The Grass is Greener... In a Doctor's Office

[SmokeyMacPot]

Currently in New York as well as around the country there are laws that make possession of marijuana a crime. Recently though, there has been a movement in certain states to enact medical marijuana legislation, recognizing that marijuana has some benefits for people suffering from diseases.
Marijuana is often considered a "gateway" drug, one that can lead to using many more harmful drugs. However, there has never been a known case of someone dying from smoking marijuana. Even more, there has been a significant amount of studies that point to marijuana in limited uses being beneficial for certain diseases.

These studies point out, correctly, that marijuana can be used to alleviate ailments in people suffering from AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, and multiple sclerosis. In 1988, the Drug Enforcement Administration's top administrative law judge, Francis Young, said a ban on medical marijuana was "arbitrary and capricious," describing marijuana as "the safest therapeutically active substance known to man."

While a few states have passed legislation allowing for medicinal marijuana, there is no such legislation in New York. Instead, there are the Rockefeller laws, a series of laws enacted in 1973 that impose mandatory minimum sentencing for people who possess even the slightest bit of marijuana. Those who have marijuana face arrest, seizure of assets, incarceration, and other criminal sanctions.

In New York State, 30,000 people a year are indicted for drug felonies, receiving 15 years to life if they have only four ounces of marijuana. This becomes a drain on society, putting members of the population into prisons for years where they contribute nothing to society and taxpayers are forced to pay the cost.

Lastly, legalizing marijuana would allow the government to regulate its use. Because it's a crime, people are forced to go underground to acquire it. Drug dealers make a huge profit from the sale and the government never sees any of the money. Regulating marijuana would decrease the price and the money made from marijuana could be used to help pay for other medical costs.

Around the country, states like California, Nevada, Arizona, Alaska, Washington, and Oregon have all passed legislation allowing for medicinal marijuana by doctor's recommendation. It is only when the government stops its futile war on drugs and legalizes marijuana that people will find marijuana to be beneficial for society.

Source: Knight News (Queens College, NY Edu)
Published: December 05, 2005
Copyright: 2005 Knight News
Website: QC Knight News
Contact: QC Knight News

 

[upnorth]

how come here in minnesota its against the law i use it instead of my spendy pills

 

[420kylerules420]

Thats deep man i once did a report in school for medical marijuana years ago. The internet tells all, you can find anything. I looked all that information up years ago, so why is it now that people find out about it? Why is the government so stupid?

 

[J842P]

Thats deep man i once did a report in school for medical marijuana years ago. The internet tells all, you can find anything. I looked all that information up years ago, so why is it now that people find out about it? Why is the government so stupid?

It's not.
The government is extremely intelligent. It's just not working for you.

 

[SmokeyMacPot]

The government is so smart they made civilians stupid. They are so smart they want us to underestimate them.

 

[ScottyBThatIsMe]

It's not.
The government is extremely intelligent. It's just not working for you.

Political fat-cats trying to put an extra buck in their wallet. Poloticians are NOT good people. Poloticians, by today's standard, are professional liars, scam artists, and self-righteous war mongers (whatever war they may be fighting--drugs, Iraq, christianity as the national standard, etc). It's just impossible to trust a human being, with human qualities such as greed, gullability, bias, and self-believed unfallability, to run an office in which the interests of the PEOPLE are what's most important. I don't care if Ghandi was president, eventually that human trait of self-preservation would kick in and he would selfishly sqaunder tax-payers money on something that would benefit his beliefs, or mabye he would think it best if he passed a law stating that only a robe and sandals may be worn at any time (extreme and sarcastic, yes, but who is to say that something similar couldn't happen?).

We may go into office with the good of the people on our minds, but power corrupts, no matter how good the person may be.

Not to say that democracy can't work with humans running the show, it's just that we should be electing new officials much, much sooner than we do. With bull shit like this anti-marijuana crap going on since the 1920's it's obvious that someone, somewhere (most likely a polotician, or one's benefactor) is making a lot of money off of keeping marijuana illegal. If we move people in and out of office quickly enough, we get fewer "dynasties" of polotical power that continue on for almost an entire century. On top of that, poloticians should not be those who want to hold office, but those who want to help other people, but would never consider being a polotician. We need modest, wise decision makers, not charismatic, power-hungry, self-righteous poloticians who think that their way is best and everyone should just do as they do.

/rant