^ so none of his court experience with criminals is of any relevance?

you don't think that making substances illegal creates more violence?

percocet, vikaden, klonopin are way more destructive. I have known people who were hospitalized from overdosing with these pills, you can't overdose with weed.

you don't have any problems with people going to pharmecies and getting handed sleeping pills like candy? and it is just so awful when someone who was once addicted to opiates to find relief in marijuana after a surgery?

1/4/2012 4:36:38 PM

i can have my own opinion
i dont agree with marijuana being legalized in general.
you really think majority of people who say they are "patients" are there because of that?
im not saying drs dont over prescribe with "legal" medication
its hard to take someone seriously when they post pics of marijuana on THE WIRE dvd

[Edited on January 4, 2012 at 4:49 PM. Reason : just sayin]

1/4/2012 4:45:22 PM

who is to say that it shouldn't be though, I mean what is the worst that would happen. I know plenty of people who elect not to smoke it in general and use it only for fun/relaxing

which can be said for alcohol, beer, and tobacco.

It is a much easier way for people who have anxiety to deal with situations that they cannot handle usually. I do respect your opinion though, but there is no good reason to not use it medically and IMO no good reason to keep it illegal when there is so much tax money wasted on busting people for only marijuana, and clogging the jails with people charged with simple posession. It is expensive to house people.

Quote :

" $10 to 14 billion annualy for marijuana related expenses spent on: -police officer, police cheif, and other police station workers saleries -cost of police station assets -judge, clerk and other court related position and upkeep costs -costs of construction of jails -prison guards, wardens, maintenance workers salaries at prisons. -utility and food costs at prisons -loss of taxes from the incarcerated -court appointed attorney costs etc "

http://www.alternet.org/drugs/22148/

while I can not say that the link is credible, took a 5 second google search to find it, the money is real and is uneccesary and I have done extensive research reading articles with economists verifying extreme amount of time and money wasted on the prohibition of marijuana and the high number of court cases solely for possession of a small amount of marijuana that couldn't get more than one person high.

1/4/2012 4:56:23 PM

i love discussing this with the uninformed and those that have no "real" reasons to back up their claim on why it should not be legal. Marijuana has been used for medicinal purposes since the beginnings of civilization; evidence even found in Egyptian ruins. stop believing everything the government tells you.

1/4/2012 5:13:05 PM

http://www.oaksterdamuniversity.com/

Quote :

"America's first cannabis college was founded in 2007 to provide students with the highest quality training for the cannabis industry. Our faculty is comprised of the most recognized names in the California cannabis legalization movement. Since opening its doors in November of 2007, thousands of students have taken classes with the hope of entering the budding cannabis job field."

[Edited on January 4, 2012 at 5:15 PM. Reason : currently looking into scholarship opportunities ]

1/4/2012 5:15:00 PM

Quote :

"i can have my own opinion i dont agree with marijuana being legalized in general. you really think majority of people who say they are "patients" are there because of that? im not saying drs dont over prescribe with "legal" medication its hard to take someone seriously when they post pics of marijuana on THE WIRE dvd"

Here are some scientific studies:

Epilepsy:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/8440303/Cannabis-could-be-used-to-treat-epilepsy.html
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/302/5642/84
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v431/n7006/full/nature02913.html

Multiple sclerosis:
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2377/9/59

Asthma:
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/medical/tashkin/tashkin1.htm

Huntington's disease:
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1755-5949.2008.00065.x/abstract;jsessionid=30958A0F1845CC7ED5DA755386E5FFDE.d03t01

Parkinson's disease:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v445/n7128/full/nature05506.html

Along with mountains of anecdotal evidence of symptom relief.

The American College of Physicians has also endorsed the use of medical marijuana:
http://www.naturalnews.com/023062_college_physicians_paper.html

You are entitled to your opinion. I'm entitled to call you backwards and willfully ignorant.

1/4/2012 5:25:18 PM

OMG let me copy and paste links on the net and call other people retarded because they dont agree with me.

1/4/2012 5:26:51 PM

Quote :

"SCIENTIFIC STUDIES"

Unless you can post a valid counter-argument, your opinion doesn't matter, sorry. I just gave you a shitload of evidence in favor of medical marijuana.


[Edited on January 4, 2012 at 5:30 PM. Reason : .]

1/4/2012 5:29:18 PM

OMG let me copy and paste links scientific studies on the net and call other people retarded because they dont agree with me
yes because this is chit chat and i really care about it to the point that i am going to go google and type in scientific studies against marijuana just like you did


[Edited on January 4, 2012 at 5:33 PM. Reason : b]

1/4/2012 5:31:15 PM

I didn't call you retarded. I called you ignorant. There's a difference--you have the ability to educate yourself (although it's doubtful you will).

Quote :

"yes because this is chit chat and i really care about it to the point that i am going to go google and type in scientific studies against marijuana just like you did"

"lemme just insert my opinion into this debate and ignore any evidence contrary to it"

jesus christ, you're what's wrong with the world

[Edited on January 4, 2012 at 5:34 PM. Reason : .]

1/4/2012 5:32:07 PM

yup
you
are
always
right

1/4/2012 5:42:18 PM

Quote :

"VIKADEN"

you wouldn't believe the number of PMs a weed picture gets


this is how it applies to me directly

Quote :

"Twenty-one adults with chronic nerve pain were taught to take a single inhalation of 25 milligrams of cannabis through a pipe, three times a day, for five days. The cannabis contained one of three levels of potency of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana, as well as a placebo dosage containing no THC. All of the patients rotated through each of the four dosages, with nine days of no smoking in between. Patients smoking the highest potency marijuana (9.4 percent) reported less pain than those smoking samples containing no THC. Patients also reported better sleep and less anxiety, according to the Canadian study. On an 11-point scale, the average daily pain intensity was 5.4 for those smoking 9.4 percent THC concentration, compared to 6.1 for those smoking cannabis containing no THC. "Patients have repeatedly made claims that smoked cannabis helps to treat pain, but the issue for me had always been the lack of clinical research to support that claim," said Dr. Mark Ware, director of clinical research at the Alan Edwards Pain Management Unit of the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal. In this small but randomized, controlled trial, "the pain reductions were modest, but significant," he said. "And it was in people for whom nothing else worked." The study is published in the Aug. 30 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal."

[Edited on January 4, 2012 at 6:05 PM. Reason : _]

1/4/2012 5:58:34 PM

I'm all about people with pain feeling better, but I think the whole "relieves symptoms" thing should be.. I dont know, just phrased a different way. Seems like its more about masking certain features rather than actually relieving the symptoms, or I guess just coating your brain with some blanket that makes you forget about them. I don't know if that really made sense.

Anyway... Do they still prescribe Maritol in NC?

1/4/2012 6:05:11 PM

Marinol is a partial compound from THC that only produces the hunger effect for cancer patients.

1/4/2012 6:06:16 PM

That wasn't my question.

1/4/2012 6:11:41 PM

The answer is no, they do not in NC.


The main reason in terms of numbers of people that marijuana is prescribed to is chronic pain. It has shown to effect nerve pain a relatively amazing amount for a physically non-habit forming drug. Also THC effects how the brain perceives pain in general, but mostly nerve and muscle in terms of actual data collected. That is the thing though, until cannabis is a Schedule II drug, we won't have the studies we should be having. Take this drug and figure out what is in it that has these effects on people when nothing else will work (like my skeletal pain). Someone like Mayo or Pfizer needs to break down THC and separate out a strand or active substance that only has say an effect on pain, with minimal side effects compared to say Oxycodone (most common for chronic pain).



Quit playing with your damn dicks and use what we have in our face. It's not going to go away and you'll keep overcrowding our jails and making tax payers pay for the charade of State Marijuana Law. Why is it ok to use the poppy plant, but not marijuana? Politics, and the retards are too stupid to see the money you save in the DEA and the money you make from using it medicinally.




[Edited on January 4, 2012 at 6:21 PM. Reason : _]

1/4/2012 6:12:12 PM

Marinol?

[Edited on January 4, 2012 at 6:14 PM. Reason : already addressed ]

1/4/2012 6:13:40 PM

Quote :

"I'm all about people with pain feeling better, but I think the whole "relieves symptoms" thing should be.. I dont know, just phrased a different way. Seems like its more about masking certain features rather than actually relieving the symptoms, or I guess just coating your brain with some blanket that makes you forget about them. I don't know if that really made sense."

You should check out some of the links I posted.

This one isn't a study, but nevertheless:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/8440303/Cannabis-could-be-used-to-treat-epilepsy.html

Quote :

"Dr Ben Whalley, who is leading the research at the department of pharmacy at the University of Reading, said tests in animals had shown the compounds effective at preventing seizures and convulsions while also having less side effects than existing epilepsy drugs."

It's also been shown to reduce motor issues in MS, Parkinson's, and Huntington's disease:

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2377/9/59

Quote :

"We found evidence that combined THC and CBD extracts may provide therapeutic benefit for MS spasticity symptoms. Although some objective measures of spasticity noted improvement trends, there were no changes found to be significant in post-treatment assessments. However, subjective assessment of symptom relief did often show significant improvement post-treatment. Differences in assessment measures, reports of adverse events, and dosage levels are discussed"

Just a couple of good examples. There are many other proven benefits in other illnesses, along with a mountain of anecdotal evidence.

1/4/2012 8:11:19 PM

My uncle, who was now diagnosed with terminal lymphoma, says his marinol doesn't help him anymore. He goes to dealers and buys weed instead

1/4/2012 8:16:06 PM

No fucking way would I take Marinol.

1/4/2012 8:19:22 PM

unless your stomach was fucked


I forgot to put this in here:


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/01/us/federal-marijuana-classification-should-change-gregoire-and-chafee-say.html?src=tp&smid=fb-share

Quote :

""The governors want marijuana reclassified as a Schedule II controlled substance, which would put it in the same category as drugs like cocaine, opium and morphine. The federal government says that those drugs have a strong potential for abuse and addiction, but that they also have “some accepted medical use and may be prescribed, administered or dispensed for medical use.” Such a classification could pave the way for pharmacies to dispense marijuana, in addition to the marijuana dispensaries that operate in a murky legal zone in many states. “What we have out here on the ground is chaos,” Governor Gregoire said in an interview. “And in the midst of all the chaos we have patients who really either feel like they’re criminals or may be engaged in some criminal activity, and really are legitimate patients who want medicinal marijuana. “If our people really want medicinal marijuana, then we need to do it right, we need to do it with safety, we need to do it with health in mind, and that’s best done in a process that we know works in this country — and that’s through a pharmacist.”"

[Edited on January 6, 2012 at 1:28 AM. Reason : _]

1/6/2012 1:08:39 AM

Quote :

"Marijuana has been used for medicinal purposes since the beginnings of civilization; evidence even found in Egyptian ruins. stop believing everything the government tells you."

How does its ancient origins affirm it in any way? I'm all for medical marijuana, but I hate the string of arguments that get laid on so thick by the fanatics.

1/6/2012 1:30:15 AM

It shows if it was being used then and is still being used by millions of people now (many places in the world legally), that it's not going to change because the tax stamp act. State Marijuana Laws kind of show this... when they know technically the feds can bring down the hammer anytime, yet they still do it in the interest of their tax payers/voters.


OH SNAP:


UK Study Shows Middle Aged Males Marijuana Usage Not Detrimental

Quote :

"The latest study about marijuana published in the American Journal of Epidemiology this week suggests that cannabis may improve cognitive functioning in middle aged males. The study was not small. The researchers from King’s College in London looked at 8,992 men that used illicit drugs at age 42. For the research, they took a second look at that group when they turned 50. What researchers found was that when given tests to determine cognitive functioning, the drug users fared a bit better than most. The study on all those participants found a positive association with past and or current illicit drug use on cognitive functioning. They did look at drug users in general, and the study asked about the use of 12 illicit drugs. By far, more than 70 percent, marijuana was the most common substance that was used among the identified drug users in the study. The participants were from a UK national health study. The cognition tests they took were standard tests of memory and attention along with other cognitive abilities. Overall, the study found no evidence that showed current or past drug use had a negative effect on mental performance. When the drug users data was lumped together, the surprising finding was that the drug users as a group tested higher on average. But, the researchers said that the advantage was small and might reflect another finding, that people who use drugs generally have a higher education level than non-users. A small subset of the participants who said that they had been treated for drug use, which may suggest more of an addiction, or very heavy use, did not fare as well cognitively at 50, but researchers say the subset was too small to draw a meaningful conclusion. Researchers did caution that heavy or long term use of any illicit drugs may still be bad for brain function. Past studies have found that marijuana and cocaine can cloud thinking, affect memory and attention span, but the current finding add support that those effects may only be temporary. External Links: http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/12/21/aje.kwr315.abstract"

Here is your brain on weed...







BTW, here is Ron Paul speaking before a convention by NORML

Quote :

"To my knowledge, only two national candidates for president in 2012 have spoken before NORML on the subject of marijuana legalization. Newly-Libertarian candidate Gov. Gary Johnson in 2010 and longtime Republican candidate Rep. Ron Paul. Now, after some digging, we’ve found Rep. Paul speaking at the NORML National Conference 23 years ago."

http://youtu.be/_SxREpdocwU

Quote :

"UPDATE: We received a complaint about the title of this video, “100% PROOF RON PAUL IS NOT RACIST [1988 Speech]“. This video was not filmed by NORML, uploaded to YouTube by NORML, or titled by NORML. That title is out of our control and the opinion of the person who filmed the video, not NORML. I posted the video only to show Rep. Paul’s longtime support of our organization and its mission."

plz to embed:

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_SxREpdocwU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>





[Edited on January 6, 2012 at 1:40 AM. Reason : _]

1/6/2012 1:33:20 AM

Here is another story I left in my back pocket:


THC initiates brain cancer cells to destroy themselves:


http://www.worldhealth.net/news/thc_initiates_brain_cancer_cells_to_dest/

Quote :

"THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, causes brain cancer cells to undergo a process called autophagy in which cells feed upon themselves, according to a study conducted by Guillermo Velasco and colleagues at Complutense University in Spain. Using mice designed to carry human brain cancer tumors, the researchers found that the growth of the tumors shrank when the animals received THC. The study also involved two patients with glioblastoma multiforme, a highly aggressive form of brain cancer. Both patients had been enrolled in a clinical trial designed to test THC's potential as a cancer therapy. The researchers used electron microscopes to analyze brain tissue taken before and after a 26- to 30-day THC treatment regimen. They found that THC eliminated the cancer cells while leaving healthy cells intact. In addition, in what they described as a "novel discovery," the specific signalling route by which the autophagy process unfolds was isolated. "These results may help to design new cancer therapies based on the use of medicines containing the active principle of marijuana and/or in the activation of autophagy," says Velasco. The findings were published in the April 2009 issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation. According to Dr. John S. Yu, co-director of the Comprehensive Brain Tumor Program in the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, "The findings were not surprising. There have been previous reports to this effect as well. So this is yet another indication that THC has an anti-cancer effect, which means it's certainly worth further study." Dr. Yu warns cancer patients that they should not consider marijuana a potential cure for cancer and urges that people "not start smoking pot right away as a means of curing their own cancer." However, Dr. Paul Graham Fisher, the Beirne Family director of Neuro-Oncology at Stanford University, says that's precisely what many brain cancer patients are doing. "In fact, 40 percent of brain tumor patients in the U.S. are already using alternative treatments, ranging from herbals to vitamins to marijuana," says Dr. Fisher. "But that actually points out a cautionary tale here, which is that many brain cancer patients are already rolling a joint to treat themselves, but we're not really seeing brain tumors suddenly going away as a result, which we clearly would have noticed if it had that effect." News Release: Marijuana chemical may fight brain cancer http://www.webmd.com News Release: Active ingredient in marijuana kills brain cancer cells http://www.forbes.com "

If you guys want a bunch of studies showing that marijuana is medicinal ( ) then this may turn into the longest thread ever. Maybe you idiots are like the Feds and we can learn something here?




Here is a study from Harvard showing THC cutting lung cancer growth down:

http://scienceblog.com/18538/thc-cuts-lung-cancer-growth-spread/



Do we also need to prove that marijuana is proof that God loves us in order to get the Feds to play nice?




We should have a list of Marijuana Side Effects since this is the Medicinal thread:

Quote :

" Beating on an upside down cooking pot in a drum circle at a house party. Going to Burning Man. Spending an inordinate amount of time playing video games. Disbelieving mainstream news outlets, preferring conspiracy websites. Trying to grow dreadlocks. Forever preaching how pot is safer than booze. Announcing every single goddamn day at 4:20, “It’s four twenty!”. Wearing a stupid looking Dr. Seuss hat at a Pro-Pot rally, most likely on April 20th. "

and we need a picture for the page:








[Edited on January 6, 2012 at 2:01 AM. Reason : _]

1/6/2012 1:50:24 AM

jesus fucking christ. If you like something then fight for it to be legalized don't hide behind all this bullshit. However this is just another little issue on the pile to keep you docile

I'm Krallum and I approved this message.

1/6/2012 6:58:36 AM

i agree, enough with the medical stuff. just legalize marijuana for everyone over 21. they have oral swabs to see if you have smoked in the last 2 hours that are already used for a field sobriety test in Canada. Kids that get caught smoking should have to forefeit their drivers licenses until they are 21, no getting out of it with a lawyer.

1/6/2012 9:18:16 AM

^^,^
The problem is that there is not enough support for the legalization of recreational marijuana. You have to show them that there is a legitimate use for it.

1/6/2012 9:32:15 AM

well, even if they approved it for certain medicinal uses, people who have been illegally using it for medicinal uses that have not been formally investigated would also want to stop being criminals

1/6/2012 9:40:13 AM

no one is hiding behind the medical uses. There are a lot of mental and emotional issues that are products of our society that are being treated with addictive pills, which IMO is much worse than a product when smoked is no more harmful than tobacco, and when vaporized or consumed in other forms has no effect on your respiratory health like tobacco does.

That being said I agree that it should be legalized for 21 and over, however medicinal uses will have to be legalized and proven first before any politician will back it, especially when there are special interest groups lobbying against the legalization, who have had their hands in congress for years.

1/6/2012 9:41:12 AM

probably funded by the mob

1/6/2012 9:42:55 AM

Quote :

"well, even if they approved it for certain medicinal uses, people who have been illegally using it for medicinal uses that have not been formally investigated would also want to stop being criminals"

If it's anything like what's happening in other states, basically anyone will be able to go to a doctor and get a medical card.

Quote :

"probably funded by the mob"

You mean the tobacco, alcohol, and pharmaceutical industries?

[Edited on January 6, 2012 at 9:47 AM. Reason : .]

1/6/2012 9:45:53 AM

organized crime has a healthy hand in drug dealing in major cities, how is that any secret

1/6/2012 9:52:08 AM

I'm not sure what point you're trying to make.

1/6/2012 9:53:51 AM

if that is the case then big pharma must be owned by the largest organized crime group in the world.

also this thread is about MEDICINAL legalization by all states, mainly on a Federal level. If you want a make weed legal for all thread then go make it.

This thread is specifically aimed at Medicinal Marijuana Laws and changes in the laws. Most people here know I had to leave Electrical Engineering my Jr year due to chronic pain and had to leave my IT job with the State Govt. I'm not hiding behind shit in this thread.

1/6/2012 2:22:47 PM

bttt

1/7/2012 12:52:34 AM

Quote :

"Most people here know I had to leave Electrical Engineering my Jr year due to chronic pain and had to leave my IT job with the State Govt."

I bet that's exactly what happened.

1/7/2012 8:14:31 AM

http://health.msn.com/health-topics/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100283162
Look, scientific research that shows THC makes you paranoid and delusional.


also,

Quote :

"no one is hiding behind the medical uses"

god, you should be a comedian.

1/7/2012 8:44:48 AM

so we are not allowed to use a plant that has been here probably longer than humans, but if it is man made with unknown long term consequences... you know, that's ok

1/7/2012 2:28:25 PM

Quote :

"Look, scientific research that shows THC makes you paranoid and delusional."

"the fear"

1/7/2012 4:46:15 PM

here is a good amount of info on Medicinal Marijuana documentary.

http://www.videoweed.es/file/3jpulugwkj5ut

1/8/2012 7:54:41 AM

niggas it's time for the vote

http://www.capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=24959511

Quote :

"Lawmakers Must Vote This Month Re: Medical Marijuana Anti-Discrimination Tell Your State Senator to Support California's Patients! Legislation that would make it unlawful “for an employer to discriminate against” persons who are authorized under state law to use medical marijuana will be voted on before January 20, 2012. Senate Bill 129 declares it unlawful under state law “for an employer to discriminate against a person in hiring, termination, or any term or condition of employment or otherwise penalize a person, if the discrimination is based upon the person's status as a qualified patient or a positive drug test for marijuana,” if the drug test result is indicative of previous, off-the-job marijuana use (e.g., a positive test for marijuana metabolites on a urine screen). On Wednesday, April 6, members of the Senate Judiciary Committee approved the measure by a 3-2 vote. You can read NORML’s testimony in favor of the measure here. However, in June the bill’s primary sponsor, Sen. Mark Leno, asked that the measure be held over until January in order to afford additional time to garner political support. SB 129 would authorize a person who has suffered discrimination in violation of the law to “institute and prosecute a civil action for damages, injunctive relief, reasonable attorney's fees and costs, any other appropriate equitable relief, as specified, and any other relief the court may deem proper.” Senate Bill 129 responds to a California Supreme Court ruling (Ross v. Ragingwire Telecom), which held that employers could fire employees for their off-the-job marijuana use — even if they were state-authorized patients who were not impaired at work. A similar version of SB 129 was approved by the California Legislature in 2008, but vetoed by then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. You can learn more about this measure and other pending marijuana law reform efforts in California at California NORML. You can urge your state Senator to support SB 129 by entering your zip code below."

berp, real medicinal news in the medicinal marijuana thread.

1/13/2012 1:04:09 PM

so nobody actually cares about real topics, you just want to argue your personal views on marijuana (most in the general sense, not medical).

1/13/2012 4:10:39 PM

NORML Announcement:

Quote :

"Frankly speaking, according to national polling, the greater southeast of our nation is the least supportive for cannabis law reforms. Comparably, regions like the entire west coast, parts of the Rockies and New England have moved forward with decriminalizing cannabis and/or passing laws that provide legal protections for qualifying medical patients. This one day seminar and dinner social in Nashville is the first of many forays south of the Mason-Dixie line by NORML in the coming months and years because after forty years of public advocacy for ending Cannabis Prohibition one thing is for sure: Cannabis laws don't repair themselves and only active stakeholders, working together, can bring about the changes in culture and law necessary to create functional alternatives to our failed seventy-four year old Cannabis Prohibition laws. How did the entire western United States and most of New England create better cannabis laws? They got together and made it happen!! Please take this opportunity to do the same in Nashville on January 28, and in time--working together--we'll stitch together a quilt of reform laws in the southeast United States too. Of course, at some point, the federal government will be forced to say 'uncle', and getting states like TN, KY, AR, AL, MS, GA, NC and SC to join other parts of the country to put due pressure on them to end Cannabis Prohibition in total will only hasten this process at the federal level. These days, NORML can and does a lot of our political and social organizing online, but, meeting and working in person is still at the heart of real human experiences and endeavors. Please join Tennessee NORML and NORML founder Keith Stroup on January 28 in Nashville for an informative and fun day of cannabis law reform advocacy and revelry."

1/16/2012 2:04:54 PM

Quote :

"Florida Legislature Considers Medical Marijuana Measures Urge Your Elected Officials to Support HJR 353 and SJR 1028 Legislation that seeks to limit the criminal prosecution of those who use marijuana under a doctor’s supervision has been introduced in the Florida legislature. House Joint Resolution 353 and its Senate companion Senate Joint Resolution 1028 amend state law so that certain qualified patients will possess an affirmative defense against charges of possessing and growing marijuana. Full text of the measures can be read here and here. This is the first time that legislation seeking to protect medical marijuana patients has been simultaneously introduced in both chambers of the Florida legislature. HJR 353 has been referred to the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee and SJR 1028 has been assigned to the Senate Health Regulation Committee. At this time, neither bill has been scheduled for a hearing."

http://www.capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=60668501

1/26/2012 10:52:32 PM

http://norml.org/news/2012/02/09/medical-marijuana-laws-have-no-discernible-adverse-impact-on-adolescents-use-study-says

Quote :

"Thursday, 09 February 2012 Montreal, Canada: The enactment of state laws allowing for the limited legal use of cannabis by qualified patients has little to no causal effect on broader marijuana use, according to data published online in the journal Annals of Epidemiology. Investigators at McGill University in Montreal obtained state-level estimates of marijuana use from the 2002 through 2009 US National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Researchers used difference-in-differences regression models to estimate the causal effect of medical cannabis laws on marijuana use, and simulations to account for measurement error. Authors reported: "Difference-in-differences estimates suggested that passing MMLs (medical marijuana laws) decreased past-month use among adolescents ... and had no discernible effect on the perceived riskiness of monthly use. ... [These] estimates suggest that reported adolescent marijuana use may actually decrease following the passing of medical marijuana laws." They concluded, "We find limited evidence of causal effects of medical marijuana laws on measures of reported marijuana use." Previous investigations by researcher teams at Brown University in 2011 and Texas A&M in 2007 made similar determinations, concluding, "[C]onsistent with other studies of the liberalization of cannabis laws, medical cannabis laws do not appear to increase use of the drug." The McGill researchers' findings are in conflict with public statements made by Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske, who in recent years has frequently alleged that the passage of medical cannabis laws is directly responsible for higher levels of self-reported marijuana consumption among US teenagers. For more information, please contact Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org, or Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500. Full text of the study, "Do medical marijuana laws increase marijuana use? Replication study and extension," appears in the journal Annals of Epidemiology."

2/11/2012 2:38:34 PM

Soft cash or money generally means services in kind with significant value. Dunno if that was answered because I had trouble wading in the hate ITT. Good thread though. I like what you're aiming at, BD.

2/11/2012 2:43:12 PM

Quote :

"Marijuana has been used for medicinal purposes since the beginnings of civilization; evidence even found in Egyptian ruins. stop believing everything the government tells you."

Those same people were also found with Mercury in their tombs too, and the Chinese once used Mercury to "prolong" life. But hey, I won't stop you from drinking that. Go ahead and do so.

Using ancient civilization to justify doing something now is the dumbest argument anyone can make. For every "good" thing they have done, there are 50 dumb things they also did.

2/11/2012 2:57:17 PM

So using the poppy plant for pain meds is ok, but not a marijuana plant. HELL NO

2/11/2012 3:04:55 PM

morphine actually relieves pain.

2/11/2012 3:47:20 PM

Quote :

"Look, scientific research that shows THC makes you paranoid and delusional."

And there's prescription drugs that also have this side effect. Not everyone that smokes pot has this side effect just like not everyone who take Tamiflu become suicidal. At least if marijuana were prescribed and used under a doctor's supervision adverse side effects could be noted and other drugs tried instead.

2/11/2012 4:23:48 PM