cannabisnews.com: Pot Veto Not Enough Pot Veto Not Enough Posted by CN Staff on January 04, 2006 at 08:11:37 PT By Jim Baron, Times Staff Reporter Source: Pawtucket Times Providence, R.I. -- People who suffer from cancer, multiple sclerosis, AIDS, and a variety of other debilitating diseases now have a new medication option: marijuana. In a series of lopsided votes cast even before they officially opened their 2006 sessions, the House and Senate Tuesday overrode Gov. Donald Carcieri's vetoes of identical 2005 bills that remove the threat of arrest, prosecution and forfeiture by state and local authorities of people who use marijuana to relieve pain, nausea and other symptoms as recommended by a doctor. "I am no longer in the position where I have to fear my door will get busted down," Warren Dolbashian, a Cranston man with Tourette's syndrome, told reporters at a news conference called after the House votes. "It's like a dream come true."Sen. Rhoda Perry, who sponsored the Senate version of the bill, said she hopes the new law will be "up and functional" with rules and regulations promulgated by the state Department of Health, within six months. "But I'm not positive about that," she added.Rep. Thomas Slater, the House sponsor, said he wanted DOH to get new rules written "in the next 30-35 days."The House overrode the governor's veto 59-13 on the House measure and 58-13 on the Senate bill. The override required at least 44 votes. The Senate cast a 30-5 vote to override the veto of the House bill. It had voted to override the veto of the Senate version last July. The measure eliminates penalties, fines and forfeiture connected with marijuana posession of up to 2.5 ounces for a patient (recommended by a doctor and registered with the Department of Health) with a "debilitating medical condition" and two principal caregivers. The law makes no provision for a legal way to obtain the drug.In a release issued after the vote, Carcieri spokesman Jeff Neal said, "this bill will encourage criminal activity because it does not provide any means for the legal purchase of medical marijuana.Users will be forced to purchase marijuana in the illegal street market, putting them at risk and complicating the difficult jobs that our law enforcement personnel must do every day.""The bill places no restriction over where marijuana will be cultivated and stored," Neal continued. "Marijuana operations would be permitted in any neighborhood in the state.There are few qualifications for the ‘caregivers’ who would be allowed to provide marijuana to users.Additionally, the definition of which medical conditions qualify one for use of marijuana is so broad that it would allow nearly any Rhode Islander to be a user."Also, he said, "this bill appears to violate federal law. The United States Supreme Court has ruled that state laws permitting the medicinal use of marijuana do not trump federal laws criminalizing marijuana.Rhode Islanders who rely on state law can still be prosecuted criminally by the federal government.""Currently, Rhode Island laws show no mercy to cancer, multiple sclerosis and AIDS patients who are trying to allay their suffering," Slater told his House colleagues during the debate.He said 10 other states have "realized it makes no sense to make people criminals for following their doctor's advice and relieving their pain. The sky has not fallen and thousands of people live in less pain and less terror."The seriously ill no longer have to live in fear for using a medicine that works," Slater said. "They no longer have to worry that police will barge into their homes, that their children will be taken from them or that they will spend their dying days alone in a cell."Slater told his fellow representatives, "the issue is a personal one for me, as I currently have cancer. There may come a time when I want to explore the possibility of using marijuana for medical purposes. I shouldn't have to risk the indignity of arrest or prosecution for pursuing something to relieve my pain."Our state law does not have any business criminalizing the seriously ill for following their doctors advice," Slater declared.Of the no votes, seven were cast by Republicans and six by members of the so-called "dissident Democrat" faction opposed to House Speaker William Murphy.Minority Leader Robert Watson, who supported the bill's passage, said he would not vote to override the governor of his party. "Symbolically today, I shall cast a vote with my governor, and his right to veto legislation. I happen to believe that if there were enough votes today to sustain the governor's veto, we would work diligently and in short order we would pass a medical marijuana bill that may very well have addressed some of the issues that the governor correctly recognized as issues that need to be resolved before we can pass a non-flawed piece of legislation."Talking to reporters after the vote, Murphy told reporters, "I firmly believe the issue was put aside" by Republicans and dissident Democrats in an attempt to sustain the governor's veto and embarrass the House leadership. He said that effort was scuttled by many of the opponents once they realized they did not have sufficient votes to override the veto."Today's vote proves yet again that the movement to protect medical marijuana patients from arrest is unstoppable," Rob Kampia, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, which joined the effort to pass the bill said in a press release. Source: Pawtucket Times (RI)Author: Jim Baron, Times Staff ReporterPublished: January 4, 2006Copyright: 2006 The Pawtucket TimesContact: editor pawtuckettimes.comWebsite: http://www.pawtuckettimes.comRelated Articles & Web Site:Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/Supporters of Marijuana Bill Concede Problemshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21439.shtmlLegislators Override Veto, Then Begin New Sessionhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21438.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #38 posted by gloovins on January 04, 2006 at 20:23:31 PT A 1st ..... Slater told his fellow representatives, "the issue is a personal one for me, as I currently have cancer. There may come a time when I want to explore the possibility of using marijuana for medical purposes. I shouldn't have to risk the indignity of arrest or prosecution for pursuing something to relieve my pain."Our state law does not have any business criminalizing the seriously ill for following their doctors advice," Slater declared.This is the first time I have known of an ill legislator getting up and actually representing reality & cancer & cannabis on the floor of any state captitol. My hat's off to him & I hope he overcomes this monster disease cancer & recovers to 100%.Saddest thing is it took compelling testimony like his to override a pointless veto by a Governor obviously more concerned that someone may use cannabis "recreationally" instead of "medically"...what a king of fools....hope he gets tossed from office next election. [ Post Comment ] Comment #37 posted by FoM on January 04, 2006 at 19:35:17 PT Hope I drove a little in about every state we went thru but that stretch was really hard. My husband was so tired he fell asleep in the bunk and he didn't hear me when I asked him to wake up and he didn't wake up until I got to San Antonio. I followed a JB Hunt truck so we went slow and steady. [ Post Comment ] Comment #36 posted by Hope on January 04, 2006 at 19:28:43 PT Whoaaa....FoM! I'm impressed! The anxiety that would be provoked in me if I had to do that! Oh my gosh. I can't bear to think of it. But my hat's off to you, woman. That was an undertaking. I'm glad you accomplished it safely! I always try to tell myself that I can do anything I have to do...but I sure don't want to do some things, and that would be one of the things I wouldn't want to do. [ Post Comment ] Comment #35 posted by FoM on January 04, 2006 at 19:19:20 PT You Know What I Did I will never do it again but I drove a big semi from some place in Texas to San Antonio myself which was 400 miles. I will never, never, never do anything like that again. That cured me real fast. LOL! [ Post Comment ] Comment #34 posted by Hope on January 04, 2006 at 19:08:20 PT Coal Mines We have them here, but they are strip mines. Years ago, I was hired by the coal mine here to eventually operate a bulldozer, but my initial joy on being accepted didn't last long and and I didn't take that job when I was faced with the possibility of fighting water moccasins as part of the job description for all new hires who had to start out manning some sort of platform in some sort of pit that the snakes regularly infested. I was told that you were usually wet and had to be constantly knocking the snakes off. Probably a scam to keep a woman from getting that "man's job"...but it worked.Bulldozers and heavy equipment don't scare me too much...but water moccasins...I decided I'd rather make blue jeans for Lee's, who offered me a job at the same time. A whole lot less money and benefits, but no snake wrangling, which was a huge benefit in itself. [ Post Comment ] Comment #33 posted by FoM on January 04, 2006 at 19:04:53 PT Hope I checked out the Vietnam page and bookmarked the link so I can look thru it and spend a little time there. My sister, the one I don't communicate with often is in the hospital and our phone is out. We have been having problems with our phone for over a month and they can't find everything that is wrong. A mouse had made a nest in the one box I guess it's called and they got rid of it but it came back in about a week. It didn't like it's home being messed with I suppose. My niece just had surgery and we don't know what's wrong with my sister in Baltimore. She fainted when she got out of bed in the morning and they rushed her to the hospital and are doing tests. She is 74. That's why I don't know her very well. There's 16 years between us and she got married when I was 4. [ Post Comment ] Comment #32 posted by Hope on January 04, 2006 at 18:54:29 PT FoM That site is full of names and photographs. I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't find something there about your mother's family or the place or places she lived. The Goodbye My Darlin, Hello Vietnam is a good story with some good photos. http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge/4478/nam.htmCannabis law reform is a mutual goal...but other things go on and are important in who we all are, too. [ Post Comment ] Comment #31 posted by FoM on January 04, 2006 at 18:33:05 PT Hope I know I should keep my mind on John Walters when he is on tv but I just have a connection with coal miners and West Virginia. I really want to find out more about my Mom's side of the family but I don't know if even my sister knows anything except the bad things that happened. When I was watching the news last night and saw the little churches on the hill and the community waiting together it reminds me a lot of our little churches on the hills and the closeness of the people in our area. We don't have coal mining here but many people have family that have lived and worked in mines. When we go back east we see mountains and more mountains and a house here and there perched on the side. It too hard to build so WV hasn't been really developed but it is pretty to see when the leaves are turning colors in the fall. [ Post Comment ] Comment #30 posted by FoM on January 04, 2006 at 18:21:25 PT Hope Thank you. What a lovely web site. [ Post Comment ] Comment #29 posted by Hope on January 04, 2006 at 18:12:48 PT I think it was the Mamie Thurman story that somehow led me to the site, and I was just fascinated and impressed by the whole site. [ Post Comment ] Comment #28 posted by Hope on January 04, 2006 at 18:08:36 PT FoM I discoverd this amazing, to me, site some time ago. It's varied and has many aspects to it...but it's touched me. Especially touching are the letters to families written by dying miners as they waited, often in the dark, for rescues that didn't get there in time. I don't recall what led me to Coal Miner's Daughter, but it's a site that's stayed on my mind long after first stumbling upon it. If you aren't familiar with it already, I think you will be glad to have found it. It's about real people, real events, and the lives of West Virginia coal miners and their families of many generations.http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge/4478/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #27 posted by FoM on January 04, 2006 at 17:59:04 PT Show Me The Money Hope I was just talking to my husband about those in power receiving money to fight citizens. I thought of McCaffrey and drug testing, Barthwell and GW Pharm and more I'm sure. It's something to keep in our mind as the dots get connected. Money shouldn't control a democracy. People, the majority of people, should control a democracy.PS: The miners situation had to be one of the hardest things to handle. From waiting to unbelievable joy to devastation. When we lose someone we grieve but that rollercoaster was one big crash downward. I hope they will recover in time. [ Post Comment ] Comment #26 posted by Hope on January 04, 2006 at 17:51:00 PT The miners It made me sad, too. It's horrible. Mining is a hard and dangerous job and life. [ Post Comment ] Comment #25 posted by Hope on January 04, 2006 at 17:49:37 PT Walters was rather chipper this morning. His chipperness likely would be curtailed somewhat if he had been faced with your statement, "Hopefully as they follow the money we will find out if he is paid by drug companies or alcohol companies."He did seem unusually chipper though. I really hated all that lieing crap about treatment and not punishment being what they are doing now. Baloney. Oh yeah...and it isn't really a "war"...they just say "war" because it sounds good to them. [ Post Comment ] Comment #24 posted by FoM on January 04, 2006 at 17:17:20 PT Hope I really was distracted because of the miners. Walters says the same things over and over again so paying attention to him is hard for me to do. Hopefully as they follow the money we will find out if he is paid by drug companies or alcohol companies. That's my hope as this scandal unravels. [ Post Comment ] Comment #23 posted by Hope on January 04, 2006 at 17:08:05 PT Walters on C-Span Waiting for Walters on C-Span this morning, I didn't notice he was on for the first two or three minutes that he was on. After that he never once mentioned Medical Marijuana or the Rhode Island veto override. Did he mention it in the first minute or two? I think the calls this morning must have been highly screened. Also, I didn't know Walter's mom lived in Texas. :-) (You won't get that unless you were watching.) [ Post Comment ] Comment #22 posted by FoM on January 04, 2006 at 16:20:29 PT potpal Thanks. I never can get C-Span. If they used WMP I wouldn't have any problems but Real Player has never worked right for me on any computer I ever had. I did see most of it and all I thought was he sounds like he drank a lot of coffee. [ Post Comment ] Comment #21 posted by potpal on January 04, 2006 at 15:59:02 PT washington journal http://www.c-span.org/homepage.asp?Cat=Series&Code=WJE&ShowVidNum=9&Rot_Cat_CD=WJ&Rot_HT=206&Rot_WD=&ShowVidDays=100&ShowVidDesc=&ArchiveDays=30#Watch it at your leisure. Walters is about 2:15 into it. Useless really. More of the same propaganda. [ Post Comment ] Comment #20 posted by FoM on January 04, 2006 at 14:52:40 PT New NBC Show I was looking for news and a Baptist article seems upset about this new show. I will be sure to watch it. It sounds good to me from what they wrote. http://www.nbc.com/The_Book_Of_Daniel/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #19 posted by FoM on January 04, 2006 at 14:46:02 PT Dankhank I tried again. When I click the picture it starts but it only shows a white page. Thanks anyway. I never have problems with Windows Media Player but Real and Quicktime have always been tempermental. Hopefully WMP will be used more often or at least offered as a choice. [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by FoM on January 04, 2006 at 14:40:46 PT Dankhank I have Firefox but only use IE. I rebooted and will try again. Thanks. [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by dankhank on January 04, 2006 at 14:36:22 PT Video FoMyes, though I had to use IE and quicktime to get it to work.I use Ffox, but if something doesn't work I try it in IE. [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by FoM on January 04, 2006 at 14:27:36 PT Dankhank Was the video good? It doesn't want to work for me. [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by FoM on January 04, 2006 at 14:15:25 PT DPFCA: Will Foster Returns to Prison From Dale Gieringer Medical marijuana patient Will Foster has been re-arrested by California police on charges of violating his parole for marijuana cultivation in Oklahoma. Foster is famous for having been sentenced to 93 years for cultivating a small basement garden in 1995. His sentence was subsequently reduced to 20 years, and he was released on parole in 2001. Foster was arrested on account of having failed to report to Oklahoma authorities. He is being held in the Sonoma County jail pending extradition to Oklahoma. For more info - contact Ed Rosenthal (510) 533-0605 [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by Dankhank on January 04, 2006 at 14:13:48 PT OT Oreilly on letterman last night ...video, herehttp://www.salon.com/ent/video_dog/index.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by global_warming on January 04, 2006 at 12:48:33 PT Bury your dead Know that Life and LibertyWe Proclaim into the NightInto EternityWe offer kindess, justiceThe face of the devilSecular justice'Will, never become,The faithlesswill forever rememberThat momentWhen Truth, Justice,That Hand of Courage and SweetnessMay remain before the tableThat is is 'our GraceOur StrengthThat fills our tableOur SoulsAs 'we mark that next vote,Cannabis is Forever [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by FoM on January 04, 2006 at 12:24:08 PT global_warming Today it is the miners. My mother's side of the family were West Virgina coal miners. It's a little personal. [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by global_warming on January 04, 2006 at 12:19:04 PT What is that is getting you" The Miners,The thousands of cannabis prisoners? [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by FoM on January 04, 2006 at 12:06:28 PT global_warming God isn't into politics so it doesn't make any sense to me why people that are "religious" would vote for big business. I heard on the news that Paul Wellstone was a champion for coal mine safety and for the miners and he's dead. When something is totally illogical to me it gets to me. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Wellstone [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by global_warming on January 04, 2006 at 11:52:29 PT hey fom feel like i am talking to old karl rove, Why door poor states vote republican?Maybe they they hate homosexuals,Maybe they are just frightenedAll this arrogant and up front sexualityIs too much to embraceAt the foot of the cross.It is at the foot of that human beingThat ''we can smell our future [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by FoM on January 04, 2006 at 11:33:18 PT global_warming Thank you. I wish I had a decent recorder but my DVD Recorder is not working right so I was hoping for C-Span to post the video for those who missed it or missed some of it. I still am upset for the families of the miners. That had so much joy then I went to bed and my husband told me when I woke up that they were dead and I couldn't believe it. What a terrible letdown for those poor people. Why do poor states vote for Republicans? That has always confused me. [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by global_warming on January 04, 2006 at 11:27:44 PT There was nothing wrong It was the 'only caller who made any sense. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by FoM on January 04, 2006 at 11:25:44 PT global_warming What was wrong with the Tennessee call? I was distracted because of the miners and might have missed something. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by global_warming on January 04, 2006 at 11:18:40 PT I watched John Walters On cspan this am, taped it, funny how when that phone call came in from RI, old John reached for his empty cup of water, most of the callers were somewhat supportive, except from Tennessee, Old John who parts his hair on the Right side, kept using the same old tired lines, how the 'treatment centers were just filled with 'young people who are in treatment for using mARIJUANA, sure wish someone had addressed this issue, some questioned how this USA has the highest prison population, old John jumped back with, many of those in prisons are there because of violent behavior, yet he 'quickly slips in 'criminal behavior with the same breath.This war on drugs is immoral and those who are making money or blindly saluting the paths of justice and righteousness, may have some immediate comfort, can count themselves, as the proxies, who voted, that he should be nailed to a wooden cross. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by global_warming on January 04, 2006 at 10:47:53 PT Who Will Be The Next State To affirm and stand up for the emancipation of Cannabis? [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on January 04, 2006 at 09:41:23 PT MSNBC Question of The Day Do you think most members of Congress are corrupt? * 5485 responses Current Results: Yes -- 73% No -- 27% http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3080261/ [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Toker00 on January 04, 2006 at 09:26:19 PT The answer is so obvious. In a release issued after the vote, Carcieri spokesman Jeff Neal said, "this bill will encourage criminal activity because it does not provide any means for the legal purchase of medical marijuana.Users will be forced to purchase marijuana in the illegal street market, putting them at risk and complicating the difficult jobs that our law enforcement personnel must do every day."And who's fault is it that this is still the case? Stupid people who continue Cannabis Prohibition, knowing the answer is to End It.Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW! [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by OverwhelmSam on January 04, 2006 at 09:11:08 PT Ahhh, The New Law Will Make It Hard for the Police The law is the law. I thought our representative were hired to serve the public, not the police departments. If law enforcement thinks it's too hard to enforce the laws, the laws should be changed. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment