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The effort to legalize marijuana found opposition from an unexpected corner Tuesday – medical marijuana users, who say they fear legalizing and taxing the drug would make it too expensive for patients and put them at risk of arrest for driving under the influence.
However, proponents of Initiative 502, which would legalize marijuana possession for those over 21 and create a legal and taxed market for the drug, said the law wouldn't affect medical marijuana users, who already have some legal protections under state law.
Still, about 10 people, including a few children, gathered at the Healing Hands of God medical marijuana center in Castle Rock Tuesday afternoon, waving cardboard signs asking voters to kill the initiative in the Nov. 6 general election.
"We're all for legalization of marijuana, but this is not a good bill," said Melissa Robinson, 37, who runs Healing Hands of God.
The Castle Rock center, which opened last year, does not sell marijuana but gives patients access to a doctor who can prescribe it. The center also helps patients find designated medical pot growers and hosts classes on how to grow marijuana, Robinson said.
Jaclyn Kaul, a staff member at the I-502 office in Seattle, said the law would have no effect on the state's medical marijuana regulations. Instead, the measure is aimed at decriminalizing marijuana use among non-medical users in Washington State. (Marijuana would remain illegal under federal law.)
"The regulations and taxes don't apply them," Kaul said of the medical marijuana users protesting Tuesday.
I-502 would tax marijuana at 25 percent at wholesale and retail levels, and protesters said Tuesday they are leery of the state exploiting marijuana growers and users for quick and easy tax revenues.
Robinson and her fiancee, Dennis Sommers, 40, insist that if I-502 is passes next week, marijuana growers and sellers will face so many fees and taxes that it will be difficult for medical marijuana users to afford it. They said medical marijuana growers will face unnecessary regulations and fees as well.
"We truly want the power to stay in the hands of the people and the individual growers," Robinson said.
In addition, medical marijuana proponents said they worry that those who use the drug to treat illnesses could face arrest under strengthened standards for driving under the influence of the drug. I-502 sets a threshold for the amount of THC a driver can have in his or her system when driving.
The drug would be detectable only by a blood test. It is not legal to drive stoned now, nor would it be legal under I-502. But there is now no legal THC threshold, and police do no commonly test for it.
Robinson and Sommers said that THC threshold spelled out in I-502 – 5 nanograms (or five billionths of a gram) – is too low for regular medial marijuana users. Many of them, they said, have such a high tolerance for the drug that they could be considered sober only an hour or two after smoking or ingesting it, yet still have 5 nanograms of THC in their bodies.
Lynn Gaultier, 36, of Longview came out to protest the initiative because she fears her use of marijuana for medical reasons could put her at risk of arrest for driving under the influence, even if it's been days since she used pot, because traces of THC would still be detectable in her body.
"I don't think I should be scared for my freedom because I made a medical choice," said Gaultier, who added that she would never drive stoned.
I-502 backers question the logic behind this concern as well, saying the law makes a distinction between "active" THC from recent marijuana consumption and THC that remains in the system days after the drug is injested.
"To me it seems like a nonissue," Kaul said.
Kaul said the Castle Rock protestors aren't the only medical marijuana users to oppose I-502. Others throughout the state have spoken out against the measure, she said, and the opposition largely is based on "misinformation."
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: tdn.com
Author: Tony Lystra
Contact: The Daily News | Customer Service Center
Website: Medical marijuana supporters stage protest against pro-pot measure
However, proponents of Initiative 502, which would legalize marijuana possession for those over 21 and create a legal and taxed market for the drug, said the law wouldn't affect medical marijuana users, who already have some legal protections under state law.
Still, about 10 people, including a few children, gathered at the Healing Hands of God medical marijuana center in Castle Rock Tuesday afternoon, waving cardboard signs asking voters to kill the initiative in the Nov. 6 general election.
"We're all for legalization of marijuana, but this is not a good bill," said Melissa Robinson, 37, who runs Healing Hands of God.
The Castle Rock center, which opened last year, does not sell marijuana but gives patients access to a doctor who can prescribe it. The center also helps patients find designated medical pot growers and hosts classes on how to grow marijuana, Robinson said.
Jaclyn Kaul, a staff member at the I-502 office in Seattle, said the law would have no effect on the state's medical marijuana regulations. Instead, the measure is aimed at decriminalizing marijuana use among non-medical users in Washington State. (Marijuana would remain illegal under federal law.)
"The regulations and taxes don't apply them," Kaul said of the medical marijuana users protesting Tuesday.
I-502 would tax marijuana at 25 percent at wholesale and retail levels, and protesters said Tuesday they are leery of the state exploiting marijuana growers and users for quick and easy tax revenues.
Robinson and her fiancee, Dennis Sommers, 40, insist that if I-502 is passes next week, marijuana growers and sellers will face so many fees and taxes that it will be difficult for medical marijuana users to afford it. They said medical marijuana growers will face unnecessary regulations and fees as well.
"We truly want the power to stay in the hands of the people and the individual growers," Robinson said.
In addition, medical marijuana proponents said they worry that those who use the drug to treat illnesses could face arrest under strengthened standards for driving under the influence of the drug. I-502 sets a threshold for the amount of THC a driver can have in his or her system when driving.
The drug would be detectable only by a blood test. It is not legal to drive stoned now, nor would it be legal under I-502. But there is now no legal THC threshold, and police do no commonly test for it.
Robinson and Sommers said that THC threshold spelled out in I-502 – 5 nanograms (or five billionths of a gram) – is too low for regular medial marijuana users. Many of them, they said, have such a high tolerance for the drug that they could be considered sober only an hour or two after smoking or ingesting it, yet still have 5 nanograms of THC in their bodies.
Lynn Gaultier, 36, of Longview came out to protest the initiative because she fears her use of marijuana for medical reasons could put her at risk of arrest for driving under the influence, even if it's been days since she used pot, because traces of THC would still be detectable in her body.
"I don't think I should be scared for my freedom because I made a medical choice," said Gaultier, who added that she would never drive stoned.
I-502 backers question the logic behind this concern as well, saying the law makes a distinction between "active" THC from recent marijuana consumption and THC that remains in the system days after the drug is injested.
"To me it seems like a nonissue," Kaul said.
Kaul said the Castle Rock protestors aren't the only medical marijuana users to oppose I-502. Others throughout the state have spoken out against the measure, she said, and the opposition largely is based on "misinformation."
News Hawk- TruthSeekr420 420 MAGAZINE
Source: tdn.com
Author: Tony Lystra
Contact: The Daily News | Customer Service Center
Website: Medical marijuana supporters stage protest against pro-pot measure
