Thanks for the June 2 editorial, "Possession penalties are too harsh." While any discussion about reforming Wisconsin's draconian marijuana laws is certainly welcome, decriminalization is an old idea that still leaves out a legal source for pot. As your editorial noted, eight states have already legalized pot for adult use. More states are currently in the process. Our neighbors Michigan, Illinois and Minnesota, which already have medical marijuana, are all exploring legalizing adult use. Wisconsin is ready, too. The July 2016 Marquette Law School Poll found 59 percent favoring legal pot for adults. Wisconsinites also have long supported medical use by even higher margins. Yet failure to "get it done" has cost Wisconsin at lot. [continues 118 words]
State Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, and Rep. Chris Taylor, D-Madison, recently introduced legislation that would place an advisory referendum on the November 2018 general election ballot asking state voters if they support legalizing medical cannabis. In 2012, after Washington and Colorado voters passed initiatives legalizing cannabis for adult use, the Associated Press published an article looking at potential legalization in other states. Wisconsin was included: "Republican Gov. Scott Walker said ... he's not interested in legalizing marijuana. The only way he sees it happening is if state residents approve the idea in a referendum similar to Colorado and Washington." Walker has not weighed in on the advisory referendum proposal since it was introduced, but his 2012 comments to the AP certainly suggest he should welcome Sen. Erpenbach and Rep. Taylor's proposal to let voters decide. Gary Storck, Madison [end]
Much has changed in the cannabis world since Russ Feingold lost to Ron Johnson in 2010. Then, about 15 states had legalized medical cannabis, a number now at 25. Today, four states and Washington, D.C., have legalized adult use. This November, at least three more will vote on medical, and five more will vote on adult use. Feingold's record has been thin. While cannabis activists extensively advocated for his support, he never sponsored any bills. The federal CARERS Act would make it easier for researchers to study marijuana. It is sponsored by U.S. Sens. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, and Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, and has 19 cosponsors including U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison. [continues 88 words]
A majority of Wisconsinites want marijuana to be legal and regulated like alcohol, a new poll shows. Results were released Wednesday for the Marquette Law School Poll, a leading measure of public opinion in the Badger State. The poll asked registered voters: "When it comes to marijuana, some people think that the drug should be fully legalized and regulated like alcohol. Do you agree or disagree with that view?" Fifty-nine percent of respondents said they agreed, while 39 percent disagreed. [continues 166 words]
A marijuana advocacy group has revived an effort to drastically reduce penalties for being caught with the drug in Monona. Members of the Madison chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) are circulating a petition that supports reducing municipal fines for pot possession to $1 in hopes of placing a binding referendum on the Nov. 8 ballot. Since mid-May, the group has gathered signatures to try to force action under the state's direct legislation law after a similar ordinance change was narrowly defeated by the city's Public Safety Commission earlier this year. [continues 492 words]
Another Marquette Law School poll is out. But once again, no questions about cannabis legalization were asked. One has to go all the way back to September 2014 for that. Each time a poll is released, it gets massive media attention. The issues raised by the poll trigger public discussion and shape the state debate. By failing to include public opinions on cannabis, Marquette is stifling debate. Is that for political reasons? Wisconsinites are not oblivious to developments in other states. Twenty-six states now have some sort of medical cannabis law, including Louisiana, where a formerly symbolic law passed in 1978 was recently amended to create a workable state medical cannabis program. Wisconsin passed a similar law in 1982. In Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington State and Washington D.C., voters have legalized the adult use of cannabis, and more states will be voting on medical and adult use this November. Here in Wisconsin the topic apparently has been declared taboo. This represents a grave disservice to state voters. Professor Charles Franklin and the Marquette Law School poll must do better if they care about their mission. - -- Gary Storck, Madison [end]
News reports on the rapidly rising use of Narcan by Wisconsin first responders to revive people suffering opiate overdoses show the state's opiate crisis is continuing to escalate. This comes despite passage of many laws over the last two sessions intended to address this situation. Wisconsin could address both the issue of opiate abuse and the huge need for safer pain medications by passing state medical cannabis legislation. In Maine, where medical cannabis was legalized by voters in 1999, work has begun on adding "addiction to opiates and drugs derived from chemical synthesis" to the list of qualifying conditions that may be treated with medical cannabis. [continues 90 words]
Thursday's letter "Listen to the people about marijuana" reminds me how difficult it was for Colorado citizens to cleanse ourselves of cannabis (marijuana) prohibition. If it weren't for the initiative process, the sky would still be falling in. Cannabis prohibitionists used every historically discredited lie, half-truth and propaganda they could muster, and then we voted. Like Colorado, the majority of Wisconsin citizens also support ending cannabis prohibition. But without the initiative process available to voters, government subsidized cannabis prohibitionists will continue ignoring citizens. A sane or moral reason does not exist to continue punishing and caging responsible adults who use the relatively safe, extremely popular, God-given plant as described on literally the very first page of the Bible. - -- Stan White, Dillon, Colorado [end]
The Monona Public Safety Commission forgot two important things in its flawed vote to not reduce pot fines. In 2010 and 2014, the Dane County Board placed cannabis-related advisory referendums on county ballots. In 2010, county voters supported legalizing medical cannabis with 76 percent of the vote. And in Monona, voters gave it an even larger edge with 78 percent in favor. In April 2014, Dane County voted in favor of legalizing adult use of cannabis with 65 percent support. Monona again exceeded the county with 67 percent in favor. [continues 85 words]
Considering the article in Wednesday's paper "State rep plans anti-heroin bills," if Rep. John Nygren really wants to curtail opiate abuse in Wisconsin, he should consider sponsoring legislation legalizing the medical use of marijuana. Research recently published by the nonpartisan National Bureau of Economic Research found that states that allow patients to access medical marijuana through dispensaries have reduced rates of opioid addiction and overdose deaths. In addition, a 2014 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that enactment of statewide medicinal cannabis laws is associated with a 24.8 percent lower state-level opioid overdose mortality rate. [continues 72 words]
When we learn of the accidental murder of a baby by shooters intending to hit a rival drug dealer two doors away, it's time to think about what might be done to stop such madness. Because one-issue gun advocates are willing to spend unlimited money to sway an election, we cannot regulate possession of firearms or ammunition. It may be time to carefully consider whether we can tamp down the greed that propels this violence. That means examining whether legalizing drugs would result in fewer deaths. [continues 58 words]
Madison Police Chief Mike Koval came out in support of legalizing marijuana last week. Below, you'll find some of his expanded comments from an interview with the State Journal in which he endorsed legalizing the drug and using tax revenue from its sale to support drug treatment programs. The comments came soon after Koval said his department must enforce laws against marijuana because the state prohibits it. Asked how he would like Wisconsin to treat the drug, Koval responded: "I would like us to see -- much like we've seen in those pioneering states (Washington and Colorado) -- a discussion of decriminalizing it, regulating it, taxing it, and then using the funds and monies generated .. (for) treatment programs, drug courts and other things that go to the core of our more substantive drug users." [continues 257 words]
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said legislators have done what they can and can't force doctors to prescribe cannabidiol oil. Gov. Scott Walker says it's frustrating, but he's not sure what to do. These are not the words of leaders. All this was known before the bill was even drafted. As a lifelong glaucoma patient, I lobbied for the Therapeutic Cannabis Research Act, which state lawmakers passed in 1982. After the act was enacted, state regulators advised me federal approval was needed. [continues 98 words]
Regarding Chris Rickert's Sunday column, "Why have two drugs to abuse?," the days when politicians can get away with confusing the drug war's tremendous collateral damage with a comparatively harmless plant are coming to an end. If the goal is to deter use, marijuana prohibition is a catastrophic failure. The United States has almost double the rate of marijuana use as the Netherlands where marijuana is legal, according to a 2008 World Health Organization survey. The criminalization of Americans who prefer marijuana to martinis has no basis in science. The war on marijuana consumers is a failed cultural inquisition, not an evidence-based public health campaign. Not just in Colorado but throughout the nation, it's time to stop the pointless arrests and instead tax legal marijuana. - -- Robert Sharpe, Washington, D.C., policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy [end]
Legalize pot in Wisconsin? Sure, as long as it isn't sold as any more of a "medicine" than the most popular legal high (alcohol). In the area of government-sanctioned inebriation, what's fair should be fair. Besides, pot advocates have had some decent reasons for saying theirs is the safer buzz. And then I read about a man in Colorado - where marijuana is already legal - who reportedly shot his wife after eating too much pot-laced candy. Another man ate too many marijuana-infused cookies and jumped off a hotel balcony to his death. [continues 691 words]
Dane County voters have the opportunity April 1 to vote on the national debate over legalizing cannabis. Vote "yes" on Advisory Referendum 2, which asks, "Should the state government enact legislation legalizing marijuana?" While Wisconsin has some of the worst pot laws in the Midwest, 20 states now have legalized medical cannabis. And two of those, Colorado and Washington, tax and regulate adult use. Other states are also considering legalization. Polling has found majority support for cannabis legalization in 18 states and Washington, D.C. [continues 118 words]
A weekly feature on proposed changes to state and local law. In a nutshell Current law prohibits a person from possessing, manufacturing or distributing marijuana. This bill (AB480, SB363) creates a medical use defense to marijuana-related prosecutions and fines, and prohibits the arrest or prosecution of people who are registered with the Department of Health Services (DHS) and have certain debilitating medical conditions or treatments. People who are registered could possess 12 marijuana plants and 3 ounces of marijuana leaves or flowers. They would be prohibited from operating a motor vehicle or heavy machinery or engaging in any other conduct that endangers the health or well being of another person while under the influence of marijuana. [continues 487 words]
Thanks for Monday's editorial, "Let them smoke pot -- for medicine." In discussing Illinois' new law, you stated the rules that regulate how much, when and how users can obtain medical cannabis are "about right." But a major flaw is the failure to include home cultivation. The people this bill is intended to help must wait until an expensive and complex production and distribution system is created. Allowing patients or caregivers to grow their own plants means immediate treatment. Home cultivation is allowed in most of the states cited in your editorial. And judging by the experiences of other states such as New Jersey, which claims to have the toughest law yet, it may take years to set up dispensaries. New Jersey has only one dispensary, and the bill was passed in 2010. [continues 72 words]
In general, we're not keen on looking to Illinois for leadership and direction on, well, almost anything. But Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn did the right thing last week when he signed into law a bill that approves medical marijuana for Illinois residents, making our neighbor to the south the 20th state, along with the District of Columbia, to legalize pot for medical purposes. Wisconsin should step up and do the same, an act that would give our residents who suffer from many debilitating conditions the same relief that is available now in nearly half the country. [continues 295 words]
Dear Editor: Regarding Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen's July 6 column, the use of so-called synthetic marijuana is an unintended side effect of the war on natural marijuana. Consumers are turning to potentially toxic drugs made in China and sold as research chemicals before being repackaged as legal incense. Expanding the drug war will only add to the highest incarceration rate in the world. Chinese chemists will tweak formulas to stay one step ahead of the law and two steps ahead of the drug tests. New versions won't be any safer. Misguided efforts to protect children from drugs are putting children at risk. [continues 91 words]
Two freshman Republican lawmakers from Fond du Lac, Sen. Rick Gudex and Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt, sponsored legislation that would find more ways to punish Wisconsinites and state visitors caught with small amounts of pot. SB 150 and AB 164 allow municipalities to prosecute marijuana cases the local district attorney has determined are not worth prosecution. There have been committee hearings in both houses with state medical cannabis and marijuana reform groups testifying against. The Assembly committee vote was 5-3 in favor on a party-line vote. [continues 140 words]
Synthetic marijuana and bath salts have attracted considerable attention recently. The increasing sale and use of these illegal substances in communities across Wisconsin is concerning to state and local law enforcement. What may be most troubling are the measures undertaken by those who attempt to manufacture these synthetics - ever so slightly altering the chemical composition in an attempt to evade prosecution. The Wisconsin Department of Justice takes the threats posed by these synthetics seriously. The attorney general's office, the Department's Division of Criminal Investigation and the State Crime Laboratory have partnered with the Legislature, the Wisconsin Controlled Substances Board and other officials to find solutions to the complex enforcement, investigative and regulatory issues presented by these substances. [continues 398 words]
It's the biggest movie of the summer. Not the biggest budget, or the biggest box office, but the most important. I'm talking about the new documentary "How to Make Money Selling Drugs," which will be released in theaters and on-demand on Wednesday. Written and directed by Matthew Cooke, and produced by Bert Marcus and Adrian Grenier, the film exposes the hypocrisy and destructiveness of the drug war at every level. The director's goal, as he put it, borrowing from Malcolm X, was to effect change "by the most entertaining means necessary." Or, as Hamlet said, "The play is the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king." Or, in this case, the public, which will in turn catch the conscience of the king. [continues 663 words]
A Weekly Feature on Proposed Changes to State and Local Law. in a Nutshell Under current law, a city, village, town or county can enact and enforce an ordinance prohibiting the possession of 25 grams or less of marijuana or the possession of a synthetic cannabinoid. A person who is charged with possession of more than 25 grams of marijuana or who is charged with possession of any amount of marijuana or a synthetic cannabinoid following a conviction for the possession of a controlled substance generally may not be prosecuted under the ordinance. [continues 580 words]
Regarding Monday's At Issue column on marijuana possession, Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt, R-Fond du Lac, should consider that organic marijuana and so-called synthetic marijuana are different things. Synthetic marijuana is an unintended side effect of the war on marijuana. Consumers are turning to potentially toxic drugs made in China and sold as research chemicals before being repackaged as legal incense. Expanding the drug war will only add to the highest incarceration rate in the world. Chinese chemists will tweak formulas to stay one step ahead of the law and two steps ahead of drug tests. New versions won't be safer. A better solution is to legalize organic marijuana. [continues 68 words]
It was good to read about the WISDOM group and bipartisan support for alternatives to incarceration for people charged with drug crimes. Marijuana being the most commonly used illegal substance, state lawmakers should take note of changing attitudes toward it. Colorado and Washington voters passed initiatives repealing marijuana prohibition at the state level. Massachusetts voters made that state the 18th plus Washington D.C. to legalize the medical use of cannabis. Meanwhile, Wisconsin has some of the most punitive, backward marijuana laws in the nation. It has a patchwork of local ordinances and state law with wide disparities in penalties, and it mandates a felony for second offense for possession of any amount of cannabis. These antiquated laws consume criminal justice resources for nonviolent, victimless activities. [continues 59 words]
The passing of Joyce Dreyfus, widow of former Gov. Lee Sherman Dreyfus, reminds me of a time when Wisconsin elected representatives from both parties worked together for the common good. An example was the 1982 passage of the Therapeutic Cannabis Research Act, which passed the Assembly 77-19 and the Senate 32-1. Among those voting in support were Tommy Thompson, William Bablitch, Lynn Adelman, Tom Loftus, Tim Cullen, Michael Ellis and Scott McCallum. Gov. Dreyfus signed the bill into law on April 15, 1982. It remains state law today. [continues 117 words]
How low can drug cartels sink? I thought the worst was when I heard about drug dealers making meth in strawberry and grape flavors to lure children in grade school to use drugs. Now the cartels are using 11- and 12-year-olds to move the drugs around, calling them "expendables." The war on drugs has never worked. The only way to end the cartels' reign of death and addiction is to legalize and tax drugs. Use the taxes to pay off national debt and the cost of treatment for addicts. [continues 76 words]
Ben Masel, prominent marijuana activist and professional rabble rouser, died Saturday from complications due to lung cancer. He was 56. Diagnosed in January, Masel had recently made it through 25 radiation treatments for the disease, but was too weak to face chemotherapy. He died just before 9 a.m., surrounded by family at a nearby hospice center. "He made a point of living at the front lines and fighting for his rights," said Semilla Anderson, Masel's daughter. "He will be remembered for that." [continues 412 words]
As a long-time medical cannabis patient/advocate, I question comments made by Dr. Michael Fiore, the UW Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention director, quoted in Friday's article about Ben Masel. Dr. Fiore stated "In terms of marijuana and lung cancer the jury is still out, but the answer is that it is probably a cause of lung cancer." Dr. Fiore's should know the "jury" came back in 2005 and found cannabis innocent. UCLA medical school professor Dr. Donald Tashkin began searching for a cancer link to cannabis smoking in the 1970s. Tashkin's studies identified carcinogens in cannabis smoke. In 2002, the National Institute of Drug Abuse gave Dr. Tashkin a grant to pursue further research. [continues 105 words]
Ben Masel, the longtime face of the movement to legalize marijuana in Madison, is dying of lung cancer. Doctors can't say whether there's a direct connection between Masel's cancer and his marijuana use, since he also smoked tobacco for 40 years. But unlike his cigarette use, which was light but long term, Masel acknowledges his marijuana smoking has been heavy "by anybody's standards." Dr. Michael Fiore, director of the University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention, said it's impossible to determine what caused Masel's lung cancer. [continues 690 words]
Regarding Wednesday's article "Heroin abuse, deaths on the rise," as a retired police officer, I am familiar with drug overdose and death. As a traveler, I have met with doctors and officials in Switzerland to see first-hand the success of their method of handling heroin. Since 1994 they have treated heroin use as a medical issue and have been rewarded with dramatic decreases in crime, and no one in the program has died of an overdose in 16 years. This model has been adopted by Germany, Denmark and Holland because it works. [continues 69 words]
The figures tell a story that's only getting worse: As of Monday, 16 people have died from a heroin overdose this year, double the number in 2009. Overdoses caused by the drug also have increased -- from 61 in 2009 to 86 this year. But what's even more alarming, officials say, is the increase in "drugged driving" cases in which heroin users shoot up immediately after getting the drug and then drive. That leads to the same kind of impaired driving as drinking alcohol. [continues 538 words]
There are few universal truths, but this is one: People like to get high. I don't mean high as it is commonly understood -- created through the abuse of some legal or illegal drug. I mean any state of pleasurably altered consciousness, whether it be from drugs, skydiving, a perfect report card ... whatever. The means by which we seek our highs vary from person to person, but I have no doubt the urge is universal. It's from this perspective that I come at one of my major personal irritants: medical marijuana. [continues 614 words]
Thanks to the Dane County Board's July 15 vote to place a medical marijuana advisory referendum on general election ballots, county voters will have a historic opportunity on Nov. 2 to express their support for protecting Wisconsin patients who can benefit from therapeutic cannabis. Voters will find the following question on the reverse side of ballots: "Should the Wisconsin Legislature enact legislation allowing residents with debilitating medical conditions to acquire and possess marijuana for medical purposes if supported by their physician?" [continues 96 words]
A medical marijuana advocate was wrong to state in his letter last Saturday that marijuana has no "serious side effects." This is myth that marijuana advocates have perpetuated to gain acceptance of the intoxicating weed. The truth is that the medical community has long recognized significant physical and psychological side effects with marijuana use. The National Institutes of Health states that there is an "increasing misperception that (cannabis) use poses low health risk." Medical research shows that chronic users of cannabis may experience difficulty in stopping or controlling its use and present withdrawal symptoms after discontinuing use. [continues 119 words]
An advisory referendum will ask Dane County voters in November whether they think the state should legalize medical marijuana after the County Board voted unanimously Thursday to place it on ballots. The move made the county the state's first to introduce a medical marijuana resolution. The question would ask: "Should the Wisconsin Legislature enact legislation allowing residents with debilitating medical conditions to acquire and possess marijuana for medical purposes if supported by their physician?" Sup. John Hendrick of Madison, who introduced the resolution, said he was surprised at the board's unanimous vote but wouldn't be surprised if the referendum passed by a 70-30 margin or better. [continues 244 words]
We are supposed to be excited when the pharma community fast-tracks a new and wonderful drug to market, for the good of mankind, of course. But watch the TV ads for these new drugs. Smiling, happy people are shown, but most of the commercial time is used listing the side effects, which may include illness or even death. Yet we have a medicine that's been used for over 4,000 years, tested by billions of patients with no recorded deaths or serious side effects. It's called cannabis, and it was put here by our creator. How can our Legislature deny sick and dying Wisconsin citizens legal access to this medicine? [continues 109 words]
In a Nutshell Federal law prohibits the manufacture, sale and possession of marijuana, but 14 states and the District of Columbia, have passed laws allowing the distribution of marijuana for medicinal purposes. An effort to pass a similar law in Wisconsin during the last legislative session failed, but supporters have begun a campaign to place an advisory referendum on local ballots in November that would call upon the state to legalize medical marijuana. On Thursday, Dane County became the first county in the state to introduce a resolution that, if passed, would place the following question on the fall ballot: "Should the Wisconsin Legislature enact legislation allowing residents with debilitating medical conditions to acquire and possess marijuana for medical purposes if supported by their physician?" [continues 315 words]
Q. Last week, three Verona seventh-graders were disciplined by school officials after one sold what the student said was a marijuana-laced cookie to two other students, who ate it. Why put marijuana in a cookie? A. Excepting the obvious answer, there seems little reason to put anything green - other than M&Ms or sprinkles - in a cookie, especially if it's marijuana, which is most commonly smoked. But Gary Storck, a medical marijuana advocate and co-founder of the Madison chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML, said that when marijuana is eaten it provides a fuller-bodied, longer sensation that can relieve spasticity or severe pain. [continues 223 words]
Veterans and others managing post traumatic stress report that medical marijuana can help in ways conventional medications cannot, without the toxicity, side effects and interactions. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, and Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Waunakee, showed true support for vets and other PTSD sufferers by including it among qualifying debilitating medical conditions in the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act. Unfortunately, the bill died in committee like so many others before it. In 2007, New Mexico also faced the end of session without passing a medical marijuana bill long in the works. Gov. Bill Richardson persuaded wavering lawmakers to come back and pass it, making New Mexico the first state to pass a bill specifically including PTSD, and the 12th state to OK medical marijuana. [continues 85 words]
The sponsors of the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act, Rep. Mark Pocan and Sen. Jon Erpenbach, showed support for veterans by including post-traumatic stress disorder in the bill. While PTSD affects people from all walks of life, multiple deployments and two major wars have meant millions of vets have this affliction in varying degrees. I visited the Capitol with a 26-year-old ex-Marine who served three tours in Iraq and now feels like he's gone from "hero to zero." The medications the VA provides treat his symptoms but leave him feeling empty and sedated. Worse, users risk side effects including organ damage, cancer and tremors. [continues 103 words]
In Friday's guest column about budget cuts and prosecutor positions, Mary T. Wagner asks which crimes we should ignore. The obvious choice: Those related to pot. How much do we spend on arresting, prosecuting and jailing kids over pot? And to what end? To export jobs and money from local farmers to Mexican drug lords. - - Jim Blair, Madison [end]
The Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act allows for medical cannabis to treat post traumatic stress disorder. In 2007, Dr. Christopher Fichtner, who was section chief for PTSD Hines V.A. Hospital in Illinois, spoke in support of medical cannabis. He said when he began working with veterans who had PTSD, he was initially opposed to cannabis use. But use of medical cannabis is harm reduction for those who self-medicate with alcohol. Abuse of alcohol kills. No one dies of a cannabis overdose. [continues 124 words]
Regarding a recent editorial, "GOOD NEWS: Headlines we'd like to see in 2010," my suggestion, published a year ago, remains the same: "Governor signs medical marijuana bill, Wisconsin becomes15th state to protect patients using medicinal cannabis." The Wisconsin Legislature now has before it AB554 and SB368, the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act, sponsored by Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton and 15 cosponsors. A combined Assembly and Senate Health Committee hearing in December lasted over eight hours. Only six parties, mostly special interests including the State Medical Society and the Attorney General's office, opposed the bill. [continues 147 words]
At a recent public hearing, the wonders of marijuana were explained. "God's breath" is what one man calls the smoke he billows before he goes to bed. A father of seven turned to pot as the last resort to help his dying wife regain her appetite. It not only restored her will to eat, but her tumor got smaller, baffling doctors. Legislators were enticed by the prospect of being compassionate leaders who could offer marijuana to debilitated citizens. People at the rally told us not to worry about repercussions because we're smarter than California. We won't have problems. We're more compassionate than the 36 states that haven't legalized weed. We're only going to use a little bit. You don't get it. [continues 123 words]
The author of Tuesday's letter titled "Be cautious about legalizing marijuana" defends marijuana prohibition based on the possibility it could be harmful. I understand a liberal's desire to protect citizens from cradle to grave against harm. But horseback riding will kill many more people this year than using marijuana. Should we make that illegal? Cigarettes kill a few people in Wisconsin every day. Should we make that illegal? Speaking as a Michigan police officer, now retired, public safety is reduced as my profession spends tens of thousands of hours searching for and arresting adults using marijuana in their own homes. These police hours would be better spent arresting deadly drunken drivers and child molesters. Howard Wooldridge Merrimac [end]
There is much to discuss before the medicinal use of marijuana is allowed. Can pot cause cancer? Can it be smoked in public? Will people be able to smoke it and then drive a car? Will it be banned from public places like cigarettes are? And what about the secondhand smoke? Everyone should know that this drug slows reaction times and alters a user's mood and mind. Are all of these risks worth the legalization of pot? And what about our children finding this in the medicine cabinet or watching a person smoke it? [continues 66 words]
Regarding a Nov. 24 letter to the editor titled "Man-made cannabis already available," many people are aware of the drug Marinol, the synthetic pill form of cannabis. However, it's important to clarify its effectiveness. Marinol is not always a simple substitution for marijuana. I have been prescribed Marinol at several different points during my life. The first time, I was 17 and had recently been diagnosed with cancer. Marinol can be helpful in certain situations, but far from all of them. The problem I and many others have with Marinol is our inability to keep the pills down once they are taken. My nausea was so severe that I couldn't even keep the medicine down. You can't get the relief of the medicine if you can't keep it in your body long enough for it to digest. That's what makes marijuana an excellent option. Its medicinal properties are absorbed into the bloodstream instantaneously. My doctors encouraged me to smoke marijuana. For me and numerous others, marijuana is the only drug that has given relief. - - Randall Prazuch, cancer survivor, Eau C [end]
In a recent column, Dr. Peter Gott wrote that smoking cannabis causes health problems, even cancer, while admitting that he smokes tobacco, a proven carcinogen. Dr. Donald Tashkin, a researcher at UCLA has been searching for the "smoking gun" since the 1970s. Tashkin's studies identified toxic compounds in cannabis smoke, and he published photomicrographs showing cannabis smoke damages cells lining the upper airways. Yet in California in April 2008, at the National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics, I heard Tashkin report his findings that smoking cannabis does not cause cancer. [continues 151 words]
