cannabisnews.com: MMJ Bill Unlikely To Advance in Kansas MMJ Bill Unlikely To Advance in Kansas Posted by CN Staff on February 11, 2008 at 21:19:38 PT By Jeannine Koranda, The Wichita Eagle Source: Wichita Eagle Topeka, KS -- Several people on Monday urged Kansas lawmakers to approve a measure that would allow some patients to use notes from their doctors as a defense for possessing marijuana.Opponents, including law enforcement, the state Board of Pharmacy and the Kansas Medical Society questioned marijuana’s effectiveness in treating symptoms of such diseases as cancer and multiple sclerosis. The measure, S.B. 556, is dubbed the “medical marijuana defense act.” It would apply to people with diseases such as glaucoma, cancer or multiple sclerosis.Eleven states have medical marijuana programs in some form, according to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.The idea drew a lot of attention, but the committee is not likely to vote on it.Sen. Susan Wagle, a Wichita Republican, said that the medicines used to treat pain and nausea for cancer patients have come a long way. “I don’t see it as something that is necessary in this day and age,” she said of medical marijuana.Eric Voth, the chairman of the Institute on Global Drug Policy, said the measure would create a “get-out-of-jail-free card” for people who could convince a doctor they needed marijuana.“Marijuana is a sorry excuse for medicine,” Voth said. He said the bill was part of a national push to legalize the drug.“Extensive studies have not proven the claim that it helps in any way, and the harm that it would do to our society as a whole makes this bill not in the best interest of the state,” said agent Jeff Brandau of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.Other opponents said the measure would make it difficult to tell children that marijuana was harmful, and they raised the vision of street corner pot shops.However, some patients and their families see marijuana as a relief to their suffering.Bette Hulser of Topeka said that when her son was suffering from multiple sclerosis, smoking marijuana stopped his screaming.“After seeing my son, I knew then I would never do anything to stop him from smoking marijuana,” said Hulser, who described herself as “pretty straight-laced.”The measure does not legalize marijuana for anyone, countered Laura Green, the director of the Kansas Compassionate Care Coalition. Green said she had heard from hundreds of people whose family members had used marijuana to relieve their suffering.“We cannot continue to let these vulnerable people be convicted of illegal drug use when they are simply trying to gain relief from pain and suffering with their doctor’s support,” she said.Complete Title: Medical Marijuana Bill Gets a Hearing But Is Unlikely To Advance in KansasSource: Wichita Eagle (KS)Author: Jeannine Koranda, The Wichita EaglePublished: February 11, 2008Copyright: 2008 The Wichita EagleContact: letters wichitaeagle.com Website: http://www.wichitaeagle.com/Related Articles & Web Site:KSCCChttp://www.ksccc.org/ Marijuana on Panel Agendahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23673.shtmlBill Would Allow Judge To Consider Illness Defensehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23642.shtmlBill Seeks Medical Defense of Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread23636.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #35 posted by fight_4_freedom on February 12, 2008 at 12:45:56 PT: Here's a little CNN World segment about the vending machines. (features Angel Raich) [ Post Comment ] Comment #34 posted by fight_4_freedom on February 12, 2008 at 12:39:33 PT: Local news segment about medical marijuana and the dea in california. It was just posted on youtube today.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2gwYyMDcEU [ Post Comment ] Comment #33 posted by runruff on February 12, 2008 at 10:59:40 PT: Gazooks! Gad, how it irks me the way LEOs spout their opinions about what is medicine and what is not medicine. What Hubris! What egos! Who do they think they are?I woke up this morning with a swollen foot so I called a cop.Last night someone was trying to break into my house so I quickly called my doctor!Marajuana is not medicine. They show their ignorance. They speak against some of the finest scientific studies ever conducted.They speak against thousands of years of constant usage.They speak from that proverbial anatomically southern dark place. [ Post Comment ] Comment #32 posted by FoM on February 12, 2008 at 10:24:13 PT Hope You're welcome. I am prone to high blood pressure now I think so I try to focus on what will help me keep it down. Anger raises my heart rate and I don't like that. How to stay healthy as we are getting older will be a challenge. I think acceptance of how things are helps alot for me. [ Post Comment ] Comment #31 posted by Hope on February 12, 2008 at 10:18:14 PT Smile... FoM. Thank you. I've been more easily angered lately. So it's on my mind. [ Post Comment ] Comment #30 posted by FoM on February 12, 2008 at 09:09:15 PT Hope I had a short fuse years ago but now I don't. I think that I have come to the conclusion that life isn't fair and people will always let us down but we have enough good happen in our lives to keep us going from victory to victory. [ Post Comment ] Comment #29 posted by Hope on February 12, 2008 at 09:06:52 PT Getting ready to whup someone's ass. The verbal, "Ass whupping". The mind, "seething like a toad" (although, Thank You, God, I've never seen a toad seethe). All the things you should say. Boiling bubbling. Constantly seasoned with dredged up memories of past betrayals... however small or large. Seasoning the brew. Liking the taste of it better.Pray God that it doesn't boil over. [ Post Comment ] Comment #28 posted by Hope on February 12, 2008 at 09:01:54 PT Betrayal or even imagined betrayal makes me so angry. And sad. Worried. and angrier.I try to avoid the imaginary feeling of betrayal... It hurts for no reason. But sometimes the conclusions that we jumped on backwards, perhaps, and gallop all hell and away on, just get away from us and out of control before we know it. That's why they should be avoided. People get hurt, including, and first, even from just the inward seething, ourselves. If I feel a seething session coming on ... I always try to back off from it. [ Post Comment ] Comment #27 posted by Hope on February 12, 2008 at 08:50:40 PT crippling, anger The writhing is about strengthening up. Getting ready to whup someone's ass. And I don't mean donkey, either. It seethes, it rises it boils and bubbles.The worst anger... the anger that is hate says "They don't deserve to live". [ Post Comment ] Comment #26 posted by FoM on February 12, 2008 at 08:43:40 PT My Thoughts Cannabis is a stabilizer. It has a way of putting all things into a proper order. That's one of the reasons I believe big pharm doesn't like it. [ Post Comment ] Comment #25 posted by Hope on February 12, 2008 at 08:42:35 PT Comment 19 Dongenero "I take it these three stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night."Lol! [ Post Comment ] Comment #24 posted by Hope on February 12, 2008 at 08:40:58 PT PMS? Does cannabis help? Really help? Need I say more? [ Post Comment ] Comment #23 posted by Hope on February 12, 2008 at 08:39:54 PT "Therapy or recreation?" Refreshment?Restorative?To recreate our energy, and our will, and our hope?Once I was seething, and nearly, literally, writhing in anger. Anger wanted to turn into hatred.A little help from a friend, and I no longer writhed and seethed in mounting, crippling, anger. Hmmm. It seemed good... yet we're told that it is wrong... it's hideously wrong. It's "Hate you bad enough to kill you" wrong for some people. [ Post Comment ] Comment #22 posted by FoM on February 12, 2008 at 08:37:55 PT Hope She hasn't has the surgery yet. It's scheduled for the 25th. I know it is going to be hard on her. Her one son that has MD and lives with her is going to Florida with friends so he won't be home alone either while she is gone. [ Post Comment ] Comment #21 posted by fight_4_freedom on February 12, 2008 at 08:33:27 PT: Marijuana: Therapy or recreation? I'd say both :) Officials argue bill that would make medical marijuana a defenseBy Tim CarpenterThe Capital-JournalPublished Tuesday, February 12, 2008Junction City Police Lt. Mike Life viewed consideration Monday of medical-marijuana legislation as a wacky ploy to seek legalization of pot in Kansas."Marijuana is not medicine," Life said in testimony to the Senate Health Care Strategies Committee. "There is a well-financed and organized pro-drug legalization lobby whose strategic ploy is to appeal to your compassion for sick people."Former Kansas Attorney General Bob Stephan testifies Monday at the Statehouse in support of a bill allowing medical conditions as a defense against marijuana possession.Former Kansas Attorney General Robert Stephan, on the other hand, said he couldn't imagine how federal government officials slept at night knowing pot could alleviate pain of people battling severe disease. complete article [ Post Comment ] Comment #20 posted by Hope on February 12, 2008 at 08:31:11 PT FoM I'm so glad she came through the surgery so well.You'll will have an enjoyable time, I'm sure, being with each other again. Those times are precious. One of those "All things work to the good of them that love God" things. [ Post Comment ] Comment #19 posted by dongenero on February 12, 2008 at 07:52:54 PT weighing in with medical opinions? Senator Susan Wagle-R, Eric Voth, the chairman of the Institute on Global Drug Policy, Jeff Brandau of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.Thanks for the enlightened medical opinions. I take it these three stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night. They certainly are not doctors.I'll take my opinions from my doctors of choice thank you. [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by FoM on February 12, 2008 at 07:48:23 PT Hope I just called my sister and she was going to go home after knee replacement surgery and wouldn't have anyone with her for a few days so she is going to come and stay with us when the time comes. Her bathroom is on the second floor but we have ours on the first floor. [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on February 12, 2008 at 07:46:23 PT Now here's something that's really scary... Charity issues urgent warning to all travellers to United Arab Emirates after Briton imprisoned for 4 years for 0.003g cannabis caught in the tread of his shoePoppy seeds in food, common over-the-counter medications and traces of banned substances enough to attract 4 year prison sentence after clampdownhttp://tinyurl.com/2vc3yqBut here's what the UN is concerned about....Marijuana vending machines in Los Angeles violate international treaties and should be shut down, the U.N.-affiliated drug control board said Friday.``The International Narcotics Control Board is deeply concerned about reports that computerized vending machines to dispense cannabis (marijuana) have been put into operation in Los Angeles,'' Philip O. Emafo, president of the board, said in a statement. http://tinyurl.com/2bhwdgI guess if they cared about individuals they wouldn't be called the United NATIONS. [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by Hope on February 12, 2008 at 07:32:00 PT What is HughesNet actually? If you don't know, I ain't a gonna tell ya! [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by Hope on February 12, 2008 at 07:30:50 PT "smile" That's the ticket! [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by FoM on February 12, 2008 at 07:25:28 PT Hope OK. What is HughesNet actually? LOL! [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by Hope on February 12, 2008 at 07:14:10 PT Comment 10 "It's a good day."It sounds like it. Enjoy!Don't even think about HughesNet. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by Hope on February 12, 2008 at 07:10:38 PT Sensimilla Now you did make me laugh out loud! [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on February 12, 2008 at 07:03:39 PT #9 - LOL! That's me, once folks stop laughing they become frightened. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by FoM on February 12, 2008 at 07:02:30 PT Hope Thank you. Something is making a little noise inside the computer that we will need to figure out what is causing it but it is running great today. We are having a beautiful snow storm! We have at least 6 inches of snow so far. The woodstove is cranking and we have plenty of food in the house and Stick made it home ok last night even though it took him a long time. It's a good day. I think Alltel ramped up our speed and I love it. Alltel is so much better then HughesNet. If I was still on satellite I wouldn't be online because the dish is full of snow. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by Hope on February 12, 2008 at 06:43:56 PT Comment 6 You're getting scary now! [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by Hope on February 12, 2008 at 06:42:34 PT Comment 4 It's good to see your computer didn't totally expire on you yet! [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by Hope on February 12, 2008 at 06:40:16 PT Comment 2 That's great. While I didn't actually laugh out loud, thank you so much for the very, very long lasting, sweet smile, Sinsemilla. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on February 12, 2008 at 06:39:50 PT Thanks my pretties! Pay no attention to the smoke coming from behind the curtain.And watch out for the Wicked Czar of the East. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Hope on February 12, 2008 at 06:35:12 PT Am I right? http://www.alternet.org/story/76496/Latest Anti-Pot Quack Science: 'Marijuana Makes Your Teeth Fall Out'By Bruce Mirken, AlterNet. Posted February 9, 2008.---------------------------------------------------------------Check out the articles in the sidebar. Some titles are, "Christian Right's Emerging Deadly Worldview: Kill Muslims to Purify the Earth""Becoming a Black Man". Daisy Hernandez"Making Pot Legal: We Can Do It--Here's How". Paul Armentanohttp://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/76698/Extraordinary, I thought. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by FoM on February 12, 2008 at 06:25:23 PT Sinsemilla Jones You made me laugh! Thanks! [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by fight_4_freedom on February 12, 2008 at 06:01:52 PT: Sinsemilla Jones haha theres no pills like pot! Too funny :) [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on February 12, 2008 at 05:57:23 PT What if I click my ruby bongs together and say... There's no pills like pot.There's no pills like pot.There's no pills like pot. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Truth on February 11, 2008 at 22:16:39 PT Kansas This isn't Mendo, Toto [ Post Comment ] Post Comment