cannabisnews.com: Let Liberty Take a Precedent in Ruling 





Let Liberty Take a Precedent in Ruling 
Posted by FoM on December 15, 2000 at 15:37:15 PT
By Conrad L. Wareham
Source: West Hawaii Today 
The U.S. Supreme Court will soon be deciding whether Proposition 215 and similar medical marijuana laws in eight other states D Alaska, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, Maine, Colorado, Nevada and Hawaii are constitutional in nature.To advocates and detractors of medical marijuana use, the impending high court decision could have far-reaching effects. To the former it could mean relief to millions of people suffering from the effects of old age and disease. 
To the latter it could mean having to change their perceptions and attitude about marijuana in general.The controversy about using marijuana for medical purposes really boils down to the age-old struggle between liberty and authority.Liberty has always meant protection against the tyranny of political rulers. In modern society liberty also means protection against the tyranny of legislatures, who acting on the cultural or political sentiments of the majority, imposes an arbitrary "rule of law" on the minority.Marijuana is a plant that has been around longer than man. Its historical commercial use is well known. The fact that the plant has so many uses that are beneficial to society makes any rational being wonder why laws were created in our country to ban its use?In general, the odious perception of marijuana use seems to come from people who are not familiar with its beneficial uses, companies that would suffer from competition due to the plant's economic potential, and law enforcement agencies whose funding and mission agendas revolve around the current status quo of drug enforcement laws.In particular, the legalization of medical marijuana is not encouraged by the pharmaceutical companies because, for obvious reasons cannabis would be competition to many of their highly priced drugs.We have to face the fact that with old age painful medical problems develop with the aging of the body. Pharmaceutical companies have developed many drugs to assist people in coping with the ailments of old age, but for many the price for these drugs is too high.Marijuana is an inexpensive remedy for many of the pains of the body. It doesn't take scientific research, expert medical testimony, or government agency findings to determine the value in medical marijuana as a medicine. Let experience be the judge.Our reasoning about cause and effect or what we call "matter of fact" in the scientific community, as well as in society, is based on experience. Just because we have never seen an electron doesn't mean that we disregard all our notions about electrical theory. For the same reason, just because the detractors of medical marijuana can't understand how it helps people in their medical ailments doesn't mean we should throw out the baby with the bath water.It seems that the stigma about marijuana dates back to the cultural revolution of the 1960s when a generation of young people showed the desire to break from the cultural norms of our society, and were checkmated by the "rule of law."We are still dealing with that "rule of law" imposed on society by a past generation, and held in place by our stoic government institutions.Let's hope that our high court does not occupy itself with what society should or shouldn't accept in personal choices, but rather that liberty take precedent over "rule of law" in personal medical choices.Conrad L. WarehamKealakekuaSource: West Hawaii Today (HI)Author: Conrad L. WarehamPublished: December 15, 2000Copyright: 2000 West Hawaii TodayAddress: P.O. Box 789, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96745-0789Fax: 808-329-4860Contact: wht aloha.netWebsite: http://westhawaiitoday.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Oakland Cannabis Buyer's Cooperativehttp://www.rxcbc.org/Federal Drug Law Faces Testhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7900.shtmlMedical Marijuana Fight Goes To The Supreme Court http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread7865.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
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Comment #3 posted by Rev. Jonathan Adler on December 17, 2000 at 23:24:17 PT:
Supreme Court Decides on Medijuana
This is the end of the road we have traveled as cannabis crusaders. The High Court will rule for medical necessity... or they will be truely wrong again... It was a good article so thanks to Conrad Wareham in Kona! I am enthused and ready to do my job. Just think medijuana from Hawaii delivered to you anywhere you can receive it. Legally safely and quality matters. Aloha, Rev. Jonathan Adler
Hawwaii Medical Marijuana Institute
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Comment #2 posted by JT420 on December 15, 2000 at 19:32:06 PT
Why?
Why do these newspapers keep reporting that the Supreme Court will decide if prop 215 is Constitutional? That is not the issue before the Court. The Supreme Court will decide the narrow issue of whether a common law "necessity" defense is valid as it relates to medical marijuana. There has been no challenge filed to Proposition 215, therefore, the Supreme Court cannot decide if it is valid.I wish these reporters would get their facts straight.
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Comment #1 posted by kindone on December 15, 2000 at 15:45:40 PT
Founding Fathers
'If people let government decide which foods they eat and medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny." Thomas Jefferson
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