cannabisnews.com: Hysteria Clouds City Marijuana Issue





Hysteria Clouds City Marijuana Issue
Posted by CN Staff on January 31, 2003 at 14:37:12 PT
By Jerry Meier 
Source: Union Tribune 
Over 200 years ago, Constitution framer James Madison wrote, "It is of great importance in a republic not only to guard the society against the oppression of its rulers, but to guard one part of the society against the injustice of the other part."Madison's statement aptly frames the current discussion regarding the compassionate use of marijuana for medical purposes. As the City Council nears a vote on the guidelines for possession of medical marijuana it is time to shed some light on the overzealous hysteria that has slanted what ought to be a simple issue.
In 1996 California voters approved the Compassionate Use of Marijuana Act (Proposition 215) with over a 60 percent majority. But seven years after enacting, Proposition 215 patients in the city of San Diego face significant barriers exercising a practice granted to them by California voters but one still prohibited by federal law. The voter-approved Proposition 215 was designed to protect a small segment of the population from being hauled off to jail for using a medicine that provides them with relief from a number of symptoms such as the nausea brought on by cancer drug therapies.But individuals seeking protection under Proposition 215 are being dealt a terrible injustice by fringe factions that have attempted to use the city Medical Marijuana/Cannabis Task Force as a lightning rod to further political agendas. One can only hope that the City Council will see fit to guard dying AIDS and cancer patients from the misinformation and injustice of two small but vocal groups that have selfishly sought to use the medical marijuana issue to further their own agendas.Both sides have used questionable tactics that are clearly unethical – if not downright illegal. Unfortunately, sick and dying individuals for whom the Medical Marijuana Initiative was created are being overlooked in an ugly fray pitting marijuana legalization activists against prevention advocates. The legalization crowd views the medical marijuana issue as a strategy to legalize the use of recreational marijuana. While the prevention side believes that providing marijuana to sick patients will open the floodgates to rampant drug use in our youth.We heard these same arguments before voters passed Proposition 215 in 1996. Opponents claimed that legalizing marijuana for the sick sends a wrong message to youth leading to higher rates of pot smoking. But the facts do not show that the passage of Proposition 215 resulted in an increase in youth marijuana usage. In fact, the exact opposite occurred. According to the San Diego City Schools Youth Risk Behavior Survey, the percentage of youth that reported smoking marijuana actually decreased from 26.4 percent in 1997 to 22.5 percent in 2001.From the beginning, the task force has tried to do what the City Council asked us to do – provide recommendations on the implementation of Proposition 215. But unbeknownst to the Medical Marijuana Task Force an "anti" task force was formed to thwart our efforts.The San Diego Prevention Coalition formed the Marijuana Policy Council to "monitor Medical Marijuana Task Force meetings and recommendations. " Sounds innocent enough. Unfortunately the Prevention Coalition and its members have gone way beyond monitoring. They are now actively seeking to influence public policy. Which is fine. Except for one small problem. Where does their funding coming from? In 1998 tax returns the San Dieguito Alliance stated that it receives 93 percent of its funding from government agencies. County and other government funding cannot be utilized for lobbying or to influence legislation.The San Dieguito Alliance for Drug Free Youth, a member of the Prevention Coalition, was the chief sponsor of an anti-medical marijuana rally on Wednesday in City Heights. This rally brings into question the tactics of the Prevention Coalition and its Marijuana Policy Council. First, why is the San Dieguito Alliance for Drug Free Youth sponsoring a rally in City Heights and not in San Dieguito? Even more questionable is that they actually offered to pay people to attend.The task force was formed for one reason: to provide recommendations to the City Council on the most efficient way to regulate the use of medical cannabis. The task force chair has stated repeatedly at meetings that our mission is not to address the legalization of recreational marijuana. But that has not stopped legalization activists from attending our meetings and attempting to use the high-profile of the task force to further their own ends. Many of us on the task force have found their presence an unwelcome distraction and believe that they have done a great injustice to those who have a legitimate claim for protection under Proposition 215.Clearly, many people would be happier if this issue just went away. Law enforcement officials would have an easier job if all use of marijuana were illegal. But the world we live in is rarely painted in black and white. It now seems that alcohol in moderation provides protection from certain diseases – but, of course, alcohol was once illegal.It is up to us as adults to explain to our children that drugs (including alcohol) both legal and illegal are potentially dangerous. We also need to teach our children that everyone deserves protection under the law – even those laws we don't particularly like. For it is by obeying the law (in this case a law enacted by Californians) that we are able to "guard one part of the society against the injustice of the other part."Meier is a member of the San Diego Medical Marijuana/Cannabis Task Force. -- http://www.sannet.gov/communityservices/medicalmarijuana/Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)Author: Jerry Meier Published: January 31, 2003 Copyright: 2003 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.Contact: letters uniontrib.comWebsite: http://www.uniontrib.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Medicinal Cannabis Research Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/research.htmProtesters Say Limits Are Set Far Too High http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15326.shtmlPass The Pot Proposal http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15319.shtmlMedical-Pot Panel Meeting Ousted From Officehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15248.shtml
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