cannabisnews.com: Nevada Lawmakers Tackle Medical Marijuana Nevada Lawmakers Tackle Medical Marijuana Posted by FoM on April 22, 2001 at 10:39:12 PT By Guy W. Farmer Source: Nevada Appeal Nevada voters, in their infinite wisdom (if that's the right word), saddled state lawmakers with a legal dilemma by approving a "medical marijuana" ballot initiative in 1998 and again last year. Lawmakers must find a way to implement the measure without violating federal anti-drug laws. Nevertheless, I still think medical marijuana is a bad idea. Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, a Las Vegas Democrat, introduced AB453, which would allow sick people to smoke marijuana with a doctor's prescription and would lower penalties for possession of small amounts of the drug. Under her plan, the state would grow pot for sale to licensed users; Sen. Mark James (R-Las Vegas) introduced a companion bill in the State Senate. Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa opposed the measures, however, on grounds that the state shouldn't act until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of state-run medical marijuana programs. Another Las Vegas Democrat, Assemblywoman Barbara Buckley, also objected to the medical marijuana proposals, arguing that the state should stay out of the pot-growing business. Washoe County District Attorney Richard Gammick and other law enforcement officials oppose the measures on grounds that marijuana is a "gateway" drug that can lead to the use and abuse of stronger drugs like cocaine and heroin. Currently, Nevada has one of the toughest anti-marijuana laws in the country since possession of small amounts of the drug is a felony. Gammick argues that a pharmaceutical version of marijuana is already on the market under the brand name Marinol and, therefore, additional legislation is unnecessary. His position is supported by a number of anti-narcotics crusaders including former Drug Czar William Bennett and Dr. Robert DuPont, ex-director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. "Those who want to move the war on drugs from the criminal to the medical arena neglect the fact that laws against drug use promote effective treatment," Bennett and DuPont wrote last month in the Miami Herald. "More threatening than the efforts to medicalize drugs are the efforts to legalize drugs." Unfortunately, that's what's happening in Nevada and seven other states that have voted to legalize medical marijuana. They added that "we need to counter a pernicious myth cited by drug-legalization supporters: that we have lost the war on drugs. That is not so." According to reputable studies, the number of Americans using illegal drugs, which peaked at 25.4 million in 1979, dropped to 12 million by 1992 because of a number of effective drug prevention programs including Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign. Drug usage increased again during the Clinton presidency but is still far short of the 1979 level. Drug laws are under review throughout the nation due in part to high-profile cases like those of actor Robert Downey Jr., and baseball player Darryl Strawberry. As former Deputy Drug Czar John Walters noted recently in the Weekly Standard, "Downey only seems to get treated for his addiction when he is forced to by the criminal justice system. Indeed, it's hard to imagine a worse advertisement for the effectiveness of drug treatment than Robert Downey Jr." Or Strawberry, I would add. He's been in and out of treatment more often than Downey and he continues his self-destructive behavior. Those who advocate drug treatment programs instead of law enforcement and incarceration are natural allies of the drug legalizers. "The therapy-only lobby is alive and well and more dogmatic than ever," observed Walters. The therapy-only folks contend that drug addiction is a disease, not a pattern of behavior for which people can be held responsible. "The idea that our prisons are filled with people whose only offense was possession of an illegal drug is utter fantasy," Walters asserted. The drug legalization lobby is financed by a few wealthy contributors including billionaire George Soros and George Zimmer, owner of the Men's Wearhouse and star of those irritating "I guarantee it" TV commercials. Zimmer, a prominent participant in a "State of Ecstasy" conference in San Francisco last February, told a reporter that he and his wife only take the designer drug Ecstasy for "therapeutic purposes." Oh sure, and I saw the Easter Bunny here in Carson last weekend. Another disturbing development is Hollywood's tendency to glamorize drugs. In the new movie "Blow," starring Johnny Depp as real-life cocaine king George Jung, a Washington Post reviewer said Depp's job "is to buff up Jung's drug-dealing history with winning ways, a compelling history and a good-looking face." And on NBC's popular "West Wing," ultra-liberal President Bartlett (Martin Sheen) sees the fight against drugs as a lost cause and favors drug legalization. But as another ex-Drug Czar, Barry McCaffrey, wrote in the Los Angeles Times, "President Bartlett ... should take a harder look at the real impact of legalizing drugs. Each year drug use costs the U.S. 52,000 drug-related deaths and roughly $110 billion in additional societal costs. Legalizing drugs would compound this problem." In my opinion, the legalization of medical marijuana contributes to the availability of other, more dangerous drugs. And since there's no scientific evidence to support the notion that smoking weed is a cure for anything, the state Legislature should impose strict controls on so-called medical marijuana. Otherwise, Bay Area-type "cannabis clubs" will spring up all over the Silver State, and their patrons aren't sick people; they're pot smokers, plain and simple. Let's just say no to that sick idea. Guy W. Farmer, a semi-retired journalist and former U.S. diplomat, resides in Carson City. Source: Nevada Appeal (NV)Author: Guy W. FarmerPublished: Sunday, April 22, 2001Copyright: 2001 Nevada AppealContact: appeal tahoe.comWebsite: http://tahoe.com/appeal/Related Articles:Activists, Doctors, Officials Plan for Pot Classhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9412.shtmlMedical Pot Closer To Realityhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9369.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #6 posted by Robert Newman on April 24, 2001 at 08:14:45 PT: marajauna will it be made legal First i would like to tall you why I am writing this leter. I am an 8th grader and in my school we are doing a debate. My topice is "Should marajauna Be legal why and why not". I like to have some infor matin on if marajauna could be ligalised. If you do have some information on this subjet it would be every helpful for me. If you do not I thank you for reading this. Robert [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by FoM on April 22, 2001 at 15:21:12 PT C-Span Governor Gary Johnson April 23, 2001 08:00 am1:00 (est.)LIVE Call-InLegalizing MarajuanaC-SPAN, Washington JournalGary Johnson , R-NM The beginning and end of this live program may be earlier or later than the scheduled times. http://inside.c-spanarchives.org:8080/cspan/cspan.csp?command=dschedule&timeid=211854766664 What's New [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by meagain420 on April 22, 2001 at 15:14:15 PT Ya right Otherwise, Bay Area-type "cannabis clubs" will spring up all over the Silver State, and their patrons aren't sick people; they're pot smokers, plain and simple. Let's just say no to that sick idea. Guy W. Farmer, a semi-retired journalist and former U.S. diplomat, resides in Carson City. Oh but it is okay for you to go sit in a bar and do basically the same thing. I got two words for ya....____ ___!! [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by Dankhank on April 22, 2001 at 14:40:02 PT: Why do you care? ...Or Strawberry, I would add. He's been in and out of treatment more often than Downey and he continues his self-destructive behavior...Why does that bother you, exactly? After all it IS by your own admission SELF-destructive. What business is it of yours if the man kills himself? Either man is rich enough to get any help they need ... Qhat both of them REALLY need, though, is for the law to get off their backs ... worse than the proverbial monkey-on-the-back.Leave them alone ... NOW !!! HEMP n STUFF [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by lookinside on April 22, 2001 at 12:23:27 PT: sanity? this "guy" is so out of touch with reality as to be insane...i wish these drug warriors and their supporters would do atleast a minimum of reading before they spout off...everyone touts MARINOL as the legal alternative to medicalmarijuana...problem one: it has to be swallowed...people with chronicnausea from chemotherapy can't keep the pill down longenough to be effective...problem two: the effective dosage varies greatly betweenindividuals...these pills are long lasting, and don't allowthe patient to regulate the blood level of THC very well...problem three: MARINOL contains only one of dozens of activesubstances found in marijuana...who knows which one isworking on which symptom?(i understand some research isbeing done in this area...hope the results are published soon)problem four: this stuff is EXPENSIVE...for someone withoutmedical insurance, the daily dosage can cost up to $30 aDAY...2-5 the cost of marijuana use...my wife is an MMJ patient and a member of the oaklandCBC...she used marinol for awhile after my arrest forcultivation...it was completely unsatisfactory as it wasless effective or ineffective on most of the symptoms thatmarijuana helped alleviate...pot helps her with:the pain associated with fibromyalgia(similar to chronicpain syndrome),migraine headaches(seems to prevent as well as ease the pain),arthritis(pain reduction and increased flexibility),panic attacks(decreases frequency in conjunction withminimal dosages of prescription drugs...allows her to reducethe dosages of harmful pharmaceutical drugs)depression(it just helps)her system seems to have adjusted to the relatively highlevel of cannibinoids in her system and she doesn't seem toexperience "intoxication" at all...her dosage does not needto be increased as time goes on as it would with other, moredangerous pain relievers...the point is: MMJ HAS ALLOWED HER TO REDUCE OR DISCONTINUETHE USE OF 8 DANGEROUS PHARMACEUTICAL MEDICATIONS SINCE SHERETURNED TO IT'S USE...these drugs were killing herliver...she's recovering slowly from the damage these drugsdid, thanks to MMJ...i've stated before that the drug underground developed todistribute pot in the 60s and 70s...other drugs naturallywere distributed through this network of silence...ifmarijuana were legalized, a large proportion of thisdistribution network would vaporize...other, more harmfuldrugs would be harder to get...i've lost several friends over the last 30 years tomethamphetamine and barbituates...not one pot smoker hasdied, or even gotten sick...some have quit using pot becauseof business and family responsibilities that eliminatedpersonal free time...or the thrill of the pot high just grewtiresome...i'm for legalization of all drugs for simple recreationaluse...incarceration for simple posession or intoxication isludicrous...in many cases it just takes a taxpayer out ofthe work force, making him an expense to the state...if anindividual is a proven "addict" with a self destructivepattern of behavior, treatment is the answer...sending himto prison just makes the drugs easier for him to get...i see drug use in the work place daily...mostlymethamphetamine...pre-employment drug testing is nearlyuniversal in my field...marijuana stays in the bloodstream30-60 days after use...most other drugs are flushed outwithin a week...users know this, so their drugs of choicetend to be the "harder" drugs...it's laughable that alcohol and tobacco are legal andmarijuana is not...the death toll from the "legal" drugs isenormous...yet there is not one verified case of death bymarijuana... [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Charlie on April 22, 2001 at 11:00:02 PT Get a clue If cannabis were a 'gateway' drug, we'd have 80 million herion addicts running around now wouldn't we?Each year drug use costs the U.S. 52,000 drug-related deaths and roughly $110 billion in additional societal costs.Excuse me? Not one can be attributed to cannabis smoking. How many deaths are attributed to tobacco, alcohol, presciption drugs, religious wars? How much of the 110 billion is attributed to the 'war on drugs'?In my opinion, the legalization of medical marijuana contributes to the availability of other, more dangerous drugs.Right, your opinion, were are the facts? Prohibition contributes more to the availability of other, more dangerous drugs. Let's be real.Let's just say 'know' to this sick semi-retired journalist (hopefully fully soon) and former (thankfully) U.S. diplomat. 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