Thanks for publishing Kathy Inman's outstanding letter: "Marijuana Solution" (Feb. 11). I'd like to add that about seven years ago before and after my hip-replacement surgery, I was taking about six Vicodin tablets every day.Now, thanks to medical marijuana, I take no pain pills. Vicodin can and does kill thousands of people every year. Cannabis, on the other hand, has never killed anyone. For those who oppose cannabis use don't buy it. Don't buy it. Don't grow it and don't use it. Period. Kirk Muse Mesa [end]
Maricopa County Attorney loses legal battle with tail between his legs Earlier this month, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled in favor of the state's medical marijuana industry by quashing a long-standing legal assault by Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery. Montgomery constantly rails against imaginary dangers of marijuana, likely borne from knowing little to nothing about the plant, and based on flawed data. He was a major player in the fight against Proposition 205 along with Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk. [continues 633 words]
Your meds are safe for a little while longer. Congressional lawmakers bought a little more time for the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer Amendment by extending the current federal budget with a disaster relief bill signed by President Donald Trump earlier this month. The clause is set to expire with the rest of the bill on Dec. 8. The bill itself caught a lot of press due to the shocking ease with which Trump sided with Democrats to raise the debt ceiling. Of the 90 "no" votes in the House of Representatives, all were Republican. (House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told the Washington Post the vote indicated House Republicans "have a philosophical problem with governance.") [continues 427 words]
It looks like Attorney General Jeff Sessions has run into some problems in his crusade against the marijuana. While the new Department of Justice administration has long been mounting pressure against the marijuana industry, the latest suggestion from the Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety is to, well, do nothing. The subcommittee was announced months ago and tasked with developing a legal avenue for Session's marijuana crackdown. However, the Associated Press reported the group "has come up with no new policy recommendations to advance the attorney general's aggressively anti-marijuana views." [continues 521 words]
Editor: Thanks for publishing Rita Shyrocka's outstanding letter: "Crisis is on government's shoulders" (7-19-17). I'd like to add that in 1972, when President Richard Nixon launched the war on drugs, the federal budget for the drug war was $101 million. Last year, the federal budget for the drug was over $25 billion - a 250-fold increase. In 1972, fewer than 5,000 Americans died from illegal drugs. Last year more than 50,000 Americans died from drug overdoses. [continues 58 words]
Sessions' correspondence to marijuana states is full of smoke and mirror While certain federal administration officials take to Twitter to air their grievances, those stuck in last century use more traditional means for their loosely-supported rants. Attorney General Jeff Sessions sent letters to governors of states with legal recreational marijuana in response to an April 3 letter from the governors of Alaska, Washington and Oregon urging him to uphold Obama-era pot policy. However, the points raised in Sessions' letter may not be as watertight as he thinks. [continues 502 words]
Despite the upheaval of the current presidential administration, some things just haven't changed, like acting DEA Chief Chuck Rosenberg's Obama-era insistence last month that "marijuana is not medicine." Though he also stated that he'd "be the last person to stand in the way" if medical uses of marijuana rise through the FDA process. (Here's where we count on Sue Sisley's research in Phoenix.) But Rosenberg doesn't seem to pay attention to what happens in Phoenix. If he did, he might hear about a small clinic using marijuana to treat opioid addiction. [continues 582 words]
Major anti-pot campaign funder lands DEA approval of THC drug amidst flurry of lawsuits Ethics is a hazy argument when it comes to marijuana. On one hand, opponents of legalization argue that the plant is harmful to society and individuals, and therefore should not be used. "Good people don't smoke marijuana," remember? On the other, little evidence exists to show that marijuana was even made illegal on ethical grounds, and thousands of individuals' lives are affected by simple possession of a joint, regardless of context. [continues 511 words]
Inside Arizona
