cannabisnews.com: TN Lawmakers Call for State Study on Marijuana

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  TN Lawmakers Call for State Study on Marijuana

Posted by CN Staff on April 28, 2010 at 10:59:16 PT
By Chas Sisk  
Source: Tennessean 

Tennessee -- The state legislature may take up the question next year of whether marijuana should be available by prescription in Tennessee, after agreeing to send the question to a study group.The House Health and Human Resources Committee voted Tuesday to call on state health, agriculture and law enforcement officials to study medical marijuana and deliver a report to the legislature no later than Feb. 15, ending a two-week debate over the issue. But the committee did not approve any additional funding for the study, leaving it to the state's Board of Pharmacy to decide whether to take up the matter.
If it goes forward, the study could set up a debate over medical marijuana next year.The vote to approve came after several lawmakers on the committee expressed qualms over a bill sponsored by state Rep. Jeanne Richardson, D-Memphis, that would have made it legal for people suffering from serious illnesses or debilitating conditions, such as severe nausea, pain or seizures, to receive prescriptions for cannabis."I'm pleased that they put a deadline of February on it, and if we get through the report, I'm hopeful our bill will be passed," said Bernie Ellis, an activist who wrote the bill and presented it to the legislature.Supporters of medical marijuana estimate that 25,000 Tennesseans use marijuana illegally to deal with chronic conditions or the side effects of diseases such as cancer, AIDS and multiple sclerosis. Ellis says his bill would legalize that use under a tightly regulated system that would require the drug to be grown by licensed farmers and dispensed through pharmacies.Skeptics pointed to the history of marijuana's use as a recreational drug and said there has not been enough research on medicinal uses."We don't know how to prescribe it," Rep. Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald, who practices family medicine, said in the first of three hearings this month on the matter. " … We don't know what doses any problem needs. Snipped   Complete Article: http://drugsense.org/url/qPPQzG3vSource: Tennessean, The (Nashville, TN)Author: Chas SiskPublished: April 28, 2010Copyright: 2010 The TennesseanWebsite: http://www.tennessean.com/Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/eRUILyhCCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml

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Comment #14 posted by rchandar on May 03, 2010 at 11:58:50 PT:
GCW
Cannabis prohibition validates neither Republican nor Democratic principles. There is nothing holding this up, other than Harry Anslinger's obsession with ridding the world of drugs. One could read Christian ecclesiastical philosophy either in favor of or against legalization of drugs. When it comes to politics, the true instigator of federal responsibility is Democratic--from the times of FDR. From the Republicans, it comes from the Bible--one cannot derive pleasure from intoxication, s/he must earn it through work. In either case, the "vice" of smoking MJ is not all that much. The concept of intellectual freedom has been drawn and re-drawn so many times. America is rife with the potential to legalize pot, simply because we don't like Communism that much. Even Obama's "progressive socialism" is much more considerate to the human body and psyche--it doesn't propose the abolition of diversity and the singularity of one's perspective. It is more likely here, anywhere except perhaps Europe, to think that an open-mindedness exists and must merely be spread.None of the arguments work against us. Even kids--obviously, if drugs are illegal, then one must obtain them from a criminal--or, more likely, know users and sellers in school as "criminals." No one's stopping your parents from finding a new school, or fixing the kid's "problems" with the ultimate college choice. Child psychology is not so precious and invulnerable that it can't be readjusted and redirected--we're moldable beings, by and large.As for health problems, let's just be clear about it. ALL of those problems stem from the drug's illegality--if you thought the law was against you, it isn't surprising that you're a "paranoid." These aren't things that are intricately connected with the plant's science or genetics--people should know this.It's no longer just a "seller market"--as Samuel Jackson quipped to John Travolta in "Pulp Fiction."--rchandar
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Comment #13 posted by rchandar on May 01, 2010 at 09:00:10 PT:
Go For It
Any time a pro-pot measure lurks in ANY Southern state, we are required to put our full support behind it. Tennessee has some of the worst MJ laws in the nation, and it is time that these were changed.Call me crazy, but forking over $2000 just because I had six joints in my pocket is the most absurd bit of trash I ever heard of...specially when you consider the cheap junk that most Tennessee burners are able to get...the "it's better than nothing" crowd.Now, singling out Republicans as singularly opposed to MJ initiatives isn't a wise thing to do. Conservative social policy when it comes to drugs is not valid when the medical issue is considered: there are plenty of Repubs who burn because of illnesses. One of them was a $400,000 contributor to George Bush's re-election campaign in 2004, and said so--to his face.--rchandar 
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Comment #12 posted by FoM on April 29, 2010 at 17:59:58 PT
The GCW
I agree with you.
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Comment #11 posted by The GCW on April 29, 2010 at 17:53:56 PT
FoM,
It's wierd except that it's REpublicans... How could they think this would not harm themselves?-0-Who can blame David Cox for eliminating the chance of being misquoted about the cannabis ( marijuana ) issue while running as a Republican candidate for House District 54? ...Cannabis prohibition runs against true Republican principals, but I've grown accustomed to Republicans who want to spend money caging responsible adults for using this plant. ... Cont.http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10/n326/a08.html?1190 US CO: PUB LTE: Cannabis Prohibition Just Doesn't Make Sense - April 28th, '10Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v10/n320/a03.html
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Comment #10 posted by FoM on April 29, 2010 at 17:38:51 PT

The GCW
They showed that yesterday on the news on tv. People were trying to register to legalize marijuana and it was republicans sneaking around and doing it. That is so wrong. The Ca Republican Party was offering an $8.00 bounty.
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Comment #9 posted by Hope on April 29, 2010 at 14:53:03 PT

Registration fraud
Don't lay your John Doe or Jane Doe on things you don't understand. If you can't read it and understand it or someone with you that you trust can't read it or understand it... it'll wait until maybe later when you do understand it... or just not at all.Don't sign stuff that you don't understand!People do it all the time. I know. But you shouldn't.
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Comment #8 posted by dankhank on April 29, 2010 at 14:43:23 PT

comment 5 ... registering ...
Kinda tricky, don't think this could be done in OK.too much info needed, all the info needed to register, shoulda been a sign that it was MORE than a petition.don't know, but, luckily, they can still vote how they want ... AND redo registration ...
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Comment #7 posted by dongenero on April 29, 2010 at 07:47:42 PT

hey doc!
Take......"as needed".Fairly common approach.
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Comment #6 posted by The GCW on April 28, 2010 at 22:13:03 PT

multiple sclerosis patient freed for appeal.
Somerset (N.J.) man with multiple sclerosis may remain free on bail while appealing marijuana convictionApril 27, 2010A Franklin Township man who was sent to prison for growing marijuana to treat his multiple sclerosis may remain free on $15,000 bail while his appeal is pending, a Superior Court judge ruled today.John Ray Wilson, 37, is serving a five-year sentence for second-degree drug manufacturing and third-degree drug possession for growing 17 plants behind the house he rented in August 2008....It’s unclear how often a defendant is released on bail after he has started serving his sentence, but it’s not every day, said Donald DiGioia, president of the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey. In addition to proving there is no risk, "You have to show that there’s some merit to the appeal," he said. While they are thrilled that Wilson will be released, members of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana — New Jersey think the Attorney General’s Office should never have pursued the case, said Ken Wolski, executive director of the nonprofit organization.Cont.http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/04/nj_man_with_multiple_sclerosis_1.html
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Comment #5 posted by The GCW on April 28, 2010 at 21:34:26 PT

WARNING WARNING WARNING
Report: CA Voters Tricked Into Registering As Republicans With Pot PetitionOrange County authorities are launching an investigation into possible voter registration fraud after a local newspaper reported over a hundred cases of voters being tricked into registering as Republicans by petitioners who asked them to sign petitions for, among other causes, legalizing pot.CONT.http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/04/orange_county_gop_in_hot_water_after_report_of_vot.php
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Comment #4 posted by Paint with light on April 28, 2010 at 21:23:07 PT

Dosage vs danger
No matter what amount,or in whatever form, Dr. Hensley(my representative by the way) prescribes cannabis......it is safer than putting people in jail for using it.When a doctor is this uninformed it really makes you wonder about the medical system.....or at least some practitioners.I think Joey took the word "practicing" too much to heart.I have already been recruited by some locals to try and get this guy thrown out next cycle.I will do all I can.The guy thinks heroin is as safe as cannabis.Legal like alcohol.
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Comment #3 posted by Storm Crow on April 28, 2010 at 19:44:45 PT

Why I saw just the very thing they need! 
Extractum Cannabis (news - 2010)
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-19678-Cannabis-Revolution-Examiner~y2010m4d4-Extractum-CannabisShe gives some of the pre-prohibition extract recipes in the article (X amount of alcohol to Y amount ground cannabis). Dev Meyers writes some very interesting articles and she looks like she has a great laugh! 
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Comment #2 posted by John Tyler on April 28, 2010 at 18:40:28 PT

doctor disappointment
“"We don't know how to prescribe it," Rep. Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald, who practices family medicine, said in the first of three hearings this month on the matter. " … We don't know what doses any problem needs.” I can believe this. The doctors I have run across lately aren’t even that good at knowing how to prescribe drugs for things they are supposed to know about, for things they studied about, for things they work with every day. It’s shocking and sad, but yet we have to put our health and our lives in these peoples’ hands. 

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Comment #1 posted by FoM on April 28, 2010 at 14:59:02 PT

Vote Could Be Coming On Medical Marijuana Bill
Illinois Senate Passed Bill Last Year; House Still Must VoteApril 28, 2010 URL: http://cbs2chicago.com/local/medical.marijuana.bill.2.1661677.html
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