Re: RE: Marijuana: Should it be Legalized?
Andem said:
sine000 said:
true...u think they shuld at least legalize it for medical reasons?
It is legal for medical purposes.. has been for years.
Ummm ... yes and no. There are still tons of court battles raging over medical use of marijuana as well as police harrassment. I was outside the VICS (Vancouver Island Compassion Society) recently and wasn't at all surprised to see a ghost cop car cruising slowly by, looking into the windows, noting all the vehicles on the block (mine included). I didn't flip him the bird as I so desparately wanted to, but someone should have.
Here is a transcript of a 2002 court case against VICS that I found pretty interesting. Also on the site are photos of what their grow room looked like after a police raid ... you'll note one of the confiscated plants was a government provided seed. :roll: Seems like everyone isn't on the same legal page here. There's all kinds of news on their main page about the issue.
http://www.thevics.com/rvlucas.htm
I have fibromyalgia ... serious enough to have put me onto disability. I, personally, haven't smoked dope since I was about 20 years old. Never did like it all that much and over the past couple of decades grew to hate the effects of it. Still do, to this day. Using medical marijuana is a trade-off for me. If I want a decent night's sleep, the narcotics I'm given so freely and legally only work for about 2 hours so the only real option I have is to use medical pot. I only consume it before going to bed since I hate how it feels, but it does give me some relief from the symptoms of my fibro. It works.
My doctor would much rather have me use pot than Percocet ... and I agree. I wish I could use it through the day as well! It's way more effective for pain management, it's non-addictive, it's better all round for me, but unfortunately I'm unable to do so since I dislike the effects.
My partner has MS. She is often in such pain that she is literally sick to her stomach. The narcotics don't even touch the pain, but the pot does. VICS has several different options available and she finds she can use some for day, other forms for night. It's been a godsend for her.
Here are some more interesting links on the subject:
Cannabis Health site ...
http://www.cannabishealth.com/site/
Cannabis Research site ...
http://safeaccess.ca/research/
There is lots of good info out there. I truly believe that folks are better off smoking dope than drinking, but that is nothing more than personal opinion. As far as medical use, I think it should be added to the arsenal of drugs already available and dispensed through a pharmacy.
I believe there should be a two pronged approach to the whole legal issue ... on one hand, recreational users should be able to pick up their pot at a liquor store, pay the luxury tax on it and enjoy, while medical users should have their pot doled out the same we we get our narcotics and antibiotics.
Someone mentioned that sexual predators get less jail time than people selling pot. There is something inherently wrong with a system that applies its laws in this manner. Something is broken somewhere -- and someone is benefitting somewhere. It may be as simple as making the police statistics look good because they get so many convictions for pot use. *shrug* No idea, but somebody, somewhere is getting some good out of this. It's exactly like the prohibition ... a fool's errand.