cannabisnews.com: Legislation To Move Anti-Medicinal Pot Funds 





Legislation To Move Anti-Medicinal Pot Funds 
Posted by CN Staff on May 27, 2003 at 11:45:37 PT
By Steve Miller, The Washington Times
Source: Washington Times 
A House bill that would provide public funding for ad campaigns to fight medicinal-marijuana initiatives has been turned back because of language that could allow ads to become partisan attacks.   The Republican-sponsored legislation would also allow the movement of drug-enforcement money intended to fight the prevalence of drugs at the state and local level to the coffers of federal agents so they could better police the use of medicinal marijuana. 
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Mark Souder, Indiana Republican, would repeal a law that bars White House drug-policy director John Walters from using public funds for "partisan political purposes."   But Mr. Walters never requested the money, said Tom Riley, his spokesman.   "I think both of these provisions spring from the same source, and that is that many in Congress think that marijuana is not taken seriously enough," Mr. Riley said. "The fact is that we have never used ads for partisan purposes that we can already use state and local money if we need it."   The idea behind the provision, though, was merely an attempt to ensure that funding in place for the White House drug office was properly spent, said a spokesman for the House Government Reform Committee, where the bill landed.   "It was to make sure we have tighter control on whatever spending is done," said spokesman Dave Marin. "The money is not for briefing Hollywood scriptwriters on drug policy or for pencils for drug-free schools, as it has been used in the past."   Another portion of the bill would permit shifting a portion of $230 million in federal taxpayer money allocated to local jurisdictions in key regions back to federal coffers "to assist in enforcement of federal law ... where state law permits the use of marijuana in a manner inconsistent with the Controlled Substances Act," according to the bill.   Marijuana-legalization advocates see the provision that allows the federal government to take state and local money as an effort to punish states that pass medical-marijuana laws.   "What that means is that they can take [money] from these states fighting heroin and methamphetamine and give it to the feds to combat cannabis clubs that are helping sick people," said Steve Fox, legislative director with the Marijuana Policy Project. "They are saying that if state authorities aren't going after medical-marijuana patients, they will lose some of their money."   Voters in seven states — Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, Nevada and Maine — have passed referendums allowing the use of marijuana to help ill patients cope with the debilitating effects of cancer treatment, as well as to ease the pain of several other maladies, including multiple sclerosis and AIDS.   Two other state legislatures, in Hawaii and Maryland, have passed laws allowing marijuana to be used as a form of medical treatment. Marijuana opponents say voters and lawmakers in the states have been misled by pro-pot groups and that there is no medical use for smoking marijuana.   Federal law-enforcement agents, though, have overridden voters' wishes in several states and arrested people who sell the disputed medicine under federal laws, which trump state statutes. Marijuana, according to federal law, is as dangerous and destructive as heroin. Complete Title: Legislation To Move Anti-Medicinal Pot Funds Turned Back  Source: Washington Times (DC)Author: Steve Miller, The Washington TimesPublished: May 27, 2003Copyright: 2003 News World Communications, Inc. Website: http://www.washtimes.com/Contact: letters washingtontimes.comRelated Articles & Web Site:Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/Debate Rages Over Drug Policy Bill Provisions http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16394.shtmlCops Say Feds' Focus 'Misplaced'http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16381.shtmlCongress Should Reject Assault on Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16371.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help




Comment #10 posted by afterburner on May 29, 2003 at 21:48:59 PT:
Jacob Sullun on Pot-TV
Newshawks: Jacob Sullun Says "Yes" to Drugs
Saying Yes: In Defense of Drug Use - 
Running Time: 22 min - 
Date Entered: 29 May 2003 Jacob Sullun, author of Saying Yes: In Defense of Drug Use, answers calls from viewers in a C-Span interview. http://www.pot-tv.net/ram/pottvshowse1992.ram
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #9 posted by ekim on May 27, 2003 at 18:51:46 PT
Dick Cowan has letter from Dr. Grinspoon 
http://www.marijuananews.com/news.php3?sid=692
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #8 posted by ekim on May 27, 2003 at 18:12:52 PT
Jacob Sullun tomorrow on C-Span 
At 9am on Washington Journal 350 on D,TV. I hope I did not misspell his name. Did anyone see Wille Nelsons birthday party on AMC last nite . He is 70 yrs young, had a nice tribute from many. two guys sang we wont smoke with Wille again lots of fun and good picken. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #7 posted by goneposthole on May 27, 2003 at 17:20:00 PT
peanut gallery observations
a lot of fuss and bother. the feds realize that something is amiss, and all of the stops are being pulled. you can stomp and stammer, throw your hands in the air, but it won't do much good. The US government will never admit to being wrong about cannabis prohibition. It will never listen to any kind of reasoning. it has become bereft of reason. the war in Iraq is proof aplenty of the kind of rationale that is used by the goofballs that presently occupy the seat of the US gov.the lunatics are in charge of the asylum, and they are not about to clean house. Victims of their own psyopslook at them, you can see they're nuts. GWB is the poster boy.happy trails
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #6 posted by afterburner on May 27, 2003 at 17:12:47 PT:
John P. Himself Said Today, "Marijuana is the...
most dangerous substance in America." The man either has no honor or has no sense, your choice.ego transcendence follows ego destruction, lives, families, and livelihoods lost along the way, until we reach critical mass and solve the problem.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #5 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on May 27, 2003 at 16:08:27 PT
LTE
Sirs,  The last line of Steve Miller's article makes an interesting point. "Marijuana, according to federal law, is as dangerous and destructive as heroin." If I am sick in the hospital and my doctor sees it as being in my best interest, I can be prescribed any number of legal opiates. Nobody claims a morphine drip sends the wrong message to children.  The federal government itself distributes medical marijuana; the seven surviving patients of the Compassionate Investigative New Drug Program recieve approximately 300 marijuana cigarettes each month straight from a federal grow operation. You won't hear a word about this program from the feds, however; it contradicts their hard-line message, which says cancer and AIDS patients are better off in jail.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by RevHappy on May 27, 2003 at 15:26:21 PT:
Proof
I still think this story is proof that past use of taxpayer funds to openly oppose voter initiatives was illegal.Otherwise, why the need to legalize it?"What that means is that they can take [money] from these states fighting heroin and methamphetamine and give it to the feds to combat cannabis clubs that are helping sick people," said Steve Fox, legislative director with the Marijuana Policy Project. "They are saying that if state authorities aren't going after medical-marijuana patients, they will lose some of their money." So, did they use taxpayer dollars to oppose freedom initiatives? Or sufferage? Or cival rights?
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by Jose Melendez on May 27, 2003 at 15:16:54 PT
life O' Riley
"The fact is that we have never used ads for partisan purposes that we can already use state and local money if we need it." ...stand by that statement, eh?
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by Dan B on May 27, 2003 at 15:09:32 PT:
Those Republicans! (tsk-tsk)
"The Republican-sponsored legislation would also allow the movement of drug-enforcement money intended to fight the prevalence of drugs at the state and local level to the coffers of federal agents so they could better police the use of medicinal marijuana."Did they say "police"?  Since when have the feds been interesting in simply "policing the use of medicinal marijuana"? All I have seen is them seeking at every level to crush the will and spirit, if not the lives, of medicinal marijuana users. A more correct way of putting this statement is to say that they want to steal money from states and give it to the federal narcoguerrillas so they can continue their rampage against medicinal marijuana users.With regard to the diversion of money away from fighting heroin and meth and toward fighting medicinal marijuana users, I guess this is Bush & Company's way of making sure that its hard drug money keeps flowing, much like the occupation of Afghanistan is doing by ensuring that the heroin supply thrives (a record year last year, another one coming this year. Gee, and this is happening just as heroin use in soaring in the United States and elsewhere.See this article: http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/146/metro/Heroin_is_surpassing_cocaine_as_users_choice+.shtmlFinally, the last comment in this article sounds like a failed attempt at propaganda. The Washington Times, as kaptinemo points out, is known for its prohibitionist drivel. It sounds to me like they are simply assuming that federal law is correct, and that now their readers will be astonished to "learn" the "fact" that cannabis is as dangerous as heroin. Of course, we know this equation as a lie, and Americans, most of whom have intimate knowledge of cannabis and its effects, will know immediately that cannabis and heroin aren't even in the same neighborhood when it comes to real dangers associated with each.In other words, I think that the mention of the "Schedule One Lie" (thanks for the term Vigil, kaptinemo, et al.) was intended to make people think that cannabis is equal to heroin. The actual effect of revealing this lie, however, may indeed be to show people the stupidity of our drug scheduling system. If people really knew how nonlethal cannabis is, it would be sold over the counter like cough medicine.Dan B
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on May 27, 2003 at 12:39:01 PT:
Ever seen how an iceberg is formed?
First a tiny crack...then a gap...then more cracks...then a fissure, then a breakneck crash into the sea as the berg leaves the glacier.*Federal law-enforcement agents, though, have overridden voters' wishes in several states and arrested people who sell the disputed medicine under federal laws, which trump state statutes. Marijuana, according to federal law, is as dangerous and destructive as heroin.*Crack!..crack-crack!...(groan!)...crack-crack-crack! The glacier ice is cracking when a normally dyed in the wool Republican right wing rag like the WT makes that kind of statement, in print. To call the Schedule One Lie into question by merely mentioning the fraud of lumping cannabis in with heroin is a first for any paper in the DC area. More signs of our winning when a paper with a past like this makes a statement like that.
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment