cannabisnews.com: Public Vs. Politicians On Medicinal Marijuana Public Vs. Politicians On Medicinal Marijuana Posted by FoM on December 04, 2000 at 14:49:20 PT By Ken Padgett Source: San Diego Union Tribune There you go again! No discussion on whether or not marijuana has any medicinal value. Just the same old slippery-slope argument that any softening of drug laws is a back-door effort to legalize them. The American people are way ahead of the politicians on this issue. They know that marijuana has medicinal value, and those who can benefit from it should have access to it under a doctor's supervision. But Washington bureaucrats and law enforcement officials have done everything they can to thwart this. They have threatened and bullied doctors to the point where it's nearly impossible to find one willing to risk recommending marijuana to a patient. The war on drugs, which is really a war on drug users, has been a miserable failure. Even the politicians admit that. Unfortunately, they are so afraid of appearing soft on crime or "sending the wrong message to children" that they are unwilling to even consider another approach. The people of California recently affirmed that drug abuse should be treated as a public health problem, and not a criminal matter. No doubt those who have a vested interest in continuing this war on drug users will eventually find a way to ignore, or strike down, that law as well. I agree with you that we should not do another end run around Congress. We should let our representatives know that if they are willing to take the lead in a more rational approach to drugs, we will support them no matter what party they belong to. Considering the number of people who are in jail in this country because of the drug laws, is there any other issue that is more important? Note: Re: "Smoke Screen" (Editorial, Dec. 1)Ken Padgett, University City Source: San Diego Union Tribune (CA)Author: Ken PadgettPublished: December 4, 2000 Copyright: 2000 Union-Tribune Publishing Co. Address: PO Box 120191, San Diego, CA, 92112-0191 Fax: (619) 293-1440 Contact: letters uniontrib.com Website: http://www.uniontrib.com/ Forum: http://www.uniontrib.com/cgi-bin/WebX Related Article:Smoke Screenhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7841.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml END SNIP --> Snipped Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by nl5x on December 05, 2000 at 00:25:07 PT vested interest Remove marijuana prosecutions as alcohol prosecutions were removed in 1933, and the Department of Justice would be closing down 75 percent of its offices and letting go of 75 percent of its employees. The drug war is a major vested interest. In California, the largest contributor to political campaigns is the prison guards’ union. This huge flow of federal drug war dollars is the most addictive substance of all. It makes all those charts and paid expert reports seem to make sense even when obvious facts contradict them. Supply follows demand, legal or not. If you want to control something, you don’t turn it over to gangsters. By funding the criminals, the law has turned the world into a vast 1920s Chicago. David T. Wilkinson of Bethesda, Md., is a former Maine resident, a Bowdoin College alumnus and reform activist. Source: Bangor Daily News (ME)Published: Friday, September 29, 2000 Author: David T. WilkinsonCopyright: 2000, Bangor Daily News Inc.Contact: bdnmail bangornews.infi.netWebsite: http://www.bangornews.com/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Occassional Pot User on December 04, 2000 at 19:51:36 PT er, nevermind its a reply to the old Editorial [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Occassional Pot User on December 04, 2000 at 19:42:55 PT I thought the S.D. Union-Trib was prohibitionist hrm... [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: