The 4th District Court of Appeals' rejection of San Bernardino County's frivolous challenge to California's long-standing medical marijuana law was not a surprise. While the county's attorney and Board of Supervisors mull over whether to appeal the case to the California Supreme Court, there are some things they should take into account: Budget shortfalls to the tune of $17 million have brought about talk of serious cuts in county services. Crime and gang warfare are so commonplace just a few blocks from the steps of the county administration building that they are simply overlooked. Home values have slid 20 to 40 percent in much of the county due to the onslaught of foreclosures, which are certain to create a much larger deficit when the tax bills go unpaid. [continues 84 words]
FEAR- That was the driving force of movies such as "Reefer Madness" from the 1930's. It is also the driving force behind San Bernardino County's extended and costly campaign to oppose the will of the people regarding medical marijuana. It has been eleven years since Prop. 215 became law. In 2003, SB420 clarified many of the questions surrounding implementation of this law. San Bernardino County has said plainly that they are choosing to follow Federal Law instead of State Law. [continues 158 words]
Editor, I have been following from afar the saga of the Rainbow Farm for years. It seems to me there were never any problems until the authorities tried to create one. Vandalia has been home to many peaceful gatherings of folks who hold political ideas which are different to those of the law enforcement community. This made Rainbow Farm a target for reverse sting operations and lengthy privacy-invading investigations by local and federal police. These investigations no doubt came at the expense of police protection for the local citizenry. Law enforcement authorities claim they have spent two years investigating the use of marijuana at the campground. All the while, they could have been solving and preventing violent and destructive personal and property crimes. This is just another shining example of the misguided priorities of the war on drugs and its devastating effect. [continues 71 words]
Re: Response to medical marijuana, July 10. James R McDonough, director of the Florida Office Of Drug Control, claims that recent ballot initiatives to legal medical marijuana are madness. This comes from a man who advocated aerial spraying of a toxic and mutating fungus upon the fragile Florida environment. After all, if he were to admit the truth regarding the medicinal use of cannabis by truly sick people, he could be out of a job. Although he makes a noble effort in admitting that cannabis holds promise as a medicine, something any government official just a few years before the initiatives would have never embraced, he; is way off base in referring to medical marijuana as causing sick people to get sicker. [continues 133 words]
Recently, Florida drug czar Jim McDonough announced a plan to test and use the fungus Oxysporum fusarium to eliminate outdoor cultivation of marijuana in the state. Against the urgings of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, McDonough will soon begin testing in a facility in Gainesville. This fungus is a dangerous overreaction to drug abuse in Florida. Scientists at Montana State University have reported that fusarium fungi are very aggressive, easily mutate to attack other vegetation and, in some cases, release toxins that are harmful to humans and animals. [continues 120 words]
Against the urgings of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, McDonough will soon begin testing in a facility in Gainesville. This fungus is a dangerous overreaction to drug abuse in Florida. Scientists at Montana State University have reported that fusarium fungi are very aggressive, easily mutate to attack other vegetation and, in some cases, release toxins that are harmful to humans and animals. Farmers and the delicate Florida environment stand to bear the brunt, not cultivators of marijuana. Most cannabis that is available for sale on the streets today is grown indoors, for that is the best way to obtain a potent product. It is difficult to imagine that our leaders have failed to learn from previous environmental disasters, such as paraquat, DDT and kudzu. [continues 52 words]
As an activist in this area, I have become intimate with this issue and the history involved. The editorial did little to become at least familiar with the facts surrounding the medicinal use of marijuana. There is some concern with the effect on the respiratory system when marijuana is smoked. However, it was not mentioned that smoking is not the only way to ingest marijuana. Cannabis can be inhaled through a vaporizer, available today, that heats the oils in the plant until they vaporize. They do not burn, thus eliminating the side effects of smoking. [continues 276 words]
I read carefully the editorial titled ''Health Care: Science is needed'' about the medical marijuana study released by the Institute of Medicine. As an activist in this area, I have become intimate with this issue and the history involved. The editorial did little to become at least familiar with the facts surrounding the medicinal use of marijuana. There is some concern with the effect on the respiratory system when marijuana is smoked. However, it was not mentioned that smoking is not the only way to ingest marijuana. [continues 312 words]
I read carefully the editorial titled ''Health Care: Science is needed'' about the medical marijuana study released by the Institute of Medicine. As an activist in this area, I have become intimate with this issue and the history involved. The editorial did little to become at least familiar with the facts surrounding the medicinal use of marijuana. There is some concern with the effect on the respiratory system when marijuana is smoked. However, it was not mentioned that smoking is not the only way to ingest marijuana. [continues 311 words]
