Making the Case for Medical Marijuana

[cannon_fodder]

I still think its great that Oklahoma is suing Colorado claiming that Colorado has to do what the Federal Government tells it to do and can't change Colorado law. Ignoring the misinterpretation of the Supremacy Clause (Federal law definitely still trumps Colorado law, but there isn't an affirmative constitutional right to prevent other people from smoking pot... that's backwards), the basic argument completely undermines every failed (or failing) lawsuit Pruitt has brought to assert Oklahoma's dominance against Uncle Sam.   

Pruitt:  "Hey, you can't do that! We have State's rights and the law of Oklahoma controls above all others!"

Courts:  "The State of Oklahoma is an inseparable part of the Federal Union, and the Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the land."

Pruitt:  "BS! Where did you come up with that?"

Courts: "Article 1, Section 1, Oklahoma Constitution."

[Vashta Nerada]

I still think its great that Oklahoma is suing Colorado claiming that Colorado has to do what the Federal Government tells it to do and can't change Colorado law. Ignoring the misinterpretation of the Supremacy Clause (Federal law definitely still trumps Colorado law, but there isn't an affirmative constitutional right to prevent other people from smoking pot... that's backwards), the basic argument completely undermines every failed (or failing) lawsuit Pruitt has brought to assert Oklahoma's dominance against Uncle Sam.   

Pruitt:  "Hey, you can't do that! We have State's rights and the law of Oklahoma controls above all others!"

Courts:  "The State of Oklahoma is an inseparable part of the Federal Union, and the Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the land."

Pruitt:  "BS! Where did you come up with that?"

Courts: "Article 1, Section 1, Oklahoma Constitution."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dormant_Commerce_Clause

[cannon_fodder]

The dormant commerce clause is a restriction on states hindering trade in other states - it is a free trade requirement. Oklahoma can't put tariffs on Texas goods. It prevents protectionism among the states (or localities therein).

The central rationale for the rule against discrimination is to prohibit state or municipal laws whose object is local economic protectionism, laws that would excite those jealousies and retaliatory measures the Constitution was designed to prevent.

So our argument is that Colorado making pot legal is unfairly burdening the Oklahoma pot industry? Is our concern that Colorado is requiring Colorado grown pot and discriminating against Oklahoma's black market product? We could probably fix that fairly easily...

[patric]

The dormant commerce clause is a restriction on states hindering trade in other states - it is a free trade requirement. Oklahoma can't put tariffs on Texas goods. It prevents protectionism among the states (or localities therein).

So our argument is that Colorado making pot legal is unfairly burdening the Oklahoma pot industry? Is our concern that Colorado is requiring Colorado grown pot and discriminating against Oklahoma's black market product? We could probably fix that fairly easily...

At one time marijuana was Oklahoma's #2 cash crop.  Not sure who keeps tabs now, or how politically driven the numbers might be.

[cannon_fodder]

At one time marijuana was Oklahoma's #2 cash crop.  Not sure who keeps tabs now, or how politically driven the numbers might be.

Now that legalization is a remote possibility, the powers that be probably want to keep the word "cash" out to not remind people of lost opportunity, want to diminish the word "crop" to disassociate with agriculture, and probably don't want to point how how big the industry could be overall...

[Vashta Nerada]

Now that legalization is a remote possibility, the powers that be probably want to keep the word "cash" out to not remind people of lost opportunity, want to diminish the word "crop" to disassociate with agriculture, and probably don't want to point how how big the industry could be overall...

Why Elizabeth Warren thinks legalizing marijuana could help end America's opioid addiction crisis


Sen. Elizabeth Warren wants the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to explore the use of medical marijuana as an alternative to the powerful opioid painkillers that kill thousands of people each year.
In a letter to CDC chief Tom Friedan, the Massachusetts Democrat also asks the agency to look into "the impact of the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana on opioid overdose deaths."

From a public health standpoint, Warren is right. There is a lot of potential here. Here's a rundown of what the research has shown so far:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/02/13/why-elizabeth-warren-thinks-legalizing-marijuana-could-help-end-americas-opioid-addiction-crisis




Cops are biggest obstacle to Cannabis oil


Law enforcement officials across Georgia are proving to be the biggest obstacle to a bill that would allow medical cannabis oil to be manufactured and distributed in the state.
"From what we hear, law enforcement is our biggest opponent," Katie Harrison told The Times last month. Harrison is a Hall County resident who treats her young son with cannabis oil to treat his seizure disorders.
There appear to be enough votes in the House to pass the bill, but pushback from Georgia sheriffs and district attorneys have raised alarm bells in the Senate, as well as in the administration of Gov. Nathan Deal.

Lawmakers approved the use of cannabis oil last year to treat eight medical conditions. The drug is known to have anti-anxiety effects, among other beneficial properties, and strains lack the levels of the psychoactive ingredient THC that gets marijuana smokers high.
But with no manufacturing and distribution of the drug within Georgia, some patients have been forced to break federal law by acquiring the drug out of state and transporting it back, according to advocates.

Advocates also want to expand the list of approved medical conditions that can be treated with the drug.

Medical marijuana was a $1.3 billion industry in California in 2014. And in Colorado, medical and recreational marijuana sales reached nearly $1 billion last year, a 42 percent increase.
Advocates note that sales generated about $135 million in taxes and fees for state and local government coffers to support public safety and education programs.

Many law enforcement officials believe the bill being debated this year in the state legislature would set Georgia on an irreversible path to the emergence of a recreational, big business marijuana industry.
"You're talking about big money coming into the state," Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch said. "It won't stop there."

Gainesville Police Chief Carol Martin said it's important for residents to understand just what the bill promises.
"To dispel rumors, the proposed bill does not allow the general public to cultivate marijuana for recreational use," she said.

Advocates say strict limits on the number of manufacturers, coupled with guidelines and monitoring for distribution, means no form of marijuana will be available for smoking under the proposed legislation.

Reps. Carl Rogers, Emory Dunahoo and Lee Hawkins, all Gainesville Republicans, said they support the bill.
Rogers said he believes restricting cultivation to one or two sites at the University of Georgia or the Medical College of Georgia will alleviate concerns.

[Townsend]

SCOTUS declined to hear the Oklahoma/Nebraska pot lawsuit against Colorado.

Money and time well spent.

[cannon_fodder]

There were two dissenting voices... but the dissents were not based on the merits of the case, rather procedural. Ailto and Thomas feel that the Court may not have the authority to refuse to hear a case if Original Jurisdiction is triggered. The majority has long disagreed with this interpretation, which would require the US Supreme Court to hear any and all petitions filed by one state against another. The fear is that the Court becomes a forum for interstate litigation as opposed to a Constitutional Court.

My opinion on that doesn't matter, I just wanted to point out that even the two dissenters did not grant the merit of the case. The other 6 Justices didn't even think it was worth hearing it or writing an opinion.

The dissent:
http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/15pdf/144orig_6479.pdf

Pruitt is gaining fame as the most litigious Attorney general in the United States:

http://www.governing.com/topics/politics/gov-oklahoma-scott-pruit-feature.html

Lets see...

- 10 Commandments case, lost twice, filed for reconsideration after the Supreme Court rules, lost again

- Gay marriage, part of the large case that saw gay marriage legalized nationwide (thanks for that)

- Water rights against Texas, Texas gained the right to actually claim water inside the State of Oklahoma

- ObamaCare challenges, lost those

- numerous tort reform measures thrown out as he defended them

- much of the workers comp reform has been thrown out as he defended them

- three or four losses in suits against the EPA

- Chicken litter lawsuit against Arkansas

- And now his lawsuit against Colorado (which have garnered him the label "fair weather Federalist." Which is a nice way of saying hypocrite).


Millions on frivolous lawsuits, not a penny for education!

[Vashta Nerada]

Pruitt is gaining fame as the most litigious Attorney general in the United States

In addition to wasting taxpayer dollars, the Oklahoma and Nebraska attorneys general are betraying their conservative belief of states' rights and, if successful, they could have unintended consequences that could harm many conservative policies, such as gun rights. For instance, both Colorado and Oregon require background checks for the private sale of firearms, while Oklahoma doesn't require any background check on private gun sales while Nebraska doesn't require a background check on the private sale of long guns. Does Oklahoma and Nebraska want other states to challenge their gun laws, arguing that unlicensed sales easily allow guns to get into the hands of those federally prohibited from legally possessing guns, such as felons and domestic abusers? This is a slippery slope that the attorneys general in Oklahoma and Nebraska need to consider.

http://marijuanapolitics.com/supreme-court-refuses-hear-suit-colorado-nebraska-oklahoma-save-taxpayer-dollars/





"Congress has no power to compel states to prohibit the cultivation, possession and transfer of marijuana," according to Randy Barnett, an attorney who litigated a Supreme Court case exploring the limits of the CSA. "In the absence of such state prohibition, all such activities are completely legal under state law, notwithstanding that they are illegal under federal law," he wrote last year.

In short, Congress can say that marijuana is illegal at the federal level. But if a state doesn't want to enforce that prohibition itself, it doesn't have to do so. And if it wants to go one step further and set up a market to regulate the trade in the drug, it's free to do that as well.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/03/21/what-todays-supreme-court-decision-means-for-the-future-of-legal-weed/

[patric]

66,000 signatures is well within the number collected the first two times.



Ex-Oklahoma legislator spearheads medical marijuana effort
http://www.koco.com/news/Ex-Oklahoma-legislator-spearheads-medical-marijuana-effort/38971658


A former Democratic state legislator who ran for governor in 2014 is spearheading an effort launched Monday to let voters decide whether to allow medical marijuana in Oklahoma.
   
Former state Rep. Joe Dorman is a board member of the group Oklahomans for Health, which filed an initiative petition with the secretary of state's office to begin gathering signatures to place the proposal on the ballot in November.
   
After a review of the petition is complete, the group will have 90 days to gather about 66,000 signatures from registered voters to get the proposal on the ballot.
   
Dorman said he was motivated in part by his experience working with cancer patients who benefited from using marijuana, but were unable to do so legally.
   
"I want to encourage people to keep an open mind about this proposal," said Dorman, a Democrat from Rush Springs who ran against Gov. Mary Fallin in 2014. "I certainly trust doctors and health care providers to offer the proper medication for treatment over bureaucrats and politicians."
   
In 2014, the same group fell short gathering the 155,000 signatures needed to amend the Oklahoma Constitution to allow for medicinal marijuana, but this time is seeking a statutory change that will require fewer signatures.

If approved by the voters, doctors would be able to recommend a patient at least 25 years old for a state-issued medical marijuana license that would allow them to use marijuana legally and possess up to 3 ounces, six mature plants and six seedlings. The Oklahoma State Department of Health would be responsible for overseeing the licensing of marijuana dispensaries, grow operations and patients.
   
The state tax on marijuana would be 7 percent, with revenues used to fund the regulation of the industry. Additional revenues would be divided with 75 percent going to the state's general revenue fund to pay for general operations and 25 percent earmarked for drug and alcohol rehabilitation.
       
The effort is likely to face resistance from some law enforcement agencies that view medicinal marijuana as a way to allow more access to pot by recreational users.
   
Mark Woodward, a spokesman for the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, said his agency supports the use of non-intoxicating cannabis oils to treat certain conditions but believes full-blown medicinal marijuana sends the wrong signal to children who are encouraged not to use illegal drugs.
   
More:   https://oklahomansforhealth.com




Hey, Woodward, the whole point of legalization is to not make it illegal any more...

[Townsend]

If approved by the voters, doctors would be able to recommend a patient at least 25 years old for a state-issued medical marijuana license that would allow them to use marijuana legally and possess up to 3 ounces, six mature plants and six seedlings. The Oklahoma State Department of Health would be responsible for overseeing the licensing of marijuana dispensaries, grow operations and patients.
   

While anything is better than nothing...why 25?  The 19 year old with cancer can suck it?

[cannon_fodder]

While anything is better than nothing...why 25?  The 19 year old with cancer can suck it?

It does seem strange. Presumably it is to keep the devil's weed off college campuses. There's aren't many < 25 year olds in dorms, and you couldn't deny them their prescription.  And, as we all know, without a prescription no one in college would use an illegal intoxicating substance.

[davideinstein]

If anyone wants to make money on an obvious policy reversal then TRTC is a good stock.

[Vashta Nerada]

Now that legalization is a remote possibility, the powers that be probably want to keep the word "cash" out to not remind people of lost opportunity, want to diminish the word "crop" to disassociate with agriculture, and probably don't want to point how how big the industry could be overall...

What would a traffic stop be without the ability to say "I smell marijuana so now I can do anything I want" ?

[cannon_fodder]

What would a traffic stop be without the ability to say "I smell marijuana so now I can do anything I want" ?

I have spoken with several police officers, who I consider good friends, who have made this exact point. They'd be fine if pot was legal, they don't really see a danger and it usually isn't worth their time dealing with it. But it is an easy gateway to bust people for other things. Not all pot users are into more dangerous things, but almost everyone who is into more dangerous things is a pot user...