As one of two active law enforcement officers to testify in favor of medical marijuana at a recent state Senate hearing, it became clear to me that many people do not fully understand the implications of opposing this bill. Simply put, supporting the continued ban on medical marijuana means subjecting seriously ill or handicapped individuals to arrest and prosecution. HB 648 would allow a narrow class of sick and handicapped individuals to use marijuana with their doctor's permission. At the Senate hearing, two members of the law enforcement community spoke against the legislation. They seemed defensive after I testified that as a sworn enforcer of the law, it was my duty to arrest and prosecute citizens who possess marijuana, even if it used for easing their intense suffering. Although I do not personally support this, it is my job to enforce the law as written, and there is currently no legal reason to be in possession of marijuana. [continues 212 words]
To Sen. Jack Barnes: Would your opposition to medical marijuana include withholding pain relief from your loved ones or just mine? Have you or a loved one ever had acute, un-relievable pain? If I'm in pain and I don't have medical insurance and so fall through the treatment cracks to the extent that I can't get morphine or morphine doesn't help, would it be okay if I had a shot or two of vodka? Or would alcoholic self-medicating impugn New Hampshire's reputation as a sane and safe state? Michael Stamm Concord [end]
I am writing in support of House Bill 648 regarding the use of medical marijuana. Having had two cancer surgeries and one full course of radiation and chemotherapy, and having witnessed the grueling and untimely death of a family member and close friend, I want my physicians to have every available medicine, including marijuana, to relieve my suffering. I do not want to endure what I have seen unfold in death throes, unassisted by what could have had beneficial effects, including medical marijuana prescribed by the doctors in charge. [continues 90 words]
234-138 Vote Sends Legislation To Senate New Hampshire residents suffering from severe pain or debilitating diseases such as cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's and multiple sclerosis could use small quantities of marijuana for relief under legislation adopted yesterday by the House. The vote in favor of legalizing marijuana for medicinal use, 234-138, would allow ill patients to grow their own marijuana plants or purchase small amounts of the drug. The bill now heads to the Senate. A spokesman for Gov. John Lynch yesterday said Lynch has "serious concerns" about the bill, including the fact that it would put New Hampshire law at odds with federal law. [continues 385 words]
The federal government's refusal to acknowledge that marijuana in small, prescribed quantities has well-documented medicinal uses began long before former president George W. Bush launched his war on science. But because no truce has been declared in that war, countless people are suffering needlessly and dying in pain that might have been alleviated. Last week, Lancaster Rep. Evalyn Merrick, a victim of myeloma, described for her fellow lawmakers how even a minute amount of marijuana, in her case one puff, was enough to allow her to hold down food and drink for the first time since her illness worsened. Merrick is again sponsoring a bill that would allow physicians to prescribe marijuana for qualified patients under strict and careful guidelines. Her 2007 version of the bill easily passed the House, but it died from a threatened veto by Gov. John Lynch. This time, it deserves to sail through. [continues 381 words]
He Faces Drug Charges After Text-Messaging John Huckins, the 17-year-old Concord High School student who was arrested in March during an alleged drug buy set up by the Bishop Brady principal, will not be suspended for the rest of the school year, according to the terms of an agreement detailed yesterday by Huckins's attorney. Huckins will be allowed to finish his senior year at Concord High but will not be allowed to attend his senior prom, class day or graduation ceremony, said his attorney, Mark Howard. In exchange, Huckins will drop the lawsuit he filed against the school district alleging district officials violated their own rules regarding suspension procedures, Howard said. [continues 570 words]
The marijuana decriminalization effort at the State House appears to have gone up in smoke. The Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday voted 4-0 against a bill that would decriminalize possession of one-quarter of an ounce of the drug, making it a violation rather than a misdemeanor. The House passed the bill 193-141 last month. Gov. John Lynch immediately issued a rare veto threat, and Senate leaders announced their opposition to it. In the House, sponsors focused their arguments on the fact that college students convicted of drug offenses can lose access to federal education assistance, a consequence they argued was too harsh. Yesterday, Sen. Deborah Reynolds said New Hampshire is the wrong place to fix that. [continues 285 words]
State senators from both parties parried with advocates of marijuana decriminalization yesterday, asking a number of skeptical questions about a bill that cleared the House but appears doomed in the Senate. The Senate Judiciary Committee did not take a vote on the bill, although its chairman, Sen. Joe Foster, has previously said he knows of no senator who supports it. Minutes after the House passed the bill, Gov. John Lynch announced that he would veto the measure, which would decriminalize possession of a quarter of an ounce of marijuana and cut penalties to a fine. [continues 641 words]
State Allows Drug Use For Suffering Patients A year after making medical marijuana legal for patients to use, Rhode Island lawmakers say it's time to establish a safe and legal means for them to obtain the drug. Right now, qualifying patients may grow marijuana, but they can't legally buy it. As a result, they often resort to buying it on the street. Some legislators and doctors call that scenario an unwanted weak link in an otherwise successful law. They've heard too many stories like that of Buddy Coolen, 29, a medical marijuana user who three months ago was robbed at gunpoint by a drug dealer while trying to buy marijuana to treat his debilitating gastrointestinal condition. [continues 495 words]
Marijuana Laws Beg For Cynical Response The "wrong message" to send to any teenager, to any child, is hypocrisy. It turns them cynical and makes them disrespect the law, when trusted adults evade reality for the sake of political concerns. The reality is that the inclusion of marijuana on the federal government's Schedule I list of controlled substances along with heroin and cocaine has always been a mistake. But the politicians' bogus "war on drugs" gets a boost from the illegality of marijuana. It is bulky, smelly and easy to detect. The "war on drugs" gets big results, big statistics, and therefore big budget and big media, from pot busts. [continues 383 words]
Ginger Merrill criticized the House for passing a bill reducing marijuana possession penalties, implying that small-time violators deserve to be saddled with a conviction that can follow them for a lifetime ("What were House lawmakers smoking?" Monitor letter, March 23). Her reasoning that such a reform is somehow comparable to hypothetically reducing penalties for driving while intoxicated only makes sense if you believe a college student caught with a marijuana cigarette is as dangerous as a drunk driver. Which are New Hampshire citizens personally more afraid of, a stoned teenager wasting a few unproductive hours on the couch or a maniac who thinks he's Mario Andretti after a dozen beers? [continues 115 words]
I was elated when I saw the latest marijuana story in the Monitor ("House votes to relax law for marijuana," front page, March 19). It is good to see common sense in action. Then I read the fine print. The governor has made it clear how he feels: No. I'd like to say a few words to the governor and his supporters, especially those among you who think of yourselves as Christians. You say you don't want to send the wrong message to the kids. But those kids are smarter than you seem to think they are. A lot of them have experienced both alcohol and marijuana, and many of them know when their elders are playing loose with the facts. [continues 109 words]
The New Hampshire House voted last week to decriminalize marijuana use. One of our respected representatives justified this decriminalization because teens who are arrested for marijuana use have a lifetime criminal record, making it difficult for them to attend college because it makes them ineligible for federal financial aid? Okay, yeah, so what?! With reasoning such as that, the House better decriminalize drunk driving while it's on a roll! Otherwise, teens who drink and drive may have a criminal record! Forget public safety - - save our teens from the consequences of their poor choices. Ginger Merrill New London [end]
Forty years ago, Harvard psychology professor Lester Grinspoon, alarmed at the widespread use of marijuana, set out to write a scientific paper that would definitively prove that the drug was harming its young users. Here is what he found: "By 1971 . . . I knew that far more harmful than any psychopharmacological property of this substance was the way we as a society were dealing with its use. While marijuana is, in fact, remarkably free of toxicity, the consequence of annually arresting 300,000 young people were not." [continues 417 words]
Bill Would Decriminalize Quarter Ounce Smoke 'em if you . . . don't mind risking a violation on your record. A bill that would decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana passed New Hampshire's House yesterday by a wide margin, eliciting whoops and scattered applause in the chamber. But the revelry might be short-lived: Gov. John Lynch's office promptly announced that he would veto the measure if it gets to him. "This sends absolutely the wrong message to New Hampshire's young people about the very real dangers of drug use," said spokesman Colin Manning. "That is why Gov. Lynch joins with the House Criminal Justice Committee and law enforcement in opposing this bill. In the event that the bill reaches his desk, which seems unlikely, the governor will veto it." [continues 647 words]
For the Monitor February 25, 2008 I am writing to inform the public about HB 1623, the bill to reduce penalties for marijuana possession. As a taxpayer, I believe our limited law enforcement resources should be spent fighting serious crime. This is not an effort to legalize marijuana, just to reduce penalties so the punishment comes closer to fitting the offense. Twelve states have decriminalized marijuana since 1973, so it's not as if we'd be going first. (Oregon went first in 1973; Nevada was most recent in 2001.) The federal government has not interfered. [continues 163 words]
If you need residential alcohol or drug treatment in New Hampshire and don't have access to a private program, your search will probably go something like this: You'll call each of the six - soon to be seven - crisis detoxification sites in the state, inquiring about open beds. Quite possibly, none will be available. If, by the next day, you haven't changed your mind about seeking treatment, you'll repeat the process, calling each of the sites again, hoping for better luck. [continues 537 words]
The hearing on HB 1623, the bill to reduce penalties for marijuana possession, made for some interesting drama in the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. The most eye-opening statement came from Berlin Police Chief Peter Morency, president of the New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police. Morency claimed that "87 to 90 percent of our crime rate is directly related to drugs and alcohol." This mention of drugs and alcohol in the same breath got the attention of Democratic Rep. Timothy Robertson of Keene. Robertson asked Morency if, following the logic of marijuana prohibition, he would be in favor of reinstituting alcohol prohibition. [continues 324 words]
Re "Bills would lessen penalties for marijuana" (Monitor Local & State page, Jan. 23): In your story on HB 1623, relative to reducing penalties for possession of small quantities of marijuana, you state that: "Peter Morency, president of the New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police, described the issue in terms of crime, pointing to the high levels of crime that he said were drug-and-alcohol related." In the very same testimony, Mr. Morency was asked if he would re-institute alcohol prohibition. In reply, he said he "certainly would consider it." Don't take my word for it; see the video yourself at nhliberty.org/2007/hb1623. It's 2 minutes 37 seconds in. Denis Goddard Concord (The writer is director of research for the New Hampshire Liberty Alliance.) [end]
To lawmakers: Alcohol is a drug that has caused more misery than all the other drugs in the world combined. The reason alcohol is not forbidden because lawmakers use it and like it - and it's good for the economy. Never mind that it's probably killed someone, somewhere, during the time spent typing these words. Marijuana, on the other hand, is God-given, causes munchies, turns up the senses and sometimes helps you get to know yourself a bit better than you might otherwise. [continues 201 words]
