The only sure way to know if the dire warnings against Amendment 2 (medical marijuana) will happen is to vote it in and find out. Fortunately for Florida, other states have already done that. The four states where marijuana is fully legal began with medical marijuana about 15 years before. Those years of experience told voters that the dire predictions were wrong. Amendment 2 is tightly written, with many safeguards, including room for the Legislature to act. Floridians are beneficiaries of the 'laboratory of the states.' If Amendment 2 passes and does not live up to its hoped-for benefits, Floridians will surely reject full legalization. John G. Chase, Palm Harbor [end]
Re: Heroin epidemic demands a federal response - March 8, commentary I don't doubt that Rep. Vern Buchanan's motives are good, but he proposes trying harder on a policy that has never worked in 100 years: the federally supported drug war. He writes of 'disrupting the local and global heroin supply chain' and 'federal grants to combat drugs' and his 'fight against bogus pill mills.' That's the same drug war-speak we've been hearing forever. I suggest we ask the Swiss for help. Their policy began in 1994 as an experiment, then expanded and was voted by referendum in 2008 to be part of their health services. Methadone is not a 'controlled substance.' The goal is not abstinence. Addicts who cannot get by on methadone are prescribed heroin. Most important, there is no heroin supply chain to disrupt; it dried up because there was little profit in it. John G. Chase, Palm Harbor [end]
Regarding "Sanctioning drug use in Tampa" (Our Views, Feb. 20): The Tribune gives too much credit to the drug and too little to the process (of prohibition). It is impossible to stamp out anything that millions of Americans want, and trying harder causes more societal damage than it prevents. Our elected leaders are torn between wanting to ease off on possession arrests, but not so much that marijuana use increases. It can't be done, and it's better to know that now. [continues 125 words]
Regarding: "Tampa moves to downgrade pot offense" (front page, Jan. 12): As we move toward decriminalization of marijuana, a caveat: Although decriminalization will reduce the cost of enforcement and avoid upsetting the lives of arrestees, it will not reduce the violence, the murders, the drive-by shootings, the deaths of innocents caught in the crossfire, or the grisly murders south of the Rio Grande. Credit the law of supply and demand for all that. Demand will increase, owing to the reduced cost (i.e. just a ticket, not an arrest). Increased demand will increase price, other things being equal. This will add to the wealth and violence of the street market. And if enforcement shifts from users to suppliers, as many of our leaders say it must, price will rise even higher. This is why alcohol prohibition failed. We arrested bootleggers, but not drinkers. The 1920s were, in effect, a time of decriminalized alcohol and ended only when alcohol became legal again. It is very important to decriminalize marijuana, but know that it is just a first step in ending the violence and corruption inherent in enforcing prohibition against a substance that millions of Americans want. John G. Chase Palm harbor [end]
Decriminalization of marijuana is coming as a refreshing breeze. We Americans deal ourselves a triple whammy when we enforce a law that makes a felony of behavior that is not criminal. First, there is the waste of taxpayer money to enforce that law. Second, there's the loss to society of contributions the felon would have made if he had not been fighting the charge. Third, there's the loss of respect by the public for a criminal justice system that focuses on small offenses. [continues 53 words]
In response to "Hepatitis cases exploding in U.S." (Nation & World, Aug. 8): Twenty years ago that headline could have been written in Switzerland. An AIDS epidemic was out of control. The Swiss were so desperate they tried something radical: They allowed hardA-core addicts to register with the state to receive clean heroin. It was controversial at first, but in 2008 the public voted to include "heroin-assisted treatment" as a normal part of their national health system. They also made methadone freely available as a pharmaceutical. The proA-gram pays for itself in improved public health and safety. It also enables addicts to hold jobs and pay taxes. The average age at registration as an addict is slowly rising, indicating that kids are not becoming addicted, and the number of addicts needing her-oin has stabilized at about 1,300, in a population about the same as Florida. [continues 56 words]
In response to "Giant joint riles some" (July 7): Excellent report by Mike Salinero. He quoted one "drugfree" leader, "When you promote drug legalization on a float in a parade, it can give a really bad message to children." That may be obvious to adults, but not to kids. Even the widely reported transition to recreational marijuana in Colorado, Washington, Alaska and Oregon has had no effect. According to the "Monitoring The Future" reports, use of marijuana among U.S. adolescents decreased sharply in 2014, just as the media was reporting efforts to legalize in several additional states. We must base policy not on belief or opinion, but on evidence when it is available. John Chase, Palm Harbor [end]
Re: Fact And Fiction On Medical Pot | June 22, Editorial The referenced Lancet article concluded that while pot use is higher in states that have legal pot as medicine, usage did not increase when the medical marijuana law was enacted. Corroboration is found in another statistic in the same database used by researchers who wrote that article. In 15 of the last 16 years, 12th-graders have said that marijuana availability has decreased from the year before. During that 16-year period, almost 20 states enacted medical marijuana laws. These two facts, taken together, directly contradict the Florida Sheriffs Association's assertion that enacting medical marijuana laws makes pot easier for adolescents to get. John G. Chase, Palm Harbor [end]
Regarding "State's medical pot law takes hit" (Other Views. April 21): Cerise Naylor tactfully understates the selfishness of those who have kept sick children horn getting life-saving marijuana. I would not have been so tactful. The problems began when legislators, who had all come of age in marijuana prohibition, wrote Senate SB1030 as a restrictive bill focused on business, control and fear of voter reaction a=C2=80" not on compassion. If they had consulted a few of the first 12 states, with a combined 146 years of experience, they'd have known that Florida has nothing to fear from medical marijuana. [continues 120 words]
Re: March 28, editorial "Dangerous Dithering On Medical Marijuana" Tallahassee today reminds me of the 1950s, when the place was run by North Florida's 'Pork Chop Gang' and the joke was that district lines were drawn according to the number of pine trees. Democrats knew they'd be re-elected because they always had. Then, in the turbulent times of the '60s and '70s, Florida became a two-party state. Incumbents began to be challenged, and challengers began to win. Florida is overdue for change to vote out today's cynical politicians and get leaders who value public service more than re-election. John G.Chase, Palm Harbor [end]
Medical Marijuana In a few weeks the fight will begin in Tallahassee to write legislation to make medical marijuana available to Floridians who need it. There is no need to reinvent the wheel. Seven states know what works because they have been living with medical marijuana laws since 2000. Maine is one of the seven. Maine gets high marks from Americans for Safe Access, the flagship national organization for medical marijuana. Maine's law provides provisions for adding new diseases/conditions, child custody protections, employment protections, housing protections, explicit privacy protections, protections from arrest, reciprocity (with other states), restrictions on where patients may medicate, and zoning restrictions. Maine also allows personal cultivation, the feature most responsible for the rapid collapse of the street market and its violence. In 1929, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis wrote approvingly of resolving contentious social issues in 'the laboratory of the states.' Then it was about alcohol prohibition. Today it is about marijuana prohibition. We should heed his advice. John G. Chase, Palm Harbor [end]
Florida owes much to legislators Greg Steube and Jeff Brandes for taking the initiative to legalize medical pot. Now comes the fight to get their bills reconciled and to Gov. Rick Scott for his signature. For that, they should study the experiences of Maine and Rhode Island. Both states are among the first dozen living with their laws long enough to know how they work. Furthermore, both states get high marks from Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the leading proponent of medical pot in the U.S. [continues 95 words]
Re: Hopes for pot start to wilt Oct. 16 Opponents of Amendment 2 claim that it casts details in concrete. They also claim it is not sufficiently detailed. Both claims ignore political reality. The amendment's word 'certification' is used only because a 'prescription' for marijuana would violate federal law. And the opponents' claim that Amendment 2 protects a 'certifying' doctor from a malpractice suit is laughable. Ask any malpractice lawyer. The open-ended list of treatable diseases simply recognizes today's reality. According to WebMD, 'More than one in five outpatient prescriptions written in the U.S. is for off-label therapies. The term 'off-label' means the medication is being used in a manner not specified in the FDA's approved packaging label.' Opponents express their concern that a felon can become a caretaker and that patients will resell their pot. Not likely. Both must have a marijuana related ID issued by the Department of Health, and nothing in the amendment blocks legislators from demanding tighter restrictions. All of these, and the claims that children are not protected, will be dealt with when the Department of Health writes the regulations, watched closely by Florida's conservative Republican-led Legislature. This is the reality of Amendment 2. John G. Chase, Palm Harbor [end]
Regarding 'Survey: Pot law just first step:' The question of legal recreational pot will depend on our experience with legal medical pot. If Amendment 2 passes and then backfires, as opponents say it will, recreational pot won't happen. But it has not backfired in the first dozen states to have lived with it long enough to know, and two of them, Colorado and Washington, now have legal recreational pot. Will Florida follow their path? The only way to know is to let medical pot stand on its own merits by passing Amendment 2. Then patients and their caregivers won't have to hide, and we'll know how to vote if recreational pot ever makes it to the ballot. I will vote for Amendment 2. John G. Chase, Palm Harbor [end]
Trib readers knew Amendment 2 was winning even before they opened the Sept. 3 paper and found the front-page article ("Pot proponent hurls obscenities on video") about the video taken of John Morgan at the post-debate celebration with "a microphone in one hand and a drink in the other" using language suitable to that occasion. Then Trib readers found the letter reporting Amsterdam has a "lost generation" of young people, that their IQ had dropped 10 to 15 points due to marijuana, and they were dropping out of high school. I have been following the Dutch cannabis situation for 16 years, and 1 know that neither statistic about Amsterdam is true. [continues 74 words]
This letter makes the point that law enforcement will enforce antidrug laws to enhance their own self-interests, not necessarily to reduce drug addiction. The opposition of the Florida Sheriff's Association to Amendment 2 is an example, according to the letter. I agree. But I am also an optimist. I believe that when voters put Amendment 2 into the Florida Constitution, as polls indicate they will, the sheriffs will innovate. They will shift money, around to do more on-foot community policing, for instance, and less pot-busting. [continues 81 words]
I am 80 and likely will never use marijuana in any form for any reason, but I want the entire plant to be legalized for medical use. The high CBD component (as found in Charlotte's Web) was featured in Sanjay Gupta's "Weed 1" report on CNN last August. It was the heartrending videos of Charlotte Figi's seizures that made legalizing it a slam-dunk in the Legislature this year. Less known is Sanjay Gupta's Weed 2 report, on CNN last March, when he doubled down by speaking in favor of the "entourage effects" - those being the synergy of the whole plant, discovered by Israeli researchers. We would have known decades ago about the entourage effects had the government not blocked research to find them. So the people did the research, at great legal risk to themselves and their families. Now we should grandfather in marijuana much as we did aspirin. Amendment 2 is the first step. John Chase, Palm Harbor [end]
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is a reliable reporter. Last August, his CNN "Weed 1" documentary showed us the heart-rending videos of Charlotte Figi, who was initially having seizures, then was virtually healed by high-CBD cannabis. Gupta followed up with "Weed 2" in March and spoke in favor of the "entourage effects" - the "synergy" discovered by Israeli researchers in the whole plant. Amendment 2 would legalize the whole plant as medicine. But the Tribune recommends a "no" vote because some people might want the whole plant only to treat back pain or relieve stress or even, God forbid, to smoke and "get high." A few people will, but what about the vast majority - the patients who now must break the law to get relief they can't get from pills? I trust their testimony long before I trust the tests funded by Big Pharma and spoon-fed to the FDA for their approval. John G. Chase Palm Harbor [end]
I could barely believe the explanation for why Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz voted against legislation that would restrain the federal government from enforcing laws against medical marijuana in states where it has been legalized. Her communications director said the congresswoman voted against the legislation because "...it is not appropriate to limit the ability of the Executive Branch to enforce federal law at their discretion." Has she not read how the late Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis praised the "laboratory of the states" in deciding social issues? Or of the Swiss use of referendums to decide social issues? Rep. Wasserman Schultz confuses social policy with criminal justice policy as exactly the kind of thinking that has made our anti-drug policy so destructive. John Chase, Palm Harbor [end]
Since much heroin is by taken by injection, we also will likely see increases in hepatitis C and HIV infection. In the mid 1990s, these diseases drove the Swiss to try something radical, and it worked. The Swiss now offer treatment-on-demand. Of an estimated 22,000 to 24,000 addicts, 16,500 are in treatment, primarily with methadone maintenance at conventional clinics. The Swiss treat about 1,300 hard-core addicts with maintenance doses of herA-oin in 23 special clinics operating in cities and two prisons. [continues 83 words]
