Despite the fact that organizers will not be handing out free samples, a sizeable crowd is expected this evening at UNC-Charlotte for a townhall discussion of medical marijuana.
Local state representatives Kelly Alexander Jr. and Nick Mackey, along with Rep. Earl Jones of Greensboro, will explain the bill they have proposed which would make North Carolina the 15th state to legalize marijuana use for people with debilitating conditions
Medical marijuana, although approached tentatively at first by the states that have approved it, has seen public support rise significantly since enactment. The increased public approval is largely seen as evidence that citizens have heard of people they know who have been relieved of living in constant pain. Evidence for the benefits of medical marijuana is plentiful, but opposition is expected in the House.
We hope the legislature will study the results of legalization in other states, and allow the bill to pass. Unfortunately, archaic views of marijuana use are still prevalent in this state, including one lawmaker who has said he’s afraid legalizing medical marijuana would “lead to addiction.” Nothing like doing your research before opening your mouth, huh?
The proposed North Carolina bill would also license producers of pot for sale to the state, as well as the dispensaries that would distribute it. Supporters say such an arrangement would bring in around $60 million for state coffers, through taxes and licensing fees. Opponents so far include police groups that claim medical marijuana in the state would lead to a general acceptance of drug use. Some supporters point out, in reply, that pot busts have become a big source of revenue for police departments, thus explaining part of law enforcers’ opposition to the bill.
Other opponents say legalizing medical marijuana is just the first step toward legalizing pot altogether. If that is true, then I say it’s another good reason to pass the medical marijuana bill. As we’ve written before, pot use has become so common in the U.S. that, for millions of Americans, the process of acquiring small quantities of marijuana are now as ordinary and familiar as the checkout routine at a liquor store. The differences, of course, are that liquor is a much more dangerous substance, and you won’t be arrested for buying it.
We also support a bill introduced in the U.S. House by Reps. Ron Paul and Barney Frank (talk about bipartisanship!) to legalize the possession of up to 100 grams of pot, and the transfer between adults of up to 1 ounce. If that bill is passed, state laws would remain in effect, but it would doubtless open the door to states following the federal government’s lead.
Tonight’s meeting is open to the public. It starts at 6 p.m. at UNC Charlotte, in the Cone Center’s Lucas Room, and is slated to last two hours.
This article appears in Mar 2-8, 2010.
CREATIVE LOAFING: Please ban Frank Griffin’s IP address from this site. He’s nothing but a hatemonger and liar that brings no credibility or truth to any discussion here.
Creative Loafing: Please ban Mark63 for his “Un-American” attempt at suppressing Frank Griffin’s 1st Amendment right to free speech. Shame on you Mark63. I also suggest reading the 9th and 10th amendment as well. The federal government and all states should legalize, regulate, and tax cannabis.
No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of the citizens of United States;
(14th amendment)
Equal rights for hard working Americans who enjoy or need pot!
No Fascist practices in the US!
7,000 people were murdered by the cartels last year because we kept marijuana illegal. This year they’re on track to kill at least 9,000. Who supports keeping it illegal?
I would like to experiment with MM as treatment for pain associated with a deadly health condition that I have. If this law passes can I buy MM without a prescription? Or do I have to search for a doctor who will write a prescription?
I suggest everyone take 9 minutes, watch this video testimony, and listen to what this US Marshal has to say about the Failed Drug War. Hear his own words about “standing next to bigots with a badge”.
http://www.leap.cc/cms/index.php?name=Web_Links&l_op=visit&lid=144
Regulate_this = Frank Griffin. They are one in the same. He should be banned immediately. It’s not surpressing someone when they violate the rules. Besides, he does not own this damn website.
One need not travel to China to find indigenous cultures lacking human rights. America leads the world in percentile behind bars, thanks to the ongoing open season on hippies, commies, and non-whites in the war on drugs. Cops get good performance reviews for shooting fish in a barrel. If we’re all about spreading liberty abroad, then why mix the message at home? Peace on the home front would enhance global credibility.
The drug czar’s Rx for prison fodder costs dearly, as lives are flushed down expensive tubes. My shaman’s second opinion is that psychoactive plants are God’s gift. Behold, it’s all good. When Eve ate the apple, she knew a good apple, and an evil prohibition. Canadian Marc Emery is being extradited to prison for helping American farmers reduce U. S. demand for Mexican pot.
The CSA (Controlled Substances Act of 1970) reincarnates Al Capone, endangers homeland security, and throws good money after bad. Fiscal policy burns tax dollars to root out the number-one cash crop in the land, instead of taxing sales. Society rejected the plague of prohibition, but it mutated. Apparently, SWAT teams don’t need no stinking amendment.
Nixon passed the CSA on the false assurance that the Schafer Commission would later justify criminalizing his enemies, but he underestimated Schafer’s integrity. No amendments can assure due process under an anti-science law without due process itself. Psychology hailed the breakthrough potential of LSD, until the CSA shut down research, and pronounced that marijuana has no medical use. Former U.K. chief drugs advisor Prof. Nutt was sacked for revealing that non-smoked cannabis intake is scientifically healthy.
The RFRA (Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993) allows Native American Church members to eat peyote, which functions like LSD. Americans shouldn’t need a specific church membership or an act of Congress to obtain their birthright freedom of religion. God’s children’s free exercise of religious liberty may include entheogen sacraments to mediate communion with their maker.
Freedom of speech presupposes freedom of thought. The Constitution doesn’t enumerate any governmental power to embargo diverse states of mind. How and when did government usurp this power to coerce conformity? The Mayflower sailed to escape coerced conformity. Legislators who would limit cognitive liberty lack jurisdiction.
Common-law holds that adults are the legal owners of their own bodies. The Founding Fathers undersigned that the right to the pursuit of happiness is inalienable. Socrates said to know your self. Mortal lawmakers should not presume to thwart the intelligent design that molecular keys unlock spiritual doors. Persons who appreciate their own free choice of path in life should tolerate seekers’ self-exploration. Liberty is prerequisite for tracking drug-use intentions and outcomes.
On Thursday, March 4th 2010, Mecklenburg’s District 99 Representative, Nick Mackey (a primary sponsor of the North Carolina Medical Marijuana Act), took part in a Town Hall meeting including a consortium of opponents, supporters, and local attorneys. All spoke at an open forum on the campus of UNC Charlotte. The discussion of marijuana as medicine provided greater hope for the future, where the terminally ill and the gravely sick citizens of North Carolina might have access to a useful and benevolent medicine.
American society has come a long way from the days of “Reefer Madness.” Last fall the American Medical Association (AMA) issued a new policy which “urges that marijuana’s status as a federal Schedule I controlled substance be reviewed with the goal of facilitating the conduct of clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines, and alternate delivery methods.” Since California legalized Medical Marijuana in 1996, thirteen other states have followed suit. Each law varies considerably and reflects the needs and wishes of the people. Only very recently, a major medical paper concerning clinical studies of Marijuana was presented to the California Legislature. It concluded “that marijuana is particularly helpful in relieving pain associated with nerve damage and in treating the muscle spasticity from multiple sclerosis.” Earlier and less significant studies had found similar results for the positive treatment of Multiple Sclerosis, Cancer, AIDS, Glaucoma, Hepatitis, Epilepsy, and Chronic Pain.
Most terminally ill patients and people with a debilitating disease have no recourse to the potentially life-saving or palliative drug; those who do have access to marijuana must risk their very freedom to obtain it. To imprison a dangerously ill patient for marijuana is to deny them access to care that may preserve their life. Society must take notice and work to repair this wrong, and it is through helping others that we help ourselves. If North Carolina were to pass the Medical Marijuana Act, new sources of tax revenues will be immediately available. CNBC’s investigative report, “Marijuana Inc.,” stated that in 2009 California “collected more than 11 million dollars in sales tax revenue, 300 thousand from just one Oakland dispensary alone.” But the report did not consider the potential for other Economic Benefits that might accrue by nursing a fledgling industry.
North Carolina is renowned for its Medical Industries, its Doctors and its professional know-how; the Research Triangle hosts a great number of world-renowned pharmaceutical research facilities. And North Carolina Banking institutions have the power to bring these leaders in Medicine together, helping to create an economy on the cutting edge of medicine. If marijuana was accepted in this way, North Carolina could find itself in a new position as an economic powerhouse. Best of all, we could even reinvigorate farming, thereby providing a lifeline to the very heart of North Carolina’s traditional economy.
This is a step in the right direction. I also would like to see full de-criminalization instead of piecemeal legalization.
MedicalCannabisUniversity.org will soon be launching in Asheville, NC.We will be soon enrolling online instructors in our Instructor’s Training Courses and more.
A new face has been put on the local marijuana guy, now he openly delivers, in California anyway. About 45 different listings around the state will offer you come ot your door with all the latest and greatest meds. If you are in Cali, do the rest of us a favor and use this service everyday since the onompetition only makes things better!
I am a 21 year old that lives in north carolina. I do not use marijuana nor do i want to. I dont want to grow it or sell it but i do think that it is a very good idea to completly legalize it. It would save the state a lot of money as well as make them a lot of money. It would save a lot of time an resources of the justice system. Our economy could really use some extra money right now anyhow.If the us legalizes it completly and we get rid of our dependence on foreign cartels they will have no choice but stay in their country an sell it not to mention the man power that is saved busting our citizens can be turned around and used to help enforce our borders and help stop the cartels from coming into the us. so as a non user im am completly in agreence with this idea i say go for it 100%. Besides how many people have died from overdosing on marijuana or driving while on marijuana versus alcohol or pain pills. Ive personally pulled a dead man out of a vehicle accident from driving on pain medicine.