Making the Case for Medical Marijuana

[heironymouspasparagus]

I'm just saying that if you put a fat man on a treadmill and he has a heart attack, you blame the treadmill not the years of poor health choices.

Personally I think we should legalize it and tax the hell out of it.    We are going to need a new tax base soon to replace all the cigarette taxes that are going away.

Why are cigarette taxes going away??


The Fed will never outlaw "enhancing" cigarettes to increase addictiveness - it will cut into the tax base too much - so we will always have a lot of smoking addicts around....

[Ed W]

In his documentary on Prohibition, Ken Burns said the federal government was funded by liquor taxes, and with Prohibition looming, income taxes had to be enacted as a substitute. People drank prodigious amounts of alcohol back then.

[Conan71]

Why are cigarette taxes going away??


The Fed will never outlaw "enhancing" cigarettes to increase addictiveness - it will cut into the tax base too much - so we will always have a lot of smoking addicts around....

Fewer people partaking and the older smokers are dying off.

[TeeDub]

Fewer people partaking and the older smokers are dying off.

That's what I was thinking.   Their spending of millions to keep kids from smoking seems to be working.

It hasn't turned over yet, but I expect that to be just a matter of time.
http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxfacts/displayafact.cfm?Docid=403

[Conan71]

That's what I was thinking.   Their spending of millions to keep kids from smoking seems to be working.

It hasn't turned over yet, but I expect that to be just a matter of time.
http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxfacts/displayafact.cfm?Docid=403

I don't know of any of my daughter's friends who smoke.  I'm glad their generation doesn't see any value in it.

[patric]

Do a search for "marijuana oklahoma city" and you'll find a couple of news pieces on the rise of homelessness in Denver since their laws changed and another on how home owners associations can ban marijuana cultivation or use.

The prohibitionists want to imply that legalization created homelessness, but the facts show that homeless from other states are emigrating to Colorado in search of the new jobs.  Its the gold rush all over again.

And the discredited German "marijuana deaths" study... They were spanked by their own peers for their sloppy conclusions.
"Cannabis does not paralyze the breathing or the heart," head of the German Association for Drugs and Addiction Jost Leune said. "Deaths due to cannabis use are usually accidents that are not caused by the substance, but to the circumstances of use."


Has the magic plant finally claimed its first victim, several thousand years into its history with humans?
http://www.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2014/02/26/german-doctors-say-marijuana-can-kill-you
Drug cops are essentially quoting The Onion to prolong prohibition, people. And doctors are publishing findings that say, because we cannot find any reason why this person died, it must be the marijuana.

...which brings us to the absurd (yet meticulously rehearsed) statements like the ones earlier, spoon-fed to gullible reporters.

You would think the writing on the wall would be clear, and that people responsible for our tax dollars and the safety of the public would be thinking ahead to how they are going to operate in a post-prohibition world.


 

[heironymouspasparagus]

That's what I was thinking.   Their spending of millions to keep kids from smoking seems to be working.

It hasn't turned over yet, but I expect that to be just a matter of time.
http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxfacts/displayafact.cfm?Docid=403

Slowly decreasing - seems like we have 'plateaued'.....

There is an easy real fix, just like there is an easy real to the so-called immigration issue....

Two steps -
1  Federal law prohibiting enhancement of the addictive compounds over what naturally occurs in tobacco as grown.  This would let the vast majority of people who want to quit ABLE to do just that!!

2  Increase taxes some more...5% increase each year - this is a "frog in a pot slowly brought to a boil" solution, but the first can make a serious immediate impact.


There are simple, straightforward, cost-effective solutions to many of the big problems we face....there just aren't simple, straightforward ways to continue the power-grabs, graft, and corruption IF those solutions are implemented!!

[Vashta Nerada]

You would think the writing on the wall would be clear, and that people responsible for our tax dollars and the safety of the public would be thinking ahead to how they are going to operate in a post-prohibition world.

"We do not support medical marijuana, we have made it very clear," said Woodward. Woodward believes groups have misinterpreted a Facebook post on the OBN page.
The post states "there are chemicals in pot (THC and CBD) that help people. We support medical uses of THC and CBD if used correctly."

Woodward said CBD oil has shown promising results in helping kids with seizure disorders in other states and OBN is not opposed to legalizing in Oklahoma.

"We are optimistic that it could be done, if done correctly, if it is proven to be medicine, but like any drug we need to know what we are dealing with and we need to make sure it is not going to do more harm than good," stated Woodward.

Woodward argues the current medical marijuana petition is too broad. He says smoking pot is not good for anyone.

Woodward said, "We are very much against it and no legitimate doctor is going to say that smoking something is the best delivery system for any medicine."

Read more: http://www.koco.com/news/obn-we-do-not-support-medical-marijuana-petition/27196282

[Ed W]

I thought that as cannabis is a Schedule 1 drug with no known medical use (per the DEA) research aimed at finding such medical use was prohibited or severely restricted. That sets us a Catch 22 situation. You can't find medical uses because you can't do research, therefore cannabis remains a Schedule 1 drug.

It's surprising how the OKCAP petition drive has been so well received throughout the state. Except in Tulsa. Advocates said that TPD officers were turning away potential petition signers yesterday, but the video provided didn't make that very clear.

In Owasso, someone called the PD complaining that people were selling marijuana out in front of Reasors. It was a card table on the sidewalk with hand lettered medical marijuana signs. Welcome to the 'burbs.

One side effect of this push has been the increase in voter registrations, since the OKCAP tables also offer the paperwork.

[patric]

Advertisement in the New York Times.

[patric]

A bit of a sidebar here, but the initiative petition process may have already had a secondary impact -- registering new voters who are NOT likely to re-elect Gov. Fallin. 
If you recall, she was elected by a very small margin, which Im guessing would be a number roughly equal to the fringe element who only came out to vote when Fallin made defeating the "threat" of Sharia Law a big part of her platform.


The group is breaking records with the number of new voters getting registered.
"We doubled the 12,000 that was the old record, we registered 24,000 new voters between May and June," he said.
FOX3 talked to the Tulsa County Election Board to get the number of new registered voters: 649 in May, 1,698 in June and a 2,448 in July.

Officials told FOX23 they expect the increase ahead of presidential elections, but think medical marijuana is the reason this year.
"I think there's a giant separation between what the people think about medical marijuana and what our government officials think about medical marijuana," said Paul.
http://www.fox23.com/news/news/time-running-out-petition-medical-marijuana/ngyDZ/


If she intends to keep her for-profit prison donors happy with kids getting life sentences for pot brownies, she better start demanding more money.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/private-prisons-contribute-thousands-to-oklahoma-political-campaigns/article_f5ddca24-72e5-5c81-849b-031ac6c7c978.html

[patric]

Too little too late:


Gov. Mary Fallin announced she would ask lawmakers to talk with her, possibly as early as the next legislative session, to consider having a state representative prepare to lead a legislative study examining the possibility of allowing medical trials for the use of non-intoxicating CBD oils to children affected by severe seizures.

(insert appropriate pot-themed joke about holding breath)

[Townsend]

Fallin Supports Limited Use of Cannabis Oil

http://publicradiotulsa.org/post/fallin-supports-limited-use-cannabis-oil-0

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin says she supports the legalization of an oil derived from cannabis, but says she remains firmly opposed to legalizing all medical marijuana.

Fallin asked lawmakers Wednesday to support the legalization of cannabidiol, which is an oil derived from the marijuana plant. The oil can only be taken orally and is non-psychoactive. Research suggests it may be effective to treat toddlers with rare conditions that cause seizures and strokes.

The governor says cannabidiol could be "potentially life-saving" for some children. She says she supports a limited trial in which the product is made available to sick children.

Backers of a broader proposal to legalize medical marijuana have until Friday to submit signatures to qualify for the ballot. Fallin says she does not support that measure.

[Hoss]

Fallin Supports Limited Use of Cannabis Oil

http://publicradiotulsa.org/post/fallin-supports-limited-use-cannabis-oil-0

I THOUGHT I saw some pigs in flight today!

[patric]

I THOUGHT I saw some pigs in flight today!

...and they were wearing lipstick.

Im betting the decriminalization momentum outpaces this delaying tactic (and her term in office).  Lets see.