Despite ongoing controversy over marijuana's medical efficacy, almost no research is being done on the topic. Some proponents of medical marijuana say sufficient research was performed during the 1970s and '80s in the United States, when the federal government provided marijuana for studies done mostly by states. Many of those studies were suspended in 1991 when the U.S. National Institutes of Health concluded there wasn't enough proof that marijuana would be better than a synthetic version of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the drug's major chemical component. [continues 271 words]
But Opponents Still Believe It's A Smokescreen For Drug Legalization (AP) -- After seeing Washington state voters shoot down a medical marijuana measure in 1997, Rob Killian tried a new strategy this year: no tie-dye. Killian and other medical marijuana proponents realized it wasn't the prospect of giving sick people the drug that bothered most voters. The fear was that supporters of the measure secretly wanted to make all drugs legally available, and not just for the ailing. So they remade their image. Ties instead of tie-dyed T-shirts. Short hair. Think suburban moms. [continues 681 words]
(AP) -- After seeing Washington state voters shoot down a medical marijuana measure in 1997, Rob Killian tried a new strategy this year: no tie-dye. Killian and other medical marijuana proponents realized it wasn't the prospect of giving sick people the drug that bothered most voters. The fear was that supporters of the measure secretly wanted to make all drugs legally available, and not just for the ailing. So they remade their image. Ties instead of tie-dyed T-shirts. Short hair. Think suburban moms. [continues 757 words]
Despite ongoing controversy over marijuana's medical efficacy, almost no research is being done on the topic. Some proponents of medical marijuana say sufficient research was performed in the 1970s and '80s, when the federal government provided marijuana for studies done mostly by states. Many of those studies were suspended in 1991 when the National Institutes of Health concluded there wasn't enough proof that marijuana would be better than a synthetic version of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the drug's major chemical component. [continues 270 words]
Americans took some of their most intimate health issues into the voting booth Tuesday, rejecting physician-assisted suicide and a late-term abortion ban but legalizing medical marijuana. In Washington state, Election Day meant the end of affirmative action in state hiring, contracting and higher education. The vote follows a similar one in California two years ago. The movement to make marijuana available for sick people picked up major steam, with voters in Nevada, Arizona and Washington state approving ballot measures to legalize the drug under certain circumstances. [continues 1108 words]
The movement to make marijuana available for sick people picked up major steam this Election Day with voters in Nevada, Arizona and Washington state approving ballot measures to legalize the drug under certain circumstances. Nevada passed a constitutional amendment approving medical marijuana, pending a second ``yes'' vote in 2000. Washington's approval came one year after voters turned down a broader measure that would have left the door open to legalizing other drugs. Arizonans rejected an alternative, ``go-slow'' law in which legislators urged a delay until the federal government approved the drug. Their vote, with an early margin of 57 percent to 43 percent, reaffirms their 1996 approval of medical marijuana. [continues 844 words]
By Michelle Boorstein, Associated Press Writer In a relatively sleepy ballot measure season, Washington state provides a wakeup call. Voters there will contemplate a particularly lively ballot Tuesday, with proposals to ban workplace discrimination against gays, further restrict gun ownership, legalize marijuana for medicinal use and dramatically expand choice of doctors in health plans. It's an offyear election, with only 43 statewide propositions in nine states. Nevertheless, the questions on state and local ballots tackle meaty issues, including assisted suicide in Oregon, affirmative action in Houston, bilingual education in Orange, Calif., and voting rights for the mentally ill in Maine. [continues 810 words]
