cannabisnews.com: Lynch At Center of Medical Marijuana Fight
function share_this(num) {
tit=encodeURIComponent('Lynch At Center of Medical Marijuana Fight');
url=encodeURIComponent('http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/24/thread24899.shtml');
site = new Array(5);
site[0]='http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u='+url+'&title='+tit;
site[1]='http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit.php?url='+url+'&title='+tit;
site[2]='http://digg.com/submit?topic=political_opinion&media=video&url='+url+'&title='+tit;
site[3]='http://reddit.com/submit?url='+url+'&title='+tit;
site[4]='http://del.icio.us/post?v=4&noui&jump=close&url='+url+'&title='+tit;
window.open(site[num],'sharer','toolbar=0,status=0,width=620,height=500');
return false;
}
Lynch At Center of Medical Marijuana Fight
Posted by CN Staff on July 01, 2009 at 05:02:13 PT
By Tim Fahey, State House Bureau Chief
Source: Union Leader
Concord, N.H. -- With the battle over a state budget now over, activists are fighting over whether Gov. John Lynch should sign a medical marijuana bill into law. Conservatives are urging Lynch to veto HB 648, while those who favor more liberal marijuana policies are urging him to pass it.The bill calls for three-nonprofit "compassion centers" that would be licensed to grow and distribute marijuana to critically and terminally ill patients, who must be certified by the state and their own doctor.
Lynch said yesterday he is reviewing a copy of the 20-page bill that Senate and House members negotiated over the past month, but said he has reached no decision. The Secretary of State's office has still not received the finished bill from legislative lawyers. The bill needs the signatures of Speaker of the House Terie Norelli and Senate President Sylvia Larsen before it goes to Lynch. If he signs the bill, New Hampshire would join 13 other states that enacted laws allowing medicinal use of marijuana.The final version of the bill passed by more than a two-thirds margin in the House, 232-108, and by a party-line, 14-10 vote in the Senate.Republicans who voted against the bill argued that it will put police in a tough spot. They are sworn to uphold all state and federal laws, yet state marijuana law will require them to allow certified patients to violate federal law.The conservative Cornerstone Policy Research group is calling on Lynch to veto the bill on fiscal concerns, saying it will cost the state too much money at a time when budget dollars are already stretched too thinly.A legislative fiscal note said the bill will cost $250,000. However, the bill states that the program must be self-funded, using license and permit fees to cover all its costs.Matt Simon of the N.H. Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy said Cornerstone did not follow the bill through the process, and missed important changes that eliminated the bill's impact on the budget.He said the bill was carefully crafted to meet all Lynch's concerns, especially his demand that dispensation and distribution of marijuana be a secure process."We feel we've done a good job and we hope Gov. Lynch will do the right thing," Simon said.NH Common Sense has launched a TV ad campaign, its second of the year, calling on Lynch to sign the bill. It features cancer survivor Dennis Acton of Fremont, recounting how the use of marijuana alleviated nausea he suffered during chemotherapy.Acton says in the 30-second ad, "I hope Gov. Lynch will have the courage to step forward and sign this bill into law."Source: Union Leader (Manchester, NH)Author: Tim Fahey, State House Bureau Chief Published: July 1, 2009Copyright: 2009 The Union Leader Corp.Contact: opinion UnionLeader.comWebsite: http://www.theunionleader.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/riPxb2dZRelated Articles:Group Wants Lynch To Veto Medical Pot Billhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24896.shtmlAfter Lawmakers' OK, MMJ Bill Goes To Lynchhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24891.shtml
Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help
Comment #23 posted by BGreen on July 01, 2009 at 19:17:11 PT
I've said it before, but ...
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ I admire the heck out of you, mykeyb420! ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥The Reverend Bud Green
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #22 posted by FoM on July 01, 2009 at 18:30:44 PT
mykeyb420
Have a great time. What a wonderful camp.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #21 posted by mykeyb420 on July 01, 2009 at 18:02:43 PT
OFF topic
Hi fellow cannabis friends:It is THAT time of the year again !!
I am off to summer camp on Friday. For those who don't know, I am a camp counselor at Camp Sunburst in Livermore CA.See ya on the mid-month check-point.Peace
Mykey B
SF CA
Camp Sunburst
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #20 posted by mykeyb420 on July 01, 2009 at 17:58:44 PT
I saw this on the BBC
The possession and use of any kind of drug was decriminalised in Portugal eight years ago, despite concerns drug use would increase.
Instead, usage and the number of drug-related deaths have decreased, and the number of people seeking treatment has risen.
Portugal drug experiment pays off
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #19 posted by Hope on July 01, 2009 at 15:33:22 PT
The state of this country in recent years
made me afraid that the love of liberty and freedom had just flat been bred out of most of us.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #18 posted by Hope on July 01, 2009 at 15:31:42 PT
Rhode Island
Huzza! Huzza! Huzza!I knew there was bound to be some old time liberty loving continental type patriots left up in those north woods parts. Should have been some old active DNA strands still alive in them at least.Wonderful!Sanity in the state house. What a concept.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #17 posted by Sam Adams on July 01, 2009 at 14:16:20 PT
Rhode Island
It looks like they passed this "study" bill because they knew Carcieri would veto any decrim bill.Could RI become the first state to legalize? They move fast, I wouldn't be surprised at all if they made a move toward decrim or legalization when Carceiri leaves
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #16 posted by FoM on July 01, 2009 at 13:39:50 PT
4th of July Smoke-In
Saturday, July 4, from 2 p.m. - 9 p.m.URL: http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=37501
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #15 posted by FoM on July 01, 2009 at 13:38:20 PT
From The Providence Journal Blog
R.I. Senate Approves Commission To Study Marijuana LawBy Katherine GreggJuly 01, 2009PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Backers of the successful drive to legalize the sale of marijuana for medicinal purposes have now won Senate support for a study of what, if anything, is being accomplished by criminalizing use of the plant for any other purpose?During the General Assembly's aborted rush to adjournment Friday, the Senate approved a resolution - introduced earlier the same day - to create a nine-member special commission to study a swath of issues surrounding marijuana. Among them: "The experience of individuals and families sentenced for violating marijuana laws...The experience of states and European countries, such as California, Massachusetts and the Netherlands, which have decriminalized the sale and use of marijuana.''The sponsors of the eleventh-hour legislation include Sens. Joshua Miller, D-Cranston; Leo Blais, R-Coventry; Rhoda Perry, D-Providence; Charles Levesque, D-Portsmouth, and Susan Sosnowski, D-South Kingstown.In a brief interview Wednesday, Miller said the legislation was sparked by the referendum-driven move to decriminalize marijuana in Massachusetts, and what he perceives as "a national trend towards decriminalization.''Asked why he waited until what was to be the last day of the session to introduce the measure, Miller said he and his fellow sponsors felt it was "very important'' for this study to be "defined as an issue'' completely separate and apart from the passage - over Governor Carcieri's veto - of legislation allowing the creation of state-regulated dispensaries to sell marijuana for medicinal use.Miller said it also "took that long for it to be taken seriously.''The resolution would create a Special Senate Commission to study the prohibition of marijuana "made up of "elected members of the Rhode Island Senate, local law enforcement officials, physicians, nurses, social workers, academic leaders in the field of addiction studies, advocates or patients in the state's medical marijuana program, advocates working in the field of prisoner re-entry, economists, and members of the general public.''The bill poses a number of specific questions for study, among them:
"Whether and to what extent Rhode Island youth have access to marijuana despite current laws prohibiting its use...Whether adults' use of marijuana has decreased since marijuana became illegal in Rhode Island in 1918...Whether the current system of marijuana prohibition has created violence in the state of Rhode Island against users or among those who sell marijuana...Whether the proceeds from the sales of marijuana are funding organized crime, including drug cartels...Whether those who sell marijuana on the criminal market may also sell other drugs, thus increasing the chances that youth will use other illegal substances?''The legislation also questions the "dangers associated with marijuana resulting from it being sold on the criminal market, including if it is ever contaminated or laced with other drugs.''The panel has until January 31, 2010 to report its findings and recommendations to the Senate, though it would stay alive through January 31, 2014.A bar owner who says he does not use illegal drugs or even drink liquor more than a few times a year, Miller said he is not hoping or expecting any specific outcome. "I am more open-minded that that,'' he said. "I am hoping to react to the best research and data we can get out of looking at it.''A year ago, Republican Governor Carcieri vetoed a joint House and Senate call for a study of the wisdom of creating state-regulated marijuana dispensaries. But "since this was only a Senate resolution, it does not come to the governor for his approval,'' Carcieri spokeswoman Amy Kempe said.In February, one of the co-sponsors, pharmacist Leo Blais, proposed a bill titled - "The Sensible State Marijuana Policy Act'' - that would have decriminalized the possession of an ounce of less of marijuana, reducing it to a civil offense for which anyone age 18 or older would face a $100 fine and forfeiture of the marijuana. The bill never made it out of the senate Judiciary Committee.As of Wednesday, no person or group had formally applied for the license to run the first of the three marijuana dispensaries allowed by the so-called "compassion centers'' bill.Both the House and Senate have each passed, for the second year in a row, their own versions (S39 and H5007) of a bill to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for certain drug crimes. But no one version of the measure has yet cleared both chambers, in this year when the House and Senate went on hiatus, with no certain return date, and no final action on a bevy of high-profile bills.Copyright: 2009 The Providence Journal Co.http://newsblog.projo.com/2009/07/ri-senate-appro.html
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #14 posted by FoM on July 01, 2009 at 12:31:08 PT
Had Enough and Sam
Had Enough, Keep up the good work. Sam, I found this information.***Laudanumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laudanum***Paregorichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paregoric***Tincture of Opiumhttp://www.medicinenet.com/tincture_of_opium-oral_liquid/article.htm***Tincture of Opiumhttp://www.cancer.org/docroot/CDG/content/CDG_tincture_of_opium.asp
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #13 posted by Had Enough on July 01, 2009 at 11:02:52 PT
PUFMM trying to legalize medical marijuana
PUFMM trying to legalize medical marijuana in Florida by 2010Jorge LunaJuly 1, 12:37 PMOn the drive to work, I heard an interesting phone call on the Paul and Young Ron Show from an attorney working with the somewhat aptly named “PUFMM.”The group, People United for Medical Marijuana and dedicated to legalizing marijuana for medical purposes, is trying to put a constitutional amendment on Florida’s 2010 ballot. The proposed amendment, entitled “Right To Marijuana For Treatment Of Certain Medical Diseases And Conditions” would allow individuals to grow and sell marijuana only to those afflicted with certain diseases or for the ill to buy, purchase, and consume marijuana as part of their treatment. (To print a copy, click HERE)Long a proponent of marijuana’s legalization (insert your stoner joke here,) I found a particular quote, attributed to the Economist, extremely interesting:"If (Marijuana) were unknown, and bio-prospectors were suddenly to find it in some remote mountain crevice, its discovery would no doubt be hailed as a medical breakthrough. Scientists would praise its potential for treating everything from pain to cancer and marvel at its rich pharmacopoeia ~~ many of whose chemicals mimic vital molecules in the human body"-- The Economist, "Reefer Madness, Marijuana Is Medically Useful Whether Politicians Like It or Not," April 29, 2006.Whether one believes that pot is a “gateway” drug, or leads to criminal activities, or any of the other arguments against legalizing marijuana in general, it must be recognized that marijuana has many legitimate and compassionate uses. During the broadcast, Paul recounted his wife’s use of marijuana during her (so far successful) fight against cancer. Wouldn’t it have been a tragedy for her to have been arrested for doing something that helped keep her from dying?I strongly urge registered voters who are also pot smokers to drop the bag of Cheetos and sign the Petition, then actually SEND IT IN. Drop the food, print the petition, sign, mail it. Got that?For the rest of you, I think you all know what to do.For more information, please go to: http://www.pufmm.org.Click to seee...http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-948-Miami-Law--Politics-Examiner~y2009m7d1-PUFMM-trying-to-legalize-medical-marijuana-in-Florida-by-2010
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #12 posted by FoM on July 01, 2009 at 10:55:48 PT
Sam
I understand what you are saying. Pain is real. Look into a person's eyes who is in pain. You can see it. Tests might not show anything but a person's eyes tell the real story.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #11 posted by FoM on July 01, 2009 at 10:51:19 PT
josephlacerenza
I'm glad you had a good time. It's been quite a week of people going to the great beyond.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #10 posted by Sam Adams on July 01, 2009 at 10:47:49 PT
opiates
FOM yes I'm referring to opiates for the use of pain - if people need them, just let them have opiates, without tylenol mixed in. I hope this latest report will lead in that directon.Also there are many medical conditions where people are in a lot of pain but there is no obvious evidence of a problem visible with the available scanning technology. Right now it can be almost impossible for those people to get the adequate medication. Doctors are terrified of the DEA taking away their license if they don't have hard proof of a bad injury for all their patients.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #9 posted by josephlacerenza on July 01, 2009 at 10:33:35 PT
Hi all C-News!!
I have been a busy beaver!! I have not been able to look at the net for the past week! Not to mention, I did not even know Jackson pass away until Monday. I had a great time at the 19th annual EPAC (Ethanol Producers And Consumers)conference. Alot of good news for the bioenergy field. I wanted to add this article to the discussion, if I could.
NAFTA And The Drug Cartels: "A Deal Made In Narco Heaven"
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #8 posted by FoM on July 01, 2009 at 10:15:22 PT
Sam
I am not in the slightest bit promoting the use of opiates but the reality is what I believe God put on this earth can be used to help us in it's natural form. Plants are true medicine but we just don't get it.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #7 posted by Sam Adams on July 01, 2009 at 09:51:15 PT
deadly Tylenol may be reined in
This is a very encouraging development by Obama. With his stopping of medical MJ raids one could say that the ship is finally being turned around, it's now facing the right direction, time to hit the throttle.Deadly acetaminophen is being replacing by gentle cannabis.When I asked my pain doctor to give me Opiate pills for pain relief without any acetaminophen in them (instead of Percocet), they responded by saying I needed to go regular urine testing to get the medication. Needless to say I found another doctor. Basically they force you to take the toxic substance along with the euphoria-inducing medication. If you won't take Big Pharma's liver-damaging fare that you are treated as drug addict. This is a big step in the right direction, if they ban Percocet and Vicodin then only pure opiate meds will be left. Why the heck would anyone want Tylenol in with their opiate medication? It's very easy to just take a Tylenol pill if you want acetaminophen. http://www.boston.com/business/healthcare/articles/2009/07/01/panel_backs_painkiller_limits/Panel backs painkiller limitsBy Catherine Larkin, Bloomberg News | July 1, 2009WASHINGTON - The prescription painkillers Percocet and Vicodin should be banned and use of Tylenol, sold over the counter, should be reduced because the ingredient acetaminophen is linked to liver damage, US advisers said.Outside advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted 20 to 17 yesterday in Adelphi, Md., for the ban on Percocet and Vicodin, which also contain a narcotic. The panel agreed earlier that Johnson & Johnson’s Tylenol should be given in lower doses than now recommended and the extra-strength version should be sold by prescription only.Acetaminophen, an aspirin alternative in use for five decades to reduce pain and fever, has been a leading cause of liver injury for more than a decade, the FDA said. The agency under President Obama is “taking a harder look at safety’’ than in previous administrations, said Les Funtleyder, a healthcare analyst at Miller Tabak & Co. in New York.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #6 posted by Sam Adams on July 01, 2009 at 09:42:02 PT
michigan
I see that white men who work for newspapers in Michigan stay out of jail. Meanwhile the gulag system will continue to prey on those from the less fortunate side of society. This case is very chilling - it's strikingly similar to the fate of the guy in 1984 - reprogramming.You MUST have the govt. thugs search your house and person and bodily fluids on demand for 4 years, you're now scapegoated as a convicted felon and marginalized for life, you must attend weekly re-programming sessions.Maybe then you'll finally go to the bar and get drunk on beer from a giant corporation like everyone else! You'll relieve your pain with poisonous drugs after re-programming, like a good Citizen of the Republic.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #5 posted by Hope on July 01, 2009 at 08:54:38 PT
David Mayo
I'm so glad he got his newspaper job back. I'm glad he didn't have to go to prison and I'm glad he didn't lose his home. I admire him getting out there and waiting tables when he was out of his regular job.I despise the way he's been treated and all the lies, humiliation, accusations, and persecution laid on him and his wife.Narcotics Anonymous? Addicted? It's like the Inquisition for heresy. The heresy is enjoying a plant. It's so wrong and has nothing to do with justice of any kind... except that it's extraordinarily unjust.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #4 posted by ekim on July 01, 2009 at 08:00:43 PT
this case has been in the local news
Grand Rapids Press sports writer David Mayo will return to job; judge gives no-jail-time sentencehttp://www.michiganmedicalmarijuana.org/node/5771I bet Willie will have something to say about how MI is going --
www.rothburyfestival.com
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #3 posted by FoM on July 01, 2009 at 07:08:36 PT
ekim
Thank you. I find it hard to keep my eyes open late at night anymore so I didn't see it.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #2 posted by ekim on July 01, 2009 at 07:02:24 PT
Craig Furgerson show on Mon night
had Michael Douglas on.He wanted to talk about marijuana and how legalization would work. Mr Douglas made several statements as to cartels and all he had learned from the movie Traffic.Mr Douglas suggested that with the economy hurting and the needs of schools we should look into changing the laws.Craig asked if Michael was going to do another Wall St,
Yes said Mr Douglas we are picking people for the parts now and will be anounced in a week or so.I got the impression that Michael Douglas wanted to talk
more about how the prohibition of cannabis is hurting the country. Maybe with the new Wall St film he will be interviewed and asked to respond more.
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #1 posted by FoM on July 01, 2009 at 06:17:25 PT
N.H.: Editorial From The Nashua Telegraph
July 1, 2009URL: http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090701/OPINION01/907019971/-1/opinion
[ Post Comment ]
Post Comment