cannabisnews.com: Pa. Bill To Allow Medical Marijuana Gets Hearing
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Pa. Bill To Allow Medical Marijuana Gets Hearing
Posted by CN Staff on December 02, 2009 at 15:11:34 PT
By Marc Levy
Source: Associated Press
Pennsylvania -- The growing debate surrounding the legalization of marijuana as a medicine has arrived in Pennsylvania _ although it may not go far. The House Committee on Health and Human Services heard testimony Wednesday from patients, doctors and members of advocacy groups who say medical marijuana should be legal because it is effective in treating chronic pain, nausea and other ailments.However, the bill, sponsored by Rep. Mark Cohen, D-Philadelphia, faces long odds, because it is opposed by Attorney General Tom Corbett and the Senate's Republican majority is not likely to take up the issue.
Committee Chairman Frank Oliver, D-Philadelphia, plans more hearings on the bill before a vote is taken, an aide said. The three hours of testimony at the Capitol was at times emotional, including a woman whose daughter died of a drug overdose and a young man whose mother smoked marijuana to ease the pain of terminal breast cancer.One speaker, Brad Walter, said he smokes marijuana four or five times a day to relieve gastrointestinal pain and distress from the 14 pills he takes to counteract the effects of HIV.Walter, of Larksville, said he takes the risk of getting pot illegally because nothing else _ including Marinol, a government-approved prescription drug that contains the active ingredient in marijuana _ helps nearly as much.Marinol, he said, helps his appetite, but not the pain. Smoking marijuana does both, he said."I would not smoke it if it were not for this," Walter, 31, said in an interview.Sharon Smith, a suburban Harrisburg resident who started the drug-treatment advocacy group Momstell after her daughter Angela died of a heroin overdose in 1998, questioned who would end up using the drug, given the instances of abuse in other states that have legalized medical marijuana.In addition, she said, legislators are ill-equipped to decide whether any substance should be considered medicine."Let the medical experts make this decision, not the legislators," she told the committee.In a letter to the committee, Corbett said he opposes the bill, warning that even the limited legalization of marijuana could compound the dangers that drugs present to society.A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware, said the chamber's GOP members have no plans to consider such a bill, even if were to pass the Democratic-controlled House.Under Cohen's bill, the state Department of Health would issue ID cards to patients who have been diagnosed by a physician with a debilitating medical condition, such as cancer or HIV, and whose physician recommended the use of marijuana. Patients under 18 could use marijuana, as well, with the consent of a parent or custodian.The department would establish or license dispensaries to grow and distribute marijuana.For now, medical marijuana occupies a gray area of the law.Federal law makes marijuana use and sales illegal _ even for medical reasons _ and the Federal Drug Administration has not approved marijuana for medicinal use.However, 13 states allow the medical use of marijuana without penalty _ a doctor's recommendation is always required _ and federal agents are discouraged from arresting medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws.Maryland law levies a maximum penalty of $100 for a defendant in a marijuana-related state prosecution who successfully claims that their use is a medical necessity, according to marijuana advocates.Other state legislatures, including New Jersey's, are considering medical marijuana bills.House Bill 1393: http://tiny.cc/spi5USource: Associated Press (Wire)Author: Marc LevyPublished: December 2, 2009Copyright: 2009 The Associated PressCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #18 posted by kaptinemo on December 04, 2009 at 08:04:47 PT:
Hope, they were both warning and prophecy
The Founders knew that things were cyclic, and that, one day, the government that they sought to 'bind down with chains' as Jefferson put it, would instead try to wrap those chains around the necks of those it was supposed to serve.And I believe that day has come. In fact, it came a long time ago when, as it always does, for the best of reasons (or purported best of reasons) the worst is done. To 'protect' us from drugs, the Harrison Narcotics Act twisted the original meaning of the Commerce Clause and opened the gates of Perdition...the road to which, as the old saying goes, is paved with good intentions. That was when the chains binding government from 'mischief' were unclipped from its' collar...and that collar was attached to all our necks.And we've been suffering ever-increasing encroachments upon our rights and liberties ever since.
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Comment #17 posted by Hope on December 04, 2009 at 06:19:36 PT
Kaptinemo
From this point of view in history, Madison's words look less like a warning and more like a prophecy."It is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties. We hold this prudent jealousy to be the first duty of citizens,and one of the noblest characteristics of the late Revolution.The freeman of America did not wait till usurped power had strengthened itself by exercise, and entangled the question in precedents.They saw all the consequences in the principle, and they avoided the consequences by denying the principle."
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Comment #16 posted by kaptinemo on December 03, 2009 at 09:06:58 PT:
Hope, in truth, it always has been
"Governemnt is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force. Like fire, it is a useful servant and a fearful master" - attributed to George WashingtonThe Founders knew that the historical trend was always that government would inevitably encroach upon freedoms.""Since the general civilization of mankind, I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of freedoms of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." "It is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties. We hold this prudent jealousy to be the first duty of citizens,and one of the noblest characteristics of the late Revolution.The freeman of America did not wait till usurped power had strengthened itself by exercise, and entangled the question in precedents.They saw all the consequences in the principle, and they avoided the consequences by denying the principle." - James Madison (emphasis mine -k.)"It will not be denied, that power is of an encroaching nature, and that it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it. - James Madison, Federalist Papers #48.This is why they divided the government up so much. For the most 'efficient' governments are usually tyrannies. But we've lost sight of that, and now, because of things like twisting Constitutional limits like the Commerce Clause to justify drug prohibition, the gub'mint regularly tramples once-sacrosanct rights and liberties with abandon, and even goes so far as killing us in order to 'save' us from inanimate objects. With the DrugWar, government has become like a poorly trained attack dog biting its' master. Normally, that 'dog' must either be shut back up in its' kennel and carefully retrained...or put down before it becomes an even greater menace. But a third way may come through starving the damn thing courtesy of a moribund economy and the need to re-allocate the funds for its' 'teeth' to social survival programs like Unemployment....or face the wrath of an angry and betrayed populace.As I said, the time of reckoning is at hand. The music has stopped, and the piper wants his payment. A hundred million Americans have firearms, and many of those who do are intensely distrustful of government...with good reason. Compared to the number of those in the employ of government, who believe they are in the right to use those 'crowd control' weapons to destroy essentially democracy, the latter are woefully out-numbered.It's long past time to have the kind of debate, not only about the DrugWar, but about the essential nature of government itself, and what its' proper role is in this day and age. Rolling back the drug laws would be a good step, a sign for hope that the system is still salvageable. Let's hope those in power take the hint... 
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Comment #15 posted by Hope on December 03, 2009 at 07:42:37 PT
It's awful!
I think I had rigors about it at least once.
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on December 03, 2009 at 07:37:09 PT
Hope
Losing an internet connection is like living in the dark ages! LOL!
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Comment #13 posted by Hope on December 03, 2009 at 07:12:25 PT
FoM
It's really great to be here!
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Comment #12 posted by FoM on December 03, 2009 at 07:00:38 PT
Hope
It's really great to see you!
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Comment #11 posted by Hope on December 03, 2009 at 06:47:03 PT
"Predatory government"?
You're so right, Kaptinemo. That's exactly what the government, on all levels, of this country has become. Predatory. Very predatory.
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Comment #10 posted by kaptinemo on December 03, 2009 at 04:21:42 PT:
RunRuff, don't get me wrong
I really, truly don't want cannabis prohibition to come to an end because civilization did. Even a corrupt social order (and who can doubt that ours isn't corrupt?) is better than anarchy...which is exactly what could be let loose if things like what FoM was mentioning (inflation of the currency) continues.I would much rather this country came to its' senses and stop its' predations against its' own people, but history shows that only happens after a civil war or a revolution has removed the predatory government. Events which are usually preceded by economic troubles causing widespread disaffection with that predatory government, to the point that government attempts to suppress legitimate expression of grievances. Economic troubles like the kind we're experiencing now.The US government is quietly readying itself for that day:Microwave Weapons to be used for "Crowd Control" http://tinyurl.com/ydrd2flSonic Crowd Control Weapons at Congressional Townhall Meetings in San Diego County http://cryptogon.com/?p=10947And you have to wonder what other devices are being prepared to be used against American citizens when it becomes obvious to all and sundry that we have reached that point of, (as two favorite sci-fi authors of mine put it), "No place is more than three missed meals away from a revolution."if the social order begins to unravel, and these weapons are used against the public, then those using those weapons will in turn face people like these: http://oath-keepers.blogspot.com/ And given that the latter group is comprised of patriots blooded in the recent wars for oil in Southwest Asia, and are mad as Hell about having been so used by the power structure of this country, there's only one way this could end once its' started.Like I said, I don't want to see that...but in truth, I honestly fear that that is exactly the way things will go. 
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Comment #9 posted by runruff on December 02, 2009 at 23:24:59 PT
I like the way Kapt sez it!
And I agree with him very much.I can't help but blend into what he has said about the current finacial situation with the millions of hours and Money[?] spent by dedicated warriors in defence of this attack on our liberties. What is happening in my view is, the financial blow is the coup DE Grass to a daily, weakening enemy.I like this kind of talk.
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on December 02, 2009 at 20:08:34 PT
ekim
We just watched it. It was good.
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Comment #7 posted by ekim on December 02, 2009 at 19:37:21 PT
Jessy Ventura show on dir tv 246 now
tonight on HARP
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Comment #6 posted by ekim on December 02, 2009 at 19:22:53 PT
Rick Simpson, Freedom Fighter of the Year,
Rick Simpson, Freedom Fighter of the Year, http://www.michiganmedicalmarijuana.org/node/12790
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uomQey0HVGw&feature=player_embedded
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on December 02, 2009 at 17:55:46 PT
kapt
I said it a long time ago that they will just keep printing more money. We don't have a gold standard anymore. Everything is going up in price because of it. Without work to fuel our economy we will grind to a halt. 
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Comment #4 posted by kaptinemo on December 02, 2009 at 17:45:31 PT:
FoM, the day of reckoning is approaching
I keep thinking of an old fashioned hour-glass, the kind with sand in it. It's been flipped over, and the top portion is almost out of sand....and the bottom portion has a crack in it, small, but getting wider all the time as the sand pushes against it and leaks out. The hour-glass represents drug prohibition. And the sand is our taxpayer's dollars, which we can no longer afford to spend on this damnable witch-hunt. It's pouring out through that crack in dribs and drabs, and only a few see it, but the wider the crack, the more pours out, and very soon that will get noticed by all who have eyes to see. Especially those who are, right now, in dire straits economically, and are watching that money dribbling away into nothingness and thinking how very badly they need it...but can't have it, because of some fat-cat, mendacious bureaucrats have their mitts on it. That will only maintain for as long as there is the illusion of stability, the illusion that we can continue to act as if everything's okay when a yawning pit is opening right in front of us, the illusion that we can continue to afford to p!$$ away billions in fool's errands like the DrugWar when this country is, in fact, bankrupt, but as things get worse, that illusion will be painfully stripped away. And when it does get stripped away, and the reality of a total economic collapse sets in, I don't expect that those who are desperate will politely and quietly slink off to accommodatingly die at their 'betters' behest. I doubt that very much. They'll want the survival that that money could buy, and won't take no for an answer.Any number of things could set off a full-on fiscal collapse, which we have not yet seen. The conditions which brought about the present mess have not been properly dealt with, in fact, they have never been dealt with, nor will they, for to do so would destroy the power base of the ruling elites of this country. They've shown what they are willing to do to maintain themselves in power.And so, I fully expect things to worsen in the coming years. And the only good thing about what may yet happen is that drug prohibition as we know it will cease to exist, simply because we, as a nation, can no longer afford the expenses involved with it.
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Comment #3 posted by Sam Adams on December 02, 2009 at 16:55:07 PT
experts
So the legislators should do nothing, because the "Medical experts" must decide? Does the Academy of College Physicians count? 124,000 practicing doctors? They urged the state legislatures to pass laws to protect patients.And of course the AMA is now urging the politicians in Congress to move cannabis to Schedule 2.I'd say the medical experts have had their say and it's an excellent time for legislators to act.
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on December 02, 2009 at 16:45:41 PT
kapt
You go guy!
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Comment #1 posted by kaptinemo on December 02, 2009 at 16:22:40 PT:
What does heroin have to do with cannabis?
"Sharon Smith, a suburban Harrisburg resident who started the drug-treatment advocacy group Momstell after her daughter Angela died of a heroin overdose in 1998, questioned who would end up using the drug, given the instances of abuse in other states that have legalized medical marijuana.In addition, she said, legislators are ill-equipped to decide whether any substance should be considered medicine."Let the medical experts make this decision, not the legislators," she told the committee."First off, cannabis isn't a narcotic. You cannot overdose from it. So, what's this lady's point? That cannabis equals heroin? One might as well argue that apples equal oranges, or that cheese equals chalk. Damned insulting to the intelligence of anyone with an above-room-temperature IQ. And such people need to be publicly humiliated for such an insult, or they'll keep doing it.Secondly, let's have a look at those who purport to be anti-drug 'specialists' and 'experts', shall we? Those same 'experts', who continue to caterwaul about a drug that doesn't have an LD-50 (lethal dose at which 50% of the population dies from receiving it) as being 'dangerous'? Let such people, who have a vested interest in maintaining drug prohibition for monetary and socio-political reasons, let them make the decisions? People like Andrea Barthwell, who, when she was living off of our life's-blood as a 'public servant', lied to us and told us that cannabis had no medical utility at all, but as soon as she joined a company seeking to market medicinal cannabis in spray form, started making noise about smoked cannabis having no medical use. Nawwww, no conflict of interest there, nuh-uh.Yeah, right. And I've got a bridge up in Brooklyn I'd like to unload, real cheap, but sorry, cash, no checks, and all sales are final.
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