cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana? Yes, In The Name of Compassion










  Medical Marijuana? Yes, In The Name of Compassion

Posted by CN Staff on March 06, 2005 at 23:18:41 PT
Editorial 
Source: Farmington Daily Times  

The state Senate has passed three bills that, if they become law, would have New Mexico joining 12 other states that allow the medical use of marijuana.Currently, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington have enacted laws to legalize medical marijuana.
It’s not the first time lawmakers have dealt with the legislation — and it wouldn’t be the first such program in the state. In the late 1970s, New Mexico set up a program linking the medical use of marijuana with a research project, which eventually lost its funding and became defunct.Former Gov. Gary Johnson, a Republican and a drug-reform proponent, pushed medical marijuana legislation. The House and Senate approved separate bills in 2001, but never agreed on the same version. It was tried again in 2002 in the Senate and in 2003 in the House, but it failed each time.Senate Judiciary Chairman Cisco McSorley, D-Albuquerque, said his proposal would provide “one more opportunity for life for our loved ones.”Two of the bills would restrict it to patients with cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, certain spinal cord damage, epilepsy and HIV-AIDS.Under McSorley’s bill, the Health Department would license producers to provide the marijuana, which would be grown in secure facilities. Patients whose doctors recommend it would apply to the department and, if approved by a review board of physicians, be registered to possess the drug.Sen. Steve Komadina, R-Corrales, sponsored an alternative measure that would require the marijuana to be pharmaceutical grade, so that dosages would be consistent and regulated. That would rule out smoking it, although an atomizer or inhaler could be used, Komadina said.The third bill, sponsored by Sen. Shannon Robinson, D-Albuquerque, would allow people with chronic or debilitating diseases marked by pain or severe muscle spasms to use marijuana only topically — in a patch, lotion or gel, for example.A spokesman for Gov. Bill Richardson said he was studying the bills and was encouraged by the safeguards they contained.“For people who are living in a tremendous amount of pain as a result of life-threatening diseases, this is a treatment that they should be allowed to have,” said Gilbert Gallegos, a spokesman for the governor.Critics of the bills said they were concerned the state would appear — especially to young people — to be promoting drug use.“My question today ... is what kind of message are we going to be sending,” said Sen. Carroll Leavell, R-Jal, who voted against the three measures. We respond to this by seconding the sentiments of Gov. Richardson. The message we are sending young people is that common sense and compassion for those in pain is the lesson they should learn.Common sense tells us that if marijuana can ease the suffering of someone ill, in pain or dying, then compassion is the right choice.If we’re so worried about the message we’re sending our children, then we should send a message to our children about the causes of death in the United States. Tell them that while tobacco is legal, at 430,700 deaths per year, it is the leading cause of substance-abuse deaths; that alcohol is legal and 110,600 die from it each year; that adverse reactions to legal prescription drugs cause 32,000 fatalities a year; that 30,500 commit suicide; 18,000 are homicide victims; and that 7,600 people die each year from taking anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin.We’re not saying to children to go out and do something illegal, but we are saying that with the right restrictions in place, if marijuana is prescribed and can ease the pain for someone or make their diminished quality of life better, then how can that be wrong?The written record on medicinal marijuana stretches back over 2,000 years. The American Medical Association’s Council on Scientific Affairs said in a report to the AMA House of Delegates June 2001 that “until such time as rapid-onset cannabinoid (marijuana) formulations are clinically available, our AMA affirms the appropriateness of compassionate use of marijuana and related cannabinoids in carefully controlled programs designed to provide symptomatic relief of nausea, vomiting, cachexia, anorexia, spasticity, acute or chronic pain, or other palliative effects.”We all have to make choices in our lives, and the larger and more important point is that it doesn’t make any sense to punish sick people for trying to relieve their own suffering.Source: Farmington Daily Times (NM)Published: March 7, 2005Copyright: 2005 Farmington Daily TimesContact: markl daily-times.comWebsite: http://www.daily-times.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmMedical Marijuana Passes Senate http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20307.shtmlSenate Endorses Three Medical Marijuana Bills http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread20306.shtml

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Comment #11 posted by afterburner on March 07, 2005 at 22:20:33 PT
Thanks, Everybody for a Well-Deserved Laugh
After all the stress of the Mountie story and its prohibitionist spin over the last few days, we really needed these healthy laughs. Plus they do make a point too.
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Comment #10 posted by siege on March 07, 2005 at 10:38:32 PT
sweets
Let him go to canada where they can eat TOOTSIE ROLL
and be free of tyranny.
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Comment #9 posted by Hope on March 07, 2005 at 09:52:24 PT
I should have seen the signs.
He was brushing his teeth so much. He wasn't eating as much nutritious foods as he used to.He seemed hyper sometimes for no apparent reason.He had new friends that just seemed to have a sneaky look about them.I thought I smelled chocolate on one of his friends one day...but I let it go. I didn't do anything about it while there still might have been a chance of keeping this from happening.I blame myself for this, too. I should never have told him that I once tasted a Tootsie Roll...although I didn't swallow it. I spit it out right away.I can't believe this is happening to our family. He was such a good kid. 
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on March 07, 2005 at 09:39:27 PT
breeze
I removed the extra post. I call them hiccups! LOL!
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Comment #6 posted by breeze on March 07, 2005 at 09:33:19 PT

LOL!!!!!
Yes- you need to confront him about that TOOTSIE ROLL!!!
And IMMEDIATELY send him to re-hab!!!!ROTFLMAO!!!!!
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Comment #5 posted by Hope on March 07, 2005 at 08:34:59 PT

Public Schools Join the War on Sugar
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050306/D88LMBFG0.html
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Comment #4 posted by Hope on March 07, 2005 at 08:25:24 PT

I'm devastated.
This morning I found a Tootsie Roll hidden under my teenage son's mattress.Do I call the police or just make plans to send him to rehab?What kind of miserable low life supplied him with it? Was it given to him just to get him hooked on the stuff.I'm so scared!How could this have happened?
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Comment #3 posted by siege on March 07, 2005 at 07:15:13 PT

sugar 
 Moonshine back in the prohibition of alcohol and sugar you could not buy more then 5 pounds of sugar at a time or the Fed's where at your door so you drove to a another state to get it, some states the Fed's did not care about if they had sugar just the Moonshine states they Moonshiners learn to use molasses honey black strip from when you make your own sugar from sugar cane some of the best Moonshine comes from molasses. have made some good Moonshine a long time ago.
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Comment #2 posted by afterburner on March 07, 2005 at 06:33:18 PT

Interesting Scenario, breeze
Then, the government actively seeks out sugar plantations and crops using helicopters and poisonous sprays. This causes people to grow sugar cane inside. However, the government then encourages power companies to monitor spikes in electricity usage required by indoor grow lights. So, some people start bypassing the electrical meters to avoid detection. Next, the government and law enforcement start preaching about the dangers of sugar cane "grow-ops" that steal power and use hazardous chemicals like fertilizer. Think about it.
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Comment #1 posted by breeze on March 07, 2005 at 00:31:14 PT

Please... Read this and think quietly to yourself
What if any thing that people really enjoy were made to be illegal tommorow- lets say something that would be absurd to think of as being illegal- like, sugar. Anything and everything that has sugar in it would be considered contraband- illegal. The price of a candy bar would skyrocket. The price of cookies and cake would be ridiculous. But some people would be defiant of the law, and actively seek out their sweets. We all KNOW that sugar is poison to the human body, but we crave it- we desire it, some people even use it to help their health issues- namely diabetics. But, sugar is ILLEGAL!!! No one is allowed acess to sugar, even if their body requires it to remain functional, the government is steadfast- and says NO one can have sugar! Well, there are some folks who are going to take advantage of this denial of sugar, and make money off of the people who want it. There are others who will grow their own sugar, because they don't like the idea of buying possibly contaminated sugar- laced with something that isn't good for them at all or maybe they like keeping honey bees as a hobby. Then there are people who stand up to the government and say- "LOOK, this stuff called sugar comes from nature, it's something everyone enjoys if they have tried it, some people even need it to stay healthy, yes- if they eat too much of it, its unhealthy, but there is never positive advantage about overindulging in anything. Too much of a good thing is never a GOOD THING! But to make sugar illegal simply because you don't think sugar can be regulated or it is a thing that harms the body, when it is obviously a product of nature- WHAT could possibly be a logical reason for outlawing SUGAR?" But the government stands defiant to reason, unable to process logic. They not only demand that sugar remain illegal, but they go as far as funding a task force to destroy anyone who has anything to do with sugar. They fine people caught having sugar on their person, they lock away anyone who bakes a cake. And if they discover that a person is growing sugar in their backyard or keeping honeybees, they not only lock them away for life, but they take everything they own as well. Meanwhile, the market for sugar is on the rise- people are starting to LOVE sugar, they like sugar, they want sugar, some even need it- not because they are addicted, but to keep symptoms of illness at bay. The people pay outrageous prices for it. What would be pennies for a pound of sugar is now thousands of dollars, hundreds of times the actual worth of the sugar. A few people are murdered because the money that is made from dealing in sugar, others are killed in efforts trying to arrest a person for dealing the sugar but this is rare, as the majority sugar lovers are peacful and happy go lucky people- they cooperate fully with the Anti-Sugar enforcement people. It is absolute chaos, and its all because sugar is illegal. And still, the government strives to convince the entire population of the world that sugar is EVIL incarnate- spending trillions of dollars in a WAR against sugar. They not only stalk the sugar eating people, they harrass them with advertisements, and even brainwash the kids into believing sugar is EVIL! Corporations get in on the buisness of testing people for their sugar usage- even if they do so away from their job, in their own homes, on their own time. Other things come along that don't taste like sugar, nor does it look like sugar, it doesn't even give the body a similar satisfaction as sugar- but it is a product that gives the body sensation, just not in the same manner as sugar. The people who simply like sugar don't embrace all of these other products, all they want is sugar. They don't want to feel what these other things offer, they don't even care to experiment for its not even in the same catagory as sugar. These other products might even cost more than sugar, but there are consequences to using these other products- most are severly unhealthy, even deadly. These products sometimes create a dependency that sugar does not, and people will beg, borrow, and steal to get their fix of these products that are NOTHING like sugar at all. These products even cause people to act differently than sugar does, it makes them unreasonable, nervous, anxious, paranoid and at times even violent. But sugar gets the reputation as being as bad as these products, because some of the people who use sugar also use these other products.It becomes a social situation, people are accused of being lazy, stupid, or any other negative term because they enjoy sugar and sugar alone. It gets even worse if the person grows or sells sugar, even if they are just growing it for their own satisfaction. And what of the people who need sugar? THE GOVERNMENT STATES "Oh they are bad people as well- they might cannot help having these ailments, but we have so many other wonderful things that can treat these ailments as well as sugar, there just might be some weird side effects or death to contend with- but WE say sugar is bad, just leave it at that!!! Don't question us, instead- fear us!! We say sugar is EVIL, and that is the end of the argument!! Do what we say because WE know what is good for you- you have no idea what is good for you! And if you deny us access to your urine, your house, your vehicle in our efforts to find sugar usage or anything used to contain sugar- we WILL find a way to arrest you!!!Decades pass by, and sugar users are abused, or lose their jobs or social integrity because they use and enjoy sugar. Many people who sold or grew sugar in the past are still in prison for their involvement with sugar. We eventually learn that even the very people who are in powerful positions, like say the PRESIDENT of the government that says sugar should remain illegal has had a history of using sugar, but either denies it or evades the subject of his use/desire for sugar. Still, sugar is illegal, and only a few see the ignorance of the issue of prohibition of sugar. But these people aren't in the people in charge, they don't hold offices within the higher ranks of BIG government- they are merely ordinary, normal, upper to lower class wage earners- nothing special, just plain everyday people who are smart enough to know when something stupid, evil and wasteful is occuring- but all they can do is pray that the leaders of the people would have an epiphany of compassion and wisdom, demanding that sugar be made legal and at least regulated as other things are.And so, we have a model for the stupidity of laws surrounding cannabis. It is as simple as comparing it to anything people by the millions use and enjoy on a daily basis without over indulging or abusing. Sugar for instance...{If you found this comparrison worthy of distribution- please do so En Masse!}
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