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| Medical Marijuana Bill Back on Floor |
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Posted by CN Staff on March 13, 2007 at 08:12:15 PT By Casey Peacock, PNT Staff Writer Source: Portales News-Tribune 
New Mexico -- After initial efforts to pass a medical marijuana bill in the state Legislature were shot down in the House last week, the issue is back at the urging of the governor. A substitute bill for the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act passed the Senate 32-3 late last week and cleared the House Judiciary Committee Monday, with a 10-3 vote. It now heads to the House floor. The substitute bill includes language that would allow for topical use of cannabis (medical marijuana) in the form of patches, ointments, and suppositories, according to a press release issued by the Drug Policy Alliance New Mexico . “We’re excited about the possibility of the bill getting a House floor vote, said Reena Szczepanski, director of the alliance. This is an important issue to New Mexicans and it deserves a fair hearing on the House floor.” First introduced during the 2006 Legislature, the measure is designed to help people who have medical conditions that cause pain, such as cancer, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and AIDS, said Szczepanski. Designed to prescribe the marijuana in a controlled restrictive environment, supporters of the bill feel patients who are ill should not have to suffer the fear of what other citizens, not faced with a terminally ill family member or friend, may say or do, Szczepanski said. District Attorney Matthew Chandler opposes the bill and questions the necessity of using legalized drugs versus prescribed narcotics, such as morphine. Chandler went on to state that there is no evidence or research indicating the helpfulness of marijuana for terminally ill patients. “Law enforcement is concerned where you draw the line. It becomes a slippery slope,” he said. Rep. Keith J. Gardner, R-Roswell, is supportive of the bill as it is written. With it’s strict regulations, it has a low margin for error, he said. “The truth is, it’s very controlled, unlike other states,” Gardner said. Opposed to other legalized drug bills, Gardner feels this one is a necessity for those suffering from a terminal illnesses. “If it could help alleviate pain, why can’t it be a law?”, Gardner said. The original bill was killed by a 36-33 margin in the House after passing 34-7 in the Senate. Source: Portales News-Tribune (NM) Related Articles & Web Site: Drug Policy Aliance MMJ : Governor's Wrangling Revives Measure Medical-Marijuana Bill Not Dead Yet Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #19 posted by nuevo mexican on March 14, 2007 at 05:28:17 PT |
| Watch me while I stick it up my ass! (or, would you like to remove it officer?) Yes, this bill is lame, but the Federal aspect of it does push the envelope, and we will take growing for personal use into next years bill, it will pass, and the ridiculousness of not allowing patients to grow is typical of the powers that be, profits MUST be made at the expense of peoples health, at all costs! A baby step, with a great leap forward following! Hammer the Dems on this one, they refuse to challenge bushes power to attack Iran, can you say LOOOOOOOSERSSSSSS........ Geez! WTF, as John Stewart said last night! So, a little pressure from Cheney and AIPAC and the Dems fold! Let them hear about it please, the future just took a turn for the worst, and the story on Gonzales is MINOR compared to this one! Pelosi's Disastrous Misstep on Iran The Nation -- When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record) and her allies in the chamber's Democratic leadership initially accepted that spending legislation designed to outline an Iraq exit strategy should also include a provision barring the president from attacking Iran without congressional approval, they opened up a monumental discussion about presidential war powers. As such, the decision by Pelosi and her allies to rewrite their Iraq legislation to exclude the statement regarding the need for congressional approval of any military assault on the neighboring country of Iran sends the worst possible signal to the White House. It is not too much to suggest that Pelosi disastrous misstep could haunt her and the Congress for years to come. http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20070313/cm_thenation/1174804_1 Pelosi just effed-up, and needs to hear an OUT-CRY over this, I love having her up there, and the LEFT WING ECHO CHAMBER (that doesn't exist, and needs to), should make this a big issue this weekend, with signs saying to the Dems: Out of Iraq, OUT OF IRAN! Stop the Bush attack now! Anyone think bush is stoppable, especially when the Dems coil from a little sneering from Dick Cheney at AIPAC, where Nancy was booed by the way, WTF is her problem! We all know the answer to that......the Israeli Mossad has her number, and she has lots of grand children. The whole Democratic Party seems to have had their phones tapped, computers monitored and emails read, as their recent mandate has been shoved back down their throats! The Dems better get some back-bone, or bush will have his little legacy of War with Iran to distract from his legacy of disasters, one to end all legacies, and that would suit the War Child just fine! Don't be fooled, the Dems hands are tied, bush has everyone blackmailed, and anyone speaking out should get lots of emails, letters and phone calls of support! I doubt if they are getting that, since the 'citizenry' has long lost any role in making decisions in our Country, American Idol is a reflection of the shallow state of America, it's celebrity lust and fawning over the need for acceptance by others, (as we don't have a clue as to what really matters anymore, War goes on, and in the U.S., you would never know we are killing thousands of innocents in a foreign land, while we watch Simon critique the least and most talented, but who cares)? The American people it seems! Fire Gonzo, and Make it illegal for bush to attack Iran without Congressional approval first! (how hard can that be to get with Dems like these folks)! Please contact your Senators and congress-critters today, we must pressure the Dems, they KNOW what we feel, we have to be a LEFT-WING echo chamber, since there ISN'T one, if we are to have a future with nuclear contamination, and depleted Uranium, the next 'Walter Reed' Scandal to envelope the Worlds' Consciousness, a disaster to frightening to talk about. Other things you can do to re-birth Democracy in the world: Please consider signing this petition to get Gonzo to resign, from PFAW and then contact the Senate Judiciary Committee at United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary 224 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Phone: (202) 224-7703 Fax: (202) 224-9516 FAIR's Media Contact List Let your voice be heard! Talk back to the media. 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| Comment #18 posted by whig on March 13, 2007 at 21:40:14 PT |
| If that's the best that they can do, there's a place they can stick it. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #17 posted by FoM on March 13, 2007 at 20:46:48 PT |
| I have been drinking grape juice and water. I switched to diet 7-up but we have been able to get it sometimes with Splenda. I am not drinking many sodas like before. I'm slowly changing what I drink. You must be close to health food stores or good grocery stores. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #16 posted by Had Enough on March 13, 2007 at 20:22:06 PT |
| Max I do organic sugar. It supposed to be grown with organic fertilizers, sun dried, and all that jazz. Its granules are larger, the color is light brown amber, and you can tell the taste difference between it and the “White Death”. The organic is much better tasting to me. I would be very interested in what you might know about it. Seems that you are up on this kinda stuff. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #15 posted by Max Flowers on March 13, 2007 at 19:30:30 PT |
| I'm so glad you gave up Diet Coke, but I hope you have quit all "diet" sodas because they all have either aspartame or one of the other poisons in there. I found a couple of safe new sweeteners that are every bit as good as sugar. One is agave nectar, it is really sweet and tastes like honey (but less honey-ish), and has almost zero glucose-reactivity, and then there is erythritol, another of the sugar alcohol type sweeteners, but this one won't cause "loose bowels" as can xylitol and sorbitol, and has zero GR. With either of these, you could easily make yourself big batches of homemade cola by getting (sugarless) cola flavor base and soda water. And I wager it would taste much better than Die and Choke, oops I mean Diet Coke. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #14 posted by Lucas on March 13, 2007 at 19:01:00 PT |
| here is the US Government Pot Farm http://gallery.marihemp.com/albums/public_domain_free/miss2.jpg The man who runs it, Mahmoud ElSohly, owns the patent on Marijuana suppositories: http://www.reason.com/news/printer/33838.html the NM Legislature has floated a number of medical bills for several years now, that attempt to limit cannabis medications to those that are "Pharmaceutical Grade." That means, pills like Marinol, patches that dont exist yet, suppositories the Govt can produce now, inhalers produced by GW Pharma, are OK, but growing a plant in your back yard is not OK.. especially if you intend to smoke it.. The NM proposed law does do one thing that is different than other states, it gets the State Government involved in distributing Marijuana. That makes it a greater challenge for the Feds to enforce against a marijuana distributor that is a State agency. The 1970 Controlled Substances has an interesting clause: http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/csa/885.htm#d (d) Immunity of Federal, State, local and other officials Except as provided in sections 2234 and 2235 of title 18, no civil or criminal liability shall be imposed by virtue of this subchapter upon any duly authorized Federal officer lawfully engaged in the enforcement of this subchapter, or upon any duly authorized officer of any State, territory, political subdivision thereof, the District of Columbia, or any possession of the United States, who shall be lawfully engaged in the enforcement of any law or municipal ordinance relating to controlled substances. --- That could mean that the State is not breaking Federal Law, if it is involved in enforcement of a New Mexico law mandating marijuana distribution through the Health Department. Only problem with this concept, is that Ed Rosenthal got zero traction from the fact he was supposedly a deputy of the city of Oakland.. Govt kept that out because it related "only" to state law, supposedly irrelevant because the case was federal. The Feds are still going after Rosenthal. It would be interesting to see what would happen if the DEA busted the New Mexico Health Department.. that is, if the bill passes Wonder what Governor Richardson has in his mind with this endorsement.. are potheads now a voting block, like hispanics and gays? I hope so Lucas [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #13 posted by Had Enough on March 13, 2007 at 18:46:20 PT |
My kind of people!!! Gods speed to you. Let’s Roll [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #12 posted by FoM on March 13, 2007 at 17:21:44 PT |
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By The Associated Press March 13, 2007 SANTA FE (AP) - A bill to legalize the medical use of marijuana has passed the House. The 36-31 vote was a turnaround from last week when the House narrowly rejected a similar proposal. Gov. Bill Richardson supports the legislation, which is nearing final approval in the Legislature. The bill returns to the Senate for consideration of an amendment added by the House. The Senate has twice approved a medical marijuana bill this session. The proposal would allow the use of marijuana for pain or other symptoms of debilitating illnesses such as cancer, glaucoma, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, HIV-AIDS and certain spinal cord injuries.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press http://www.kobtv.com/index.cfm?viewer=storyviewer&id=31024&cat=NMTOPSTORIES [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #11 posted by observer on March 13, 2007 at 16:38:24 PT |
| The anti-drug activist, Cliff Kincaid, wrote today; Anti-drug activists are livid, having defeated the bill in the New Mexico House last week, only to see Richardson try to revive it. Time is of the essence because the legislative session ends on Saturday. http://drugpolicycentral.com/bot/article/canadafreepress4638.htm http://www.canadafreepress.com/2007/kincaid031307.htm [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #10 posted by mayan on March 13, 2007 at 14:18:25 PT |
| They are talking about 9/11 over at Rosie O'Donnell's blog and she even has a link to Scholars For 9/11 Truth! Now it's Oprah's turn and that will seal the deal. ask ro: http://www.rosie.com/blog/sections/ask-ro/ [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #9 posted by Sam Adams on March 13, 2007 at 14:15:25 PT |
| I think there is a temptation just to get SOMETHING passed. There is always pressure from funders and donors who pay year after year and want some tangible progress. However, I am member of DPA, and this bill seems useless to me. I would have told the sponsoring legislators "sorry, don't accept anything that removes patient possession and growing of 2.5 ounces or more". They are typically quite comfortable with that, it is standard operating procedure in any negotiation to set your rock-bottom position at the outset. They rely on advocates like DPA to inform them on the importance of various elements of a bill or issue. This is also a good time to remember that we (legitimate patients) will happily continue to use this safe medicine regardless of what decisions are made by despicable pigs currently holding power over us by force. The government will never have enough money to pay LEOs to attack all of us at once, and we know it. So put that in your suppository, Governor Richardson Another 80 years of lies, violence and jail isn't going to stop the grass from growing. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #8 posted by FoM on March 13, 2007 at 12:15:12 PT |
| I don't understand all the compromises that are made. If you want a new law that actually fixes a bad law why does it get so tangled up and winds up lacking logic? I like a good end to a story. I want to see something complete. The Suppository thing again! Gosh, the government must really hate us. I say be kind and get off your high horses to our lawmakers. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #7 posted by Sam Adams on March 13, 2007 at 11:47:39 PT |
| Not the suppositories again! Thanks so much, political class. Really appreciate it. Sorry to criticize, but DPA really needs to get their act together. There are 35+ states with ineffective med MJ laws passed in the 80s and 90s, I thought most reformers realized we had moved beyond that and there is no more need to expend resources on flawed bills. Even the flawed Maryland bill helps patients after they've been arrested, it provides medical necessity defense for using natural cannabis or growing it. Why let the NM politicians take credit for a bill that doesn't help any patients? It'd be nice to get high-quality cannabis massage oils, but do they really think that is going to be made availalble? The government is going to be able to grow the weed and make oil? No government anywhere on planet Earth has been able to provide decent medical MJ in any form. And it's been tried in the US, Canada, and Holland. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #6 posted by FoM on March 13, 2007 at 10:11:36 PT |
| I am getting tired of news channels showing people smoking a joint. They show a butterfly when they advertise Lunesta. They don't show people drinking alcohol they just show the mixed drinks or beer. It really would be fair if they just showed a pretty marijuana bud or plant. That's all for now. Is Minnesota Ready for Medical Marijuana? http://kaaltv.com/article/view/111475/ [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #5 posted by FoM on March 13, 2007 at 09:40:07 PT |
| I agree. What else could it mean? By the way I haven't had any diet coke. I thought you'd like to know. and lie there by the fire and watch the evening tire while all my friends and my old lady sit and pass a pipe around. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #4 posted by Max Flowers on March 13, 2007 at 09:36:53 PT |
| Pass the pipe around...? The meaning is very clear. No one passes a tobacco pipe around except maybe native americans in their rituals. And even then I don't think they simply "pass it around"---I think it's given to specific persons for specific reasons. There can be no misinterpreting that lyric. Anyone who doesn't see it doesn't want to see it! By the way, I always thought that was what he was intimating with the word "high" in Rocky Mountain High... maybe not high from cannabis, but that he gets high off being there, and the only way he would know a high, is if he got high, so there you have it... [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by FoM on March 13, 2007 at 09:33:42 PT |
| John Denver-Rocky Mountain High Tribute http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dnIxbi7TwQ [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by FoM on March 13, 2007 at 09:06:29 PT |
| I know that not everyone thinks that John Denver meant marijuana when he did the songs he did but these lyrics can't be interrupted any other way to me. *** I have to say it now, it's been good life all in all, it's really fine to have a chance to hang around. and lie there by the fire and watch the evening tire while all my friends and my old lady sit and pass a pipe around. And talk of poems and prayers and promises and things that we believe in. How sweet it is to love someone, how right it is to care. http://www.geocities.com/WileyMike/2Promises.html [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by FoM on March 13, 2007 at 08:57:01 PT |
| Legislature Picks 'Rocky Mountain High' to be Colorado's Second Official Song *** By John Colson, Glenwood Springs, CO Colorado March 13, 2007
ASPEN, Colo. — John Denver was a controversial figure when he was alive, and he's managed to spark controversy a decade after he died. The Colorado Legislature overwhelmingly named one of his biggest hits as the second official state song Monday. Lawmakers adopted "Rocky Mountain High" as such by a 28-6 margin in the Senate, and 50-11 in the House. The move came despite feelings by some that the lyrics glorify drug use and thus are not appropriate for a state song. Complete Article: http://www.postindependent.com/article/20070313/VALLEYNEWS/103130040 [ Post Comment ] |
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