cannabisnews.com: Senator Advocates Legal Medical Marijuana





Senator Advocates Legal Medical Marijuana
Posted by CN Staff on November 22, 2004 at 07:02:09 PT
By Alex Miller
Source: Sidelines
State Senator Steve Cohen, D-Memphis, will try to legalize medical marijuana next year.If he succeeds, Tennessee will join a handful of states that have legalized the drug for medical purposes. Eleven states have passed medical marijuana laws, according to NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.
Passing a medical marijuana law won't be easy. If newly elected senator Jim Tracy, R-Shelbyville, has anything to say about it, Cohen's bill doesn't have a prayer."I wouldn't be for it, at all," Tracy said. He wants to see the details of Cohen's proposal, but he generally opposes medical marijuana. There are already prescription pain relief drugs available, he said, so patients don't need marijuana.Tyler Smith, vice president of MTSU's Raider Republicans, echoed his sentiments."I don't agree with medical marijuana," Smith said. He harbors serious doubts about the state's ability to control the drug. If Tennessee can't even administer TennCare effectively, he said, how can it expect to regulate marijuana?"I think there are alternatives out there," he said. "I don't see why anyone would need to step out and use marijuana." Bobby Bush, vice president of the College Democrats, said marijuana should be an option for seriously ill patients."The decision to use marijuana as opposed to other pain medications is a decision to be made between a doctor and a patient, not a politician," he said. He believes that opposition to medical marijuana is based on "moral values" and "gets in the way of decisions between doctors and patients."Lynn Parsons, director of MTSU's school of nursing, supports medical marijuana. "As long as it is physician supervised, I am for it," she said. The people who would use the drug, such as cancer patients, endure tremendous pain, she said. "We should do anything we can to alleviate their suffering." According to Parsons, prescription pain medications, including marijuana, all have advantages and disadvantages. The side effects of pain medications like Fentanyl and Oxycodone can cause "profound respiratory distress, " and marijuana users could experience hallucinations, delusions and paranoia.In addition to pain relief, marijuana is prescribed to chemotherapy patients for nausea suppression and AIDS patients for appetite stimulation. Source: Sidelines, The (TN Edu)Author: Alex MillerPublished: Monday, November 22, 2004 Copyright: 2004 Middle Tennessee State UniversityContact: sleditor mtsu.eduWebsite: http://www.mtsusidelines.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:NORMLhttp://www.norml.org/Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htm Cohen Promoting Medical Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19837.shtmlCohen Plans To Push Legalizing Med Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19833.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by Craiig on November 22, 2004 at 07:59:37 PT
Cannabis back in the news in the UK
Major rise in cannabis possession 
 
The Met claims cannabis possession arrests have fallen 
The number of people found carrying cannabis has risen by 29% in London since laws were relaxed in January, a report has said. 
Met Police figures show 6,321 were found in possession of the drug from April to August 2003. That rose to 8,148 in the same period this year. London Assembly Conservatives said the class C drug should be returned to class B status, to reduce its use. But the Met said the number of actual arrests fell by 53% since downgrading. The force says this has saved almost £425,000.  Research has shown that cannabis is not the harmless little narcotic that we are led to believe it is Richard Barnes, member of Metropolitan Police Authority 
But the report adds the reclassification had sent out a mixed message to members of the public. Also, front line officers found people with cannabis on them more confrontational because they believed they would not face arrest. Bob Neill, leader of the London Assembly Conservative group and member of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA), said: "The reclassification would seem to have made it harder, rather than easier, to enforce the law. "If cannabis were reclassified back to a class B drug, everybody would know where they stand, cannabis use would fall and police could return to arresting those who use illegal drugs." Fellow MPA member Richard Barnes told BBC News: "Research has shown that cannabis is not the harmless little narcotic that we are led to believe it is." The London boroughs of Lambeth, Hackney, Westminster, Merton and Barnet recorded the highest numbers of people caught carrying cannabis. While Harrow, Hammersmith and Fulham and Barking and Dagenham had the lowest rates. 
 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4032023.stm
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