Jim Finnel
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex News Moderator
Why is repealing medical marijuana backward and mistaken?
Because cannabis is making a huge, positive medical difference in the lives of thousands of good Montanans. Because it makes no moral or economic sense to redefine these genuine patients as criminals and to force them back onto the narcotics that helped them less and caused worse side effects. Because a patient who has had no seizures since switching to cannabis ( and used to have a dozen every day ) can't fairly be asked to go back to a "life" on the drugs that didn't work.
Because a patient who has lost more than 200 pounds in a year since ceasing the use of narcotics and switching to cannabis can't be expected to happily stop. Because pain patients who used to be unable to do much of anything meaningful when needing gobs of narcotics -- and who now can function, even work and pay taxes -- shouldn't be required to go backward. Because people who are enduring chemo, or who have survived cancer and know of the evidence showing that cannabis has anti-cancer effects, shouldn't be required to ignore the scientific facts. Because people with glaucoma or multiple sclerosis or rheumatoid arthritis, who know that research shows cannabis can slow and even halt the progression of these diseases, shouldn't be expected to ignore what they've learned, what they can feel in their own bodies.
Because the law's loopholes and gray areas that have allowed exploitation and abuse can easily be fixed and closed, with problems stopped -- in ways that meet the needs of true patients as well as of law enforcement and local communities. Because it makes no sense at all, and flies in the face of democracy and the notion of individual freedom, to repeal a voter-adopted policy of compassion without ever first trying to make the law work as intended. Because thousands of Montanans suffer the common but generally permanent, progressive medical conditions specified in this law -- and many can benefit enormously from cannabis.
Because thousands of Montanans who would otherwise currently be unemployed today feed their families and pay their rents and mortgages solely because they are able to work producing medical-grade cannabis for legal patients. Because many hundreds of long-established Main Street businesses like garden supply and hardware stores are still operating partly because of the new business they do serving medical cannabis producers. Because it makes no sense for Montana to lose these jobs and the nourishment they supply to local economies and the state's tax base.
Because elected officials who campaign for individual freedom, less government intrusion and smarter economic development should uphold these principles during their service in office. Because none of them campaigned on a platform of interfering with a patient's relationship with a licensed physician or on the theme of knowing more about health care than doctors do.
Because honest Montanans, who can better address their medical challenges with this God-given natural plant, shouldn't be treated as criminals -- and the rest of us shouldn't have to pay for cops to find and arrest them, or for prosecutors and courts to punish them -- when all that these good patients seek is a better, more comfortable life . and to be left alone by big government. Because patients, working with their physicians, deserve the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
NewsHawk: Jim Behr: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Billings Gazette, The (MT)
Copyright: 2011 The Billings Gazette
Contact: BillingsGazette.com - Contact Us
Website: The Billings Gazette - Montana & Wyoming News
Details: MapInc
Author: Tom Daubert
Because cannabis is making a huge, positive medical difference in the lives of thousands of good Montanans. Because it makes no moral or economic sense to redefine these genuine patients as criminals and to force them back onto the narcotics that helped them less and caused worse side effects. Because a patient who has had no seizures since switching to cannabis ( and used to have a dozen every day ) can't fairly be asked to go back to a "life" on the drugs that didn't work.
Because a patient who has lost more than 200 pounds in a year since ceasing the use of narcotics and switching to cannabis can't be expected to happily stop. Because pain patients who used to be unable to do much of anything meaningful when needing gobs of narcotics -- and who now can function, even work and pay taxes -- shouldn't be required to go backward. Because people who are enduring chemo, or who have survived cancer and know of the evidence showing that cannabis has anti-cancer effects, shouldn't be required to ignore the scientific facts. Because people with glaucoma or multiple sclerosis or rheumatoid arthritis, who know that research shows cannabis can slow and even halt the progression of these diseases, shouldn't be expected to ignore what they've learned, what they can feel in their own bodies.
Because the law's loopholes and gray areas that have allowed exploitation and abuse can easily be fixed and closed, with problems stopped -- in ways that meet the needs of true patients as well as of law enforcement and local communities. Because it makes no sense at all, and flies in the face of democracy and the notion of individual freedom, to repeal a voter-adopted policy of compassion without ever first trying to make the law work as intended. Because thousands of Montanans suffer the common but generally permanent, progressive medical conditions specified in this law -- and many can benefit enormously from cannabis.
Because thousands of Montanans who would otherwise currently be unemployed today feed their families and pay their rents and mortgages solely because they are able to work producing medical-grade cannabis for legal patients. Because many hundreds of long-established Main Street businesses like garden supply and hardware stores are still operating partly because of the new business they do serving medical cannabis producers. Because it makes no sense for Montana to lose these jobs and the nourishment they supply to local economies and the state's tax base.
Because elected officials who campaign for individual freedom, less government intrusion and smarter economic development should uphold these principles during their service in office. Because none of them campaigned on a platform of interfering with a patient's relationship with a licensed physician or on the theme of knowing more about health care than doctors do.
Because honest Montanans, who can better address their medical challenges with this God-given natural plant, shouldn't be treated as criminals -- and the rest of us shouldn't have to pay for cops to find and arrest them, or for prosecutors and courts to punish them -- when all that these good patients seek is a better, more comfortable life . and to be left alone by big government. Because patients, working with their physicians, deserve the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
NewsHawk: Jim Behr: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Billings Gazette, The (MT)
Copyright: 2011 The Billings Gazette
Contact: BillingsGazette.com - Contact Us
Website: The Billings Gazette - Montana & Wyoming News
Details: MapInc
Author: Tom Daubert
