cannabisnews.com: Rauner Should Sign Sensible Marijuana Bills
function share_this(num) {
 tit=encodeURIComponent('Rauner Should Sign Sensible Marijuana Bills');
 url=encodeURIComponent('http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/28/thread28589.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;
}






Rauner Should Sign Sensible Marijuana Bills
Posted by CN Staff on May 25, 2015 at 14:03:29 PT
Editorial
Source: Chicago Sun-Times
Illinois -- One bill would reset the starting date for a pilot program allowing ill people to buy medical marijuana. A law permitting medical marijuana passed in 2013, but because of bureaucratic delays, not a single patient has been able to get legal pain-easing pot.As the law now stands, the pilot program will end Jan. 1, 2018, just 2½ years from now. That’s not much time, given that the pilot program isn’t even up and running yet and no one is sure when it will be. The new bill would reset the deadline to about four years after the first dispensary opens.
Entrepreneurs have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars setting up medical marijuana operations, and they deserve a chance to earn their money back. If they are forced to try to recoup their investments too quickly, prices will soar, patients will turn to marijuana sold on the street and the program will fail. The entire point of a pilot project is to see what works. Two years won’t do it.The second pot-related bill headed Rauner’s way essentially would decriminalize the recreational use of small amounts of marijuana — 15 grams or less — by establishing fines of $55 to $125 instead of jail time.The bill simply codifies what already is happening all around the state. Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez earlier this year said her office would stop prosecuting people for small amounts of marijuana. Back in 2012, Chicago allowed police to give people with 15 grams or less tickets instead of criminal sanctions.The bill also would give motorists with small amounts of marijuana in their systems a pass. Now, any amount of marijuana can be grounds for a DUI. The bill would set the limit at 25 nanograms per milliliter in saliva and 15 grams of THC — marijuana’s psychoactive component — in blood. The change is based on federal standards and the fact that traces of marijuana remain in the body even after the effects of THC have worn off.Opponents of the bill worry there is no treatment component for repeat offenders. But seriously. Do people caught with a couple of joints from time to time really need to be put in a treatment program?The bill won’t go to Rauner until an additional measure is passed that would permit court clerks to expunge records of the fines. But he should sign it when he gets it. We are clogging up our court system with low-level marijuana offenders.Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)Published: May 25, 2015Copyright: 2015 The Sun-Times Co. Contact: letters suntimes.com Website: http://www.suntimes.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/1QOTW9Z2CannabisNews -- Cannabis Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/cannabis.shtml 
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help 
     
     
     
     




Comment #2 posted by runruff on May 28, 2015 at 08:21:41 PT
Stumble the greatness!
One tiny virus the size of an ameba can bring down a giant whale. Andy Harris has demonstrated how one person of authority can obstruct justice. We need a public court to try duds in gov. Self governing narcissist need monitoring. To me it is obvious that these manufactured delays are worth billion of $$$ to the competing industries. As a voting nation we need to educate voters. Sloppy, uninformed Mac-D fed Wal-Mart shoppers can vote. This is a travesty for a " by the people " Democracy. People who eat from cans and can't balance a check book have a say in my health regimen. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by Hope on May 25, 2015 at 18:34:47 PT
Subversion?
"A law permitting medical marijuana passed in 2013, but because of bureaucratic delays, not a single patient has been able to get legal pain-easing pot."The people/prohibitionists behind all this red tape and foot dragging haven't even got enough sense to be ashamed of themselves.
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment