The medicinal effects of marijuana are no joke to Rita Moore, education services director for the Epilepsy Foundation of Southeast Tennessee. "If they'd found [the medicinal effects] first," she says, "it would be a miracle drug. We have to get past this." The "this" is what you already know - the casual "high" you get from smoking marijuana, its ability to impair your judgment, its addictive qualities, its potential to be a gateway to other drugs, plus the jokes about "the munchies," Cheech & Chong, and Bob Marley music. [continues 653 words]
At long last, a medical marijuana bill is scheduled to be discussed Wednesday in the Tennessee House Health Committee and also is expected to be presented in the Volunteer State's Senate House and Welfare Committee. Medical marijuana in oil form has been shown to significantly lessen epileptic seizures, especially in children like 5- year-old Cora Vowell, a local girl who last year suffered an accident that required her to wear a helmet contantly to protect her head against the nine to 12 seizures she now has each day. [continues 514 words]
Medical marijuana will soon be legal in Georgia, and that's a good thing. Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal on Friday signed the hard-fought bill that was two years in the making. Now state agencies will prepare to implement it. The Peach State becomes one of 24 states plus Washington, D.C., to legalize marijuana for certain medical uses. The Georgia House voted 160-1 to approve a Senate compromise. The bill originally made people with nine medical conditions eligible for treatment with cannabis oil that has a minimal level of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the chemical that makes pot users feel high. The compromise deleted one illness - fibromyalgia. The remaining eight conditions are seizure disorders, sickle cell anemia, cancer, Crohn's disease, Lou Gehrig's disease, multiple sclerosis, mitochondrial disease and Parkinson's disease. [continues 173 words]
Another important reason to allow sick people to use cannabis (marijuana) that doesn't get mentioned ("2 Widely Different Medical Marijuana Bills to Butt Heads," March 10) is because it is biblically correct since God (The Ecologician) created all the seed-bearing plants, saying they're all good, on literally the very first page of the Bible. Further, many people know of cannabis as the tree of life, and the very last page of the Bible indicates the leaves of the tree of life are for the healing of the nations. Christ Jesus risked jail in order to heal the sick. Not one single person has died using cannabis in more than 5,000 years of documented medical use; that's safety on a biblical scale. A sane or moral argument to cage sick citizens who use cannabis doesn't exist. Stan White Dillon, Colo. [end]
DALTON - The Dalton Police did almost everything by the book. Almost. As part of an investigation into Eric Ashton, detectives allegedly purchased marijuana from Ashton during an undercover operation, then obtained a search warrant for his home at 1150 Whittle Drive. They scoped out the home Tuesday evening to make sure Ashton's truck was in the driveway and that there were people in the residence. By 11 p. m., they had assembled enough officers to take down the man they believed to be a drug dealer. So far, so good. [continues 173 words]
A series of articles in The Washington Post exposed the problem last fall, and U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric Holder announced recently that federal agencies, with few exceptions, will no longer take possession of assets seized by local law enforcement agencies when no crime has been proved. Tennessee officials say the decision will have little impact on the activities of local law enforcement agencies, but the attorney general's decision to step down from the widespread use of civil asset forfeiture should prompt close scrutiny of the practice throughout the state and beyond. [continues 372 words]
(AP) - Tennessee's Department of Agriculture says it is accepting applications from those interested in growing industrial hemp. The department says it is developing a licensing and inspection program for the production of industrial hemp in Tennessee. Officials say industrial hemp is the same plant species of marijuana, but it has a significantly lower content of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. It can be used in a variety of products, including fabric, textiles, fibers and foods. Those interested can download an application and memorandum of understanding at the department's website. [end]
The last 90 years have been a historical aberration in the 5,000 years of medical cannabis use. It is tragic to have prohibited such use in the same world where pharmaceuticals account for more deaths annually than all illicit drugs combined. While pharmaceuticals have their place, the numbers show that cannabis can save lives when legalized as medicine. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Every day in the United States, 113 people die as a result of drug overdose, and another 6,748 are treated for the misuse or abuse of drugs. Nearly 9 out of 10 poisoning deaths are caused by drugs ... in 2011, of the 41,340 drug overdose deaths in the United States, 22,810 (55%) were related to pharmaceuticals." Of those deaths, 74 percent were attributed to prescription opiates. [continues 173 words]
The Sept. 14 Free Press editorial opposing the legalization of marijuana was laughable. The writer cites studies that show that marijuana isn't good for you. The writer seems to ignore that all of the points he makes are also true for alcohol, which is even more dangerous. I doubt he would ever write an editorial arguing that legalization of alcohol for recreational use didn't make sense. Personally, I think marijuana is boring. But I think that as long as they're not harming others, people should be allowed to choose their own entertainment, regardless of whether what they choose is good for them. I don't care if it's marijuana, alcohol, greasy food, gambling, or sitting on the couch and watching TV all day. That's what being a free human being, and living in a supposedly "free" country, is all about: making your own choices, without the government imprisoning you just because a majority of people don't share your preferences. LARRY MENDIZABAL Ooltewah [end]
Let me be clear from the start. I hate drugs. I hate what drugs do to the individual and the family and I do not believe anyone should take any drug not prescribed. With that said, I firmly believe all drugs should be made legal. The illegal drug industry is a multibillion industry that fuels drug wars in Latin America and anti-American activities worldwide. Whether it is marijuana, cocaine, opium, or meth, when we buy an illegal drug we pay the terrorists. [continues 67 words]
I thoroughly enjoyed your article concerning the growing amount of pot dispensaries in Colorado and Washington. It was interesting to learn about the large profit margins these businesses enjoy. I'm just wondering when will the federal government jump on board and legalize marijuana and end all this chaos caused by conflicting federal and state laws? In my opinion, the federal government will legalize marijuana when someone in the capital realizes the money to be made from pot. Nothing gets people moving faster than money that could be potentially made. Olivia DeWitt [end]
A controversial new Tennessee law to drug-test applicants for public benefits has already resulted in the Department of Human Services disqualifying people seeking aid since the rules went into effect July 1. Four people were turned down because they refused to participate in any part of the drug screening process. Six other people willingly submitted to a drug test, and one tested positive. Officials with the Department of Human Services say they are making contact with that applicant for further action - which could include referral to a drug treatment program as a condition of receiving benefits or disqualification if the person refuses. [continues 609 words]
The only time I ever thought about where the illegal drugs I was purchasing might have come from was when I lucked up in the purchase of some particularly potent cocaine. I didn't ask about the urgency to move such product at such cheap prices, but when we got the eight ball back to our dinghy hotel room and started to break it up, we saw it: a mysterious-looking stamp pressed in the smooth side of the lump of coke, a skull and some words in Spanish prominent in the indention. The sight of it filled me with a little bit of unease, because it was further proof that we were indulging in a game that could have had potentially deadly consequences. It was obviously from someplace south of the border, and rather than contemplate the violence that had accompanied it north to the streets of Myrtle Beach, S.C., we busted it up and proceeded to get high and not think of it again. [continues 850 words]
Two of the larger social trends of our time - the growth of payday gambling and the legalization of marijuana - have two things in common: They are justified as the expansion of personal liberty and they serve the interests of an expanding government. The ideological alliance behind these changes is among the strangest in American politics. Libertarians seek to lift governmental restraints on consensual acts. State governments seek sources of revenue without the political inconvenience of requesting broad tax increases. Both find common ground in encouraging and exploiting the weaknesses and addictions of citizens. (And business interests and their lobbyists, of course, find new ways to profit from reliable vices.) [continues 632 words]
The caramel-chocolate flavored candy bar looked so innocent, like the Sky Bars I used to love as a child. Sitting in my hotel room in Denver, I nibbled off the end and then, when nothing happened, nibbled some more. I figured if I was reporting on the social revolution rocking Colorado in January, the giddy culmination of pot Prohibition, I should try a taste of legal, edible pot from a local shop. What could go wrong with a bite or two? Everything, as it turned out. Not at first. For an hour, I felt nothing. I figured I'd order dinner from room service and return to my more mundane drugs of choice, chardonnay and mediocre-movies-on-demand. [continues 551 words]
A plague of heroin addiction is upon us. Another plague. Heroin was the crisis that prompted Richard Nixon to launch the war on drugs in 1971. Time marched on. Cocaine and then crack cocaine and then methamphetamine overtook heroin as the drugs of the moment. Now heroin is back - and badder than ever. The war on drugs also grinds expensively on, an estimated $1 trillion down the hole so far. Amid the triumphant announcements of massive drug seizures and arrests of the kingpins, heroin has never been more abundant or so easy to find, in urban and rural America alike. [continues 514 words]
A plague of heroin addiction is upon us. Another plague. Heroin was the crisis that prompted Richard Nixon to launch the war on drugs in 1971. Time marched on. Cocaine and then crack cocaine and then methamphetamine overtook heroin as the drugs of the moment. Now heroin is back - and badder than ever. The war on drugs also grinds expensively on, an estimated $1 trillion down the hole so far. Amid the triumphant announcements of massive drug seizures and arrests of the kingpins, heroin has never been more abundant or so easy to find, in urban and rural America alike. [continues 515 words]
ALGOOD -- In an effort to engage the community in making their city safer, Algood Police have launched a drug tip hotline. "We're asking anyone inside the city limits of Algood to report -- anonymously -- any drug activity or crime," detective Justin Medlin said. "We can't be everywhere at once, so we need the public's help." Medlin credits Chief Gary Harris for helping him with this initiative. "There is a drug problem here in Algood," Medlin said. "We're wanting the hotline to become community-oriented. The community is our eyes and ears." [continues 128 words]
I recently had the privilege of being selected to serve on a jury. I sat through a full morning with 50 other citizens before they were seated on a jury or sent home. The judge thanked everyone and apologized for the time it took, but he said the courts were backed up. The case was for simple possession of marijuana. The defendant was cited nearly a year ago. Several months later, the case went before a grand jury and it was determined there was enough evidence to go to trial. [continues 76 words]
Gov. Bill Haslam heard the opposition. He hardly could have missed it, as a nationwide campaign exploded in the 10 days leading up to one of his most crucial decisions this legislative session. Would he sign a law allowing women to be criminally charged for drug use during pregnancy? With the proposal on the Republican governor's desk, thousands of petitioners, national medical associations, reproductive rights advocates and editorial writers bombarded him with demands for a veto. But as noisy as it was - and as much as the doctors and nurses who treat babies born to drug-addicted mothers seemed united in the view that the law was a terrible idea - the outrage came too late. It never truly ignited until lawmakers had passed their bills by wide margins. And it hung on the wispy hope that the governor would apply a veto power he has put to use just twice in four legislative sessions. [continues 533 words]
NASHVILLE (AP) - The White House drug policy director is offering a sobering message about driving while under the influence of drugs. Despite significant progress in the last few decades when it comes to getting drunken drivers off the road, an alarming number of people get behind the wheel while under the influence of drugs, Michael Botticelli said Monday in Nashville. "We see this as a major public health and public safety issue," Botticelli told The Associated Press after speaking at the largest meeting of public safety officials in the nation. It's important, he said, that communities raise awareness of the problem. Botticelli is acting director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. [continues 160 words]
The top White House drug policy czar said Monday in Nashville that he couldn't comment on the decision Gov. Bill Haslam must make today about whether to sign legislation that would criminalize women who use drugs while pregnant. Then he let fly. "Under the Obama administration, we've really tried to reframe drug policy not as a crime but as a public health-related issue, and that our response on the national level is that we not criminalize addiction," said Michael Botticelli, acting director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. "We want to make sure our response and our national strategy is based on the fact that addiction is a disease." [continues 529 words]
Tennessee women who use drugs while pregnant can be criminally charged for harm done to their infants beginning July 1. Gov. Bill Haslam signed the legislation Tuesday after "extensive conversations with experts including substance abuse, mental health, health and law enforcement officials," he wrote in a statement. "The intent of this bill is to give law enforcement and district attorneys a tool to address illicit drug use among pregnant women through treatment programs." The governor's decision comes after a week of mounting nationwide opposition from civil and reproductive rights groups. They argued that criminalization would drive vulnerable women away from drug addiction treatment. [continues 293 words]
Simple Answer: Amid controversy, sometimes the basic facts of drug addiction get lost. The nation is watching Tennessee for new legislation that would allow women to be criminally charged if they use drugs during pregnancy that harm their newborns. State and national groups have asked Gov. Bill Haslam to veto the bill before Tuesday, saying criminalization isn't the right approach to stem the state's growing numbers of babies born dependent on drugs. This complicated epidemic raises many questions, yielding few simple answers. Here are a few: [continues 596 words]
A petition hand-delivered to Gov. Bill Haslam's office on Friday includes the names of 10,500 people asking him to veto legislation that would allow women to be criminally charged for drug use during pregnancy. Haslam has until Tuesday to act before the legislation becomes law. He hasn't said what he will do, and a spokesman said he's still collecting information. In four legislative sessions, Haslam has vetoed two bills and allowed one to become law without his signature. [continues 548 words]
A U.S. Army veteran and his wife say they are moving from Clarksville to Pueblo, Colo., in order to obtain the marijuana that helps control the pain Max Bailey suffers from injuries acquired in Afghanistan. Jen Bailey told The Leaf-Chronicle doctors want to put her husband on opiate pain killers, but he does not want to end up addicted to pills. She said marijuana worked well for him until police raided their home on Feb. 25, confiscating 12 marijuana cigarettes and charging her with simple possession. [continues 134 words]
Republican infighting doomed legislation that would have allowed limited use of medical marijuana and started to privatize the state's beleaguered child welfare system. Now Gov. Nathan Deal is exploring administrative changes to carry out what lawmakers failed to do. Deal has consulted with state agency heads about steps that would allow Georgia families to use cannabis oil to treat medical disorders until lawmakers return to Atlanta next year. And he said he's considering signing an executive order to jump-start the foster care privatization push that failed last week. [continues 798 words]
Georgia Lawmakers Say No; Tennessee Leaves Door Open. A medicinal oil made from marijuana that won't get you high - but has parents moving to Colorado where it's used to treat children suffering from hundreds of potentially fatal seizures each week - won't be allowed in Georgia this year. Georgia lawmakers did not pass legislation meant to make it easier for parents to get the cannabis oil. Meanwhile, Tennessee legislators left the door open a crack. A committee voted down a broad medical marijuana bill Tuesday. But legislators still may approve a four-year study to determine whether oil low in tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the component that causes marijuana's "high," is effective at alleviating children's intractable seizures, under a bill authored by Rep. Mike Carter, R-Ooltewah. [continues 812 words]
A new conventional wisdom is on the rise: Drug prohibition, or "the war on drugs," is a costly flop. It not only failed to cut drug use and associated social ills significantly but has also imposed additional social costs - or "catastrophic harm," as my colleague Radley Balko put it - far exceeding the benefits. Those costs include violent crime linked to the black-market drug trade as well as the mass arrest and incarceration of small-time users, a disproportionate number of whom are African-American. [continues 726 words]
Albert Einstein purportedly defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. This perfectly describes our country's drug policy. In his column of Feb. 12, David Cook is of two minds about legalizing drugs, saying correctly that legally selling drugs does not qualify the U.S. to be that shining beacon on the hill we all wish it to be, but his conclusion that we therefore should not legalize them is incorrect. Under present laws, extensive tax funds are used to pursue, capture, prosecute and incarcerate nonviolent drug users. This foolish program of proven failure should be scrapped, and all drugs should be legalized, taxed and rigidly controlled, and the funds diverted to education and other positive state needs, such as rehab for those who want it, cleaning our neighborhoods, promoting business and fighting poverty. Many adults can safely use drugs, and do (alcohol and tobacco are legal). The problem isn't drugs, it's addiction, and its cost to society. If you want to pay fewer taxes, drop the war on drugs. We know what doesn't work; it's time to try something else. Dayton, Tenn. [end]
I'm writing about, "Hundreds march for medical marijuana rights," that appeared Feb. 8. I'd like to add that the cannabis legalization issue, medical and otherwise, is not whether cannabis is completely safe for everybody, including children and adolescents. It is not. The issue is freedom of choice for adults. Children have died from eating peanuts and peanut butter, but we don't cage peanut growers, sellers or consumers. And the voters of Colorado and Washington state have decided that we should not cage cannabis growers, sellers or consumers. Tennessee adults have the freedom of choice of whether or not to consume legal alcohol. Shouldn't they have the same freedom of choice regarding legal cannabis? Mesa, Ariz. [end]
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Tennesseans oppose legalizing marijuana generally but appear willing to allow medical marijuana use, according to a poll by MTSU. The poll also found: Sixty-four percent of state residents oppose allowing gay couples to marry legally. Fifty-two percent support forbidding the enforcement in Tennessee of federal firearms laws and leaving firearms regulated by state and local laws. Additionally, the poll measured attitudes toward abortion, further restricting access to pseudoephedrine, allowing grocery stores to sell wine and repealing the new federal health care law, according to an MTSU news release. [continues 809 words]
It's been 10 days since Philip Seymour Hoffman, possibly our era's finest actor, was found dead and alone in his apartment, a needle in his arm. Before Hoffman, there was Cory Monteith. And Heath Ledger. Kurt Cobain. River Phoenix. Elvis. They are our dead celebrities, the famous ones who die from addiction. We love them with a strange love, and mourn them with a strange grief. We leave flowers outside the buildings where they died. We dim the lights on Broadway. We visit their graves. We easily forgive their drug use and excesses; after all, it's Hollywood. After all, they entertained us so. [continues 730 words]
Addiction experts believe there are only three possible outcomes for an addict who doesn't escape the lure of drugs or alcohol: death, prison or a destroyed life. For far too many, including screen stars like Philip Seymour Hoffman, death is the intended or unintended result from an apparent overdose when they can't stay in recovery. Sadly, addiction doesn't discriminate. It doesn't just strike the rich and famous or thugs and bad guys. It invades and controls the lives of "average" people. Numerous research studies have demonstrated that, just as some people inherit genes that cause cancer and other diseases, addicts may inherit genes that make them more vulnerable to drugs or alcohol. Like many diseases, addiction is incurable. But it doesn't have to be fatal. Addiction is treatable. As my sister Sylvia and I wrote in a book we co-authored ("HOOKED BUT NOT HOPELESS: Escaping the Lure of Addiction"), many addicts survive to live a better life, and broken families are often healed. After admitting she was powerless over addiction and turning her disease over to God, Sylvia has been in recovery for more than four years following a 17-year battle with prescription drug abuse. She was hooked but not hopeless. SHERRY HOPPE, President Emeritus Austin Peay State University [end]
You can be sure of one thing. That those politicians have their windows open up in the state capital in Nashville, smelling that sweet smell of marijuana from Colorado. It will only smell like more easy money to them. Kind of like the lottery. CHARLES WIDGER, Spring City, Tenn. [end]
The governor's anti-meth bill will force many law-abiding citizens to see their doctors and get prescriptions before they can purchase safe, effective cold medicine. If Gov. Bill Haslam's bill passes and you need more than 10 days of medicine that contains pseudoephedrine (the active ingredient in Sudafed and many other cold medicines), you'll have to take off work or hire a sitter; get a prescription; go to the pharmacy, get your medicine and go home ... all while miserable with a cold or flu. [continues 123 words]
Allison Folsom brought her family all the way from Bristol to tote her "Moms for Medical Marijuana" sign Saturday. The mother of two, infants Damon and Addie, said she doesn't smoke marijuana for fear of losing her job, but constantly suffers through chronic migraines, something she said would be completely relieved if she were able to smoke marijuana to fight the symptoms. "I think it shouldn't even be a question," Folsom said. "What's out there is absolute misinformation. I wish people would look at the facts." [continues 724 words]
NASHVILLE - State Rep. Mike Carter said he is continuing to explore introducing legislation amending Tennessee's strict anti-marijuana laws to allow possession of a cannabis-derived oil seemingly effective in treating a rare form of epilepsy. "I am considering and looking at filing a bill that allows a parent to have cannabidiol oils in their possession for the use with a person of intractable seizures as determined by a doctor," the Ooltewah Republican and former judge said. "And you can't get high on it." [continues 457 words]
WASHINGTON - Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman is yet another victim of the war on drugs. Prohibition is not working. It is time to try something new. Hoffman, 46, was found dead in the bathroom of his Manhattan apartment Sunday morning, apparently the victim of a heroin overdose. According to widely published reports, there was a syringe in his arm. Police found the place littered with small plastic bags stamped "Ace of Spades" or "Ace of Hearts" - brand names that street dealers use. [continues 667 words]
BLUFF CITY, Tenn. - For local medical-marijuana activist Seth Green, the ability to fill his lungs with a full breath of air - without wincing in pain - outweighs the risk of landing in jail. "I know what the consequences are from it," he said of smoking the weed, which is illegal in Tennessee. "I'd rather not have 60 to 80 seizures in a week's time." For the last year, the 23-year-old has passed around petitions and spread the word of rallies for his cause in the hopes that Tennessee might one day green-light the weed's use as a medicine. [continues 514 words]
Law Enforcement Often Arrives on Scene Before EMTs As Boston celebrated its World Series victory last fall with a grand parade through downtown, a distraught young man burst through the crowd in search of police. But he didn't want Boston police. He wanted an officer from Quincy, a Boston suburb. The man's girlfriend had overdosed on heroin. He had heard Quincy police carry naloxone, a drug that can reverse an opiate overdose instantly. Quincy officers, helping with security at the parade, administered the drug, reversed the overdose and saved the 20-year-old woman. [continues 443 words]
But Tenn. GOP Lends No Support NASHVILLE - Tennesseans who want to curb their nausea, seizures or chronic pain with marijuana are hoping a cultural shift makes the prospect of passing a state measure move from laughable to possible. Past medical marijuana bills gained little traction, and House and Senate sponsors of the last bill, proposed in 2012, lost re-election bids. But five states have joined the ranks of those offering medical marijuana since then, the most recent being New York, whose governor this month launched a policy by executive order. That brings the total to 21 states - including traditionally conservative Arizona - and the District of Columbia, all with different fee structures and possession limits. [continues 562 words]
Shifting Attitudes Give Supporters Hope That Tennessee Is Ready to Pass a Bill Tennesseans who want to curb their nausea, seizures or chronic pain with marijuana instead of medication are hoping a cultural shift makes the prospect of passing a state measure move from laughable to possible. Past medical marijuana bills gained little traction, and House and Senate sponsors of the last bill, proposed in 2012, lost re-election bids. But five states have joined the ranks of those offering medical marijuana since then, the most recent being New York, whose governor this month launched a policy by executive order. That brings the total to 21 states - including traditionally conservative Arizona - and the District of Columbia, all with different fee structures and possession limits. [continues 860 words]
Some have dubbed 2014 as the year of marijuana legalization. Voters in Colorado and Washington passed ballot initiatives that legalized the sale this year of recreational pot. A recent Gallup poll found for the first time that a clear majority of Americans -- 58 percent -- say marijuana should be legalized, and President Barack Obama was quoted this month in a New Yorker magazine article as saying, "I don't think [marijuana] is more dangerous than alcohol." Twenty states and the District of Columbia now allow medical marijuana, and about 10 other states have medical marijuana laws in the works -- including Tennessee and Georgia. [continues 1172 words]
You may have seen news reports regarding a new medical marijuana bill (HB 1385) that state Rep. Sherry Jones is introducing in the Tennessee General Assembly. It is a very strictly written law that gives relief to severely ill persons whose regular medications/drugs provide no relief to their pain and suffering. In the news reports children with seizures are used to support this bill - children with many conditions whose seizures are not controlled with any of the many life-threatening seizure drugs. [continues 170 words]
Groups are said to be working on getting medical marijuana laws on the books in more states. You'll remember that's how it all started in Colorado: with medical marijuana. You know, just to be humane to those who are ill and need the "medication." Never mind that the drug in weed that can help folks ease the pain of some diseases can be found in a pill distributed by legal pharmacists. But few really thought that those pushing marijuana would stop at its "medical uses." It's all about complete legalization. Always has been. The Associated Press Employees help customers at the crowded sales counter inside Medicine Man marijuana retail store, which opened as a legal recreational [continues 397 words]
When Ruth Marcus says "our kids will not be better off with another mind-altering legal substance" (Jan. 3 Viewpoint column, "Legal pot a bad idea whose time has come") she is dead wrong. They will be much better off. She can cite all the studies she wants about the effects of marijuana usage on teenagers. That still doesn't mean you can stop the usage of it, nor does it mean punishing kids for life is the right way to go. [continues 218 words]
NASHVILLE - A Democratic legislator has filed a bill for the upcoming legislative session that would authorize prescription sales of marijuana for medicinal purposes in Tennessee under somewhat stringent regulations. "It's just simply a matter of being rational and compassionate," said Rep. Sherry Jones, D-Nashville, sponsor of HB1385. "It would apply to only the most severely debilitated people ... children suffering a hundred [epileptic] seizures a day, people on chemotherapy, people with multiple sclerosis ... people with a plethora of diseases" who now must either leave the state to get marijuana or make their purchases illegally. [continues 481 words]
In the wake of a Gallup poll that found more Americans are now in favor of legalizing marijuana than criminalizing it, we came across a statement from CALM (Citizens Against Legalizing Marijuana), which offers only this: "We affirm the 2006 FDA finding and vast scientific evidence that marijuana causes harm. The normalization, expanded use, and increased availability of marijuana are detrimental to our youth, to public health, and to the safety of our society." That offers nothing of use. You can be harmed by drinking too much water. [continues 433 words]
Health Care Law Expands Coverage for Substance Abuse, Mental Illness Editor's Note: This is the first in an occasional series on the 10 essential health benefits required by the Affordable Care Act. Tennessee may be able to open another front in its war against rampant prescription drug abuse through a rule under the new federal health care law requiring health insurance plans to cover substance abuse treatment. In what federal officials have called "one of the largest expansions of mental health and substance use disorder coverage in a generation," the Affordable Care Act will include care for mental illness and substance abuse among the 10 "essential health benefits" in insurance plans starting Jan. 1. [continues 836 words]
Inside Tennessee
