cannabisnews.com: Cops Slip Up On Medical Marijuana





Cops Slip Up On Medical Marijuana
Posted by CN Staff on August 04, 2006 at 11:03:47 PT
By Felisa Cardona, Denver Post Staff Writer
Source: Denver Post 
Denver, CO -- Not many people go to the Denver Police Department to pick up bags of marijuana, but Thursday a police officer handed Larisa Lawrence about 2 ounces of the drug. "It's squished," she said, scrunching her nose and pressing down on the red evidence bags. "It's just not the same."
Late Tuesday, Lawrence's marijuana was seized by Denver police during a traffic stop even though she produced proof that she was allowed to carry it under the state's medical marijuana law. Lawrence, 30, and her husband, Thomas, are caregivers who run a medical-marijuana support center in Denver. The couple said they are also patients allowed to use marijuana for medical purposes under a doctor's approval. The police returned the marijuana Thursday after the couple had their lawyer, Robert Corry, contact the Police Department.  Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.denverpost.com/ci_4134329Source: Denver Post (CO)Author:  Felisa Cardona, Denver Post Staff Writer Published: Friday, August 04, 2006 Copyright: 2006 The Denver Post CorpWebsite: http://www.denverpost.com/Contact: openforum denverpost.com CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #17 posted by whig on August 07, 2006 at 10:44:50 PT
Max
I asked the same question: http://cannabisnews.com/news/21/thread21965.shtml#11 and #14There seemed to be a consensus that we should not say cannabis is harmless, because it is impossible to prove at any rate and that this feeds the propaganda. On the other hand if we say, quite correctly, that cannabis is far safer than almost any other consumable thing you might compare it to, we have the high ground because this is demonstrable by pointing out the risks of whatever we are comparing it to.
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Comment #16 posted by Max Flowers on August 07, 2006 at 07:26:06 PT
whig #12
Okay, I'll bite. Name the slight harm you refer to...?I will concede readily that smoking it causes mild "harm" to the respiratory system, such as bronchitis-like symptoms (used to get those myself), but beyond that, I don't know what harm you may be talking about. Reduced short-term memory? Red eyes?Anyway that is why I said "essentially harmless", to leave room for any hair-splitting that might come up.
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on August 05, 2006 at 19:57:00 PT
Whig
I know. One of the first things I remember about THC is it being called a psychoactive substance. I was told it is not a drug though because drugs are man made and THC isn't man made. They didn't have synethic THC when I first learn about Cannabis as far as I knew back then.
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Comment #14 posted by whig on August 05, 2006 at 19:41:34 PT
FoM
Okay, well Synthetic THC (dronabinol) is a drug. :)We could split hairs all day, but the point I'm trying to make is that the purified extracts and chemical compounds that are used as pharmaceuticals are not the same as herbs. Willow Bark is an herb and Salicylic Acid is a purified extract, from which Aspirin (a drug) is manufactured.
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on August 05, 2006 at 18:45:05 PT
Whig
I didn't think THC was a drug but a psychoactive substance.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetrahydrocannabinol
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Comment #12 posted by whig on August 05, 2006 at 18:03:02 PT
Max #11
Not harmless. You warned me not to say it so I'll return the favor. :)Less harmful than almost anything else I can think of, however.
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Comment #11 posted by Max Flowers on August 05, 2006 at 17:52:40 PT
Let's explore that further
This is the "association sequence" that reporters know happens:drug = illicit drugs = things like crack, heroin, methSo when they use the word "drug" in this context, they know damn well that the above association is made by most people (sadly enough). Therefore, in order to be responsible and not sensationalize something that they know from plentiful evidence is not as bad as all that, they should refrain from using the word drug to describe something that is essentially harmless dried flowers. 
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Comment #10 posted by Max Flowers on August 05, 2006 at 17:48:01 PT
Fight for the Right
Hi there, I appreciate what you're saying, but I know how these reporters think. They use words to sensationalize, and if they can use a word that will get one's attention and make the story seem more dramatic, they will do it. Problem is, in this case the word "drug"  is packed with negative stigma and the reporters know that. So they help perpetuate the problem. Even if they would just write "substance" instead of "drug", it would be much more neutral and stigma-free (sort of), and reporters are supposed to not be biased if they can help it. In this case, they can help it, but don't.
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Comment #9 posted by whig on August 05, 2006 at 17:22:53 PT
Fight for the Right
Welcome to CNews.There is an important difference between aspirin and cannabis -- aspirin is a pharmaceutical chemical. Cannabis is not. Cannabis is quite literally dried flowers, as Max says. It would be wrong to deny it has psychoactive and physiological effects, but we do not deny this in fact we are quite clear in stating that they are present and that they are beneficial for the most part. But it is not a drug. It is an herb.Nor is cannabis the only herb with psychoactive and physiological effects. Others like kava kava, valerian, or even tea, are not called drugs. Why is it more appropriate to call cannabis a drug?If you want to be accurate, THC is a drug. But cannabis is just dried flowers.
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Comment #8 posted by Fight for the Right on August 05, 2006 at 16:52:42 PT:
It is a drug by definition.
Mr. Flowers, Aspirin is a drug, yet there is no negative stigma that is associated there. In order to change the laws we need to remove the negative stigma surrounding our responsible marijuana users. In order to do that, we must present ourselves as the informed and unbiased voting public. Calling marijuana dried flowers may convince some people that it is on the same level as parsley, but attempting to attribute a softer name to the drug will show the legislators that we are ashamed of the effects that the plant produces. This is not a bad drug, so be proud of what you support.
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Comment #7 posted by mayan on August 05, 2006 at 04:24:37 PT
Denverites Have Spoken!
They have already voted to legalize cannabis just as the citizens of Colorado have voted to legalize medical cannabis. Come November the entire state of Colorado will have legal cannabis!JR, so the cops staked out that garden for three months and still couldn't catch the growers? Nice. Just how much tax money are these idiots spending with their little training excercises? Their efforts are futile.
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Comment #6 posted by Wayne on August 04, 2006 at 19:24:20 PT
Re: JR
One thing I noticed in that article. The caption under the 2nd photo:"When agents arrived at the scene of a large marijuana garden, they found this abandoned camp where three growers had been living. Agents have said the men tending the gardens are most often Mexican nationals."Oh yeah, why didn't I think of that? They're gardeners, that must mean they're Mexicans. Idiots. How do they know they're Mexicans if they've never seen them? Maybe they can tell by their footprints or something...or maybe they just got it from that scary 'Reefer Madness' movie.
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on August 04, 2006 at 18:29:47 PT
JR Thanks
Why don't they offer paid tours to the public. I bet a lot of people would love to tour that garden. 
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Comment #4 posted by JR Bob Dobbs on August 04, 2006 at 18:04:20 PT
Cops keep garden
For "training" puposes... uh huh...
http://www.paysonroundup.com/section/frontpage_lead/story/24610
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Comment #3 posted by mai_bong_city on August 04, 2006 at 13:08:18 PT
craigslist deals
i thought this one was interestin'. seriously i thought about trading sex for medicine at this point - there was recently an article about a woman here in our town who had claimed religious exemption for herself selling sex at 200$ per act.....the cops here let her do this openly yet come after sick people for marijuana - so i figure i should join this woman's 'church' and be exempt and make money so i won't be sick anymore.http://tinyurl.com/k97pw
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Comment #2 posted by mai_bong_city on August 04, 2006 at 12:59:26 PT
at least they got it back
it happened to me here even though my card was presented - i can't get anyone to even try to get it back, along with the hundreds of dollars worth of pipes that i'm allowed by law here to have.....
How long? How long?
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Comment #1 posted by Max Flowers on August 04, 2006 at 11:27:23 PT
Don't call it a drug, stupid cub reporters
You're a big part of the problem.Not many people go to the Denver Police Department to pick up bags of marijuana, but Thursday a police officer handed Larisa Lawrence about 2 ounces of the drug.It should say "...but Thursday a police officer handed Larisa Lawrence about 2 ounces of the dried flowers."It's dried flowers, not a drug. You perpetuate the negative stigma every single time you call it a drug.
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