cannabisnews.com: Voters Have Limits on Medical Marijuana
function share_this(num) {
 tit=encodeURIComponent('Voters Have Limits on Medical Marijuana');
 url=encodeURIComponent('http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/25/thread25735.shtml');
 site = new Array(5);
 site[0]='http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[1]='http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit.php?url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[2]='http://digg.com/submit?topic=political_opinion&media=video&url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[3]='http://reddit.com/submit?url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 site[4]='http://del.icio.us/post?v=4&noui&jump=close&url='+url+'&title='+tit;
 window.open(site[num],'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=620,height=500');
 return false;
}






Voters Have Limits on Medical Marijuana
Posted by CN Staff on June 11, 2010 at 03:48:32 PT
LSJ Editorial
Source: Lansing State Journal
Michigan -- When the "Cannabis Caravan" arrives in Lansing later this month, it will be the most colorful example of a troubling trend: A desire by some to push the margins on Michigan's medical marijuana system.There's no doubt many who voted in 2008 for medical marijuana would favor complete legalization. Such proponents are risking a political backlash against medical marijuana itself.
Recent events might lend themselves to overconfidence on the issue. Proposal 1 in 2008 gained slightly more than 3 million "yes" votes in Michigan, compared to 1.79 million "no" votes. Michigan is now one of 14 states that has legalized medical marijuana. As recently as 1997, only California had a medical marijuana law.This year, California may set another precedent, becoming the first state where voters agree to full legalization of the drug.Attitudes toward marijuana have shifted in Michigan and elsewhere.But this debate is not over.Polling in Michigan has found full legalization to be a loser. Also, the particulars of the 2008 success are instructive.The ballot language was written in a way that rather large questions were left unanswered. For example, how are registered users supposed to obtain an initial supply or seeds to exercise their rights under the law?The ballot prop said nothing about storefront dispensaries, marijuana social clubs or traveling teams of doctors doing medical screenings for marijuana use.It did ask voters to:• "Permit registered individuals to grow limited amounts of marijuana for qualifying patients in an enclosed, locked facility."• "Permit registered and unregistered patients and primary caregivers to assert medical reasons for using marijuana as a defense to any prosecution involving marijuana."This is language designed to lead voters away from any thought of full legalization and its potential consequences. It's also designed to emphasize a private, personal relationship between a patient and his or her doctor.As a spokeswoman for this caravan conceded to an LSJ reporter, getting a doc's note from the caravan is no guarantee of coverage. "The state has the right to deny or reject any applications," said Tiffany Klang last week.So what's the point here? Are there really credible cases where people with serious medical conditions - with symptoms that medical marijuana might ease - can't get a proper review from their own doctors?The state is now adjusting to its 2008 decision - a decision the state can reverse, if voters don't like what they see.Source: Lansing State Journal (MI)Published: June 11, 2010Copyright: 2010 Lansing State JournalWebsite: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/T15JWIqeContact: http://drugsense.org/url/KhQnAYwGCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help 
     
     
     
     




Comment #19 posted by Paint with light on June 17, 2010 at 19:09:43 PT
Mahakal
"I do believe that all use of cannabis is medicinal in a real sense, we literally require cannabinoids for survival and they should be considered as vitamins, without which deterioration occurs, such as Alzheimer's and other diseases of aging."I agree.Vitamins for the body and the spirit."I am personally more focused on the first amendment aspect, which should compel every state to respect the right of citizens to practice their religion and meditate with the use of sacramental cannabis.'You have taken the steeper but more righteous road.The war on drugs has gradually eroded so much of the constitution.We all need to work for the regaining of our unalienable rights.Legal like alcohol........and voting.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #18 posted by Mahakal on June 17, 2010 at 11:07:07 PT
paint with light
One advantage to this amendment is that it will give those who are really more interested in recreational cannabis a way to grow/provide/obtain/use without seeking a medical reason. I do believe that all use of cannabis is medicinal in a real sense, we literally require cannabinoids for survival and they should be considered as vitamins, without which deterioration occurs, such as Alzheimer's and other diseases of aging.But when those who do not believe in or acknowledge the real medical benefits they are obtaining use the language of medical marijuana without seriousness, it really would be better for all concerned if they would make a different argument.I am personally more focused on the first amendment aspect, which should compel every state to respect the right of citizens to practice their religion and meditate with the use of sacramental cannabis.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #17 posted by museman on June 17, 2010 at 09:39:36 PT
The Dollar Mine
I’ve been a paperboy, busboy, dishwasher, cook,I’ve built houses, songs, poems and a book.I’ve been security, driver, mechanic, technicianPlumber, carpenter, and electrician, But one thing I’ll never be,Is a slave in your dollar mine. I’ve seen the forests, rivers, and hills,And the highways, roads, and lumber mills. I’ve seen the cities, towns and states,The manmade canyons and concrete straits. I’ve been all over this country,and some other parts of the world, But the one place that I’ll never beIs slaving in your dollar mine. I learned to play the music,In a magic way,I learned to know when, and what to say, I found the secret to the universal knowingHidden in plain sight and showing,I learned the meaning of the truth, But one thing I’ll never know,Is the despair of the slave in your dollar mine. I’ve been a sailor, a tailor, a night watch man,A gas jockey, tech junkie, and in a blues swingin’ rock ‘n roll band. I punched some cows, farmed some land, irrigated some fields,Grew potatoes, pot and corn, with just enough of a yieldTo get us through the winter. I was a mason, a freemason, and fidelitos,A lover, a singer, and finder of the lost, I healed in secret, but now you know,I’ve held high converse with the Indigo children,And we are on the go, But one place we will never goIs to slave in your dollar mine.  You play your moneyFor a few dollars more,Your mind is keen,Your soul is rotten to the core. If one could but find some humanity,In the greed and destructionOf your daily life,We’d heal your sicknessAnd end our strife. But you believe in your corruption,As if it were a gift from Heaven,As if you were kings and princes,And your instituted power the leaven,That makes the bread of sorrowYou force us all to eat.The corridor of sameness,The road of capitulated defeat. Incorporated emperors,Teach children how to lie,How to beat their fellows,How to ignore the painful cryOf the children who are abandonedIn the dusty schoolyard stye,To be raised by pigs that will never learn to fly. And in all the walks, the work, and the play,There are those who will still refuse to pay,The fees of tyrants, and the tax of the line,Who will not slave in your dollar mine.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #16 posted by Paint with light on June 16, 2010 at 11:39:22 PT
Mahakal
Thanks for the discussion.My hope is that we can get something through even if that means temporarily we don't get what is right.I feel for those who may not be reached by the current form laws have to take in order to pass.We are going to need them to win this unjust war that was declared against us.Unfortunately facts and science don't make laws, politicians do.We will eventually have the numbers to overturn the present system and make the laws right for all ages.We are close and getting closer every day.The insane drug laws are being forced kicking and screaming into the public arena and everyone is beginning to give them a thumbs down.Thanks for your help.Legal like alcohol........or aspirin. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #15 posted by Mahakal on June 16, 2010 at 10:56:35 PT
paint with light
Thanks for explaining your perspective, and it seems to be a consensus opinion here in favor of the amendment. I have been listening to different views in order to make up my own mind on this proposition. I think it is better to fully understand all sides and then all objections are answerable, all arguments unassailable. Do you get me? :)So what we need to say is that if someone under 21 needs to use cannabis they should get a medical recommendation as appropriate. And if the language isn't perfect, it still may qualify as harm reduction relative to the status quo.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #14 posted by Paint with light on June 15, 2010 at 12:09:04 PT
altered consciousness.
"Tobacco doesn't alter consciousness? News to me, and I used to smoke tobacco."Not to the same degree as cannabis or alcohol or else you were smoking laced tobacco.Not the same.Maybe equal to caffeine or sugar but not even close to the others or everyone would just smoke tobacco.Apples and oranges still.I am not going to charge anyone.Legal like alcohol.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #13 posted by Mahakal on June 15, 2010 at 09:33:03 PT
paint with light
Tobacco doesn't alter consciousness? News to me, and I used to smoke tobacco."I believe we can get the laws to at least not impair the sick and imprison adults."That is what I'm saying. But we're going to charge people with a felony to pass a joint to someone who is 20?
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #12 posted by Paint with light on June 14, 2010 at 23:42:19 PT
metaphorically speaking
Apples, being the two substances that get you high and therefore more in need of regulation in the eyes of the "law makers", ....and the orange that doesn't get you high, it only kills you.Therefore it is safer in the eyes of the "law makers"."Why should a teenager be allowed to purchase tobacco, but not smoke pot?"I said....."I agree the legal age for cannabis use should be 18 or maybe even lower, especially if used as a medicine."I also said......."Trying to sell cannabis use to "those that make the laws" just will not fly at this time if you add, "oh, yeah and different from alcohol, we want its age use restriction lowered to 18".Sure it is the right thing to do.No restrictions at all, is the right thing to do, but it won't happen, maybe in any of our lifetimes.I believe we can get the laws to at least not impair the sick and imprison adults."I added......"In today's political climate I am sorry but that age is 21."The climate hasn't changed since my last post.I deal with reality.......not how we wish it could be.Just for you........Equal with alcohol.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #11 posted by Mahakal on June 14, 2010 at 21:55:36 PT
paint with light
Equal with tomatoes would be nice, but why is equal with tobacco some sort of apples and oranges comparison?Why should a teenager be allowed to purchase tobacco, but not smoke pot?Someone could say that the age limit for tobacco should therefore be raised to 21. I think then at least you wouldn't be telling people it's better for kids to smoke tobacco.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #10 posted by paint with light on June 14, 2010 at 19:48:55 PT
Also
Most of the people who are against us either use or are okay with adults using alcohol.Most people do not see the tobacco buzz equal with either alcohol or cannabis.By using legal like alcohol I point out the hypocrisy in three words.If I used legal like tobacco it becomes more of an apples and oranges comparison.A more toxic orange but still an orange.My phrase is aimed more at the occasional visitor then the long term cnewsers.Legal like alcohol......or tomatoes.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #9 posted by Paint with light on June 14, 2010 at 19:39:49 PT
.....or compassion
Compassion does not have an age limit.A month before I turned 21 the legal age for alcohol was dropped to 18.A lot of 18-21 yr olds were getting drafted and people protested that if you were old enough to die for your country you should be old enough to drink.I agree the legal age for cannabis use should be 18 or maybe even lower, especially if used as a medicine.I have mixed feelings on whether some people are ever mature enough to use alcohol.I haven't used the phrase "equal with alcohol" in over a year.I think you have a point that I leave out a group with my tag line but I still think it presents in the fewest words a short term solution to our insane drug war on cannabis.Trying to sell cannabis use to "those that make the laws" just will not fly at this time if you add, "oh, yeah and different from alcohol, we want its age use restriction lowered to 18".Sure it is the right thing to do.No restrictions at all, is the right thing to do, but it won't happen, maybe in any of our lifetimes.I believe we can get the laws to at least not impair the sick and imprison adults.And the age of adulthood is the real question.How old is old enough?In today's political climate I am sorry but that age is 21.Just for you........Legal like alcohol.....when the age limit was 18.Thanks for the point out. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #8 posted by Mahakal on June 14, 2010 at 12:10:37 PT
Equal with alcohol?
No. I disagree. Alcohol is limited to adults 21 and over, but 17 year olds can buy tobacco in many states.Cannabis should be legal for all adults, not just 21 and up. I have been told that if a 21 year old passes a joint to a 20 year old under the language of the November proposition, that will become a felony in California (it is presently a misdemeanor) and the 21 year old may face serious jail time. In the event that this proposition fails there will almost certainly be a better one in 2012.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #7 posted by Paint with light on June 13, 2010 at 14:52:31 PT
turn a negative into a positive
What they are doing in this case is giving us the kind of ammunition we need in this war they declared on humans and nature. Instances such as this can go a long way in changing the minds of some of the fence sitters on our issue.Only the most hardcore(who we can't affect anyway) could not be moved by this story of cruelty.That is just what it is.C-R-U-E-L and I-N-H-U-M-A-N-E.That is also how you spell prohibitionist.Legal like alcohol and............compassion.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #6 posted by Paint with light on June 13, 2010 at 14:40:16 PT
The opposite
It only makes me want to fight harder.I'm staying.Equal with alcohol.
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #5 posted by Sam Adams on June 11, 2010 at 12:12:23 PT
terrible story
anyone else thinking of emigrating these days? that's all I can think of after reading this. At what point should we start to think about leaving?http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/06/oregon_guard_soldier_use_of_me.html
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #4 posted by Sam Adams on June 11, 2010 at 11:39:45 PT
conservative = pawns for the corporate elite
There will always be some old codger living under a rock to complain - but understand the process here. The monied elite from Big Pharma, the political class and criminal justice industry, petro-chemical industry, etc. are the ones that own the media. They're the ones who exploit the ignorant people for their own ends. They're the ones responsible for the CONSTANT drumbeat of propaganda instead of stories about suffering patients who have been helped, or the many physicians that are recommending it to their patients.This guy doesn't like traveling doctors. So he wants doctors to stay in one place??? That is a very silly objection, and if he does want to complain his beef should be with professional licensing of doctors, not medical cannabis patients. Where was he when 6 million kids were put on Prozac? Where is he when school nurses and administrators tell parents "drug your son or we'll expel him".And where was the old codger when Monstanto turned our farming system into a feudal colony? Where were those old-fashioned family values then?
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #3 posted by dongenero on June 11, 2010 at 09:41:04 PT
oh my, oh dear, oh my, oh dear
More conservative hand wringing from those who are unable to adjust their lives to social change.What a miserable way to live, constantly fearful and in objection to the progression of life and society.The glass is always nearly empty for them. Everything is a problem and a worry rather than an opportunity or possibility.Conservative mind set. Who has time or patience for such obstinacy?
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #2 posted by Vincent on June 11, 2010 at 07:29:41 PT:
This editorial
Sounds to me like this guy was ALWAYS against the Medical Marijuana program. When this issue was on the ballot, he probably thought that it would be defeated. When the vote didn't go his way, he must've been furious! That's why he, and his kind, are coming out with threats of undoing the will of the people. 
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #1 posted by runruff on June 11, 2010 at 04:35:50 PT
A personal note if I may?
You could hardly be a poster here without having knowledge of mine and my wife's trials with the feds. Many of you here wrote, contacted us by phone and even contributed to our well being in many ways. This is the C/News crew I know. I have all of your correspondences saved and your return addresses on them but it will be a job to go through and look them up. Would all of our friends here please do me the favor of e-mailing me with your mailing address again, JGB in Yreka, JT in Texas, M&S in Ohio, you all know who you are. I would like, at this time, [it has taken time to get back on our feet] to show my gratitude in some small way as possible to all of you.Thank you in advance and in retro. Here is my not so secrete Email address; runruff yahoo.comI hope to hear from all of you soon,Peace and love
[ Post Comment ]


Post Comment