cannabisnews.com: Drug Czar Criticizes Medical Pot Drug Czar Criticizes Medical Pot Posted by FoM on March 04, 2000 at 19:44:01 PT By The Associated Press Source: New York Times White House drug czar Barry McCaffrey spoke harshly against the medical use of marijuana, calling much of it ``a crock'' and saying more research is needed. ``Ask a doctor if he really wants a big blunt stuck in a patient's face as treatment,'' McCaffrey said on Friday, the final day of a national conference on addiction at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. ``A lot of this is a crock.'' Some 20 medical marijuana supporters protested outside the library, carrying signs, banners and a pot plant. Marijuana is banned by the federal government, although voters in six states -- Alaska, Arizona, California, Maine, Oregon and Washington -- have approved laws allowing the drug to be used for medical purposes. McCaffrey -- a longtime opponent of medical marijuana use and other forms of drug legalization -- said the federal government is spending increasing sums to fight substance abuse, and suggested state and local governments need to do more to ensure the money is well-spent. Simi Valley, Calif. (AP) Published: March 4, 2000Copyright 2000 The New York Times Company Related Articles, Archives, McCaffrey & Medical Cannabis & Marijuana News:Drug Policy Conference Picketed http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4963.shtmlhttp://www.cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtmlhttp://www.cannabisnews.com/news/list/McCaffrey.shtmlhttp://www.alltheweb.com/cgi-bin/asearch?type=all&query=cannabisnews+medicalhttp://www.alltheweb.com/cgi-bin/asearch?type=all&query=cannabisnews+McCaffreyhttp://www.alltheweb.com/cgi-bin/asearch?type=all&query=cannabisnews+cannabis Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #18 posted by Kanabys on March 06, 2000 at 08:23:27 PT: Ha F***ing Ha You're a joke!!!!!!! [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by FoM on March 05, 2000 at 17:02:59 PT Thanks Elliot Thanks for the apology! I appreciate it! [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by Elliot on March 05, 2000 at 16:35:59 PT P.S. The drug war is so bizarre,with so many tragic injustices,I guess I have,in some strange way,tried to avoid crying,by laughing. Once again,my apologies for my morbid,attempted levity.I know this situation is no joking matter.E. [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by Elliot on March 05, 2000 at 14:11:19 PT: Frivolous messages O.K.My e-mail address will be included from now on,and I will stop the controversial and frivolous postings. I thought they would be seen as obviously bogus,but I guess there are people out there who would actually write such things. My sincere apologies to all.I dont mean to make light of serious matters,or compromise the integrity of this forum. I hope all who I've offended will forgive me.I guess I went a bit overboard.I am sorry. I appreciate this excellent site.Sincerely.....Elliot [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by FoM on March 05, 2000 at 09:09:39 PT: My Thoughts! What I feel about this web site and it's purpose is it is dead serious. I love many things and I hate few but I do hate the drug war. I am driven by grief. I see people like my son in my mind suffering without the use of proper drugs and marijuana and that is what keeps me going. To me there is nothing funny about the sorrow this drug war has brought about. Thanks for reading this and hopefully understanding. Thanks kaptinemo for your email. I'll post mine in here too. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by kaptinemo on March 05, 2000 at 08:51:58 PT: Spam! Arrrrgh! I hate Spam! Ptui! Okay, from now on, you'll be able to reach me, too. But as my subject line so gently and decorously suggests, like many of you, I have little patience with spam. Whether it be commercial spam...or its' intellectual equivalent. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by Doc-Hawk on March 05, 2000 at 08:11:23 PT: Satire/Reality It is unfortunate when satire looks so much like real life. If I post here, you WILL see my name and email....no question about the intent. While the subject is serious, sometimes a reverse method makes the point better than ramming it down someone's throat. If you accidentally make a brainwashed fool think, maybe they will question. If they question, maybe they will learn.A quick search for listed phone numbers for Goldbergstein in California comes up empty. I suspect that comment number four is intended purely as satire....the problem is that too many people think exactly the way this was presented."Elaine Fleener" in http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread4963.shtml was far more obvious. She made about every fallacious point that our drug-warriors could possibly come up with. The intent was parody and ridicule of those who actually believe the statements.This forum will survive honest discussion, whether the writer be pro drug-war or against. A little satire makes one think about motives.Peace,Doc [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by FoM on March 05, 2000 at 07:45:22 PT Thanks kaptinemo Thanks kaptinemo,There are people who don't want to see this site succeed and I appreciate all your excellent comments. Thanks FoM! [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by kaptinemo on March 05, 2000 at 07:26:09 PT Not quite so funny, anymore Imagine this: you're an average guy, a very civil civil servant, who always goes the extra mile for the people who come to you for help, because that's the way you were brought up. Then, while in the performance of your duties, you get injured. Accidents happen. Then you find out that you are allergic to just about every muscle relaxant. And you find out the hard way... by having life-threatening anaphylactic reactions that send you to the hospital. And the pain nevers stops. You get desperate. Desperate enough to try something illegal.And it works. It works! You can get to sleep at night. You can go back to work... where all your 'regulars' lean over the desk and whisper "Thank God you're back! " because they know you'll unsnarl the bureaucratic tangles they find themselves in, whereas your replacement had been one of the 80% of the people who do 20% of the work... and had a rotten attitude, to boot.And then one day the cops nail your supplier, and the fool kept records. The FBI visits your workplace, and your career is over. Finished. Because of stupid laws. And the pain...never...stops.Now, imagine something worse: a loved one has cancer. At 79 years of age, they undergo and survive drastic surgery. Then they are told they must undergo chemo. They do, the the pain of surgical recovery is nothing compared to the pain of chemo when it hits the bone marrow. And the nausea is unrelenting; she can't eat, so she literally wastes away. The pills that are supposed to help - when she can keep them down - simply don't work. And they cost her $50 a pill. Medicare is covering the cost of the chemo, but not the prescriptions. She eventually gave up on the chemo because it hurt too much... and died. There are some on this website who seem to feel that this matter of MMJ is a joke. They post nonsensical diatribes that resemble the ramblings of senile senior citizens, and then proclaim to be younger family members who apologize for such ramblings. Needless to say, this might be funny once. Twice is straining it. Three times... and the humor value is lost. Four times, and any credibility that they might have been granted as a courtesy has been squandered. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by FoM on March 05, 2000 at 07:01:40 PT This for for drug policy reform discussions Hello Everyone,Why does someone want to talk about how good Mr. McCaffrey is on this message board? We are trying to work towards the reform of our current drug policy laws. We know that we have people who aren't pleased with us but I would appreciate it if we kept the comments educational and on topic. Thank You. [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by STAN DUP on March 05, 2000 at 06:30:53 PT MOTHER-EARTH VS. the drug companies/government Synthetic/chemical re-makes are NEVER as good(not even close) to natural herbs! Drugs always produce SERIOUS side-effects, unless your only concern is to line your pockets with MONEY. Those Bastards would allow they're own mothers to die in pain and agony before they would lose they're income! Keep pushing AMERICA! We've already won and they know it!!! [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by Hank Goldbergstein on March 05, 2000 at 04:57:09 PT Moms' Letter My mom writes some strange messages.Sorry if you found it alarming......Hank Goldbergstein [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by Pete W on March 05, 2000 at 04:00:05 PT The last message can not be serious Someone please tell me this is a satirical piece. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Pete W on March 05, 2000 at 03:58:44 PT The last message can not be serious Someone please tell me this is a satirical piece. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by B. Goldbergstein on March 05, 2000 at 02:45:58 PT Here's what I think Now there is no reason for anyone to want to smoke marijuana.This is a free country,but a proper freedom,is a controlled freedom. Imagine if you will,that we allowed people to smoke anything they wanted to?I'll bet that after our children got tired of smoking pot,and all the poor sick people who have hopped aboard this,"medical marijuana"bandwagon,realize that these "blunts",didnt cure their cancer,or allow them to walk away from their wheelchairs,,Then what?Why the next thing you know,these people would be smoking sawdust,or granola,or lint. Tobacco is the only thing anyone should smoke.At least we know that it is not that good for you.All the experts like Barry McCaffrey agree,that not enough research has been done on marijuana.No one knows what may happen to these misled,sick citizens,who have been fooled into thinking that smoking marijuana makes them feel better. Maybe someday,drug companies will develop a marijuana like drug that will be able to be tested,and approved to be made legal.I dont think that people should be allowed grow plants and smoke them. Why must everyone blame Mr. McCaffrey for their problems with illegal drugs?He knows what he's doing.He is an honest military man,who would not do anything that would make it harder to reach his goals.I think most of his critics are people who use illegal drugs,and as we know,this is against the law. Let's listen to our leaders. Blossom Goldbergstein Newport Beach,CA [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by legalizeit on March 04, 2000 at 22:22:02 PT Fire Barry!! What does it take to get that idiot out of there? I like Gore, but if he is elected will he bring in a whole new cabinet, or will Bill's cronies including the Bizarro, Donna Shalala and Janet Reno stay on? Funny the Bizarro should say "crock" - MJ prohibition is the biggest crock of modern times, born in bigotry and racism and propagated by lies and corruption!I agree with military officer guy - There's no reasoning with these doofuses, so let's boot 'em out of there!! [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by military officer guy on March 04, 2000 at 21:20:44 PT more like barry's a crock... you're right I_Asked...barry and his administation is a big huge crock...i'm sick of it and it's time for a change...and guess what folks, it's up to all of us...let's make that change... [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by I_Asked on March 04, 2000 at 20:39:36 PT Ask a doctor if he really wants ... > ``Ask a doctor if he really wants a big blunt stuck in a patient's face as treatment,'' McCaffrey said on Friday, the final day of a national conference on addiction at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. Funny the totalitarian should mention this ... I asked a doctor, an M.D., this very question! Sadly, she herself is undergoing chemo right now. (She prefers a marijuana cigarette to a "blunt".) Works better than compazine she says. Can't hold down pills, she says, while violently vomiting.But hey: what does she know? She's only a doctor, an M.D.> ``A lot of this is a crock.'' Yeah, buddy. We know a crock when we see one, Barry. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: