Pubdate: Thu, 31 May 2012
Source: Chico News & Review, The (CA)
Copyright: 2012 Chico Community Publishing, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.newsreview.com/chico/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/559
Author: Jim Stanwood

MEASURE A: TWO VIEWS

Measure A pushes aside the Fourth and Fifth amendments to the 
Constitution by mandating that medical-marijuana growers must 
register and invite law officers to search their property without 
warrant. Imagine having to voluntarily open your medicine cabinet or 
home to scrutiny for expired prescription pills or other irregularities.

Anyone with a half-acre or less shall not grow even a single plant, 
indoors or out. Those folks will likely shift to foothills acreage 
and commercial sellers. Taxpayers will suffer the cost of expensive, 
unnecessary prosecutions, incarcerations and more traffic and dust in 
foothill communities.

Measure A is an affront to doctor/patient confidentiality. It 
requires patients disclose their personal medical recommendation to 
local government. Imagine filing your prescriptions.

God said "I have given you all vegetation bearing seed which is on 
the surface of the earth." Still, marijuana is opposed by many. 
Influential interests, such as the pharmaceutical industry, are loath 
to compete with Mother Nature and oppose the acceptance of any 
garden-grown remedies.

It threatens alcohol industry profits. A recent, major traffic study 
of three medical-marijuana states found, to the researcher's 
surprise, that people drink less alcohol when marijuana is acceptable 
and available. As a direct consequence traffic fatalities dropped by 
nearly 9 percent in those states following their legalization of 
medical marijuana. It could be speculated that other social ills 
linked to alcohol might also diminish.

Jim Stanwood

Forest Ranch
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom