cannabisnews.com: House Creates Team To Work Out Pot Bill
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House Creates Team To Work Out Pot Bill
Posted by CN Staff on May 07, 2009 at 19:48:07 PT
By Kevin Landrigan, Staff Writer
Source: Nashua Telegraph
Concord, NH --  House supporters of legalizing medical marijuana for chronic or terminally ill patients slowed their campaign Wednesday after fearing Gov. John Lynch would veto the bill (HB 648) as the state Senate had passed it.The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to create a team of legislative negotiators to try and work out differences between the two branches.
State Rep. Cindy Rosenwald, D-Nashua, said there's broad agreement among House and Senate supporters.The goal of the working group, she said, would be to try and address eight specific problems Lynch and his staff identified during private meetings with House supporters earlier this week.The most significant, Rosenwald said, was the "residential model" that would let a qualified patient or caregiver cultivate at home up to six plants or possess up to two ounces of marijuana"His biggest issue is the lack of a centralized system to give it out," Rosenwald told her House committee Wednesday. Lynch did not say he would have vetoed the Senate-passed bill and would not comment when asked if New Hampshire should create state-run dispensing centers for medical marijuana as now exist in California."I can say the current proposal as to how it would cultivated and distributed within the bill is unacceptable," Lynch told reporters.House Speaker Terie Norelli, D-Portsmouth, picked Rosenwald to serve as chairwoman of the negotiating group once the Senate, as is expected next week, agrees to the same course of action.Rosenwald admitted it will be hard to craft an alternative manner of dispensing marijuana to Lynch's liking but rejected the notion the governor would veto it in any form."It has been made clear they are certainly open to working to address his concerns," Rosenwald said.Among issues Lynch and his staff raised were whether the definition of eligible patients was too broad, if there should be criminal background checks for all caregivers and if this compels landlords to rent to patients or caregivers who grow or possess marijuana, she continued.The bill seeks to make New Hampshire the 14th state for it to be legal for chronically or terminally ill to use marijuana.Under the bill, a person with a "debilitating medical condition" or designated caregiver could cultivate his or her own marijuana or get it as a gift and not a for-profit sale from another, qualified patient living in a state where it's legal for patients to have it.Attorney General Kelly Ayotte and nine of the state's 10 county attorneys oppose the bill because possessing marijuana violates federal law.Rep. Peter Batula, R-Merrimack, warned if this bill became law it would lead to broader efforts to decriminalize it."I think we ought to kill it as quick as we can. I know all those on this committee have compassion on their minds, but I think adopting this sets the stage for long-term legalization for use of marijuana," Batula said"The thing you are doing is opening up the door." Bill at a Glance: Bill No. HB 648SPONSOR: State Rep. Evalyn Merrick, D-Lancaster.DESCRIPTION: The bill lets patients and designated caregivers have six plants and up to two ounces of useable marijuana to help those who have a “debilitating medical condition,” as long as it’s under the supervision of a physician. A person would cultivate his or her own marijuana or get it as a gift a not a for-profit sale from another, qualified patient. The House approved the bill in March, and the state Senate approved its version with some changes last week, including one to study an alternative way to dispense the drug to eligible patients.STATUS: Fearing a Lynch veto, House supporters asked and convinced the House of Representatives on Wednesday on a voice vote to create a committee of House and Senate negotiators to work out a compromise. The Senate is expected to agree to that negotiating committee strategy when it meets next week. Source: Nashua Telegraph, The (Nashua, NH)Author: Kevin Landrigan, Staff WriterPublished: Thursday, May 7, 2009Copyright: 2009 Telegraph Publishing CompanyContact: letters nashuatelegraph.comWebsite: http://www.nashuatelegraph.comURL: http://drugsense.org/url/nAJ3B3SCRelated Articles:Ads for Medical Marijuana on TVhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24772.shtmlMedical Marijuana: Yes, 14-10http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24764.shtml
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Comment #13 posted by museman on May 08, 2009 at 09:46:27 PT
remember when
You were in school, sitting in the class, and you come up with a funny statement about what is being said in class, but, unsure of how it will go over, you kind of mutter in under your breath, and then this one guy -destined to be a politician- pipes up real loud and restates what you just said -looking you strait in the eye while he does it, whereupon eveybody laughs and says 'Good one!'Or, you are out in the woods, and you find a new species of plant that can cure some disease, but in looking for some kind of funding to explore the possibilities, you get a notice in the mail telling you to 'cease and desist' everything having to do with your own discovery, because somebody with bucks just did an end run around you?Or you 'discover' the miraculous event of putting a seed in the ground, watch it grow, nurture it, harvest it, and find that the results have all manner of wonderful possibilities. For a while you share with your friends, but just about the time you are being thankful for this wonderful thing you have, the ruling factions of your society make a law saying you can't do it any more for fear of persecution and encarceration.So for many years you go underground, laboring against all manner of false information and propaganda thrown out in an attempt to spoil your neigbors attitudes towards you, amd make you out to be a criminal. Then after all those years of hiding from the government menace, the people start to realize how wrong the government had been, and they hold initiatives to correct the governmental errors.Your discovery is now becoming widely known and acceptable, but just as you are coming back out into the light, the government steps in and writes another law that effectively puts you right back into the underground. Oh they try to make it look like they have 'concerns' about your 'safety and welfare' and use all their prohibition tricks, and false statistics, but they have just stolen your new found liberty, and put it in another box called 'regulation and control.'Here is a personal message for all cops,judges, politicians, non-'representatives' and rich people looking down their noses at the rest of us;STAY OUT OF MY LIFE. GET YOUR OWN.FREE CANNABIS FOREVER
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Comment #12 posted by HempWorld on May 08, 2009 at 09:43:09 PT
Thanks for your comment Hope that was great! 
Lol
Legalize It!
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Comment #11 posted by Hope on May 08, 2009 at 09:17:43 PT
It's not reason. It's not sanity. It's not wisdom.
It's their unnatural love of prohibiting and controlling those "other" people that makes them want to keep that "Door" closed and barricaded... in spite of what the people they are supposed to represent might or might not want. They aren't supposed to be "Shepherds" or "Guardians" of their constituency. They're supposed to be representatives. Representing free, thinking, concerned people is not the same thing as "Shepherding" people like herds of animals, at all. I'm an American. People fought and died for my freedom from overbearing government. I treasure that and am thankful for that. How dare you treat me like a herd animal? How dare you treat me like I'm your property? How dare you treat me like I'm a little child? I'm probably more mature in every way than these gatekeepers are. Don't treat me like I'm your "resource". I'm human. Leave my humanity alone and leave it to me. Represent and quit the mentality that you, and government, are my shepherd and guide.I want the damned "Door" you have devised to keep people locked in to suit your agenda, not just open... but knocked of it's hinges and destroyed... forever!
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Comment #10 posted by Hope on May 08, 2009 at 08:58:47 PT
One super phony thing ...
They are tyrants hiding behind the pretense of being scaredy cats.It's not a booger behind the door, Peter Batula. It's freedom and better health and a better quality of life for everyone. Open the door!Brave, good, smart, humble, honest people to represent us in government would be a nice thing. Can we open a door to that, please?
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Comment #9 posted by vincent on May 08, 2009 at 08:29:28 PT:
Phony
 "Attorney General Kelly Ayotte and nine of the state's 10 county attorneys oppose the bill because possessing marijuana violates federal law".
  
 So, that's the official story, eh? how many times have "they" come out with that bull? So phony. The only thing that they're worried about is their standing with their Conservative constituents. And then, Rep. Peter Batula, R-Merrimack, warned if this bill became law it would lead to broader efforts to decriminalize it. "I think we ought to kill it as quick as we can. I know all those on this committee have compassion on their minds, but I think adopting this sets the stage for long-term legalization for use of marijuana," Batula said "The thing you are doing is opening up the door." 
  Like I said, phony. 	
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Comment #8 posted by greenmed on May 08, 2009 at 01:34:04 PT
The GCW
Thanks for the link. Ddc's post has much interesting information. I especially enjoyed Robert Melamede's discussion of cannabinoids and cancerhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n31Nuj_AvTgHere's another I watched, somewhat along the line of Ddc's post - the indiscriminate marketing of pharmaceuticals (funny too, well, parts anyway - the truth is what it is)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNDZg4BCy2w&NR=1
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Comment #7 posted by The GCW on May 08, 2009 at 00:03:24 PT
greenmed
"pot-of-gold" Everyone on earth should focus on that.pot-of-gold -think of all the implications.-0-Dr. Robert J. Melamede says, "from craddle to grave." (in that video -see comment #5)
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Comment #6 posted by greenmed on May 07, 2009 at 23:32:53 PT
residential model
This is the first time I've read of the term. Words are important, and neologisms make me wary. But it's in lower-case, so it must not be all that threatening, right?The most significant (of the problems Lynch and his staff identified), Rosenwald said, was the "residential model" that would let a qualified patient or caregiver cultivate at home up to six plants or possess up to two ounces of marijuana.Where else would patients cultivate their medicine?"His biggest issue is the lack of a centralized system to give it out," Rosenwald told her House committee Wednesday. Lynch did not say he would have vetoed the Senate-passed bill and would not comment when asked if New Hampshire should create state-run dispensing centers for medical marijuana as now exist in California.Dispensaries in California are not state-run, but rather state-sanctioned and city or county-licensed, I think."I can say the current proposal as to how it would cultivated and distributed within the bill is unacceptable," Lynch told reporters.By rejecting the so-called residential model and instituting a monopoly on distribution of medical cannabis would maximize income for the state. In his third inaugural speech January 8 this year http://www.governor.nh.gov/speeches/documents/010809inaugural.htmthe governor evoked a "magical pot of gold at the end of a mythical rainbow" that would solve the "budget challenge of unprecedented dimensions." At that time, Gov. Lynch did not believe the pot-of-gold existed. It would be disappointing if he has changed his opinion on that, at least insofar as cannabis medicine.Governor Lynch should not threaten willy-nilly a veto of the will of the people. Nor should the people's representatives wilt from that threat - leave the legislation unchanged.
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Comment #5 posted by The GCW on May 07, 2009 at 23:22:17 PT
DdC,
This is posted by DdC over at THC Ministry / Amsterdam forum ( http://www.thc-ministry.net/forum/ ) under the area titled "The War on Drugs" and from the thread titled "Swine Flu Rumsfeld & Cannabinoids" http://www.thc-ministry.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9569This thread by DdC contains info that is new to Me and helpful to cannabis activists.It has a video with Dr. Robert J. Melamede that is informative. It exposes more Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney issues that I was unaware of that connects to the cannabis issue... etc.DdC also has more threads under the section "War on Drugs" that are informative.
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Comment #4 posted by Taylor121 on May 07, 2009 at 23:10:40 PT
Texas call to action: Update on HB 902
The members of the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee who object strongly to this bill are listed above, with links to their contact info.http://texasnorml.org/txnorml_blog/?p=129____If your Texas Rep is on the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, please give them a call or email. Also give the Chair a call. Info is in the Texas NORML link.Always be polite. Being rude will hurt the issue more.
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Comment #3 posted by Taylor121 on May 07, 2009 at 23:06:17 PT
Don't know what the governor wants
 I don't know what to make of the centralized distribution centers and how the governor would want that done. It could be unworkable. Last I checked, the patients that could qualify is quite narrow, so not sure what the gov wants there. Sam is probably right that they should just let the governor veto it as passed and try again next year.
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Comment #2 posted by Sam Adams on May 07, 2009 at 21:16:56 PT
NH bill
I say pass it and let him veto it. He wants to gut the bill and make it ineffective. Better to pass it as written and make him look bad when he vetoes it. If they can't override him then it's a lost cause this year.
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on May 07, 2009 at 20:37:46 PT
Portland Mayor Follows Piercy’s Public Support 
Portland Mayor Follows Piercy’s Public Support for Medical PotBy Jack Moran, The Register-Guard Thursday, May 7, 2009 Oregon’s medical marijuana program has received a second hit of official support with Portland Mayor Sam Adams’ decision to proclaim May as Medical Marijuana Awareness Month in the state’s largest city.Adams’ proclamation — issued Wednesday — comes two weeks after Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy declared April 30 through May 6 as Medical Marijuana Awareness Week in her city. Pro-pot advocates lauded Piercy’s move.Adams’ public statement of support is a word-for-word copy of Piercy’s proclamation.Read more in Friday’s Register-GuardCopyright: 2009 Register Guardhttp://www.registerguard.com/csp/cms/sites/web/updates/13320778-55/story.csp
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