Pubdate: Mon, 26 Mar 2012
Source: Herald, The (Everett, WA)
Copyright: 2012 The Daily Herald Co.
Contact:  http://www.heraldnet.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/190
Author: Laura Healy

Initiative 502

IT MAKES PATIENTS GUILTY OF DUI

What you are seeing with Initiative 502 is an attempt to end medical 
marijuana in Washington. I have been running Green Hope Patient 
Network in Shoreline for over two years. We still don't have safe 
access points for patients to get their medicine. Yes, there are some 
places in King County, but even they are holding their breath.

Now, this might sound good to legalize marijuana for those 21 years 
or older, with DUI provisions. For those who don't understand 
cannabis, you can ingest it and the active ingredient, THC, can stay 
in your blood from a week to 30 days. The effects normally last 
around 1-2 hours.

If you vote this into law, everyone who uses medical cannabis 
(instead of pharmaceutical drugs) will not be able to drive for fear 
their blood will, not might, will, have more then 5 nanograms of THC.

Who is supporting this bill? Prosecutors and officers. Who is not 
supporting this? Doctors, lawyers, patients.

Until we can prove what amount of THC affects your driving skills we 
must vote no. Don't let them scare us into making bad laws; there is 
a working model for dealing with driving while stoned. Field test. 
Tell everyone, patients with cancer, AIDS, chronic pain, and other 
conditions just want a normal life and that means being able to 
drive. Tell the state we don't want it selling cannabis, we just got 
them out of the alcohol business!

Laura Healy

Green Hope Patient Network

Shoreline
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom