cannabisnews.com: Medical Pot Experts Speak About Obama





Medical Pot Experts Speak About Obama
Posted by CN Staff on February 03, 2009 at 18:06:51 PT
By Hannah Guzik, Ashland Daily Tidings
Source: Ashland Daily Tidings
Oregon -- A panel of seven medical marijuana experts was divided Monday night in Ashland over whether President Barack Obama will overturn the federal law that makes possessing or using the drug illegal.Although several states, including Oregon, have medical marijuana acts, the federal government can arrest or fine patients who are using the drug under state-mandated guidelines.
Not all of the panel members weighed in on the subject — except to say that medical marijuana use should be allowed under federal law — but Southern Oregon University professor William Hughes did say he was optimistic that Obama would amend the federal law."It's going to start with medical marijuana," Hughes said at the free gathering, which drew a standing-room-only crowd to SOU's Meese Auditorium. "It's going to start with defensible cases that are going to appeal to people on more than just the fact of, 'You guys just want to have a good time.'"However, Ed Rosenthal, a prominent medical marijuana author and activist, said he didn't think Obama would change the federal law prohibiting marijuana usage or possession, even for medical reasons."Obama isn't going to do this for us. He's a politician," he said. "Just because somebody likes pot doesn't mean they're going to change this."Rosenthal said Obama selected "hardliners" for his cabinet positions, especially in the Justice Department.But Hughes made the argument that because Obama's mother died of cancer relatively young — at age 52 — and since she was supposedly taking morphine at the end to ease her pain, the president likely understands that marijuana can have many of the same palliative effects as morphine, without some of the side-effects.In an interview last March with the Medford Mail-Tribune, then-Senator Obama said he supported the use of medical marijuana and that he would not interfere in state medical marijuana laws if elected president."As for medical marijuana ... I'm not familiar with all the details of the initiative that was passed, but I think the basic concept of using medical marijuana for the same purposes and with the same controls as other drugs prescribed by doctors, I think that's entirely appropriate," he said."I'm not going to be using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws on this issue," Obama said.Voter Power, an Oregon medical marijuana activist group, and Students for Truth, an SOU club, sponsored the meeting. In addition to being informational, the gathering was designed to bring attention to an initiative Voter Power is trying to get on the 2010 state ballot that would allow medical marijuana dispensaries in Oregon.The panel also included Don Coon, the owner of a medical marijuana farm; Debby Goldsberry, the founder of Berkeley Patients Group, a medical marijuana dispensary; Claudia Little, a retired nurse practitioner who helped organize Americans for Safe Access in San Diego; Angel Raich, who was involved in a medical marijuana-related Supreme Court case, Gonzales v. Raich; and John Sajo, who serves on Oregon's Advisory Committee on Medical Marijuana and is the executive director of Voter Power.Source: Ashland Daily Tidings (OR)Author: Hannah Guzik, Tidings CorrespondentPublished: February 03, 2009 Copyright: 2009 Ashland Daily TidingsWebsite: http://www.dailytidings.com/Contact: tidingsopinion dailytidings.comURL: http://drugsense.org/url/DsZcJBG2Voter Powerhttp://voterpower.org/CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
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Comment #7 posted by Hope on February 04, 2009 at 22:55:30 PT
DEA continues pot raids Obama opposes
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/feb/05/dea-led-by-bush-continues-pot-raids/Excerpt: "The White House said it expects those kinds of raids to end once Mr. Obama nominates someone to take charge of DEA, which is still run by Bush administration holdovers."The president believes that federal resources should not be used to circumvent state laws, and as he continues to appoint senior leadership to fill out the ranks of the federal government, he expects them to review their policies with that in mind," White House spokesman Nick Shapiro said.___________________________________Thanks, Pete. http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on February 04, 2009 at 13:47:49 PT
A Colorado Article
http://www.westword.com/2009-02-05/news/medical-marijuana-has-become-a-growth-industry-in-colorado/1
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on February 04, 2009 at 12:13:16 PT
Some Might Want To Comment on This Blog
Legalize Marijuana? Obama Was Right to Say NoURL: http://www.usnews.com/blogs/heart-to-heart/2009/02/04/legalize-marijuana-obama-was-right-to-say-no.html
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on February 04, 2009 at 10:11:58 PT
What Obama Said in Oregon
I think I get where he might go with our issue. ***Obama's Mixed Messages on Marijuana http://www.counterpunch.org/gardner02042009.html***Excerpt: I think there are legitimate concerns in not wanting to allow people to grow their own or start setting up mom and pop shops, because at that point it becomes fairly difficult to regulate. http://granitestaters.com/candidates/video_obama_02.html***Excerpt: Would you stop the DEA's raids on Oregon medical marijuana growers?I would because I think our federal agents have better things to do, like catching criminals and preventing terrorism.http://cannabisnews.com/news/23/thread23934.shtml#6
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Comment #3 posted by runruff on February 04, 2009 at 01:45:22 PT
OT- Charlie Manson,
to be new head of ONDCP. A spokes person for the office of the Drug Czar said today that the whole department, including the head of the DEA, are so pissed at the turn of events in the WoD and the lack of public support That they will leave what will probably be the last Drug Czar in charge of the failing department. That person will be Mr. Charles Manson."He has our full confidence", the spokes person said, we believe he will bring the kind of justice to the American people that they deserve"!After 35 years of needless killing and destruction the DEA has just made things worse. It is now time for a fresh new bloodier approach to the drug problem in America and the ONDCP and the DEA say Manson will be the best most effective bureau chief since J. Edgar Hoover [without the chiffon gowns].
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on February 03, 2009 at 18:34:02 PT
OT: More Raids
DEA Raids Marina del Rey Medical Marijuana Dispensary February 3, 2009URL: http://www.contracostatimes.com/california/ci_11619733
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on February 03, 2009 at 18:20:16 PT
Here's More That President Obama Said
Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) Speaks on Medical Marijuana(Excerpts from a March 22, 2008 interview with Gary Nelson, editorial page editor for the Mail Tribune) 
Senator Barack Obama on medical marijuanaObama: When it comes to medical marijuana, I have more of a practical view than anything else. I mean, my attitude is that if it’s an issue of doctors prescribing medical marijuana as a treatment for glaucoma or as a cancer treatment, I think that should be appropriate because there really is no difference between that and a doctor prescribing morphine or anything else. I think there are legitimate concerns in not wanting to allow people to grow their own or start setting up mom and pop shops, because at that point it becomes fairly difficult to regulate. And again, I am not familiar with all the details of the initiative that was passed and what safeguards there were in place, but I think the basic concept that using medical marijuana in the same way with the same controls as other drugs prescribed by doctors, I think that’s entirely appropriate.Nelson: Federal law, of course, still considers it a controlled substance.Obama: RightNelson: And there have been attempts from Washington to punish doctorsObama: Yeah, I would not punish doctors if its prescribed in a way that is appropriate; that may require some changes in federal law. I will tell you that, I want to be honest with you whether I want to use a whole lot of political capital on that issue when we’re trying to get health care passed or end the war in iraq is ... the likelihood of that being real high on my list is not likely.Nelson: It's safe to say you wouldn't be ...Obama: What I'm not going to be doing is using Justice Department resources to try to circumvent state laws on this issue. Simply because I want folks to be investigating violent crimes and potential terrorism. We’ve got a lot of things for our law enforcement officers to deal with.http://granitestaters.com/candidates/video_obama_02.html
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