Advocates of the legalization of marijuana in Illinois for medicinal purposes are in an outrage after learning of the city's plans to burn nearly 5,500 pounds of marijuana confiscated last week.
In one of the city's biggest busts, police discovered $20 million worth in marijuana during a raid on a home in south-suburban Lyons last Wednesday. "Frederico Moreno, 35, has been charged with manufacturing and delivery cannabis" and "faces 6 to 30 years in prison if convicted," the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Many are pressuring the State of Illinois to join 14 other states that have already legalized marijuana for medicinal use. For them, the city's plans to burn most of the cache seized in last week's raid demonstrates the failure of the state's current marijuana laws.
"Depending on its purity, that represents a lot of medicine that could have helped so many Illinoisans," one Chicagoan told the Sun-Times. She relies on marijuana to alleviate the symptoms of multiple sclerosis.
Lisa Lange, who also uses marijuana to ease the pain of degenerative osteoarthritis, told the newspaper, "I would prefer to see it tested and then, if safe, distributed to compassionate care clubs."
"The only way to stop this trafficking is to show compassion of those who rely on medical cannabis and pass Bill 1381," she also said.
The bill currently making its way through the Illinois state legislature is drastically tighter than its counterparts in other states -- most notably, prohibiting the sale of marijuana at dispensaries. Patients would only be allowed three mature plants at a time and would also be responsible for cultivating their own seeds for growing.
The legislation would even expire in three years.
"The Illinois Senate has already passed [Bill 1381]," the Sun-Times reported. "House Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie) is planning to introduce it for a vote in the House as early as November."
It's surprising that such a liberal state as Illinois has yet to make the progressive move to legalize marijuana, at least for medicinal purposes. The Obama administration has publicly adopted a lax stance on federal law enforcement concerning marijuana, and in the grips of a grinding depression that has plunged the state into a severe financial crisis, the State of Illinois could certainly use the money generated from legalizing (and taxing) such a benign narcotic.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Examiner.com
Author: Hector Alamo
Contact: Examiner.com
Copyright: 2010 Clarity Digital Group LLC d/b/a Examiner.com
Website: Chicagoans outraged by city's plans to burn confiscated cannabis
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
In one of the city's biggest busts, police discovered $20 million worth in marijuana during a raid on a home in south-suburban Lyons last Wednesday. "Frederico Moreno, 35, has been charged with manufacturing and delivery cannabis" and "faces 6 to 30 years in prison if convicted," the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Many are pressuring the State of Illinois to join 14 other states that have already legalized marijuana for medicinal use. For them, the city's plans to burn most of the cache seized in last week's raid demonstrates the failure of the state's current marijuana laws.
"Depending on its purity, that represents a lot of medicine that could have helped so many Illinoisans," one Chicagoan told the Sun-Times. She relies on marijuana to alleviate the symptoms of multiple sclerosis.
Lisa Lange, who also uses marijuana to ease the pain of degenerative osteoarthritis, told the newspaper, "I would prefer to see it tested and then, if safe, distributed to compassionate care clubs."
"The only way to stop this trafficking is to show compassion of those who rely on medical cannabis and pass Bill 1381," she also said.
The bill currently making its way through the Illinois state legislature is drastically tighter than its counterparts in other states -- most notably, prohibiting the sale of marijuana at dispensaries. Patients would only be allowed three mature plants at a time and would also be responsible for cultivating their own seeds for growing.
The legislation would even expire in three years.
"The Illinois Senate has already passed [Bill 1381]," the Sun-Times reported. "House Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie) is planning to introduce it for a vote in the House as early as November."
It's surprising that such a liberal state as Illinois has yet to make the progressive move to legalize marijuana, at least for medicinal purposes. The Obama administration has publicly adopted a lax stance on federal law enforcement concerning marijuana, and in the grips of a grinding depression that has plunged the state into a severe financial crisis, the State of Illinois could certainly use the money generated from legalizing (and taxing) such a benign narcotic.
NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Examiner.com
Author: Hector Alamo
Contact: Examiner.com
Copyright: 2010 Clarity Digital Group LLC d/b/a Examiner.com
Website: Chicagoans outraged by city's plans to burn confiscated cannabis
* Thanks to MedicalNeed for submitting this article
