State Government Set On Subverting Voters' Will

[Jim Finnel]

If you're a Colorado resident, you may remember back in 2000 when you voted on the medical marijuana amendment to the Colorado constitution, and you may even remember how you voted.

I remember.

I voted for the amendment, even though I generally do not subscribe to the idea that voter-initiated petitions ought to create constitutional law, primarily because it is too haphazard and too caught up in extremist crap, too much of the time. But I have always believed marijuana to be a relatively harmless substance that is better for us, medicinally, than most of what Big Pharma cooks up in its labs and sells to us at exorbitant prices.

Anyway, the amendment was approved and became law. Currently 15 states and the District of Columbia have similar statutes.

But in Colorado, for nearly a decade nothing really happened as a result, because federal laws that haven't changed since the American equivalent of the Stone Age prevented anything from happening. People were scared that any effort to take advantage of the new law would put them in Dutch with the feds, who have gleefully done all they can to reinforce that fear.

But in 2009 the feds were told to back off enforcement of the federal marijuana prohibition in states that has medical marijuana laws on the books, and the Colorado medical marijuana industry was born and began to thrive.

But now the state legislature seems determined to subvert the intent of the voters, beginning with a decision to hand enforcement of the medical marijuana laws to the Department of Revenue rather than where it belongs, at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Last year the statehouse passed a new set of laws ostensibly meant to legitimize the industry, but really meant to restrict it and to set up a coercive monitoring system that would discourage people from getting their medicine.

A large part of that coercive monitoring system involves cameras at all points of sale, creating a database on patients that is open to law enforcement types, including the feds.

So, even though a buyer might be obeying all the pertinent laws, and has a legitimate need for this medicinal drug, he or she would suddenly be on file for all to see and open to prosecution by federal agents looking for an easy bust to bolster their stats.

Recently, state legislators have introduced bills to outlaw edible forms of medical marijuana, which happens to be the only way that a lot of patients can use the medicine because of pulmonary problems and diseases. They eat cookies, tinctures, ice cream, any form that meets their need without further damaging their already damaged lungs.

To make matters worse for patients, two hyped-up haters of anything they don't understand, Rep. Claire Levy (D-Boulder) and Rep. Mark Waller (R-El Paso County), both members of the House Judiciary Committee, have proposed making it illegal to drive with more than an infinitesimal amount of medical marijuana in your bloodstream. This, even though there is absolutely no evidence that the level described in the bill either impairs one's driving abilities or has ever been the cause of an automobile accident.

Like so many who see the medical marijuana issue as their ticket to political prominence, they are manufacturing a "crisis" for their own selfish ends, and further messing with people's legitimate rights to use this relatively harmless drug for its medicinal properties.

As for the fact that the voters approved medical marijuana use more than a decade ago, that doesn't seem to matter, just as it seems not to matter that a majority of American voters favor open access to abortion for women, and some kind of national health care system that does not leave everything in the hands of a corrupt insurance industry.

These issues are all intertwined, and all can be traced to the plain fact that the conservative wing of our political system is trying to push its narrow-minded, self-righteous, tight-fisted and repressive agenda on the rest of us.

Unfortunately, too many of us seem too willing to just sit back and let this happen.


NewsHawk: Jim Behr: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: aspentimes.com
Author: John Colson
Copyright: 2011 Swift Communications, Inc.
Contact: AspenTimes.com News
Website: State Government Set On Subverting Voters' Will

 

[spl1]

I would just like to point out that all the laws being passed in Colorado are from Democrates trying to cut a name for them selfs.
They have gone against what was put in place 10 years ago, and even trying to enforce what other courts have ruled against here in Colorado.

They have totally disregarded patients rights and have only put in place a system to drive the cost of meds higher then the street price is.

Sure there may be $10 an 1/8th Mexican border weed being sold in dispensaries, I also love the fact that 80% of the meds in the dispensaries are med level only being sold as top shelf. This is laughable at best.

In the end it will be State that makes all the money on the sick and dieing. most of the dispensaries will be gone do to the fact that they priced them selfs out of business and only the lawyers that own dispensaries will be standing. We all know how much they here to care for the sick $$$$

If the worthless union comes to Colorado like it did in Cali you can forget about lower prices all together. It would be good for the street broker because his or her prices will go back up also.

 

[ipgrunt]

Colorado is a state with interesting politics. We are western and are big on environmental issues. We have a long history of supporting states' rights, but are also fiercely proud Americans. We are both liberal and conservative, and it is hard to define our "color", be it red or blue, as those who prefer to pigeonhole states into one party or another.

The Colorado medical marijuana bill passed early this century was an act of compassionate politics. Many Coloradans who never in their life considered smoking a joint voted in favor of this legislation. It was written to allow access to a federally regulated Schedule 1 substance, for those who receive medicinal benefits from using marijuana. It was passed because Coloradans are, in general, a compassionate people who believe that government has no business in regulating the private personal behavior of its citizenry, if that behavior does not effect the public welfare.

However, many in our state are now unhappy with the proliferation of marijuana sales this bill has caused. There have been over 100,000 applications for medical marijuana use made within the state in recent years, and many people find it hard to believe that marijuana has a legitimate medicinal use in this many citizens. There have been so many recent applications that the state's regulatory agency responsible for processing said applications cannot deal with the demand. Investigations into the structure and operation local dispensaries have repeatedly demonstrated conflict of interest associations between those who proscribe marijuana use and those who sell the substance. In plain language, there has been profiteering in marijuana sales on a level that frightens lawmakers and law enforcement officials who understand the references to links between organized crime and bootlegged alcohol during the prohibition period of our history.

Last November, the Colorado legislature passed a one-year moratorium on the issuing new "red cards" and added additional regulations to the ownership and operation of marijuana dispensaries, in an attempt to study the problem and develop new legislation that would provide responsible oversight and regulation of this new industry, within the spirit of the 2000 state referendum.

Granted, this action has caused the closure of many dispensaries, but medical marijuana is still being dispensed in the state to those who hold existing red cards.

The state referendum allowing the use of medical marijuana did not intend to create a free-for-all comer atmosphere for marijuana use, nor did it intend to decriminalize the use of marijuana use in general. We still live in the United States of America and are subject to federal law regulating the use of controlled substances. It did allow access to medical marijuana to many who had legitimate needs, but the system was abused from within, by profiteering operators, and without, by users who have no valid medical reason for marijuana use other than getting high. Our 2000 referendum was never meant to create a license for Colorado dopers.

Perhaps the November 2010 legislation may seem to some to be heavy handed, but it was not an attempt to usurp the will of the people, which in my opinion is an extremely narrow short-term view which inflames the public ire and contributes nothing to the acquisition of a permanent right to access medical marijuana for those in need. The November 2010 legislation is an attempt to get the situation under control. Consider this -- if our state legislation does not act responsibly to protect the quality of life of all Coloradans, their inaction could very well cause the federal government to shut down the medical marijuana movement completely.

Instead of whining and pointing fingers, I suggest that all Coloradans who have a personal interest in this issue work through their local representatives and make their positions heard, either individually or in an organized fashion. In our country, only certain rights are inalienable. History teaches that other rights must be fought for in the legislature and the courts. If this is your issue, then get to work.

 

[spl1]

It is a very simple fix all together the 2000 referendum did not intend for dispensaries, to control the out come of patient's rights.

Dispensaries are not covered under the 2000 referendum. remove dispensaries and you remove the problem you are pointing out.

As for the crime you trying to claim is going on, well that is in the eyes of the beholder. After all it was illegal so sell alcohol during the prohibition period, but yet doctors still wrote prescriptions for it. The Kennedy Family made millions bootlegging before the were in politics.

Right now it is all about how much money they can make on tis at a state level off of the six and dieing.

As for the free for all profiteering well most of those guys have moved to AZ, thats the new wild west for MJ.

SB109 I agreed with, HB1284 is a complete waste of Colorado tax dollars and some one trying to make a name for him self claiming I showed the whole nation how to control the MMJ market.

Well 2012 is coming up fast and MJ will be on the table to legalize here in Colorado. If this happens then most of what we are talking about goes out the window and the misrepresenter we have at a state level would have wasted millions of our tax dollars that we will never recover.

How much more of Colorado's tax dollars are they willing to spend with out our vote to do so.

 

[bsemaj]

Interesting isn't it ??

Seems this may be why? Here comes big pharmi.

Is the DEA legalizing THC?

By Mike Riggs - The Daily Caller | Published: 1:21 PM 02/10/2011 | Updated: 3:42 AM 02/11/2011



By Mike Riggs - The Daily Caller


In November of last year, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) proposed a seemingly subtle change to its policy on marijuana. Citing recommendations from the assistant secretary for Health at the Department of Health and Human Services, the agency outlined its plan to reschedule pills containing organic dronabinol from schedule I to schedule III.

Dronabinol is short for tetrahydrocannabinol and long for THC. It’s more commonly known as the thing in marijuana that gets you high.

“This proposed action expands the schedule III listing to include formulations having naturally-derived dronabinol and products encapsulated in hard gelatin capsules,” reads the DEA’s proposed rule. “This would have the effect of transferring the FDA-approved versions of such generic Marinol [a synthetic THC drug] products from schedule I to schedule III.”

Paul Armentano of the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws reads the proposal as a way of legalizing marijuana so just Big Pharma can make money from it.

“DEA is taking a shortcut by saying, well, we can reschedule organic THC because it mimics an existing drug on the market,” Armentano said. “Which is ironic given that they are saying the organic substance is derivative of the synthetic substance that is actually based on the organic substance.”A spokesperson from the DEA told The Daily Caller that the rescheduling of pills containing organic dronabinol is not equivalent to legalizing THC. “Please note that DEA is not ‘rescheduling … organic THC,’” wrote the DEA’s Rusty Payne in an e-mail.

“THC, natural or synthetic, remains a schedule I controlled substance. Under the proposed rule, in those instances in the future where FDA might approve a generic version of Marinol, that version of the drug will be in the same schedule as the brand name version of the drug, regardless of whether the THC used in the generic version was synthesized by man or derived from the cannabis plant.”In other words, THC in plant form or as an extract, will still be illegal. What won’t be illegal is if a pharmaceutical company buys THC from a government-licensed provider, puts it in a pill, receives the DEA’s stamp of approval, and sells it a price that will likely be far higher than the price of marijuana.Armentano said such circular reasoning is a product of decades of hostility towards marijuana research.

“This is the insane rationale necessary for banning medical marijuana,” he said. “Take away the prohibition and the political elements, and you would never have the stretching of logic necessary to pass organic THC but only if it mimics Marinol.”

Payne protested the comparison. “Marinol is not the same thing as marijuana; nor is any generic version of Marinol that might be approved by the FDA in the future. Marijuana (the cannabis plant) contains approximately 500 different chemicals; and dronabinol (the form of THC found in Marinol) is just one of those numerous chemicals in the plant.”

Read more: DEA organic THC approve | Is the DEA legalizing THC? | The Daily Caller - Breaking News, Opinion, Research, and Entertainment … z1DeLC3kYj

 

[bsemaj]

It is a very simple fix all together the 2000 referendum did not intend for dispensaries, to control the out come of patient's rights.

Dispensaries are not covered under the 2000 referendum. remove dispensaries and you remove the problem you are pointing out.

As for the crime you trying to claim is going on, well that is in the eyes of the beholder. After all it was illegal so sell alcohol during the prohibition period, but yet doctors still wrote prescriptions for it. The Kennedy Family made millions bootlegging before the were in politics.

Right now it is all about how much money they can make on tis at a state level off of the six and dieing.

As for the free for all profiteering well most of those guys have moved to AZ, thats the new wild west for MJ.

SB109 I agreed with, HB1284 is a complete waste of Colorado tax dollars and some one trying to make a name for him self claiming I showed the whole nation how to control the MMJ market.

Well 2012 is coming up fast and MJ will be on the table to legalize here in Colorado. If this happens then most of what we are talking about goes out the window and the misrepresenter we have at a state level would have wasted millions of our tax dollars that we will never recover.

How much more of Colorado's tax dollars are they willing to spend with out our vote to do so.

Add these simple words and game over...

PROVIDER MEANS:

A provider is defined as a designated person by a patient to provide cannabis L. sativa for their conditions listed under colorado laws... they shall have the same protections and immunities as a caregiver and healthcare practitioner...

This solves the issues in all states with the lingo:

CAREGIVER. Just remove the word care...if the above does not make sense to you.

 

[spl1]

Add these simple words and game over...

PROVIDER MEANS:

A provider is defined as a designated person by a patient to provide cannabis L. sativa for their conditions listed under colorado laws... they shall have the same protections and immunities as a caregiver and healthcare practitioner...

This solves the issues in all states with the lingo:

CAREGIVER. Just remove the word care...if the above does not make sense to you.

To change the wording of the change to the Constitution of Colorado would need to be put to vote by the people.

So what changes would be the easiest to do? Remove the dispensaries, because you won't get the votes needed to change Colorado Constitution from the people.

As it sits right now HB1284 is a conflict with the states Constitution on the subject. As pointed out before in other court cases, the state can not put a limit of how many patients a caregiver can have. In 2008 the courts ruled in favor of patients rights.
Then comes along HB 1284 saying the state can, but the Colorado Supreme Court has already ruled against the state in 2008.

Now that they are pushing dispensaries to industrial zoned areas under husbandry, all the locations now in retail areas will have to move. Most will go out of biz.

I am a grower for a chain of dispensaries here in Colorado and I do not agree with what they are doing. Every one I have been to only care about one thing MONEY.

In the end dispensaries are hiding in a gray area that was passed in 2000, but if push comes to shove they would lose in the end, because what was passed in 2000 does not protect them to operate they way they are now. The guy the owns this chain is a lawyer and we hear about how they hope they don't take the Colorado Supreme Court for a ruling on if the dispensaries are protected under amendment 20, It would be no.

I do grow for money, thats how I feed my family, but I don't hide in the gray area claiming I taking care of sick people. If most of the dispensaries were real about taking care of sick people, they would want real meds not the crap they buy from epic, or mountainman medication, or the smuggled in MJ.

 

[bsemaj]

Clarify here, If the dispensary model wants to survive it must change to a "provider" model.... be it by vote or legislative body. Do not challenge the state constitution on the grounds they are...YIKES. talk about asking for a swift heck no.. your now become a test case for the government to stop this by taking it up in the zoning dept.... nothing government like' best as a free-meal.... once this happens, no more dispensary model allowed... strict compliance with the constitution will be upheld... in the PUBLIC interest against unlawful diversion of controlled substances...

All else will be for naught.

Someone needs to act swiftly or shut it down before bad caselaw happens... NO-ONE WANT' THAT. is the objective here...

As far as TESTing the medicine goes, what is the cost on each unit tested, and are there STANDARDS in the true medical model of actually going down that process to get the scientific data needed...or is that even in the equation you posed above?

When one follows all the given process by which a medicine must pass the mustered, cannabis has such a HUGE use and ORGANIC chemical make-up, that the idea of even making standards in this unknown area is a bit, PHARMI in my view... I think just using 1 standard of process to find it' medicinal properties is a bit OUTDATED...

A more 21 century approach seems a bit more logical in common sense and science.. IMHO. Both target specific research for pharmi purposes, cancer, aids, disease STOPPING properties as well as DE-SCHEDULING for personal medical use in personal preferance of which HERB suits the individual.

Here in wa. in 2009 a hearing was held before the board of pharmacy to re-schedule cannabis from a schedule 1 drug... our AG office said that cannabis is considered an HERB under the processes used by the BOP in scheduling..as the BOP only has jurisdiction over those substance sold in a pharmacy atmosphere... cannabis is not offered in pharnacies so it can not be considered the type of substance the Wa. UCSA considers...

In Oregon, they used the common sense approach and went with no testing processes except PROOF with data obtained from real live patients and expert testimony. 21st century style...

It is the just the RIGHT thing to do...