|
|
| Hanover Will Vote on Medical Marijuana |
|
Posted by CN Staff on May 03, 2007 at 07:57:05 PT By Peter Jamison, Valley News Staff Writer Source: Valley News 
Hanover, NH -- A New Hampshire group pushing for changes to drug policy has placed an article on the Town Meeting warrant asking voters to allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes.The article states that Hanover police officers “are urged” not to arrest anybody over the age of 21 for marijuana possession if the person can “produce written certification,” signed by a doctor, stating that the drug is for a therapeutic use. It would not apply to “distribution, cultivation, or sale” of the drug, nor to driving under the influence. Town Manager Julia Griffin said that while the article may provoke a lively discussion, voters should understand that it would be dead on arrival, even if approved. State law makes possession of marijuana -- for medical or other purposes -- illegal, and the state's drug policy in this case would supersede that of the town. “We think it's very important for folks to discuss this in a context where they understand what we can and cannot do,” Griffin said. “The warrant article as submitted is illegal, in terms of our ability to follow it.” The article was written by Manchester resident Stuart Cooper, executive director of Livefree. Cooper said that after the group failed to get House Bill 774 approved by the state Legislature earlier this year -- the bill would have protected seriously ill patients who used marijuana on their doctors' advice -- it decided to focus on local initiatives. While other small-scale initiatives are afoot in towns such as Keene and Nashua, Hanover is the only place where Livefree sought to generate discussion of marijuana at Town Meeting, Cooper said. The petition to place the article on the warrant was signed by 26 Hanover residents, Griffin said. Twenty-five signatures were required. Why here? Cooper said he was impressed with Hanover's tradition of debating weighty policy issues at Town Meeting (another article on the warrant this year urges the federal government to curb greenhouse-gas emissions). “The focus is making this the lowest law enforcement priority,” Cooper said. “Anybody, of course, who abuses the policy should be treated how they are currently treated -- they should be arrested if they abuse the policy.” Hanover Police Chief Nick Giaccone thinks the article, even if it were enforced, wouldn't change things much for his officers. Giaccone said that the majority of drug arrests in town involve people under the age of 30. “That's generally not the crowd that would end up using marijuana for some type of medicinal purpose,” he said. Aside from the marijuana article, Griffin said that she expects “a fairly quiet Town Meeting.” A raft of minor zoning amendments and other articles have so far generated little discussion or controversy. At the Selectboard's April 2 hearing on the warrant, only two people showed up. The proposed $20.8 million spending plan for 2007-2008 would increase the average tax rate by 6 percent, according to the Hanover Town Report. The tax rates in different parts of town will vary according to a new plan for divvying up the cost of running the fire department. In rural areas without fire-hydrant service, combined taxes on a $400,000 home would rise from the current $7,216 per year to $7,735, according to estimates from Director of Administrative Services Betsy McClain. Taxes on a $400,000 home in the downtown area would rise from $7,684 to $8,111. For a $400,000 home in the “remote” fire district, taxes would go from $7,072 to $7,535. Source: Valley News, The (White River Junction, VT) CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
 |
| Comment #8 posted by Hope on May 09, 2007 at 10:25:38 PT |
| I knew I should have gone to tiny url! Sorry. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #7 posted by Hope on May 09, 2007 at 10:25:04 PT |
| from the inside of a brand new old buick or pontiac. Praries. Canyons. Neon. Refrigerated Air. http://www.tremolocowboys.com/Lyrics_H/Hank_Snow_Lyrics/The_Seashores_Of_Old_Mexico_Song_Lyrics.html [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #6 posted by Hope on May 09, 2007 at 10:17:40 PT |
| http://www.mp3lyrics.org/g/george-strait/the-seashores/ Written by Merle Haggard I left, out of Tucson, with no destination in mind. I was runnin' from trouble and the jail-term the Judge had in mind. And the border meant freedom, a new life, romance, And that's why I thought I should go, And start my life over on the seashores of old Mexico. My first night in Juarez, lost all the money I had. One bad senorita made use of one innocent lad. But I must keep on runnin'; it's too late to turn back: I'm wanted in Tucson, I'm told. Yeah, an' things'll blow over on the seashores of old Mexico. Two Mexican farmers en route to a town I can't say, Let me ride on the back of a flatbed half-loaded with hay. Down through Durango, Colima, Almiera, Then in the Manzanillo, Where I slept IN THE SUNSHINE on the seashores of old Mexico. After one long siesta, I came wide awake in the night. I was startled by someone who shadowed the pale moonlight. My new-found companion, one young senorita, Who offered a broken hello, To the gringo she found on the seashores of old Mexico. She spoke of Sonora and swore that she'd never return, For her Mexican husband, she really had no great concern. 'Cause she loved the gringo, my red hair and lingo: That's all I needed to know. Yeah, I found what I needed on the seashores of old Mexico. Yeah, she loved the gringo, my red hair and lingo: That's all I needed to know, ha, ha. Yeah, I found what I needed on the seashores of old Mexico. Instrumental fade. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #5 posted by FoM on May 09, 2007 at 10:07:16 PT |
| Associated Press May 09, 2007 HANOVER, N.H. - Residents have voted not to vote on whether medical marijuana should be allowed in the town. Livefree, a Manchester group that advocates legalizing the medical use of marijuana, had obtained enough signatures to bring the issue to Town Meeting. Their proposal urged police not to arrest adults with the drug if they had a doctor's note saying it was for medical purposes. But Tuesday night, acting on the advice of the town's attorney and a state representative, voters tabled discussion of the plan. There was no debate. Hanover State Rep. Bernard Benn told his neighbors he had voted for a proposal to allow marijuana for medical purposes that was killed in the Legislature this year. But Benn said the proper venue for discussions of drug law was in the Statehouse. "I think it would be quite irresponsible of the Town Meeting to instruct our police officers not to enforce the law," Benn said. Residents were told state law would supersede town law anyway. ___ Information from: Lebanon Valley News, http://www.vnews.com http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070509/NEWS/70509012 [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #4 posted by whig on May 03, 2007 at 14:29:24 PT |
| Exactly. Cannabis treats depression, doesn't it? And here they're giving young people chemicals that make them worse -- so much worse they kill themselves and sometimes a bunch of other people with them. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by FoM on May 03, 2007 at 10:39:59 PT |
| I agree. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by dongenero on May 03, 2007 at 10:35:18 PT |
| Suicides? oh, it's ok. Just add warnings. But cannabis? No we can't allow that. All of this is so obviously ridiculous. FDA. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by FoM on May 03, 2007 at 10:01:15 PT |
| http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/03/health/03depress.html [ Post Comment ] |
| Post Comment |  |
 |  |