cannabisnews.com: Will Scott Thwart Humane Bid for Med Marijuana
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Will Scott Thwart Humane Bid for Med Marijuana
Posted by CN Staff on April 27, 2014 at 09:04:31 PT
By Michael Mayo, Sun Sentinel Columnist
Source: Sun-Sentinel
Florida -- Before Florida voters decide the fate of medical marijuana in November, the Legislature might soon legalize a certain strain of medical pot – for kids. That would be pretty ironic, given all the "Just Say No" anti-drug campaigns aimed at school children through the years.But it also would be pretty humane, considering the non-euphoric strain known as "Charlotte's Web" has reportedly been effective in curtailing severe seizures in some children with intractable epilepsy. This type of marijuana is not smoked, but administered as an oil extract added to food. It is very low in THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the psychoactive component of pot that gets users high.
After years of Just Saying No, legislators who've held committee hearings on two bills (HB843/SB1030) that would allow Charlotte's Web have been Just Voting Yes."If you tally up all the committee votes, it's been something like 90 percent in favor," said Seth Hyman, of Weston, a medical marijuana supporter whose 8-year-old daughter Rebecca suffers from severe seizures.Actually, 93 percent: 78 yeas and 6 nays in six Senate and House committee stops this year.But even if the bills are approved by both chambers before the scheduled end of session next week, Gov. Scott might sink the effort with a veto.Scott signalled as much last week. John Armstrong, the Florida surgeon general and a Scott appointee who heads the Department of Health, voiced his opposition to the bill."We must be wary of unintended consequences and remember that first we must do no harm," Armstrong told the House Judiciary committee, which voted 15-3 to support the bill anyway."Do no harm" is the supposed golden rule of medicine."Do no harm?! My child is being harmed every day," Hyman told me on Friday. "My daughter is regressing every day…This bill could save her life."There are an estimated 125,000 cases of intractable epilepsy in Florida, marked by dozens of daily seizures that can progressively get worse for children, leading to brain damage and death."This is another example of our wonderful Tallahassee politicians coming between patients and doctors, and getting in the way of desperate parents and kids who need help," Hyman said. "What boggles my mind is how so many of these bright people can say yes, and then just one or two people – the surgeon general and the governor – can stop it by saying no."Twenty states and the District of Columbia allow medical marijuana use. Armstrong testified he was leery of allowing untested drugs into the market. He said Florida should wait for more research by the federal government.But that's pretty disingenuous, considering the federal government has long classified marijuana as a "Schedule One" drug with no medically accepted use and has thwarted nearly all research studies in recent decades.Last month, the feds granted permission to Arizona researchers for a study into pot's potential benefits for veterans suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. An experimental federal program once open to cancer, glaucoma and AIDS patients stopped accepting new enrollees decades ago.Only four patients remain in that program, including Irvin Rosenfeld, 60, a Fort Lauderdale stockbroker with a rare bone tumor condition who has smoked over 130,000 joints provided by the feds over the last 34 years. Rosenfeld says medical marijuana works and has allowed him to lead a productive life.The only consolation if this latest legislative effort fails: Florida voters will get final say on broader use of medical marijuana come November. Amendment 2 needs 60 percent approval to pass. If voters put medical pot into the state constitution, the Legislature would have nine months to enact laws regulating it."Amendment 2 needs to pass," Hyman said. "Not just for my daughter, but for millions of other Floridians of all ages who are suffering."Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel (FL)Author: Michael Mayo, Sun Sentinel ColumnistPublished: April 26, 2014Copyright: 2014 South Florida Sun-SentinelContact: http://drugsense.org/url/mVLAxQfAWebsite: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/URL: http://drugsense.org/url/xBAQBdkyCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
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Comment #4 posted by Hope on April 28, 2014 at 19:50:32 PT
They are the hardcore... diehard, never give up...
They have sworn to fight drugs and the people that buy, sell, and use them.They are bound by an oath made in ignorance and fervor.Some will honor that oath until they dle. Right or wrong.
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Comment #3 posted by Swazi-x on April 28, 2014 at 13:29:30 PT
Ignorance Revealed
This amazingly stupid move highlights the depth of stupidity that is the basis for 99% of any political activity concerning this plant. Somehow, either these dicknuts failed 4th grade reading, or they're bought and paid for by the vast $$$ of the Prohibition Cartel - Big Pharma, Big Alcohol, cop unions, prison guard unions, drug testing companies, and bail bond companies (that's a $14B business in the U.S.) - not to mention the whole of the U.S. government. Most likely though is that they're just scared little boys and girls afraid of not getting re-elected.Whenever money is on one side, and the well being of the population is on the other - money wins. You see it in everything these days but especially where we had been taught to trust - doctors, police, judges, dentists, courts, and the like - it's almost impossible to find one that won't bend the game to squeeze just that much more money from you.This myopic stab at doing the right thing is better than nothing, but it's a far cry from where we should be.
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Comment #2 posted by Hope on April 28, 2014 at 12:59:21 PT
Sam Adams
It's like the representatives of the people are little more than petulant children.They aren't being stubborn standing for what's right. They're being outrageously stubborn about standing for an old and worn out injustice. Some people obviously cling to old injustice like it's going to save them from a new understanding they don't want to understand.Plugging their ears... chanting, "Nah! Nah! Na! Nah! Nah!"
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Comment #1 posted by Sam Adams on April 28, 2014 at 12:00:45 PT
latest madness
this "Charlotte's Web" stuff is surely one of the most ridiculous things we've seen under the Great Prohibition. jeebus, could the idiot politicians be even MORE stupid? I doubt it. This makes about as much sense as legalizing one obscure brand of beer during alcohol Prohibition. The best thing they could do would be to strike every single law off the books that even mentions MJ.
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