Politicians turn deaf ear to medical marijuana

Pompo · 12-05-2007, 10:09 PM

Politicians turn deaf ear to medical marijuana
12/2/07|Nashua Telegraph| Letter to Editor

Quote:

The Telegraph recently ran an Associated Press story that reported that two men, 50 and 47, were arrested in Charlestown for growing 10 marijuana plants.

They were charged with a felony and released on personal recognizance bail.

The story, fewer than 100 words, provided few other details. Contrast that to the way the “Britney Shaves Head!” saga last summer splashed across the world media stage for days.

Personally, I’d rather hear more about what motivated those guys in Charlestown to grow a controlled substance, what impact our federal drug policies are going to have on their families and the rest of their lives, and most important, hear some spirited analysis and debate on whether the punishment fits the crime.

In New Hampshire, the manufacture or distribution of five pounds or more is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $300,000.

On Oct. 6, Mitt Romney turned away from a local guy in a wheelchair who was pressing him on whether the candidate supports federal raids on state-sanctioned medical marijuana facilities.

A couple of days earlier, Rudy
Giuliani told an ailing woman at a New Hampshire town meeting that the Food and Drug Administration says marijuana has no medical benefits, and that’s good enough for him.

At an outdoor gathering in Milton last August, John McCain replied to a clinical nutritionist (who works with cancer patients who benefit from marijuana) that the drug czar is firmly opposed to the use of marijuana for medical purposes, and that’s pretty much good enough for him.

Sure, these clips are on YouTube, and the Romney snub made CNN and ABC News, but overall, the coverage of how the candidates stand on this issue has been pretty sparse.

Ever since last March, when a measure to legalize marijuana for medical purposes here in New Hampshire nearly passed, there has been an up-swell of interest and activity with regard to legalizing hemp and medical marijuana.

Unfortunately, such happenings become news not by virtue of their importance, but by how many media organizations are willing to spend time and ink on the subject.

The cannabis issue clearly warrants better news coverage during this critical electoral cycle, not only because people with ailments are being treated like criminals for the offense of seeking relief, but because it’s is a compelling story with more angles than an Anna Nicole Smith post-mortem court hearing.

States’ rights, personal freedoms, medicinal properties that have been utilized for thousands of years and a failed, half-century-long campaign of government-sponsored disinformation does real harm to our fellow citizens and squanders billions of our tax dollars.

Similarly, the struggle to legalize hemp provides a rich harvest of newsworthy story lines that have a real bearing on our lives: saving farms, micro-business opportunities, the obscene costs of prohibition and the amazing science behind an ancient, all-natural, high-yield-per-acre plant that produces superior fiber for paper, cordage and cloth – without heavy use of farm chemicals. (Doubters, please rent the Australian documentary “Hemp Revolution,” 1995).

As residents of one of the key bellwether states in the union, we have a unique opportunity to respark the long-smoldering movement to free hemp and medical marijuana from our government’s expensive, destructive and counterproductive war on drugs.

We can begin by asking to see deeper coverage on this issue and hope that the media will deliver.

Carl Hedberg
Lyndeborough

EDITOR’S NOTE: Carl Hedberg is a board member of nhcommon sense.org, an advocacy group working to end cannabis prohibition in New Hampshire.

Viper420 · 12-06-2007, 05:54 AM

None of the front runners will touch the medpot issue with a ten foot pole. They're afraid. Thats what it all comes down to.

Pompo · 12-06-2007, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Viper420

None of the front runners will touch the medpot issue with a ten foot pole. They're afraid. Thats what it all comes down to.

They can't. If they did, they would have to admit the truth about weed. In doing so, they would also have to explain the lies, deception and unethical manipulation of this country's failed drup policy. They'ld have to explain the astronomical waste of our country's resources on the war on weed for the purpose of protecting political agendas and big corp. profits.

Sad thing about it will be the facts that those in our government who perpetuated the great lies that brought about and maintained prohibition throughout the years will never pay for thier decite and corruption, and those who simply followed along with the program will look like foolish sheep

The real tragedy in all of this is that 10s of millions of lives have been adversely affected and/or ruined, and this was done in order to line the pockets of elected officials and corp. CEOs

This persecution must stop

**Broliette** · 12-07-2007, 12:12 AM

Heh, yeah that'd be like the government taking responsibility and being accountable for it's actions.

Viper420 · 12-07-2007, 04:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pompo

They can't. If they did, they would have to admit the truth about weed. In doing so, they would also have to explain the lies, deception and unethical manipulation of this country's failed drup policy. They'ld have to explain the astronomical waste of our country's resources on the war on weed for the purpose of protecting political agendas and big corp. profits.

Sad thing about it will be the facts that those in our government who perpetuated the great lies that brought about and maintained prohibition throughout the years will never pay for thier decite and corruption, and those who simply followed along with the program will look like foolish sheep

The real tragedy in all of this is that 10s of millions of lives have been adversely affected and/or ruined, and this was done in order to line the pockets of elected officials and corp. CEOs

This persecution must stop

They don't want to look like they are soft on crime or don't want to fight the drug war. Image is everything in politics. The Dems will give a sympathic ear to medpot BUT thats all. They'll usually say stuff like "We need more research." or "I'll look into that when I'm in office." The GOP tends to run for the hills on a medpot question.

TurbulentHigh · 12-15-2007, 10:06 PM

I think this speaks for itself

YouTube - Ron Paul addresses a medical marijuana...

Ron Paul is very educated.

geowme · 12-16-2007, 03:31 AM

Ron Paul is the man! If you don't know who he is, I strongly recommend you check him out on YouTube. Also, December 16th is a big day. Check out the RonPaul2008 website and watch the revolution unfold right before your eyes. He's gaining some serious support from all over the country. It's a shame the media and other politicans are trying everything they can to shut him down. Either way, he's got my vote .

12-07-2007, 12:12 AM	#4
Broliette ~~~_\\|/_~~~ Tournaments Won: 4 Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 3,706 Grams: 100,988.13 Thanks: 4,174 Thanked 2,282 Times in 1,075 Posts Stock Portfolio Total Value: 0.000 Gain/Loss: -1.000%	Heh, yeah that'd be like the government taking responsibility and being accountable for it's actions. __________________ Posting Guidelines The Art of Searching Grams Don't Click Here...

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