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Medicinal Purposes: USA ready to legalize?

Do you think America is ready to Legalize weed?

  • Yes

    Votes: 8 80.0%

  • No

    Votes: 2 20.0%

  • Maybe

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    10
SheBetterHaveA50InchAss said:
On Saturday, October 29, 2011, The White House wrote:

What We Have to Say About Legalizing Marijuana

By Gil Kerlikowske, Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy

When the President took office, he directed all of his policymakers to develop policies based on science and research, not ideology or politics. So our concern about marijuana is based on what the science tells us about the drug's effects.

According to scientists at the National Institutes of Health- the world's largest source of drug abuse research - marijuana use is associated with addiction, respiratory disease, and cognitive impairment. We know from an array of treatment admission information and Federal data that marijuana use is a significant source for voluntary drug treatment admissions and visits to emergency rooms. Studies also reveal that marijuana potency has almost tripled over the past 20 years, raising serious concerns about what this means for public health – especially among young people who use the drug because research shows their brains continue to develop well into their 20's. Simply put, it is not a benign drug.

Like many, we are interested in the potential marijuana may have in providing relief to individuals diagnosed with certain serious illnesses. That is why we ardently support ongoing research into determining what components of the marijuana plant can be used as medicine. To date, however, neither the FDA nor the Institute of Medicine have found smoked marijuana to meet the modern standard for safe or effective medicine for any condition.

As a former police chief, I recognize we are not going to arrest our way out of the problem. We also recognize that legalizing marijuana would not provide the answer to any of the health, social, youth education, criminal justice, and community quality of life challenges associated with drug use.

That is why the President's National Drug Control Strategy is balanced and comprehensive, emphasizing prevention and treatment while at the same time supporting innovative law enforcement efforts that protect public safety and disrupt the supply of drugs entering our communities. Preventing drug use is the most cost-effective way to reduce drug use and its consequences in America. And, as we've seen in our work through community coalitions across the country, this approach works in making communities healthier and safer. We're also focused on expanding access to drug treatment for addicts. Treatment works. In fact, millions of Americans are in successful recovery for drug and alcoholis today. And through our work with innovative drug courts across the Nation, we are improving our criminal justice system to divert non-violent offenders into treatment.

Our commitment to a balanced approach to drug control is real. This last fiscal year alone, the Federal Government spent over $10 billion on drug education and treatment programs compared to just over $9 billion on drug related law enforcement in the U.S.

Thank you for making your voice heard. I encourage you to take a moment to read about the President's approach to drug control to learn more.

Resources:

National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Marijuana Facts (ONDCP)
Drug Abuse Warning Network (HHS)
Treatment Episode Data Set (HHS)
National Survey on Drug Use and Health (HHS)
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..1st step is decriminalize this bitch. legalizing is a harder push. change the message. make it softer, decriminalize. support candidate/s who are in favor of legalizing and encourage them to tweak their message into decriminalizing. power in #s. brown and black make up majority of the US prison population. signing petition is weak. show the fuk up. celebrity population in line to support this worthy cause. it starts with decriminalization. the sheep (:D) who participate in organize religion will support decriminalization easier than legalization. ;)..keep believing the white house n occupants with save u..
 
Damn! "We the people" are PERSISTENT!

https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!/petition/offer-response-marijuana-legalization-petitions-isnt-written-someone-legally-required-oppose-them/wgxxsCqV

We petition the Obama Administration to:

Offer a response to marijuana legalization petitions that isn't written by someone legally required to oppose them.

Your response to the petitions regarding marijuana legalization was written by Gil Kerlikowske, who, as the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), is legally required by the Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 1998 to oppose legalization of marijuana and other illegal drugs, regardless of the facts relating to their use and effects.

(See sec. 704 of the act: Among the duties of ONDCP directors is to "take such actions as necessary to oppose any attempt to legalize the use of a substance (in any form) that -- (A) is listed in schedule I of section 202 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 812); and (B) has not been approved for use for medical purposes by the Food and Drug Administration")

This is clearly a conflict of interest.
Created: Oct 31, 2011
Issues: Civil Rights and Liberties, Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement
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PERSISTENCE

https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!/petition/replace-gil-kerlikowske/Lbk7p73H

We petition the Obama Administration to:

Replace Gil Kerlikowske

We the people demand that the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Gil Kerlikowske, immediately be replaced.

Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske chose to respond to eight petitions with more than 150,000 signatures regarding cannabis law reform with one blanket response, a response riddled with more of the same stale rhetoric and exaggerations about marijuana use, a response completely disconnected from the will of the people.

We ask that Gil Kerlikowske be replaced as the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, with someone more qualified to develop modern, sensible drug policies, and lead our nation into a brighter, more honest, and less corrupt future.
Created: Oct 29, 2011
Issues: Civil Rights and Liberties, Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement, Government Reform
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USA

https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!/petition/open-debate-full-legalization-taxation-and-regulation-marijuana-and-not-simply-deny-people-debate/qGLlfrcJ

We petition the Obama Administration to:

Open for debate the full legalization, taxation, and regulation of Marijuana, and not simply deny the people that debate

According to the latest Gallup poll 50% of Americans support full legalization of marijuana and only 46% are against this. The response to the first round of petitions regarding legalization has been simply to say "no legalization". In a democratic country when the majority feel this is a worthy issue to debate simply saying "No" is unacceptable.

The fact of the matter is that the prohibition of marijuana only creates and exacerbates issues related to consumption. We learned this lesson with alcohol and ended that prohibition, this resulted in a huge drop in organized crime organized around the illegal alcohol trade. As marijuana is a far safer substance than alcohol should make this an easy choice. While legalization would not solve all issues it would be a much better solution.
Created: Oct 28, 2011
Issues: Agriculture, Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement
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Can't stop. Won't Stop!

https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!/petition/respond-each-7-marijuana-related-petitions-individually-instead-one-canned-response/q1L1pRGp

We petition the Obama Administration to:

Respond to each of the 7 marijuana related petitions individually instead of one canned response.

The white house recently responded to 7 marijuana petitions with one canned response. The response did not address each issue separately.

It is disrespectful of the thousands of people who signed each petition to dismiss it in such a generic way.

We would like to hear from the white house what its position is on each petition.
Created: Oct 29, 2011
Issues: Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement, Regulatory Reform, Science and Space Policy
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I Love America!

https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!/petition/publicly-request-resignation-gil-kerlikowske/KVxx6PK1

We petition the Obama Administration to:

Publicly Request the Resignation of Gil Kerlikowske.

Having refused to sincerely address the public's demand for marijuana legalization;

Having attempted to confuse the issue with biased and irrelevant statistics;

Having summarily rejected that domestic and international crime could decrease, and quality of life thereby increase;

Having summarily rejected the association between drug use and beneficial social change, as was seen during Vietnam Era protests;

Having engaged in propaganda to prevent drug use, rather than promote educated decision-making;

Having demonstrated a fundamental lack of understanding and judgment;

We demand the resignation of Gil Kerlikowske; and the legalization of marijuana.
Created: Oct 28, 2011
Issues: Civil Rights and Liberties, Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement, Regulatory Reform
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End the destructive, wasteful and counterproductive "War on Drugs"

End the destructive, wasteful and counterproductive "War on Drugs"

https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!/petition/end-destructive-wasteful-and-counterproductive-war-drugs/vQwph88D

We petition the Obama Administration to:
End the destructive, wasteful and counterproductive "War on Drugs"

In order to resolve a wealth of inequities, we the people do entreat the white house to dismantle or redirect law enforcement agencies, and the approximately $400 BILLION dollars per year spent on the "War on Drugs".

The U.S. represents 5% of world population, but imprisons 25% of all the worlds inmates. It is not the U.S. people who are excessively criminal. It is overzealous policy that destroys the future of America's youth at great expense to the taxpayer.

Where would you be, Mr. President, had you been convicted and imprisoned because of your admitted Marijuana usage? What great future leaders, thinkers and innovators are being destroyed today because of this useless policy?

Drug use is a social issue, and should be addressed by health care professionals, not the prison system.
Created: Sep 22, 2011
Issues: Budget and Taxes, Civil Rights and Liberties, Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement
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Allow Industrial Hemp to be Grown in the U.S. Once Again

Allow Industrial Hemp to be Grown in the U.S. Once Again

https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!/petition/allow-industrial-hemp-be-grown-us-once-again/V2gV7rWy

We petition the Obama Administration to:

Allow Industrial Hemp to be Grown in the U.S. Once Again

Lost opportunities for farmers and businesses have real consequences. With over $419 million in estimated U.S. retail sales, American companies making hemp products have no choice but to import their raw materials because American farmers continue to fear they will be prosecuted due to an outdated federal policy which confuses non-drug industrial hemp with drug varieties of Cannabis.

Sustainable hemp seed, fiber and oil are already used in nutritious food, textiles, body care and even auto-parts. Many American companies are using imported hemp in their products today.

We urge you to allow U.S. farmers to follow in the footsteps of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, all who were hemp farmers, and once again grow this sustainable and profitable non-drug crop.
Created: Sep 22, 2011
Issues: Agriculture, Job Creation, Regulatory Reform
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Feds Threatening to Shut Down City Govts. That Implement Medical Marijuana Programs

ASA is suing the federal government over recent attacks on medical cannabis in California. The lawsuit alleges that the Department of Justice is illegally coercing local and state officials with threats of prosecution for implementing state law.

The federal lawsuit, filed in San Francisco District Court on behalf of ASA’s 20,000 members in California, argues that federal prosecutors are trying to dismantle the state’s medical cannabis law, in violation of the Constitution’s 10th Amendment.

“Medical cannabis patients are not exempt from federal laws, but the 10th Amendment forbids the federal government from using coercive tactics to commandeer the law-making functions of the state," said ASA Chief Counsel Joe Elford, who authored the suit. “The recent intimidation tactics of the Department of Justice are nothing if not coercive.”

In recent weeks, U.S. Attorneys in California have threatened local elected officials and city staff with criminal prosecution if they implement regulations for medical cannabis dispensing collectives in their communities. Federal prosecutors have also threatened to seize city buildings where licenses for dispensaries are issued or other medical cannabis regulations are administered.

Federal threats include formal legal warnings to local officials in Arcata, Chico, El Centro, Eureka, Sacramento and other municipalities across the state.

In Chico, Mayor Ann Schwab received a letter in July from U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District stating that the city's proposed ordinance regulating medical cannabis dispensaries would violate federal law. The U.S. Attorney also warned Chico's city attorney, city manager, and police chief that council members and staff could face federal prosecution if the city implemented its dispensary regulations. As a result, the Chico City Council voted Aug 2 to rescind its medical marijuana cannabis ordinance.

In Eureka, the city council received a similar letter from the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District stating that the city's publicly vetted licensing plan "threatens the federal government’s efforts to regulate, the possession, manufacturing, and trafficking of controlled substances." The U.S. Attorney specifically threatened that, "f the City of Eureka were to proceed, this office would consider injunctive actions, civil fines, criminal prosecution, and the forfeiture of any property used to facilitate a violation of [federal law]." Because of these threats, the City of Eureka has suspended implementation of its local ordinance.

The escalation in tactics follows a rare joint press conference of all four US Attorneys for California, in which they announced stepped up enforcement against medical cannabis activities in the state, including targeting publications and other media that accept advertising promoting medical cannabis.

Federal prosecutors have also targeted California landlords who rent space to dispensing collectives, threatening them with criminal prosecution and asset forfeiture if they do not evict their tenants within 30 days.

These threats are in addition to raids conducted throughout California, including an early morning DEA raid Oct. 13 on Northstone Organics, a licensed cultivation collective in Mendocino County. Federal agents handcuffed the collective's founder and his wife and confiscated all 99 plants, each of which were had zip-ties indicating they were registered with the Mendocino Sheriff's Department.

The California Attorney General, Kamala Harris, and local and state officials have publicly criticized the federal prosecutors’ tactics.

Mendocino County Supervisor John McCowen called the DEA raid on Northstone "outrageous," and said in a statement that "[t]he elimination of dispensaries that operate legally and openly will endanger patients and the public."

State Senator Mark Leno, co-author of California's Medical Marijuana Program Act, urged the federal government to “stand down in its massive attack on medical marijuana dispensaries."

State Attorney General Kamala Harris said California should be free to implement state law without interference and denounced the federal government’s tactics, noting that "an overly broad federal enforcement campaign will make it more difficult for legitimate patients to access physician-recommended medicine."

ASA’s lawsuit acknowledges that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that federal prosecutors may bring charges against state-authorized medical cannabis patients and providers but distinguishes that from the commandeering of California's legislative function. The lawsuit states that this commandeering and intimidation of state and local officials is a “misuse of the government's Commerce Clause powers, designed to deprive the State of its sovereign ability to chart a separate course, that forms the basis of plaintiffs' claims."
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Humble - These drug laws need to change that are only enforced against minority groups.

I also suspect there is a more sinister reason behind all this tough talk from Republicans on crime representing the sick racist desire of their base, when they don't even pursue white collar crime in front of them. If you want to get tough on crime, than enforce the law evenly throughout the population and not just one group which isn't happening.

I estimate that millions of births have been blocked and increased HIV rates from the lack of condoms when somebody is stuffed in prison doing there cell mate. These fools need to get charged with genocide and crimes against humanity if they are implementing these laws in this manner to reduce the growth rate of minorities.

It needs to be discussed openly as a possible scenario for their "War on Drugs" so these fools don't think they can continue along this path in secret.
 
The first step should be to take it off the schedule 1 list. Schedule 1 drugs supposedly have "no medical" value. It can't be a schedule 1 drug and be used for medical use.
 
U.S. Won’t Sue to Block State Marijuana Legalization

U.S. Won’t Sue to Block State Marijuana Legalization
By Phil Mattingly & Alison Vekshin
Aug 30, 2013 2:01 AM CT

The U.S. won’t challenge laws in Colorado and Washington that legalized the recreational use of marijuana and will focus federal prosecutions on ties to organized crime, distribution to minors and transportation across state lines, the Justice Department said.

Attorney General Eric Holder yesterday told the governors of the two states that U.S. attorneys will concentrate on certain priority areas and work with them to set rules for the marijuana industry.

The decision marks the first time the U.S. government has condoned recreational marijuana use and opens the door for other states to consider it. Voters in Washington and Colorado became the first to legalize it in November. Nineteen states allow medical marijuana use, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In a memo to federal prosecutors around the country, Deputy Attorney General James Cole said that, beyond the priority areas, “the federal government has traditionally relied on states and local law enforcement agencies to address marijuana activity” under their own laws.

The new guidelines are “a major and historic step toward ending marijuana prohibition,” said Dan Riffle, federal policy director for the Marijuana Policy Project.

“The next step is for Congress to act,” said Riffle, whose Washington-based group is the largest advocating legalization. “We need to fix our nation’s broken marijuana laws and not just continue to work around them.”

Growing, selling or possessing marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

Criminal Activity

Besides monitoring marijuana activities for ties to crime, use by minors and out-of-state trafficking, prosecutors have been instructed to focus on preventing state-authorized endeavors from being a cover for illegal drugs, violence in pot cultivation and driving under the influence of marijuana.

The government also will pursue cases where marijuana is grown on public lands or when it is carried on federal property, according to the Justice Department’s memo.

Officials in Washington and Colorado, as well as businesses associated with marijuana, have been pressing the Justice Department to make a decision on what the federal government would do where recreational use has been legalized.

“This very carefully considered approach by the federal government will allow our state to move forward and show the country a way a well-regulated system can be effectuated in a state while still respecting the federal Controlled Substances Act,” Washington Governor Jay Inslee, a 62-year-old Democrat, said yesterday at a news briefing in Olympia.

Trusting States

“What I’m hearing from the federal government is that they believe there’s a reason to trust the states of Colorado and Washington,” Inslee told reporters. “So we’re not going to allow distribution of this product in a way that has massive leakage outside the state of Washington. We’re not going to allow distribution of this product to minors.”

Colorado Democratic Governor John Hickenlooper, 61, said yesterday the state shares the Justice Department’s enforcement priorities. The state is “determined to keep marijuana businesses from being fronts for criminal enterprises or other illegal activity,” he said in a statement.

‘A Mistake’

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, 50, a Republican who is seeking re-election in November and may run for president in 2016, called Holder’s decision not to challenge recreational marijuana laws “a mistake.”

It amounts to a “de facto” legalization, said Christie, a former U.S. attorney. New Jersey won’t move toward legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, the governor told reporters in Point Pleasant yesterday.

Washington and Colorado have been designing regulations for the cultivation and sale of recreational marijuana while the Obama administration formulated its position on the state laws.

The Justice Department said it reserves the right to preempt the states should they run afoul of the new guidelines.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-29/u-s-won-t-sue-to-block-state-marijuana-legalization.html
 
Marijuana Most Popular Illegal Drug, But Painkiller Addiction Causes Most Death: Stud

Marijuana Most Popular Illegal Drug, But Painkiller Addiction Causes Most Death: Study
CP | By Maria Cheng, The Associated Press
Posted: 08/28/2013 12:57 pm EDT | Updated: 08/28/2013 3:44 pm EDT

LONDON - Marijuana is the most popular illegal drug used worldwide, but addictions to popular painkillers like Vicodin, Oxycontin and codeine kill the most people, according to the first-ever global survey of illicit drug abuse.

In addition to cannabis and opioid painkillers, scientists analyzed abuse of cocaine and amphetamines in 2010, largely based on previous studies. Ecstasy and hallucinogens weren't included, because there weren't enough data. The researchers found that for all the drugs studied, men in their 20s had the highest rates of abuse. The worst-hit countries were Australia, Britain, Russia and the U.S. The study was published online Thursday in the journal, Lancet.

But there were few concrete numbers to rely on and researchers used modeling techniques to come up with their estimates.

"Even if it is not very solid data, we can say definitely that there are drug problems in most parts of the world," said Theo Vos, of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, the study's senior author. Vos said people tended to abuse drugs produced close to home: cocaine in North America, amphetamines and opioids in Asia and Australia. The lowest rates of drug abuse were in Asia and Africa. Of the estimated 78,000 deaths in 2010 because of illegal drug use, more than half were because of painkiller addictions.

Vos said countries with harsh laws against drugs had worse death rates for addicts when compared to countries who relied on other policies to wean people off drugs, such as needle exchange programs and methadone clinics.

Other experts warned officials needed to be on their toes to address potential health problems from drug abuse.

"The illicit use of prescribed opiates in the U.S. has only happened in the last 10 years or so," said Michael Lysnkey, of the National Addiction Centre at King's College London, who co-authored an accompanying commentary. "It's possible in another 20 years, patterns will again change in ways we can't predict."

In a related study, scientists found mental health and drug abuse problems including depression, schizophrenia and cocaine addiction kill more people worldwide than AIDS, tuberculosis, diabetes or road accidents.

In some developing countries such as India, attempts to stop AIDS have also slowed drug abuse as they focus on helping people kick their addictions, according to Vikram Patel, of the Centre for Global Mental Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Patel recommended an approach to drug use similar to current controls on tobacco.

"A decriminalized drug policy could potentially transform the public health approach to drug use," he wrote in an email. "The enormous savings in the criminal justice system could be used to fund addiction treatment programs."

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/08/28/marijuana-popular-illegal-drug_n_3830783.html
 
Re: Marijuana Most Popular Illegal Drug, But Painkiller Addiction Causes Most Death:


In historic vote, House backs medical marijuana
​


WASHINGTON — For the first time, the House of Representatives voted early Friday to block the federal government from enforcing its marijuana laws in states that have approved use of the drug for medical purposes.

Marijuana advocates called the vote historic.

“This is a game changer that paves the way for much more policy change to come,” said Steph Sherer, executive director of Americans For Safe Access, a group that has lobbied to end federal penalties for marijuana use.

The plan passed 219-189, with 49 Republicans teaming up with 170 Democrats to approve the measure shortly after midnight.

Republican Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California attached the language as an amendment to a bill that would fund the U.S. Justice Department.

It attracted votes from conservative Republicans such as Doc Hastings of Washington state and Don Young of Alaska. In Washington state, which along with Colorado approved marijuana for recreational use in 2012, Hastings was the only Republican who voted for the measure, joining all six Democrats in the state’s delegation.

“I think it says we’re finally getting through to the Republican Party,” said Dan Riffle, director of federal policies for the Marijuana Policy Project, a pro-legalization group. “It has always confused me when people refer to this as a liberal issue. William F. Buckley and Milton Friedman were supporters of marijuana reform, and medical marijuana in particular. It’s about reducing the size and scope of government, getting government out of the doctor-patient relationship, and letting states be laboratories of democracy rather than a one-size-fits-all federal mandate.”

As a result of the vote, “Congress is officially pulling out of the war on medical marijuana patients and providers,” he said.

Tom Angell, chairman of the pro-legalization group Marijuana Majority, said the vote shows how quickly marijuana reform “has become a mainstream issue.” He said it reflected the fact that members of Congress are hearing more stories about medical uses of marijuana, including by children who suffer from seizures.

“If any political observers weren’t aware that the end of the war on marijuana is nearing, they just found out,” he said.

While Congress’ official position is that marijuana is a drug with no medical value, 22 states now allow medical marijuana, with Minnesota the latest to approve it this week when Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton signed a bill into law.

Kevin Sabet, who heads the anti-legalization group Project SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) said the House vote would make it harder for the federal government to pursue illegal activity.

“No one wants to arrest cancer patients, but as it is, we know Colombian cartels are connected to selling marijuana under the guise of medicine and that marijuana is proliferating on public lands,” he said. “We’re also witnessing a train wreck in places like Colorado. This amendment hurts our ability to go after traffickers and producers, and I think a lot of members didn’t fully realize that when they voted for it.”

While marijuana advocates celebrated, the measure still faces an uncertain fate in the current Congress. No similar legislation has been introduced in the Senate.

Email: rhotakainen@mcclatchydc.com; Twitter: @HotakainenRob.


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Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/05/30/228928/in-historic-vote-us-house-backs.html#storylink=cpy


 
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