CONGRATULATIONS! Vincent “Chot” Reyes is the new president and chief executive officer of TV5 Network and president of Media5 Marketing Corp. effective October 2016. The network turns into a sports channel with news and entertainment. TV5’s present entertainment menu consists mainly of US shows dubbed in Filipino. Up next is a US series also be dubbed in Filipino in connection with the network’s “counter-programming” strategy.
Adopting the practice of fast correction of programs that do not work to move forward, this approach is more directed. Recognizing the strength of ABS-CBN and GMA7 in producing soap operas and entertainment shows, TV5 will target the 20 to 29 age group, male and female, from the broad C-D segment of society as core market. It is now a content company that creates or acquires and curates content and then distributes and communicates them across different platforms.
TIME TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA. We must remember that alcohol, cigarettes, gambling, prostitution, homosexuality and drugs were once upon a time illegal stuff. All the tell-tale signs of marijuana use by the Beatles were there circa mid-‘60s; we were not just hip enough to pick up the clues:
Paul McCartney sings the double entendre “Turns me on when I get lonely” in “She’s A Woman.” The change perspective on the cover of the Rubber Soul album; the giggling during recording sessions, which did not make it in the final cuts; Paul admits, “I need you every single day of my life” in “Got to Get You in My Life,” his ode to pot. The cannabis weeds on the cover of Sgt. Pepper album where Paul “had a smoke and went into a dream” in “Day in the Life.”
Beatles history recounts that Bob Dylan in their second US tour in August 1964 introduced them to marijuana. But the largely untold part is that they were introduced to cannabis much earlier, in Hamburg, Germany, but they did not bite.
It seems the foursome were active covert herbal users, but did not succumb to a chemical habit. At the time, medical opinion about marijuana use was largely reflected in what Dr. Anthony Starr told the Sunday Times on Feb. 5, 1967: “Marijuana is not a drug of addiction and is, medically speaking, far less harmful than alcohol or tobacco.”
Even with the medical benefits of marijuana not yet specifically identified, the Beatles with business manager Brian Epstein and 64 other British personalities called for the legalization of marijuana in 1967.
Paul was also known to follow the lead of his wife when it came to pot. The real love of his life, Linda Eastman, was a big cannabis consumer. In fact, she took the rap for Paul when he was arrested for weed in Los Angeles in 1975. Two years earlier, police found plants growing in their farm in Scotland. They were also once jailed in Japan for marijuana possession.
When Linda passed on and he married Heather Mills, who didn’t approve of his marijuana use, Paul stopped smoking for the sake of eight-year-old daughter Beatrice, stating, “When you’re bringing up a youngster, your sense of responsibility does kick in.”
By the time Paul married New York businesswoman Nancy Shevell, he hadn’t commented on whether he still hit the pot pipe. But in a new interview with The Mirror in London, Paul says it’s all in the past: “The last time I smoked was a long time ago. Instead of smoking a spliff, I’ll now have a glass of red wine or a nice margarita.”
Paul and Ringo are now promoting the decriminalization of marijuana. “I support it. People are smoking pot anyway and to make them into criminals is wrong. It’s when you’re in jail you really become a criminal,” Paul stood his ground.
“I don’t think the campaigns of the government in this country or America are doing anything. I think it’s an absolute waste of resources, the way they’re going about it. You go to clubs, everybody’s taking stuff, that’s how it is. Most lawyers have inhaled; they’ve had a joint... Then they carry on with their lives,” Ringo opines.
“There were 12 bad effects of the Prohibition, a massive social experiment in the USA from 1920 to 1933 that failed and served as a lesson for how we think about victimless crimes: (1) The Prohibition created disrespect for the law; (2) It eroded respect for religion.; (3) It created organized crime.; (4) It permanently corrupted law enforcement, the court system, and politics.; (5) It overburdened police, courts, and the penal system.; (6) It harmed people financially, emotionally, and morally.; (7) It caused physical harm.; (8) It changed the drinking habits of our country — for the worse.; (9) It made cigarette smoking a national habit.; (10) It prevented the treatment of drinking problems.; (11) It caused “immorality.”; and (12) It was phenomenally expensive.
“Prohibition was a massively failed attempt at legislating morality. The government’s role is to protect citizens and their property — not legislate what people are allowed to do for recreation, who they can love, or what kind of sex they can have.”
No wonder when Philippine National Police chief director general Ronald de la Rosa went on an official visit of Columbia, he learned that the prohibitionist approach to its drug problem has been “a failure.”
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Legalize marijuana to fight criminality
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