cannabisnews.com: County Officials Need To Mellow Out County Officials Need To Mellow Out Posted by CN Staff on February 07, 2006 at 19:24:24 PT By Phil Strickland Source: North County Times California -- Paul is a good case in point. He retired after decades as an accountant with the New York Stock Exchange. If you created a stereotype for someone with his career, he might be it. Slight of build, bald with a fringe of short gray hair, glasses, a quiet demeanor, that New York City not-much-for-the-sunshine pallor.He raised two children and lost his wife to a heart attack after years of marriage. In his retirement, he pursued bridge and golf, enjoyed a glass of fine wine and the company of his lady friend. It was a low-key kind of life and that was just the way he liked it. It would be, however, a mistake to conclude he is a Casper Milquetoast.Paul is a cancer survivor. Diagnosed with prostate cancer 15 years ago, he refused to give in. He was treated with aggressive hormonal therapy that led to remission of the disease. He got better and life continued pretty much as it had been.Three years ago, he was diagnosed as "hormone refractive" ---- terminally ill with cancer.Ever the fighter, he joined an experimental treatment program that led to osteonecrosis. Essentially his jaw is being eaten away. He has no appetite and grows increasingly emaciated.Paul has come to know serious pain and nausea in an intimate way.There are people who say his nausea and pain could be alleviated, or at least mitigated, by medical marijuana. There also are people who are afraid he might become "hooked."Now comes Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone suggesting that the county join San Diego and San Bernardino counties in trying to overturn the 9-year-old Proposition 215 ---- known as the Compassionate Use Act ---- approved by 55 percent of the state's voters. It allows the "seriously ill" to get and use pot ---- oops "medical marijuana" ---- for medicinal purposes. The supervisors are to discuss that proposal today.Of course, Stone and his cohorts don't cite moral or social grounds. It's illegal according to the feds, and the law, they say, would have the county aid and abet this heinous act by allowing its use and even, oh my god, issuing identification cards to users.Can the republic survive?This concern over medical marijuana is absurd. Who cares if a terminally ill person chooses some level of euphoria over pain? And if they should get "hooked" on feeling better, so what? Stone, a pharmacist, surely knows that many patients become addicted to their treatments.Consider Valium. OxyContin. Vicodin. Codeine cough syrup.The power in this country derives from the people. The elected officials closest to their constituencies are our supervisors and councilmen. If a majority of the state's voters decide "compassionate use" ought to be legal, our representatives should be fighting for them.They should make it incumbent on the feds to force the issue. And when they do, our local, state and federal representatives should join the citizens in a loud, long Bronx cheer.Paul may never want to "take a hit," but if he did, why should we stop him?Phil Strickland of Temecula is a regular columnist for The Californian. Strictly Speaking: Wherein we cut through the buncombe.Source: North County Times (CA)Author: Phil Strickland Published: February 6, 2006 Copyright: 2006 North County Times Contact: letters nctimes.comWebsite: http://www.nctimes.com/ Related Articles: Patients Worry About County's Challengehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21564.shtml Critics Decry Stone's Call for Medical Pot Suithttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21559.shtmlCounty Moves Marijuana Challenge To State Courthttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21558.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #6 posted by whig on February 08, 2006 at 18:14:52 PT Graehstone I lost interest in House when there was an episode where some guy who was sick because, it turned out he was smoking pot on the sly, and he had gotten CADMIUM poisoning. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by FoM on February 08, 2006 at 13:02:37 PT Graehstone I never heard of House. I usually only watch news and the Discovery Channels and Animal Planet. Mostly I just listen to music. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by Graehstone on February 08, 2006 at 07:16:35 PT House Don't know if any of you follow this show (House) but the other night there was a scene where one of the Dr.s was rolling joints in his locked office for a cancer patient that didn't know how to roll her own. There have been other smaller short little blips in shows about Medicinal Marijuana and they are seen more and more often. Slowly but surely ... [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by mayan on February 08, 2006 at 07:05:51 PT Relative Patients rally for medicinal marijuana use: http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_3485308Protesters picket county over marijuana suit: http://www.vvdailypress.com/2006/113940866849470.htmlHere's an unrelated link to an article of immeasurable importance. The paradigm is beginning to shift. THE RACE IS ON...Sweden plans to be world's first oil-free economy: http://www.guardian.co.uk/oil/story/0,,1704954,00.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by mayan on February 08, 2006 at 05:31:34 PT Stone Cold Killer This concern over medical marijuana is absurd. Who cares if a terminally ill person chooses some level of euphoria over pain? And if they should get "hooked" on feeling better, so what? Stone, a pharmacist, surely knows that many patients become addicted to their treatments.There's that darned pharmacist again! He wouldn't have any motive to fight against a natural substance which could compete with his pharmaceuticals, now would he? Give me a break. The folks of Riverside County should call for his immediate resignation!FoM, I couldn't get your FTE links for "Shadow of the Swastika" or "The Invisible Prohibition" to work. Mine won't work either but I searched and found some other ones... Cannabis Hemp: The Invisible Prohibition Revealed: http://www.rism.org/isg/dlp/ganja/analyses/Davis1.htmlSHADOW OF THE SWASTIKA: The Real Reason the Government Won't Debate Medical Cannabis and Industrial Hemp Re-legalization: http://www.hempfarm.org/Papers/Shadow_of_the_Swastika.htmlTHE WAY OUT...Scholars for 9/11 Truth http://www.scholarsfor911truth.org/Visibility 9/11 Podcasts: http://visibility911.libsyn.com/Dr. Steven Jones Utah Seminar - Powerpoint Presentation: http://www.physics.byu.edu/research/energy/Proof Positive - Neocons & 9/11: http://rense.com/general69/proofp.htm [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by potpal on February 08, 2006 at 04:02:47 PT oops again lte:Oops again, medicinal cannabis.Good argument and I agree with you.http://www.erowid.org/plants/cannabis/cannabis_faq1.shtml#1-3 [ Post Comment ] Post Comment