Medical Marijuana in...ALABAMA?!?!

[devnulljp]

I don't imbibe, I think smoking is revolting, but I think it's about time this stupid prohibition came to an end.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwWUOmk7wO0[/youtube]

(But you know it won't, right? Too much political capital in grandstanding. Not to mention campaign cash coming from the prisons for profit lobby)

[bigchiefbc]

I still don't get it, plhogan. My point is that it ISN'T a stepping stone to legalization. That was the whole point of my post. I don't see how medical mj laws are going to lead to legalization at all. Treating it like a medication will just lead to it being handled like every other perscription med. And they still send people to jail for decades for trafficking prescription drugs. It seems counter- productive to me. Faking an illness to fraudulently acquire prescription drugs is still a federal felony.

[plhogan]

I'm sorry man, but a lot of the stuff you're saying just isn't true at all in my opinion. Faking an illness to get a pot recomendation is not a felony at all. The reason why I keep saying "recomendation" isn't jargon, it's legally distinct from a prescription in every way. The fact is marijuana is in no way heading the way of Vicodin or other prescriptions, the laws right now are creating an entirely different legal atmosphere.

It is absolutely a stepping stone to legalization. Statistically, in states where medical marijuana laws have been passed there is a much higher tolerance and acceptance of marijuana use, legal or not. Allowing people to see that marijuana is safe and effective doesnt at all make them think it should be regulated like hard prescription drugs; it does, in fact, make clear that there is an alternative to the dangerous system of prescribing toxic medication. That is not my opinion, the numbers back it up.

I feel like there's just a lot of misinformation around medical marijuana (for instance the fact that you say prescription, I hope you dont think I'm trying to be a dick and correct you but it's a very seperate concept). It's a lot of the same stuff I had to clear up in my days as a dispensary manager: no, "Big Pharma" is not going to take over marijuana, Phillip Morris doesnt own land in Humboldt so they can sell Marlboro Greens filled with the same chemicals as cigarettes, you don't get tracked by the government for having your card.

I don't quite understand your point about people going to jail for trafficking pills. If marijuana were legalized it would still probably be illegal to traffic it without proper authorization just as with many things, drugs or milk or meat.

Lastly, once again, would you rather nobody was able to legally obtain it? Aren't sick people better than nothing? Beyond this debate about whether or not this helps legalization, don't they deserve the right most of all? I know people think it's a lot of college kids with "back pain" but the fact is the patient I served ran the gamut from veterans to wheelchair bound cancer patients to the extremely old and frail. In my opinion they should be first in line for legalization.

[plhogan]

BTW I wrote this in kind of a rush my wife's yelling at me to come to bed, I hope it doesn't come of as too "tellin-ya-how-it-is" this is just a subject I'm really passionate about (yeah I know like everything, I'll give it a rest).

Also I don't even smoke anymore so

[bigchiefbc]

I get your point about it not being a prescription, and I haveno problem with you correcting me on that; thanks for that, actually. But I don't feel like that has a large effect on my point. Of course the states that have passed medical mj laws are more tolerant of mj use, I mean, no kidding, that's self-evident. But will that lead to non-medical, recreational legalization? The longer we keep treating mj as a medicine, I fear that is all it will ever be. And while I don't begrudge cancer patients and other genuinely sick people whatever helps them, that's not enough. Mj (not to mention other drugs) should be legal for people who don't want to have to go and lie to a doctor to get it.

Also, I don't smoke mj at all, and haven't in 5 years. This is solely an ideological issue to me. I was mostly an E boy when I was partying.

[warwick.hoy]

I get your point about it not being a prescription, and I haveno problem with you correcting me on that; thanks for that, actually. But I don't feel like that has a large effect on my point. Of course the states that have passed medical mj laws are more tolerant of mj use, I mean, no kidding, that's self-evident. But will that lead to non-medical, recreational legalization? The longer we keep treating mj as a medicine, I fear that is all it will ever be. And while I don't begrudge cancer patients and other genuinely sick people whatever helps them, that's not enough. Mj (not to mention other drugs) should be legal for people who don't want to have to go and lie to a doctor to get it.

This was kinda the point I was trying to make. Just couldn't get it out.

For me,...would I rather jump through some bureaucratic hoops before or after I get caught,...or just not be stupid and engage in risky behavior that would lead to me getting caught.

[plhogan]

As I've said before, I completely agree that we should all have the choice of whether or not we want to use marijuana, unimpeded by the government. But we'll wait 20 years twiddling our thumbs before there's real change in these laws. We should at least let sick people use it now. Hell, if you're right and medical use does prove to be an impediment to full legalization and it sets us back I still think the sickest among us deserve the right to use it now.

[plhogan]

What would be sick is if this Barney Frank/Ron Paul legislation passes and it turns out I'm wrong, and weed just gets to be regulated by the states. I would love to be wrong.

[My name is Mudd]

Someone back on page one mentioned California, which does have some of the most relaxed MJ laws...sometimes...

Here in the central San Joaquin Valley (which is not the most liberal area of the state in general), dispensaries are raided, shut down for building code or zoning issues, or otherwise harassed almost as soon as they open. Last week the Fresno County sheriffs raided half a dozen dispensaries for allegedly making a profit off of sales. The raids produced, among other things, a variety of automatic weapons (some stolen), a few pounds of meth (the valley is ground zero for meth production for most of the known universe...seriously), some heroin, and even some raw opium. None of this helps the pro side of the discussion here at ALL, nor do most of the dispensary clients...usually the classic stoner thief low-life. The commercial growers aren't helping the matter much either...legally, MMJ has to be grown indoors. So naturally, there are massive outdoor grows going on everywhere, complete with trigger-happy armed guards (remember the auto guns I mentioned earlier?)

I've smoked on and off for most of my adult life and according to MMJ guidelines could legitimately qualify for a card (I have a minor but annoying digestive issue), but around here it's usually not worth the trouble of getting one unless you plan on growing. Most patients I know buy off of dealers, anyway...better prices and MUCH better buds. I guess what I'm on about here is that, given the examples I've mentioned, it'll be an uphill battle hereabouts to sway a majority opinion towards legalization when it does come to a vote...with friends like these, etc...