cannabisnews.com: Override Lynch's Med Marijuana Veto
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Override Lynch's Med Marijuana Veto
Posted by CN Staff on September 25, 2009 at 06:14:13 PT
By Burt Cohen
Source: New Hampshire Business Review 
New Hampshire -- Unless you hid under a rock all summer, you know most Americans don't want government interference in their health care.Democrats and Republicans may have their differences, but there is universal agreement that decisions regarding medical treatments must be exclusively between the doctor and patient. If a doctor and patient agree on a particular course of treatment, then the patient should be permitted to access that treatment, and neither the government nor insurance companies should have any business blocking this process. All agree?
Well, then, it's easy to understand why the vast majority of Granite Staters disagree with Governor Lynch's veto of the medical marijuana bill. The House and Senate agreed that government should not stand between doctors and seriously ill patients who could benefit from medical marijuana, and both chambers voted to pass House Bill 648 with solid margins of support, but that may not be enough to get these patients the protection and access they deserve.A final vote to override the veto comes up Oct. 28, and with two-thirds majorities required in both chambers, it is expected to be very close.It should be a slam dunk.A 2008 Mason-Dixon poll showed that 71 percent of New Hampshire voters support allowing seriously and terminally ill patients to access medical marijuana for personal use if their doctors recommend it. Only 21 percent were opposed. Legislators have no need to look for political cover.Fortunately, the committee members who actually heard the testimony from those afflicted with serious illnesses have become strong supporters of the bill. They actually listened to patients, gave the issue fair study, and worked hard to pass a tightly-crafted, exceptionally responsible bill. By contrast, Governor Lynch chose not to meet with any of the seriously ill patients who had been so instrumental in convincing the House and Senate. In light of this, his veto was unfortunate, but not a great surprise. The only good news for patients is that this veto can and should be overridden.Legislators who are still on the fence, those not on the committees who heard from afflicted citizens, now owe it to their constituents to make an effort to listen to patients. If they hear the perspective of their constituents in need of this now-denied medicine, it will change their minds, I guarantee.There is no question that medical marijuana is effective at alleviating the pain associated with various debilitating conditions. These include cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain, muscle spasms, Hepatitis C and others.There is no question marijuana clearly does have therapeutic value. The American Public Health Association, the American Nurses Association, the American Academy of HIV Medicine, the Lymphoma Society, as well as several state medical societies, support allowing the medical use of marijuana.Some readers may not know that very recently I had Hepatitis C. For more than half of patients with Hep C, the biggest problem is keeping them on the interferon and ribavirin. I surely know why — the side effects are truly awful.Most Hepatitis C patients must endure at least one grueling 48-week course, often two. If I'd had to do another six months of that brutal treatment, I probably would have given up and just taken my chances. There is ample evidence that Hep C patients who use marijuana are more able to stay on their treatment and clear the virus.As of now, many seriously ill Granite Staters are forced to make a terrible decision: continue to suffer, miss days at work, risk losing their job, or obtain marijuana illegally and risk arrest and prison. That's nuts.We should stop wasting time and resources on going after sick people and focus on real crime. What do we have to gain by denying those who could benefit from the use of medical marijuana the opportunity to do so?Regardless of party affiliation, the overwhelming majority of New Hampshire voters agree that doctors, not police officers and bureaucrats, should be the ones deciding what constitutes effective medicine.State senator from 1990 to 2004, Burt Cohen now hosts a radio talk show. His Web site is: http://www.burtcohen.comSource: New Hampshire Business Review (NH)Author: Burt CohenPublished: Friday, September 25, 2009Copyright: 2009 New Hampshire Business ReviewWebsite: http://nhbr.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/bk9EKimyCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #17 posted by museman on September 26, 2009 at 09:33:01 PT
Limbaugh
Would somebody please tell the court jester his king has been dethroned?
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Comment #16 posted by museman on September 26, 2009 at 09:10:02 PT
Hope#11, Hempwordl#3
It is not a democracy (you know this) it is a Republic with published-but unrealized claims of a 'democratic' form.The true founders of this country are the bankers and merchants who reluctantly funded it, not the peasants who fought and died, and a handful of aristocrats we know historically as 'the founding fathers.'Its treated as a kind of historical joke, that when George Washington got Englands surrender of hostilities, that all the bankers and merchants wanted to make him king.I dare say that the 'veto', among other dictator/monarch powers is directly related to that. And considering that it is the money holders/changers that are the bulk of the 'lobbyist industry' today, and that they are responsible for all the laws that enhance the lives of the wealthy while, literally creating hell on earth for the rest of us to deal with, I'd say that the true power in america never made it into the peoples hands until very recently.They have almost all the resources globally. They play the economics like a game. People starve, lose their slave jobs, and all the 'loose change' goes back into the rich mans pockets, for the next round of fooling the world into following their 'lead.'The elite ruling factions dictate law, and create the monsters that enforce it, it has nothing to do with liberty, justice, democracy, freedom, or any of the plattitudinal rhetoric labeled 'patriotic,' or 'american.'People are duped. The public schools are 'dumbing down' institutions, the churches are fear mongering programming for docile peasanthood, and the system of workers is nothing more than a human hive, complete with drones, and the ruling class of queens. A bunch of sterile drones called 'professionals' that look like they are 'above' the peasant workers creates division in the ranks of the more intelligent peasants, and the status quo remains relatively unchallenged -and then there are the cannabis users.Awareness comes at a price. Ignorance is bliss in america amongst the comfortable, and without getting them outside their fake comfort zones, they are the 'immovable object' that the constituency of the status quo relies on to perpetuate their power. Which is why I believe there are certain inevitable changes in the near future; brought on by centuries of accumulated human fakeries, and rotten karma.The price of awareness is seeing, and experiencing very real effects the of all this bad consciousness and action, because until people really get it, they don't change.The people have the ultimate 'Veto' power. They always have. Instinctively they know this, or else there would never have been a single act of revolution, no 'freedom fighters,' no 'patriots' no 'insurrection' or 'rebellion.'Its simple math. The people outnumber their false leaders somewhere around a few million to one. That's why there is such attention paid to keeping the peasants and their 'slightly betters' in line. That's the fundamental reason for 'law' in the first place.Social agreements of proper etihical behavior have nothing to do with the current state of 'the law.' Like i said, awareness comes with a price, and it seems to me that way too many people aren't willing to make the sacrifices its gonna take to pull this off with minimal casualties, so the destruction, slavery, misery, and hell-on-earth continues for a while yet.REPEAL THE GOVERNMENT
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on September 26, 2009 at 07:25:34 PT
About Limbaugh
We have been watching Jay Leno at 10. I don't like the show like when he did the Tonight Show but he had Limbaugh on and I don't know how many more times I can watch his new show. I don't listen or watch Limbaugh but he was so mean and full of hate that the whole show turned my stomach. We changed the channel. Jay tried to find common ground but Limbaugh wasn't interested in any of it. I also wonder how he has lost over 80 pounds in such a short time. He looked like he was wired to the max.
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Comment #14 posted by Hope on September 26, 2009 at 06:56:08 PT
Vincent
Brrr. I know what you mean. I'd rather avoid them if it's at all possible. I never watch them. Their pompous idiocy is over bearing. If my husband wants to listen to Limbaugh in the house he has to use earphones. I can't bear to hear the hate, anger, and fear monger. But they are too powerful and we can't just ignore them, that's for sure. It passed that point so long ago. They are hurting other people. They are self righteous and vicious. What a hideous combination. The "Nanny" state is abusive and beating the hell out of so many people. It's like trying to stop an abusive parent or mate. Their insanity became obvious a long time ago. It's so hard to see. But we can't stop the great harm they are doing to people by ignoring them. It IS dangerous to mess with them, too. Just like it's dangerous to try to interfere with anyone bent on abusing someone else.I hate getting in other people's business. It's not my way. But when you see the people, adults and children, being abused and killed by the "State" in the name of some self righteous prohibition ... well seeing the insanity of it all, we have to try to stop it.
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Comment #13 posted by Vincent on September 25, 2009 at 22:29:36 PT:
override
I am hopeful that it can be overridden but, it is discouraging when people like Lynch, who is considered to be a moderate, gets frightened by Prohibitionists and Social Conservatives, and bullied by them. I was looking at Fox News Channel--I was trying to watch it--when that dude Hannity starts talking about that chant that those schoolchildren made of Obama. I thought it was kinda cute, but Sean Hannity made a big stink. There were three "judges" sitting there, so negative, even the way they lookled--I felt like I was in the Principal's office! So, I reached for the remote, and escaped that scary place.If there is to be a change then we must overcome negative attitudes like that. As they said, "Yes, we can!" 
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Comment #12 posted by Hope on September 25, 2009 at 18:48:23 PT
Balance of Power and all that....
Of course, vetoes can be overridden and surely this one will be.
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Comment #11 posted by Hope on September 25, 2009 at 18:34:02 PT
Comment 3 HempWorld
I agree. Veto of a vote seems very Monarchish... or something.Why do they even have it?
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Comment #10 posted by Vincent on September 25, 2009 at 16:58:53 PT:
The veto
Well, it would seem that Gov. Lynch proved himself to be a coward and vetoed the legislation. We need more lawmakers with guts and less phonies.
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Comment #9 posted by Sam Adams on September 25, 2009 at 14:43:55 PT
no growing
ask youself this: what do you think the New Hampshire police are going to think when Medical MJ passes? Will they be happy it passed? Will they abandaon marijuana law enforcement? Will they just say "oh well, medical passed, let's totally stop harrassing anyone that is even the slightest bit sick"??Or, will they vindictively fight back and target medical users who are not in 100% compliance for 10 or 15 years after the law passes? Will they actually increase enforcement of marijuana and go after patients that are growing? I think we all know these are rhetorical questions, we know darn well what's going to happen.
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Comment #8 posted by Sam Adams on September 25, 2009 at 14:39:12 PT
flawed Med MJ laws
I guess I"m paranoid because I live in a state that passed not one but TWO flawed medical MJ bills in the 90's, they did nothing, and the legislature has steadfastly refused to do anything else for 14 years. Meanwhile Governor Weld (who made the change that rendered the bill useless) became the popular marijuana-friendly politician.And of course there's no guarantee that MPP or DPA will return next year to fund another lobbying campaign.  Rhode Island was great, they passed 3 bills in a row, but they also had a legislative leader that was visibly dying of cancer.In NH they could have left cultivation in the bill, it had been approved by the legislature. The governor would have vetoed it and now we'd have a good bill getting voted on for override. Reformers should never accept or work on bad bills. Dispensaries are great for those who can spend $300-$500 per ounce. In New England people with $400 for an ounce of herb are easily able to get it within a couple of phone calls.The folks in Maryland are still waiting for their bad bill to be fixed:http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/24/thread24996.shtmlWhile the Putnam Act has saved people like Hughes and Gesumwa from jail time, its enactment was supposed to lead to more progressive steps in giving medicinal marijuana users protection. But seven years later, Woodson is still waiting for the next step.In March, Woodson and Hughes testified before the House Judiciary Committee to support state Del. Henry B. Heller's bill that would establish a task force to evaluate the current medical marijuana law and consider whether it should become legal in the state.The bill died before the committee chairman could even review it."There's the sense they have already dealt with this issue, and there's no reason to go back to it," said Naomi Long, director of the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Area office for the Drug Policy Alliance.
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on September 25, 2009 at 13:34:38 PT
Backers Begin Push To Get Pot Measure on Ballot
September 25, 2009URL: http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20090925/NEWS/909259949/1350?Title=Backers-begin-push-for-pot-vote-in-10
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on September 25, 2009 at 12:35:07 PT
CA Ruling Stands, Backing Growers of Medicinal Pot
By Denny Walsh Published: Friday, September 25, 2009 URL: http://www.sacbee.com/ourregion/story/2208369.html
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Comment #5 posted by Storm Crow on September 25, 2009 at 12:16:57 PT
Sam, you are right, but......
Half a loaf is better than none. If the override happens as expected, next year there will be a grower's bill in New Hampshire. In the meantime, patients can feel a little bit safer. 
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Comment #4 posted by Sam Adams on September 25, 2009 at 08:25:07 PT
no patient growing
unfortunately even though the governor vetoed the bill, it was still written for him. They removed patient cultivation to please him, then he vetoed the bill. So we'll still see patients getting raided & arrested if this passes
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Comment #3 posted by HempWorld on September 25, 2009 at 08:00:42 PT
veto 
Veto power is very undemocratic and does not belong in a democracy or in a country that calls itself democratic.
Legalize All Drugs!
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on September 25, 2009 at 07:19:20 PT
ekim
I hope they put the article online because I really want to read it. Thank you.
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Comment #1 posted by ekim on September 25, 2009 at 07:04:39 PT
US Weekly
US Weekly issue 763 Sept 28.Has a positive story on Patrick Swayze.Intitled: His brave battle and how medical marijuana helped
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