cannabisnews.com: S.D. Medical Marijuana Proposal  





S.D. Medical Marijuana Proposal  
Posted by CN Staff on March 20, 2005 at 23:22:24 PT
By Terry Woster
Source: Argus Leader
Pierre, South Dakota -- A Hermosa man who supported an unsuccessful attempt to legalize industrial hemp in 2002 said last week he is preparing a ballot initiative to allow medical marijuana in South Dakota.Robert Newland, who also ran for attorney general as a Libertarian candidate in 2002, said Montana voters in November legalized marijuana for medical uses.
"When I saw that Montana did it, I decided to start a campaign in South Dakota," Newland said. "There is no question we can get the signatures in fairly short order. The fact is, medical use has never failed on an initiative."A bill to legalize medical marijuana died 11-1 in a House committee during the 2005 Legislature.Newland can expect strong opposition from Attorney General Larry Long's office if his proposal reaches the ballot. A spokesman for Long said the office's position is contained in statements made at the House hearing by Charles McGuigan, an assistant attorney general."We are in opposition to any plan to legalize marijuana in any form, whether it is medical marijuana or industrial hemp or any other concoction that would give credence to this substance,'' McGuigan said then. "Marijuana is not scheduled as a controlled substance, but marijuana use and possession is illegal and is a crime.''Newland has until May 2006 to file petitions. He'll need 16,728 valid signatures. He said he'd like to get started this spring by filing the formal language of the proposed law, a first step in the process. That would give petition carriers the opportunity to work fairs and other summer events where large numbers of potential signers are concentrated in small areas.Ten states have some form of medical marijuana laws now. California's law is being challenged in a U.S. Supreme Court case. Other states with such laws are Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington. Arizona also has a law permitting marijuana prescriptions but no active program.South Dakota's Criminal Code Revision Commission considered, but rejected, a medical marijuana proposal last summer.In November 2003, the state Supreme Court upheld the marijuana conviction of an Eagle Butte man who said he needed the drug to ease chronic muscle spasms he had suffered since needing to use a wheelchair after a car wreck.Rep. Gerald Lange, D-Madison, sponsored the failed medical marijuana bill last session. The patient's physician would have been required to say that the beneficial impact of marijuana use for a patient would outweigh risks."There's a nausea effect in a lot of medicine, where marijuana doesn't cause this kind of side effect,'' Lange said.McGuigan said the attorney general's office thought that passing such a law "would reduce the perception of the risk for drug use.''He also said the active ingredient in marijuana is available in pill form, with a prescription.Newland said that pill works for some people. But in cases of severe nausea that sometimes accompany chemotherapy and other treatments, "the patient just can't keep it down.''So far, the only ballot issue qualified for the November 2006 general election is a constitutional amendment defining marriage as a legal union between a man and a woman. That proposal passed the 2005 Legislature.Complete Title: S.D. Medical Marijuana Proposal Forming Marijuana: Signatures Needed To Reach BallotStates With Medical Marijuana:10 states with medical marijuana laws:CaliforniaAlaskaColoradoHawaiiMaineMontanaNevadaOregonVermontWashingtonArizona has a law but no active program. Source: Argus Leader (SD)Author: Terry WosterPublished: March 21, 2005Copyright: 2005 Argus LeaderContact: editor argusleader.comWebsite: http://www.argusleader.com/CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #37 posted by FoM on March 21, 2005 at 22:29:11 PT
Alice's Restaurant
Since we were talking a little bit today about Alice's Restaurant I thought others might like to listen to it too. http://www.arlo.net/massacree/set2_56k.rm
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Comment #36 posted by FoM on March 21, 2005 at 17:08:22 PT
global_warming 
I think I understand what you are saying. I have a friend who is in his mid 30s. When we talk we talk about our issue but we cover many topics. The war and the draft was one issue we talked about. What he said to me was interesting. He said our generation has not known war like your generation has. It really isn't a concern for him but he said if they bring back the draft he will be carrying protest signs. I really hope young people realize how close the draft is at being brought back.
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Comment #35 posted by global_warming on March 21, 2005 at 16:49:09 PT
re:comment 12
"I'll get over this sooner or later. I am cynical and for many reasons. Spring is coming and getting outside and away from the tv news will help me a lot. I'm almost at a point that it's ok if the draft returns because the youth don't seem to care. Maybe war will show them what we learned about Vietnam. Maybe young people need to know the agony of war to have their eyes opened."Lady FOM, be assured, those youth are more aware and capable to bring us closer to what is a more decent reality.Working in my university, I bear witness, to all of their pains and pleasures, and they are all reaching and grasping for those straws, those opportunities, those illusive chances towards catching and grasping a hold on this world.These children are coming with their pains and infirmities, they are gathering and trying to reach through this fog of our world, they want to participate in this world court, and they are seeking "justice".I see a great amount of hope, and I see that these young ones will continue to pierce this vail of injustice, and it is these little ones, who will someday, be the justice in our spiritually deprived world, it is these strange little children, that will summon the heart and core of our universe, towards a harmony that will please you and confuse you, they will spread your ashes, with dignity and with justice, and they will sprinkle the grace of God, and they will push this world into the flesh of God, and they will not stop, at some period injustice, they will not forgive some temporal ignorance, they will force our last card, they will crucify those demonic and power lusting money changers, 
For these gifts of life and power, are gifts from God, and all life is benefits from from God, and those that have fallen, into darkness and foolish beliefs, only beckon the power of the darker powers that "we" as good people, must step over and step on, as we reach for the fruits of this world, these fruits of existence.There is Hope, and there is no stopping this universe, we are all standing around the same campfire, we are all sharing in this same dream, we are all agreeing.gw
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Comment #34 posted by siege on March 21, 2005 at 16:02:55 PT
 a bad poll 
you can go back about every 5 min just put on the hot keys like in a game. and it will vote. 
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Comment #33 posted by FoM on March 21, 2005 at 15:27:45 PT
Hope
I find polls aren't correct if they allow a person to vote more then once. It becomes a game of sorts. I don't know if this poll works that way or not though. I believe early results of polls to be as close to accurate as they can be. 
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Comment #32 posted by Hope on March 21, 2005 at 15:23:00 PT
Well dang
It's apparently a bogus poll! Now it's 7076 total votes...and "No" is ahead. 53.2 percent "No". That doesn't seem possible.
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Comment #31 posted by Hope on March 21, 2005 at 14:44:44 PT
4660 votes now?
Could that many people have voted in just a few minutes? Oh well..."Yes" is ahead. 63 percent "yes"
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Comment #30 posted by Hope on March 21, 2005 at 13:59:15 PT
Total votes right now
4020
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Comment #29 posted by Hope on March 21, 2005 at 13:58:04 PT
Poll one day only....looking better
"Yes" is up to 58.2 percent now.
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Comment #28 posted by Hope on March 21, 2005 at 13:40:57 PT
There's a forum page for the Argus Leader
http://www.argusleaderonline.com/forum/
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Comment #27 posted by ekim on March 21, 2005 at 12:33:55 PT
j-pee said he wanted more testing in healthcenters
Howard is in London, England being honored by as one of a dozen long riders in the world. Howard will be back on the 20th to resume the Ride Across America
http://www.thelongridersguild.com/Howard Wooldridge will be in Phoenix. Anyone wishing to have Howard Speak at their Church or club event. Please call.
To volunteer or for all questions, contact:
Norma Sapp
800 SE 180th Norman, Oklahoma 73026
Phone: 405-321-4619
Email: sapp leap.cchttp://leap.cc/howard/howard.htmlBrenda, AZ — March 22Wickenburg, AZ - March 27Phoenix, AZ - March 31 (west side of Phoenix)Phoenix...built in rest and speak till April 6
http://www.leap.cc/howard
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Comment #26 posted by FoM on March 21, 2005 at 12:25:35 PT
Thanks Hope!
Online Poll
 Would you support the legalization of marijuana in South Dakota for medical purposes? 
 Current Results:Yes -- 48.4%No -- 51.6%Total votes: 3070
 
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Comment #25 posted by FoM on March 21, 2005 at 12:20:05 PT
ekim
When I heard Alice's Resturant the first time it was so good and what points it made. I'll never forget it. My husband told me about the drug testing increase of funds. They need to get those kids disciplined because they might need them to serve in the service is why I think they are doing it. 
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Comment #24 posted by Hope on March 21, 2005 at 12:16:11 PT
Poll one day only
http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage
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Comment #23 posted by ekim on March 21, 2005 at 12:13:56 PT
you can get anything you want -- smiling FoM
j-pee said that he will increase funding for student drug tests from 10 mill to 25 mill. he said that the drug free school zone was not working. so the funding of over 4hundred mill was being cut.
http://www.leap.cc/events
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Comment #22 posted by FoM on March 21, 2005 at 11:58:10 PT
Alice's Restaurant
http://www.arlo.net/lyrics/alices.shtml
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Comment #21 posted by FoM on March 21, 2005 at 11:53:57 PT
Sam
I remember the flat feet issue. All I can think of right now is Alice's Restaurant!
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Comment #20 posted by FoM on March 21, 2005 at 11:48:47 PT
Sam
I grew up knowing that young men would be drafted no if, ands or buts about it. All I can think to say is here we go again. Self discipline is important. I have fought my whole life to keep food from controlling me. I now weigh 110 up from 105 and I'm almost freaking out. That's stupid of me but gaining weight is not something I want to do because of how bad it would be on my health.
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Comment #19 posted by Sam Adams on March 21, 2005 at 11:44:10 PT
Viet Nam draft
A friend from Texas told me once that, during Viet Nam in Texas, if you were white, flat feet would be enough to fail your draft physical.If you were black, the entire physical consisted of examining the index finger on your right hand - if it worked enough to pull the trigger, you were going to Viet Nam!
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Comment #18 posted by Sam Adams on March 21, 2005 at 11:42:20 PT
draft
I don't know the specifics of what they do in Europe, I think the idea is that you MUST spend 1 year serving your country.  I don't know if that mean boot camp for everyone or what.I'm not suggesting putting young, obese people in the army will cure them. I know that for me, I played sports for years but never really learned anything about fitness until my freshman year soccer coach taught me. He kicked our butts for 4 months straight, but when I look back on that, the experience taught me everything about my body, how to work hard on it, the benefits of being in shape, self-discipline, etc.I know that when I was in high school, my sister's boyfriend was from Austria. He had to go over there after graduation and serve one year, or else! He tried everything to get out of it, but had to go, and his family was pretty well-off.
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Comment #17 posted by FoM on March 21, 2005 at 11:38:20 PT
Hope
They change standards in war time. In a voluntary army when no serious war is happeniing then they can be picky. Back in Vietnam days they took overweight men and trimmed them down in boot camp. Drugs won't keep people out in a wartime draft I don't believe. I remember something like if your breathing Uncle Sam wants you. Something like that. 
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Comment #16 posted by Hope on March 21, 2005 at 11:29:42 PT
obesity and the draft
Right now, an overweight person can't get in the service. I don't know if the draft would allow for overweight or not. There were so few heavy young people when I was young. I don't remember but one young man in our entire school even being very big. There were plenty of tall kids, but extremely few were overweight. One of my son-in-laws is a recruiter. I know that being overweight was the main reason so many people don't make the cut...then of course, failed urine tests and low test scores.If failed drug tests keep them out...I expect a boom in drug use if the draft happens. One way or the other, a lot of kids won't make the cut unless the standards change.
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on March 21, 2005 at 11:15:57 PT
Related Article from The Associated Press
Newland Proposes Medical Marijuana VoteMonday March 21, 2005 PIERRE (AP) - Bob Newland of Hermosa said he is preparing a ballot initiative for South Dakota voters on whether marijuana use should be allowed for medical purposes.A bill to legalize medical marijuana died 11-1 in a House committee during this year's legislative session.In Montana last November, voters approved the Medical Marijuana Act, which protects registered patients and their caregivers from local and state prosecution."When I saw that Montana did it, I decided to start a campaign in South Dakota," Newland said. "There is no question we can get the signatures in fairly short order. The fact is, medical use has never failed on an initiative."Newland, who ran for attorney general as a Libertarian candidate in 2002, supported an unsuccessful attempt to legalize industrial hemp that year. He has until May 2006 to file petitions containing 16,728 valid signatures to put the medical marijuana proposal on the November 2006 ballot.He can expect strong opposition from Attorney General Larry Long's office if his proposal reaches the ballot. A spokesman for Long said the office's position is contained in statements made at a legislative hearing by Charles McGuigan, an assistant attorney general."We are in opposition to any plan to legalize marijuana in any form, whether it is medical marijuana or industrial hemp or any other concoction that would give credence to this substance," McGuigan said then. "Marijuana is not scheduled as a controlled substance, but marijuana use and possession is illegal and is a crime."South Dakota's Criminal Code Revision Commission considered, but rejected, a medical marijuana proposal last summer.Rep. Gerald Lange, D-Madison, sponsored the failed medical marijuana bill in the Legislature. The patient's physician would have been required to say that the beneficial impact of marijuana use for a patient would outweigh risks."There's a nausea effect in a lot of medicine, where marijuana doesn't cause this kind of side effect," Lange said.Ten states have some form of medical marijuana law.Copyright: 2005 Associated Presshttp://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2005/03/21/news/state/state04.txt
South Dakota NORML
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Comment #14 posted by FoM on March 21, 2005 at 10:53:08 PT
Sam 
I really appreciate your comment. Very educational. Thank you!
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Comment #13 posted by Sam Adams on March 21, 2005 at 10:47:54 PT
draft
Ah, FOM, you're coming around to my point of view. People claim all kinds of altruistic BS about the 60's and the activists that started all the change, but IMO, it was the draft for the Viet Nam war that started the whole thing. If you read the first couple chapters of "High In America", the Keith Stroup biography, it talks about how the draft made it cool to go to law school and them make $30k a year doing advocacy work in the late 60s.I have to say, even though I profess to be a Libertarian, I really like the European countries where every 18-year-old has to serve in the army for one year, with no deferments. It's not like you have to go shoot people, they can work on any kind of domestic program as well. But it tends to have a levelling effect on foreign policy, anyone putting the flag on their car & watching "America Fights Back" on Fox news would know instinctively that's it's THEIR son or daughter or nephew that will be fighting back.This is biggest obstacle to reform today, almost no quality professional young people will work on drug policy, they're all brainwashed to chase the holy dollar & live large.A mandatory year of service might go a long way toward addressing the obesity "crisis" as well, you could learn some good eating & fitness habits during your year of service. Now that people are living to be 85, it's not that much of a sacrifice.Just imagine, instead of bombing brown people, maybe we'd assign one army person to every subway station in the US, to actually keep people safe. In my city, we're still seeing 14-year old girls getting stabbed in the chest in poor neighborhoods, just trying to ride the subway home from school. To me, that's inexcusable, when we don't hesitate to spend $600 BILLION per year fighting Arabs halfway around the world.
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Comment #12 posted by FoM on March 21, 2005 at 10:22:21 PT
Thanks Hope
I'll get over this sooner or later. I am cynical and for many reasons. Spring is coming and getting outside and away from the tv news will help me a lot. I'm almost at a point that it's ok if the draft returns because the youth don't seem to care. Maybe war will show them what we learned about Vietnam. Maybe young people need to know the agony of war to have their eyes opened. 
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Comment #11 posted by Hope on March 21, 2005 at 10:16:16 PT
FoM
It looks bleak to me, too. Heck...it is bleak! But prohibition is a hell pit...a hell pit that costs lives and heaps and heaps of money. It's bad and bad is bleak. But because it is bad and the government is throwing money away like there is an endless supply of it...it will come to an end. One way or another, this pogrom will end.It would be wonderful if it were announced today that prohibition was over and people would stop being persecuted and all the hell that comes with prohibition would be over. It would be nice if it were done because of wisdom and understanding and compassion. But if it doesn't happen for that reason...when the bottom falls out of the money market, cuts will have to be made across the board. Big cuts. The beginning of a new era of relative world peace will start with the end of prohibition. I know it. If it doesn't happen there will never be peace on any level again. I'm saying these things to you to try to get your hope back. I've been so down about it all for sometime and literally begging for encouragement on this board. I can tell that I’m recovering from the bleak hopelessness that I was burdened to the ground with. I'm here to tell you, my faith is renewed. Yours will be, too. It's like being sick and thinking you will be sick forever...but usually we get well...and you will get well too.It's not, I think, so much about pot being legal to help and to heal. It's mainly and foremost about ending prohibition because prohibition is bad and kills and harms more than any drug ever could.Your courage will return.
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on March 21, 2005 at 09:48:54 PT
mayan 
I also hope the young people are paying attention. Their future looks bleak to me.
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Comment #9 posted by Hope on March 21, 2005 at 09:30:13 PT
Walters today
I thought his face looked a lot less tense and hard than usual. Seemed like he was really into the hand wringing, though, in a big way.
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Comment #8 posted by The GCW on March 21, 2005 at 09:18:28 PT
Who will be next?
S.D.Ill.N.H.N.M.TX.CONN.Mich.Wis.The Carolina's??? 
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on March 21, 2005 at 09:04:00 PT
Taylor
I didn't watch it but my husband did and he said he didn't say anything new either. Same propaganda as usual.
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Comment #6 posted by Taylor121 on March 21, 2005 at 08:59:37 PT
He talks alot about marijuana around 20 min in
Uses the same cards as usual. More people in treatment, more potent marijuana, blah blah blah. Makes me angry, but just channel the anger into educating others.
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Comment #5 posted by Taylor121 on March 21, 2005 at 08:18:27 PT
Walters
http://www.cspan.org/search/basic.asp?ResultStart=1&ResultCount=10&BasicQueryText=Walters
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Comment #4 posted by Hope on March 21, 2005 at 07:16:56 PT
C-Span
Washington Journal is being re-broadcast, I think. I forgot about it and just caught the end...but I think it's being shown again.Did anyone see it? What did you think?My courage is renewed in spite of it all. We aren't whupped until we quit!
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Comment #3 posted by ekim on March 21, 2005 at 06:00:25 PT
John Walters on C-Span now Dir TV ch 350 
J--pee
http://www.leap.cc/events
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Comment #2 posted by mayan on March 21, 2005 at 05:10:55 PT
Draft
Sorry, unrelated...Arms inspector turned peace activist says get ready for the draft:
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/Ritter_SNP-19Mar05.htmExposing the Coming Draft:
http://www.counterpunch.org/reeves03192005.htmlArmy vice chief of staff Cody worried about future of all-volunteer military:
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=26965&archive=trueI hope the young people are paying attention. 
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Comment #1 posted by mayan on March 21, 2005 at 04:21:03 PT
unrelated
CU, Boulder huddle to snuff pot rally:
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~2771139,00.htmlWill CU's 4/20 be deep-sixed?http://www.coloradodaily.com/articles/2005/03/20/news/news01.txtPasadena police, planners will seek ban on 'pot clubs':
http://www.whittierdailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,207~12026~2773638,00.html'Chaos' warning over cannabis law(UK):
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/articles/17389026?source=EveningMilitarism and the war on drugs:
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page/GC18Aa01.html
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