Marijuana Bill: Trying To Weed Out Federal Regulation

[420 Warrior]

A recent bill introduced in the House of Representatives proposes to remove marijuana from the federal list of controlled substances and give the power to the states to determine drug regulations regarding cannabis.

Ask each of the 300 million people living in the United States their opinion on marijuana and you will hear hundreds of different responses.

These differing opinions are precisely one of the reasons that U.S. Representatives Ron Paul (R-Texas) and Barney Frank (D-Mass.) are heading a campaign to deliver power to more people regarding the legalization of marijuana use and possession.

Advocating smaller government, Paul and Frank recently introduced a bill that said marijuana laws should be set at the state level rather than the federal level.

The goal of the bill -- HR 2306 -- is not to legalize cannabis, but to withdraw marijuana from a federal list of controlled substances. As of now, Frank suggested federally regulating marijuana is an infringement upon civil liberties and a "waste of law enforcement resources."

The legislation is backed by several state representatives and is the first of its kind to be presented before Congress since marijuana became illegal with the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937.

By giving states like New York the power and authority to decide how to regulate marijuana and apply related laws to New York citizens, federal resources could be spared.

Critics' View of a Cannabis Bill

But it is unlikely that such a bill will pass; the likely reality has even been acknowledged by one of the representatives bringing the proposal. The Associated Press (AP) confirmed that sentiment in its own report.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith said he would not consider the bill when it reaches his panel of lawmakers.

According to the AP report, Smith discounts any medicinal purpose marijuana might serve, stating that, despite medical marijuana laws in some states -- the Food and Drug Administration has not approved marijuana use to treat "any condition or disease."

Smith also believes marijuana is a gateway drug and has a high potential for abuse. According to Smith, decriminalizing weed will lead to: a sharp increase in the number of addicts in the country, more money for illegal drug syndicates here and abroad, and heightened drug-related violence throughout the U.S. and especially along the border with Mexico.

The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has also expressed concern over the drug's long-term health impact, citing intensified potency and earlier exposure. Like Smith, the ONDCP believes marijuana is a gateway drug.

But the Journal of Health and Social Behavior disagrees. A 12-year study at the University of Pittsburgh showed that people's stress levels and whether someone was employed are superior predictors of future hard drug use than pot usage.

In fact, other studies suggest that, despite what the ONDCP says, pot is not addictive: only about nine percent of marijuana smokers will develop an addiction.

Comparatively, 32 percent of cigarette users will become "hyper" dependent on tobacco and the highly addictive chemical nicotine. And unlike other drugs, marijuana has very few withdrawal symptoms.

Nevertheless, hefty opposition remains a barrier to the federal government leaving discretionary legalization of marijuana to the states.

News Hawk - 420 Warrior 420 MAGAZINE
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[Icemud]

I think its time that they tell us why its actually illegal and placed on the controlled substances act to begin with...because I keep hearing the same old, hype and propaganda but with no proof......what is the real reason...!!!

We shouldn't have to prove anymore about the benefits, we've all done our jobs...time for them to fess up and listen to the facts!! Are they here for America or aren't they... for this Lamar Smith to state that he will not even consider this is un-American, what the F is he in office for...? His job in the Judicial branch has nothing to do with reciting medical facts...his job is to look at the enforcement/laws..ect of this topic...where are his facts.... oh wait...there losing the drug war and don't want to make cuts...thats why theres no facts...This disgusts me to the fullest...

Its also funny how part of that committee's job is to make sure no unfair monopolies take place...?? Marinol isn't quite working as good as the real thing, and they don't have a patent on cannabis...hmmm no wonder he is just recycling age old scare tactics..and doesn't want to consider the fact....he can't buy stock in it yet... lol

In a debate we have stated our facts....there turn... wheres your facts gment??? Rebuttles?

 

[420 Warrior]

OMG! Dude, if I were to bring some of the articles here that I bypass every day while doing these posts, you would crap you pants from being so pissed off...believe me!!!

I just can't stress enough, how absolutely critical it is to get involved by sending in letters and getting out and voting.

You guys must understand that for every article that makes it here, their in some a-hole out their reeking havoc on the good word of Cannabis.

I suggest Google searching and seeing what the opposition is out there saying about our beloved plant...then you will feel the fire that drives me in my quest to see our dream come to fruition.

Until you feel burned like that, you will not see that true passion for this mission...and this goes for everyone here!

 

[Icemud]

I've always believed in the power of Cannabis, I remember way back in HS, over 10 years ago, we all had to pass a bill in a fake government assembely, and of course mine was legalization for medical...about the time when California first passed it. I remember in the Midwest at that time, and still to this day, so much bad information and BS was believed by the Sheeple and how little was actually known about how harmless this plant is, and how much benefit that can be gained by its research..

All of this ignorance is just completely a blood boiler to me and many who feel the same way, and I love how we have places like 420mag to get together and grow as a community, as people, as humans..

Its funny too, because I will see articles on mainline news websites about marijuana, and I always enjoy reading all the comments...and its funny because a good majority usually are pro marijuana, whether for medical or personal use...and all the anti-marijuana posts usually are filled with "Reefer Madness" type propaganda and lies...

I am so happy to see how far awareness and acceptability have come in the last 15 years, and firmly believe if we all do what we can, by writing letters, staying aware, telling our stories, and spreading the truth, along with getting out and voting these idiots out of office who are banking off our inability to freely use a natural plant with so many benefits.... and the whole hemp issue...whoa... LOL..

 

[Icemud]

I agree...Imagine if for every patient donation per dispensary donated 1$ towards the cause, how much money would be generated...I mean its all non profit right? I know just alone here in OC and LA, there has got to be over 1500 clubs, just in these 2 counties...and if each customer donated 1$ per purchase...wow..there has to be between 20 and 300 patients on any given day at most of these clubs...

20x1500$= 30,000$ per day generated in just these 2 counties alone, at only 20 patients per club...and estimated 1500 clubs in the area..just imagine!

Think about statewide...and nationwide....we could really make some good happen...

 

[Slice107]

I registered to vote JUST so I could vote on things like this

 

[J9BLACK]

Stop complaining, and donate directly to Americans for Safe Access. I do.

Cannabis is not harmless, just like alcohol is not harmless. We must have responsible adults in our society making mature decisions in the recreational and medicinal uses of both drugs.

Yes, the alcohol hypocrisy is maddening.

I smoked and drank recreationally when I was 16+, but cannabis is not for children and now I realize....neither was alcohol. Cannabis has inspired many dreams, but not much action. We need to treat cannabis at least as well as alcohol and apply the same rules governing it's availability and use.

If we are overly permissive with kids, we end up with a generation of slackers who think being bud tending is a career.

Oh, wait....

 

[Kaiser Sose 3]

Marinol isn't quite working as good as the real thing, and they don't have a patent on cannabis...hmmm no wonder he is just recycling age old scare tactics..and doesn't want to consider the fact....he can't buy stock in it yet... lol

In a debate we have stated our facts....there turn... wheres your facts gment??? Rebuttles?

AS a matter of fact they do have a patent on it, Or more specifically on CBD... The federal Government has a patent on CBD! Now what does that say about whats going on?

U.S. Patent # 6630507
In 2003, the U.S. Government as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services filed for, and was awarded a patent on cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants. U.S. Patent 6630507

Abstract
Cannabinoids have been found to have antioxidant properties, unrelated to NMDA receptor antagonism. This new found property makes cannabinoids useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of wide variety of oxidation associated diseases, such as ischemic, age-related, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The cannabinoids are found to have particular application as neuroprotectants, for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke and trauma, or in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and HIV dementia. Nonpsychoactive cannabinoids, such as cannabidoil, are particularly advantageous to use because they avoid toxicity that is encountered with psychoactive cannabinoids at high doses useful in the method of the present invention. A particular disclosed class of cannabinoids useful as neuroprotective antioxidants is formula (I) wherein the R group is independently selected from the group consisting of H, CH.sub.3, and COCH.sub.3. ##STR1##

 

[motoxfreek7]

I want to know when someone is going to have the balls to file a lawsuit against the federal government for their monopolies? 1. crude oil since we could have gone organic 2. allowing paper to be made from trees rather than hemp 3. and the there is the Dupont family, I wonder if they invented knee pads too. I think the sure spent a lot of time down there.
We are supposed to live in a free country, but I have been discriminated against most of my adult life for the fact that I smoke pot to relax or relive pain rather than to get drunk or take op*um drugs. I stopped smoking for 9 years after a back injury and all they did was get me addicted to n*rco and m*thadone. It was very interesting to me that a major retail store, that also does home appliance repairs, allowed their technicians to use doctor prescribed n*rco and m*thadone while driving their service vehicle and working. I think pot allows you to think more clearly. After quitting and getting clean, I started smoking pot again. My life is good and I feel great. I have made one dicision I won't buy or I work for a hypocrite. If we all stop allowing our dirty thc infested money into the hands of those who want to prohibit our sweet weed we might start to have an impact. If you don't employ those who smoke, why should I buy any products from you? We have the problems we do because we don't have lobbyists in D.C. with tons of money to shovel at the politicians. Boycott Hippocrites!!!!!!

 

[motoxfreek7]

I agree...Imagine if for every patient donation per dispensary donated 1$ towards the cause, how much money would be generated...I mean its all non profit right? I know just alone here in OC and LA, there has got to be over 1500 clubs, just in these 2 counties...and if each customer donated 1$ per purchase...wow..there has to be between 20 and 300 patients on any given day at most of these clubs...

20x1500$= 30,000$ per day generated in just these 2 counties alone, at only 20 patients per club...and estimated 1500 clubs in the area..just imagine!

Think about statewide...and nationwide....we could really make some good happen...

more amazing would be those same clubs doing a dollar or 2 for each sale

 

[Bonehead]

more amazing would be those same clubs doing a dollar or 2 for each sale

It sounds good but it will never happen at the current time. Things are way too tight right now. In the Bay Area with the outdoor product hitting the market combined with stiff competition things are difficult to stay a float. Prices are at an all time low. There's a new collective opening every week. It is just tough to add $2 or to set aside $2 out of each transaction. It would be really hard right now.

 

[Kaiser Sose 3]

Here is a great article I just found...

Smoking pot doesn't hurt lung capacity, study shows

Smoking a joint a day for up to seven years didn't cause a reduction in lung capacity, a new study shows.

By Kimberly Hayes Taylor

Periodically smoking marijuana doesn't appear to hurt lung capacity, the largest study ever conducted on pot smokers has found.

Even though most marijuana smokers tend to inhale deeply and hold the smoke in for as long as they can before exhaling, the lung capacity didn't deteriorate even among those who smoked a joint a day for seven years or once a week for 20 years, according to the study published Tuesday in JAMA, the journal of the American Medical Association.

In recent years, studies on marijuana smoking and its effects on lung function have been contradictory. While most studies have shown no effects on the lungs from smoking cannabis, others have shown adverse effects, and still others have shown improvement in lung function. Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, and University of Alabama at Birmingham knew tobacco smoking causes lung damage and leads to respiratory issues such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but they wanted to be clear whether smoking marijuana, had similar effects.

They measured lung function multiple times in more than 5,100 men and women during a 20-year period. In fact, the research shows, some people who regularly smoke marijuana can have a slight improvement in lung function.

Experts say that people shouldn’t simply take the news as green light to get high, but should also consider other factors.

“Marijuana is a complicated substance, and for people who are thinking about what they’ve done in the past or are thinking about using marijuana or believing it can help medically, their decision should not be based on lung consideration,” says study co-author Dr. Stefan Kertesz, a researcher and primary care doctor at University of Alabama at Birmingham and the Birmingham VA Medical Center.

“It’s not a decision about lung health, it’s all the other issues: the risk of addiction, an increase in the chance of having accidents and social functioning.”

Researchers reached their findings by using data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults, collecting repeated measurements of lung function and smoking from March 1985 to August 2006. More than half of the participants, or 54 percent, said they were current marijuana smokers, cigarette smokers or both when the study began. The average marijuana use was only a joint or two a few times a month — typical for U.S. marijuana users, Kertesz said.

The authors calculated the effects of tobacco and marijuana separately, both in people who used only one or the other, and in people who used both. They also considered other factors that could influence lung function, including air pollution in cities studied.

The analyses showed pot didn't appear to harm lung function, but cigarettes did. Cigarette smokers' test scores worsened steadily during the study.

Researchers measured how well participants could blow air in and out. A healthy adult can exhale about a gallon of air in one second. Although their study focused on lighter smokers, they found some people who smoked more than a joint a day for seven years, could exhale slightly more air than that.
Kertesz says that extra strength may come from the habit of deeply inhaling, holding and slowly exhaling marijuana smoke.

“It’s a tiny increase; it’s not a big increase to lung health,” he says. “So be careful not to say that, ‘Oh, wow! Lungs work better on marijuana.’ That would be totally inaccurate.”

Authors say there weren't enough heavy users (those who smoked two or more joints a day) among those in the study to draw firm conclusions on that group.

Dr. Donald Tashkin, who has studied the relationship between marijuana smoking and lung function for more than 30 years as a professor of medicine at UCLA, says the study confirms what other research has also concluded.

“This is a well-done study involving more subjects than in the past,” says Tashkin, who is not affiliated with the new study. “The public should take away it’s a confirmatory study, but larger and longer than previous studies demonstrating, once again, that smoking marijuana does not impair lung function, unlike tobacco.”

Tashkin says scientists have a theory that lung capacity is not affected in marijuana smokers because the chemical THC in marijuana has immunosuppressant properties that interfere with the development of respiratory issues such as COPD. He says this indicates there will be lower rates of COPD, but marijuana smokers are still at risk for chronic bronchitis, which means they tend to have increased cough and mucus. The study didn't look at the risk of lung cancer.

And Tashkin cautions about drawing overall conclusions from the new work: “We’re only talking about one end point. We’re not looking at lung cancer, chronic bronchitis symptoms. We are not looking at other effects, behavioral effects. We are looking at lung function.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Vitals - Smoking pot doesn't hurt lung capacity, study shows

 

[Nerdmaster]

Easy way to contact your representatives on this issue: The Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act

 

[J9BLACK]

Perhaps the very reason the cannabis proponents have had so little impact is for the very same reason lawmakers want to discriminate against it...a lack of initiative and money.

All the movement needs is legitimacy. Medical cannabis is the way forward.

Baby boomers will be gagging for it in the next few years, and then its only a matter of time. I believe at the end of the day people will remember that cannabis is mostly good...and any evil that manifests is indemic to the individual.

Or do we believe that cannabis was really a factor in the recent violence that left one police officer dead and a few others injured?

 

[420 Warrior]

I agree...Imagine if for every patient donation per dispensary donated 1$ towards the cause, how much money would be generated...I mean its all non profit right? I know just alone here in OC and LA, there has got to be over 1500 clubs, just in these 2 counties...and if each customer donated 1$ per purchase...wow..there has to be between 20 and 300 patients on any given day at most of these clubs...

20x1500$= 30,000$ per day generated in just these 2 counties alone, at only 20 patients per club...and estimated 1500 clubs in the area..just imagine!

Think about statewide...and nationwide....we could really make some good happen...

Um...Ron Paul could use a donation for his campaign, I would imagine?

Ron may not be the best smooth talker but he IS the most truthful

That's just it, we already have a pro Cannabis candidate and he needs all of our support.

 

[J9BLACK]

Death penalty to be sought in Utah police shootings

(Reuters) - Prosecutors said on Monday they will seek the death penalty against a Utah Army veteran suspected of killing one police officer and wounding five others in a shootout during a drug raid at his home.

Weber County Attorney Dee Smith also revealed a few details on a suspicious device detonated last weekend at the home in Ogden of the suspected shooter, 37-year-old Matthew Stewart.

Stewart, who remains hospitalized from wounds suffered in the shootout, is accused of firing at police officers who served a drug-related "knock and announce" search warrant at his home on January 4.

"This is a very significant event, something that I don't know that the state has ever experienced something of this magnitude," Smith told reporters. "There's a lot of lives affected, a lot of families affected."

Stewart will be charged with capital murder, which could lead to a sentence of death following a conviction, the prosecutor said.

He will also face eight counts of attempted aggravated murder and a charge of cultivation of marijuana, after he is released from hospital and booked into jail, Smith said.

The eight counts of attempted murder are based on the five officers wounded in the shootout, and others who were in the line of fire but not physically wounded during the raid, Smith said. The operation was conducted by the Weber-Morgan Narcotics Strike Force, which is composed of officers from multiple law enforcement agencies in the region.

Following the shooting, investigators were seen removing from the home fluorescent light panels and PVC pipes.

Stewart was on active duty in the U.S. Army from 1994 to 1998, Army officials have said.

The gunfight in a residential neighborhood in Ogden, about 30 miles north of Salt Lake City, ranks as one of the worst outbreaks of violence against police officers in Utah history.

Smith said he would not "speculate" on Stewart's possible motive for opening fire.

On Saturday, a bomb squad detonated a suspicious device at Stewart's home, but further tests are pending to determine the exact nature of the object.

"I'm not an expert, I can't tell you if it was a bomb or it was not a bomb," Smith said.

In recent days, Ogden police have been mourning the death of their colleague, agent Jared Francom, who was slain in the shootout. "A number of individuals were wounded as they were giving aid and trying to remove fallen officers from the scene," Smith said.

Ogden police officer Kasey Burrell, who was wounded, remains in critical condition at McKay-Dee Hospital Center, said Chris Dallin, a spokesman for the medical facility.

Fellow officers Shawn Grogan and Michael Rounkles are in fair condition at the facility, Dallin said.

The other two wounded officers were treated and released.

Smith said he was limited in what he could reveal about the shooting and the investigation, in part because Stewart has not been officially charged.

"This is crime scene that is massive. We've had crime scene investigators combing through this hour after hour after hour for days," he said.

Source: Death penalty to be sought in Utah police shootings | Reuters

Could this someday happen to us? Did a friendly neighborhood cannabis patient get gunned down while reaching for his bong...? Or was a stoned, paranoid, drug dealer with an assault rifle protecting his stash? The media has decided. I wonder what LEAP has to say.

 

[motoxfreek7]

It sounds good but it will never happen at the current time. Things are way too tight right now. In the Bay Area with the outdoor product hitting the market combined with stiff competition things are difficult to stay a float. Prices are at an all time low. There's a new collective opening every week. It is just tough to add $2 or to set aside $2 out of each transaction. It would be really hard right now.

Well then no problem since it is tight all around. The collectives will just end up closing then cause those poor broke owners can't afford to do business. Cause that is what you said. All other emerging industries spend the money and if the collectives don't they will close!!!!!!! Or at least have no advertising or bring any attention to themselves. When will my fellow pot heads realize we live in a capitalist society we live in. If we can't show the benefits to health, industry or the economy then why should the feds reschedule it. It took money, the Hearsts, and their demonizing in the 1930's to start this crap and it will take a lot more work and money to turn it around. I have had a legal garden now for a number of years, so I really don't need collectives, but know many people do. I would say it is time to growing or start supporting rescheduling efforts.

 

[Nerdmaster]

All the movement needs is legitimacy. Medical cannabis is the way forward.

Medical cannabis approval has been stuck at around 70% for a long time. Medical cannabis has been around for over fifteen years and still has a bad reputation (it's a joke / it's an excuse to get high / there's no such thing as medical marijuana / etc). Many states are getting attacked by the feds for their medical programs.

Many states are cracking down internally. Montana cut something like 80% of cardholders last year. Oregon is looking at ways to reduce its "abuse", including refusing cards to children (children don't feel pain or get cancer, you see).

Many medical states aren't even doing things very well - Oregon has no dispensaries, and they were voted down just last year out of some misguided fear that dispensaries cause problems. We aren't even allowed to pay growers beyond operating expenses, so it's very hard to find a good grower. Arizona still hasn't gotten its program started, which was voted in by the people over 14 months ago.

My point is that full legalization is the only way medical use can actually happen properly. As long as it's exclusively medical, fear decides who gets treatment. Legalize it in full (at least for adults) or the government will continue to stop people who need it medically.

Worst case: big pharma continues to make extracts and synthetics, giving the government even more power to say "nope, medical cannabis is only made by these three companies: ..."

 

[Nerdmaster]

Medical cannabis approval has been stuck at around 70% for a long time.

I should clarify. While this stat looks good, it hasn't really had any effect on really making sure people who need medicine get it. States still cut medical programs, increase fees, etc. And while medical approval has been steadily going nowhere, full legalization support has skyrocketed to 50% (with 46% against) last year.

 

[Crookedfinger]

AS a matter of fact they do have a patent on it, Or more specifically on CBD... The federal Government has a patent on CBD! Now what does that say about whats going on?


U.S. Patent # 6630507
In 2003, the U.S. Government as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services filed for, and was awarded a patent on cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants. U.S. Patent 6630507




Abstract
Cannabinoids have been found to have antioxidant properties, unrelated to NMDA receptor antagonism. This new found property makes cannabinoids useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of wide variety of oxidation associated diseases, such as ischemic, age-related, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The cannabinoids are found to have particular application as neuroprotectants, for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke and trauma, or in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and HIV dementia. Nonpsychoactive cannabinoids, such as cannabidoil, are particularly advantageous to use because they avoid toxicity that is encountered with psychoactive cannabinoids at high doses useful in the method of the present invention. A particular disclosed class of cannabinoids useful as neuroprotective antioxidants is formula (I) wherein the R group is independently selected from the group consisting of H, CH.sub.3, and COCH.sub.3. ##STR1##

Food for thought.....How can the Federal government or any entity (person, corporation, etc. etc.) for that matter, apply for and be approved for a patent on a chemical compound that is found naturally in a plant? If that is the case what is to stop say Johnson & Johnson from registering a patent for aloe as a skin moisturizer or burn relief agent? And correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that cannabinoids are found in the human body naturally without the use of cannabis just in much lower levels. Kinda like HGH in baseball players. I'm pretty sure I read that somewhere on this site. Anyway bubble bubble cough