See Wikipedia: Republican states.
- Wikipedia: List of US states by minimum wage.
- Wikipedia: List of European countries by minimum wage.
Voter suppression;
Return to top. Vote out the many Republicans supporting backward cannabis laws. It is purposely made more difficult by the lack of no-excuse postal voting. Just one example of Republican voter suppression in GOP states. Such as many states in the south.
See Wikipedia: Postal voting in the United States.
Lies of GOP radio
Return to top. Google image search: Top right wing radio hosts.
How Fox News and the Right-Wing Media Machine Made My Dad Crazy. Republicans dominate talk radio. Especially in the Republican south with its backward cannabis laws.
See Wikipedia: Conservative talk radio. A percentage of people in many states do not have access to broadband internet, and desktop or laptop computers. Cell phones are a poor substitute for many people. So they are left with Republican misinformation radio.
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Senate filibuster
Return to top. A minority of Senators should not be able to block cannabis laws supported by the majority of Americans.
The War on Cannabis. It accelerated in the US, and that's where it will end. US Congress could legalize, reschedule, or remove cannabis from the federal schedule if the Republican filibuster were gone. Vote in US Senators who will abolish it. [10][11][12][13]. Senators Manchin or Sinema could abolish it now.
Electoral college
Return to top. Presidents should not be elected who do not receive the highest number of votes.
Abolish the electoral college. Imagine the US without the 12 years of the Bush and Trump presidencies and their backward cannabis policies.
Ranked voting
Presidential veto
Return to top. Presidents should not be able to block cannabis laws supported by the majority of Americans.
See Wikipedia: Veto power in the United States.
To Top. Or End. Or Articles. |
End war powers
Return to top. Nixon, Reagan, and Bush are responsible for the US War on Drugs, and the lie that massive incarceration is a solution. See more lies in
Reagan's frequent demonization of cannabis.
Presidents have too much power. Wars later determined to be started based on lies of Presidents, or done in secret:
Vietnam War: President Johnson and the lie of the Gulf of Tonkin incident.
Cambodia: Nixon and Kissinger's secret B-52 carpet bombing campaign that helped create the unrest that led to Pol Pot's genocidal regime. And Kent State shootings in US.
Iraq War: President Bush and the lie of the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
Trump and Biden
Return to top. Institute a mandatory retirement age for US Congress members and the President. [14]. Mandatory retirement exists for many US judges. Both Donald Trump and Joe Biden are too old to be President. And Trump is just too dumb: Video: Robert De Niro on Trump Being “So F**king Stupid”. See Robert Reich: Seriously, again, how dumb is Trump? And: Trump’s Brain Is Not Okay. An expert’s view of Trump’s mental slide into dementia.
Generic Democrats
Return to top. Biden and Trump both underperform generic opponents, poll finds. A Plea to Biden: If You Truly Want to Prevent Trump Authoritarianism, Please Withdraw. Trump was not good for cannabis reform the last time around. We need more cannabis reform. That does not come from the Republican Party. Generic ballot : 2024 Polls | FiveThirtyEight. Biden needs to drop out. March 09, 2024 Newsweek report on poll: Joe Biden Voters Tell Him to Drop Out.
Gaza. Canada vs US
Return to top. Compare genocidal American politicians to Canada's politicians stopping military aid to genocidal Israel. Read EXCERPT: Bernie Sanders: "This bill also provides another $3.3 billion in U.S. military aid for Netanyahu’s right-wing government to continue this barbaric war. The Netanyahu government should not receive another penny from U.S. taxpayers."
Gallup Poll chart below showing US change from majority approval (Nov. 2023) to majority disapproval (March 2024) of Israeli military action in Gaza. Source: Majority in U.S. Now Disapprove of Israeli Action in Gaza. March 27, 2024 by Jeffrey M Jones. Gallup Poll.
Tax cuts for rich
April 15, 2024. Biden: "If Congress enacted President Biden’s tax plan, tens of millions of workers and families would have their taxes cut, nobody making less than $400,000 would pay a penny more in taxes, and the wealthy and big corporations would finally pay their fair share—which would fully pay for the President’s tax cuts and investment agenda."
Democrats who attack the rich do better in elections. The party should take notice. Republican dynasties created by regressive taxation: See: The poster child for the perils of dynastic wealth. By Robert Reich.
Trump's 2017 tax cuts for the rich. |
On average, taxpayers in the income groups highlighted in yellow will incur a net cost (shown as a positive figure as this reduces the budget deficit), due in part to reduced healthcare subsidies. Higher income taxpayers receive a benefit via tax cuts (shown as a negative number as this increases the budget deficit). The percent of taxpayers in each income group is also shown for the 2023 period. "Taxpayer" in the chart refers to a tax return, meaning it could represent one person or a married couple filing jointly, among other options. [15][16]. Commons source. |
Wealth inequality
Return to top. See: Wikipedia: Progressive tax. Mar 19, 2024: Sanders, UAW president press harder for shorter workweek. "Today, American workers are more than 400 percent more productive than they were in the 1940s. And yet, despite this fact, millions of our people are working longer hours for lower wages," they wrote. "In fact, 28.5 million Americans now work over 60 hours a week and more than half of full-time employees work more than 40 hours a week." After adjusting for inflation, American workers make almost $50 less a week than they did 50 years ago, they said.
Jan 24, 2024 article: $8.5 Trillion in Untaxed Assets: Data Shows Why 'We Need a Billionaire Income Tax'. EXCERPTS: analysis found that the wealth of America's billionaires and centimillionaires has exploded in recent years as Republicans have enacted massive tax cuts for the rich ... "The cumulative $8.5 trillion of unrealized capital gains held by America's billionaires and centi-millionaires in 2022 has jumped by more than half–or $3.2 trillion–just since the last Fed survey year of 2019," END.
USA. The sorry state of the nation.
US federal income tax rate on billionaires averages only 8.2%. Click image to enlarge. |
"Most taxpayers, including firefighters and teachers, average a federal income tax rate of approximately 13.3%." |
Minimum wage
Return to top. Beyond drug war, debt, and wealth concentration. To single-payer healthcare and progressive taxation. Simultaneous with the Republican-led drug war the GOP used the Senate filibuster to undemocratically severely restrict increases in the minimum wage at the federal level, and in GOP states.
US minimum wage would be $23 an hour in 2021 if it had kept up with productivity. |
Source article. [17]. |
- A $15 minimum wage would cost jobs, right? Probably not, economists say.
- There’s More Evidence That Raising the Minimum Wage Won’t Cost Jobs.
- The U.S. has one of the stingiest minimum wage policies of any wealthy nation. Washington Post.
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Global warming
Return to top. World Population Clock: 8 Billion People (LIVE). We need more trees and less people. More oxygen, less carbon dioxide. To slow down global warming. "Assuming no net migration and unchanged mortality, a total fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman ensures a broadly stable population." - Fertility rates. OECD Data. See country graphs. Also, inflation comes from an increasing population sharing one planet's resources.
Many US Republican leaders oppose birth control and abortion rights (even early abortion). Another reason besides their backward cannabis laws to vote them out. Birth control and abortion (especially early abortion) is legal (even free) in many countries. That needs to expand further.
We need the lowest curve below, by lowering the birth rate.
Immigration
Return to top. The US and Europe can't import all the overpopulation of the world. Europe, especially, is already too densely populated. US Democrats and progressives in Europe need to limit immigration, or they will lose power, and cannabis policies will stagnate under right wing rule. Taxes on the rich will be cut yet more, which by definition means middle class taxes will go up, or stay up, to pay for it. Wikipedia: List of countries and dependencies by population density.
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Roswell. Warming
Share link: Roswell UFO. Much UFO technology has been back engineered, and its carbon-free energy could end global warming. See Stephen Greer playlist. [18][19][20][21][22] [23][24][25][26] [27][28]. Wildest: [29][30]. See also the David Grusch disclosures at July 26, 2023 House hearing about US possession of aliens, alien bodies, alien craft, and back engineering: [31][32][33][34] [35][36][37][38][39] [40][41][42][43]. See History channel: [44][45][46][47]. National Geographic: [48][49].
See the July 8, 1947 Roswell Daily Record below. Image info. Click image to enlarge. Full-size is readable. See full text of saucer article. [50]. U.S. Army officer Walter Haut issued the initial "flying disc" press release. His 2002 notarized affidavit said there were 2 crash sites, and that he had seen a craft, alien bodies, and handled wreckage material. (see page 14 of pdf). It was released in a 2007 book after his death in 2005.
Affidavit is on pages 239-242 of the 2022 edition: Witness to Roswell, 75th Anniversary Edition: Unmasking the Government's Biggest Cover-up (more eyewitnesses). 36 pages previewed in Google Books. Click "preview" button and scroll down to pages 239-240. Search within the book. There is an inexpensive Kindle ebook. Moonwalker Dr. Edgar Mitchell wrote the foreword. The 20 paragraph affidavit is online here: [51] (page 14). [52][53].
Haut's daughter, Julie Shuster, in 2002, 3 years before his death, "verbally discussed each and every sentence" of the affidavit with him. She said it was not a deathbed confession. See Sept 2007 MUFON UFO Journal. Issue 473. Page 15. And this article from Special Broadcasting Service. Archived. See Julie Shuster on IMDb.
Google search: Walter Haut 2002 Roswell affidavit. Articles about Haut:
30 June 2007: Roswell officer's amazing deathbed admission raises possibility that aliens DID visit. By Nick Pope. Same article also published here and here. Archived here and here.
5 June 2022: Roswell officer's deathbed confession about theory of alien cover up. By Declan Carey. Archived here.
14 May 2021: Ex-Army officer ADMITS he saw ‘alien the size of a 10-year-old child’ after famous Roswell UFO crash in incredible video. By Emma Parry. Archived here. This article has a short excerpt of the video.
May 2021: Roswell Officer Speaks From the Grave: Video Released, Confesses that Alien was "the size of a 10 year old". By Anthony Bragalia. Archived here. From article (emphasis added): "This video clip is part of a memoir video / oral history over two hours in length that covers many personal and professional aspects of Haut's life. The video was taken at the Roswell Museum in 2000 with friends Dennis Balthaser and Wendy Connors."
Galactic Pot March
Return to top. See 2024 GMM-420 on Fandom and on Shoutwiki. Note: See the sections at the bottom of many pages: Beyond drug war, debt, and wealth concentration. To single-payer healthcare and progressive taxation.
2024 talk page (no need to log in) for event links, and especially compilations.
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Full site / Mobile. Weed War. 2023. 2024. Years. Home. Republican states. Canada. Portugal. End.
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