http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091019/ap_on_bi_ge/us_medical_marijuana_19

According to the story, the Feds can no longer pursue medical marijuana users in the 14 States in which use is legal. Yay! Now we just have to work on the rest of the States and nullifying other unconstitutional Federal laws.

Yay, it's about dog gone time.

Who the hell are they to tell a terminally ill person or someone going through horrible treatment to save their life that they cannot smoke pot.

Hell if I one day end up with a terminal illness, hell pass the weed at least let me enjoy my last few months of life.

medical yes, I agree it should be allowed, recreational no.. I think it should be illegal.

I look at it the same way I look at codine, or painkillers in general. Illegal without a perscription.

Why? "Illegal" use already exists in abundance, and those users commit fewer crimes than those who use "legal" drugs like alcohol and prescription drugs. (Did you know, for example, that before the manufactured "War on drugs", cocaine was available in pharmacies?) Drug laws, as a matter of fact, create a profitable black market and increase crime.

according to US Census Data and FBI Uniform Crime Reports(http://drugwarfacts.org/cms/?q=node/34):

"…each of the most violent episodes in this century coincides with the prohibition on alcohol and the escalation of the modern-day war on drugs. In 1933 the homicide rate peaked at 9.7 per 100,000 people, which was the year that alcohol prohibition was finally repealed. In 1980, the homicide rate peaked again at 10 per 100,000."


For more detail and statistics, see:

"End the War on Drugs" http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul515.html
"The Praxaeology of the Drug War" http://www.lewrockwell.com/alston/alston58.1.html
"The War on Drugs is a War on Doctors" http://lewrockwell.com/paul/paul179.html
"How to Win the war on drugs" http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north31.html
"The cocaine price support program" http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig5/walker6.html

because it should be... thats my feeling...

Why illegal? Umm...it's a drug.

I so agree

I debate whether it should be legalized or not. One thing that goes through my mind is when we are talking about drugs and alcohol, which drugs are the ones that make people violent or crazy? Not marijuana. Alcohol causes many problems and deaths as well.

I don't smoke it now but I did when I was younger. When we would start drinking at one's home, we got in the dancing mood and went out dancing. When we drank and smoked, we turned up the radio, laughed our arses off, ate and had a blast without getting in our car risking a lot.

just beware, make sure you got plenty to eat!

http://www.acde.org/common/Marijana.htm

<IMG>http://www.drugwarfacts.org/Modifiedmurderchart.gif</IMG>

U can't tell me that after smoking it ppl don't get in the car and drive.They do just like ppl.do when they drink,and take other drugs.yes it is a drug.no drugs for me.medical is a totally different story.just don't drive,but then again to sick to do anything.

"There is, however, no solid evidence that smoking marijuana creates any greater benefits than approved medications (including oral THC) now used to treat these patients, relieve their suffering, or mitigate the side effects of their treatment. Anecdotal assertions of beneficial effects have yet to be confirmed by controlled scientific research. "

This comes from the site you gave. This is factually untrue. The active, useful ingredients in marijuana are well understood. They have even been turned into capsules. The capsules do not yet have the same known benefits for the nervous/digestive system as smoking, though.

It's nice that you're interested in this, but you are vastly misinformed.

Whatever.... LOL you gave sites I gave a site... you think my site is bull as I think your site is bull, my point was I agree that it should be used as medicine... yes I do... but it should remail illegal outside those medical uses...

Show me 100 sites for it, I'll show you 100 sites against it, and thus we end up right back here...


You can never expect a person that loves his pot to stop the fight..

Heard this today about the medical marijuana...

Reporting from Washington - Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. said today the Obama administration is officially reversing the federal stance on medical marijuana and ordering authorities not to arrest or charge any users and suppliers who conform to state laws.

WTF???? Thats some real B.S!

U.S. Relaxes Opposition to Medical Marijuana

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter by Steven Reinberg
healthday Reporter – 32 mins ago

MONDAY, Oct. 19 (HealthDay News) -- The Obama administration has decided it will no longer prosecute medical marijuana users or suppliers, provided they obey the laws of states that allow use of the drug for medicinal purposes.

The new guidelines, which were to be sent in a Justice Department memo to federal prosecutors on Monday, are designed to give priorities to U.S. Attorneys who are pursuing drug offenders.

"As a general matter, pursuit of these priorities should not focus federal resources in your states on individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana," the memo states.

During his campaign, President Barack Obama promised to change the government's policy on the use of medical marijuana in those states that allow it. The administration of President George W. Bush had opposed the use of marijuana as medicine.

"This is a huge victory for medical marijuana patients," Steph Sherer, executive director of Americans for Safe Access, a nationwide medical marijuana advocacy organization, said in a prepared statement.

"This indicates that President Obama intends to keep his promise not to undermine state medical marijuana laws and represents a significant departure from the policies of the Bush Administration," Sherer added. "We will continue to work with President Obama, the Justice Department and the U.S. Congress to establish a comprehensive national policy, but it's good to know that in the meantime, states can implement medical marijuana laws without interference from the federal government."

Allen St. Pierre, executive director of NORML, a group that seeks the legalization of marijuana, said: "The federal government, to some degree, has said 'uncle' in acknowledging both the medical utility of cannabis and acknowledging that there is some clear place in the law for states to have the autonomy to allow for marijuana to be used and, quite logically, that there be a source for it."

Currently, 14 states allow use of marijuana for medical purposes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, according to the Associated Press.

Proponents of medical marijuana contend the drug effectively treats chronic pain and nausea from a variety of diseases and disorders, including cancer and glaucoma.

According to the Justice Department memo, "prosecution of individuals with cancer or other serious illnesses who use marijuana as part of a recommended treatment regimen consistent with applicable state law, or those caregivers in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state law who provide such individuals with marijuana, is unlikely to be an efficient use of limited federal resources."

But, the memo adds, the federal government will prosecute people who use medical marijuana as a cover for other illegal activities. The memo warns that "some suspects may hide old-fashioned drug dealing or other crimes behind a medical marijuana business."

The memo, written by Deputy Attorney General David Ogden, urges federal prosecutors to pursue marijuana cases that involve violence, the illegal use of guns, selling marijuana to minors, money laundering and other crimes.

And, the memo does not rule out the federal government prosecuting someone whose activities are allowed under state law.

The memo notes that efforts should focus on prosecution of significant marijuana traffickers. "Marijuana distribution in the United States remains the single largest source of revenue for the Mexican cartels," the memo states.

The new policy is not without its critics, including some federal lawmakers who see it as a weakening in the war against Mexican drug cartels, the AP said.

"We cannot hope to eradicate the drug trade if we do not first address the cash cow for most drug trafficking organizations -- marijuana," said Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee.

One health expert said the policy change was good, noting concerns about marijuana should be based on science and not the fear that any drug will be abused.

"I was never sure why there was an issue," said Kenneth W. Goodman, a professor of medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and co-director of the university's ethics programs. "We have a long track record about making judgments about drugs based on research."

"My view has always been whether you should use opiates or aspirin or antibiotics or marijuana or anything depends on the research," he said. "If there is evidence that shows that something works and it's controlled by physicians, then what's the problem?"

how is it B.S. when President Obama calls for allowing states to make their own decisions on whether or not to allow medical marijuana?

Ain't that the truff!

B.S.