According to wiki, Strychnine comes from a tree native to India. I cannot find any evidence that this tree is illegal, although the sales and distribution of this plant's products are regulated. After all, it is a known fatal plant, unlike marijuana. But it is not a 'banned' plant like marijuana is.

And marijuana is known to have medical properties. Wait, you want proof? Fine...are 71 peer-reviewed scientific studies good enough? In fact, the govt has been pulling a James Inhofe(r-ok) and trying to play the role of The Denier on marijuana for nearly a century. It was recently reported that, for the first time ever, a federal govt agency officially acknowledged what scientists have known and said for years: cannabis has medical use. But then, the National Cancer Institute scrubbed its website of any positive science regarding cannabis and tumors. [good job guys, did you go to the Sarah Palin school of scrubbing-your-own-website? nice try, but no.]

But what about all the other dangerous plants out there?

Hyacinth, Narcissus, Daffodil Bulbs Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea. May be fatal.

Oleander Leaves, branches Extremely poisonous. Affects the heart, produces severe digestive upset and has caused death.

Dieffenbachia (Dumb Cane), Elephant Ear All parts Intense burning and irritation of the mouth and tongue. Death can occur if base of the tongue swells enough to block the air passage of the throat.

Rosary Pea, Castor Bean Seeds Fatal. A single Rosary Pea seed has caused death. One or two Castor Bean seeds are near the lethal dose for adults. Larkspur Young plant, seeds Digestive upset, nervous excitement, depression. May be fatal. Foxglove Leaves Large amounts cause dangerously irregular heartbeat and pulse, usually digestive upset and mental confusion. May be fatal.

Bleeding Heart Foliage, roots May be poisonous in large amounts. Has proved fatal to cattle. Rhubarb Leaf blade Fatal. Large amounts of raw or cooked leaves can cause convulsions, coma, followed rapidly by death.

Daphne Berries Fatal. A few berries can kill a child.

Wisteria Seeds, pods Mild to severe digestive upset. Many children are poisoned by this plant.

Golden Chain Bean-like capsules in which the seeds are suspended Severe poisoning. Excitement, staggering, convulsions and coma. May be fatal.

Laurels, Rhododendrons, Azaleas All parts Fatal. Produces nausea and vomiting, depression, difficult breathing, prostration and coma.

Jasmine Berries Fatal. Digestive disturbance and nervous symptoms.

Lantana Camara (Red Sage) Green berries Fatal. Affects lungs, kidneys, heart and nervous system. Grows in the southern U.S. And in moderate climates.

Yew Berries, foliage Fatal. Foliage more toxic than berries. Death is usually sudden without warning symptoms.

TREES AND SHRUBS

Wild and cultivated cherries Twigs, foliage Fatal. Contains a compound that releases cyanide when eaten. Gasping, excitement and prostration are common symptoms. Mistletoe Berries Fatal. Both children and adults have died from eating the berries.

PLANTS IN SWAMP OR MOIST AREAS

Water Hemlock All parts Fatal. Violent and painful convulsions. A number of people have died from hemlock.

PLANTS IN FIELDS

Buttercups All parts Irritant juices may severely injure the digestive system.

Nightshade All parts, especially the unripened berry Fatal. Intense digestive disturbance and nervous symptoms.

Poison Hemlock All parts Fatal. Resembles a large wild carrot.

Jimson Weed (Thorn Apple) All parts Abnormal thirst, distorted sight, delirium, incoherence and coma. Common cause of poisoning. Has proved fatal.

I don't have to ask anyone to 'guess' why cannabis is NOT on this list, nor any other list of 'dangerous' plants. Because it. is. simply. not. dangerous.

MSNBC recently had a so-so tv special about American tobacco growers going abroad to sell their poison because kids aren't buying it as much here as they used to. To defend their industry, a tobacco rep kept repeating, like a dumb schoolchild, that tobacco is "legal". Over and over again, the word 'legal' was used.

Andre3000 of the Grammy-winning and globally-acclaimed hip hop group Outkast (best duo in the history of rap music) had a lyric over a decade ago:

"marijuana illegal but cigarrettes cool/ i might look kinda silly but ain't no fool...."

Cigarrettes are the new marijuana: increasingly regulated, prohibited, taxed, and ballyhooed. And rightfully so. [for some reason, probably a suicidal one, europe loves to smoke ciggies. I'm already doomed to watching cigarrettes kill my mom and sister, so it's hard to see what euros like about tobacco]

Why do I blog on a politics site about weed? Well, many of you know, or have known, a certain swath of the population that doesn't trust the 'system' : cops, judges, politicians, state govts, the federal govt......why is that? The marijuana question. If the government cannot be trusted to regulate something as obvious and simple as a plant, how can we then expect the govt to be credible in Very Serious Stuff?

If that last sentence you just read confused you, then it means you are completely confused about the reasons why voter apathy is so rampant amongst minorities and youth. Politics blogs will do relatively little to help the youth vote. You know what WILL get the youth vote? Cannabis reform. By democrats, or by ballot. Because it's about more than weed, cannabis, marijuana, getting high, whatever. It's about the Truth, and who has the guts to stand up for it? Not Bill Clinton. Not Obama. Ron f*cking Paul? What a waste.

And that is a valid question. Call them single-issue voters, but why is it that everytime a politician does a townhall forum or online forum, marijuana legalization is either a #1 question (two years in a row for Obama's Youtube forum), or a top 5 (perhaps number 1, not sure how they are ranked) as it was with Rep Weiner and reddit.com.

reddit.com is a huge website, much bigger than our humble dkos, that grows bigger every month. Almost a year ago their stats were showing 8 million unique monthly users.

I was intrigued by Rep Weiner doing an "ask me anything" at reddit, in which he answered questions by users. [I know congresscritters like Weiner post here, but how many actually answer the questions?]

If you're still reading this, you're probably a fan of Rep. Weiner. He is a role model for Democrats. But it was disappointing to see him give an answer that he, no doubt, doesn't even believe in himself.

He says that marijuana's status quo should remain the same: illegal.

I guess I could write a bunch of mean stuff about Obama and Weiner for opposing common-sense policy. And if you look at my Prop 19 diaries towards November's elections, I wrote some blunt words for Eric Holder and POTUS. [don't read those diaries, I'm merely being rhetorical. They are angry diaries, like the Libya ones here bashing Obama].

But Markos and many of the folks that made this site popular understand something: as unjust , cruel, and unintelligent as it may seem to see smart Democrats like Weiiner, Obama, and Tester in Montana (he opposed the DREAM act) holding on to obsolete and unpopular positions......we can't give up.

Why aren't all plants legal? and to all you politicians out there: reefer madness is just about dead.There is now majority support for weed- as a medicine and as recreation.

You want to stop looking out-of-touch? You want to become part of a national movement? Do you just want to get yer grubby little hands on some campaign donations?

Then let go of the reefer madness. It's only holding you politicians back.

Take the torch out of that loon Ron Paul's hand, and carry it for the Democratic Party.

Or continue being the Party of Republican-Lite. You will win fewer elections, and even fewer hearts and minds.

More Democrats. Better Democrats. And when Obama and Weiner, two of the smartest we got, think that reefer madness is still a viable public position to hold, we gotta keep dropping Truth Bombs on their marijuana positions.

We've made huge progress in winning the public debate. How much longer until politicians stop ignoring an electoral boon for Democrats ?

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Don't forget to check the Dkos Cannabis and Drug War reform group. One of the most exciting and dynamic areas of public policy right now is the movement nationwide to address the U.S.-led war on the world's safest, most common, and cheapest recreational/therapeutic substance.

Jack Nicholson, 2011:

Academy Award-winning Hollywood icon Jack Nicholson criticized America's War on Drugs in a recent interview with a British newspaper, and said he still smokes marijuana. "I don't tend to say this publicly, but we can see it's a curative thing," Nicholson told the UK's Daily Mail. "The narcotics industry is also enormous. It funds terrorism and – this is a huge problem in America – fuels the foreign gangs. More than 85 per cent of men incarcerated in America are on drug-related offences. It costs $40,000 a year for every prisoner. "If they were really serious about the economy there would be a sensible discussion about legalisation."

Neill Franklin, executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition and a former Baltimore narcotics cop, said, "With more and more people supporting an end to marijuana prohibition, legislators are going to be feeling increasing pressure to actually change these laws. It's becoming clear that we can no longer afford - both financially and in terms of human lives - the cost of waging this war on a plant. And, soon, those lawmakers who are reluctant to support modernizing our marijuana laws will feel the political costs of their refusal to act. "