cannabisnews.com: We Should Just Say 'No' to Proposition 203 We Should Just Say 'No' to Proposition 203 Posted by CN Staff on November 01, 2002 at 10:33:29 PT Editorial Source: Arizona Daily Sun We don't particularly object to doctors treating marijuana like any other controlled substance. If it's truly needed for medicinal purposes, doctors can get a federal permit and prescribe it. But Prop. 203 on the Nov. 5 ballot goes way beyond the medical use of marijuana to include decriminalizing possession of enough pot to roll 200 cigarettes and force the state police to hand out marijuana upon presentation of a recommendation from a doctor. We don't support legalizing pot and we think there are ways other than using marijuana to alleviate the pain and nausea persons undergoing chemotherapy and other treatments suffer. Backers of Prop. 203 say they have long had drug reform as their aim, not just the medical use of marijuana. But we're not sure how handing out the equivalent of speeding tickets to recreational pot users qualifies as reform. If our society thinks marijuana can be used without harmful side effects, we should simply legalize it, as we have alcohol, then deal with abuse of the substance while driving or performing other tasks. But the fact that even supporters can't bring themselves to propose legalization signals an admission that the drug, even in small amounts, seriously alters perception and coordination. As for medicinal use, there are other prescription drugs on the market and under development that mirror or are more effective than the palliative effect of THC in cannabis leaves. Unfortunately for the marijuana lobby, these drugs can't be smoked recreationally and therefore have generated no multimillion-dollar initiative campaigns on their behalf. Doctors should be able to discuss marijuana with their patients, just as they do any other treatment; but how a patient obtains the pot should be tightly regulated. Is it wrong to continue to pursue criminal penalties against recreational marijuana users? In most cases, the penalties are criminal misdemeanor convictions that are serious but not career-threatening. Criminal drug laws are on the books mainly to keep drug dealers with far more dangerous drugs than just marijuana in check. Pot smokers help keep the dealers in the business -- they are not just innocent consumers -- and they participate in the drug business at their own risk. We're aware that critics say children get an inconsistent message when marijuana is criminalized but alcohol is not. Society has to draw the line on harmful substances somewhere, and at this point, the latter is deemed unhealthy but not necessarily dangerous if used in moderation; the former is both unhealthy when smoked and a potential danger at any level. It's up to adults to explain to children how that line is drawn, and proposals like Prop. 203 just make the task all that more difficult. Source: Arizona Daily Sun (AZ)Published: October 30, 2002Copyright: 2002 Arizona Daily SunWebsite: http://www.azdailysun.com/Contact: azdsopinion azdailysun.comRelated Articles & Web Site:Conant vs. Walters & Judge Kozinskihttp://freedomtoexhale.com//cw.htmWhat U.S. Papers Say About Medical Pot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14630.shtmlProposition 203 Seeks To Reduce Pot Penalties http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14622.shtmlDrug Czar Opposes Prop 203 http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14403.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by FoM on November 01, 2002 at 11:52:59 PT A Few Articles from Arizona I was looking for news to post and found this mini series. Rather then post the whole series I'll supply the links. It's more personal issues about marijuana and Prop 203 then what I would normally post so here is the series!http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/issues/2002-10-31/feature.html/1/index.htmlhttp://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/issues/2002-10-31/lacey.html/1/index.htmlhttp://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/issues/2002-10-31/sidebar.html/1/index.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by VitaminT on November 01, 2002 at 11:22:47 PT Heavy breathing out Arizona way! "Doctors should be able to discuss marijuana with their patients, just as they do any other treatment; but how a patient obtains the pot should be tightly regulated."If the job of distributing Med. Cannabis will be in the hands of the state police, how much more tightly could it be regulated?!Whoever wrote this is probably still suffering from oxygen deprivation - how breathless can you get?I'm not enough of a logician to point straight at them - but I smell the stench of multiple instances of circular logic and maybe a little post-hoc ergo reefo-madno-hoc!Somebody help me out here! [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Ethan Russo MD on November 01, 2002 at 11:13:32 PT: You Fail Most of this is merely the usual reefer madness rhetoric, but this statement is absolutely false:"We don't particularly object to doctors treating marijuana like any other controlled substance. If it's truly needed for medicinal purposes, doctors can get a federal permit and prescribe it."No doctor can do this. Not one physician outside of California has even been able to study therapeutic uses of cannabis in humans in almost 20 years, let alone prescribe it. Such doctors would be sitting in jail along with their patients. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment