Congress Should Protect Americans Legally Using Medical Marijuana

[420]

Congress not only needs to enact sentencing reform, as Dave Zweifel says in "Sentencing laws should make sense," but also must protect medical marijuana patients and providers being targeted by federal agents in the 11 states that have legalized this therapy.

Not only are people acting legally under these state laws being arrested for federal offenses, they are then being sentenced to long federal prison terms. A prime example is Stephanie Landa, a 60-year-old medical cannabis patient and provider who on Jan. 4 turned herself in to federal authorities in San Francisco to begin a 41-month term for growing her medicine.

Just Wednesday, Drug Enforcement Administration agents simultaneously raided 11 medical cannabis dispensaries in the Los Angeles area. In West Hollywood, a city with a self-proclaimed "long-standing commitment" to the use of medical marijuana for patients with HIV/AIDS and other serious illnesses, city officials were stunned when the raids took out five of the city's seven dispensaries.

For an administration constantly harping about spreading democracy, the Bush administration's continued subverting of state laws and states' rights is the height of hypocrisy. Making war on sick people for their choice of medicine is not only cruel and immoral, but a complete misallocation of federal resources.

Medical marijuana supporters in Congress, the bulk of them Democrats, unsuccessfully tried four times since 2003 to pass a budget amendment that would eliminate these wasteful raids. Now that Democrats are in the majority, with medical marijuana supporter Nancy Pelosi as House speaker, it's time to end this madness once and for all by not just ending the raids, but by passing legislation allowing all Americans equal and legal access to this valuable medicine.

Gary Storck

Madison

Source: Capital Times, The (WI)
Copyright: 2007 The Capital Times
Contact: tctvoice@madison.com
Website: madison.com | Read Madison, WI and Wisconsin breaking news. Get latest news, events and information on Wisconsin sports, weather, entertainment and lifestyles.

 

[DoctorDubs]

No
-federal congress should have NOTHING to do with laws concerning ethics and opinion, either for or against. The federal government should allow states to have the sovereignty intended for them. Running to the federal government for help, like a 2 year old cry for its mommy, is in no way helping the cause. This is because it's not addressing the problem. The problem is a bloated federal government that has been looked to 'fix' problems for far too long. As American citizens we have the freedom to fix our own problems. We do not have to follow federal dictations that interfere with our personal freedoms and/or the pursuit of happiness, and we should in fact NOT follow such laws. The only regulation we must follow is this; does what I am doing affect another's free will? If the answer is no, then the act is permit able, if the answer is yes then the act is not permit able. It's that simple. In my state it is illegal to not wear your seatbelt. Does not wearing my seatbelt affect another's' free agency? No. So it's ok for me to not wear it. Another driving example: It is illegal to go over the speed limit. Does speeding affect another's' free agency? Yes. Engineers have determined safe driving speeds, and by going over those speeds I am increasing my chances of loosing control of my vehicle, thus I am raising the potential of affecting another's free agency by crashing. You get the idea...its pretty simple logic, and it should keep us all from running to the federal government for help.

 

[Paladin]

Ever notice that whenever the Federal government attempts to "fix" a problem it not only never gets "fixed " but usually becomes worse ? This is because the federal government isn't in the bussiness of "fixing " things. It is in the bussiness of getting and keeping as many people as possible dependant on their so-called benefits . In this way they can give credibility , and authorization to their unconstitutional actions.