cannabisnews.com: Cohen Promoting Medical Marijuana





Cohen Promoting Medical Marijuana
Posted by CN Staff on November 17, 2004 at 11:18:19 PT
By The Associated Press
Source: Associated Press 
Nashville -- State Sen. Steve Cohen said the legalization of medical marijuana will be one of his top priorities next session, even though some Republicans are already disapproving of the idea. "I don't think I'd be willing to consider it," said Sen. Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, who is vying to become speaker of the Senate, where the Republican Party is enjoying its first elected majority in more than a century. "There's not enough medical evidence to support that, and most law enforcement agencies would be opposed to it." 
But Cohen, D-Memphis, believes people who are sick and suffering are being denied a drug that could help them. "When you see somebody whose life is ending and you know there's something that would ameliorate their pain and make life less ghastly, it's incumbent upon all of us to allow it," said Cohen, who's watched several friends battle the side effects of cancer treatment. "There's no reason why society should not allow drugs that can be helpful." In a 2003 report, the American Medical Association cited studies showing that compounds in the drug can help people suffering from a wide range of illnesses, from glaucoma and AIDS-related weight loss, to epilepsy and the nausea associated with some cancer treatments. But the association also said there are health risks involved with marijuana, and recommended that the National Institutes of Health fund further research into medical uses of the drug. State Rep. Diane Black, R-Gallatin, a nurse who was recently elected to the Senate, said legal prescription drugs are already available for the conditions that medical marijuana might treat. She and other opponents believe medical marijuana is being used as a ploy by those who want to completely legalize the drug. "The whole issue is a ruse for saying marijuana should be a legal product," Black said. "We have perfectly sound, legal medications that doctors can prescribe that will take care of anything marijuana can take care of." Barbara Walker, 58, of Nashville said she suffers chronic back pain and weight loss associated with an immune disorder, and has experienced side effects from the oxycodone she was prescribed for pain. She is one of about 10 area residents working with a statewide network called the Tennessee Alliance for Medical Marijuana. Walker said she'd like to use the drug for her ailments, but within the law. "No one wants to be outside the law, but at the same time I'm the one who's living with severe pain," she said. "You're either miserable or scared you're going to go to jail." Some studies have shown that marijuana can stimulate appetite and promote weight gain as well as ease pain. Paul Kuhn said his deceased wife found the most relief from marijuana when she was undergoing treatment for cancer. She was taking a prescription drug called Zofran for nausea, he said, but the side effects of the drug included liver damage, and the cancer had spread to her liver. "One puff of marijuana worked better than the Zofran," the 61-year-old said. "That was the best prescription around, and it wasn't that good." Krissy Oechslin, a spokeswoman for the Marijuana Policy Project -- http://www.mpp.org/ -- in Washington, a leading advocacy group for medical marijuana, cites a 2002 Time/CNN nationwide poll showing 80 percent of Americans support medical marijuana use. Source: Associated Press (Wire)Published: November 17, 2004Copyright: 2004 The Associated Press Related Articles & Web Site:Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmHigh Court's Case To Affect Med Marijuana Lawshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19834.shtmlCohen Plans To Push Legalizing Med Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19833.shtmlUnlikely Allies Back State on Medical Pothttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19641.shtml 
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Comment #8 posted by kaptinemo on November 17, 2004 at 15:12:41 PT:
(Sardonically) Prison or war zone. Some choice
We had one of those in my Basic platoon. He had been given a 'choice' too. I don't know what offense landed him in the Army, and I didn't ask. All I can say is he didn't have an easy time of it, and this was 'peacetime'. But today, with every able bodied grunt headed for the meatgrinder, this kind of 'choice' wouldn't be very hard to make. Depending upon your charges, you can leave prison eventually. The same can't be said for a grave.
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on November 17, 2004 at 14:50:06 PT
billos 
I know about being upset. I feel the same way. My how life has changed since the invasion of Iraq. Everything seems to be on fast forward.
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Comment #6 posted by billos on November 17, 2004 at 14:36:37 PT
                 FoM
I saw that story. Can you believe it?
The military kicks those out that test positive for pot. And this judge is going to make the military take a "pot head'?
I am so depressed over the bush winning (or stealing) and cannot imagine the amount of war and deficit increase we are going to see. And now things like this? 
For the first time in my life I truly fear the U.S. government. I am ashamed to be an American.
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on November 17, 2004 at 13:02:55 PT
News Brief from The Associated Press
Man With Pot Given Choice: Jail or Military 
 November 17, 2004 SALINAS, Calif. (AP) -- A Salinas man will have to choose between going to jail or joining the military as his punishment for possession of marijuana. A judge surprised both the prosecution and defense yesterday when he told Brian Barr that he could avoid a jail term by enlisting in the military. The 24-year-old Barr was charged with marijuana possession after shooting a would-be robber who had entered his apartment with two others. Police say Barr sold marijuana from his home, and that the three men were searching for money and marijuana. In giving Barr a choice of sentence, Monterey County Judge Robert Moody said that the shooting was justified. Barr is scheduled to return to court next month.Copyright 2004 by The Associated Presshttp://www.kron4.com/Global/story.asp?S=2579902&nav=5D7lTFHC
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Comment #4 posted by Sam Adams on November 17, 2004 at 12:53:05 PT
American Mulllah?
Thought this was interesting - FCC Chairman Michael Powell sternly dissapproved of the recent Monday Night Football pregame show featuring partial nudity - I'm so happy the government appoints these paternal role models for us, I'm afraid to turn on the TV without Father Government protecting me...http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=1924965
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on November 17, 2004 at 12:08:21 PT
News From The Cato Institute
Judge in Marijuana Case Questions Sentencing GuidelinesCato Daily Dispatch for November 17, 2004"In a case that has spurred intense soul-searching in legal circles, a 25-year-old convicted drug dealer, who was arrested two years ago for selling small bags of marijuana to a police informant, was sentenced on Tuesday to 55 years in prison," the New York Times reports."The judge who sentenced him, Paul G. Cassell of the United States District Court [in Salt Lake City], said that he pronounced the sentence 'reluctantly' but that his hands were tied by a mandatory-minimum law that required the imposition of 55 years on Weldon H. Angelos because he had a gun during at least two of the drug transactions."In "Misguided Guidelines: A Critique of Federal Sentencing," Erik Luna, an associate professor of law at the University of Utah, says Federal Sentencing Guidelines undermine constitutional principles and produce unjust results. "Because 'tough on crime' platforms tend to have electoral appeal, legislators often play to voters' short-term emotions rather than considering sound public policy, producing criminal justice initiatives with few real benefits to society but large financial and human costs," he writes.Cato's new book, Go Directly to Jail: The Criminalization of Almost Everything, edited by Cato senior editor Gene Healy, describes how with more than 4,000 federal crimes on the statute books and thousands more buried in the Code of Federal Regulations, the ordinary citizen is increasingly vulnerable to being handcuffed and hauled off to jail for behavior that no sensible person would recognize as a crime. http://www.cato.org/dispatch/11-17-04d.html
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on November 17, 2004 at 11:56:08 PT
Interesting Article About a Marijuana Tax
Rabbitt: Massachusetts Marijuana Revenues a Bust:
http://www2.townonline.com/woburn/opinion/view.bg?articleid=127472
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on November 17, 2004 at 11:45:12 PT
News Article from Narco News
A Failed Policy? Boston Debates the War on DrugsBy Julia SteinbergerWed Nov 17th, 2004 Boston, Massachusetts, USA - "We have a public policy crisis: we are spending billions of dollars to fight a war on drugs and we don't seem to be able to stop the flow of drugs into this country. We are spending more and more public dollars on housing men and women who are involved with the drug trade, drug addiction seems to be increasing, and yet we don't seem to have the money to help those who want to turn their lives around and recover from addiction." With these words, Boston City Councillor Chuck Turner started the public hearing to investigate the war on drugs. He called the hearing "just the beginning of a long dialogue in Boston to see how we can move forward". Officials from the Boston Police Department, the Boston Public Health Commission participated in the hearing, as well as concerned citizens from groups such as Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, the Cannabis Reform Coalition, and Consent of the Governed. Others spoke about their experiences with racial discrimination and drug issues, concerns about the militarization of the police through the drug war, gang presence in neighborhoods, and citizen access to and control over federal policy. The overall tone of the public hearing was one of thorough disenchantment with the current drug war policies. However, towards the end of the hearing, the chair, Councillor Rob Consalvo, and Councillor Chuck Turner debated each other and the participants on the effectiveness of policing versus legalization in getting drugs and gangs out of Boston neighborhoods. The first official questioned at the hearing was Lieutenant Stephen Mead, commander of the Boston Police Department's Drug Control Unit. He admitted that although he has 85 full-time officers dedicated to drug issues who arrest many drug dealers every year, and despite follow-up work in the neighborhoods, the drug trade continues: those arrested are replaced by others. Councillor Turner asked Lieutenant Mead about the rank of those targeted by arrests: are they the larger national and international drug dealers, and the banks assisting them in laundering the drug money, or merely street-level dealers? Lieutenant Mead answered that the higher level investigations are done by the federal Drug Enforcement Agency. The issue of investigating the banks involved in drug money laundering, and possibly seizing the accounts used to launder drug money, came up several times during the hearing. Art Nicoletti, founder of the group Consent of the Governed, asserted that federal financial and investigative branches are unwilling to prosecute banks and seize drug money accounts, even though they know which banks and accounts are involved in laundering, and are allowed by law to seize such accounts. The director of the Boston Public Health Commission's substance abuse services testified that addiction rates of certain drugs, especially heroin, are increasing, with a large fraction of the abusers being young people under 25 years old. Although Boston has been able to reduce violent drug-related deaths, the number of deaths due to drug overdose has increased steadily from roughly 200 in 2000 to close to 400 last year. Due to recent budget cuts, the number of spots available in drug recovery programs has gone from almost 1000 in 2001 to closer to 400 beds today, said the director of the substance abuse services: "Now, if someone who comes in to our offices wanting to deal with their addiction, but doesn't have health insurance, they are not guaranteed a bed in a recovery center. They are put on a waiting list. But they might not come back when the bed is ready for them ..." She mentioned the frustration of treatment providers, when drug abusers come in for treatment, which cannot be provided due to lack of resources. She also explained that the budget cuts were harmful in the long term to the city and state's health infrastructure: "we hope additional funding will restore some recovery beds, but many providers of recovery services have simply closed down due to the budget cuts, and will not reopen." Councillor Turner summarized the formal part of the hearing by stating that "the war on drugs has failed to limit drug use here in Boston, and we have to face that." Citing the increased overdose deaths, he said that in his personal opinion, "it's hard for me to imagine that the situation could be worse if drugs were legalized." Although most of the speakers in the open testimony part of the hearing agreed that the war on drugs must be stopped, and alternatives such as legalization, medical treatment of addicted persons, and seizure of drug money assets should be pursued, a heated debate started when the topic of demilitarization of the police arose. A graduate student of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology studying issues of police relations with the military, Gan Golan, discussed the problems ensuing from militarizing the police through the war on drugs. He mentioned the erosion of the traditional (and constitutionally-mandated) separation between the police and the military, through training programs and weaponry. According to Gan Golan, the framework of the war on drugs leads to a military response, rather than a medical and economic one which would be more effective. The militarized elements of the police force, originally deployed for the war on drugs or against protestors, spread to everyday police use. They result in events like the death of Emerson College student Victoria Snelgrove a few weeks ago in Boston due to shooting of a "non-lethal" weapon during a victory celebration for the Red Sox baseball team. The chair of the meeting, Councillor Consalvo, objected to Gan Golan's statements: "When I go into neighborhoods, all I hear my constituents say is add more police force, that they want more police walking the beat to deal with the drug problem." Gan Golan responded that a militarized police was far from an ideal community police program. The debate over neighborhood requests for police presence versus an approach favoring economic and medical relief continued throughout the rest of the hearing. Executive director of the Law Enforcement Against Prohibition group, Jack Cole, spoke about the parallels between alcohol prohibition in the 1920's and the drug prohibition today, saying that an effective drug policy would reduce death, disease, crime, and addiction, which the drug prohibition has failed to do. He highlighted high monetary and human cost of arresting and jailing millions for non-violent drug offenses. "You can get over an addiction, but you can never get over a conviction. If you're convicted for drug crimes, you become ineligible for college loans, so you can't go to school," he said, implying that the punitive impact of the war on drugs is sometimes worse than the impact of drug use itself. Although it was only formed in 2002, LEAP currently boasts over 2000 members from the law enforcement and judicial community, demonstrating that many professionals are motivated to further alternative drug policies. Although both the proponents of a continued policing emphasis and the advocates for legalization and medical focus agreed on the primary goals of reducing drug deaths and violence, they were not able to find common ground during the hearing. Perhaps the continued dialogue promised by Councillor Turner at the beginning of the hearing will allow a consensus approach to be realized. The personal opinion of the author is that a good community policing program is less costly and more effective than the high equipment and high cost militarization-criminalization programs, and most often at odds with them. Community policing should happen in coordination with a medical and economic relief approach, not counter to it. As some of the most experienced "drug warriors" (members of LEAP and other organizations) can attest, the police themselves would often welcome the change. Arresting generation after generation of street-level drug dealers and gang members, easily recruited and replaced by the inflated price of illegal drugs, is not a task that any police force can be proud of. A compromise solution, respectful of the needs of the neighborhoods, and effective in addressing the problems of drug use, should eventually be possible in Boston, and hopefully throughout the United States. An idea whose time cannot come too soon for the all the national and international victims of the drug war ... http://narcosphere.narconews.com/story/2004/11/17/11426/936
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