cannabisnews.com: Confusion Abounds Over Medical Marijuana
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Confusion Abounds Over Medical Marijuana
Posted by CN Staff on May 12, 2009 at 04:45:52 PT
By Thomas D. Elias
Source: Appeal-Democrat
California -- There is silence now where once loud huzzahs erupted from medical marijuana advocates in California after U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder signaled this spring that federal authorities will no longer raid or interfere with medipot dispensaries in states where it is legal, so long as users abide by state law.That's because no big change has occurred since then in this state, whose voters via the 1996 Proposition 215 became the first in the nation to pass a state law legalizing medical use of marijuana.
Federal prosecutions of medipot providers arrested while George W. Bush was president continue. Inconsistencies in what's legal persist from one county to the next. While some officials in big cities and urban counties advocate municipal sales of pot to keep prices down and make sure clinics operate within the law, their counterparts in other places continue banning medipot altogether.Los Angeles County, for the biggest example, has more than 100 medical cannabis clubs, storefronts and delivery services, but nearby cities like Anaheim and Pasadena ban them. While some medipot supply outlets feature smoking lounges and marijuana brownies, counties like Amador, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Merced, Riverside, Stanislaus and Sutter ban all sales, according to the pro-pot group Americans for Safe Access.Then there are the abiding inconsistencies between state and federal law. Where the state says anyone can smoke or otherwise take marijuana for medical reasons with a mere recommendation from a doctor, federal law recognizes no medical effects at all from the weed, despite Holder's stated new policy.That's how a federal appeals court the other day could uphold a 10-year prison term for a Chico medipot patient convicted in 2002 of conspiring to grow more than 1,000 marijuana plants, even though he had a doctor's recommendation and testified he was growing the plants for himself and four other patients who shared expenses.That's why, if you use medical marijuana and live in housing subsidized by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, you can be evicted anytime - even if you're in complete compliance with every state and local law. As a result, Americans for Safe Access recommends on its Website that such patients not smoke pot in their apartments, but try to use only edible pot concoctions or vaporizers.For while the California Supreme Court has upheld Proposition 215 and counties are required to issue ID cards to medipot patients who register, plenty of county officials refuse to comply. San Diego County, for one, has not issued cards, instead suing the state in an action that now awaits review by the U.S. Supreme Court.If the nation's highest court upholds the San Diego County stance, there's a strong possibility several counties that reluctantly began issuing IDs last year will stop doing it or rescind the cards they're already given out.That's because plenty of local officials believe medipot is a scam, a get-rich scheme by growers who somehow conned the majority of state voters.An example is Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood, who told a reporter the Holder position doesn't matter to him. "I will do my job irrespective of what the Drug Enforcement Administration (which answers to Holder) does or does not do," he said.Adding to the welter of confusion is the fact that despite Holder's policy change, Justice Department lawyers nominally working for him argued before a federal appeals court a month later that marijuana "currently has no accepted medical use."At the same time, some politicians argue that California should just forget about both federal law and all disputes over the medical merits of pot, and simply legalize the weed in order to tax it, which might help balance the constantly strapped state budget. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, taking a cue from Democratic Assemblyman Tom Ammiano of San Francisco, who last winter proposed full legalization, argued this month that California should consider just that.Some estimates claim marijuana is the largest cash crop along California's North Coast and in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, with estimates of the total street value of California-grown pot ranging up to $14 billion per year. A 10 percent sales tax on that amount would contribute more than $1.4 billion to the state's coffers.But there's confusion here, too, since no one can say how much prices might drop if pot became legal.This all creates a legal maze of almost unprecedented complexity that probably won't be resolved until or unless Congress legalizes marijuana, or at least its use for legitimate medical reasons. No one should expect that to happen anytime soon.Thomas D. Elias writes on California politics and other issues. His column appears Tuesdays and Sundays. Source: Appeal-Democrat (CA)Author: Thomas D. EliasPublished: May 12, 2009Copyright: 2009 Freedom CommunicationsURL: http://drugsense.org/url/8UvSUD2uWebsite: http://www.appeal-democrat.com/Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/EHLAyrsaCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #45 posted by dankhank on May 13, 2009 at 13:34:31 PT
Steven ...
http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/140006/stephen_colbert_slams_the_gop%27s_lackluster_attempts_at_change/#morehere's a good one ...
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #44 posted by dankhank on May 13, 2009 at 12:59:59 PT
yes .....
thanks for doctor Tom link ...
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #43 posted by FoM on May 13, 2009 at 11:50:33 PT
bionic man
Thank you for Dr. Tom's link.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #42 posted by FoM on May 13, 2009 at 11:33:46 PT
Boots and Sand
When I get on a small mission I keep looking. This song isn't available in the USA only in the UK. Someone uploaded it to Youtube and I quick saved the music before they might remove it. Dolly Parton and Paul McCartney accompanied him on this song. It is about being on the no fly list. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-m5k_nW8mc
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #41 posted by bionic man on May 13, 2009 at 11:30:07 PT
dr.tom
Dr. Tom has a good post.
http://www.doctortom.org/
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #40 posted by FoM on May 13, 2009 at 11:05:44 PT
Hope
We just watched the interview on Majikat. I'm glad he is back. We need music like that again in these difficult times. 30 years is a long soul searching time.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #39 posted by FoM on May 13, 2009 at 11:02:00 PT
Hope
LOL!
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #38 posted by Hope on May 13, 2009 at 10:53:58 PT
Oh my. The Colbert Report?
He must be feeling brave!
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #37 posted by FoM on May 13, 2009 at 10:28:05 PT
Dankhank
I found this on a USA Today article. He'll appear Wednesday on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Thursday on The Colbert Report and Friday on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #36 posted by FoM on May 13, 2009 at 07:30:48 PT
Dankhank
Roadsinger is the title of his new CD and a song in the CD. I am planning on buying it soon.Roadsinger on Amazon: http://drugsense.org/url/FwEhq18a
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #35 posted by FoM on May 13, 2009 at 07:24:06 PT
Dankhank
I don't think the interview will be on Majikat but I could be wrong. He talked about his music, his TB and his near death experience when he was being swept out to sea by a current. He talked about how it was to be who he was at that time. He had all the women he wanted. He said he was rude and self righteous. He had all the drugs he wanted. He felt empty and drained. Majikat was the last tour he did I think. Basically he had a big empty spot in his heart that only faith could fill. His music was always spiritual and searching. He said he is Yusuf but he also is Cat Stevens. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_Stevens#Tuberculosis
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #34 posted by Dankhank on May 13, 2009 at 07:05:59 PT
Cat ............
Is Roadsinger a video or album or both?
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #33 posted by Dankhank on May 13, 2009 at 07:02:37 PT
Cat ........
I'm downloading Majikat, nowI'll check it out.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #32 posted by FoM on May 13, 2009 at 05:25:51 PT
Dankhank
I'm glad you will consider what I said. If you watch the Roadsinger and listen to it a couple of times it might help. Cat Stevens isn't a saint but he isn't a hateful person. His religion is far removed from our countries religion. We have extreme right wing conservative christians in this country that scare me. Any form of extremism hurts everyone no matter what religion they believe in.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #31 posted by Hope on May 13, 2009 at 00:04:34 PT
BGreen. Comment 12. Too true.
"There is a strong precedence of people (cops) infiltrating peaceful organizations in order to incite violence."Re: comment 2 and other incidents over the years... I so agree. I expect a government plant when I see people seemingly trying to incite violence. Although I think the guy in the story was likely just running his mouth a little too loosely for the situation and possibilities he had at hand.We know we have to watch our words. We know there are unstable people out there, too. But mostly it's the unstable people that are working for some branch of popo that are leading people because they want to get some body in as deep a trouble as they can possibly muster, and are trained by our tax dollar to do so. A few years ago the NYT Forum on the Drug War was shut down completely for a few years, because of some really cold, mean dude spouting hate and retribution. He was all body bags and burning buildings, and people running scared and screaming in the streets. Scared me, I'll tell you. It wasn't long before they shut the forum down completely.When I hear someone "losing it" and encouraging others to "lose it"... I immediately think... 'It's the PoPo'.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #30 posted by dankhank on May 12, 2009 at 21:21:19 PT
Cat .....
I knew little of his choice of religion.I only knew what he said.that's what distressed meI will consider what you have shared.Thanx
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #29 posted by FoM on May 12, 2009 at 18:22:07 PT
josephlacerenza
I like Stephen Colbert. I guess my problem with Colbert is even though he isn't a Conservative he acts like one. I like Jon Stewart and watch him Monday thru Thursday to get my news. LOL!
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #28 posted by josephlacerenza on May 12, 2009 at 18:10:23 PT
OF for any of you
Colbert fans!!!!
NASA to Launch COLBERT
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #27 posted by FoM on May 12, 2009 at 17:43:44 PT
Dankhank
There's a picture in this article about him performing in Los Angeles. I really believe he is a good man no matter how his journey went. I'm glad the United States allowed him to come back. I think some younger people might realize what a performer he was and why we feel emotion about him whether good or bad.http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2009/05/cat-stevens-then-yusuf-now-at-el-rey.html
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #26 posted by FoM on May 12, 2009 at 17:39:12 PT
Dankhank
I wanted to mention that I know you have a hard time with Cat Stevens when he left us and became a part of a Faith we didn't think was ok as a group. I felt the same feelings and felt abandoned. Now he is back. It took a lot of humility to come back knowing how angry many of his fans were. He did return like the prodigal son in the Bible. The father in that story rejoiced. I like rejoicing.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #25 posted by FoM on May 12, 2009 at 16:46:26 PT
Dankhank
I don't know about a Burkha comment and can't seem to find it. I was always around Nuns that wore full Habits ( some Habits remind me of a less extreme Burkha if that is what they call toned down coverings) so being covered up like the Nuns were doesn't seem that odd to me. Nuns were everywhere when I was in school and never uncovered. It just wasn't strange to me or my friends so some of it is culture and religious tradition.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #24 posted by FoM on May 12, 2009 at 16:36:01 PT
Dankhank
Does this help? I look at Cat Stevens as a very good man. He has done good things and is returning to his roots and that is wonderful. I have been in Churches with extreme beliefs but I am me and he is who he is. He loves his faith and I respect that. I would love to hear him speak like he did in the interview part of the DVD Majikat. That interview explained to me who he is and I put it all in perspective as to what he said as a young convert to Islam.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_Stevens'_comments_about_Salman_Rushdie#Criticism_and_backlash
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #23 posted by Dankhank on May 12, 2009 at 16:16:47 PT
Cat ...
Would like to read a story about Cat and hear his thoughts on two things that have been floating around the media for many years.I read a news story of when Cat was asked about women in Afghanistan and their wearing of burkhas. Cat said he didn't believe the women were wearing burkhas' and that was likely media lies.the second story I read stated a reporter asked Cat if he supported the fatwa, issued by Kohemani, against Salman Rushdie. Cat stated he would be obligated to tell where Rushdie was, if he knew.I would like these stories clarified.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #22 posted by FoM on May 12, 2009 at 16:00:52 PT
OT: Something I Am Really Hoping Happens
http://www.healthcare-now.org/
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #21 posted by FoM on May 12, 2009 at 15:43:37 PT
josephlacerenza
Thank you. I read the article and found it on this new women's web site called Double X.Why I Give My 9-Year-Old PotURL: http://www.doublex.com/section/health-science/why-i-give-my-9-year-old-pot
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #20 posted by josephlacerenza on May 12, 2009 at 15:31:36 PT
Some News on the Nets
Yah another news article to read!!!! This one is about autism.
http://tiny.cc/pb0jI
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #19 posted by FoM on May 12, 2009 at 14:14:24 PT
OT: Thinking Bout You By Yusuf aka Cat Stevens
His music is so calming. I'm glad he's allowed back in the States.http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m222NR9A945HKJ
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #18 posted by FoM on May 12, 2009 at 12:46:31 PT
Yoshi
I don't believe in war but they happen and unfortunately always will. I really do want to see the laws change on our issue and that has been and will stay my goal.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #17 posted by Yoshi on May 12, 2009 at 12:35:47 PT:
Money Wheel runs over useless feeders
$$$ go to industry to produce banned white phosphorus, US military burns up children in Afghanistan, later we'll complain on staged media shows to our puppet Afghani leader that opium poppies are flowering all over and how we're very concerned about drugs, while at home we can buy all the adderall, xanax, pain, or hard on pills we want. While we incarcerate the segment of our own population most likely to be unhappy with the status quo.
The bankers got their pay off/bail out, despite 100 to 1 calls against on capitol hill. Laundering drug money, and using cartels at the whim of intelligence agencies is too important to the system. We need help at the state level, the higher up you go the less likely you are to see change
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #16 posted by FoM on May 12, 2009 at 12:20:15 PT
dongenero
I agree. I have always liked him.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #15 posted by dongenero on May 12, 2009 at 12:09:13 PT
Cat Stevens - Yusuf
Nice to see Cat Stevens recording music again. His talent is too great to not put to use.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #14 posted by FoM on May 12, 2009 at 11:35:59 PT
Off Topic: Roadsinger By Cat Stevens
I like this new song and I love his VW Bus.http://www.amazon.com/gp/mpd/permalink/m3GWSKPNMXMR88
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #13 posted by FoM on May 12, 2009 at 10:47:46 PT
BGreen
I watched a documentary about the Summer of Love a couple of years ago and how that time and place was infiltrated with money driven people and they brought in the hard drugs. Money was their motive and they didn't have any concern for the hippies and what they were trying to achieve. I often have big red flags pop up anymore.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #12 posted by BGreen on May 12, 2009 at 10:32:15 PT
I really don't believe they're on our side
There is a strong precedence of people (cops) infiltrating peaceful organizations in order to incite violence. They've tried it here, too, but NO-BODY messes with our FoM!It's an old Nixonian tactic and it still reeks as much as his rotting corpse.We know the peaceful people we've encountered in our lives as well as the jerks. I've known a lot of jerks who also happened to smoked cannabis, but I can't say any of them have ever or would ever possess the compassion and empathy necessary to be activists as many of us are.The Reverend Bud Green
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #11 posted by FoM on May 12, 2009 at 10:03:41 PT
BGreen
I don't mean on CNews but other places I check out now and then.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #10 posted by FoM on May 12, 2009 at 09:58:39 PT
BGreen
I don't know. I have seen a lot of venom recently coming from our side which makes me draw away.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #9 posted by Sam Adams on May 12, 2009 at 09:17:19 PT
govt lying
DG, you just have to translate what the judge was saying"there's no medical use for MJ, therefore go to jail for 10 years"really means"you are one of the guys responsible for medical marijuana, which is now leading to total legalization, just as we feared, we are about to lose 30% of the criminal justice gravy train budget and thousands of easy targets to arrest and jail which make it look like we're doing work. We're going to have to actually investigate crime and apprehend real bad guys now. Therefore you go to jail for 10 years, allowing us to milk the taxpayers for $45K per year and giving us something to think about as we get laid off and have to go find a real job. Since we're mean, vindictive bastards we'll derive pleasure from ruining your life"
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #8 posted by BGreen on May 12, 2009 at 09:11:35 PT
FoM re: comments 2 and 6
There seems to be very little resemblance between those on our side and the rantings of the other side. (Thank goodness!)The comments posted after the story in comment 2 are a good example. It's just like my local newspaper. The hatred and venom is nauseating.The Reverend Bud Green
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #7 posted by dongenero on May 12, 2009 at 08:59:03 PT
Feds: no medical use"?
"Then there are the abiding inconsistencies between state and federal law. Where the state says anyone can smoke or otherwise take marijuana for medical reasons with a mere recommendation from a doctor, federal law recognizes no medical effects at all from the weed, despite Holder's stated new policy."This supposed inconsistency between state and federal law is what they used to uphold the 10 year sentence!
How do you suppose they get around the inconsistency that the federal govt. says there is no medical use for marijuana while that very same US federal government sends out several pounds of pre-rolled medical marijuana cigarettes from the University of Mississippi, to half a dozen remaining participants in the NID's Compassionate Use Program?The US federal government's own medical marijuana program, not to mention their recent US patents on medical marijuana, seem to contradict their stated political position.Throw that in their face.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #6 posted by FoM on May 12, 2009 at 08:16:54 PT
BGreen
The crazier people seem to get over legalizing the further I back in to my safe place. I want to see change but only in a responsible manner. I don't like seeing pitch forks being yielded. I feel I have a major responsibility doing CNews to never provoke someone who might be living on the edge to step over the edge.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #5 posted by BGreen on May 12, 2009 at 08:12:21 PT
Agent Provocateur??? re: comment 2
This kind of thing just hasn't been part of our movement since the 1970's when I joined the righteous cause.This just sounds like the scummy tricks played by the morally bankrupt prohibitionists.The Reverend Bud Green
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #4 posted by Sam Adams on May 12, 2009 at 08:11:25 PT
more on cali leglalization
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/05/10/MNQI17GMBR.DTLFinally someone holds Arnold accountable for his past tyranny on marijuana! Vetoing industrial hemp as our economy falls apart is terrible strike against freedom, and the medical MJ/employment veto was pure cruelty against people that are suffering.>>>>Lee said he doubts Schwarzenegger would sign the legislation in its current form, given that the governor has vetoed laws legalizing the growth of industrial hemp and barring employers from firing workers who use marijuana.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #3 posted by FoM on May 12, 2009 at 08:07:52 PT
CT: A New Look At The War On Drugs
By Claire SauerMay 12, 2009URL: http://zip06.theday.com/blogs/groton_times/archive/2009/05/12/opinion-a-new-look-at-the-war-on-drugs.aspx
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #2 posted by FoM on May 12, 2009 at 07:00:25 PT
Marijuana Proponent's E-Mail Results in Arrest
Marijuana Proponent's E-Mail About Danbury Area Lawmaker Results in ArrestBy Dirk Perrefort, Staff WriterMay 12, 2009Danbury, CT -- An e-mail that allegedly threatened a local lawmaker landed an official of a marijuana advocacy group in jail. State Sen. Toni Boucher, a Republican whose district includes Bethel, Redding and Ridgefield, said she was first informed about the "disturbing" e-mail Thursday.URL: http://www.newstimes.com/latestnews/ci_12346776
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #1 posted by FoM on May 12, 2009 at 06:12:26 PT
Cheech and Chong Mathematics
By Mark Kleiman May 11, 2009URL: http://www.samefacts.com/archives/drug_policy_/2009/05/cheech_and_chong_mathematics.php
[ Post Comment ]
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