Medical marijuana prosecutions

[Asiel]

It's been legalized here for quite a few years for medical reasons. I do know some that use it for pain, the get a script for it. They swear by it but I don't think I would ever try it myself . I don't think it's important enough to make it a crime.

[Cataholic]

I am not an advocate of it, for recreational use. I don't know enough about it for medical use. I do wonder, though, if there is anything different about pot and alcohol/tobacco use. Do recreational users of alcohol/tobacco go on to harder core drugs? Do recreational users of pot go on to harder core drugs? Is it the same %?

I have 'heard' that more recreational users of pot go on to harder core drugs than not. IF that is so, I would not be in favor of legalizing it- though it has been de-criminalized in my state.

I drink alcohol. I have for years and years and years. I have not gone on to smoke anything (though it does seem like my money goes up in smoke). I wonder if this is similar to others experience?

[RICHARD]

I drink alcohol. I have for years and years and years. I have not gone on to smoke anything (though it does seem like my money goes up in smoke). I wonder if this is similar to others experience?

Actually,

Drinking alcohol has more of a 'material' after effect. Smoke dissapates. You can see your urine when you are done with your booze....

---------------------

Legalizing pot probably won't happen soon.


For every 'dollar' worth of pot taken off the street the authorities get a % for the bust in government subsidies.

Here in Cah Lee Fuh Nee ah (our governor smoked, has yours?) They have done raids on pot farms/houses and the authorities will give a price in the millions for a few hundred plants..

I thought I sucked at math.

It's all a ruse to make money for the local yokels and the departments.

It's almost like the people who deal in oil and gas prices, they project what the barrel will cost before they pull it out of the ground, then try and convince everyone that is the price and make money off of it.

[DJFyrewolf36]

I have my views on this subject based on my personal experiences, but this is a family forum so I'll keep those to myself.

I'm for legalization though because if it is out of the hands of gang members and thugs it will be safer for everyone. I feel that this issue is similar to abortion...a lot of people think it is a bad thing but if it is legal and performed by someone with a brain and professionalism a lot less people will be hurt by it. I would rather people get weed from a licensed facility rather than some shady arse near my kids elementary school.

[Marigold2]

It is time to make it legal. It is in California for medical reasons. It is very benifical to cancer patients to ease the effects of neasua and for glaucoma patients as well.
As for it leading to harder drugs no not any more then someone who drinks can become a alcoholic. I know many people who have smoked it for 30 almost 40 years. Instead of coming home and drinking a beer after work or a glass of wine they light up a smoke. They are Dr's and lawyers and business people of all walks of life living in modern bergs in upscale homes enjoying their nightly joint. It is as normal to my generation (mid-70's) as the martini is to the 60's.

[Marigold2]

My sister is head of the Ohio Chapter.
About Marijuana



Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Marijuana is the third most popular recreational drug in America (behind only alcohol and tobacco), and has been used by nearly 100 million Americans. According to government surveys, some 25 million Americans have smoked marijuana in the past year, and more than 14 million do so regularly despite harsh laws against its use. Our public policies should reflect this reality, not deny it.
Marijuana is far less dangerous than alcohol or tobacco. Around 50,000 people die each year from alcohol poisoning. Similarly, more than 400,000 deaths each year are attributed to tobacco smoking. By comparison, marijuana is nontoxic and cannot cause death by overdose. According to the prestigious European medical journal, The Lancet, "The smoking of cannabis, even long-term, is not harmful to health. ... It would be reasonable to judge cannabis as less of a threat ... than alcohol or tobacco."
Get the facts. See our Library
NORML supports the removal of all penalties for the private possession and responsible use of marijuana by adults, including cultivation for personal use, and casual nonprofit transfers of small amounts. This policy, known as decriminalization, removes the consumer -- the marijuana smoker -- from the criminal justice system.
More than 30 percent of the U.S. population lives under some form of marijuana decriminalization, and according to government and academic studies, these laws have not contributed to an increase in marijuana consumption nor negatively impacted adolescent attitudes toward drug use.
See Personal Use for more information.
Enforcing marijuana prohibition costs taxpayers an estimated $10 billion annually and results in the arrest of more than 847,000 individuals per year -- far more than the total number of arrestees for all violent crimes combined, including murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

YEARMARIJUANA ARRESTS2008847,8642007872,7212006829,6252005786,5452004771,6082003755,1872002697,0822001723,6272000734,4981999704,8121998682,8851997695,2001996641,6421995588,9631994499,1221993380,6891992342,3141991287,8501990326,850

Of those charged with marijuana violations, approximately 89 percent, 754,224 Americans were charged with possession only. The remaining 93,640 individuals were charged with "sale/manufacture," a category that includes all cultivation offenses, even those where the marijuana was being grown for personal or medical use. In past years, roughly 30 percent of those arrested were age 19 or younger.

NORML supports the eventual development of a legally controlled market for marijuana, where consumers could buy marijuana for personal use from a safe legal source. This policy, generally known as legalization, exists on various levels in a handful of European countries like The Netherlands and Switzerland, both of which enjoy lower rates of adolescent marijuana use than the U.S. Such a system would reduce many of the problems presently associated with the prohibition of marijuana, including the crime, corruption and violence associated with a "black market."
For more information, see About NORML.


Medical Use
Marijuana, or cannabis, as it is more appropriately called, has been part of humanity's medicine chest for almost as long as history has been recorded.
Of all the negative consequences of marijuana prohibition, none is as tragic as the denial of medicinal cannabis to the tens of thousands of patients who could benefit from its therapeutic use.
Modern research suggests that cannabis is a valuable aid in the treatment of a wide range of clinical applications.[4] These include pain relief -- particularly of neuropathic pain (pain from nerve damage) -- nausea, spasticity, glaucoma, and movement disorders.[5] Marijuana is also a powerful appetite stimulant, specifically for patients suffering from HIV, the AIDS wasting syndrome, or dementia.[6] Emerging research suggests that marijuana's medicinal properties may protect the body against some types of malignant tumors[7] and are neuroprotective.
Currently, more than 60 U.S. and international health organizations support granting patients immediate legal access to medicinal marijuana under a physician's supervision.
See our Medical Use section for more information.


Legal Issues
Driven by the Drug War, the U.S. prison population is six to ten times as high as most Western European nations. The United States is a close second only to Russia in its rate of incarceration per 100,000 people. In 2005, more than 786,000 people were arrested in this country for marijuana-related offenses alone.
Marijuana prohibition causes more problems than it solves, and ruins thousands more lives than it supposedly tries to save. The NORML Legal Committee provides legal support and assistance to victims of the current marijuana laws. NORML also monitors developments in state and federal law, and files appellate and amicus curiae ("friend of the court") briefs in cases which may affect the interpretation of existing marijuana laws, or which will, hopefully, change them.
See our Legal Issues section for more information.


Industrial Hemp
Hemp is a distinct variety of the plant species cannabis sativa L. that contains minimal (less than 1%) amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. It is a tall, slender, fibrous plant similar to flax or kenaf. Various parts of the plant can be utilized in the making of textiles, paper, paints, clothing, plastics, cosmetics, foodstuffs, insulation, animal feed and other products.
Hemp produces a much higher yield per acre than do common substitutes such as cotton and requires few pesticides. In addition, hemp has an average growing cycle of only 100 days and leaves the soil virtually weed-free for the next planting.
The hemp plant is currently harvested for commercial purposes in over 30 nations, including Canada, Japan and the European Union. Although it grows wild across much of America and presents no public health or safety threat, hemp is nevertheless routinely uprooted and destroyed by law enforcement. Each year, approximately 98% of all the marijuana eliminated by the DEA's "Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program" is actually hemp.
Find out more about Industrial Use.

[caseysmom]

That explains a lot!!!