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Plainsman1963

House OKs medical pot prosecutions
06-28-06 | Cleveland.Com | Andrew Taylor

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House on Wednesday voted to continue to allow federal prosecution of those who smoke marijuana for medical purposes in states with laws that permit it.

A year ago, the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government can prosecute medical marijuana users, even when state laws allow doctor-prescribed use of the drug.

By a 259-163 vote, the House again turned down an amendment that would have blocked the Justice Department from prosecuting people in the 11 states with such medical marijuana laws.

Advocates say medical marijuana use is the only way that many chronically ill people, such as AIDS and cancer patients, can relieve their symptoms.

The vote came as the House debated a $59.8 billion bill covering the departments of Commerce, Justice and State.

"If the voters have seen to it and a doctor agrees, it's a travesty for the government to intercede ... to get in the way of someone using something to alleviate their suffering," said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif. "This is something that should be left to the states as American tradition dictates."

"Marijuana is not harmless as some claim," said Rep. Tom Latham, R-Iowa. "Marijuana continues to be the most widely abused drug in the United States."

Opponents of the amendment said Marinol, a government-approved prescription drug that contains the active ingredient in marijuana, offers comparable relief for pain and nausea.

Eight states — Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington — have legalized medical marijuana by voter referendums. The legislatures of three others — Hawaii, Rhode Island and Vermont — have legalized the practice. All require a doctor's approval.

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"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards." - Claire Wolfe

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Buzzby

No doubt, because some claim it is totally harmless. Nothing is totally harmless, not even water. It is, however:

"one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within a supervised routine of medical care."

That's a finding by the DEA's own administrative law judge, Francis L. Young. Someone ought to explain "rational analysis" to Congress.


By any measure, alcohol is the most widely abused drug in the United States, followed by tobacco. Together they kill 550,000 people a year. Marijuana kills no one. If you apply the same standards to these drugs as are applied to marijuana (any use is "abuse"), then alcohol and tobacco are at least five times more "abused".


And the people who need cannabis for relief don't want it. It is much more expensive, less effective, has more unwanted side effects, and dosage is much more difficult to control.

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hendrix

Buzzby, mind if I quote you in an email I'm going to send Rep. Tom Latham?

Buzzby

Feel free. Or you could just send him this link:

http://www.marijuana.com/420/showpos...35&postcount=2

Hansje

Is there any way, you know, as a new strategy to get it into their heads that marijuana should not be a schedule 1 drug to get the current and future DEA administrative law judges to beat it into the DEA that they should loosen up on marijuana? Get every damn DEA judge to give an official or unofficial opinion, somehow! Do the same for DEA emplyees. I mean, what the hell is it going to take? Thousands of people bused in to demonstrate on the mall, then a sit-in at the DEA building? Shovels and pitchforks and torches like in Frankenstein?

Listening to some of the opponents on C-SPAN about the Hinchey-Rohrabacher bill, they must either be retarded or making a lot of money by keeping up the pressure on marijuana--corrupt outright or from the corporations that stand to lose money if people stop buying their medical products and switch to marijuana. I didn't hear anyone mention vaporizing! It doesn't have to be smoked. What the fudge!

You know, why can't NORML, MPP, DPA et al. get themselves on the United Way payroll deduction charitable contribution list? I just don't want my employer seeing who I am giving the money to! United Way should change their GD payroll deduction form so that the employers know only how much to deduct and send to United Way. I ought to be able to contact United Way with another form that I myself mail in separately to them that my employer never sees to designate NORML, MPP, DPA or whomever. I mean, if the employer doesn't match the contribution, then why do those nosey employers have to know. If they see who you're giving the money to like that the dicks just might give you a random, you know.

My 2 cents.

 

Hawg

I like your idea on your method of giving to the United Way. Maybe a Union shop could have the language added to thier contract about donations. But it would be even harder to get them to agree if they knew the reason for it, thus the random testing begins.

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Here is a good place to see who test's and how.
http://www.testclear.com/dtcompanies/searchcompany2.cfm



Figures don't lie but liars can figure

Buzzby

Though there is a lot to say about this, Congressman David Obey (D-WI) summed it up best when speaking in support of the amendment:

"If I am terminally ill, it is not anybody's business on this floor how I handle the pain or the illness or the sickness associated with that illness. With all due respect to all of you, butt out. I did not enter this world with the permission of the Justice Department, and I am certainly not going to depart it by seeking their permission or that of any other authority. The Congress has no business telling people that they cannot manage their illness or their pain any way they need to. I would trust any doctor in the country before I trust some of the daffy ducks in this institution to decide what I am supposed to do if I am terminally ill... When is this Congress going to recognize that individuals in their private lives have a right to manage their problems as they see fit without the permission of the big guy in the White House or the big guy in the Justice Department or any of the Lilliputians on this Congressional floor? Wake up!"

Zing!

Buzzby

Why not contribute to them directly? The deductibility of the contributions (if there is any) would be the same whether or not it goes through United Way or you contribute directly. Just reduce your United Way contribution by the amount you want to send the pro-legalization organizations.

I contribute monthly to NORML and MPP with no effort on my part at all. You can set up a monthly contribution and have the organization charge it to your credit card. You might be able to have it taken directly from a checking or savings account - I don't know. You hardly notice $10 a month but that's $120 a year. If the 24,000,000 marijuana users in the USA each did that, the legalization movement would have almost three billion dollars to work with, instead of the paltry 12-16 million they have today (most of which comes from two billionaires). How can we expect to make progress when our lobbying/education arm is operating on a shoestring budget? Everyone bitches about prohibition but only 0.25% of marijuana users are doing anything substantive to end it!

National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)

Marijuana Policy Project (MPP)

Drug Policy Alliance (DPA)

Buzzby

Do you know how your representative voted on the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment? It's easy to find out: Final Vote Results For Roll Call 333. If you don't know who your rep is, you can find out here.

Write to your rep and thank or blast him/her for his/her vote. Here's what I just wrote to Dennis Kucinich (D, Ohio 10th), one of the sponsors of the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment:

Thank you for your sponsorship of and vote on the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment.

Polls show that a vast majority of Americans are in favor of legalizing medical marijuana. In that light I have to conclude that the pharmaceutical industry has almost all of the Republican Party and some of the Democrats in its pocket. I'm hoping that this Fall's elections put a majority of Democrats in the House and Senate so we can reverse this trend of government of, by, and for large corporations.

This is an issue close to my heart. I've watched friends and relatives suffer needlessly from symptoms that medical marijuana could easily alleviate. It's high time that compassion trumps Religious Right uptight morality and Big Pharma campaign contributions.

Please continue your efforts to do the right thing. Your constituents appreciate it.

Best Regards,
XXXXXXXXX

Mamabudz

96 vote spread

63% Against Us / 37% For Us

...interesting