Reschedule Cannabis

I was reading, Marijuana Good For Seizures, and came across this.

Oregon has the MOST successful program in the U.S. with about 22 thousand patients using it successfully for every kind of disease they can think of

Sounds like Oregon has a successful medical marijuana program.

Their snide remarks about “JUST GETTING HIGH” no longer has any validity. Besides that 3000 doctors in Oregon are signing applications – marijuana works very well for seizures.

Over 3,000 doctors in Oregon are recommending cannabis as medicine. The article even mentioned using a vaporizer as opposed to harmful method of smoking with pipes or “bongs.”

Marijuana was discovered to be effective against seizures more than one hundred years ago and it doesn’t make victims feel stupid as do most anti-seizure drugs. One of the most important features of marijuana is that if the victim inhales the VAPOR or smoke the good effects are within seconds. This is very important.

What’s interesting about what this doctor says, is also similar to what I’ve experienced with Migraine’s.

If the patient is using or uses marijuana with the Aura, it is likely they will not have the rest of the seizure.

If you use a vaporizer just as you begin to feel the Migraine coming on, you can often mitigate much of the discomfort and pain. Although it never goes away fully for all, it can often be better than the dangerous medicines available, either for seizures or Migraine.

More and more Americans are growing comfortable with the idea/concept of medical marijuana.

Are Americans really ready to consider legalizing marijuana? This week, California’s governor said it was time to debate the issue, and a new nationwide poll suggests a majority of voters favor decriminalizing the drug.

While legalization advocates say they’ve never seen such widespread public support for reforming marijuana laws, they still don’t expect drug policy to change overnight. But, they say, the country appears to be at tipping point in how it views recreational use of marijuana, which is now legal in 13 states for medically-approved use.

“We are actually talking about historic highs when it comes to public support of taxing and regulating marijuana for adult consumption,” says Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML). But, he adds, “the most difficult task is how you convert public sentiment into public policy.”

In Washington, Mr. Armentano says, politicians are still not ready to rethink US drug policy.

In a poll released Wednesday by Zogby International, 52 percent of voters said they would support legalizing, taxing, and regulating marijuana use.

The survey asked voters if they would “favor or oppose the government’s effort to legalize marijuana?”

Also, the poll surveyed 3,937 voters whose political identities followed the outcome of the last presidential election - 54 percent were President Obama supporters and 46 percent voted for Sen. John McCain. “This sample may be skewed in a pro-reform direction if, as seems plausible, left-leaning Americans were especially motivated to vote in the last presidential election, while conservatives were dispirited,” he wrote.

Nonetheless, “It’s in line with building support for marijuana legalization in other surveys,” Mr. Sullum acknowledged.

As more and more states allow the use of safe and effective medical grade cannabis, we will see more support and approval of medical marijuana grow.

The Zogby findings follow last month’s ABC News/Washington Post survey that found 46 percent support for decriminalizing marijuana. And a California Field Poll published April 30 said that 56 percent of state residents were OK with marijuana becoming a taxed and regulated commodity.

California Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, (D) from San Francisco, has proposed legislation to begin treating marijuana like alcohol - giving anyone over 21 the right to use it but taxing it heavily. Taxing marijuana, supporters of Mr. Ammiano’s bill say, could bring the cash-strapped state $1.3 billion annually.

Already the state collects about $18 million annually from medical marijuana. Massachusetts state legislature is also set to consider a bill to tax and regulate the sale and trade of marijuana. Last year, voters there approved an initiative to reduce the punishment for possession of small amounts of marijuana to a $100 civil citation.

On Tuesday, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was responding to a question about the potential statewide boon from taxing marijuana when he said: “It’s time for debate…. I’m always for an open debate on it.”

it is time to stop arresting sick patients and citizens and decriminalize marijuana with a federal rescheduling of cannabis.

And we agree!

The argument to legalize marijuana is back in the news, after rock legend and Obama supporter Carlos Santana said that marijuana needs to be legalized, while also taking a hard swipe at California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

In a recent interview with the Associated Press, the Grammy-winning guitarist said, “I really believe that as soon as we legalize and decriminalize marijuana, we can actually afford a really good governor who won’t keep taking money away from education and from teachers and send him back to Hollywood where he can do ‘D’ movies and we can get an ‘A’ governor.”

Santana went on to give a heart-felt plea to President Obama, saying, “Bring the brothers home, and sisters home now. Legalize marijuana and take all that money and invest it in teachers and in education. You will see a transformation in America.”

The amount of money wasted on arresting and jailing Americans for smoking pot is in the billions. That money alone could help change our education system in America. Let alone, the money made from taxing the legalized cannabis products that would come after its legalization across the United States.

This is the way it should be. If you are following state law, growing legal medical marijuana you should never be put in jail!

After California legalized medical marijuana, Charles Lynch opened a cannabis dispensary nearly two years ago in Morro Bay, getting a license from the city and joining the chamber of commerce.

A year later, U.S. drug enforcement agents raided his business. Now Lynch is worried that he’ll get at least five years in prison when he’s sentenced tomorrow in federal court in Los Angeles on five counts of distributing marijuana.

Whatever happens, Lynch said, he’ll appeal. “I don’t feel like I deserve going through life as a convicted felon for doing things the state of California allowed me to do,” he said.

Attorney General Eric Holder has said that there would be no more federal prosecutions of cases involving medical cannabis dispensaries. He said they would be left alone as long as they were complying with state laws.

Holder said that his department will focus on people and organizations growing or cultivating “substantial amounts of marijuana and doing so in a way that’s inconsistent with federal law and state law.”

As long as you follow the rules you can grow medical marijuana in states that allow you to do so, without fear of prosecution or jail time.

isn’t that beautiful?

Now when will it be coming to a state near you??? When will sick and dying people in states that have no protection, get some???

The decision affects California and 12 other states that have legalized marijuana for medical purposes: Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington state.

Over the past 2½ years, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration has raided at least 80 dispensaries in California.

Yet criminal charges have been filed only in several of those cases against the biggest distributors accused of breaking both federal and state laws, said Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in the Central District of California.

If this does not prove to you that we need change in America, nothing will. Here is a woman trying to help her sick and dying aunt just to be able to eat a little bit of food so she doesn’t die hungry, and what does she get? Fired from her job as police dispatcher, this shows how desperate Americans are becoming to get safe access to medical marijuana.

Laura Llanes does not regret buying her aunt marijuana, even though it has cost her a job as police dispatcher.

She was stunned, nevertheless, when she was fired last week after admitting she bought the marijuana to help relieve her aunt’s suffering through breast cancer and chemotherapy.

Marijuana for medicinal purposes is legal with a prescription in 13 states; Illinois is not one of them.

This is happening all across the country and it needs to stop! Sick and dying people in states that do not have protection for medical marijuana users are being persecuted, and punished when all they are trying to do is use a natural, safe, and effective medicine to combat chemotherapy loss of appetite and nausea.

Llanes, 28, of Lake Villa remains adamant she did the right thing, saying her biggest mistake was telling a few co-workers what she had done: “They ratted me out.”

It seems her co-workers did not agree with her actions, which she did not do while on employers time, and told her boss. Should people be fired because co-workers rat them out for off-duty things? This is ridiculous, I smell a lawsuit!

Her aunt, who lives in Aurora, was “sick constantly, not eating, not having an appetite. She is diabetic. She has to eat. She was whittling away to nothing,” said Llanes.

“I thought I will get her some marijuana so it would get her to eat. It worked. She did get the munchies.”

Llanes has not been charged with a crime, but when confronted by her supervisor at CenCom E-9-11, she admitted she had bought marijuana and was promptly fired Wednesday.

“All that mattered was that I admitted to committing an illegal act,” she said.

It should not be illegal to purchase marijuana in America, especially for medical reasons. This is absurd and the employees who ratted her out should be ashamed, she is only trying to help her sick aunt. And now, she has declined to buy her more, and now this woman will suffer pain while the co-workers get a pat on the back for ratting out a compassionate family member.

I hope these people sleep well tonight knowing a woman will be laying in pain dying slow because of their actions.

We need to protect patients like this and shield them from persecution like this. We need change in America regarding marijuana laws, and now is the time!!!!

A prescription drug in pill form called Marinol contains synthetic THC, the main ingredient in marijuana. But it doesn’t work for everyone, and its results are slow-arriving and unpredictable, Mirken said.

“If you talk to cancer patients, they don’t want to get high,” he said. “They just don’t want to feel sick.”

meanwhile a woman lay dying, vomiting, cannot eat in her bed… while we fight over laws regarding her smoking three (yes count them) three marijuana joints.

California will lead the way in terms of addressing American laws regarding the recreational use of cannabis.

Marijuana would be sold and taxed openly in California to adults 21 and older if legislation proposed Monday is signed into law.

Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, D-San Francisco, said his bill could generate big bucks for a cash-starved state while freeing law enforcement agencies to focus on worse crimes.

“I think there’s a mentality throughout the state and the country that this isn’t the highest priority – and that maybe we should start to reassess,” he said.

Critics counter that it makes no sense for a Legislature so concerned about health that it has restricted use of trans fats in restaurants to legalize the smoking of a potentially harmful drug.

“I think substance abuse is just ruining our society,” said Assemblyman Paul Cook, R-Yucca Valley. “I can’t support that.”

Maybe Paul Cook should start his ban on alcohol if he is so concerned about “substance abuse.” These old abolitionist ways of dealing with things will not work for this country, the problem is too big now. It is time to legalize the use of cannabis.

In regards to “smoking a potentially harmful drug,” these Republicans must not know that doctors have verified the non carcinogenic method of medically partaking in cannabis through the use of vaporizers, which is unlike smoking as the plant is not burned while you consume it. Vaporizers do not have the same negative effects such as smoking.

By bringing up the aspects of “smoking cannabis” this lawmaker is just trying to obscure the facts. Doctors stand by the use of vaporizers as the doctor accepted method of medical marijuana intake.

As the lawmakers said, they are not interested in medical use of marijuana, they just want to “stop the bill.” Not once caring about those who need access to marijuana.

“I think it’s a slippery slope,” Assemblyman Tom Berryhill, R-Modesto, said of easing pot laws. “We’ll do everything we can to defeat it.”

But they couldn’t STOP a bill when California citizens voted for it, and the people of California should not let them stop this one either! How can an “assemblyman” try and go against the vote of the California people? He should be removed from office!

Medical use of marijuana already is legal in California, but the new legislation would go a step further by allowing recreational use.

Stop letting these guys take billions of your tax dollars to arrest you for smoking marijuana!!!!!

Assembly Bill 390 would charge cannabis wholesalers $5,000 initially and $2,500 annually for the right to distribute weed.

Retail outlets would pay fees of $50 per ounce of cannabis to generate revenue for drug education programs statewide.

The bill would prohibit cannabis near schools. It also would ban smoking it in public places or growing it in public view.

Adding $50 to the cost of an ounce if going to be felt, most people who use want to grow their own so you can tax all you want, but those who grow their own will never pay taxes on it.

Minnesota is moving closer to securing protection for medical marijuana patients.

“Medical Cannabis Bill Passes Senate Committee in Bipartisan Vote, 8-3″

One of those testifying was Joni Whiting of Jordan, a disabled Vietnam veteran who had strongly disapproved of marijuana use until her daughter was diagnosed with melanoma and began suffering unbearable nausea and pain from the treatments. “I was opposed to marijuana,” Whiting said, “but the nausea my daughter suffered from the chemotherapy was so bad she lost a lot of weight, and the pills the doctor prescribed didn’t help — including Marinol, the THC pill. Marijuana allowed her to eat and also helped ease her pain, and she looked better than I’d seen her in months. I would have rather spent the rest of my life in prison than have denied her the medicine that kept her pain at bay and allowed her to live 89 more days.”

This is exactly why medical marijuana needs to be approved. Even marinol pill does not work as effectively, and safely as the natural cannabis.

Minnesota’s medical marijuana bill, S.F. 97, cleared its first major hurdle this afternoon, passing the Senate Health, Housing and Family Security Committee in a bipartisan vote of 8 to 3. The committee received spoken and written testimony from a number of patients and family members describing the relief provided by medical marijuana when conventional treatments had failed.

“I believe this will be the year medical marijuana becomes law in Minnesota,” said Sen. Steve Murphy (DFL-Red Wing), a sponsor of the bill. “We’ve seen now from the experiences of 13 states — one-quarter of the country — that these laws work well, and that the dire warnings of opponents simply don’t come true. The voters understand that there is no reason to subject suffering patients to arrest and jail for using a doctor-recommended medicine.”

More and more law makers are choosing the side of compassion and reason…

“I’m pleased to co-author this important legislation that will empower doctors and patients while protecting sick and dying Minnesotans from the threat of criminal prosecution,” said Sen. Debbie Johnson (R-Ham Lake). “Most FDA-approved drugs assist in managing short-term pain. Chronically ill and terminal patients need alternatives. Medical marijuana is one of those alternatives.”

Even Republicans are behind the effort to legalize medical marijuana.

Thirteen states, including one-quarter of the U.S. population, now permit medical use of marijuana under state law. The newest such law was enacted by Michigan voters last November, passing with a record-setting 63 percent “yes” vote. Medical organizations which have recognized marijuana’s medical uses include the American Public Health Association, American Nurses Association, American Academy of HIV Medicine, and American College of Physicians, which noted “marijuana’s proven efficacy at treating certain symptoms and its relatively low toxicity,” in a statement issued last year.

A plan to let seriously ill patients smoke pot is back at the Minnesota Legislature.

A plan to let seriously ill patients smoke pot is back at the Minnesota Legislature. The bill from DFL Senator Steve Murphy gets its first hearing of the session in a Senate health panel on Wednesday. The legislation would allow those with cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease and other debilitating conditions to use marijuana to control pain and other symptoms. Gov. Tim Pawlenty has stood against the proposal and has said it would make enforcing drug laws harder. Lawmakers have considered medical marijuana bills going back a decade, without signing off. However, two years ago, the full Senate passed the bill.

Its time to stop allowing politically motivated Governors to stop people in pain from getting medical marijuana.

To show you medical marijuana can and should be accepted even in the smallest towns across America. When it comes to pain and medicine, it is time to look past these abolitionist ideas and promote a healthy and safe life style even for those who choose to use cannabis.

A small southwest Missouri village has passed an ordinance to allow the use of medical marijuana.

Mayor Joe Blundell said Cliff Village, with a population of about four dozen, wanted to show grass-roots support for Missouri to legalize medical marijuana as 13 other states have.

“This is symbolism, pure and simple,” Blundell told The Kansas City Star for a story published Tuesday. “I would like to be the brave one who grows the first plant, but they’ve built a lot of cages for the people who stick their necks out.”

It takes courage to fight for medical marijuana.

Cliff Village’s ordinance allows someone with a doctor’s approval to possess a few ounces of marijuana and grow a few plants.

Cliff Village passed the ordinance on Feb. 1 by a 3-2 vote. The mayor’s father was one of the council members to back him.

Columbia passed a similar ordinance in 2004.

All Americans should be able to have safe access to medical marijuana for whatever they need to alleviate.

The 30-year-old mayor said his interest medical marijuana comes from a painful past injury from a train accident that left him in a wheelchair.

“When I got introduced to this flower, it not only alleviated my pain, it got me out gardening,” Blundell said. “I’m not just stoning myself out. It allowed me to function.”

More and more people report what medical marijuana users have known for years, the plant can help those who have health problems or issues, to live a better, more productive and pain free life.

wow, they have arrested eight people over the photo of Michael Phelps smoking cannabis through a glass “bong” or aka water pipe.

This is insane, and calls for an immediate look into the decriminalization of marijuana at the federal level.

A Columbia, S.C., television station reports that eight people have been arrested after a photograph surfaced of Olympic star Michael Phelps smoking what looks like a bong.

WIS-TV says seven people have been charged with drug possession and one person with distribution.

The television station also reports that police have confiscated the bong that Phelps allegedly used during a party at the University of South Carolina, in Columbia.

He should’ve used a vaporizer and brought up the healthy aspect of using a vaporizer over inhaling smoke!

It’s time for America to stop wasting millions of tax payer dollars arresting, prosecuting, and jailing millions of it’s own citizens who choose to use cannabis. It’s time to reschedule cannabis today!