Pubdate: Thu, 10 Jun 2010 Source: Kingman Daily Miner (AZ) Copyright: 2010 Kingman Daily Miner Contact: http://www.kingmandailyminer.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3469 Author: Jay Fleming KEEP MIND OPEN ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA Medical marijuana will be on the November ballot ... again. In 1996, Arizona was the first state to approve medical marijuana, but the Arizona Legislature passed legislation overturning most of the initiative. Then in 1998, Arizona voters approved an initiative making it more difficult for legislators to tamper with voter-approved initiatives in the future. It's time for Arizona to stop arresting people with serious medical conditions for using marijuana. Some people argue it's not medicine. It is. I know because it's the only thing I've found that relieves the nerve pain I have in my legs and feet. I suffer from chronic pain; morphine works on some of my pain, but not the shooting electrical nerve pain. I can't think of anything worse than suffering from a debilitating chronic condition and being arrested for using the only thing that works. All one need do is look at the TV commercials, one group, drug companies, trying to get you to buy their prescription drugs, and the other group, the attorneys suing the drug companies for injuries and deaths caused by FDA-approved drugs. Marijuana has been tested for 5,000 years, and no deaths yet. Please, keep an open mind as we debate this subject prior to the vote. Jay Fleming Mohave Valley EDITOR's NOTE: Jay Fleming claims to be a former narcotics investigator and speaker for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition at www.leap.cc. Check out his new blog at kdminer.com. - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D