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| My War On Drug Laws |
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Posted by CN Staff on September 21, 2011 at 10:40:23 PT By Clare O'Conner Source: Forbes 
USA -- Our marijuana laws are outdated, ineffective and stupid. I'm not alone in thinking this: Half of Americans believe we should stop punishing people for using marijuana. And not coincidentally, more than half of Americans have used marijuana themselves. I am one of those Americans, and I know firsthand that marijuana can be helpful and that it certainly isn't cause for locking anyone up. My story is fairly simple. I grew up after college in a world where social drinking was the norm but marijuana was hidden. When I was 39 I tried marijuana for the first time. I found it to be better than scotch. But it wasn't until I had serious medical problems that I realized how important marijuana could be. When I was 64 my left leg was amputated below the knee because there was an infection that couldn't be cured. I spent a year after the amputation in excruciating pain and a year in a wheelchair. So during that period I was very glad I had marijuana. It didn't exactly eliminate the pain, but it made the pain tolerable--and it let me avoid those heavy-duty narcotic pain relievers that leave you incapacitated. I am a progressive by birth, by nature, by philosophy--that's the name of the insurance company I ran as well, which is coincidental--but I am a small ‘p' progressive. I don't believe that laws against things that people do regularly, like safe and responsible use of marijuana, make any sense. Everything that has been done to enforce these laws has had a negative effect, with no results. It's become sort of a central philanthropic interest of mine--by no means my only interest. But I'm pretty clear. I've thought it through, and I'm trying to accomplish something. My mission is to reduce the penalties for growing, using and selling marijuana. It's that simple. I've been conducting a great deal of research on public opinion on marijuana. Change in this area is inevitable, much like the movement toward equal rights for gays and lesbians. An ever shrinking fraction of the country resists changing marijuana laws, largely for moral reasons. But change is coming. It's just a question of when and how we get there. When you think about all the people who have used marijuana--from political leaders to sports stars to corporate executives to people from every walk of life--one way to win this battle is for people to just be honest. If everyone who used marijuana stood up and said, "I use this; it's pretty good," the argument would be over. I'm amazed that anyone could oppose marijuana for medical use. It's compassionate. Doctors recommend it. But the federal government is so hung up on its war on drugs that it refuses to even allow medical research on marijuana. So I've supported changing the laws state by state, and I'll continue to do so. On legalization beyond medical use, we may be some years away, or we may find that we suddenly reach a tipping point, much like the end of alcohol prohibition in the last century. I'm supporting innovative ideas to move toward a system that would regulate, control and tax marijuana. I'm retired; I have time to work on this, to treat it with the same seriousness that I treated my fomer work running a large corporation. I care deeply about it. I deeply believe that we'll have a better country and a better world if marijuana is treated more or less like alcohol. Source: Forbes Magazine (US) CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help
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| Comment #10 posted by greenmed on September 29, 2011 at 22:29:59 PT |
| Patients should never be denied their medicine, whether they own firearms or not! [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #9 posted by keninsj on September 29, 2011 at 18:54:23 PT:
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| Looks like they now want to make sure medical marijuana patients can't own guns either. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2011-09-29/medical-marijuana-guns/50607606/1 Whats next? Not allowed to marry, have kids, vote? [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #8 posted by paulpeterson on September 28, 2011 at 09:01:54 PT:
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| Here's what I know by now: If the CB-1 receptor site is "cobbled" together with Omega 6, it WON'T WORK WITH NATURAL ENDOCANNABINOIDS. Even if Omega 3 sites ARE produced, TRANS FATTY ACIDS blocks the "BLOOD-BRAIN BARRIER" and the natural ones can't get across the Brandenburg Gate (End of Story). However, even Omega 6 sites and a blocked gate WILL allow marijuana's "stronger" chemicals across-which is why corrupted bodies WILL trigger on a puff of burning weed, get it? That is why marijuana "abuse" is such a "drug abuse" problem now, because most people are walking around without a FULL DECK OF CARDS, get it? Over and out, and thanks for listening. Take two puffs and call me in the morning, stat. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #7 posted by GentleGiant on September 27, 2011 at 05:35:49 PT:
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| Dear friends, I wanted to let you know about a new petition I created on We the People, a new feature on WhiteHouse.gov, and ask for your support. Will you add your name to mine? If this petition gets 5,000 signatures by October 27, 2011, the White House will review it and respond! Re-schedule Marijuana to the same level as Marinol, the government's synthetic equivalent of Marijuana, to Schedule 3. Besides more than 22,000 studies that shows the absurdities of the Federal Government's 'flat earth' policy, that marijuana has no medical value, is completely absurd. Given that our body produces the same cannabinols that serves as a major life-functioning element within us to keep us alive. Given that there is more than 7000 years of written medical usage of marijuana. Given that U.S. doctors prescribed marijuana for nearly 100 years until abolished in 1937. Given that research shows that marijuana kills all cancerous cells, while leaving the healthy cells alone. Its time to end this blatant fraud perpetrated upon the American people. Re-schedule marijuana to schedule 3, the same as marinol, and let our doctors and researchers solve this problem, the greatest killer known to man, Cancer You can view and sign the petition here: [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #6 posted by greenmed on September 22, 2011 at 18:40:58 PT |
| I am not familiar with the biochemistry of omega-3 and omega-6 oils. Perhaps Lady Storm Crow could comment-- her explanation seems a reasonable hypothesis to me. The balance and interaction of oils in neuronal membranes can affect the "fluidity" of the membrane and may make THC more mobile (THC's hydrophobic tail tends to stabilize in the membrane, then the molecule is "jostled" laterally until it gets near enough to a CB1 receptor to bind). That might be another way the omega-3/omage-6 balance affects the "buzz factor." I've read that fatty acid biochemistry is one of our bodies' most complicated systems and much is still to be learned. [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #5 posted by paulpeterson on September 22, 2011 at 13:34:54 PT:
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| Thanks for your post. I looked briefly on that storm crow site and was impressed by the mention of an omega 3 deficit connection with deficient CB1 receptor sites. From my own research, and an experiment with increased omega 3 in livestock diet, I found a way to make beef have a strong "buzz factor". It appears this relates to production of a whole class of chemicals called "EFA AMIDES". Apparently the "amide bond" won't occur with saturated fatty acids, except for myrcidic acid (probably not fully saturated so it still has amide tail available). I would assume trans fatty acids have this same deficit as well. Any ideas or thoughts here? [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #4 posted by Sam Adams on September 21, 2011 at 18:00:28 PT |
| this was written by Peter Lewis. Around these parts his name is mud. He just hired Eli Lilly's political consulting firm to write a medical MJ law that denies patients the right to grow, we'll be stuck with it for years in Massachusetts. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #3 posted by Sam Adams on September 21, 2011 at 17:57:30 PT |
| " My mission is to reduce the penalties for growing, using and selling marijuana. It's that simple." I wish she'd talk to her friend Peter Lewis then. He's running a medical MJ referendum in Massachusetts that will not allow doctor-approved patients to grow their own medicine. Doesn't sound very "progressive" to me at all. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by greenmed on September 21, 2011 at 14:40:01 PT |
| That is a good thing you are doing, trying to help somebody who could benefit. The judge's greatest concern is no doubt news getting out that his wife is medicating. They might be persuaded by the extensive section on Alzheimer's disease in Storm Crow's list and a pledge of confidentiality. It is so perverse that the stigma of using a healing herb can be so harsh. https://www.greenpassion.org/index.php?/topic/29564-granny-storm-crows-list-july-2011/ [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #1 posted by paulpeterson on September 21, 2011 at 12:16:22 PT:
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| Too bad people lose their positions in life by admitting they agree with that. Now I am trying to help a fed judge with his wife that has Alzheimer's. But probably won't happen, because people are too scared, even to use it medically, because the stigma is too great still. PAUL PETERSON, 712-732-1009 [ Post Comment ] |
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