Legalization Makes It Easier for Teens to Get It, and We Have Other Drug Options. Legislatures across the country are legalizing medical marijuana, but the nation's physicians aren't requesting these laws. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Society of Addiction Medicine are both against medical marijuana laws. The American Medical Association doesn't support them either. Groups representing patients aren't behind these laws. The American Cancer Society hasn't demanded them, and the Glaucoma Foundation even warns patients against using the drug. [continues 705 words]
In an Otsego greenhouse, Minnesota's first medical cannabis crop is in bloom. Young marijuana plants, fuzzy and pungent, stretched toward the skylights as Dr. Kyle Kingsley threaded between the plant beds, leading state media on a tour of the Minnesota Medical Solutions facility that will supply half of Minnesota's legal medical marijuana. "You'll see this place is pretty Spartan," Kingsley said, walking past bare white walls, concrete floors, and banks of monitors scanning the secure facility and its perimeter. There's a faint skunky smell in the air that hits visitors as soon as they reach the first of the three locked doors that lead into the building. "We put our focus on science and medicine," Kingsley continued, walking among rows of seedlings and plants. More than 4,000 plants and dozens of cannabis strains fill the greenhouses and spill out into the atriums. [continues 1003 words]
Now that medical marijuana is legal in Minnesota and disbursement is set to begin July 1, employers should review their policies regarding such workplace procedures as drug testing and the Americans With Disabilities Act to ensure they protect the business, as well as the employee. Minnesota's law authorizes the use of medical marijuana for patients suffering from several medical conditions including glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, certain cancers, seizure disorders, Crohn's disease and illnesses causing severe and persistent muscle spasms. Individuals eligible for the medication are required to enroll in a statewide registry. [continues 687 words]
Study Underscored That THC Levels Don't Correlate With Driver Impairment. WASHINGTON - A new study from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that drivers who use marijuana are at a significantly lower risk for a crash than drivers who use alcohol. And after adjusting for age, gender, race and alcohol use, drivers who tested positive for marijuana were no more likely to crash than who had not used drugs or alcohol before driving. For marijuana, and for a number of other legal and illegal drugs including antidepressants, painkillers, stimulants and the like, there is no statistically significant change in the risk of a crash associated with using that drug before driving. But overall alcohol use, measured at a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) threshold of 0.05 or above, increases the odds of a wreck nearly sevenfold. [continues 251 words]
Tribe Could Become State's First to Grow and Sell Marijuana on Its Lands Indian tribes have the right to legalize marijuana on their own lands, the federal government now says. At least one Minnesota tribe may do just that. The Red Lake Band of Chippewa announced in January that it will study the idea legalizing medical marijuana and industrial hemp on the reservation north of Bemidji. "Whatever we do, it will be done very carefully," Red Lake Chairman Darrell Seki Sr. announced after the Red Lake Tribal Council voted Jan. 13 to conduct a feasibility study into the economic benefits - and potential risks - of getting into the cannabis business. Seki will conduct a series of community meetings around the Red Lake Nation throughout February. [continues 506 words]
The Body of Andrew Sadek Was Recovered From the Red River Last Year. A North Dakota college student whose body was found last year in the Red River had worked as an informant for a drug task force until shortly before he died, according to a report by the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI). Andrew Sadek, who died of a gunshot to the head, was recruited as an informant after he allegedly sold less than an ounce of marijuana to a police operative twice on the North Dakota State College of Science campus in April 2013. After authorities allegedly found a marijuana grinder in his dorm room in November 2013, they interviewed Sadek and told him about the charges he could face. [continues 234 words]
Gov. Mark Dayton's proposals this year include a half-cent metro-area sales tax increase to pay for transit. In my industry as a jeweler, our sales tax is already high enough to drive a very high percentage of diamond buyers online to avoid many hundreds of dollars in tax on their once-in-a-lifetime, expensive engagement ring purchase. Instead of raising the sales tax, how about embracing the inevitable and legalizing and taxing recreational marijuana? New taxes collected could be designated for infrastructure renewal without raising sales taxes and driving more business out of state. This could be quite a boon to our economy, provided lawmakers strike a good tax rate balance to avoid driving pot sales underground. James Roettger, Minneapolis [end]
MADISON, MINN. - Minnesota mother Angela Brown, who gave her son an illegal drug that will be legal by this time next year, appeared in Lac qui Parle County court Wednesday morning, where her attorney appealed for the charges against her to be dismissed. Brown stands accused of two gross misdemeanor counts of child endangerment for giving cannabis oil to her son Trey, who suffered seizures and agonizing pain from a head injury. By July, medical marijuana will be legal in Minnesota. But since that law isn't in effect yet, the Lac qui Parle County attorney opted to prosecute Brown after an official at Trey's school tipped off child protective services. Brown is charged, not with possession of the small amount of cannabis in the dropper bottle, but of endangering her child by involving him in a drug transaction. [continues 315 words]
Minnesota's eight medical marijuana centers won't be conveniently located for many outside the Twin Cities. Minnesota has 87 counties, but you'll only be able to buy medical marijuana in eight of them. With half the state's proposed clinics clustered around the Twin Cities, gaps in the cannabis coverage map will leave some families hours away from the nearest clinic. Four marijuana distribution sites will open within 20 miles of the Twin Cities: Minneapolis, St. Paul, Eagan and Maple Grove. Four more will open outstate: St. Cloud, Hibbing, Moorhead and Rochester. The first clinics will open by July, when patients with serious, chronic or terminal illnesses can begin lining up to buy cannabis products legally. [continues 1103 words]
Minnesota's leap into the era of legal weed began with the selection last week of two companies that will grow, process and sell medical cannabis to patients. LeafLine Labs and Minnesota Medical Solutions proved to the state that they had the financial wherewithal, technical prowess and security procedures to do the job. But if you want to know the details, you're out of luck. Much of that information has been redacted from the companies' applications, which have been posted on the website of the state Department of Health. They're considered trade secrets, nonpublic business data or sensitive security information. Minnesota law allows the state to keep that information from us. [continues 587 words]
The State Will Reveal Two Suppliers on Monday. Next week, the Minnesota Department of Health will name the two companies it has selected to grow and refine the state's entire supply of medical marijuana. While some communities are ready to welcome new agribusinesses, others have taken steps to block marijuana outlets from setting up shop. The city of Duluth, which spent years battling a downtown head shop, just passed a six-to 12-month moratorium on any talk of zoning for medical marijuana manufacturing or dispensing facilities. The Minneapolis suburb of Richfield passed a similar moratorium in October after two different cannabis companies approached the city about setting up dispensaries there, should they get the nod from the state. [continues 618 words]
By putting "Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis" and "Legal Marijuana Now" under the names of legalization candidates, Minnesotans saw legalization on the ballot for the first time and voted for it in record numbers. Dan Vacek's plebiscite-by-proxy theory worked so well that even the monopoly media censorship of minor parties couldn't stop the voters from seeing legalization on the ballot. Vacek earned 57,602 votes for Legal Marijuana Now, spent less than $500 and outpolled better-funded, better-publicized candidates from the Independence, Green and Libertarian parties - all of whom supported marijuana legalization but didn't say so on their ballot designation. [continues 142 words]
(AP) - Marijuana advocates, fresh off victories for legal recreational pot in Oregon and the nation's capital, are already preparing for their next target, and it's a big one: California. They are aiming to ask voters in the nation's largest state to legalize marijuana for recreational use in 2016, hoping to draw on a more liberal and larger electorate during a presidential election to help them avoid a repeat of their 2010 failed pot measure. The victories in Oregon and the District of Columbia on Tuesday came in a midterm election that saw a low turnout and a conservative electorate hand Republicans back control of the U.S. Senate for the first time since 2006. [continues 268 words]
Two years ago, we lost the vote on two vital issues: The marriage amendment and voter ID. There is another big issue lurking and, it seems to me, will be coming up in the near future. That is legalization of marijuana. It is already legal in Minnesota for medical use, and that has been a first step to further open the door to "recreational" marijuana. From information out of Colorado, it has been socially disastrous and legally chaotic. We failed to protect the future of our children and grandchildren two years ago. Don't let it happen again. Get out and vote for the conservative candidates who will support your values. It really is important. DON ENGEBRETSON, Excelsior [end]
Don't drool over the tax revenue. Know that medical cannabis is competition. Worry about edibles. Colorado and Washington state knew they were jumping into the unknown when voters legalized recreational marijuana two years ago. They just didn't know the half of it. But thanks to what we've learned from the two pioneering states, it is easier for those that follow to separate hype from hemp. The experience should not discourage other places from taking the legalization plunge but rather help them design a system that works better, a necessary step as the movement spreads. (Legalization plans are on the November ballot in Oregon, Alaska and Washington, D.C. - and California and Nevada, among others, are likely to follow in a year or two). [continues 676 words]
It Took Four Years to Obtain Approval for One Pain Study. Within a year, patients will be lining up to buy medical marijuana legally in Minnesota. But for the state's scientists, it's still a struggle to do basic research into the plant's medicinal properties. Kalpna Gupta, a professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota, spent four years entangled in federal paperwork before winning approval to study whether vaporized cannabis was an effective pain relief treatment for patients with sickle cell disease. The research itself will take another four years. [continues 310 words]
Safety Officials Worry That Legalized Pot Will Mean More Traffic Deaths. WASHINGTON (AP) - As states liberalize their marijuana laws, public officials and safety advocates worry that more drivers high on pot will lead to a big increase in traffic deaths. Researchers, though, are divided on the question. Studies of marijuana's effects show that the drug can slow decision-making, decrease peripheral vision and impede multi-tasking, all of which are critical driving skills. But unlike with alcohol, drivers high on pot tend to be aware that they are impaired and try to compensate by driving slowly, avoiding such risky actions as passing other cars, and allowing extra room between vehicles. [continues 614 words]
Minnesota business owners say the inability of some job candidates to pass a simple drug test adds an extra burden to running a factory. Erick Ajax spent years designing a program that trains students to use the hulking machinery inside his Fridley metal stamping plant. But a troubling, pervasive trend is preventing some from ever making it to the factory floor: drug use. "In 2007, I lost 10 percent of my workforce to methamphetamine. That was just heartbreaking. It's clearly an issue and an ongoing challenge," said Ajax, who now drug tests all new hires and randomly tests his 60-person staff. [continues 1044 words]
The November ballot will have a handful of candidates who hope to legalize recreational marijuana in Minnesota. In November, in a number of high-profile political races, voters will be able to choose between a Democrat, a Republican and a bunch of candidates who want to legalize marijuana for everyone. Take the contest for governor. Don't expect Gov. Mark Dayton, or any of his potential Republican opponents, to back a law that would make Minnesota like Colorado or Washington, the two states where citizens in 2012 voted to decriminalize pot. It's still the rare prominent Democrat or Republican politician who will get behind a move like that, despite the growing number of states including Minnesota that now have medical marijuana laws. [continues 604 words]
Approving Medical Marijuana Was Just the First Step for Minnesota's Novel Treatment Program. Minnesota is not the first state to legalize marijuana, but it is the first to include medical research as a key requirement on its complicated and uncharted path to turning an illegal recreational drug into a treatment for illness. Now that the pitched legislative debates over whether to legalize marijuana at all are over, there is an ambitious timetable to put the new law into practice. The Minnesota Department of Health has one year to hire an administrator, choose two in-state companies who will manufacture and dispense marijuana products at up to eight locations, and draft safety guidelines for patients who are under the influence of medical cannabis. [continues 1052 words]
The caramel-chocolate-flavored candy bar looked so innocent, like the Sky Bars I used to love as a child. Sitting in my hotel room in Denver, I nibbled off the end and then, when nothing happened, nibbled some more. I figured if I was reporting on the social revolution rocking Colorado in January, the giddy culmination of pot Prohibition, I should try a taste of legal, edible pot from a local shop. What could go wrong with a bite or two? [continues 839 words]
The public senses - correctly - that marijuana poses fewer risks to society than alcohol does. America is rushing headlong toward legalizing the recreational use of marijuana. A growing majority - 54 percent as of a Pew survey released just last month - favor legalization, and an even larger majority of millennials (69 percent) feels the same way. Colorado and Washington are the first states to move decisively in this direction, but they won't be the last. I basically think this is an OK development. Like Mark Kleiman, a public-policy professor at UCLA who is my guru on the regulation of controlled substances, I see full commercial legalization as a truly terrible idea, while I think noncommercial legalization, ideally via monopolies owned and operated by state governments, would be an improvement over the status quo. Regardless, marijuana legalization is coming, one way or another. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division via the New York Times A New York City police official watched agents pour liquor into a sewer following a raid during the Prohibition era, around 1921. We often forget that Prohibition was a response to problems with alcohol abuse in American culture. [continues 886 words]
Appeals Court Rules California Card for Pot Irrelevant in Minnesota. A card that permits a person to use medical marijuana in another state can't make drug charges in Minnesota go up in smoke, the state Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday. In December 2011, Jeffrey Thiel was stopped by a state trooper in Itasca County for speeding. After the trooper smelled marijuana, two Mason jars containing the drug were found in his vehicle. Thiel was charged with fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance. [continues 502 words]
Patients Who Lobbied for the New Law Won't Participate in Test Because of Plant Marijuana Prohibition. Cassie Traun, a 24-year-old IT worker from St. Paul, went to the Capitol about a dozen times in April and May to lobby for medical marijuana. She sat before committees of lawmakers, and even confessed to buying and using the drug illegally because she's convinced it effectively treats her Crohn's disease. This week Gov. Mark Dayton is expected to sign a bill legalizing marijuana for about 5,000 Minnesotans, including sufferers of Crohn's, an inflammatory bowel disease. [continues 1495 words]
A PR Gimmick, It's Cluttered With Absurd Rules and Involves Police in Medical Care. Publicity about the so-called "medical marijuana" bill calls it a compromise, but that's not what it is. It is a false step to reform, not a first step. Predicated more on residual "reefer madness" attitudes about people smoking cannabis for fun, instead of seriously seeking relief for suffering Minnesotans, this law repeats the mistakes of its predecessor, the 1980 THC Therapeutic Research Act, which was a dead letter as soon as it was passed. [continues 445 words]
To the extent establishment Republicans are with the program now, it's purely accidental. They don't really get it. Like the inexperienced thief who breaks into a home and steals the Xbox, ignoring the Picasso hanging on the wall, establishment Republicans have a hard time with the "get government out of the way" concept they looted from the Liberty Movement and the Tea Party factions of the GOP. They steal the phrase to vaguely rail against "government regulation" and "government intervention" in our daily lives while ignoring more valuable illustrations of the principle. [continues 563 words]
A PR gimmick, it's cluttered with absurd rules and involves police in medical care. Publicity about the so-called "medical marijuana" bill calls it a compromise, but that's not what it is. It is a false step to reform, not a first step. Predicated more on residual "reefer madness" attitudes about people smoking cannabis for fun, instead of seriously seeking relief for suffering Minnesotans, this law repeats the mistakes of its predecessor, the 1980 THC Therapeutic Research Act, which was a dead letter as soon as it was passed. [continues 445 words]
House and Senate lawmakers and Gov. Mark Dayton struck a deal to allow suffering Minnesotans use of marijuana to relieve their pain. "It's taking every part of me not to try right now," said Jeremy Pauling, whose 7-year-old daughter suffers from seizures that could be helped with marijuana. "It's been a long road but now I can get my daughter the medicine she needs." The compromise would require patients to certify they are qualified to receive cannabis to get the drug from one of eight distribution centers. Only two manufacturing sites would be permitted under the deal. [continues 286 words]
Carly Melin, the young state representative at the center of a high-profile push to legalize medical marijuana in Minnesota, likens her lawmaking style to a treasured T-shirt that belonged to her late grandmother and political inspiration. "It said, 'I'm not opinionated, I'm just always right,' " said Melin, a 28-year-old lawyer from Hibbing. "Sometimes, unfortunately, I get that mentality as well, and I probably inherited it from her." This session, Melin's pursuit of her ideals on medical marijuana policy is bumping up against the issue's tricky legal and political terrain. Gov. Mark Dayton, a fellow DFLer, has been a tough sell on medical marijuana, forcing Melin to offer a compromise that one-time allies in the cause saw as a betrayal. [continues 1260 words]
The new proposal would make it widely available for medicinal uses. Ignoring opposition from the governor and law enforcement, the Minnesota Senate on Tuesday voted to legalize medical marijuana and make it widely available in statewide dispensaries for a broad range of ailments. "For God's sake, if people are suffering and we have the ability to provide a way to alleviate the pain, let's hear their concern, let's hear their prayer," said Sen. Charles Wiger, DFL-Maplewood, before the measure passed 48-18. [continues 681 words]
"We have the votes to pass it," the Senate bill sponsor says. A narrower bill is still working its way through the state House. Legalization of medical marijuana is head-ed for a vote by the full state Senate on Tuesday. The proposal, which would allow marijuana to be used for a broad range of ailments and set up a statewide system of dispensaries, cleared its last Senate hurdle on Monday. The Senate Finance committee approved the bill 14-7. "We have the votes to pass it," predicted Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, the bill's chief sponsor. [continues 479 words]
Proposals prohibit smoking medical marijuana, leaving pills and vaporizers as ways to ingest the drug. Minnesota might see a law to legalize medical marijuana this year, but not in a form that would allow anyone to smoke the drug. A Senate panel on Friday struck smoking from its medical marijuana bill, meaning patients who qualify for access to the drug would have to use a vaporizer, or ingest it in pill or oil form. The more restrictive House bill also prohibits smoking as a delivery method, leaving little chance that any final version of the measure would allow it. [continues 496 words]
The executive directors of the Minnesota Law Enforcement Coalition, writing about public perceptions of their involvement in the debate over medical marijuana ("Law enforcement is open to careful first steps," April 30), choose not to mention a study about marijuana that has in fact already been completed. The American Civil Liberties Union reported in 2013 that despite evidence that blacks and whites use marijuana at similar rates, blacks are 7.8 times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana possession in Minnesota. To determine why that is, here is the study I suggest the Legislature move forward with. First prohibit police agencies from (1) receiving the proceeds from forfeitures, (2) applying for or receiving grants in which marijuana enforcement is an outcome measure and (3) undertaking searches based solely on the presence of marijuana ... and then measure the changes to law enforcement's interest in the health impacts of marijuana. Michael Friedman, Minneapolis The writer is executive director of the Legal Rights Center. [end]
Aside from helping a relatively small group with intractable seizures, anorexia or nausea, the proposal for medical marijuana would provide a large group of individuals with chronic pain, PTSD, etc., with a mood-altering drug. If the goal is an improved quality of life by mood alteration, wouldn't more be better? If marijuana is good, why not go for great with legal cocaine, methamphetamine and narcotics? Just thought I would ask ... Nicotine in cigarettes and e-cigarettes, like THC in marijuana, is a neurotransmitter. Many people with psychiatric disease use nicotine to treat their illness, as marijuana users might. Why should society discriminate against those who self-medicate with nicotine by high taxes and no-smoking areas and not marijuana? Just thought I would ask .. [continues 90 words]
Sheriffs, Prosecutors and Cops Hit Back As Legalization Proposal Sails Through Various Committees. Minnesota police officers, sheriffs and prosecutors pushed back hard Wednesday against legalizing marijuana for medical use, as a proposal to do just that picks up steam in the state Senate. "It will end up in the hands of our children," said John Kingrey, executive director of the Minnesota County Attorneys Association. "It will result in more kids being arrested for possession of marijuana. We believe it sends the unintended message to our youth that marijuana is a safe substance." [continues 460 words]
Stalled Proposal Is Suddenly on a Fast Track After Languishing for Weeks at the Capitol. The proposal to legalize medical marijuana rose from political limbo at the Capitol on Friday, putting a controversial issue on a sudden fast track in the Minnesota Senate. In a 7-3 bipartisan vote, legislators moved to pass a bill that would allow doctor-monitored access to marijuana for patients diagnosed with cancer and other maladies. The panel vote gives new life to a bill that's been stalled for nearly a month and which still faces opposition from Gov. Mark Dayton. [continues 668 words]
Supporters of legalizing the drug are taking their fight into the spotlight, saying medical marijuana has failed to gain traction in state. Recreational marijuana advocates say that medical marijuana proponents have had a shot at legalization. Now it's their turn. Backers of recreational legalization say they support the medical marijuana bill and tried to let its backers have the spotlight but grew frustrated at the lack of movement. Minnesota NORML is taking its own push more public, starting with a rally Wednesday in the Capitol rotunda that drew several hundred people who joined in chants of "Yes We Cannabis!" [continues 906 words]
An April 21 letter stated that marijuana has "never been proven beyond anecdote" to be harmful to one's health. However, many studies have shown otherwise. The National Institutes of Health links long-term marijuana use to respiratory problems and cognitive deficiencies, especially when used by young people. Heavy use of alcohol and other legal substances also has negative health effects, so I have not yet decided whether I think marijuana should be legalized. But its impact on health should not be minimized. HEIDI SELTZ, Minneapolis [end]
Doctors Share Support, Though None Were Present. Parents of ailing children, doctors and clergy are intensifying their push to persuade legislators and Gov. Mark Dayton to legalize medical marijuana this year. "Our leaders here in Minnesota have the opportunity to heal the sick and bind up the injured," said the Rev. Catherine Schuyler, of Duluth. "They have the opportunity to make good medicine available to those who are in pain." Minnesotans for Compassionate Care, the group leading their effort, held a news conference at the Capitol on Tuesday to announce that 100 doctors and religious leaders from around the state support the measure, although no doctors attended the event. [continues 260 words]
Grant Limited Immunity To Those Who Call For Help In Overdose Cases. This potentially deadly scenario happens far too often these days in Minnesota: A small group of friends gets together to get high, and their preferred drug is heroin. Then one shows signs of an overdose, and the others are afraid to act. They know having that drug is illegal and fear that calling for help could get them arrested. But making that call could potentially save a life. That's why Minnesota needs a law that would provide arrest immunity for lower-level drug users who report problems - and allow the use of an effective antidote drug. [continues 615 words]
A public hearing was held by the Health and Human Services Committee after senators revived the measure. State senators revived a stalled proposal legalizing medical marijuana Thursday, in response to chiding from Gov. Mark Dayton that legislators were avoiding the controversial issue. Photos by GLEN STUBBE gstubbe@startribune.com Angie Weaver comforted her daughter Amelia, 7, at a Senate hearing about a medical marijuana Thursday at the State Capitol. Amelia suffers from a rare form of epilepsy, called Dravet Syndrome, that can be effectively treated with a substance extracted from marijuana, which currently illegal in Minnesota. [continues 667 words]
On a beautiful Sunday last October, Detective Dan Douglas stood in a suburban Minnesota home and looked down at a lifeless 20-year-old - a needle mark in his arm, a syringe in his pocket. It didn't take long for Douglas to realize that the man, fresh out of treatment, was his second heroin overdose that day. "You just drive away and go, 'Well, here we go again,'" says the veteran cop. In Butler County, Ohio, heroin overdose calls are so common that the longtime EMS coordinator likens the situation to "coming in and eating breakfast - you just kind of expect it to occur." A local rehab facility has a six-month wait. One school recently referred an 11-year-old boy who was shooting up intravenously. [continues 2304 words]
In and around Cleveland, heroin-related overdoses killed 195 people last year, shattering the previous record. Some Ohio police chiefs say heroin is easier for kids to get than beer. In Missouri, admissions to treatment programs for heroin addiction rose 700 percent in the past two decades. In Massachusetts, state police say at least 185 people have died from suspected heroin overdoses in the state since Nov. 1, and the governor has declared a public health emergency. With heroin use rising across the U.S., The Associated Press queried state health departments, medical examiner's offices and law enforcement agencies across the nation for statistics related to use, overdoses and treatment to obtain a more detailed picture of the problem on the ground. While some states reported few changes, others pointed to heroin as a significant public health concern. A look at some state-specific findings: [continues 1275 words]
Governor Said He'd Work for Compromise After Hearing Advocates' Stories. Wrapped in a body cast as he recovers from hip surgery, Gov. Mark Dayton was on the phone Thursday with reporters, laying out all the reasons he remained opposed to the legalization of medical marijuana. Outside the wrought-iron gates of his Summit Avenue residence, demonstrators were gathering. Some held aloft a "get-well" card that offered some caustic tips for a speedy recovery like, "Stop bowing down to law enforcement." [continues 853 words]
To paraphrase a passage from the commissioners' commentary, let's have a little word game and see where it goes. While the benefits of alcohol are poorly documented, there's no shortage of evidence regarding its negative effects on individuals and communities. For example: Alcohol can disrupt learning and impair memory; Alcohol can exacerbate mental illness; Alcohol use during pregnancy can harm a baby's brain development; Alcohol can impair drivers, causing automobile crashes that kill or injure innocent people; Alcohol is addictive; 1 in 6 of those who start using in their teens develop dependency. OK, I didn't match all the bullet points (two were questionable), but clearly we should make alcohol illegal. Oh, wait a minute - we tried that, and it didn't work. Charles Nichols, Brooklyn Center [end]
Commissioners Make a Flawed Case Against It In a March 12 commentary, the commissioners of the Minnesota departments of Health, Human Services and Public Safety (Ed Ehlinger, Lucinda Jesson and Mona Dohman, respectively) cite the need for more research on medical marijuana, but they curiously leave out the reason such research is impossible: Marijuana is classified as a Schedule I narcotic. This puts it on the same list as heroin and ties the hands of researchers who do want to quantify and validate the overwhelming anecdotal evidence the authors deem unworthy of consideration. [continues 57 words]
Commissioners Make a Flawed Case Against It The three commissioners begin their commentary with the pronouncement that they "know how difficult it can be to watch a loved one struggle with major illness or chronic pain." I do not know their experiences, but obviously, they don't know mine. They write that they "appreciate the commitment with which families search for effective treatments." Obviously, they don't. People in crisis suffering from disabling illness and pain know better. As patients, we search for anything that works, regardless of these three bureaucrats' protestations about "efficacy, effective safeguards, side effects and other factors." [continues 147 words]
Consider the Track Record - the Times When the Question Has Been Directly Put to Voters. Critics have questioned the accuracy of Star Tribune opinion polls for quite a few years now, and the latest results should reinforce their doubts ("Majority back medical marijuana," Feb. 18). The results should be called "outliers," as they record far less support for cannabis law reform than other nonpartisan polls have in recent years and months. But the polls that really matter are the elections where people actually cast their votes. Since 1996, voters in 11 states and the District of Columbia have voted directly in favor of medicinal cannabis ballot measures, and only two states have turned it down. In Michigan, which is very comparable demographically and geographically to Minnesota, medical cannabis carried every single one of the state's 83 counties. Therapeutic cannabis beat the past three presidents in their political strongholds -- polling better than Clinton in California in 1996, better than Bush in Montana in 2004 and better than Obama in Michigan in 2008. [continues 80 words]
The Jan. 26 editorial cartoon by Steve Sack, depicting the relative numbers of grave sites necessitated by deaths due to alcohol, tobacco and marijuana, made this reader unsettled - not so much by what it said but by what it did not. No, few deaths are attributable to marijuana in this country, but hundreds die brutally every year south of our border providing this product to U.S. consumers. Our country could end this "outsourcing" of death by legalizing marijuana (we grow some of the best pot in the world), capturing tax revenue from the legal sale of a homegrown product, and reducing the pain and suffering of chemotherapy patients by making marijuana available to those who need it. Prohibition of alcohol gave rise to organized crime in this country. Prohibition of marijuana has done the same in Mexico. Benjamin Cherryhomes Hastings [end]
It's obvious that Sack has never smoked pot, or he would know that you can get just as "drunk," so to speak, on marijuana, as you can on alcohol. I experimented with marijuana as a younger person and have indulged in drinking, as well. I know from both experiences that when you have enough of either drug, you are unable to drive safely. How does Sack know how many traffic deaths have been caused over the years by a stoned driver? I'd like to know where he's getting his figures in showing zero deaths from marijuana. Mound [end]
