Texas, the state I call home and many regularly call the land of the truly free where government tends to stay out of your business, why must you continue to oppress the sick and the weak?
Texas has been known to, for the most part, leave the regulation of private matters to the individual, rightly where it should. Aside from a corrupt governor and some unsavory legislatures, Texas is truly a great place to live. We have low tax burdens and quite a bit of "freedom" compared to other states. Don't get me wrong, it could be a lot better, but its still better than the average.
There's a problem in Texas though, a large one. Many people here believe that we are not entitled to true liberty, even though they say otherwise. So what's not so free about the great state of Texas? The voters here believe in the heavy regulation of morality; in short, the restriction of individual freedom because a majority does not agree with a particular action, even if it causes no real problem. In fact, the real source of many of our woes stems from these laws dictated to us on the basis of "moral superiority."
As many know, medical marijuana has been legalized in 14 states and even in our own nation's capitol. The science and doctors that stand behind medical marijuana have provided more than enough proof of the plant's medicinal properties. The state of Texas does not recognize medical marijuana, and routinely arrests and incarcerates sick patients that use marijuana for medicinal purposes. This regularly puts innocent people in dangerous situations as they are often housed with violent people, the type that the Texas justice system ought to be spending all of their time pursuing.
Recently Chris Diaz, a 20 year old man traveling through Brownwood to Austin from California, was pulled over by a DPS officer and his vehicle was searched, with the officer finding less than two ounces of marijuana and some hashish. Chris Diaz is a medical marijuana patient in California, with a legal prescription for marijuana, and had his medicine sealed in a medically sanctioned container labeled with the California State Seal. Texas does not recognize medical marijuana prescriptions from other states.
Diaz was arrested and charged with manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance greater than 4 grams under 200 grams and possession of marijuana under 2 ounces. He has remained in custody since June 27th on bonds totaling $40,000. He is not the first medical marijuana patient to be treated so inhumanely, and likely won't be the last.
Brown County Sheriff Bobby Grubbs maintains that marijuana in any form is illegal in Texas. He states "We have a zero tolerance for any type of drugs in Brown County, the law says you 'may' issue a citation for possession of small amounts, but we go ahead and make arrests."
Bobby Grubbs is one of those drug warriors with no compassion for the sick that are a part of the problem, not the solution.
Please help defend the sick and the weak by supporting medical marijuana in Texas. It is senseless to throw people in jail who are otherwise good upstanding citizens, just for taking their medicine.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Beyond The Broken Spectrum
Author: Stephen
Contact: Beyond The Broken Spectrum
Copyright: 2010 Beyond The Broken Spectrum
Website: Beyond The Broken Spectrum
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
Texas has been known to, for the most part, leave the regulation of private matters to the individual, rightly where it should. Aside from a corrupt governor and some unsavory legislatures, Texas is truly a great place to live. We have low tax burdens and quite a bit of "freedom" compared to other states. Don't get me wrong, it could be a lot better, but its still better than the average.
There's a problem in Texas though, a large one. Many people here believe that we are not entitled to true liberty, even though they say otherwise. So what's not so free about the great state of Texas? The voters here believe in the heavy regulation of morality; in short, the restriction of individual freedom because a majority does not agree with a particular action, even if it causes no real problem. In fact, the real source of many of our woes stems from these laws dictated to us on the basis of "moral superiority."
As many know, medical marijuana has been legalized in 14 states and even in our own nation's capitol. The science and doctors that stand behind medical marijuana have provided more than enough proof of the plant's medicinal properties. The state of Texas does not recognize medical marijuana, and routinely arrests and incarcerates sick patients that use marijuana for medicinal purposes. This regularly puts innocent people in dangerous situations as they are often housed with violent people, the type that the Texas justice system ought to be spending all of their time pursuing.
Recently Chris Diaz, a 20 year old man traveling through Brownwood to Austin from California, was pulled over by a DPS officer and his vehicle was searched, with the officer finding less than two ounces of marijuana and some hashish. Chris Diaz is a medical marijuana patient in California, with a legal prescription for marijuana, and had his medicine sealed in a medically sanctioned container labeled with the California State Seal. Texas does not recognize medical marijuana prescriptions from other states.
Diaz was arrested and charged with manufacture and delivery of a controlled substance greater than 4 grams under 200 grams and possession of marijuana under 2 ounces. He has remained in custody since June 27th on bonds totaling $40,000. He is not the first medical marijuana patient to be treated so inhumanely, and likely won't be the last.
Brown County Sheriff Bobby Grubbs maintains that marijuana in any form is illegal in Texas. He states "We have a zero tolerance for any type of drugs in Brown County, the law says you 'may' issue a citation for possession of small amounts, but we go ahead and make arrests."
Bobby Grubbs is one of those drug warriors with no compassion for the sick that are a part of the problem, not the solution.
Please help defend the sick and the weak by supporting medical marijuana in Texas. It is senseless to throw people in jail who are otherwise good upstanding citizens, just for taking their medicine.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Beyond The Broken Spectrum
Author: Stephen
Contact: Beyond The Broken Spectrum
Copyright: 2010 Beyond The Broken Spectrum
Website: Beyond The Broken Spectrum
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
