Representative Barney Frank has introduced H.R. 2835, a bill which is intended to reschedule marijuana for medical use and end federal interference in state laws.
To provide for the medical use of marijuana in accordance with the laws of the various States.
govtrack.us
Moving the Overton window happens one step at a time. We need to take bigger steps. This bill does not address the problems inherit in the drug war or the marijuana prohibition issue. If you want a national drug policy that makes sense, this bill does not address the problem, and right now our national drug policy is a big part of THE problem.
The bill, which was co-sponsored by 13 bipartisan Members of Congress at the time of introduction, would change federal policy on medical marijuana in a number of ways. Specifically, the Act would change marijuana from a Schedule I drug, classified as having no medical value, to a Schedule II drug, which would recognize marijuana's medical efficacy and create a regulatory framework for the FDA to begin a drug approval process for marijuana. The act would also prevent interference by the federal government in any local or state run medical marijuana program.
commondreams.org
What seems like a valiant effort to protect medical marijuana users is not quite the problem. Of course I want medical marijuana users to be able to get the medicine they are prescribed, but that is not the Problem.
The Problem is the billions of dollars we spend maintaining a prison system that houses millions of Americans yearly on non violent drug charges for Marijuana. The Problem is the prohibition of marijuana that escalates the Drug War in Mexico which deserves Capital letters. The problem is the poppy seeds in Afghanistan that fund the Taliban and al Qaeda, and how our justice department defines drugs in all its lunacy.
Note to Barney Frank from the DoJ, via their website
Medical marijuana already exists. It's called Marinol
A pharmaceutical product, Marinol, is widely available through prescription. It comes in the form of a pill and is also being studied by researchers for suitability via other delivery methods, such as an inhaler or patch. The active ingredient of Marinol is synthetic THC, which has been found to relieve the nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy for cancer patients and to assist with loss of appetite with AIDS patients.
- usdoj.gov
The problem is that marinol is the not the issue, dude.
This lovely little piece of legislature will help, not to advance legalization of Marijuana, but instead to allow Big Pharmaceutical Companies to profit off a double sided drug policy that has crippled our nation, just as it does in other places in the world, many of them where we ( Americans ) are the cause of the problem.
The double standard of our national drug policy is failing America in every way possible. In Mexico, in Columbia, in Afghanistan, in Brooklyn, in Los Angeles and many other places around the world. Are we making it better? If not, why?
In Afghanistan, poppy seeds produce Op*um and He*oin, which end up all over the world and fall into the American War on Drugs. If we bought all the he*oin from the local farmers at a higher price than the Taliban pays for it we could use it to make medicine. Do we do that? No. We give Viagra to local warlords and tribe leaders in order to engender their support.
Instead, our DoJ looks at it in these terms.
Morphine, for example, has proven to be a medically valuable drug, but the FDA does not endorse the smoking of op*um or he*oin. Instead, scientists have extracted active ingredients from op*um, which are sold as pharmaceutical products like morphine, codeine, hydrocodone or oxycodone. In a similar vein, the FDA has not approved smoking marijuana for medicinal purposes, but has approved the active ingredient-THC-in the form of scientifically regulated Marinol.
The DEA helped facilitate the research on Marinol. The National Cancer Institute approached the DEA in the early 1980s regarding their study of THC's in relieving nausea and vomiting. As a result, the DEA facilitated the registration and provided regulatory support and guidance for the study.
The DEA recognizes the importance of listening to science. That's why the DEA has registered seven research initiatives to continue researching the effects of smoked marijuana as medicine. For example, under one program established by the State of California, researchers are studying the potential use of marijuana and its ingredients on conditions such as multiple sclerosis and pain. At this time, however, neither the medical community nor the scientific community has found sufficient data to conclude that smoked marijuana is the best approach to dealing with these important medical issues.
usdoj.gov
Morphine is a medically valuable drug, like Marinol, but Marijuana that you smoke is bad for you, where as tobacco is perfectly suitable for sale and public use.
Right.
Many people can think of several strong reasons why Marijuana should be legalized across the board in America. I agree, and I believe we need to take a long hard look at our drug policy, much as our health care policy and other issues with an eye that looks for the best outcome for the general public, not the special interests.
More from commondreams.org
The Obama Administration has made repeated statements that it intends to end federal enforcement against medical marijuana, but has yet to provide a detailed plan of implementation. A lack of clarity on this policy change has prompted Congress to take action. In addition to the introduction of Frank's bill yesterday, Representative Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) introduced language Tuesday within the Commerce, Justice and Science Departments (CJS) Appropriations bill seeking clarification on the Administration's policy. "It's imperative that the federal government respect states' rights and stay out of the way of patients with debilitating diseases such as cancer who are using medical marijuana in accordance with state law to alleviate their pain," said Hinchey in a press release issued Tuesday.
As of now H.R. 2835 has been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
The committee on Energy and Commerce? But I though Marijuana legalization would have no Commercial value?
Oh, I guess HR 2835 isn't about marijuana legalization or protection at all, not unless you count medical derivatives and chemical replacements produced by pharmaceutical companies as marijuana.
Fake reform won't fix anything.
An issue we desperately need change on, the drug war, can not wait. We need change now.
End Marijuana Prohibition. Fight for a national drug policy that makes sense. And, yes, if you like, sing along. "All we really need is a bag of weed!"
YouTube - All we need is a bag of weed!
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Daily Kos
Author: MinistryOfTruth
Contact: Daily Kos
Copyright: 2009 Kos Media, LLC
Website: HR 2835: Marijuana Reform, Or, Is That Like Just Your Opinion, Man
To provide for the medical use of marijuana in accordance with the laws of the various States.
govtrack.us
Moving the Overton window happens one step at a time. We need to take bigger steps. This bill does not address the problems inherit in the drug war or the marijuana prohibition issue. If you want a national drug policy that makes sense, this bill does not address the problem, and right now our national drug policy is a big part of THE problem.
The bill, which was co-sponsored by 13 bipartisan Members of Congress at the time of introduction, would change federal policy on medical marijuana in a number of ways. Specifically, the Act would change marijuana from a Schedule I drug, classified as having no medical value, to a Schedule II drug, which would recognize marijuana's medical efficacy and create a regulatory framework for the FDA to begin a drug approval process for marijuana. The act would also prevent interference by the federal government in any local or state run medical marijuana program.
commondreams.org
What seems like a valiant effort to protect medical marijuana users is not quite the problem. Of course I want medical marijuana users to be able to get the medicine they are prescribed, but that is not the Problem.
The Problem is the billions of dollars we spend maintaining a prison system that houses millions of Americans yearly on non violent drug charges for Marijuana. The Problem is the prohibition of marijuana that escalates the Drug War in Mexico which deserves Capital letters. The problem is the poppy seeds in Afghanistan that fund the Taliban and al Qaeda, and how our justice department defines drugs in all its lunacy.
Note to Barney Frank from the DoJ, via their website
Medical marijuana already exists. It's called Marinol
A pharmaceutical product, Marinol, is widely available through prescription. It comes in the form of a pill and is also being studied by researchers for suitability via other delivery methods, such as an inhaler or patch. The active ingredient of Marinol is synthetic THC, which has been found to relieve the nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy for cancer patients and to assist with loss of appetite with AIDS patients.
- usdoj.gov
The problem is that marinol is the not the issue, dude.
This lovely little piece of legislature will help, not to advance legalization of Marijuana, but instead to allow Big Pharmaceutical Companies to profit off a double sided drug policy that has crippled our nation, just as it does in other places in the world, many of them where we ( Americans ) are the cause of the problem.
The double standard of our national drug policy is failing America in every way possible. In Mexico, in Columbia, in Afghanistan, in Brooklyn, in Los Angeles and many other places around the world. Are we making it better? If not, why?
In Afghanistan, poppy seeds produce Op*um and He*oin, which end up all over the world and fall into the American War on Drugs. If we bought all the he*oin from the local farmers at a higher price than the Taliban pays for it we could use it to make medicine. Do we do that? No. We give Viagra to local warlords and tribe leaders in order to engender their support.
Instead, our DoJ looks at it in these terms.
Morphine, for example, has proven to be a medically valuable drug, but the FDA does not endorse the smoking of op*um or he*oin. Instead, scientists have extracted active ingredients from op*um, which are sold as pharmaceutical products like morphine, codeine, hydrocodone or oxycodone. In a similar vein, the FDA has not approved smoking marijuana for medicinal purposes, but has approved the active ingredient-THC-in the form of scientifically regulated Marinol.
The DEA helped facilitate the research on Marinol. The National Cancer Institute approached the DEA in the early 1980s regarding their study of THC's in relieving nausea and vomiting. As a result, the DEA facilitated the registration and provided regulatory support and guidance for the study.
The DEA recognizes the importance of listening to science. That's why the DEA has registered seven research initiatives to continue researching the effects of smoked marijuana as medicine. For example, under one program established by the State of California, researchers are studying the potential use of marijuana and its ingredients on conditions such as multiple sclerosis and pain. At this time, however, neither the medical community nor the scientific community has found sufficient data to conclude that smoked marijuana is the best approach to dealing with these important medical issues.
usdoj.gov
Morphine is a medically valuable drug, like Marinol, but Marijuana that you smoke is bad for you, where as tobacco is perfectly suitable for sale and public use.
Right.
Many people can think of several strong reasons why Marijuana should be legalized across the board in America. I agree, and I believe we need to take a long hard look at our drug policy, much as our health care policy and other issues with an eye that looks for the best outcome for the general public, not the special interests.
More from commondreams.org
The Obama Administration has made repeated statements that it intends to end federal enforcement against medical marijuana, but has yet to provide a detailed plan of implementation. A lack of clarity on this policy change has prompted Congress to take action. In addition to the introduction of Frank's bill yesterday, Representative Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) introduced language Tuesday within the Commerce, Justice and Science Departments (CJS) Appropriations bill seeking clarification on the Administration's policy. "It's imperative that the federal government respect states' rights and stay out of the way of patients with debilitating diseases such as cancer who are using medical marijuana in accordance with state law to alleviate their pain," said Hinchey in a press release issued Tuesday.
As of now H.R. 2835 has been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
The committee on Energy and Commerce? But I though Marijuana legalization would have no Commercial value?
Oh, I guess HR 2835 isn't about marijuana legalization or protection at all, not unless you count medical derivatives and chemical replacements produced by pharmaceutical companies as marijuana.
Fake reform won't fix anything.
An issue we desperately need change on, the drug war, can not wait. We need change now.
End Marijuana Prohibition. Fight for a national drug policy that makes sense. And, yes, if you like, sing along. "All we really need is a bag of weed!"
YouTube - All we need is a bag of weed!
News Hawk- Ganjarden 420 MAGAZINE ® - Medical Marijuana Publication & Social Networking
Source: Daily Kos
Author: MinistryOfTruth
Contact: Daily Kos
Copyright: 2009 Kos Media, LLC
Website: HR 2835: Marijuana Reform, Or, Is That Like Just Your Opinion, Man
