Making the Case for Medical Marijuana

[jacobi]

Is that at new trig function?  Is it phase related to Cosine?

Geometry joke of the month!

[heironymouspasparagus]

I'm aganist it, we don't need more people with altered minds on the streets we have enogh problems with legal alcohol as it is without adding more people on top of that. MJ can somethimes be a "gateway" drug too. I do think the drug laws need to be overhauled though.

So, stay home!

Big step in solving the "more people with altered minds on the street" problem.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Yes but making MJ legal will increase use and like I said we have enough problems with alcohol and adding MJ to the mix won't help. I don't understand why people want to alter their brains anyhow what's wrong with just getting high on "life" and don't take any drugs?? I do agree the drug laws are unfair and don't fit the crime and need to be changed... There is still alot not known about MJ use and some users of MJ  long ago who have since quit seem to have dulled thinking and slow reactions, also MJ can't be healthy for the lungs any smoke likely cause lung carcinoma just like cigs do. As for me, I'm a  non-drinker non-smoker and non drug user, color me old fashioned I guess.

And trotting out the tired old platitudes - the plaintive bleats - of a policy that has failed for decades in the case of MJ and over 100 years for some other items.

[Gaspar]

[AquaMan]

Yes, because everything comes back to Obama.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Advocacy?


Penn's got it right.

[Teatownclown]

Advocacy?


Penn's got it right.

Kinda harsh, ole Penn. Marijuana was made illegal by pronouncement. The Executive Branch through the FDA classified it as having no medicinal use, same as heroin and cocaine. Now, that there is ample evidence or medicinal use (which there was back then as well), the FDA can reclassify it and eliminate the problem.

There is no federal "law" that makes marijuana specifically illegal, just a law that allows the FDA to classify it as such. Funny how it took a constitutional amendment to make alcohol illegal (and even then it was OK for medicinal purposes) but it just tales a decision by some bureaucrats to make herb illegal.

"A proposed 66 percent cut in the National Guard Counterdrug Program by the Obama administration could sharply reduce the number of helicopter flights aimed at finding illicit pot gardens next year. " 
http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2012/05/eastern_oregon_law_officers_wo.html The disarming of our long losing war on drugs.

Just a matter of a little more time. Won't matter here. The Governess will surely mount her forces to stop it under states rights the very second the executive branch signs off. She'll do it to protect our children despite her war on education.

5 states will benefit tremendously.

[patric]

"Is crack worse for a person than marijuana?" Congressman Jared Polis asked Drug Enforcement Administration official Michele Leonhart.

"I believe all illegal drugs are bad," she meekly replied.

"Is methamphetamine worse for somebody's health than marijuana?"

As she began to repeat her same answer, Polis interrupted her, asking, "Is heroin worse for someone's health than marijuana?"

"Again. All drugs..." she began to answer, before a frustrated Polis cut her off.

"Yes, no, or I don't know," he said. "If you don't know, you can look this up. You should know this as the chief administrator for the Drug Enforcement Agency. I'm asking you a very straightforward question: Is heroin worse for someone's health than marijuana?"

"All illegal drugs are bad," she replied.

"Does this mean you don't know?" Polis interrupted.

Clearly she doesn't. Or she simply refuses to acknowledge the facts. Plenty of studies show that drugs like heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine are much more addictive and harmful than marijuana. Heck, the same studies also show that alcohol and nicotine are more addictive and harmful than marijuana. Our own government even recognizes that nicotine is potentially as addictive as heroin and cocaine.

Despite the well-known research, Leonhart accused Polis of asking a "subjective" question.

"No, this is objective. Just looking at the science," Polis shot back. "This is your area of expertise. I'm just a layperson but I've read some of the studies and I'm aware of it. I'm just asking you as an expert in the subject area: is heroin worse for someone's health than marijuana?"

"And I'm answering as a police officer, and as a DEA agent, that these drugs are illegal because they are dangerous, because they are addictive, because they do hurt a person's health," she replied.

He pressed her once more: "So heroin is more addictive than marijuana?"

She conceded that heroin is addictive, and so is meth, but when Polis tried to get her to answer whether they are more addictive than marijuana, she gave yet another non-answer: "I think some people become addicted to marijuana and some people become addicted to methamphetamine."

Eventually Polis turned the conversation to the DEA's classification of prescription drug abuse as "top priority," telling Leonhart that his home state of Colorado legalized medical marijuana and saw a decrease in prescription drug abuse (side note: a new study also finds that medical marijuana reduces teen marijuana use). "Would your agency consider supporting medical marijuana provisions when that can be used in pursuit of your top priority — which is reducing the need for prescription drugs — if it can be documented that medical marijuana helps reduce the abuse of prescription drugs?"

Leonhart's non-answer: "Congress determined that marijuana is a controlled substance. And DEA's tasked with enforcing — "

"Again," he interrupted, "in pursuit of your 'top priority,' are you willing to look at medical marijuana as a way of reducing abuse of prescription drugs?"

Leonhart's response: "We will look at any options for reducing drug addiction."

Yeah, okay.
http://www.mediaite.com/online/democratic-congressman-schools-dea-agent-over-marijuana-during-congressional-hearing/

[AquaMan]

The irony is that people of the street know that the only treatment for crack is marijuana and the places you get marijuana would rather sell you crack. Legalizing it would make it available in an environment devoid of dealers whose only interest is maximizing their profit.

Yet, the DEA enforcement officials are not equipped to make those decisions as to who gets rousted. As long as Congress tells the DEA that enforcing marijuana prohibition is just as important as heroin, they have little choice and marijuana arrests are an easier success. Congress and the executive branch are the targets for changing enforcement, not the DEA.

Get rid of the neanderthals in Congress. No incumbents from red states.

[Red Arrow]

Get rid of the neanderthals in Congress. No incumbents from red any states.

[heironymouspasparagus]

And yet, you are still a big Inhofe fan, in spite of his past...

[Red Arrow]

And yet, you are still a big Inhofe fan, in spite of his past...

Medium, not big.  He offers some things I agree with (that I know you don't) in spite of his reputation among liberals and Democrats.  You have offered alternatives that you think are vastly superior but we disagree.  That's just the way it is.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Medium, not big.  He offers some things I agree with (that I know you don't) in spite of his reputation among liberals and Democrats.  You have offered alternatives that you think are vastly superior but we disagree.  That's just the way it is.

Perhaps, perhaps not vastly superior -  but absolutely in line with the idea of voting out every incumbent.  And then the next time, vote that one out.  Until there is a good one - which is never gonna happen, so keep voting out the previous one.

Vastly superior - at the very least, vastly superior by the fact they haven't been doing damage to the state since the 60's.

[Teatownclown]

[dbacks fan]

There is no federal "law" that makes marijuana specifically illegal, just a law that allows the FDA to classify it as such. Funny how it took a constitutional amendment to make alcohol illegal (and even then it was OK for medicinal purposes) but it just tales a decision by some bureaucrats to make herb illegal.

Marijuana is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).  As a Schedule I drug, marijuana is classified under the following criteria:

A. The drug has a high potential for abuse.
B. The drug has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States
C. There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug under medical supervision.

Department of Justice Guidelines:
The Department of Justice (DOJ) issued guidance for Federal prosecutors in states that have enacted laws authorizing the medical use of marijuana under state law.  The guidelines explain that it is likely not an efficient use of federal resources to focus enforcement efforts on individuals with serious illnesses who use marijuana as part of a recommended treatment regimen consistent with applicable state law or their individual non-commercial caregiver.  However, persons who are in the business of cultivating, selling, or distributing marijuana, and those who knowingly facilitate such activities, are in violation of Federal law, and are subject to Federal enforcement action, including potential prosecution.

The CSA mandates that the scheduling and approval of drugs, including marijuana, must be done on both legal and scientific bases.  The scheduling of a drug must conform to all applicable criteria contained in the CSA if the medicine includes a controlled substance.  In June 2011, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reviewed a petition to reschedule marijuana.  Based upon scientific and medical evaluation, as well as scheduling recommendations from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), DEA denied the petition to reschedule marijuana.  HHS determined that marijuana has a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the U.S., and lacks accepted safety for use under medical supervision.

Regardless of state laws to the contrary, there is no such thing as "medical" marijuana under Federal law.  Marijuana continues to be a Schedule I substance meaning that it has no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.

It is also important to know that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved medical use of isolated components of the marijuana plant such as THC, the active ingredient in marijuana and related synthetic compounds.  Dronabinol is one synthetically produced compound used in the FDA-approved medicine Marinol (a Schedule III drug).  Marinol is legally available by prescription from physicians for patients who suffer from pain and chronic illnesses such as cancer and AIDS.  Another FDA-approved medicine, Cesamet, contains the active ingredient Nabilone (a Schedule II drug), which has a chemical structure similar to THC.  And Sativex, an oromucosal spray approved in Canada, the UK, and other parts of Europe for the treatment of multiple sclerosis spasticity and cancer pain, is currently in late-stage clinical trials with the FDA.  It combines THC and another active ingredient in marijuana, cannabidiol (CBD), and provides therapeutic benefits without the "high" from the drug.


The DOJ guidelines do not legalize marijuana.  The DOJ guidance explicitly states that marijuana remains illegal under Federal law.  Enforcing Federal law against significant traffickers in illegal drugs including marijuana remains a core Department of Justice priority.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/federal-laws-pertaining-to-marijuana

However, persons who are in the business of cultivating, selling, or distributing marijuana, and those who knowingly facilitate such activities, are in violation of Federal law, and are subject to Federal enforcement action, including potential prosecution.  

The DOJ guidance explicitly states that marijuana remains illegal under Federal law

Federal Law trumps State Law.

You are full of what you spew.