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| State Should Legalize Medical Marijuana |
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Posted by CN Staff on March 29, 2007 at 09:41:02 PT By The Daily Campus Editorial Board Source: Daily Campus 
Connecticut -- Connecticut should join the 11 other states that have signed into law bills that would legalize the possession and use of medical marijuana. There has been much heated debate over whether or not Connecticut should join the ranks of Rhode Island and Vermont in allowing marijuana for medicinal purposes. Talk show host Montel Williams has been on the side of passing House Bill 6715, also known as the Compassionate Use Act. Williams spoke about his experience using medical marijuana at a press conference organized by supporters of the bill. Williams, who has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, asserts that where OxyContin and morphine have failed to ease his pain, smoking cannabis has helped.
If Gov. Rell signs the Compassionate Use Act into law, the bill will allow adults diagnosed with debilitating conditions to grow as many as four cannabis plants, each no taller than four feet, in a protected, indoor facility. Patients who meet the criteria must also obtain a written certification from their physician and register with the Department of Public Health. Among the debilitating conditions that qualify are cancer, AIDS, Parkinson's disease, glaucoma and spinal cord injuries. Gov. Rell has said that she has mixed feelings on the issue, telling The Hartford Courant, "You would want to do anything possible to alleviate the pain and suffering of any individual." Rell has also speculated about amending a 1981 law that would have allowed doctors to prescribe medical marijuana, had it not been for their risk of being arrested for doing so. Although opponents of the Compassionate Use Act say that passing this law would send the wrong message to kids, the state needs to first consider the pain and suffering of individuals who might use marijuana to relieve the symptoms of a debilitating disease. For many people with unbearably painful conditions, prescription pain relievers may do little to alleviate pain, while at the same time, carry a greater risk of overdose and adverse physical side effects. It is no stretch to imagine that politicians looking to stay on good terms with the drug companies responsible for manufacturing prescription painkillers will oppose the legalization of medical marijuana on seemingly more altruistic grounds. Additionally, a recent British study found that marijuana is even safer than alcohol and tobacco. The study rated drugs according to their physical effects on the user, the potential for addiction and the effect of its use on society. Marijuana did not even make the top 10, while alcohol was rated a five and tobacco a nine. Bearing in mind these findings and the fact that marijuana has proven helpful in relieving pain for those suffering from debilitating conditions, Connecticut should go ahead and legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes. Source: Daily Campus, The (UConn, CT Edu) Related Articles: A Call For Relief Medical Marijuana Bill Gains Support Montel Williams Makes Emotional Plea for MMJ Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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| Comment #5 posted by John Tyler on April 01, 2007 at 07:10:52 PT |
| I’m glad Conn. considering this, and it is a first step, but they have tried to put up as many roadblocks as possible haven’t they? First off, you have to have a debilitating disease and register with the Heath Dept. That is bad enough. Then you can only grow four smallish plants in your own protected indoor facility. I not a doctor, but it seems to me that if you have a debilitating disease, by definition, you are not going to able to build a protected, indoor facility on your own, or do the plant tending work, or wait several months for the plants to mature. You would have to have a protected indoor facility installed for you and maybe have someone to come by to check it for you, and have someone help you with post harvest preparation, and you would have to have some source to get you by until the crops are ready. What would happen if your four plants grew over four feet tall? Who is going to check? Would you get arrested and jailed and all of your stuff confiscated? You might get this to work if you lived in your own home, but what if you lived in an apartment, or and adult independent living facility, or some other care facility? Could the staff grow it for the residents? Could the growing be outsourced to a greenhouse? All of these issues quickly arise. Wouldn’t medical cannabis clinics be a better option where you could just buy what you needed when you needed it whether it may be smokeable, vaporizeable, or in edible forms? Seventy years of this Drug War and its dreadful propaganda has created this cruel, twisted logic. Many years ago cannabis products used to be available as an “over the counter” product at every pharmacy in the country. Why not do so again? Cannabis is good. It’s good for you. It’s good for the environment. It’s good for business. Cannabis prohibition is bad law and worse karma. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #4 posted by nuevo mexican on March 29, 2007 at 12:19:17 PT |
| bastard! NOW! Just when it looks like we might get some democracy in the U.S., bush entertains bombing Iran to get his rocks off, leave his legacy of nuk-ular destruction, and become more of a pariah than he already is. whig, thanks for the optimism, but with bush, the worst scenario is a 'given', things always go from bad to worse, so what makes you think he won't 'go for it'. He will, rest assured! I will be happy when I am proven wrong, and look forward to it! Meanwhile, read this, and take action now, so we may have a future where we can even partake of the Medicine, Cannabis! Easter Surprise: Attack on Iran, New 9/11… or Worse The Bush administration continues moving closer to a nuclear attack on Iran, and we ignore the obvious buildup at our peril. Russian media is sounding alarms. In February, ultra-nationalist leader Vladimir Shirinovsky warned that the US would launch a strike against Tehran at the end of this month. Then last week, the Russian News and Information Agency Novosti (RIA-Novosti) quoted military experts predicting the US will attack Iran on April 6th, Good Friday. According to RIA-Novosti, the imminent assault will target Iranian air and naval defense capabilities, armed forces headquarters as well as key economic assets and administration headquarters. Massive air strikes will be deployed, possibly tactical nuclear weapons as well, and the Bush administration will attempt to exploit the resulting chaos and political unrest by installing a pro-US government. http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/03/28/150/ [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by dongenero on March 29, 2007 at 12:13:42 PT |
| Interesting....when I followed the link to the Cincinnati article, it is accompanied by a picture of a cannabis leaf and an equal sized ad below the cannabis leaf advertising care for Alzheimer's. At first I thought Wow! Then the Alzheimer's pop-up finally advertised a pharmaceutical drug. Quite the irony. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by FoM on March 29, 2007 at 11:20:52 PT |
| Cincinnati City Council Extends Tough Anti-Marijuana Law http://www.nbc4i.com/midwest/cmh/news.apx.-content-articles-CMH-2007-03-29-0012.html [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #1 posted by switchback on March 29, 2007 at 10:44:18 PT:
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| I hate how bad politicians think marijuana is. Why don't they make terminally ill patients jump through hoops for valium or vicodin(derived from opiates)? The solution is simple; politicians want money and will sacrifice everyone to get it. I know this isn't reasonable, but I would like politicians to think of the millions of people that will benefit from the consumption of cannabis. Imagine, a free drug that has infinitely more health benefits than any other drug on the market today. To deny our right to consume a relatively safe drug is ludacrous; to deny it for campaign money is tyranny. [ Post Comment ] |
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