cannabisnews.com: Let People Have Enough Medicine





Let People Have Enough Medicine
Posted by FoM on March 31, 2001 at 11:54:59 PT
Letters to the Editor - Robin M. Donald
Source: Berkeley Daily Planet 
Regarding the proposed Berkeley Medical Marijuana Ordinance, the Berkeley Health and Human Services Dept., headed by Director Fred Medrano, feels that “it was wisest to keep allowable plant numbers low and 'include a provision in the ordinance for additional amounts if a doctor says its OK'. If the Health and Human Services Dept. was concerned about the negative health impact of growing 144 plants at a time or having 6 pounds of dried marijuana a year, then I would expect to see these fears stated in this article. 
But the only health concern is raised by Berkeley health officer Dr. Poki Stewart Namkung when she said, in regard to someone consuming 6 pounds of marijuana a year, “I would be very worried about the quality of that patient's life.” Yet, Dr. Namkung is an advocate for the staff's plan which allows up to 9 pounds a year with a doctor's approval. It seems that Dr. Namkung is really worried about self-treatment rather than treatment per se.Which would be a reasonable concern if we were dealing with a substance of known danger, like alcohol or tobacco, or aspirin. But marijuana has no record of causing, by itself, any deaths. Has Dr. Namkung or the Berkeley Health and Human Services Dept. taken a stand opposing over-the-counter sales of aspirin, which can be bought by anybody - including children - who can afford it?So what's really going on here? City staff is waging a rear-guard battle against Proposition 215, the 85 percent of Berkeley voters who supported it, and the people who use it medicinally. Finally having to admit that marijuana does have medicinal value, they now want to limit access to this medicine. Not because of any danger due to the toxicity of marijuana, because their is none. No, the reason is that the Berkeley Police Dept. is concerned “that large amounts of marijuana grown in households might encourage home invasion type robberies, home burglaries and possibly violence.”And the Berkeley Police Department should know of what they are talking, since they themselves have invaded patient's homes and taken their medicine. These violations of Proposition 215 by Berkeley Police have resulted to date in the City of Berkeley having to pay approximately $80,000 in ensuing law suits. If the City Council endorses the staff's proposal then we can expect larger amounts of money to be paid out as settlements in the future.Let's get real. The people of Berkeley have made our will clear. We support the right of people to use marijuana medicinally. Period. We support a Medical Marijuana Ordinance that allows people to have access to as much marijuana as they need. Period. Berkeley citizens should have the same rights as Oakland citizens. According to the Oakland Police Department their have been no crime problems due to the Oakland medical marijuana standards.So I say it is wiser to have higher limits because people will have their medicine as they need it, and the citizens of Berkeley will not have to pay thousand of dollars for lawsuits. Its a win-win solution.Note: The Daily Planet received this letter addressed to the City Council. Mentioned Article Published March 26, 2001 in the Berkeley Daily Planet. Robin M. DonaldBerkeleySource: Berkeley Daily Planet (CA) Author: Robin M. DonaldPublished: March 30, 2001Address: 2076 University Ave, Berkeley CA 94704Contact: opinion berkeleydailyplanet.net Website: http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com/Related Articles:Berkeley Marijuana Ordinance Jeered http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9225.shtmlCity Sets Limits for Medical Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9213.shtmlBerkeley's Pot Limit Is 2.5 Pounds http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9183.shtml 
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Comment #1 posted by Robbie on March 31, 2001 at 13:38:45 PT
That one snippet of information...
Probably the most important statement of the entire MMJ movement was stated thus: According to the Oakland Police Department their have been no crime problems due to the Oakland medical marijuana standards.Drug warriors will be the first to either discredit or simply ignore that one simple fact. But the fact is true nonetheless: medical marijuana in and of itself is not the end of civilization as we know it.People need to get on up OUT of our business.
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