According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, no one has ever ... EVER ... died from a pot overdose. In 2014, meanwhile, 25,760 Americans died from prescription drug overdoses. Alcohol is killing people at a rate not seen in 35 years, with 30,700 dying from alcohol. And that doesn't include those killed in alcohol-related accidents or drunk driving. If it did, that total would be two and a half times higher. Now the anti-pot propagandists are pointing to increased ER visits by pot users in places like Colorado as proof of a scourge. But doctors involved have attributed that to people feeling they can visit an ER without risk of prosecution. The history of anti-marijuana activity is replete with falsehoods, distortion and scandalous propaganda. It must be so, because the argument can never be won using reality and reason. Lance Lawson, Scottsdale [end]
MMJ is one treatment that can help, but our state needs some convincing April is Parkinson's Awareness Month and so now is a good time to have some discussion about cannabis treatments for these conditions and the state of Medical Marijuana in Arizona. There are now 90,000 Arizonans enjoying safe legal access to cannabis thanks to the 2010 passage of the AMMA. Many of these patients report substantial improvements in their symptoms, their pain levels are more manageable, many have reduced or eliminated narcotic pain medications, their sleep is better, also with less pills, their blood sugars and blood pressures also respond favorably, and this all comes from a natural non toxic herb. [continues 583 words]
EJ Montini states that legalizing marijuana will "save money spent on needless law enforcement" ("...a doobie done deal," April 15). With that logic, we could save a lot of money by decriminalizing everything. No police force, no judicial system, no prison system... the savings would be incredible. Jennifer Rivera - - Tempe [end]
It won't be easy clearing 80 years of smoke from a room. Not marijuana smoke -- the smoke of propaganda. The smoke of fear. The smoke already being blown in our faces by opponents of Arizona's Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, which is working to get an initiative legalizing small amounts of marijuana on the November ballot. It shouldn't be any surprise that there is an early poll on the issue showing that the initiative probably wouldn't pass, particularly since the poll was released by the group trying to defeat the initiative. [continues 272 words]
We live in a state where it appears that marijuana smokers are more inclined to offer tax money for education than state legislators. On the bright side, the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol announced this week that it has collected more than 200,000 signatures for a November ballot initiative that would end marijuana prohibition in Arizona. The campaign needs to collect 150,642 valid signatures. A local backer of the initiative sent me a note saying, "Is 200,000 signatures a milestone or a milestoned?" [continues 393 words]
The campaign to legalize marijuana for recreational use in Arizona has gathered more than 200,000 signatures in its effort to qualify for the November ballot, it reported Tuesday. The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, which has been pushing the effort for about a year, needs 150,642 signatures from registered voters to make the ballot. Some of the gathered signatures may be invalid because they were signed by people who cannot vote. To account for invalid signatures, the group aims to collect about 225,000 signatures, a spokesman said, and hopes to have a healthy cushion once the signatures are verified by the Secretary of State's Office. Barrett Marson, a campaign spokesman, could not say when those signatures would be filed with that office. [continues 301 words]
Why Can't Advocates of Legal Weed Get Along With Each Other? In an ideal weed-topia, all marijuana advocates work together to accomplish the ultimate dream: abolishing prohibition. But because the world is an imperfect place, several groups in Arizona have split up into at least half a dozen initiatives-with similar but different demands-campaigning for voter support. Most of them are going nowhere, but the two measures that have gathered traction are the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, backed by the Washington-based Marijuana Policy Project, and the underdog Phoenix group Arizonans for Mindful Regulation. [continues 1984 words]
Medical Marijuana Researcher Sue Sisley Briefly Came Back to the UA for a Special Lecture on the Challenges of Conducting Weed Research Nearly two years after medical marijuana researcher Sue Sisley was fired from the UA, she returned for a special lecture on medical weed in front of a room of more than 50 people at the off-campus entity, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute-an educational program for older adults. The crowd was filled with questions about Sisley's research and the current UA administration's decisions to back away from a study that seeks to find answers on the soothing impact of marijuana on post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. [continues 444 words]
Here we go again with another diatribe by Sheila Polk and friends against the legalization of marijuana (Our Turn column, April 4; letters, Feb. 13). Sheila Polk is making sure that the USA keeps its lead for having the highest incarceration rate in the world by helping to continue the draconian laws that lead to arresting people for marijuana use even though more people died from prescription drugs each year than all illegal drugs combined. Also, booze and tobacco kill more people each year than "illegal drugs," and they are more harmful. [continues 175 words]
The people behind the marijuana initiative want to "regulate marijuana like alcohol." Clever marketing. But it hides the many flaws inherent in legalizing this drug flaws that have statewide lawenforcement leaders, along with many others, united in opposition. Just look to Colorado, the pioneer in marijuana legalization. Since legalization there, teen use has increased to more than 70 percent above the national average. So much for this being about giving adults choices. Arizona should expect similarly disastrous effects. Meanwhile, advocates claim that legalization will allow law enforcement to focus on more serious crimes than marijuana possession. We already are: Only about 3 percent of marijuana users are ever arrested, and those people are generally involved in other crimes as well. Or, they are carrying pounds (not ounces) of marijuana. [continues 420 words]
Vice Media Creates a Buzz With "Weediquette" Show Krishna Andavolu tackles a controversial issue in the first episode of his new show Weediquette: Parents who turn to concentrated cannabis oil to fight cancer. Weediquette, which airs weekly on the Vice Media's new channel Viceland, launched a TV segment where Andavolu called his mom to share some good news. "I got the new show," Andavolu told her. "It is about weed." "Oh no," she replied. "Don't smoke it on camera." [continues 473 words]
Today's question: What's the difference between "medical marijuana" and "street marijuana?" And how come medical marijuana costs $300 an ounce while "street" marijuana only costs $60 an ounce? There are several reasons for this. For starters, it's kind of like the difference between really cheap rotgut whiskey and the finest Tennessee sipping whiskey. Medical marijuana is usually grown using hydroponics or aeroponics in climate controlled conditions and raised with quality nutrients. And security can be expensive. Purveyors of street weed are not quite so fussy. [continues 149 words]
I was a warrior in the war on drugs. I spent 20 years fighting the flow of drugs into America, including 18 years as a DEA special agent. As a special agent, I helped spearhead the Drug Enforcement Administration's marijuana efforts in Florida and New Mexico before retiring. I spent a lifetime's work in law enforcement, mostly centered on stanching the flow drugs into America, and have come to one conclusion: I don't believe marijuana should be illegal. [continues 440 words]
Since its legalization in Denver there have been many jokes about the Broncos and marijuana. The fact that the football team's home, Denver, is also known as "Mile High" just makes it easier. Even though marijuana is legal in Colorado, it is still banned in the NFL. Players are tested regularly for marijuana and punished if found to have any in their system. With the Broncos in the Super Bowl the jokes were at an all-time high, but does marijuana have a place in the NFL and sports other than jokes and suspensions? [continues 525 words]
PHOENIX (AP) - The state Supreme Court plans to decide whether the mere smell of marijuana is enough to justify a search by police in the wake of Arizona's legalization of medical marijuana. The justices agreed Tuesday to consider appeals of contradictory rulings by the Phoenix and Tucson divisions of the state Court of Appeals. A three-judge panel of the Phoenix division ruled the enactment of the medical marijuana law doesn't eliminate a legal doctrine that says the plain smell of marijuana is sufficient to establish probable cause for a search. A ruling by a divided panel of the Tucson division ruled that circumstances other than the mere smell of marijuana are now needed to provide the legal basis for a search warrant. The justices plan to hear oral arguments on the issue. [end]
If You Don't Make Sure Your Voice Is Heard, Then Probably Not Last week, I wrote about the need for research into the positive effects of marijuana. I chose this as my first topic because of how important I believe it to be. If I had to list in order of importance that would be issue 1A and issue 1B would be the decriminalization of marijuana. This is another area where progress has been made, but there is still much work ahead. [continues 456 words]
94 Percent of U.S. Research Is Aimed at Finding Negative Effects of Marijuana Greetings readers. This is my first article for the Tucson Weekly. My Mary Jane Doe cannabis column will be a mix of news, opinions and reviews. Sometimes all in the same article. I have known and believed in the medicinal power of cannabis since the '90s, when my friend credited it with saving his life. His illness made it impossible for him to keep food down. He was malnourished and dying until he found marijuana. [continues 543 words]
The parents of a young woman whose 2010 murder remains unsolved have alleged their daughter was a confidential informant for Phoenix police, a position that may have placed her in direct contact with her killer. On Tuesday, the family of Nicole Glass filed a wrongful-death suit against the city of Phoenix for what they say were officers' failure to warn the 27-year-old about the dangers of their arrangement. The lawsuit alleges negligence on the part of the recruiting officers and their supervisors, all labeled as John Does for now. [continues 1020 words]
For those of you that think using and selling drugs is not a violent crime, I suggest you consider the event that occurred to the Buckner family on Tuesday in Glendale. Alex Buckner killed his mother, father and two sisters and then set the house on fire. Responding police had to shoot and kill Alex. What could be more violent? Furthermore, there is a TV program called "The First 48" which televises real-life homicide events around the country. A large portion if not the majority of homicides involves drugs. So ask yourself, would the world be a better place if there was no marijuana, crack cocaine or heroin? Q.E.D. - - Sammy Bell Glendale [end]
A rise in suspensions and expulsions caused by students' marijuana use is truly an issue, and we should be (I certainly am) working on solutions. But, prohibition hasn't worked - kids can still buy marijuana! Fifty-eight million dollars in tax revenue isn't a "mere drop in the bucket" for taxpayers who want the best for our kids or for the countless students who benefit from better-funded schools. Last year, our state's school system ranked 48th out of 51. We shouldn't pretend like we have the luxury of turning down millions of dollars. [continues 113 words]
Inside Arizona
