cannabisnews.com: Illinois Legislature Takes New Look at Marijuana










  Illinois Legislature Takes New Look at Marijuana

Posted by CN Staff on February 22, 2006 at 07:03:07 PT
By Philip Ewing 
Source: STL Today 

Springfield, Ill. -- The national debate over medical marijuana is lighting up in Illinois. Under a bill that could be debated in Springfield as early as today, patients would be allowed to possess small amounts of marijuana - which advocates say helps pain sufferers, but opponents say would open the door to legalized pot.The bill, sponsored by state Sen. John Cullerton, D-Chicago, was passed 6-5 last week by a Senate committee. That is the first time such a bill has advanced that far in the Legislature.
The bill would allow patients with prescriptions to grow up to 12 marijuana plants or possess up to about 2 grams of it. Cullerton said those allowances would not usher in fully legal pot."We're not trying to decriminalize or legalize marijuana," Cullerton said. "Our goal is to make sure the people who have access to this marijuana are the ones suffering from diseases, and that it's not abused by anybody else."Several groups, including the Illinois State Police, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois Sheriffs' Association, all oppose the bill. Even medical use is too much, they say, because pot is a harmful, addictive drug.Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, also opposes the bill, a spokeswoman said Tuesday."It's a very frightening situation," said Judy Kreamer, president of Educating Voices Inc., an anti-drug organization based in Naperville, Ill. Children would be the ones most hurt by medical marijuana, she said. "We don't want to be giving kids the message that this is safe, that this is medicine."Eleven states have laws that enable people to use marijuana if it's been recommended by a doctor. Other state legislatures are considering such bills.The Missouri Legislature has considered the issue several times, but an enabling bill has never been passed.Kreamer said the temptation was too great for people to sell their excess marijuana, which "devastates" the lives of people who use it. Compared with the small number of people who'd be helped by medical marijuana, it isn't worth the risk, she said. She said Illinois would become like California, which has thousands of marijuana "dispensaries" and where, she said, "addicts" run rampant.But Allen St. Pierre, director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML, said California's laws weren't a good example - they're "chaotic," he said. Every other state, as well as the Illinois proposal, sets stringent limits on the amount of marijuana a person can possess and who can possess it.State and local governments nationwide are liberalizing the way they deal with marijuana, St. Pierre said, because federal laws are too punitive."Politicians need not fear that this is one of those election-year bugaboos that's going to come back and haunt them about being 'soft on crime,'" St. Pierre said. "Medical marijuana has never lost when it's been put to a popular vote."In a similar debate five years ago, the Legislature approved a measure championed by then-Sen. Evelyn Bowles, D-Edwardsville, that would have approved a feasibility study to determine whether Illinois could develop a cash-crop market around hemp.Hemp is a hallucinogenic cousin to marijuana, but the fibrous plant also can be used to make rope and textiles. Supporters believed a controlled crop could open up new industrial markets for Illinois farmers. But then-Gov. George Ryan vetoed the bill in 2001 after anti-drug opponents said it would send mixed messages to children to have state-sanctioned crops of hemp.The medical marijuana bill is SB2568.Complete Title: Illinois Legislature Takes New Look at Medical MarijuanaSource: STL Today (MO)Author: Philip EwingPublished: Wednesday, February 22, 2006Copyright: 2006 STL Today.comWebsite: http://www.stltoday.com/Contact: SiteEditor stltoday.comRelated Articles & Web Site:NORMLhttp://www.norml.org/Medical Pot Passes Senatehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21614.shtmlMedical Cannabis Bill Gains Momentum http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21608.shtml

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Comment #21 posted by siege on February 22, 2006 at 21:16:26 PT
O T Court Documents: Hospital Gave Lethal Injectio
 to Patients During Hurricane Katrina:http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/feb/06022201.html
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Comment #20 posted by ekim on February 22, 2006 at 21:16:02 PT
Sen. Evelyn Bowles talked truth 5 years ago
===just look at the date a lot happen just go to Hemp and ck from Aug 01 to Dec 01 
  
 Bill for Industrial Hemp Study Shelved 
Posted by FoM on November 14, 2001 at 13:12:49 PT
By Adriana Colindres, State Capitol Bureau 
Source: State Journal-Register 
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread11342.shtml
 A top supporter of a proposal to allow the University of Illinois to study industrial hemp said Tuesday he probably won't call his controversial bill for a vote during the fall veto session.
Rep. Ron Lawfer, R-Stockton, attempted Tuesday to persuade his colleagues to override Gov. George Ryan's veto of House Bill 3377. But Lawfer withdrew the bill from consideration after several minutes of debate. The debate included a comment from Rep. Mary Lou Cowlishaw, R-Naperville, that approving the bill would send the wrong message to young people about illegal drugs.He said later that "unless something changes," he will not seek a vote on the bill during the veto session, which still has five more days to run.Lawfer has championed the idea of a study on industrial hemp for a couple of years. He believes the plant, a biological relative of marijuana, could become a new cash crop for struggling farmers.Industrial hemp was grown in Illinois during the early 20th century. Now, it may not be grown anywhere in the United States without permission. In other countries, hemp seeds and fibers are used in producing clothes, paper and other items.On two occasions, similar industrial hemp bills have won approval in the Illinois House and Senate. Each time, however, Ryan vetoed them.HB3377 was a revised version of an earlier industrial hemp bill. Ryan vetoed it in August, saying that while the bill's supporters are well-meaning, the measure "plays into the national strategy of groups seeking to remove existing criminal penalties for cannabis/marijuana possession and use."Lawmakers could override the governor's veto with a three-fifths vote in each chamber, meaning 71 "yes" votes in the House and 36 "yes" votes in the Senate.When Lawfer's bill passed last spring, it garnered 72 votes in the House and 38 in the Senate."I wasn't sure that I had 71 votes," Lawfer said Tuesday.With the upcoming 2002 elections, which will require lawmakers to run in newly drawn legislative districts, some were reluctant to support the industrial hemp bill, he said. He declined to name any of them.One part of Lawfer's bill would require U of I researchers to try to develop a hemp plant without the psychoactive ingredient THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), which is also present in marijuana and causes a "high."Also on Tuesday, the House voted 106-8 to accept Ryan's suggested changes to House Bill 2412, which would allow beer sales at the University of Illinois' Memorial Stadium.The bill passed last spring, when the Chicago Bears were considering a temporary move to Champaign during Soldier Field's $500 million renovation. The Bears since have announced they will be playing at Memorial Stadium.In an amendatory veto message last summer, Ryan said he would accept beer sales at the stadium, as long as they didn't start until 90 minutes before kickoff and ceased at the end of the third quarter. Such a change would be in line with the standards at other professional football stadiums, Ryan said.To become law, the governor's changes also must pass in the Senate.Note: Lawmakers worry about sending wrong message. Source: State Journal-Register (IL)
Author: Adriana Colindres, State Capitol Bureau
Published: November 14, 2001
Copyright: 2001 The State Journal-Register
Contact: letters sj-r.com
Website: http://www.sj-r.com/http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread10538.shtml
The bill had called for a five-year study of hemp's potential as a cash crop."We were not going to be using state funds," Bowles said. "We were soliciting funds from various industries and business outlets that are interested in pursuing this hemp study."The hemp bill would have allowed the University of Illinois to grow the plant and study whether it could be raised profitably in the state. Meanwhile, Western Illinois University would have studied law enforcement issues raised by growing hemp.
 
http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread11260.shtmlChinese Hemp Industry has Boundless Potential 
Posted by FoM on November 05, 2001 at 09:01:46 PT
Business News 
Source: People's Daily As world fashion increasingly moves toward simplicity, comfort and health protection, experts point out that hemp, a major economic crop in China, could have great market prospects after the nation's entry into the World Trade Organization. 
http://www.thehia.org
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Comment #19 posted by FoM on February 22, 2006 at 20:50:53 PT
Ohio Medical Marijuana Video
http://www.whiotv.com/video/7334822/detail.html
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Comment #18 posted by MaRkAyNe on February 22, 2006 at 19:21:42 PT:
2 grams
 "The bill would allow patients with prescriptions to grow up to 12 marijuana plants or possess up to about 2 grams of it".
 Pretty sure thats bad reporting, or someone who doesn't know their wieghts. If they were smarter the would get involved and learn about the issue."It's a very frightening situation," said Judy Kreamer...Everyone knows it's not gonna increase availabilty.. whats she scared of? She needs to chill out
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Comment #17 posted by Max Flowers on February 22, 2006 at 19:11:57 PT
whig 
Check your trash :-)
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on February 22, 2006 at 18:39:03 PT
Ekim
The program is excellent. Thanks!
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Comment #15 posted by mayan on February 22, 2006 at 18:17:04 PT
Medical Cannabis: Undefeated!
"Politicians need not fear that this is one of those election-year bugaboos that's going to come back and haunt them about being 'soft on crime,'" St. Pierre said. "Medical marijuana has never lost when it's been put to a popular vote."It is good to know that our opponents are in the ever shrinking minority. They have no choice but to scream louder than ever to compensate for those prohibitionists who see the approaching tidal wave and are jumping ship in greater numbers by the day! Those who oppose this bill will likely be the ones who aren't up for re-election. Otherwise they will lose their jobs! The issue of medical cannabis has become a sort of litmus-test to see who truly rerpresents the vast majority of citizens. Win or lose, we are exposing the fascists. They can no longer hide.THE WAY OUT...The Moussaoui Spin on the UAE Port Security Scandal:
http://www.911blogger.com/2006/02/moussaoui-spin-on-uae-port-security.htmlDr. David Ray Griffin To Appear On The Mike Malloy Show Tonight (Weds. the 22nd)!!! - 10pm ET:
http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20060222161051713Randi Rhodes Opens The Door For 9/11 Truth:
http://www.yourbbsucks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8472Breakthrough in New York:
http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20060221124947144
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on February 22, 2006 at 18:11:21 PT
Ekim 
Thank you. I turned it on.
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Comment #13 posted by ekim on February 22, 2006 at 18:04:22 PT
anyone seeing Link TV on dir tv at 375
David Sizuki sorry about the last name has one of the greatest depictions of how the earth is formed as i have ever witnesed.
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Comment #12 posted by FoM on February 22, 2006 at 16:19:01 PT

Hemp For Houses
Hemp is perhaps best known for its Omega-3 and -6 fatty acids that make it a great addition to a healthy diet, and as a cotton substitute in ecologically-sound clothing and bedding. But it is also a versatile, environmentally-sound building material. A hemp crop can be grown without the use of herbicides or insecticides and produces up to four tonnes of material per acre per year. Hemp is categorized as a bast fiber crop. It has a stem consisting of an outer skin containing long, strong fibers and a hollow wood-like core or pith. Processing the stems results in two materials: hurds and fibers, both of which have properties that make them extremely useful in building construction. A variety of wood-like products, such as fiberboard, roofing tiles, wallboard, paneling, insulation and bricks, can be made from the compressed hurds. The fibers can also be used like straw in bale wall construction or with mud in a sort of modified cob style of building. Foundations can be made out of hemp hurds. A hemp plywood frame is filled with a hemp hurds combined with lime, sand, plaster, some cement and enough water to dampen, and then let to set for a day and to harden for a week. A sixth century hemp-reinforced bridge in France is testimony to the stone-like strength and durability of this material, which has come to be known as “hempcrete”. Complete Article: http://www.life.ca/nl/108/hemphouse.htmlHaverhill, Suffolk Hemp Homes Report - British Research Establishment, 2002: 
http://www.bre.co.uk/pdf/hemphomes.pdf
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Comment #11 posted by OverwhelmSam on February 22, 2006 at 16:05:38 PT

Ever Feel Like Your Pissing In Gale Force Winds? 
The Federal Government must be getting awfully soaked with pee. LOL
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on February 22, 2006 at 15:56:50 PT

Hemp Article from Farm & Ranch Guide 
State To Seek Okay To Grow Industrial Hemp***Wednesday, February 22, 2006 
  
 
  
Bismarck --  North Dakota and three other states made their case Friday, with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to allow the cultivation of industrial hemp.“The DEA people were very cordial, but they told us that the process of legalizing the production of industrial hemp will be extremely complicated under existing federal law,” said Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson. “DEA has never responded to our earlier inquiries, but today, we were able to present our case and learn from them what may be required in terms of regulations and safeguards.”             
Johnson and the agriculture commissioners from Massachusetts, West Virginia and Wisconsin met with DEA officials, including Joseph Rannazzisi, deputy assistant administrator; Robert C. Gleason, deputy chief counsel, and Eric Akres, chief of congressional affairs.Johnson said the North Dakota Department of Agriculture is in the process of drafting new rules to control the production of industrial hemp, and that he wanted to solicit input from DEA. The new rules would implement state laws, passed by the Legislature in 1999 through 2005.“We were told by DEA that growers, processors and importers of hemp seed would each have to be separately licensed, and that DEA would need to establish quotas for the production and processing of industrial hemp,” he said.Johnson noted that the United States is alone among industrialized countries in banning cultivation of industrial hemp. 
  “The Canadians lifted their ban in 1998 and are now moving forward with large-scale cultivation of industrial hemp,” he said. “It is obviously a crop that could do very well in North Dakota and provide our producers with another income source, as well as a valuable rotational crop.”Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa) is widely grown around the world and is used in the manufacture of textiles, papers and rope. Its seed is also used for food and feed. Oil derived from the plant is used in cosmetics, paints and medicinal compounds. The industrial form of hemp contains only trace amounts of the psychoactive drug delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) found in marijuana, although DEA does not currently recognize industrial hemp apart from marijuana.Copyright: 2006 Farm & Ranch Guide http://www.farmandranchguide.com/articles/2006/02/22/ag_news/updates/update02.txt
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Comment #9 posted by whig on February 22, 2006 at 11:48:59 PT

OT: Trashmail - Please read Max
I was thinking it would be nice if we could find a way to have private correspondence once in awhile, without posting our e-mail addresses for everyone in the world to see.I've been using trashmail with some websites where you have to give an e-mail address to log in to read content, but you don't want to be put on a mailing list. I think this would be really helpful to us too.The idea isn't to protect correspondence itself, everything that goes through trashmail is logged, it isn't an anonymous remailer or anything like that. But it would provide a way for two people to give one another their e-mail addresses without giving it to anyone else.Here's the idea. I go to http://trashmail.net/ and create a disposable address for myself: zhqxhw trashmail.net. I actually did this, by the way. Then I can invite one person to e-mail me -- in this case, I'd love to hear from Max because I'm hoping we might be able to get together sometime if I'm going to be in Berkeley, and anyhow I'll be there in two weeks for a day so maybe we'd have a chance to say hello.If Max replies, I'll have his e-mail address, and I can write back to him directly and he'll have mine. Nobody else reading this will have either of our addresses, but the two of us can converse off-list at will. (Actually FoM knows how to contact me as well anyhow, and probably most of us as well.)
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on February 22, 2006 at 11:30:53 PT

runderwo 
Glad you saw that too. Where do they come up with this stuff?
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Comment #7 posted by runderwo on February 22, 2006 at 11:27:13 PT

excuse me?
"Hemp is a hallucinogenic cousin to marijuana,"Do reporters care about what they present as facts or what?The quotes from the antis in this article are great though.
...pot is a harmful, addictive drug...
...Children would be the ones most hurt by medical marijuana, she said. "We don't want to be giving kids the message that this is safe, that this is medicine."...
...the temptation was too great for people to sell their excess marijuana, which "devastates" the lives of people who use it...
...isn't worth the risk...
..."addicts" run rampant...So basically, a collection of stuff that we know is false. Pot is less harmful than aspirin, less addictive than coffee; underage use has gone down in medical states; marijuana is safer than most OTC medicines; what message do we send when parents have bottles of dangerous prescription pharms in their kitchen?; the median income and IQ of a marijuana consumer is ABOVE the national average; etc.Yeah, it might not be worth the risk if you're scared of the unknown. But it's easy to become educated on the subject. That leads me to believe that these people are simply making too much money off of willful ignorance.
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Comment #6 posted by whig on February 22, 2006 at 10:38:32 PT

Max #2
The FDCA is not the operative basis for federal prohibition of cannabis and never was. There was the Marijuana Tax Act which Timothy Leary successfully overturned in the Supreme Court, followed by the Controlled Substances Act since. I don't think the grandfathering dog will hunt.I maintain it is necessary and appropriate to challenge the extension of the commerce clause as granting prohibitory (as opposed to regulatory) authority over interstate trade.
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on February 22, 2006 at 10:27:02 PT

Sam 
I just watched it. I haven't watched Conan since Neil Young was on. I don't like his humor.
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Comment #4 posted by Sam Adams on February 22, 2006 at 10:16:52 PT

Conan
In response to Conan's monologue, I would say, Yes, whores and gambling aren't enough to make a funny joke, either.
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Comment #3 posted by siege on February 22, 2006 at 09:42:10 PT

Conan O’Brien
briefly commented on our Nevada campaign on his national TV show http://www.regulatemarijuana.org/home/media/conan.mov
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Comment #2 posted by Max Flowers on February 22, 2006 at 09:11:32 PT

Medical cannabis already legal under federal law
The CCCA should, as an integral part of its campaign, make known the fact that medical cannabis is already exempt by grandfather clause from prohibition, therefore, all prohobition that has taken place and is now taking place, is illegal.The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 ("the FDCA"), 21 U.S.C. §301 et seq., is designed to protect public health by regulating "new drugs" that are intended for use in interstate commerce. Barnes v. United States, 142 F.2d 648 (9th Cir.1944); United States v. Kordel, 164 F.2d 913 (7th Cir.1947); United States v. Two Bags, Poppy Seeds, 147 F.2d 123 (6th Cir. 1945). There exists, however, a "grandfather" clause which exempts certain old drugs from this "new drug" status. 21 U.S.C. §321(p)(1); United States v. Rutherford, 442 U.S.544, 546-48 (1979); Rutherford v. United States, 541 F.2d. 1137, 1140-42 (10th Cir.1976) (reversed on other grounds, 442 U.S. 544).As explained by federal regulators, when Congress revamped the FDCA in 1939, it "accepted those drugs marketed prior to 1938 which had been subject to the 1906 provisions of the FDCA [requiring drugs to be identified in recognized medical authorities such as the National Formulary, United States Dispensatory, Pharmacopeia of the United States, or other similar sources] provided these very old drugs retain their exact formulations and are never promoted for new uses." 57 Fed.Reg. 10499, 10503 (1992) (citing 21 U.S.C. §321(p) and (w)). As further explained, these pre-1938 drugs "are politically 'grandfathered' drugs" and "need not meet modern standards for safety and effectiveness." Ibid; United States v. Rutherford, 442 U.S. at 546-48; Rutherford v. United States, 541 F.2d. at 1140-42.As will now be shown, marijuana is one of those "very old drugs" that was grandfathered in as a medicine back in 1938. Marijuana (more commonly known as cannabis) was widely recognized for its medicinal use in the medical journals of that time, and brand-name companies, such as Parke-Davis and Eli Lilly, were cultivating "home-grown cannabis" and selling the "flowering tops" of the plant for use in the treatment of illnesses such as anorexia, chronic pain, spasticity, and nausea."Medical Marijuana" Is A Bona Fide MedicineWithin The Meaning Of The Grandfather Clause Exemption First, it bears emphasizing that federal regulators readily recognize "medical marijuana" as an authentic pre-1938 medicine:"Cannabis sativa L. was one of the first plants to be used by man for fiber, food, medicine, and in social and religious rituals. There were approximately 150 traditional medicinal uses of cannabis ... in Western medicine from the mid-19th to the early 20th century ...In 1941, marijuana passed out of the National Formulary and the United States Pharmacopeia." 54 Fed.Reg. 53767, 53774 (1989).Next, recorded documents existing within private and public libraries, now located on the world-wide web, (internet) further reveal evidence of marijuana's recognition and acceptance as medicine prior to 1938. These documents verify the pre-1938 acceptance of marijuana in the United States Dispensatory, Pharmacopeia of the United States, and Materia Medica acknowledging marijuana's use in the treatment of pain relief, epilepsy, appetite loss, depression, vomiting, etc., etc., etc.Companies such as Parke-Davis, Eli Lilly, Merck, and Squibb made extensive use of marijuana for commercial medicinal purposes and not only manufactured and sold marijuana preparations, they cultivated "home-grown cannabis" and then sold the "flowering tops" of those plants by the gram, ounce and pounds.
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on February 22, 2006 at 07:11:14 PT

Press Release from Business Wire
California Coalition for Compassionate Access Announces Official Launch; Calls On California Republican Congressional Delegation to Support Hinchey-Rohrabacher Amendment ***CLAREMONT, Calif. -- (BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 22, 2006 -- The California Coalition for Compassionate Access (CCCA) announced its official launch today, kicking off a campaign to win support among California's Republican Delegation for the bipartisan Hinchey-Rohrabacher Amendment. Passage of this amendment would prohibit the federal government from using taxpayer money to arrest or prosecute medical marijuana patients in states where such treatment is legal -- including California. The Hinchey-Rohrabacher Amendment, which is due for consideration in the House of Representatives this June, would resolve the existing clash between state and federal law on the matter of medical marijuana, reinforcing the rights of individual states to decide the issue without the risk of federal intervention. California became the first state to make doctor-supervised medical marijuana treatments legally accessible to seriously and terminally ill patients when a majority of voters passed Proposition 215 in 1996. Prop 215 has since been further clarified by Senate Bill 420, which garnered support from conservative Republican stalwart Senator Tom McClintock. According to the most recent statewide poll, 74% of Californians support legal protections for medical marijuana patients. This tracks with a November 2005 nationwide Gallup poll that shows that 78% of the American people also support such legal protection. "The current conflict between state and federal law on the issue of physician-supervised medical marijuana poses the greatest simultaneous threat to both patient and states' rights," said CCCA Executive Director Alex Holstein. "The people of California and ten other states have spoken clearly on this issue, either through direct referendum or legislation passed by their state representatives. Their will reflects that of the vast majority of Americans. The federal government has no business wasting taxpayer money to intervene on this matter. The CCCA agrees with President Bush that this should be an issue for the individual states to decide. It's time for Congress to bring its legislation in line with the will of the American people." The California Coalition for Compassionate Access is a grassroots coalition of patients, caregivers and political advocates dedicated to protecting patients' rights through preserving states' rights. The CCCA is currently engaged in a multifaceted advocacy campaign to win further support among California's Republican Congressional Delegation for the bipartisan Hinchey-Rohrabacher Amendment, which will resolve the clash between state and federal law on the matter of medical marijuana. The Hinchey-Rohrabacher Amendment is due for consideration in June 2006.http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/topix/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20060222005375&newsLang=en
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