cannabisnews.com: S.C. Lawmaker Proposes Legalizing MMJ Use





S.C. Lawmaker Proposes Legalizing MMJ Use
Posted by CN Staff on January 16, 2007 at 16:01:17 PT
By Jim Davenport, Associated Press 
Source: Associated Press
Columbia, S.C. - A state senator whose first wife suffered a painful death wants the state to legalize medical marijuana use.Sen. Bill Mescher of Pinopolis says the issue has been on his mind for about 20 years. "My first wife died of lung cancer - a long agonizing death," the Republican lawmaker said. A doctor said marijuana might help ease the pain and nausea from chemotherapy, but South Carolina law wouldn't allow it, Mescher said.
People won't let dogs die with that kind of suffering, Mescher said. "It's been on my mind ever since," he said.Mescher isn't optimistic about the bill's chance given the drug's reputation. "But it's a benign, benevolent help for people in agony or excruciating pain," he said.Dr. Capers Hiott, a Wedgefield ear, nose and throat specialist, was the Legislature's doctor of the day Tuesday. He has his doubts about medical marijuana use."It would have to have tight controls," Hiott said. "I don't know that we're to the point it can be controlled."And he's worried that people will begin advocating for using other currently illegal drugs to relieve pain. "There are a lot of things out there that can make you happy," Hiott said.The South Carolina Medical Association hasn't taken a position on Mescher's bill, said Todd Atwater, the group's chief executive officer."There are physicians on both sides" of the issue, but the association hasn't gone through its formal process of coming up with a position, Atwater said.The American Medical Association has adopted policies that call for more research into medical marijuana use and for administering marijuana's active ingredient without smoking it. Until the research is completed, the AMA advocates keeping it classified as a tightly controlled and dangerous drug that should not be legalized for sale or possession.The Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project says 30 states have medical marijuana laws. Since 1996, 11 states, including Alaska, California, Hawaii and Maine - have enacted laws that remove criminal penalties for people who grow, possess or use marijuana with a doctor's approval.Source: Associated Press (Wire)Author: Jim Davenport, Associated Press Writer Published:  January 16, 2007 Copyright: 2007 Associated Press Related Article & Web Site:Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/Bill Would OK Medical Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread22513.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on January 23, 2007 at 08:53:11 PT
Richard
I personally don't concern myself with those two minor parties. I am going to register as a Democrat so I can vote in the Primary. Please try to understand not everyone here on CNews thinks like you do. I won't tell anyone how to vote because that isn't a proper thing to do. Please be considerate.
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Comment #15 posted by Richard Zuckerman on January 23, 2007 at 08:40:47 PT:
SELF MEDICATION WITH NATURAL SUBSTANCES
We should be entitled to self-medicate with natural substances, such as Cannabis or Ibogaine, without the federal government breathing down our necks. The feds passed Bills giving the pharmaceutical industry absolute immunity from lawsuits and forcing us to accept medication in times of emergency. Libertarian Party and Green Party would return medical decisions to the patient.
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Comment #14 posted by John Tyler on January 17, 2007 at 22:26:26 PT
tell us more
And he's worried that people will begin advocating for using other currently illegal drugs to relieve pain. "There are a lot of things out there that can make you happy," Hiott said. I wonder if the good doctor would care to 
elobrate?
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on January 17, 2007 at 19:05:12 PT
mayan
I agree that we are in for a rough ride. 
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Comment #12 posted by mayan on January 17, 2007 at 17:27:50 PT
FoM
Thanks. I posted this similar article on a previous thread..."DOOMSDAY CLOCK" HAND TO BE MOVED, REFLECTING WORSENING NUCLEAR, CLIMATE THREATS TO WORLD:
http://www.unobserver.com/index.php?pagina=layout5.php&id=3059&blz=1Between mother nature and the neo-cons we are in for a real rough ride.
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on January 17, 2007 at 09:06:06 PT
Mayan
I thought you might appreciate this article. Bush has really done us in. It's very sad but I am not afraid because fear paralyzes a person. Hopefully we can stop that clock from getting any closer to midnight. 'Doomsday Clock' Moves Nearer Midnighthttp://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/health/16480752.htm
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Comment #10 posted by paul armentano on January 17, 2007 at 08:48:22 PT
NORML's SC Legislative Alert
Urge Your Legislators to Support Medical Marijuana in South Carolina! 
Help severely ill citizens in South Carolina!NORML is pleased to announce that Senate Bill 220, an act to authorize the medical use of marijuana for qualifying South Carolina patients, has been intoduced in South Carolina legislature and referred to the Senate Committee on Medical Affairs.If approved, this proposal would allow authorized patients to possess up to one ounce of cannabis and/or 6 plants for medicinal purposes. (Read the full text of the bill: http://www.scstatehouse.net/sess117_2007-2008/bills/220.htm) 
 
Please contact the members of the Senate Committee on Medical Affairs now, and urge them to support Senate Bill 220 and protecting the health and safety of seriously ill citizens in South Carolina. 
http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=9250371&type=ML
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Comment #9 posted by The GCW on January 17, 2007 at 07:52:14 PT
Always interesting
I wonder if Sen. Bill Mescher of Pinopolis is partly responsible for the "drug's" reputation?If held in the hand, it may look more like a plant... than a drug...Has the Sen. Bill been spreading propaganda creating a negative reputation? I know many other politicians have; Republicans do...Correct, animal rights groups would stop dogs from suffering the same way.I'm sorry to hear Your wife died of cancer. I wonder if years of hemp prohibition contributed to the increased risk Americans have of getting cancer.  ...Do You now have 2nd thoughts of supporting / enabling cannabis / hemp farming prohibition?Are You aware that 1 in about 3 Americans will get cancer? That translates to every American family will have to confront cancer. That means Your constituents will benifit by supporting the end of cannabis / hemp farming prohibition laws. 
Do You get it now?
---And Dr. Capers Hiott,-Do You refer to any other thearpy by a Mexican slang term?-Is it easy to ignore the negative health consequenses of caging humans for using the God-given plant, in favor of maintaining prohibition?-Is there a problem with citizens being "happy."-Do You have webbed feet?
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on January 16, 2007 at 20:30:26 PT
Toker00 
Yes that's how it is. We are all people who have concerns and this war on marijuana should stop. I don't understand except that this administration decided marijuana was going to be their issue. So many people have been hurt these last 5 or so years. 
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Comment #7 posted by Toker00 on January 16, 2007 at 19:50:15 PT
Volcano
Now I understand. Love the taste.FoM, the DEA could answer that question for you, but they won't. At least not honestly. So we wind up answering it for them. So it's us talking to ourselves, and the DEA playing stupid, and getting away with it. What's worse, WE pay for it all. We pay in money, blood, freedom and health. We pay by being isolated from the norm, isolated from our families and, for some, isolated from their Church. We've paid enough. Cannabis should be legal by some common law. The law of Nature, perhaps?Toke.
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on January 16, 2007 at 19:15:14 PT
Marinol or Marijuana
Marinol is a synthetic drug that acts similarly to the natural medicinal herb Cannabis. One will grow and won't cost much money. People grow their own medicinal herbs rather then taking a pill so why don't they allow Cannabis the same rights?
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Comment #5 posted by user123 on January 16, 2007 at 18:47:10 PT:
Yarg
More info:But Dr. Rajesh Bajaj, an oncologist with Carolina Health Care in Florence, said he doubts the overall effectiveness of marijuana in treating cancer-related nausea. "In my opinion, it's the rare patient who would be needing marijuana for nausea," he said. "I don't think many physicians would prescribe it because of the variety of medications that are available to treat nausea in patients with cancer." Bajaj said that one of those medications in particular, called Marinol, contains the active ingredient found in marijuana and comes in tablet form. Using marijuana in its pure form, however, is not recommended, he said. "Society has to weigh whether it wants to legalize a substance for the benefit of the rare patient or control it for everybody else," he said. 
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on January 16, 2007 at 18:42:46 PT
mayan
I agree with Ron Paul on the Gulf of Tonkin issue. I believe the exact same thing.
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Comment #3 posted by mayan on January 16, 2007 at 18:22:34 PT
Misc.
People won't let dogs die with that kind of suffering, Mescher said. "It's been on my mind ever since," he said.Prohibitionists aren't concerned with people's suffering. They are only concerned with protecting their own crooked interests.In unrelated news, some are trying to warn us... Congressman Ron Paul warns of a new "Gulf of Tonkin":
http://911blogger.com/node/5575Presidential Candidate Fears "Gulf Of Tonkin" To Provoke Iran War:
http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/january2007/150107gulfoftonkin.htmWhile, some are trying to condition us...Terror: 'We're Going to Get Hit':
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16609997/site/newsweek/
 THE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...Albania Freezes Assets of 9/11 "Person of Interest":
http://www.911citizenswatch.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=989Audio from an "Evening with Robert Bowman and John Albanese":
http://www.boston911truth.org/teaparty/press.html
Professors Question 9/11:
http://patriotsquestion911.com/professors.htmlLegal Defense Fund for Whistleblower Kevin Ryan:
http://www.ultruth.com/Professors Question 9/11:
http://patriotsquestion911.com/professors.html9/11 Accountability: Strategies and Solutions Conference -
Chandler, Arizona - February 23-25:
http://911accountability.org/accountability/
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Comment #2 posted by Dankhank on January 16, 2007 at 17:51:49 PT
felon ...
in OK a felon automatically regains voting rights when sentence is completed. As to electability, I know not.Don't know what the law is in NJ, perhaps NJweedman knows what the law is ... do you?I would agree that if Ed knew that he was legally disqualified from holding public office that he not only wasted his effort, the votes and could have injured the movement it was wrong.If any know the NJ law, please cite it here, I may look later but am busy.I believe that NJs felony was related to the transport of our favorite plant.If so, I for one do not recognize it as a crime.Peace to all who fight the good fight.
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Comment #1 posted by Richard Zuckerman on January 16, 2007 at 16:33:15 PT:
HAS ANYBODY VOTED LIBERTARIAN PARTY?
At the most recent election, I voted for Len Flynn, www.njlp.org, Libertarian Party candidate for U.S. Senator of New Jersey, and wrote his name in for every single other position on the [electric] ballot!! One guy, Ed Forchion, www.njweedman.com, ran for U.S. Senator of New Jersey in the Legalize Marijuana Party, received thousands of votes; But Ed Forchion is a convicted felon! All of those people wasted their vote by voting for Ed Forchion, of www.njweedman.com, because he would be legally disqualified from holding public office if he was to be voted in!!! Wasted votes. I have mailed Ed Forchion letters asking why he ran for public office while a convicted felon, but he has not responded. I gave Ed Forchion a ride back from the annual NORML Conference, some five years ago. Mitchel Cohen, a prominent Green Party member, of Brooklyn New York's "No Spray Coalition," stated a couple of years ago that the Green Party has been infiltrated by Democrats. What ever happened to Ralph Nader? I voted for him in the last two U.S. Presidential elections, because I did not learn of him until shortly before then!!!Whoever is ignorant enough to vote for a member of the Bush Family, TAKE NOTICE THAT THEY OBTAINED THEIR FAMILY FORTUNE FROM FINANCING OVER 40% OF STEEL PRODUCTION FOR ADOLPH HITLER, SEE www.john-loftus.com [retired attorney employed with the U.S. Dept. of Justice, Nazi Hunter Section]!! Yeah, we need more troops in Iraq!!! At least it is a good diversion for invasion of this country by "undocumented workers." By the way, 8 U.S.C.  punishes illegal international border crossing as a petty crime for the first offense and up to two years in jail for a second offense. Why do you think most of the arrest warrants for Murder prosecutions in Phoenix, Arizona, and Los Angeles, California, are illegal alien Mexican gang members? The Council On Foreign Relations has planned eliminating our international borders between Mexico-U.S. and Canada-U.S. by the year 2010, only 3 years from now, people! The war in Iraq is a diversion to the national insecurity taking place right now at home here in American by lax immigration law enforcement!! You people would be amazed and might also be downright angry if you knew all of the benefits your Democrats and Republicans want to confer as "Amnesty" to the "undocumented workers"!!! You would not only be amazed, you'd be downright angry!!! Are you people aware that the Mexicans devised a plan in 1915 known as "The Plan of San Diego" which is to kill all White males over the age of 16? I certainly do not see as many White women as I used to. BRING BACK OPERATION WETBACK!! Bring back the troops from Iraq! Vote for Libertarian Party. YOU DESERVE WHAT YOU VOTE FOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!Richard Paul Zuckerman, Post Office Box 159, Metuchen, New Jersey, 08840-0159, (Cell phone number)(848) 250-8879, Diploma in Paralegal, New York University, 2003; B.A. in Political Science, Kean College Of New Jersey [Kean University], 1987 ["Associate in Applied Science, Peep Show Technology, Union County Voc. Tech."].
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