cannabisnews.com: Marijuana Bill Set Aside Before It Gets a Hearing 










  Marijuana Bill Set Aside Before It Gets a Hearing 

Posted by CN Staff on March 03, 2004 at 07:49:48 PT
By Leslie Griffy, Sun-Times Springfield Bureau 
Source: Chicago Sun-Times  

Springfield -- A House panel Tuesday shelved legislation allowing some terminally ill patients access to marijuana amid concerns about street availability of illegal drugs.The House Health Care Availability and Access Committee sent the politically sensitive election-year bill to a subcommittee -- equivalent to a legislative wasteland -- before hearing testimony.
But the bill's sponsor Rep. Larry McKeon (D-Chicago) said he hopes to keep the measure alive."I am not giving up on this," McKeon said, adding some legislators saw the measure as a crime issue rather than a bill about health care.Opponents, including members of the Bush administration's drug control center and state religious organizations, say the bill would be impossible to enforce and would increase drug abuse."One of the serious side effects here is one that is on society as a whole, which would make this crude plant available to children, increasing addiction," said Andrea Barthwell, who works on drug control policy for the Bush administration. Supporters and detractors delivered emotional testimony after the committee's decision. Ronald Shaw, a Lincoln Park resident who is HIV positive, said the measure would keep him from breaking the law by allowing his doctor to approve a permit for him to possess an ounce of the drug. Current law allows doctors to prescribe marijuana, but there's no provision for legal possession by patients.Shaw, 38, said medical marijuana is not a gateway drug or a child's game for those who need it. "I am not looking for a cheap high. I am looking for a way to eat and I am looking for the most effective way to curb my nausea," he said.Barthwell touted the availability of Marinol, an FDA-approved pill that uses the active ingredient in marijuana -- THC -- to stop nausea.But in order to keep food -- and his medicine -- down, Shaw says he has to smoke marijuana. "I've had to take the pill four, five, six times in one morning, because I've thrown it up and I've thrown it up again," Shaw said.Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)Author:  Leslie Griffy, Sun-Times Springfield BureauPublished: March 3, 2004Copyright: 2004 The Sun-Times Co.Contact: letters suntimes.comWebsite: http://www.suntimes.com/Related Articles & Web Site:IDEAL Reformhttp://www.idealreform.org/ Lawmakers Lobbied To Back Marijuana Plan http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18435.shtmlMedical Marijuana and Its Witless Enemieshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18415.shtmlMarijuana is Not Medicinehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18366.shtml

Home    Comment    Email    Register    Recent Comments    Help





Comment #39 posted by FoM on March 04, 2004 at 22:13:38 PT
aolbites 
I'm returning the favor. Now you can watch Inside Greendale. Here's the link.http://www.neilyoung.com/inside/inside_menu.html
Neil Young - Greendale
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #38 posted by Patrick on March 04, 2004 at 07:42:42 PT
What an outstanding thread
The collective intelligence of this website's commentator's never ceases to amaze me. Perhaps we all should be in the Senate with FoM as our president! State religious organizations? I thought that was what was running governments like Iran. One of the serious side effects here is one that is on society as a whole, which would make this crude plant available to children, increasing addiction," said Andrea BarthwellSorry Andrea the plant has always been available. It's a natural resource. And thanks to your un-natural prohibition of it, children actually sell it. Since it is not regulated and taxed like everything else it actually makes it harder on parents to educate and convince their kids to wait or not even try it all. You know it's pretty hard hard to say no to your 15 year old friends who are laughing and having a good time smoking it and then seem to function quite well on their Algebra test later in the day.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #37 posted by kaptinemo on March 04, 2004 at 04:52:19 PT:
I wrote to Mr. Brown, thanking him
Might I recommend that we let him know that we appreciate his efforts? Here's my letter:Dear Mr. Brown,I’d just like to thank you for your recent article
“Let's legalize marijuana for medical purposes”. Having taken care of an elderly, terminally ill cancer
patient who survived surgery and a first round of
chemo, but who was so sick from it that she opted to
forgo any further treatment because of the intense
pain and nausea she suffered, I am only too well aware
of how medical marijuana could help those in such
desperate straits.I’ve heard all the arguments of the ‘anti’ side, but
one thing I have noticed: none of those so opposed to
the idea of medicinal marijuana have ever, to my
knowledge, *faced those who needed it the most and
explained their reasoning to them*.They have used their ‘bully pulpit’ of their
government agencies (funded with taxpayer’s dollars!)
in cahoots with their private lobbying groups to do
everything in their power to prevent even a formal
debate on the merits of medicinal marijuana, claiming
such a moral high ground that they have no need to
‘parley’ with ‘criminals’. Yet they never have, not once, not ever, walked into a
chemo ward and spoken with those so afflicted and
explained their rationales behind denying them
something that could eliminate their misery in
minutes. Need I say that, despite their moralizing,
this smacks of cowardice?I again thank you for having the courage to speak out
on this issue, for far too many members of the Fourth
Estate have been reluctant to write about this literal
matter of life and death, or they treated it as
something trivial, to be derided. This veteran salutes
you; what you’ve done is what so many of us were
willing to risk our lives to ensure that future
generations could enjoy. Namely, a press unafraid to
speak truth to power. God bless you.(me)P.S. You may not be aware of the recent ‘Istook
Amendment’, which is being used to prevent medicinal
marijuana groups from advertising their side of the
issue on public conveyances – a direct threat to the
First Amendment. While ‘anti-drug’ groups have no such
strictures on *their* First Amendment rights. You might
want to take a look at that.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #36 posted by FoM on March 03, 2004 at 21:14:09 PT
Article from Snipped Source 
Hi Everyone,This is a good article but since we know the Bill was shelved and it is a snipped source I thought it would be best to post it here. ***Let's Legalize Marijuana for Medical PurposesBy Sylvester Brown Jr. Of the Post-DispatchMarch 3, 2004Larry McKeon, an Illinois representative, is urging lawmakers to legalize marijuana for medical purposes. McKeon has the virus that causes AIDS. He's joined other legislators in sponsoring a bill designed to help patients afflicted with debilitating illnesses cope with their pain. The bill, HB4868, calls for the issuance of state registration cards to those diagnosed with maladies such as AIDS, glaucoma and cancer. The card allows for the legal possession of up to six cannabis plants and one ounce of marijuana. The subject of legalizing pot for medicinal purposes may be a hot potato for politicians, but this bill seems like a no-brainer. At least 30 states have laws recognizing the medicinal value of marijuana. Nine states, with laws similar to McKeon's bill, allow the medical use of marijuana with a doctor's authorization and state-issued ID card. I thought marijuana would be legal by now. Twenty-five years ago, the stuff was everywhere. People were rarely arrested for small quantities. That started after President Ronald Reagan's "war" on drugs. Marijuana seemed acceptable in the late 1970s and early '80s. Maybe that explains the popularity of "Saturday Night Fever," Cheech & Chong, platform shoes, polyester suits, KC & the Sunshine Band and ... (gulp) ... disco. Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/Columnists.nsf/0/9B906CA7F470B60D86256E4D00135E7D?OpenDocument&Headline=Let's+legalize+marijuana+for+medical+purposes
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #35 posted by FoM on March 03, 2004 at 20:31:38 PT
GentleGiant
Please feel free to use this information. *** New Study Explains How Pot Kills Cancer Cells:  
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17748.shtmlPatient Touts Anti-Cancer Properties of Marijuana: http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17719.shtmlPot Shrinks Tumors - Government Knew in '74: 
http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9211.shtml Nature Reviews Cancer 3, 745 -755 (2003); doi:10.1038/nrc1188 
 CANNABINOIDS: POTENTIAL ANTICANCER AGENTS Manuel Guzmán  Preface
Cannabinoids — the active components of Cannabis sativa and their derivatives — exert palliative effects in cancer patients by preventing nausea, vomiting and pain and by stimulating appetite. In addition, these compounds have been shown to inhibit the growth of tumour cells in culture and animal models by modulating key cell-signalling pathways. Cannabinoids are usually well tolerated, and do not produce the generalized toxic effects of conventional chemotherapies. So, could cannabinoids be used to develop new anticancer therapies?SummaryCannabinoids, the active components of Cannabis sativa and their derivatives, act in the organism by mimicking endogenous substances, the endocannabinoids, that activate specific cannabinoid receptors.Cannabinoids exert palliative effects in patients with cancer and inhibit tumour growth in laboratory animals.
The best-established palliative effect of cannabinoids in cancer patients is the inhibition of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. Today, capsules of 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (dronabinol (Marinol)) and its synthetic analogue nabilone (Cesamet) are approved for this purpose.Other potential palliative effects of cannabinoids in cancer patients — supported by Phase III clinical trials — include appetite stimulation and pain inhibition. In relation to the former, dronabinol is now prescribed for anorexia associated with weight loss in patients with AIDS.
Cannabinoids inhibit tumour growth in laboratory animals. They do so by modulating key cell-signalling pathways, thereby inducing direct growth arrest and death of tumour cells, as well as by inhibiting tumour angiogenesis and metastasis.Cannabinoids are selective antitumour compounds, as they can kill tumour cells without affecting their non-transformed counterparts. It is probable that cannabinoid receptors regulate cell-survival and cell-death pathways differently in tumour and non-tumour cells.Cannabinoids have favourable drug-safety profiles and do not produce the generalized toxic effects of conventional chemotherapies. The use of cannabinoids in medicine, however, is limited by their psychoactive effects, and so cannabinoid-based therapies that are devoid of unwanted side effects are being designed.Further basic and preclinical research on cannabinoid anticancer properties is required. It would be desirable that clinical trials could accompany these laboratory studies to allow us to use these compounds in the treatment of cancer.http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nrc/journal/v3/n10/abs/nrc1188_fs.html
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #34 posted by GentleGiant on March 03, 2004 at 19:58:32 PT:
Marijuana Kills CANCER
  We keep talking about the usual maladies that marijuana cures, such as, chronic pain, nausea, glaucoma, epilepsy, appetite stimulation for patients suffering from AIDS, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and other diseases.
  Why aren't we pushing MARIJUANA as the CANCER KILLER.
There are studies that says that marijuana does precisely that. We all know how long we've beem looking for a cure. It's been decades, decades, and decades. This would be a subject that all Americans can associate with.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #33 posted by ekim on March 03, 2004 at 19:22:20 PT
thanks GCW what drought-resistent cereal --Hemp
In the short- and medium-term, simply knowing that the planet is warming will allow society to adapt, for example, through infrastructure to cope with more-frequent floods or by instructing farmers to use drought-resistent cereals.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #32 posted by BGreen on March 03, 2004 at 19:09:22 PT
Try This, ekim
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=468753§ion=news
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #31 posted by ekim on March 03, 2004 at 18:59:05 PT
Florida on list for Global Warming as sea rises
http://www.kucinich.us/schedule.php
March 5
Tampa, Florida
11:00 am - 12:00 Noon
Press Conference
Operating Engineering
Building & Trades Union Hall
10201 Hwy. East
Campaign Coordinator: Kris van Ingen, (727) 647-4815Gainesville, Florida
3:00 - 5:00 p.m. ET
Presentation and Q&A on the Dept of Peace, mini-press conference
Emmanuel Mennonite Church
1320 W University Ave.
Campaign Coordinator: Jon Shinn, (352) 258-8367
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #30 posted by ekim on March 03, 2004 at 18:51:04 PT
Mayan I get a little box on Global Warming peice
that says runtime error --do i want to debug i say no and i can not read artical. Should i say yes to debugging
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #29 posted by mayan on March 03, 2004 at 18:22:01 PT
Pharmaceutical Puppets
I tried to find out how this bill was shelved & exactly who was responsible but the Illinois General Assembly site hasn't posted anything yet. They usually have stuff up immediately. Maybe they fear a backlash against these pharmaceutical puppets? We have to hold these a**holes responsible. Just because it's an election year that's no excuse. They are playing games with peoples lives!!!Here's something very scary...Insurer warns of global warming catastrophe:
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=468753§ion=newsThe only way out is the way in...Conditions set by Bush stymie 9/11 panel:
http://www.911citizenswatch.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=93&mode=thread&order=0&thold=09/11 panel pushes Bush meeting:
http://www.911citizenswatch.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=92&mode=thread&order=0&thold=09/11 Prior Knowledge/Government Involvement Archive:
http://www.propagandamatrix.com/archiveprior_knowledge9/11 International Inquiry - San Francisco, March 26-28th: 
http://www.deceptiondollar.com/Inquiry911.htm
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #28 posted by ekim on March 03, 2004 at 17:46:35 PT
Anyone heard the Normlcast 
Please mark your calender and set your computer's browser to view and listen to the 'National NORMLcast' every Wednesday evening   10:00 PM (eastern).Webcast Info 
10:00 pm EST 
http://av.mediavac.com/ramgen/encoder/gko/gko.rmTo receive the National NORMLcast you'll need Real Audio, to down load the latest version of Real Audio.click here - http://www.real.com/realone/index.html?lang=en&loc=usDL: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5877Anyone have any more info on these events.
Comment #2 posted by The GCW on February 29, 2004 at 08:13:26 PT 
Note benefit dates. 
"Nord plans to attend Wednesday's benefit, and another benefit to be held Saturday in Denver." 
Wed. March 3rd, and Sat. 6th, 2004.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #27 posted by kaptinemo on March 03, 2004 at 16:44:03 PT:
Is there a Berlin Wall in America's future?
Some comments heard during the Toker's Bowl Two in Vancouver last year; I leave you to guess the nationality of those speaking:"I don't know how much longer it will be. Maybe a year. Maybe two, maximum of three, but it won't be long before the gates slam shut and nobody can get out.""I want to move here. I'm scared of the way things seems to be going. I never thought I'd ever say it, but I am seriously thinking about emigrating."Young or old. Male or female. Blue or white collar. College educated or *cum laude* graduate of HKU (Hard Knock University), again and again and again, the same theme, with few variations.Friends, I contend that my earlier question has been rendered moot. When creative, decent, normally law abiding, community minded people who've harmed no one, not even themselves, start thinking and talking like this, then the Berlin Wall has already been resurrected...in America's mind.I remember how relieved I was to be on the train heading westbound after passing through Checkpoint Charlie on my way out of East Berlin in '83. But I also remember how, with reasonless trepidation (I wasn't carrying anything that could get me into trouble) I approached the US Customs personnel at the Vancouver airport and submitted myself to their questioning as to my home area. The suspicion radiating from the Customs officers was a palpable thing; and the unspoken threat of worse treatment if my answers to their questions prompted more was obvious.I hadn't understood why I had had a sense of *deja vu* while this was happening until I sat down on the plane. Then I remembered: it was EXACTLY LIKE facing that East German border guard running the Customs booth just over the bridge at Checkpoint Charlie...twenty years before. The same feeling of dark, quiet menace.And I was going *home*.I'm sure I wasn't the only Ami winging home from our (very peaceable) revels at Hastings Street and thinking the very same thing, though with their own experiences as a yardstick. But the feeling could not be shook; after a week of relative freedom, I was returning...to a prison of sorts. No bars, no barbed wire, no snarling dogs...but a prison all the same. A prison of the mind. A watered down version of The Matrix. Welcome back to your pod; hold still for the brain probe and conduit connectors. There! Now...go back to sleep and forget all about having so much fun with so many wonderful, decent people. And remember, pot is bad, pot is bad, pot is bad...When an American such as myself, latest in a long line of those who were never drafted but always volunteered to serve their country, starts thinking like that...you know there's something 'rotten in the state of Denmark'. This new testing idiocy is just more confirmation.And there are entirely too many Stasi wannabes who want to implement it.Oh, America, what do you think you're *doing*? Can't you see The Pit in front of you?
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #26 posted by FoM on March 03, 2004 at 16:43:40 PT
Burlington Voters Endorse Medical Marijuana
Press Release from MPPMarch 02, 2004BURLINGTON, VERMONT -- Burlington voters sent state legislators a strong message of support for medical marijuana legislation today, voting overwhelmingly in favor of Question 9 on the primary ballot. The measure asked, "Shall the voters of the City of Burlington urge the State Legislature to exempt seriously ill Vermonters from state arrest and prosecution for the medical use of marijuana in the privacy of their homes, with the guidance of their doctors, if registered with the state?"   With six of seven wards reporting, Question 9 was leading by a margin of 82 percent to 18 percent.   S. 76, a bill to protect medical marijuana patients from arrest, passed the Vermont Senate last year -- but has been stalled in the House Health and Welfare Committee. Rep. Bill Keogh (D-Chittenden-3-5) is considered the key vote on the committee.   "The voters of Burlington have sent an unmistakable message tonight: They don't want seriously ill people facing arrest and jail for using medical marijuana," said Neal Levine, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C. "We are optimistic that Bill Keogh and his House colleagues will listen to the voters and pass the medical marijuana bill without further delay."   The Marijuana Policy Project supported the Question 9 campaign with a grassroots campaign and a television commercial that aired in Burlington during the past week. The ad featured Mark Tucci of Manchester Center, who uses medical marijuana to alleviate the symptoms of multiple sclerosis with the approval of his doctors. Under current Vermont law, Tucci could face up to six months in jail for possession of any amount of marijuana.   With more than 14,000 members and 50,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP works to minimize the harm associated with marijuana -- both the consumption of marijuana and the laws that are intended to prohibit such use. MPP believes that the greatest harm associated with marijuana is imprisonment. For more information, please visit: http://www.MarijuanaPolicy.org/http://www.mpp.org/releases/nr030204vt.html
Medicinal Cannabis Research Links
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #25 posted by FoM on March 03, 2004 at 16:10:32 PT
Good News from Vermont!
I haven't found an article so far but here is the important sentence in this article.***-- By the largest margin of the day, more than 82 percent of voters came down on the side of legalizing medical marijuana. The vote was 6,889 to 1,467. http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/bfpnews/local/4000h.htm
Medical Marijuana Information Links
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #24 posted by cloud7 on March 03, 2004 at 15:32:07 PT
U.S. "berserk," pot smugglers warned
http://www.canada.com/search/story.html?id=818a97d5-de3a-4fca-8f83-c54524743e82I think most people here would agree with the berserk classification.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #23 posted by afterburner on March 03, 2004 at 15:17:11 PT:
''Crude Plant''
I take a crude plant, peppermint, for a headache. Some OTC migrane remedies contain peppermint. God made the crude plants for our medicine and food. I had a salad recently made of crude plants, lettuce and tomato. Nutritional science tells us that these crude plants contain many vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and complex carbohydrates. The Western obsession with finding "active ingredients" has lead to the creation of many dangerous drugs: opium was refined to create the more addictive morphine which in turn spawned the even more addictive heroin; coca leaves used by the natives of South America when refined gives us the mind-numbing cocaine which is also highly addictive. Think twice before banning all crude plants with their natural buffers intact.Medical Freedom Amendment for 2004: you are what you eat: a food-head or a pill-head.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #22 posted by Sam Adams on March 03, 2004 at 14:42:28 PT
Collapse is coming soon
How far will they go? Until the money runs out. Soon, employee drug testing won't matter because no one will have jobs. All the money will be gone, used up by the government paying for drug testing, prisons, wars, propaganda, censorship, faith-based bullsh*t, No Child Left Behind, farm subsidies, coal subsidies, oil corporation subsidies.... need I go on? In 5 years the Baby Boomers start to hit retirement. Entitlement costs will soar, just as the number of taxpayers plummets. As our state, local, & federal governments continue to spend themselves into oblivion, the other countries will stop lending us money. Interest rates will rise quickly. The resulting real estate collapse will be epic. As the US dollar plummets, we'll become captives of our own failed economic system, unable to leave, unable to afford even the basic necessities.Just think - as the government begins to go broke, you KNOW that WOD will be the last thing they cut. I wonder if they'll still be collecting urine samples when we all live in shantytowns. Probably.I predict right now that interest rates will begin to rise shortly after Election Day (either way).  The Greater Depression won't be far behind.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #21 posted by FoM on March 03, 2004 at 14:28:01 PT
Culture War
We are in a culture war and it's one that hasn't ever been seen before. The extreme right wing ( Robertson, Falwell etc.) are determined that their form of christianity will survive even if they have to lock up most of the citizens of the United States. Then there is us. I am not a liberal by any means but I believe in freedom of choice and freedom for us to be who we are. No one will change that about me. If I'm pushed or if someone tries to herd me I plant my feet and won't move. I think many of us are sick and tired of being told how we should live. I try to be a kind person by nature but don't back me into a corner or watch out. That is how many of us feel I believe.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #20 posted by SystemGoneDown on March 03, 2004 at 14:24:28 PT
Drug Test Expansion...
This sounds too bad to be true. Our founding fathers are rolling in their graves. Janet's tit becomes nation wide coverage while 1 in 5 Americans live in poverty. Then, Howard Stern is set to be banned from the air waves, while chemo-therapy patients are being denied MMJ. Now, our drug-testing policy, which has no proof of decreasing quality in the work force, is set to EXPAND?!?! No sense. The system is destroying cultures around the world, and are now taking away our freedom in ways that even SOME consider acceptable. Discrace.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #19 posted by ekim on March 03, 2004 at 14:17:12 PT
DEA Office has reneged for the second time 
Mar 5 04 DEA Agent to Debate LEAP Speaker 07:00 PM Howard Wooldridge Albuquerque New Mexico USA 
 DEA Agent Finn Selander, of the Albuquerque DEA Office has reneged for the second time after saying he will debate a LEAP Speaker. The first time Agent Selander backed out was from a debate with LEAP board member Peter Christ and now he has done the same with LEAP board member Howard Wooldridge. The debate will go on as scheduled with a SSDP student standing in for the illusive Agent. Location: University of New Mexico, Student Union Building, Lobo rooms A & B. The sponsoring group is the SSDP UNM Law School Chapter. 
http://www.leap.cc/
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #18 posted by kaptinemo on March 03, 2004 at 14:11:27 PT:
The handwriting is on the wall, in neon letters
20 stories high.Judge Brandeis's "men of zeal, without understanding" are simply unaware of the Hell that they are fashioning here in the States...or the cost to this country of forcing out those who can not conform (some for medical survival reasons!) and those who will not conform (out of a love of freedom hard won by our ancestors) to their cockamamie ideals of being 'drug-free'. For that is indeed what shall occur...or perhaps things will become so odious that rampant civil unrest takes place, prompting vicious clampdowns by authorities, exacerbating the situation and leading to further, more violent confrontations. Look to The Battle of Seattle and the FTAA protests in Miami for a taste of what you can expect from the police in the future. To be found guilty of being in an altered state or having drug metabolites in one's system is, according to South Dakota, the same as possession of the substance outside of your body. Your *body* is now evidence in an S.D. court...totally violating the Fourth Amendment and relegating it finally to the trash can. Unless a fundamental change takes place in the present direction of government, those forces presently pushing for these drug-testing measures will continue on, *regardless of who is in the White House or Congress*. They will not stop until the sheeple finally awaken from their somnambulism and realize that while the targets today are the 'druggies', it will be the turn of the 'beer bellies' and 'smokers' tomorrow.Or they achieve their goal of total testing. To do that will require (make no mistake, friends) an Orwellian fascist state. Only one with total control of a populace can ever hope for such a goal being realized. Not the kind of place I'd want to live in; do you? No? THEN GET OFF YOUR ASSES IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY AND BECOME POLITICALLY ACTIVE! With antis talking like this, it's 2 minutes to midnight in America. There's no time to waste...
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #17 posted by kaptinemo on March 03, 2004 at 13:36:08 PT:
Ekim, I can't answer all your questions
But I would surmise that drug testing is a North American (meaning, largely US) fad. Most nations' militaries elsewhere either simply cannot afford it, or simply do not want it. As in, having had a history of governmental abuse of human rights in their pasts, their citizens will not allow their 'leaders' to impose such.I don't know what the current cost of Marinol is, but your price range sounds correct. Considering that the Kytril pills the elderly lady I cared for were $50 a pill, and they were supposed to do the same thing (anti-nausea), you really have to wonder how much all these pharmas *actually* cost to make...and how much is sheer profiteering at our expense. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #16 posted by observer on March 03, 2004 at 13:33:19 PT
''religious organizations''
"Opponents, including members of the Bush administration's drug control center and state religious organizations, say the bill would be impossible to enforce and would increase drug abuse."Think about this, folks. The "state religious organizations" -- that is to say, modern-day pharisees, -- would rather have the "terminally ill patients" die in pain rather than let them have pot. These pharisees are so wed to their ideology (their newly invented ideology that taking marijuana is somehow deeply sinful) that they would rather throw your sons and daughters and mothers and fathers in jail (maybe for a little round of prison rape), than allow them to smoke marijuana. These are the "religious" leaders. Of course, these silver-tongued "Godly" messengers would never admit that's what they are doing. They would instead hiss out some double talk about saving the children. But we know better. They have only caused our children to have ever easier access to ever more potent drugs, despite all their "for the kids" talk. Prohibition of alcohol did the same.Next time a terminal cancer patient is puking her guts out after chemo, let her, God and the angels remember and thank the Holy Will and Acts of such good "religious" people for saving that terminally ill person from the evils of marijuana. Is it not good that the terminally ill should suffer more here on earth, that the "religious" may increase the purity of their eternal souls? Oh sure: we don't have human sacrifices in American Culture, do we? Americans are The Pure, from Puritans. American's destiny is Manifest by God. After all, would not have such a mighty nation risen without the blessings of God? Fear not: Might makes right. The US is Good. Their "religious" leaders err not. If marijuana smokers, terminally ill, are chosen by the "religious" as scapegoats than what could be more natural and right? Assertions muttered by the "religious" that "the children" will be saved shall cover a multitude of sins.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #15 posted by goneposthole on March 03, 2004 at 13:27:29 PT
how about some chemotherapy?
How about some radioactive implants?Sound ok to you?After a relative had one treatment of chemotherapy, he didn't want to return for the second treatment. Sound like fun in the sun?The experimental radioative implants fried his brain. Sound like a night on the town?That's ok with Dr. Barthwell, the 'professional'.However, if a 'crude plant' 'makes you feel better', watch out. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #14 posted by FoM on March 03, 2004 at 13:09:50 PT
Time
It's time to think about our future and how we will live with these laws. Soon retiring early will be the best thing for many that can. A person can't even get a low paying job at a Home Depot or Walmart etc. without drug testing. Alcohol is ok because it won't show up in about 8 hours I believe it is. What a darn shame. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #13 posted by westnyc on March 03, 2004 at 13:05:56 PT
It makes me sad!
I grew-up believing I was fortunate to be "Born in the USA." Someone on this board once posted (I don't remember who) - "One day Americans will be climbing freedoms's walls to escape into Canada and Mexico." I wish I could do it now!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #12 posted by FoM on March 03, 2004 at 13:04:23 PT
westnyc
This is why Bush must go. I hope that this acceleration of the drug war can be reversed by Kerry if he becomes our next President. That worries me. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #11 posted by westnyc on March 03, 2004 at 12:58:03 PT
Something new for those who like to indulge!
Drug test alone enough for possession conviction JOE KAFKA Associated Press PIERRE, S.D. - The state Supreme Court set a legal precedent Thursday in upholding the conviction of a man who argued that he could not be found guilty of drug possession solely because of an illegal drug in his body.Joshua Schroeder was arrested Aug. 28, 2002, in Tripp County while he was a passenger in a vehicle stopped by a state trooper. Suspecting drug use after finding a small scale and white substance in the vehicle, the lawman asked Schroeder to provide a urine sample and he agreed.Both Schroeder and the driver denied owning the scale.State Health Department chemist Roger Mathison later determined that Schroeder's urine indicated the presence of methamphetamine. No other drug evidence was found that could be used against him.Based on results of the urinalysis, Circuit Judge Lori Wilbur of Pierre found Schroeder guilty of drug possession. He was given a three-year prison term.In his appeal, Schroeder argued that he could not be convicted of meth possession on the basis of only the urinalysis test.A positive test for meth, with no other physical evidence of the drug, was insufficient for a possession conviction, his lawyer told the high court.Ruling unanimously against Schroeder, the justices said a 2001 state law defines absorption into the body as an altered state of a drug.Enactment of the law cleared up the historic dichotomy that has existed between possession and use of drugs, the high court said."Possession may now occur if a person knowingly possesses an altered state of a drug or substance absorbed into the human body," wrote Justice Steven L. Zinter.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #10 posted by westnyc on March 03, 2004 at 12:46:31 PT
It's Official!
02/25/2004
Government Said to Be Changing Drug-Test Methods
 The U.S. government is reportedly planning to expand its drug-testing program by using alternative screening methods. The Associated Press reports that under the current drug-screening program, only urine-based tests are used. But a planned change would make government workers subject to testing of hair, saliva, and sweat.
The news service quotes Robert Stephenson II, director of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, who said obtaining more precise results is the objective. "Alternative testing will really ramp up our ability to increase the deterrent value of our program, which is basically the whole bottom line."
The changes are expected within a year for some 1.6 million federal workers. Non-government employers are likely to follow suit. 
 
[ Post Comment ]

 


Comment #9 posted by FoM on March 03, 2004 at 12:40:15 PT

Thanks aolbites!
Oh yes! I posted it a little while ago. I'm watching "Inside Greendale" now! Thank You! I can't wait to see Greendale again. This is my hobby when CNews is slow! Here's the Wired Magazine Story and many more.http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/tourandmovie.htm
Neil Young - Greendale
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #8 posted by aolbites on March 03, 2004 at 12:33:44 PT

OT FoM ... 
thought you might be interested in this..The Reinvention of Neil Young, Part 6The folk-country-grunge dinosaur is reborn (again) as an Internet-friendly, biodiesel-driven, multimedia machine.By Ted GreenwaldNeil Young flips genres so often that his record company once sued him for failing to release "Neil Young music."-=cut=-
The Reinvention of Neil Young, Part 6
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #7 posted by ekim on March 03, 2004 at 11:29:25 PT

would increase drug abuse.
Remember any use is listed as abuse by the gobamentapt at 10 or 13 dollars a pill 4-5-6 man that is getting pretty expensive. Montel must get out and speak to these groups. In Detroit he is being asked to support the voters efforts {www.mmdetroit.org} as getting the lawmakers to do something is far fetched.your post on dis honorable discharges. one wonders if in fact the reason that the troops are tested is that any that fail the test could not possibly be good troops has been stood on its head. Question do all armies of the planet test there troops.what about the 9th circuit court saying leave the people alone.In fact if Dennis and Mr. Nader are saying that cannabis should be taxed and regulated like beer, and Bill Clinton is quoted in the Rolling Stone mag that no one should go to jail. Who will defend the troops. I don't know what the troops did to test hot but most of hot tests are for cannabis and this should be talked about.When I was in the service and on call we were allowed to be at the nco club and used common sense. 
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #6 posted by kaptinemo on March 03, 2004 at 11:09:24 PT:

Unrelated: Vincent Bugliosi on The Supemes
He's take the gloves off and called them criminals for the 2000 Elections:None Dare Call It Treason
by Vincent Bugliosi
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20010205&c=1&s=bugliosiThis is explosive stuff, and well worth the read.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #5 posted by kaptinemo on March 03, 2004 at 10:22:09 PT:

It's the 'last word' that counts.
And in this case, cuts right through the bull to the bone:*Barthwell touted the availability of Marinol, an FDA-approved pill that uses the active ingredient in marijuana -- THC -- to stop nausea. But in order to keep food -- and his medicine -- down, Shaw says he has to smoke marijuana. "I've had to take the pill four, five, six times in one morning, because I've thrown it up and I've thrown it up again," Shaw said.*I couldn't have given the lie to "Dr." Barthwell's statement any better if I had tried.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #4 posted by OverwhelmSam on March 03, 2004 at 10:13:10 PT:

ONDCP Wins Another One
The federal government is directly responsible for the failure of these initiatives. Unless and until we can vote US Senators and Representatives who are against marijuana reform out of office, this will be the trend for the foreseeable future.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #3 posted by The GCW on March 03, 2004 at 09:37:18 PT

In case You heard about the bust in Cannada...
Here is the link which has a newspage photo...Respirator and lies in hand… The Exterminators against the Ecologician.http://www.draytonvalleywesternreview.com/http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v04/n366/a12.html?397
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #2 posted by Sam Adams on March 03, 2004 at 08:22:20 PT

Bad men, throw the legislators in jail now
"Opponents, including members of the Bush administration's drug control center and state religious organizations, say the bill would be impossible to enforce and would increase drug abuse."This statement is ludicrous! It's right out of 1984 - "state religious organization"? What the hell is that? I hate to say it, but I hope every cowardly legislator gets sick and suffers badly, especially from taking toxic prescription drugs. They'll have to answer for their evil choices, if not to a higher being, then to themselves in their own time.
[ Post Comment ]


 


Comment #1 posted by FoM on March 03, 2004 at 07:59:56 PT

Excerpt from Related Chicago Sun-Times Article
Legislature Fails to See Light Through The Smoke March 3, 2004There are more victims of the culture wars than gays forced to live as second-class, quasi-citizens or religious righters forced to dwell in a world that also contains people who hold beliefs different from their own. There are, for instance, gravely ill cancer patients, those coping with AIDS and old ladies with glaucoma who can't avail themselves of the medicine that best alleviates their suffering -- pot -- due to our hidebound notions about what is medicine and what is an evil drug.For a moment, the Illinois Legislature seemed poised to consider a bill that would ease patient access to medical marijuana. The feds are dead set against it, with the same flexibility of mind that has made the drug war such a success. But legislators chickened out, managing to ignore suffering among the very sick, help fill prisons, clog the courts and siphon money out of your pocket all at the same time.http://www.suntimes.com/output/steinberg/cst-nws-stein03.html
[ Post Comment ]






  Post Comment