【Native Speaker每日综合训练—40系列】【40-15】经管 MPP

小蘑菇开始打怪

内容：小蘑菇开始打怪 编辑：小蘑菇开始打怪

公益申请，每月一名
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写在前面：
Speaker：近两天的微博头条，Ice Bucket Challenge。帮助ALS患者。背景大家应该都熟悉，这项活动的目的不在于作秀而是为了引起公众对公益的关注。
微博另一个头条，莫过于你们懂的。但是marijuana这东西虽然在个别国家个别地区是合法，但是在我国依旧属于drug，所以不要再说什么人家国外了，毒品零容忍，公众人物更应该以身作则。
MPP= Marijuana Policy Project
致力于使得Marijuana合法化，但是毕竟依旧on the way，不管结果如何，现在还是要禁止。
Speed：描述了marijuana合法化的历史，MMP这个组织的一些行为，经济学家单纯从经济角度讨论该不该合法化。
Obstacle：MMP迄今所达到的“成就”
最后八卦一下：无比期待那位C姓男星的曝光，虽然我也曾脑残般的喜欢过他~是谁大家应该都懂了~幸好电影已经上了，不然可就亏大了。
Enjoy Reading~~

Part I: Speaker

The Momentum Of The Ice Bucket Challenge — And What It Means For ALS

Source: NPR


http://www.npr.org/2014/08/20/341958763/the-momentum-of-the-ice-bucket-challenge-and-what-it-means-for-als


[Rephrase 1, 04:15]

小蘑菇开始打怪

Part II: Speed

Legality of cannabis
[Time 2]
The legality of cannabis varies from country to country. Possession ofcannabis is illegal in most countries and has been since the beginning of widespread cannabis prohibition in the late 1930s.However, many countries have decriminalized the possession of small quantities of cannabis, particularly in North America, South America and Europe. Furthermore, possession is legal or effectively legal in the Netherlands,Uruguay and in the US states of Colorado (Colorado Amendment 64) and Washington (Washington Initiative 502) as the federal government has indicated that it will not attempt to block enactment of legalization in those states. On 10 December 2013, Uruguay became the first country in the world to legalize the sale, cultivation, and distribution of cannabis.

The medicinal use of cannabis is legal in a number of countries, including Canada, the Czech Republic and Israel. While federal law in theUnited States bans all sale and possession of cannabis, enforcement varies widely at the state level and some states have established medicinal marijuana programs that contradict federal law—Colorado and Washington have repealed their laws prohibiting the recreational use of cannabis, and have instated a regulatory regime that is contrary to federal statutes.

Some countries have laws that are not as vigorously prosecuted as others, but apart from the countries that offer access to medical marijuana, most countries have various penalties ranging from lenient to very severe. Some infractions are taken more seriously in some countries than others in regard to the cultivation, use, possession or transfer of cannabis for recreational use. A few jurisdictions have lessened penalties for possession of small quantities of cannabis, making it punishable by confiscation and a fine, rather than imprisonment. Some jurisdictions/drug courts use mandatory treatment programs for young or frequent users, with freedom from narcotic drugs as the goal and a few jurisdictions permit cannabis use for medicinal purposes. Drug tests to detect cannabis are increasingly common in many countries and have resulted in jail sentences and loss of employment.[8] However, simple possession can carry long jail sentences in some countries, particularly in parts of East Asia and Southeast Asia, where the sale of cannabis may lead to life imprisonment or even execution.

Currently Bangladesh, North Korea, Czech Republic, Portugal, Uruguay, the Netherlands, and the United States (Washington and Colorado) have the least restrictive cannabis laws while China, Indonesia, Japan, Sweden, Turkey, France, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Philippines and the United Arab Emirates have the strictest cannabis laws.

According to the first ever global study of illicit drug use, published in August 2013 by the Lancet journal, marijuana is the most popularly used illegal drug worldwide.
[431 words]

Source: Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_cannabis


MPP: Ready to Roll on Pot in Texas
BY JORDAN SMITH, FRI., FEB. 28, 2014
[Time 3]
Gov. Rick Perry's comments last month, during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum, about a state's right to legalize marijuana and his alleged longstanding support for a move toward pot decriminalization, touched off a flurry of pot-talk in Texas. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis was asked about pot during a meeting with the editorial board of The Dallas Morning News (she's down with medical marijuana, she said; her jury's still out on legalization), and during a televised debate among the four GOP candidates for lite guv, current state Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson said he would support medical marijuana ("If there is medical efficacy ... and the doctor prescribes it, I see nothing wrong with that," he said). Less surprising, author/musician/huckster Kinky Friedman has based his entire run as Democratic candidate for agriculture commissioner on a platform of legalizing marijuana and hemp production in Texas.

Each position has been variably critiqued, mostly in the mainstream media, with the consensus being that some modest form of decriminalization may be possible in the not-too-distant-future – but that legalizing medical marijuana, let alone recreational pot use, remains for now a long-shot pipe dream.

Notably, however, there's at least one powerful activist group which disagrees and is organizing a full-court press to change Texas pot laws: the Marijuana Policy Project, which has been the driving force behind successful bids to legalize medi-pot in 18 states, as well as the 2012 Colorado vote to legalize marijuana for recreational use by adults. For the first time, MPP's co-founder and Executive Director Rob Kampia told the Chronicle, the group is ready to focus effort and attention on changing Texas law – and Kampia says he believes that's doable within the next five years. "We feel like legalizing marijuana in Texas – though people in Texas feel like it's impossible – I think it's possible in five years," Kampia said. And he added that MPP is "about to spend real money on decriminalization and legalization" efforts in the state to make it so.
[332 words]

[Time 4]
MPP rolls out its efforts March 1, with the hiring of lobbyist Randal Kuykendall (of Congress Avenue Consulting, and a veteran lobbyist for the Texas Municipal Police Association, among other law-enforcement and related entities) and a commitment to spend $200,000 a year to push for change. The group will work with criminal justice reformers and organizations from across the state, Kampia said, and in 2015 intends to have introduced "three perfect bills" – one each addressing decriminalization, medical marijuana, and legalization – "and we'll see how far each of the three bills go," he said. "Maybe all three don't pass in the first session, but I know there is a lot of energy behind these bills."

There also seems to be a considerable base of support, among both Republicans and Democrats, according to a poll MPP commissioned of Texas voters in late Sep¬tem¬ber 2013. That poll, conducted by Public Policy Polling, reveals broad support among men and women of both parties for legalization of medical marijuana and for pot decriminalization – 67% of Democrats support legal medi-pot as do 50% of Repub¬licans, while 66% of Democrats and 55% of Republicans support decriminalization of possession of up to one ounce of pot. As for legalization, 70% of Democrats "strongly" or "somewhat" support a measure like that which passed in Colorado, while 48% of Republicans said the same. Those are numbers MPP can work with, Kampia said.

Indeed, over the 15 years that Kampia has been working on marijuana decriminalization and legalization efforts, he said he's heard one thing over and over: "People in the state in question believe change is not possible in their state, but is possible in other states," he said. And what Kampia knows from experience is that all things are possible – given the right amount of time and pressure, even Texas can transform into a progressive drug law-reform diamond. "We're in – and we're in for the long haul," he said. "We're ready to go."
[324 words]


Source: The Austin Chronicle
http://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2014-02-28/mpp-ready-to-roll-on-pot-in-texas/


Milton Friedman, 500+ Economists Call for Marijuana Regulation Debate:

[Time 5]
New Report Projects $10-14 Billion Annual Savings and Revenues
Savings/Revenues Projected in New Study by Harvard Economist Could
Pay For:
**Implementing Required Port Security Plans in Just One Year
**Securing Soviet-Era “Loose Nukes” in Under Three Years

Replacing marijuana prohibition with a system of taxation and regulation similar to that used for alcoholic beverages would produce combined savings and tax revenues of between $10 billion and $14 billion per year, finds a June 2005 report by Dr. Jeffrey Miron, visiting professor of economics at Harvard University.

The report has been endorsed by more than 530 distinguished economists, who have signed an open letter to President Bush and other public officials calling for “an open and honest debate about marijuana prohibition,” adding, “We believe such a debate will favor a regime in which marijuana is legal but taxed and regulated like other goods.”

Chief among the endorsing economists are three Nobel Laureates in economics: Dr. Milton Friedman of the Hoover Institute, Dr. George Akerlof of the University of California at Berkeley, and Dr. Vernon Smith of George
Mason University.

Dr. Miron’s paper, “The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition,” concludes:
**Replacing marijuana prohibition with a system of legal regulation would save approximately $7.7 billion in government expenditures on prohibition enforcement — $2.4 billion at the federal level and $5.3 billion at the state and local levels.
[223 words]

[Time 6]
**Revenue from taxation of marijuana sales would range from $2.4 billion per year if marijuana were taxed like ordinary consumer goods to $6.2 billion if it were taxed like alcohol or tobacco.

These impacts are considerable, according to the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. For example, $14 billion in annual combined annual savings and revenues would cover the securing of all “loose nukes” in the former Soviet Union (estimated by former Assistant Secretary of Defense Lawrence Korb at $30 billion) in less than three years. Just one year’s savings would cover the full cost of anti-terrorism port security measures required by the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002. The Coast Guard has estimated these costs, covering 3,150 port facilities and 9,200 vessels, at $7.3 billion total.

“As Milton Friedman and over 500 economists have now said, it’s time for a serious debate about whether marijuana prohibition makes any sense,” said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. “We know that prohibition hasn’t kept marijuana away from kids, since year after year 85% of high school seniors tell government survey-takers that marijuana is ‘easy to get.’ Conservatives, especially, are beginning to ask whether we’re getting our money’s worth or simply throwing away billions of tax dollars that might be used to protect America from real threats like those unsecured Soviet-era nukes.”
[226 words]

Source: Prohibition Costs
http://www.prohibitioncosts.org/

小蘑菇开始打怪

Part III: Obstacle

Marijuana Policy Project looks to legalize pot in South Portland, York, Lewiston
By Christopher Cousins, BDN Staff

[Time 7]
AUGUSTA, Maine — The Marijuana Policy Project will launch new efforts to legalize recreational marijuana use this fall in Lewiston, South Portland and York, a move that leaders in two of those cities said caught them to some degree off guard.
While South Portland Police Chief Edward Googins said he has suspected since election night in November 2013 that his city could be the next battleground in the legalization debate, officials in York and Lewiston said Tuesday that they were surprised by the news.

David Boyer, Maine’s political director for the national Marijuana Policy Project, said Tuesday that his organization will attempt to put a marijuana legalization question on ballots in all three municipalities through local citizen petitions. He said the question his group hopes to put to voters will be similar to a local ordinance passed in Portland last November that legalizes possession of up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana by adults.

“Our point really is to keep the discussion going and to show that this wasn’t something just unique to Portland,” said Boyer. “We think that Mainers across the state believe that adults shouldn’t be punished for marijuana possession.”

Boyer said seeking legalization in York, South Portland and Lewiston is an effort to further gauge Mainers’ attitude toward lifting legal prohibitions against marijuana use and to force debate of the issue in this year’s gubernatorial and legislative election campaigns.

Boyer said he expects another attempt to legalize marijuana statewide in the Legislature next year — a tax-and-regulate measure failed last year — and if that doesn’t work, his organization will try to gather enough signatures to force a statewide vote in 2016. However, he said he doesn’t expect the Marijuana Policy Project to take its fight to any municipalities past the three targeted this year.

“I think there’s a good shot at passing something via the Legislature, but I wouldn’t expect any more local initiatives after this year given that there’s a lot of work to be done for the statewide initiative on top of the lobbying effort next year in Augusta,” he said.

Asked how his organization chose the communities to target, Boyer said South Portland neighbors Portland, York is close to possible future initiatives in New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and that Lewiston is viewed as a battleground in the governor’s race.

Lewiston Mayor Bob Macdonald, a former drug detective who said he is “totally against” marijuana legalization, said he first heard that the debate was coming to Lewiston on Tuesday afternoon. He said he thought Lewiston is on the list because of unfair assumptions about the state’s second-largest city.

“I would say it’s because we have this reputation which is basically kind of untrue, like we’re the sin city of Maine,” said Macdonald. “Actually we’re pretty tame here now. We’re out there, cracking down on drug use and our Police Department is doing an excellent job.”

York Town Manager Robert Yandow said he also heard the news Tuesday morning. He doesn’t know how York residents or selectmen will react.

“I was surprised when I heard the intent that York was one of the communities selected,” he said. “York was selected because of its proximity to Massachusetts and New Hampshire. … We’ll just have to wait and see how it turns out.”
Googins, South Portland’s police chief, said he will lobby strenuously against the measure.

“I will, within my powers as chief of police, do what I can to make sure the public is informed of why it’s a bad idea,” he said. “The local initiatives in my opinion are just an effort … to chip away at the illegalization of the drug at the present time. … Marijuana is clearly a gateway drug and I’ve seen in my long career in law enforcement the negative impact it has on people from Maine, primarily the young people.”

Scott Gagnon, a volunteer state coordinator for SAM Maine, which is an offshoot of the national Project SAM, or Smart Approaches to Marijuana, said his organization’s chief concern is the spread of a perception, especially among youth, that marijuana is harmless. He said he expects statewide legalizations in Colorado and Washington state will provide fodder for his argument.

“Now that Colorado has opened up their [marijuana] shops, I think we’re going to learn what is the true impact,” said Gagnon, who added that SAM Maine has active members in South Portland, York and Lewiston and will vigorously oppose the ordinance change attempts. “We’re already starting to see some issues in Colorado. I don’t think [more widespread legalization] is a foregone conclusion if we learn from Colorado and Washington.”

Paul McCarrier of Medical Marijuana Caregivers of Maine continued his long-standing opposition to the legalization of recreational marijuana.

“It will just raise more issues for medical marijuana patients,” he said. “It will dilute the arguments of those who need it. … Philosophically, we’re not opposed to legalization but the devil is in the details.”

U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine, and independent Eliot Cutler, who are the leading opponents to Republican Gov. Paul LePage in the 2014 governor’s race, said in written statements to the BDN on Tuesday that they have concerns about the spreading legalization of marijuana, but neither said whether he supports it. The LePage administration did not respond to a request for comment.

Cutler said if he were governor he’d appoint a task force to advise the executive branch about statewide legalization, including how marijuana would be taxed and regulated and kept out of the hands of children and adolescents.

“My biggest concern with legalizing marijuana is that it could send a message to our kids that drug use is OK,” said Cutler.
Michaud spokeswoman Lizzy Reinholt said Michaud also said his chief concern is how marijuana legalization affects children and young adults.

“He has spoken briefly with Gov. [John] Hickenlooper in Colorado and believes that there are important lessons that Maine should consider as other states go through the process of legalization that should inform what we do in Maine,” said Reinholt.

Possession of small quantities of marijuana is a civil offense in Maine, and the state’s attorney general, Janet Mills, reminded Portland residents as the local ordinance took effect that it does not supersede state and federal laws.
[1037 words]

Source: Bangor Daily News
http://bangordailynews.com/2014/01/21/politics/marijuana-policy-project-looks-to-legalize-pot-in-south-portland-york-lewiston/

风随心动01

Time 2： 00:05:30
Overview： Cannabis are illigal in most countries, while are leagle in some countries for medicial using.

Time 3:  00:03:15
Time 4:  00:01:18
Overview: RP and KF want to roll the medical marijuana leagle in Texas

cyndichiang

Time2 2'06''
Different countries or  cities have different legalities for the possession of cannabis
Possession of cannabis is still illegal worldwide

Time3 2'27''
MPP is trying to make the use of marijuana legal in Texas

Time4 1'53''
MPP'"three perfect bills"
There are considerable supports from both Republicans and Democrats

Time5 1'51''S
Economists say that replacing the  marijuan prohibition with a system of taxation and regulation will save expenditure of government on enforcement

Time6 1'27''
Revenue from tax of marijuana sales has considerable impact on economy
Economists raised a debate about whether the prohibition of marijuana makes sense

Obstacle: 7'15''
MPP looks to legalize pot in South Portland, York, Lewiston

Dmyzywy

首页留名，耶~

TIMER 2:[2'26]
  legality of cannabis is different from country to country
  medical use also has different standard
  cannabis become increasly common among the world

TIMER 3:[1'51]
  legalize M.
  different person have different opinions about this project.
  medical use ->still a long way to go.
  MPP project

TIMER 4:[2'09]
  MPP's goals and assigments, the way to achieve them.
  support->R and D, especially D
  K's idea about MPP

TIMER 5:[1'13]
  change the way to prohibit M-> texation like alcohol,
  3 economists ->an open debate on M

TIMER 6:[1'21]
  tax increase= decrease in using.
  it's time to debate. prohibite doesn't make sense. teenagers increase in M, but money cost.

OBSTACLE:[5'02]
  new effort of legalization of M.
  how to choose the target cities.
  opposite opinions-> teenagers-> drug is OK

HolliHuang

time2-2'58
time3-2'47
time4-1'59
time5-1'07
time6-52
time7-8'01

slave918

Speaker:
a lot of money has been  raised by this Ice Bucket Challenge.
It is actually initiated by ??, and soon spread out.
the money gathered would be used to help people who got ALS and do research.
People who got ALS is minority. Don't need company to do research.
It is hard for ALS to initiate an activity like this. But it already win this year.
it is hard for people to understand ALS from this vedio. But the purpose of this vedio is achieved.   

T2 3:38
Different policies and penalties about marijuana in different countries.

T3 2:20
Some people endorse the marijuana becomes legal.
However, mainstream certainly defends this idea.
MPP, whereas, is goanna change the law in Taxes in 5 years.

T4 1:58
MPP collaborate with many people and organizations.
Also, many people worked in the government proposes this idea.
MMP is very confident about this project.

T5 1:21
many economists endorse that marijuana regulation would favor that the tax and decrease expenditure on prohibition.

T6 1:18
Specific impact about the regulation above.

T7 9:41
MMP goanna launch its proposition in 3 cities in an effort to gauge the attitude and force a debate.

Talitha

2:3'30
-the legality of cannabis vary from country to country. It is legal to possess M in CO AND WA.
-Medicinal use is legal in a number of countries.
-most countries have various penalties
-egs of countries have least restrictive laws such as US and North Korean. Egs of countries have strictest cannabis law such as China and singapore.
-M is the most popularly illegal used drug worldwide.

3:2'35
-Gov RP claimed that state's right to legalize M and eventually pot decriminalization.
-legalizing medical M remins for a long-shot pipe dream
-however, MPP tried to change Texas pot laws in next five years

4:2'20
-What MPP has done and is going to do.
-Data shows the number of people supports legalization of M
-K says it is possible in all states. It needs time and pressure.

5:1'45
-Dr M wrote a paper about replacing M prohibition with a system of taxation and regulation will save $10-14 billions on the spending we have on M currently.
-about 530 economists endorse the letter to president Bush to request for legalization of M.
-three Chief editors are Nobel Laureates in economists.
-The paper is about replace the current system of prohibiting M.

6： 1‘35
-revenue from taxation of M
-what other areas may need the $$
-why waste $$ since it is so not effective/

小蘑菇开始打怪

[40-15]

Speaker:

2 million dollars

Ice bucketchallenge or donate money to ALS

Attract theattention of the public

The origin of theice bucket challenge

Where do thedollars go?

The condition ofALS patients-> no access to treatment

The big win forthe association-> more people know the ALS than before because of thechallenge

Time2:

Medical use islegal in some countries

Punishment ofpossession of cannabis

In most countriesaround the world the marijuana is abandoned

Time3:

Abandon marijuanain texas

MPP-> effort topush the legalizing in five years

Time4:

MPP push threebills

Strong base ofsupport according to a survey

Decision to go

Time5:

System oftaxation®ulation ~alcoholic beverage

Save money ingovernment expenditure

Time6:

Tax->construction->employeement

Debate on whetherto legalize

Marijuana= easy toget

Time7:

MPP push a launchin some places

For further goalin maine

Plans for nextyear

Opposite opinionson the legalizing of marijuana

Bad influence for youth