Pubdate: Sun, 02 Mar 2014 Source: Garden Island (Lihue, HI) Copyright: 2014 The Garden Island Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/Fyr3Cplk Website: http://thegardenisland.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/964 Author: Sara Steiner STATE SHOULD PROTECT MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENTS I have taken the time to write my legislators asking them to please pass HB2092 immediately. As a medical marijuana patient on the Big Island for the last three years, with a degenerative condition for which there is no cure, I have found it impossible for my primary care physician to recommend cannabis due to the fact that the Bay Clinic is federally funded and does not care to go against the laws of the federal government. Because of their fear, I was forced to locate and use the services of a doctor who was knowledgeable in the uses of cannabis, and was not afraid of the local Narcotics Enforcement Division, who does its best to demonize any doctor who dares recommend cannabis to their patients. Please pass this bill and strengthen the rights of the patients. We have been waiting since the year 2000 for meaningful legislation and protection. There is overwhelming evidence that cannabis is a useful plant for numerous ailments, and the archaic prohibition for-profit stance taken by law enforcement, the prison industrial complex and the pharmaceutical companies, can no longer stand the test of truth. Sara Steiner Pahoa - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom