ok here we go

So i was told that i don't reveal enough of myself in my blog so i aim to rectify that situation. don't know what to say except what i feel and know and less of what i agree with other people say and do! Ok?
Just was involved on blogtalk radio with my boy NYOIL on his show BUILD SESSIONS
and the topic was Asher Roth and his apparent need to talk about shit he has no creedence to. He apparently made a statement admonishing Black and African rappers talking about how much money they have and wanted to know if they knew what was going on in africa? What the fuck is this white boy talking about? Is he purposely starting something/ what has he done? what does he know? does he give money or time? I'm not really sure what he hopes to gain other than the thrill of having people have blogs and discussions about his nonsensical ramblings! how dare you even say anything condescending to anyone about what their social or conscience stand is?!

I have an issue with the name strait from the gate
asher roth= asteroth/astarte

He/She is referred to in The Lesser Key of Solomon as a very powerful demon. In art, in the Dictionnaire Infernal, Astaroth is depicted as a nude man with dragon-like wings, hands and feet, a second pair of feathered wings after the main, wearing a crown, holding a serpent in one hand, and riding a wolf or dog. Upon closer examination, however, it can be seen in the image (right) that the dragon-like wings actually belong to the dragon. According to Sebastien Michaelis he is a demon of the First Hierarchy, who seduces by means of laziness, vanity, and rationalized philosophies. His adversary is St. Bartholomew, who can protect against him for he has resisted Astaroth's temptations. To others, he teaches mathematical sciences and handicrafts, can make men invisible and lead them to hidden treasures, and answers every question formulated to him. He was also said to give to mortal beings the power over serpents.

According to Francis Barrett, Astaroth is the prince of accusers and inquisitors. According to some demonologists of the 16th century, August is the month during which this demon's attacks against man are stronger. He also goes by the name ‘Ashtart/Astarte which was rendered in the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible as Astharthe (singular) and Astharoth (plural), that last form rendered in the King James Version of the Bible as Ashtaroth. It seems this plural form was taken either from the Latin or from some translation or other by those who did not know it was a plural form.

According to Lon Milo DuQuette and Christopher S. Hyatt, Astaroth is "a thinly disguised version of the goddess Astarte...."[1]

Jeff Rovin's The Fantasy Encyclopedia (1979) depicted Astaroth with a likeness fitting the description of Baal, including a newly-created illustration, and this error has been repeated in other places, such as with Monster in My Pocket, in which a spidery, 3-headed Astaroth is #102

What hip hop told me - NYOIL(What Tia told remix)

Rev Run's Word Of Wisdom

Good morning. “Most people operate on autopilot, doing what comes naturally. They get into a comfort zone of average performance, and seldom question their behavior.” -BT

The best way to determine what your life's purpose should be now is to determine what you want people to say about you at your funeral, and then live up to it until that day comes. -HSRjr.
God is Love
-Rev Run

T.I. Sentenced to a year and a day

Mar 27 2009 10:28 AM EDT
T.I. Upbeat As He Enters Atlanta Courtroom For Sentencing
Tip smiles and waves to people in courtroom.
By Jayson Rodriguez
ATLANTA — It was a dreary, warm and wet morning in Atlanta as T.I. prepared for his sentencing on felony weapons charges at the Richard B. Russell Federal Courthouse Friday morning (March 27).

Shortly before 9:30 a.m., the rapper arrived at the 23rd-floor chamber, where he would appear before Judge Charles Pannell Jr. His manager, Jason Geter, was present beforehand. The sterile building was largely quiet as federal workers, lawyers and citizens slowly filed in. In the courtroom, there was a mix of teens, curious employees from the building, and the rapper's family, including his longtime partner, Tameka "Tiny" Cottle. A hushed tone overtook the room with T.I.'s entrance. Lawyers were still entering.

T.I. was greeted warmly by his legal team. He was wearing a charcoal gray suit, dark dress shirt and matching tie. His spirits appeared up as he flashed a smile to different people as he scanned the room. Outside, a number of media outlets awaited word, just like T.I., on whether the rapper's plea deal would be honored or not.

The rapper, who was arrested in 2007 after trying to illegally purchase firearms, had previously worked out a plea deal that significantly cut down his jail time. T.I. — who will discuss how he feels about his upcoming jail time on "T.I.'s Road to Redemption: The Reckoning," airing Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET on MTV — made a plea deal last March that suggested if he completed 1,000 hours of community service before sentencing, paid a $100,000 fine and agreed to complete another 500 hours of community service after his time behind bars, he would be sentenced to a year and a day in prison.

The sentence is notable, according to legal experts, because of the specific length. If T.I. were to be sentenced to one year in prison, for example, he would be required to complete the entire sentence. The sentence of one year and one day could allow T.I. to be released earlier for good behavior, if warranted.

What do you think?...Ain't No N***a Like...Dame Dash

Just ran across this post from Russell .....Tell me what you think?

Sitting in the audience last night inside the crowded 37 Street Arts Theater in Manhattan Off Broadway, I witnessed another great Damon Dash contribution, one that takes hip-hop culture to another significant level of accomplishment.

Sony Entertainment and Damon Dash produced, "Hip-Hop Monologues: the Life and the Mind of Jim Jones." It was a fantastic show that portrays the evolution of hip-hop through the life Jim Jones.

I have to say, Damon Dash is a hip-hop genius who should never be underestimated. I have watched Dame's growth, development and entrepreneurship over the years--not from a distance but from first hand observation. He was one of the creative forces behind Rocafella Records, the architect of Rocawear Fashions, he's made significant culturally relevant films with Dash Films and made other creative cultural installments thru Dash Enterprises.

On another great note... He's the only husband beside one other that I know, who spent a small fortune developing a major talent and women's brand by supporting his women to the hilt!!

In our early days, Lyor Cohen and I used to shout at Damon and he would shout back. Then we would hug and go handle our business. That was our way of communicating. Eventually, Lyor got old and I did more yoga and we both stopped shouting so much. Dame eventually made a few bad choices and a few things went sour. We know haters love a man who's been hot to catch a lil cold. Hate spreads. But like Tony Montana in "Scarface" said, "two qualudes ..... And they gonna love him again."

So haters, it really doesn't matter about your blogs from the sidelines. Dame's gonna help heat the economy again!! If he got hit by a truck today remember this, Dame's a giver by nature. That's why he has already received so much. He was the biz leader, architect and one of the creative forces that built Rocafella Records into an empire. I remember that it was Damon who came on my office after we signed Jay-Z to be on the "Nutty Professor" soundtrack with a bag of cash ready to put his money where his mouth was :-). But the record "Ain't No n*gga" didn't need his cash. It was a masterpiece and so was his artist, Jay-Z the greatest rapper of all time.

I saw countless displays of vision and faith all the way up to and beyond his struggle to convince everyone (no one believed) of the artistry in Kanye West. In this business, in order to be successful you have to have both business sense and great creative instincts (The latter is intuitive and cannot be learned). Damon has once again proven that he is a great innovator with amazing vision.

Now, he is helping Jim Jones in a powerful manner that combines their collective experiences--from being born and raised in Harlem. They've taken that culture to Broadway theaters with a live hip-hop band, dance routines, multimedia use and the dynamics of theatrical stage presentation to show the struggles of life through the lens of hip-hop.

I have 2 responses:
1) Respect Dame's gangster.
2) Go see the play immediately.
-Russell Simmons

Mos Def does it again!!!

Words of wisdom

Good morning. The prayerful, hopeful or religious type person is more likely to have longevity, health and happiness....(#1) His mind is employed on high themes; he contemplates sacred subjects. He is dealing with HIGH IDEALS, and for the most part, leads an unselfish life, largely devoted to the service of others. A HIGH ideal, a LOFTY purpose, a NOBLE aim, WHATEVER tends to make man look up and struggle up, tends to improve his health, happiness and life conditions. (Remember) ASPIRATION is a perpetual tonic; it stimulates all the faculties and leads to a overall healthier, happier existence... (Pray often)

God is Love

-Rev Run

Black Jesus

Black jesus is the cure

The Celebration Principle

Good morning. A wise man once said.... The true test of relationships is not only how loyal we are when friends fail, but how thrilled we are when they succeed. (Remember this) Many average people do not want others to go beyond average..... The question we must ask ourselves is this.... Do I enjoy and root for the success of my friends???? (Don't hate congratulate! Lol)

God is Love
-Rev Run

I Won't Ask For S**t Else

THIS IS THE WEEK I'm interested in being entertained by gossip or funny tv or music or.... but if I could just get people excited about this transitional period or to watch their politicians on this one issue for a few days... anyhow thats life. We are always seeking just one more blessing
:-) but again can we rally up support and love for the people unjustly locked in jail pleeeeease.... I promise I wont ask for sh*t else.

Every morning I meditate and before silence sets in there is a period of uncertainty for a few minutes where the thoughts run rampant and in those minutes (and even a few minutes after those minutes) I get a chance to see the noise (thoughts) from a little distance.. It is there that maybe I don't react to them so quickly but instead just "watch" them. It is at this time while taking this inventory of my thoughts that I can best choose my actions for the day. I may be confronted with heavy judgement from family or heads of my charities or biz associates or press officers... Or even confronted by something as small as judgment from the monster media itself. So this morning Prayer allows me strength to weigh the validity of those pressures.
As a yogi, I've come to realize that my happiness and perception of reality is based 100 % from what sits inside and 0% from what happens on the outside. It is also for this reason that I sometimes have strength to be original. I encourage all people and including artists to be good listeners but more important to follow their heart and not be a puppet to judgment or mediocrity. Be special. Choose what makes u whole.

I can tell u that choosing vegan diet or fighting for the environment or running five charities and even giving away my money to various charities comes from these prayers. I can let you in on a trick... the toys I receive are a result of the gifts I give.

This is not some crazy idea I have. I have proof. (This is taught by all the prophets and it sits in the Bible, the Koran, the Torah the Buddhist scriptures and the yoga sutras). I repeat, the toys I receive are a result of the gifts I give.

I sometimes write to reflect to reaffirm my own faith. I'm sure I'm restating the obvious to you but I can tell you the reason the yogis chant the name of god over and over again is because we have to remember and remember to remember.

Oh sh*t! the senate majority leader is calling.

Maybe there's a break through... :-). Last note... If I can ask you for anything. "don't forget those non-violent diseased people sitting in cells for doing what I did, the gov did, the president did and the previous president did (use coke). 95% of those locked up are black, yet blacks and white use drugs at the same rate. They need your support! Come to the rally tomorrow at the governor's office. See you there!

-Russell Simmons

Seek and Destroy All Lazy Men

The thin-skinned men please be advised before reading this.
But the more I talk to former classmates, close friends, business associates and women, the more I find that the disease of LAZINESS has crippled us as men on this planet like never before. Where is our sense of purpose?
I had a man recently tell me that he spends most of his days playing video games and watching TV while his wife is working to pay the bills. He brags about being able to beat everyone in NBA Live or Call To Duty. What?
I had another one tell me that over these last 12 years since we've been out of high school, he has worked only at fast-food joints because he didn't want to finish college although he had a full scholarship. Plus he says there is no pressure to improve at his present job. What?
I had a female classmate tell me that she has had three children by a man who has a good paying job but he refuses to take care of his children. Instead he spends most of his money on taking trips, spending lavishly on others, and making sure he looks good in his Lexus. She works two jobs to pay for daycare. What?
Then there was a brother who told me he wants to own his own business one day, yet does not feel like putting in the work to build it up--so he chooses to go to his unhappy cubicle everyday at his corporate job. Plus he admitted that he is afraid of failing so he spends his spare time just going to night clubs when it could be used to fulfill his ideas. What?
Oh yeah and let me not forget my former co-worker who is 35-years-old and still stays with his single mother because she has a soft spot for him and won't kick him out although he's unemployed right now. He doesn't help her with the bills, uses her car until there is no gas in it, and won't even get up in the morning to take out the trash. What?
What about the community issues? We now think that all of a sudden our problems have been solved because we have a Black President, so many of us as men no longer want to operate youth programs, build institutions, stop sexual predators, stand up against injustices, lead an organization, support a cause or rid our 'hoods of crime.
Instead we have become intellectual experts who only want to be skilled at "barbershop sciencing" on what the problems are but yet won't put our hands to the plow to BE the change....we have even fell in love with gossip.
Where is our sense of purpose as men? Many of us fluently speak the language of "swagger", "grinding", "hustling", or "stacking paper", but at the end of the day many of us are not putting in real work to help ourselves and others.
The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad advises us in the book "Message to the Blackman in America" that there is a refuge prayer that we should all recite at least seven times a day. Part of that prayer says "Oh Allah (God) I seek Thy refuge from lack of strength and laziness".
I have been reciting that prayer since I was a freshman in high school and I am now understanding why we have to seek refuge from laziness. It aborts one's ability to be a reflection of God (Who is not lazy) and the ability to exercise the innate powers that are within all of us. God says "Be and It Is" and we can too.
But "Be and It Is" is not by chance but with mathematics...cause and effect.
So when I say "Seek and Destroy All Lazy Men", I mean set fire to that mindset by acknowleding those men that are being a good example, executing our plans, taking care of our responsibilities, encouraging one another, and leaving our mark by being men of purpose.
Sisters you can help in this process as well by not taking care of lazy men and mothers PLEASE kick that lazy grown son out of your home....he will thank you later for it. Trust me....the elephants do it all the time.
Let's Eliminate Excuses.
Peace,
Bro. Jesse

Interracial Drama For Disney’s First Black Princess

There’s controversy surrounding Disney’s first black american princess. While The Princess & The Frog’s Princess Tiana and the rest of the cast is made up of mainly black characters, folks are pissy that the prince is not. Prince Naveen of Maldonia and is voiced by a Brazilian actor and people say he looks more white than black in photographs from the film that Disney has released.

Disappointed fans wrote:

‘I think it’s sad that he is white because its saying that black love isn’t good enough and that black men could never be princes.

‘Disney had the perfect chance to make its first black prince, but instead it decided to go the controversial route.’

“I am very disappointed and I wished Disney had made the prince black,(and the ironic thing is the prince in the movie is white but the evil voodoo villain is voiced by a black actor and is black).’

Inspiration

“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, and how you can still come out of it.”
-Maya Angelou

Please watch and understand

What a day

Just had a moment to think about the debt the world is in right now
We're in debt on love,compassion, and respect for our fellow man
Money and lack of it is not the problem...Conditioning is
we've been conditioned to want things we don't need
to eat things when we're not hungry
to out and out step on people to fulfill our own needs
We're in debt with the universe because we've thrown off the balance of life, destroyed our planet
and dump garbage into outerspace. We're like an infestation on this planet with no remorse
we consume without conscience and hate as a way of life
being broke is a symptom or manifestation of what we live, how we live and where we're going
What do we do now?
What a day huh?

Good morning. “Debt is birthed by the Spirit of those who want things they have not yet earned”. - Dr Murdoch
God is Love
Rev Run

Be all you can be

Good morning. I was reading “Be all you can be” by John Maxwell last night and I found this excerpt very interesting..... “If you're not stretching, you're in a much better position to defend yourself; your muscles are naturally defensive. Though most people begin their lives by stretching, they soon discover that this position leaves them open to attack, so they begin to withdraw. They start to equate stretching with pain. Before long they're not willing to stretch anymore. Those who continue to stretch will find themselves vulnerable to criticism. Unfortunately, the road to success is paved with critics. They're ready and waiting to point out how other people do what they themselves are unable or unwilling to do”... (Fyi) This excerpt reminded me of why people like Sean “Diddy” Combs, Russell Simmons and others who continually dare to stretch are soo necessary....
God is Love
-Rev Run

Who's Next?....Me

The World's Richest People
World's Billionaires
Luisa Kroll 03.05.08, 6:00 PM ET

The number 13 has long been considered unlucky by superstitious people around the globe. How fitting, then, that Bill Gates' reign as the world's richest person ends after his 13th year at the top.

Despite being worth $58 billion, $2 billion more than last year, Gates is now just the world's third-richest person, ceding the top spot ranking to his good friend and partner in philanthropy, Warren Buffett, whose net worth jumped $10 billion to $62 billion. (All stock prices and net worth valuations were locked in on Feb. 11.) Ranked No. 2 is Mexican telecom tycoon Carlos Slim Helú, whose fortune has doubled in just two years to $60 billion.

It is certainly a dawning of a new era. But not just because of Gates' fall. The 22nd annual rankings of the World's Billionaires reflects all sorts of upheavals in the list's makeup. Two years ago, half of the world's 20 richest were from the U.S. Now only four are. India wins bragging rights for having four among the top 10, more than any other country.

For the first time ever, the number of billionaires Forbes could identify crossed into four figures, reaching 1,125. The total net worth of the group is $4.4 trillion, up $900 billion from last year. Despite the turbulence in the U.S. markets, Americans account for 42% of the world's billionaires and 37%, of the total wealth; those shares are down two and three percentage points, respectively, from last year.

Sixteen years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia, with 87 billionaires, is the new No. 2 country behind the U.S., easily overtaking Germany, with 59 billionaires, which held the honor for six years.

The rankings include 226 newcomers. Seventy-seven of the new faces come from the U.S., half of whom made their fortunes in finance and investments, including John Paulson and Philip Falcone, both of whom became wealthy shorting subprime debt. Another third of the new billionaires comes from Russia (35), China (28) and India (19). Two of the most noteworthy new entrants are South Africa's Patrice Motsepe and Nigeria's Aliko Dangote, the first black Africans to make their debut among the world's richest. Dangote is also the first-ever Nigerian billionaire.

It is also a record-breaking year for young billionaires, with Forbes finding 50 under the age of 40, 25 of whom are new to the list. Sixty-eight percent of these under-age-40 tycoons built their 10-figure fortunes from scratch, including Google (nasdaq: GOOG - news - people ) co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page; former Enron trader John Arnold, who now runs a hedge fund; India's Sameer Gehlaut, who started online brokerage Indiabulls; and, last but not least, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who at age 23 might just be the youngest self-made billionaire in history.

Zuckerberg is probably destined to be the most talked about newcomer of the year because of his age and ingenious social-networking site, but there are fascinating entrepreneurs of all ages climbing into the ranks. Some of the more notable ones include China's Gao Dekang, who is one of the world's biggest makers of down jackets and vests; Portugal's Americo Amorim, who turned his grandfather's small cork operation into the world's largest; and Brazil's Eike Batista, who built and lost a gold mining fortune, before hitting it big in iron ore. He is now one of the world's richest mining billionaires.

With all the rosy news of the past year and the overall gains, it is easy to lose sight of the volatility that has been wreaking havoc on these fortunes on a daily basis for months. For instance, Hong Kong's richest person, Li Ka-shing, lost $5.5 billion of his net worth, all tied to publicly held stocks, in the 37 days between Jan. 4 and Feb. 11.

Meanwhile, mainland China's richest person, 26-year-old Yang Huiyan, fell from $17.3 billion in September to $7.4 billion in the rankings. Google co-founder Sergey Brin's fortune touched $25.5 billion in the past year but is now down to $18.7 billion. Others were hit much harder, falling off the list entirely, including Lehman Brothers (nyse: LEH - news - people ) chief Richard Fuld and Bear Stearns (nyse: BSC - news - people ) ex-chief James Cayne (he was sacked), both victims of the world's credit crunch, and Pulte Homes (nyse: PHM - news - people )' William Pulte, whose stock collapsed along with the housing market.

What will happen in the next 12 months as we continue our wealth watching? There will likely be some big losers, some big winners and a lot of ups and downs in between. The only certainty is change itself.

Get to know the world

Patrice Motsepe
Chairman of the Board/Director
Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited

The World's Richest People
The Prince of Mines
Susan Adams 02.28.08, 6:00 PM ET
Forbes Magazine dated March 24, 2008

Patrice Motsepe entered the mining business when South Africa ended apartheid. Today the onetime lawyer and avowed capitalist is the country's first black billionaire.

On a brilliantly sunny Thursday in January, Patrice Motsepe, a vigorous 46-year-old with regal posture, is striding through a gleaming shopping mall on the Cape Town waterfront. Suddenly a crowd forms. A half-dozen employees from the Build-A-Bear Workshop ask for his autograph. Two giggling young women roll up their sleeves as Motsepe signs their arms with a black marker, smiling while admirers snap photos with cell phones. An older woman approaches Motsepe and nearly swoons, grasping his arm and laying her head on his chest as he pats her back and murmurs thank you in Xhosa, one of the six African languages he speaks.

All this is not for a movie star or entertainer but for South Africa's first black billionaire. Over 15 years Motsepe, preaching free market capitalism, turned a low-level mining services business into the country's first black-owned mining company, African Rainbow Minerals, with 2007 revenue of $875 million. Driven by the Asian commodities boom, ARM's share price has rocketed in the past year from $12 to $24, pushing the value of Motsepe's net worth to $2.4 billion. Motsepe, a lawyer by training, serves as ARM's executive chairman, with a 42% stake in the company. He also owns a 5.5% stake worth $295 million in Sanlam, a publicly traded financial services company outside Cape Town.

By billionaire standards Motsepe has a modest lifestyle. His three sons attend prestigious private schools, but he has only one home, in the affluent Johannesburg suburb of Bryanston, and no yacht or plane. His one indulgence is to own the Mamelodi Sundowns, a soccer team. It doesn't tarnish his star quality that he's married to one of South Africa's most glamorous women, a medical doctor turned fashion impresario.

But for all the adulation, in South Africa such success comes with a price: being labeled an oligarch. Even many blacks have complained that the country's 1994 transformation from apartheid to democracy has benefited only the elite few. The criticism stems from laws that require substantial black ownership in certain industries, including mining. A handful of politically connected individuals have grown enormously wealthy as a result. One of Motsepe's sisters, Bridgette Radebe, who's married to transport minister Jeffrey Radebe, heads a mining company and is said to be among the wealthiest black women in the country. "It's called crony capitalism," says Moeletsi Mbeki, 62, brother of South Africa's president and an outspoken critic of the race-preference laws. "It's an anticompetitive system."

Motsepe concedes he benefited from the system yet says that his success was no handout, as he began building his mining business before the laws started taking effect in 2005. He says, "The legislation came way after we did our deals."

Motsepe and his family were in a better position than most to take advantage of the end of apartheid. Born in the sprawling black township of Soweto (next to Johannesburg), where his mother had grown up, Motsepe is a member of a royal clan within the Tswana tribe. He is, in fact, a prince.

Motsepe's father, Augustine Motsepe, was a critic of the apartheid regime. Before his son Patrice was born, Augustine was banished by the government to Hammanskraal, a rural area north of Pretoria where the government thought he could do less damage (he named his son after Patrice Lumumba, head of the Republic of the Congo and one of the first black African postcolonial leaders). There he opened a grocery store and then a beer hall and restaurant. "People don't know that there were very successful black businessmen in the years of apartheid," says Motsepe.

Though one of Patrice's maternal great-grandfathers came from Scotland, the old government classified the Motsepes as African. The family had to pull strings to get their seven children admitted to an Afrikaans-language Catholic boarding school that was officially designated for so-called "coloreds," South Africans of mixed race. From age 6, Motsepe spent school holidays working behind the counter in his father's store, where he says he learned his earliest lessons about business. "Whenever my father made a profit, he always plowed it back into the store," Motsepe recalls.

He graduated from the University of Swaziland and then became one of the few black law graduates of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, designated whites-only by the apartheid government (Motsepe had to apply for an exemption to attend). In 1988 he joined Bowman Gilfillan, one of South Africa's largest corporate law firms, and in 1993 he became the firm's first black partner. Energetic and affable, Motsepe never wore his race on his sleeve, says Bowman partner and longtime Motsepe lawyer and confidant Neil Rissik.

Indeed, ask Motsepe about what it was like to grow up as a black man under the violent, racist apartheid regime and he responds with bromides. "The apartheid system was very bad for our people, very bad," he says blandly, switching quickly to the positive. "Only in South Africa could you have a change in government without civil war. If there wasn't the depth of love and caring among our people, this would not have happened."

OOOhhh this is Good!! Ahem or so I hear!- Ill. House committee OKs use of medical marijuana

By CHRISTOPHER WILLS | Associated Press Writer
4:32 PM CST, March 4, 2009
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - People suffering from cancer, AIDS and other diseases could turn to marijuana for pain relief under a plan approved Wednesday by an Illinois House committee despite claims that it would be a step toward legalizing pot.

Under the legislation, people with a doctor's permission would be eligible for a state registry card allowing up to seven marijuana plants in their homes and 2 ounces of "usable cannabis." The measure is written to expire after three years.

Advocates say marijuana eases pain without the side effects of heavier drugs and reduces nausea from chemotherapy.

"There is needless suffering going on out there," said the sponsor, Rep. Lou Lang, D-Skokie. "Everything else is a sideshow."
But Rep. Patricia Bellock, R-Hinsdale, said the bill raises serious questions. Will it be misused by people who don't really have a medical need for marijuana? Would it open the door to outright legalization of pot use in Illinois?

"It is the No. 1 drug that introduces young people to other drugs," said Bellock, who voted against the measure in the Human Services Committee.

Still, it passed 4-3 and now goes to the House floor.

Thirteen states already have medical marijuana laws that preclude a criminal conviction for use, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.

Similar legislation was approved by a state Senate committee last year, but the sponsor never found enough support to call it for a vote. That sponsor, John Cullerton, is now Senate president, so the latest proposal should have an influential supporter if it ever reaches the Senate.

Lang called it a "difficult but not impossible bill to pass" in the House, even as a three-year experiment.

Bellock said she doesn't object in principle to allowing the use of marijuana for medical reasons, but she fears this plan is too lax. She said a version where the pot is handled by pharmacists would reduce the chance of abuse.

Bellock also questioned whether Illinois could take the step while marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

Technically, Illinois authorized medical marijuana in 1978. But implementation was left to the Public Health Department and it never took action, so the law has been in limbo.