Obama & Medical Marijuana

[CaseyJones]

Less than two days. That's how long it took ex-President Bush's cronies inside the federal government to strike out at President Obama and use taxpayer money to undermine him.

Last Thursday the DEA raided a medical marijuana dispensary in California, putting the lives of cancer, HIV/AIDS and other patients at risk.

But we can show President Obama that the American people will stand with him in this fight and hold him accountable for his campaign promise to end these raids.

As you may know, President Obama promised to end the Bush administration's cruel and costly raids on medical marijuana patients and caregivers in states where marijuana is legal for medical use. He's in the process of replacing Bush officials who are the source of the problem, but that takes time.

Quite frankly, what the Bush loyalists inside the DEA did in South Lake Tahoe is the equivalent of giving President Obama the finger.

Now is our chance to urge President Obama to protect at-risk patients. If he doesn't stand up forcefully to Bush's cronies, they will continue to undermine his presidency. And terminally ill patients will suffer.

Sincerely,

Bill Piper
Director, Office of National Affairs
Drug Policy Alliance

...

 

[FreedomLost]

People have "interpreted" what they have wanted to in regard to what Obama would or would not do on this issue. He clearly states his opinion on the "mom and pop clinics" which he obviously clearly stated he is against, and too often have people STRETCHED to mean only what they want to believe (especially regarding the resources of the Justice Department), hearing only what they want to hear and knowing only what they have heard.

 

[CaseyJones]

^^^

"My attitude is if it's an issue of doctors prescribing medical marijuana for glaucoma or cancer treatment, then it's no different than a doctor prescribing morphine...I think the general concept that using medical marijuana in the same way with the same controls as other drugs prescribed by doctors, I think that's totally appropriate...I would not punish doctors if it's prescribed in a way that is appropriate, that may require some changes in federal law. What I'm not gonna be doing, is using justice department resources to try to circumvent state laws on this issue. Simply because I want folks to be investing violent crimes and potential terrorism. We've got alot of things for our law enforcement to be doing."

 

[FreedomLost]

I will help you understand this, but you must first write down the whole 2:31 unedited as opposed to the version you wrote.

hold him accountable for his campaign promise to end these raids.

Source?

 

[CaseyJones]

...

 

[james blunt]

^^^

"My attitude is if it's an issue of doctors prescribing medical marijuana for glaucoma or cancer treatment, then it's no different than a doctor prescribing morphine...I think the general concept that using medical marijuana in the same way with the same controls as other drugs prescribed by doctors, I think that's totally appropriate...I would not punish doctors if it's prescribed in a way that is appropriate, that may require some changes in federal law. What I'm not gonna be doing, is using justice department resources to try to circumvent state laws on this issue. Simply because I want folks to be investing violent crimes and potential terrorism. We've got alot of things for our law enforcement to be doing."

you know what i would not trust a word comming out off that mans mouth he is like a blank screen where you can project your wishes on and yours is obviuosly to smook marijuana.

 

[FreedomLost]

There is no promise by Obama to end the raids in the video you posted. In fact, The video I posted in which you quoted some of what Obama said, in fact tells a very different campaign promise than using "political capital" towards medical marijuana.

 

[FreedomLost]

Here are a few things you "forgot" to quote: I know I asked you to fill in what you "forgot", but I will put them in for the credibility of this forum.

I think there are legitimate concerns in not wanting to allow people to grow their own, OR START SETTING UP MOM AND POP SHOPS, because at that point it becomes fairly difficult to regulate, and again I am not familiar with all the details of the initiative that was passed and what safeguards there were in place, but I think the basic concept of using medical marijuana in the same way with the same control...

And
I wanna be honest with you, whether I want to use a whole lot of political capital on that issue, ha ha...The likelihood of that being real high on my list is not likely

 

[CaseyJones]

1. I don't live in a state where this will be on the ballot within the next 10 years.

2. Obama does want marijuana decriminalized, regulated by the FDA, and states' law to be legitimate enough to keep the justice department away from legal dispensaries. If farmers/dispensaries were given a set of guidelines to adhere to by the federal government, that he would in fact, stop raiding the one's that complied. Up until this point, he's only promised to stop going after the smokers of medicinal marijuana, which would not include the "clinics" that are being raiding. At this point though, even the strictest of doctors/clinics are subject to be raided, given the abundance of federal action on this issue...which will no doubt effect the smokers by proxy.

3. Above and beyond that, Obama made basing public health policy on solid science a huge part of his health care initiative. I think we all know what the policy on medical marijuana / really marijuana-in-general would be if we truly based policy on all of the government and scientific data available.

4. I think responding to Obama with this form letter is important no matter where you stand on this particular issue...you can fully customize the letter by adding to or deleting the text in it. In fact, I encourage you to do it.

5. How could you possibly seriously be against marijuana? Are you against alcohol, tobacco, prescription mood altering drugs? It is legal to make your own wine/beer/liquor & grow your own tobacco. It's completely legal for people to walk into a doctor and squirt out a couple tears and get multiple drugs that have a laundry list of possible side effects ranging from dry mouth to suicide to heart failure...heck, you can even get some for your preteen kids if you want to. Are you a giant walking vagina?

6. Smook sumthin' bitch. *Pimp C Tone*

 

[FreedomLost]

Now you just turned the thread into spam

 

[CaseyJones]

Now you just turned the thread into spam

help me understand how i turned this thread into spam, so i can avoid future violations...

 

[CaseyJones]

You took action, and President Obama responded.

Well done! The White House received thousands of your faxes and phone calls, and almost immediately took a stand in support of medical marijuana states, upholding President Obama's campaign promises to end the federal raids on medical marijuana dispensaries.

We joined you in urging this administration to end these wasteful, harmful raids, and coordinated efforts with our allies in Congress to keep the pressure on.

Thanks to your efforts, the Obama administration responded:

"The President believes that federal resources should not be used to circumvent state laws, and as he continues to appoint senior leadership to fill out the ranks of the federal government, he expects them to review their policies with that in mind."

An incredible victory. But the fight's not over yet. Here are a few things we'll continue to work on in the coming season to ensure that medical marijuana patients everywhere are protected:

Urge President Obama to nominate a drug czar who will stay out of your house and medicine cabinet.
Keep working in New Mexico, as the state becomes the first to license nonprofit organizations to grow medical marijuana.
Continue supporting medical marijuana legislation in states like New Jersey, where our bill will hopefully be voted on by the full Senate soon.
By working together, we can accomplish anything. Great job!

Thanks again,






Bill Piper
Director, Office of National Affairs
Drug Policy Alliance Network

.........

 

[CaseyJones]

I wanted you to be the first to know -- we just confirmed in the last hour that President Obama selected Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske to be his drug czar.

While we’re disappointed that President Obama has selected another law enforcement official instead of a major public health advocate, we’re cautiously optimistic that this nominee will support the president’s drug policy reform agenda.

What gives us hope is that Seattle has been at the cutting edge of harm reduction and other drug policy reform developments including:

*
Being among the first cities to implement syringe exchange programs;
*
Legalizing medical marijuana ten years ago (statewide);
*
Categorizing marijuana arrests as the lowest law enforcement priority; and
*
Implementing innovative overdose prevention strategies.

Kerlikowske is clearly familiar with drug policy reforms, and has not been a forceful opponent. Although a police chief may not be an ideal pick, given President Obama's call for "shifting the paradigm, shifting the model, so that we focus more on a public health approach," we remain hopeful that he has the potential to provide much needed national leadership in implementing the president's campaign commitments.

We look forward to working with you to ensure that he fulfills President Obama's promises to treat drug abuse as a public health issue, lift the federal ban on funding syringe access, eliminate the disparity between sentencing for crack and powder cocaine, and stop the raids on medical marijuana dispensaries in California.

It's a potentially transformative moment. Together, we’ll make sure Kerlikowske follows through.

Sincerely,




Ethan Nadelmann
Executive Director
Drug Policy Alliance Network

.............

 

[NovaFire]

^^^sounds like a step in the right direction

 

[|GOD|||ZILLA|]

We look forward to working with you to ensure that he fulfills President Obama's promises to treat drug abuse as a public health issue, lift the federal ban on funding syringe access, eliminate the disparity between sentencing for crack and powder cocaine, and stop the raids on medical marijuana dispensaries in California.

i like this part.

 

[CaseyJones]

i voted for ron paul...

but the closing of guantanamo, denouncing of torture practices, and now this...have me hopeful that at least SOME of the things obama is going to do will be a move in the right direction.

 

[CaseyJones]

DEA to halt medical marijuana raids
Holder confirms states to have final say on use of drug for pain control.

By Alex Johnson
Reporter
msnbc.com
updated 4:42 p.m. CT, Fri., Feb. 27, 2009
Supporters of programs to provide legal marijuana to patients with painful medical conditions are celebrating Attorney General Eric Holder’s statement this week that the Drug Enforcement Administration would end its raids on state-approved marijuana dispensaries.

Federal raids on medical marijuana distributors continued at least into the second week of Barack Obama’s presidency, when federal agents shut down at least two dispensaries in California on Feb. 3.

Holder was asked about those raids Wednesday in Santa Ana, Calif., at a news conference that was called to announce the arrests of 755 people in a nationwide crackdown on the U.S. operations of Mexican drug cartels. He said such operations would no longer be conducted.

“What the president said during the campaign ... will be consistent with what we will be doing here in law enforcement,” he said. “What (Obama) said during the campaign ... is now American policy.”

Obama indicated during the presidential campaign that he supported the controlled use of marijuana for medical purposes, saying he saw no difference between medical marijuana and other pain-control drugs.

“My attitude is if the science and the doctors suggest that the best palliative care and the way to relieve pain and suffering is medical marijuana, then that’s something I’m open to,” Obama said in November 2007 at a campaign stop in Audubon, Iowa. “There’s no difference between that and morphine when it comes to just giving people relief from pain.”

White House spokesman Nick Shapiro hinted at the policy shift shortly after the California raids, telling The Washington Times that the dispensaries were legal in California and that the Obama administration’s stance was that “federal resources should not be used to circumvent state laws.”

Major shift in federal policy
The new policy represents a significant turnabout for the federal government. During the Bush administration, DEA agents shut down 30 to 40 marijuana dispensaries, the agency said.

The Web site of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy had yet to catch up to the policy shift as of Friday afternoon, and was still prominently featuring a “ Medical Marijuana Reality Check” declaring that “marijuana is not considered modern medicine” and arguing that “no animal or human data support the safety or efficacy of smoked marijuana for general medical use.”

Holder’s comments received little notice Wednesday, overshadowed by the news of the drug arrests. But supporters of legalized marijuana seized on them as an important sign of progress in their campaign.

“Holder’s statement marks a dramatic shift in U.S. drug policy and is a major victory for the 72 million Americans who reside in states where the use of medical cannabis is legal,” said Paul Armentano, deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, said in a statement.

Thirteen states allow the cultivation, sale and use of medical marijuana.

Armentano said the shift would add momentum to campaigns in states that are considering their own medical marijuana laws. The New Jersey Senate approved such a bill Monday, and Gov. Jon Corzine said he would sign it if it cleared the state Assembly.

Charles Lynch, who operated a state-approved dispensary in Morro Bay, Calif., before it was raided in 2007, also welcomed the new policy.

“It’s a good thing for California. It’s a good thing for the other 12 states that have medical marijuana laws,” said Lynch, who was convicted in August of federal drug charges.

Lynch could face five years in prison when he is sentenced late next month, but in light of the new federal policy, he said he would appeal his conviction and seek a presidential pardon.

Lynch contended that dispensaries like his were vital for patients in the last stages of a painful illness.

“Having one in your community, wherever that may be, is a good thing because it helps these people that need relief,” he said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29433708/

 

[NovaFire]

you know what i would not trust a word comming out off that mans mouth he is like a blank screen where you can project your wishes on and yours is obviuosly to smook marijuana.

yeah, the man has charisma, never puts anything in concrete terms. but then again, who does now n days.