cannabisnews.com: Republicans Rail Against Legalization of Marijuana
function share_this(num) {
 tit=encodeURIComponent('Republicans Rail Against Legalization of Marijuana');
 url=encodeURIComponent('http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/28/thread28210.shtml');
 site = new Array(5);
 site[0]='http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[1]='http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit.php?url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[2]='http://digg.com/submit?topic=political_opinion&media=video&url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[3]='http://reddit.com/submit?url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[4]='http://del.icio.us/post?v=4&noui&jump=close&url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 window.open(site[num],'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=620,height=500');
 return false;
}






Republicans Rail Against Legalization of Marijuana
Posted by CN Staff on July 31, 2014 at 15:09:53 PT
By Marina Fang
Source: Huffington Post
Washington, D.C. -- Congressional Republicans on Thursday railed against states that have legalized marijuana, citing its connection to auto accidents.During a hearing entitled "Planes, Trains and Automobiles: Operating While Stoned," Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Government Operations, said stronger federal regulations on marijuana were needed in light of the wave of states legalizing the drug for medical and recreational uses.
Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) joined in the criticism, attacking Colorado's recent decision to legalize recreational marijuana.Fleming cited a study by the University of Colorado at Denver showing an increase in marijuana-related traffic fatalities since the state legalized medicinal marijuana in 2009. He implied that a further loosening of restrictions on marijuana is a slippery slope, especially for young people."As marijuana is de-stigmatized, use goes up, and it finds its way into the homes and candy and cookies and baked goods, and once it gets there, it finds its way into the brains of teens," he said. "Marijuana will also become more pervasive as states continue to embrace permissible laws on medical marijuana and the recreational use of marijuana, and kids and youth will have easier access to the dangerous, addictive drug."Committee members also argued for a federal standard for drug-testing drivers.At one point in the hearing, Mica held up an unidentified device he said was used for roadside drug tests in Europe, and jokingly offered to "swab the panelists." The device is not currently used in the United States, but Jeffrey P. Michael, associate administrator for research and program development for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said that a law enforcement pilot program being developed in California uses a similar device.Michael also testified that there is insufficient data and scientific research on the connection between drug use and driving, making it difficult to create national standards to drug test drivers."We make policy based on science. We cannot make changes without the science," said Patrice Kelly, acting director of the Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance for Department of Transportation, who also testified before the committee.A growing body of research on the topic shows no clear connection between THC levels and impairment, unlike in the case of blood alcohol level. Moreover, some participants in recent studies have tested positive for THC long after the effects of the drug have worn off, which would complicate the enforcement of any imposed standard.But Fleming, who is opposed to legalizing marijuana, argued that the lack of data and science means that states should exercise caution in deciding whether to legalize marijuana at all."Until we have the science, we should be careful and cautious," he said.Both Mica and Fleming have been outspoken critics of legalizing marijuana. Fleming told a conservative radio show in May that marijuana use will lead to "death and destruction" among military veterans.On Thursday, Mica defended his decision to bring a fake joint as a prop during a previous hearing in May, in which he protested the District of Columbia's marijuana decriminalization law."Some people thought that was entertaining, but it was also designed to illustrate that you can have 28 of those joints now in the District, and that would result in a $25 fine," he said.A Brookings Institution report released Thursday shows that Colorado's legalization of marijuana has largely been successful and safe so far, particularly in surveillance and enforcement efforts. The state also has seen an increase in tax revenue as a result of the new law and a decrease in crime.Source: Huffington Post (NY)Author: Marina FangPublished: July 31, 2014Copyright: 2014 HuffingtonPost.com, LLC Contact: scoop huffingtonpost.comWebsite: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/SQD7Et5oCannabisNews  -- Cannabis  Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help 
     
     
     
     




Comment #6 posted by Sam Adams on July 31, 2014 at 18:07:26 PT
deja vu
>>>"Some people thought that was entertaining, but it was also designed to illustrate that you can have 28 of those joints now in the District, and that would result in a $25 fine," he said.Oh yeah, I remember hearing this before, when a bunch of police chiefs embarrassed themselves by campaigning against MJ decrim in my state.They lost by 30 points on election day.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #5 posted by kaptinemo on July 31, 2014 at 17:54:16 PT:
The thrashing and bellowing of doomed dinosaurs
sinking into History's tar-pit...with ever greater speed with each example of limited cognitive ability they demonstrate.Dinosaurs, who, by the way, have just made it easy to remove electorally by identifying themselves. Thank you, you 'Confederacy of Dunces', for being so accommodating. See you come Election Day - me, and the scores of millions who want cannabis legal again. Perhaps, in order to assist them in preparing for their future status, cannabists from each of their States should send then copies of blank Unemployment Insurance forms...along with some cheap pens.Because, when we get through, they'll need them.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by swazi-x on July 31, 2014 at 17:23:16 PT
Let 'Em Blow...
I love hearing Repubs (and clueless Dems) rail against cannabis. It's a never ending source of joy to hear the nonsense and lies spouting from the mouths of soon to be forgotten politicians who seal their fate with every utterance. They don't realize how many of us know the truth, and how quickly their political fortunes can change because of it.My happiness comes from the knowledge that the science has already been done and is freely available to everyone - whether these bozos acknowledge it or not - and it unequivocally shows cannabis to be miraculously beneficial to humans.There is nothing "unclear" about it - cannabis is the cure for cancer and many other chronic, deadly, and pharmaceutically profitable diseases. We just have to make sure home cultivation is never left out of any legalization bill - that is the golden ticket for us to regain control of our own health, plant by plant, grown for free in our own back yards.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by MikeEEEEE on July 31, 2014 at 16:55:09 PT
Another quote--perhaps worth a read
“America is the wealthiest nation on Earth, but its people are mainly poor, and poor Americans are urged to hate themselves. To quote the American humorist Kin Hubbard, 'It ain’t no disgrace to be poor, but it might as well be.' It is in fact a crime for an American to be poor, even though America is a nation of poor. Every other nation has folk traditions of men who were poor but extremely wise and virtuous, and therefore more estimable than anyone with power and gold. No such tales are told by the American poor. They mock themselves and glorify their betters. The meanest eating or drinking establishment, owned by a man who is himself poor, is very likely to have a sign on its wall asking this cruel question: 'if you’re so smart, why ain’t you rich?' There will also be an American flag no larger than a child’s hand – glued to a lollipop stick and flying from the cash register.Americans, like human beings everywhere, believe many things that are obviously untrue. Their most destructive untruth is that it is very easy for any American to make money. They will not acknowledge how in fact hard money is to come by, and, therefore, those who have no money blame and blame and blame themselves. This inward blame has been a treasure for the rich and powerful, who have had to do less for their poor, publicly and privately, than any other ruling class since, say Napoleonic times. Many novelties have come from America. The most startling of these, a thing without precedent, is a mass of undignified poor. They do not love one another because they do not love themselves.” 
¯ Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by Vincent on July 31, 2014 at 16:47:20 PT:
Rep. Mica
US Rep Jon Mica is an IMBECILE. He's the Congressman from the district in Florida just north of my district, so you could say he's local. He's been a thorn in a progressive person's side for a long time.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by MikeEEEEE on July 31, 2014 at 16:44:16 PT
Republicons
These are the same creatures who do not want 30M Americans to have health insurance, are helping the oil companies destroy this planet, are suing the President of the United States (first time in history), and presently abandoning refugee children who would otherwise die--if they went back to their country of origin. As far as those children are concerned, at Ellis Island, and I believe at the Statue of Liberty, it reads: Give me your tired, your poor, 
 Your huddled masses yearning to breath free. 
 The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. 
 Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me. 
 I lift my lamp beside the golden door! Would the republicons adopt this quote, and help save these children? Don't hold your breath. Repubi-con-jobs only use the children when its convenient to their propaganda/agenda.Republicons are heartless, and sometimes called crazy. 
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment