cannabisnews.com: CSDP Supports Ventura on Marijuana





CSDP Supports Ventura on Marijuana
Posted by FoM on April 09, 2001 at 17:15:09 PT
By Anthony Gunde, CNS Correspondent
Source: CNSNews.com
An advocate for the regulation of marijuana production for medical necessity has hailed Governor Jesse Ventura's support to legalize cannabis.Responding to a question from a University of St. Thomas student, the Minnesota governor said because studies have proven the drug to ease pain in terminally ill patients, he fully supports the fight to regulate laws on production and procession of marijuana.
"Medical marijuana? I fully support it, absolutely. Who is government to tell someone if they have AIDS or cancer what they should be taking?" Ventura said.Ventura further said his mother used a mix of narcotics to ease pain from an illness and than he approved of marijuana if it was used to relieve paid in others."To me, you've got a kid here with cancer, I don't give a damn if he smokes a joint," Ventura said.Common Sense for Drug Policy (CSDP) President Kevin Zeese commended Ventura's statements."I think he is one politician saying the truth," said Zeese. Last Friday, according to Zeese, the Minnesota State Departments of Health and Public Safety sponsored a forum that allows researchers to study marijuana's medical potential. It focused on processes that researchers must go through to get approval to study the drug.Zeese said the governor's comments appeared to have coincided with a historic regulation by the Canadian government allowing medical use of marijuana.Just last week, Canada started the process of making marijuana available as a medicine, and the public also supports top research groups in the U.S., including the National Academy of Science, Zeese said. "So, Jesse Ventura is right and he is just a politician who says the truth."Canada's Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that denial of medical access to marijuana violates the Canadian constitution. Last week, the health department unveiled regulations to govern the possession and production of marijuana."Canada is acting compassionately by allowing people who are suffering from grave and debilitating illnesses to have access to marijuana for medical purposes," Canadian Health Minister Allan Rock said.The draft regulations will go into full effect on July 31, 2001. Under the regulation, a license will be issued to either the patient or representative the patient designates in an application.California passed one of the nation's first medical marijuana laws in 1996, but it still faces a court battle. The Supreme Court is expected to rule in June whether patients may get marijuana as a "medical necessity," even if it is illegal under federal law.A ruling for the Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative would allow special marijuana clubs to resume distributing the drug in California. A ruling for the federal government would not negate California's decision but would effectively prevent clubs like Oakland's from distributing the drug.Voters in Alaska, Colorado, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington have also approved ballot initiatives allowing the use of medical marijuana. In Hawaii, a similar law was passed by the legislature and signed by the governor in June 2000.Source: CNSNews.com (VA)Author: Anthony Gunde, CNS CorrespondentPublished: April 09, 2001Copyright 1998-2001 Cybercast News ServiceContact: shogenson cnsnews.comWebsite: http://www.cnsnews.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Common Sense for Drug Policyhttp://www.csdp.org/Conference Aim To Explore Use of Medical Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9300.shtmlCanada Issues Plan On Medical Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9296.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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