The violence in Mexico, the illegal drug trade and medical marijuana are all separate issues. The Drug Cartels in Mexico are successful because they are able to obtain assault weapons any time they want them and in any number they want them. Legalizing controlled substances will NOT change the illegal use of drugs. If controlled substances were legally made in more liberal context for MDs to write perscriptions it would not end the addiction issue and the illegal trafficking would continue along with the violence bought with gun sales.
Controlled substances if obtained with more liberal guidelines would add to problems with traffic violations while under the influence, would increase deaths by auto, accident and suicide. It is difficult enough controlling the 'scheduled' drugs like oxycodone now, if they were liberalized, the problems with abuse and addiction would be worse.
Medical marijuana is a different issue and the testimony of people that find relief with it are many. There will still be issues regarding 'MM' because people will sell what was legally obtained no different than oxycodone. But, the problems that legal perscriptions of Medical Marijuana will cause will not overshadow the benefits and that is why it should be legal to obtain canabis.
Assault weapons are a huge issue and they need regulation. I found it an abomination to realize some of the media was treating the deaths in California as a law enforcement issue due to the parole status of the murderer. Parole can be a concern, but, with the economy in the state its in and the former administration forcing layoffs the chance there are sufficient Parole Officers in any state is far from a reality. Regardless, and there is no doubt the murderer of the four officers in Oakland should have been in prison, but if he was unable to obtain an assault weapon the deaths would never have occurred.
Mexico, Oakland and who is next? The only common denominator are assault weapons.
Mexicans die so U.S. kids can do drugs (click here)
By DEBRA J. SAUNDERS
March 24, 2009
"The war on drugs is a failure," Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Cesar Gaviria and Ernesto Zedillo -- the former presidents of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico -- wrote in the Wall Street Journal last month.
"Prohibitionist policies based on eradication, interdiction and criminalization … simply haven't worked," they wrote.
In Mexico, an estimated 6,290 drug-related murders occurred last year. On Feb. 20, Roberto Orduna Cruz had to resign as chief of police of Cuidad Juarez after drug traffickers announced they would kill a police officer for every 48 hours Orduna remained on the job -- and made good on the threat....
Don Duncan, who runs a Los Angeles medical marijuana business, said he expected less federal attention but more local scrutiny.
Dispensers of Marijuana Find Relief in Policy Shift (click here)
...While 13 states, including California, have laws allowing medical use of marijuana, they had not been recognized by the federal government. One of Mr. Duncan’s two marijuana dispensaries was a target, in 2007, of one of the scores of raids involving medical marijuana that the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted in Los Angeles during the Bush administration....
Michigan's medical marijuana law takes effect next month (click here)
Posted: 11:43 PM Mar 19, 2009
Last Updated: 12:05 AM Mar 20, 2009
Reporter: Erin Logan
It's a done deal.
Starting April 4th, Michigan will become the 13th state where marijuana can be used legally for medical purposes.
To clear up any confusion, Berrien County Prosecutor Art Cotter held a meeting at the Three Oaks Library Thursday night.
Cotter worries that people weren't exactly sure what they voted for in November, and he worries that there's not enough oversight.
Joel Schmidt, a patient says there will always be those who feel they're above the law.
Schmidt left his family in Michigan and moved across the country because he didn't want to break the law.
He says, “I left my daughter and went to California where it would be legal. I wasn't going to risk my life going to jail.”
Joel Schmidt has Hepatitis C. Without marijuana, he says some days can be miserable.
Schmidt says, “When I eat pills they can't digest in my system and they back up after a weeks worth of taking them and I have seizures and about 17 hours of vomiting episodes where I have to go to the hospital.”
There are no more worries for Joel, now that marijuana can be used legally in Michigan for medical purposes.
He says, “I was like, yeah. I'm going home."
Cotter explained to the public what this new law means.
The law says a patient and their caregiver can posses up to two and a half ounces of marijuana in a closed, locked facility.
A patient must have a written certificate from a physician.
A caregiver can assist up to five patients....
Md. lawmaker pushes bill to study medical marijuana (click here)
By Kathleen Miller The Associated Press
8:06 PM EDT, March 24, 2009
Maryland advocates for medical marijuana say the state is sending mixed messages about using the drug to treat debilitating illnesses.They are hoping to persuade lawmakers to create a task force to study the issue.In 2003, the Maryland General Assembly approved less severe fines for people convicted of marijuana possession who can prove a medical necessity for the drug in court.Seriously ill people can still be arrested, however, and fined up to $100 if convicted of possession or use of marijuana or related paraphernalia, even if they prove in court they have a medical necessity. Otherwise, violators are subject to fines of up to $1,000 and can face up to a year in jail for simple possession or use of the drug....
Support medical marijuana bill (click here)
E. Scott Cracraft, Gilford
March 25, 2009 - 12:00 am
I would like to encourage citizens to support House Bill 648 and let their state representatives know of this support.
HB 648 would allow patients with a doctor's recommendation to grow and possess a relatively small amount of marijuana for personal use. The bill goes to the floor of the House today. If it passes, citizens need to continue to support the measure as it goes through the Senate and to the governor.
A growing number of doctors and other medical professionals are recommending marijuana for patients suffering from the side effects of cancer chemotherapy, multiple sclerosis and other conditions. Already, a dozen states allow for legal use of marijuana for certain medical conditions....
Last updated March 24, 2009 9:03 p.m. PT
Wash. man acquitted in med. marijuana case (click here)
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
PORT ORCHARD, Wash. -- Kitsap County Superior Court jurors have acquitted an Olalla, Wash., medical marijuana user of growing pot illegally and attempting to sell it.
Medical marijuana advocates hailed Tuesday's verdict in the case of 55-year-old Bruce Olson, who suffers from arthritis and other ailments after decades as a stone mason.
Olson says he lost his home and now lives in a travel trailer due to costs involved in fighting the two felony charges filed in May 2007....
