cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana: A Nation Gone To Pot? 





Medical Marijuana: A Nation Gone To Pot? 
Posted by CN Staff on July 02, 2004 at 09:48:54 PT
Editorial
Source: Republican
For a nation that has been waging a decades-long war against drugs without success, it is difficult to admit that someone might benefit by smoking marijuana. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed this week to decide whether seriously ill people who smoke pot under a doctor's care are subject to a federal ban on marijuana. Attorney General John Ashcroft strongly opposes the California law that permits medical use of marijuana, saying it "seriously undermines Congress' comprehensive scheme for the regulation of dangerous drugs."
There are common drugs prescribed by doctors every day that are far more dangerous than marijuana. As we've noted before, the United States has the best hospitals in the world, the most skilled doctors, the most advanced technology and the most modern medicines, but its laws governing marijuana are archaic. Studies by the Institute of Medicine, the American Medical Association, New England Journal of Medicine and others conclude that marijuana use can relieve pain and nausea associated with illnesses such as cancer, multiple sclerosis and AIDS. And, the studies show, marijuana is less toxic than some of the common prescription drugs that doctors use to treat patients. The Justice Department asks the court to make no distinction between a California doctor who prescribes marijuana for a cancer patient and a drug lord in the jungles of Colombia who grows coca for drug trafficking. Such thinking may explain why the U.S. government is losing the war on drugs. A doctor practicing in a state that recognizes that medicinal value of pot risks a charge of malpractice if he or she doesn't recommend marijuana when all else has failed. The Supreme Court will hear the case next winter, but ultimately it is the function of Congress to change the laws governing marijuana. Federal law categorizes pot as a "schedule 1" or dangerous drug under the Controlled Substances Act. At the very least, Congress should amend the law to allow for the medical use of marijuana. Some lawmakers might fear that voters will think they are soft on drugs if they approve such a change. Such thinking, to borrow a phrase from the cult movie on the dangers of marijuana, is reefer madness. Source: Republican, The (MA)Published: Friday, July 02, 2004Copyright: 2004 The RepublicanContact: letters repub.comWebsite: http://www.masslive.com/republican/Related Articles & Web Sites:Raich vs. Ashcroft http://www.angeljustice.org/Angel Raich v. John Ashcroft Newshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/raich.htmProtecting Patients' Rights http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19104.shtmlCourt To Decide if Anti-Drug Laws Apply http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19095.shtmlSupreme Court Justices To Decide MMJ Disputehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19094.shtml
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Comment #9 posted by Max Flowers on July 03, 2004 at 10:56:33 PT
Kaptinemo
- But if the 'Sue'-premes instead decide to limit their view solely upon the expediencies of the day, then one had better start looking for other real estate outside the US, for the political process here will have proven itself moribund. -Sadly, I am already thinking along those lines Kapt. If that happens, I will have lost 99% of my hope for this country and may be looking for a new one to live in, one whose government actually understands what is crime and what is not. The list of countries where growing and using cannabis is very unlikely to get you thrown in a cage is short: Spain, England, Netherlands...
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Comment #8 posted by siege on July 02, 2004 at 21:14:09 PT
Attorney General / medical marijuana
how do you manufacture a plant ?Attorney General
how doze one man have so much power? The president has the house and senate and U.S. Supreme Court
then you have a judged then appeals court then the U.S. Supreme Court.  Attorney General this person has only himself to answer to!! WRONGhttp://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/csa/823.htmThe Attorney General may deny an application for such registration if he determines that the issuance of such registration would beinconsistent with the public interest. In determining the public interest, the following factors shall be considered(4) Compliance with applicable State, Federal, or local laws relating to controlled substances.:I think it was Nixon that give the people medical marijuana in a round about way he give seven people medical marijuana, So Nixon set the"" President "" that there is medical use of marijuana the govt. set the ( President ).
At the time if the govt. though there was no medical use of marijuana these patients would not be getting medical marijuana, the govt. would have stopped send it to the patients. the door is open a long ways.The judge that said that there is no medical use of is wrong. appealed it.edical marijuana
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Comment #7 posted by ekim on July 02, 2004 at 20:28:43 PT
both conventions are apon us --please hear us
TOLL FREE:
(866) 413-3664 
  http://www.kucinich.us/
Kucinich supporters taking aim at Democratic platform
July 2, 2004
With a week to go before the Democratic Party’s Platform Committee convenes in Miami, supporters of Democratic Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich and representatives of leading Progressive Democratic organizations are gearing up to give the committee a political earful.Hundreds of Kucinich campaigners and political allies, armed with petitions bearing hundreds of thousands of names, will begin arriving in Miami next Friday to present platform planks and amendments they want included in the final document. [CONTINUED...]» RELATED ACTIVITY: Lobby the Platform Committee
 
 Ten Key Issues {how many related to War on Drugs}1.Universal Health Care 
2.International Cooperation: US out of Iraq, UN in 
3.Jobs and Withdrawal from NAFTA and WTO 
4.Repeal of the "Patriot Act" 
5.Guaranteed Quality Education, Pre-K Through College 
6.Full Social Security Benefits at Age 65 
7.Right-to-Choose, Privacy, and Civil Rights 
8.Balance Between Workers and Corporations 
9.Environmental Renewal and Clean Energy 
10.Restored Rural Communities and Family Farms 
http://www.leap.cc
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Comment #6 posted by kaptinemo on July 02, 2004 at 20:04:55 PT:
A conjunction of forces
There's a storm brewing.It's been building for some time, quietly, well below the public's radar. Some of these elements have been around almost from the beginning of The Republic. Others have been in existence since the year 2000. But all are coverging, all are mixing, all are inter-reacting.Some of these forces are based upon simple economics: we simply can't afford the 'champaigne tastes' of the DrugWar on a Trillion dollar National Debt 'beer budget'. To use a very apt phrase, "Something's gotta give." Others are grounded in social inequalities that have never been honestly addressed by the those who favor the DrugWar. To such, the phrase 'root causes of crime' are code for the putative decadence of 'liberalism' and must not be mentioned, much less discussed. Yet it is indeed those 'root causes' that at the heart of the DrugWar. And other elements...are the inevitable backlash of a social pendulum too long held back from a natural motion to the center, or even as far as the oppositie direction. I speak of the political (and therefore, social) control that has slowly, carefully been acquired by so-called 'NeoConservatism'. There's nothing truly 'neo' about it at all, just a resurgence of something very old in this nation's past, which, like a malignant seed long dormant, has sprouted and took root. It has, Democratic Presidencies notwithstanding, been controlling this country since the late 1970's, and reached it's pinnacle in 2001.But there's been a growing sea change in America, especially since the immoral and Constitutionally illegal Iraq invasion has turned out to be such a terrible mistake. The trust of the citizens, both long taken for granted and long abused by government, has reached a limit. The fact that moviehouses are selling out every showing of "Fahrenheit 9/11" is proof that even the most hard core (and 'hard corps') True Believers sense that they have been betrayed.The social pendulum that I mentioned has it's own cycle and flow. But if it is deliberately held from it's natural back-and-forth, the pent-up strain causes cracks to develop in the facade of American society. With each crack, more of the plaster that has been slapped onto it to hide the flaws come away. More of what is actually behind the facade is revealed. And it ain't pretty. The polarization of America, of Red and Blue, of 'Progressive versus (Neo)Conservative, of (shhhhhh! not supposed to say it too loud!) CLASS, etc. is taking on greater and greater urgency. And heat. A long overdue re-examination of ourselves, of the myths we tell ourselves about ourselves as opposed to the reality, and where we are going as a nation, is at hand.This will be a painful time, but it will also be a time of growth...provided the process isn't strangled in the crib by those who cannot afford to have the soul-searching take place. Provided that it isn't thwarted by those riding the gravy train, not understanding (or in the case of far too many, *just don't care*) that Perdition is the last stop.What does this have to do with cannabis? Everything. For the cannabis issue is a belwether. A symptom of the health of the body politic. Thought, discussion, debate, argument, even open rancor and shouting matches between sidess are a sign that the flame of democracy is still alive. If all the information regarding cannabis is brought out in the proceedings of the 'Sue'-premes, there will be fireworks. But if the 'Sue'-premes instead decide to limit their view solely upon the expediencies of the day, then one had better start looking for other real estate outside the US, for the politcal process here will have proven itself moribund. From such poisoned soil the ugly tree of fascism grows. And its' fruits are bitter, indeed. 
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Comment #5 posted by fjrio3 on July 02, 2004 at 15:51:32 PT
My thoughts
"Some lawmakers might fear that voters will think they are soft on drugs if they approve such a change. Such thinking, to borrow a phrase from the cult movie on the dangers of marijuana, is reefer madness."No unfortunately this thinking by lawmakers is right on the money, since voters have been brainwashed about the grave dangers of m/j for decades; I'd have put it this way:
 
"Some lawmakers might fear that voters will think they are soft on drugs if they approve such a change. Although this may in fact be true of some voters, it is no excuse for such total SPINELESSNESS on the part of our elected representatives."No guts, no glory
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on July 02, 2004 at 12:03:07 PT
CNNfn: Transcript
Supreme Court Takes On Medical Marijuana Case: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/kampia.htm 
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Comment #3 posted by Virgil on July 02, 2004 at 10:27:26 PT
The pothead presidents
From http://www.pdxnorml.org/7_presidents.html - Did the Founding Fathers of the United States of America smoke cannabis? Some researchers think so. Dr. Burke, president of the American Historical Reference Society and a consultant for the Smithsonian Institute, counted seven early presidents as cannabis smokers: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Zachary Taylor and Franklin Pierce. 41 "Early letters from our founding fathers refer to the pleasures of hemp smoking," said Burke. Pierce, Taylor and Jackson, all military men, smoked it with their troops. Cannabis was twice as popular among American soldiers in the Mexican War as in Vietnam: Pierce wrote to his family that it was "about the only good thing" about that war.
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Comment #2 posted by cloud7 on July 02, 2004 at 10:13:51 PT
Important quotes
"For a nation that has been waging a decades-long war against drugs without success""the California law that permits medical use of marijuana..."seriously undermines Congress' comprehensive scheme for the regulation of dangerous drugs."""There are common drugs prescribed by doctors every day that are far more dangerous than marijuana.""(the US's) laws governing marijuana are archaic""Studies by the Institute of Medicine, the American Medical Association, New England Journal of Medicine and others conclude that marijuana use can relieve pain and nausea associated with illnesses such as cancer, multiple sclerosis and AIDS.""the U.S. government is losing the war on drugs"Nuff said.
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Comment #1 posted by Virgil on July 02, 2004 at 10:07:49 PT
What do you mean "some"?
 marijuana is less toxic than some of the common prescription drugs that doctors use to treat patients.How about naming the top 100 pills in sales that are less toxic than laughing grass.
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