cannabisnews.com: Senate Panel To Consider Drug Issues










  Senate Panel To Consider Drug Issues

Posted by CN Staff on January 21, 2008 at 06:15:37 PT
By Terri Hallenbeck, Free Press Staff Writer 
Source: Burlington Free Press  

Montpelier, VT -- What Dr. Kathleen Daye really wants is for Vermont to legalize marijuana. She'll take it one step at a time, though, and travel to the Statehouse on Wednesday to urge legislators to decriminalize possession of the drug. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing Wednesday evening of two pieces of legislation -- one that would decriminalize small amounts of marijuana and one that would toughen penalties for trafficking heroin and cocaine.
"I think both are public policy issues that ought to be explored," said committee Chairman Richard Sears, D-Bennington.Sears, who sponsored the drug trafficking bill, is less enthusiastic about the marijuana legislation, which calls for making possession of 4 ounces or less a civil penalty rather than a criminal one. Offenders would receive something akin to a traffic ticket instead of a criminal summons. "I'm leery of the amount being discussed," Sears said. "I would consider decriminalizing smaller amounts."Sen. Hinda Miller, D-Chittenden, a lead sponsor of the marijuana bill, said for her it's about prioritizing resources. "I sit on Appropriations, and we do not have enough resources to make good on all our promises," she said. "It's time to be realistic and look at the world as it is." "I think it clogs up our court system with things I don't necessarily believe are a crime," said Sen. Jeannette White, D-Windham, who also sponsored the bill. Winooski Police Chief Steve McQueen disagreed."It's not burdening our court system," he said.Those charged with first-offense possession of a small amount of marijuana are usually sent through court diversion or referred to a local reparative board, he said. They serve no prison time and come away with no criminal record. If marijuana were decriminalized, he said, those same people would probably pay the fine and carry it on their record for life.McQueen has other reservations. Police officers on the street don't carry scales that would let them determine whether a person has enough marijuana for a civil or a criminal penalty, he said. Officers would also lose the authority to search a suspect who has a civil-penalty quantity, he said. White said her preference would be to legalize marijuana. That is the backdrop of the decriminalization debate: What many supporters really have their sights set on is legalization. That's the goal for Daye, a retired doctor from Waterbury."I don't think it's harmful," she said. "It's not addictive. You cannot overdose. Its effect is temporary. It does not cause brain damage. It's more benign than alcohol." Again, McQueen said the goal is impractical."It's still a violation of federal law," he said. People who buy marijuana are buying from dealers who are knee-deep in crime, he said. McQueen is more supportive of the other bill to be considered at Wednesday's hearing. That one would lower the amount of cocaine or heroin needed to trigger drug trafficking penalties. McQueen said crack cocaine is on the rise in Vermont and some dealers keep their quantities just below the threshold to avoid harsher penalties. DRUG HEARINGWHAT: Senate Judiciary Committee public hearing on two drug-related bills being considered -- one to decriminalize marijuana and the other to toughen penalties for trafficking of heroin and cocaine.WHEN: 6-8 p.m. WednesdayWHERE: Room 11, Statehouse, MontpelierINFORMATION: To view the proposed legislation on marijuana (S. 238) , visit: http://tinyurl.com/2loxzzComplete Article: http://tinyurl.com/2o9bt8Source: Burlington Free Press (VT)Author:  Terri Hallenbeck, Free Press Staff WriterPublished: Monday, January 21, 2008Copyright: 2008 Burlington Free PressContact: letters bfp.burlingtonfreepress.comWebsite: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/ Related Articles:Vt. Senate To Consider Bills Easing Pot Lawshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23592.shtmlWhy is Pot Cultivation for Personal Use Illegal?http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23583.shtmlIt's Time To Decriminalize Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23578.shtml

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Comment #18 posted by Storm Crow on January 22, 2008 at 14:24:17 PT
Bullett! 
That brings back some memories! My hubbie and I were basically homeless, but owned a milk truck that was converted to a camper. A friend owned some land across a ravine from a drive in (remember them?) and let us camp there. Bullett was playing and by the time we got some rent money together, I could just about quote the film line for line! LOL I never want to see or hear that film again!
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Comment #17 posted by Dankhank on January 22, 2008 at 13:03:14 PT
Bullit
good flick, yes, amazing car chase ...in SF, I believe ...I'll have to see if it's out there ...wanna compare to car chases in the Bourne movies ,..,.good memory ...
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Comment #16 posted by ripit on January 22, 2008 at 07:05:26 PT:
speaking of amc did....
 this guy get into office because of his name?steve mcqueen has been one of my all time fav actors! have some of you younger ppl seen him in bullitt?one of the all time best car chases ever!
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Comment #15 posted by FoM on January 21, 2008 at 20:21:01 PT
Sam
No I don't remember it but I think I would like to see it. Maybe it will be on AMC sometime.
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Comment #14 posted by Sam Adams on January 21, 2008 at 20:06:28 PT
in the heat of the night
Are you sure you don't remember it? It was the one with Sidney Poitier, he is a detective from Philadelphia that ends up helping a white southern sheriff (Rod Steiger) to solve a murder. Highly recommended.
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on January 21, 2008 at 19:50:01 PT

Sam
I don't remember that movie but I remember the name of it. I don't think Mississippi Burning was totally accurate but the theme of the movie reminded me of the Civil Rights workers that came up missing and then found dead back in those very trying days.
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Comment #12 posted by Sam Adams on January 21, 2008 at 19:31:55 PT

movies
FOM, yes I liked Mississippi Burning as well, interesting to see that Howard Zinn criticized parts of it.  I also really like the old "In the Heat of the Night", especially the part where Rod Steiger punches the redneck guy in the barn! Great movie.
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Comment #11 posted by runruff on January 21, 2008 at 18:03:27 PT:

Sherrif McObscene
Even if he were somehow telling the truth about pot sellers being up to their knees in crime, does he mean the crime they are up to their knees in is selling pot or does he mean that they are murders, rapest, human violators of every sort and that selling pot is just one of the many vile activities they are involved in? If this is the picture in his neighborhood, is pot somehow fueling the other activies? If so as he impies wouldn't legalizing it remove it from the hands of this vile element and place it in more responsible hands, oh say,{snicker] our government?Wherever you find pot prohibition you find LEOs in the market. Are they the criminals he is refering to as being knee deep in crime? No, probably not but truth and reality would say it is so.
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Comment #10 posted by JustGetnBy on January 21, 2008 at 17:37:40 PT

  HOW DARK IT MUST BE IN THEIR HEART...
.... to believe the evil things they say, without a thought to the damage caused by their narrow minded OPINION. 
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on January 21, 2008 at 16:31:54 PT

Sam
A few weeks ago we watched Mississippi Burning. I saw it years ago but it left a much bigger impact on me now. MLK really stepped into a battle. Like I said before he was an amazing man.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi_Burning
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Comment #8 posted by Sam Adams on January 21, 2008 at 16:16:37 PT

MLK
I read another great quote from MLK in today's paper. "The time is always right to do what is right". What a great hero he was. Never afraid to take on the system.  Apparently he also said, when JFK was shot, "this is what is going to happen to me someday" and then proceeded into the teeth of battle for another 5 years."In a civilized society, it is the duty of all citizens to obey just laws. But at the same time it is the duty of all citizens to disobey unjust laws."- Martin Luther King Jr.

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Comment #7 posted by Sam adams on January 21, 2008 at 16:12:56 PT

police
Thanks for straightening us out on this guy runruff.  I was also appalled. He is right out of 1984. He wants to tell you that by taking MJ from being a criminal offense, to being a non-criminal offense, that you're now going to have a criminal record for life. You know decrim is good proposal when the LEO start lying frantically. We must be moving in the right direction!Honest, it's not clogging up the court system! Right. 800,000 arrests just BREEZE right through the justice system - it's like they never even happened! Sure buddy.
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Comment #6 posted by runruff on January 21, 2008 at 12:09:20 PT:

McQueen
He is just another lying pig who will lie, sell his mother or his neighbors dog to keep the funds flowing and the the good times rolling.I can't speak for every neighborhood in the country but as for this one there is little to no crime and there are more pot growers per square inch than anywhere in the country. As for myself and some of my close friends, we are very community minded. We have never committed any crimes. The cops in this county are the only runnaway crimminal element. Probably the same with Ol' McQueen there and his gang.O' please mister don't take our ball away, please don't take away our ball!!!!!
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on January 21, 2008 at 11:06:12 PT

fight_4_freedom 
I hope everything goes well for you and your state.
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Comment #4 posted by fight_4_freedom on January 21, 2008 at 10:28:18 PT:

Just got this from the minorml talk list
The deadline for challenging signatures sampled from the initiative petition sponsored by the Coalition for Compassionate Care, P.O. Box 20489, Ferndale, MI 48220 elapses at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, February 4, 2008. Arrangements to purchase or inspect copies of the petition sheets which bear the sampled signatures can be made by contacting the Michigan Department of State's Bureau of Elections, P.O. Box 20126, Lansing, MI 48901. Office location: Richard H. Austin Building, 1st Floor, 430 West
Allegan, Lansing, MI 48933. Phone: (517) 373-2540. The initiative petition sponsored by the Coalition for Compassionate Care would allow under state law the medical use of marihuana. The challenge deadline was established by the Board of State Canvassers at its meeting of December 19, 2007. By motion, the Board stipulated that the challenge deadline elapse 10 business days after copies of the signatures sampled from the petition are available to the public. 
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on January 21, 2008 at 10:26:41 PT

fight_4_freedom 
Thank you for the link. We shall overcome someday and maybe the day will come to be soon. MLK was an amazing man.This stuff always makes me cry.Abraham, Martin and Johnhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_OqdHMoTxE
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Comment #2 posted by fight_4_freedom on January 21, 2008 at 10:18:32 PT:

Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!
Martin Luther King Jr's "I have a Dream" Speech. We should all be grateful for what this man accomplished and did for our country. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbUtL_0vAJk
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on January 21, 2008 at 06:43:35 PT

News Article From The West Australian
New Study Shows Marijuana May Fight Cancer***January 21, 2008 
The active ingredient in marijuana may suppress tumour invasion in highly invasive cancers, according to new research in Germany.Cannabinoids, the active components in marijuana, are already used medically to reduce the side effects of cancer treatment, such as pain, weight loss and vomiting.But the new study, published in the latest issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, finds that the compounds may also have an anti-cancer effect.However, more research is needed to determine whether the laboratory results would hold true in humans, the authors wrote.Dr Robert Ramer and Dr Burkhard Hinz of the University of Rostock in Germany investigated whether and by what mechanism cannabinoids inhibit tumour cell invasion.Cannabinoids did suppress tumour cell invasion and stimulated the expression of TIMP-1, an inhibitor of a group of enzymes that are involved in tumour cell invasion.“To our knowledge, this is the first report of TIMP-1-dependent anti-invasive effects of cannabinoids,” the two researchers said in a joint statement.“This signalling pathway may play an important role in the anti- metastatic action of cannabinoids, whose potential therapeutic benefit in the treatment of highly invasive cancers should be addressed in clinical trials,” the authors said.HAMBURGCopyright: 2008 West Australian Newspapers Limited http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=158&ContentID=55357
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