Apparently constituents in Michigan will vote on Proposal 1 this November 4th to decide whether they want to join a dozen other US states in enacting medical marijuana laws. (Update: recent polling in Michigan found 66 percent support the marijuana proposal, 25 against and 9 percent not sure).
I came across an interesting quote from the Michigan Dept. of Community Health while researching this topic.
"We sympathize with people who have debilitating diseases. On the other hand, marijuana is a drug that people smoke causing other health problems, so we see both sides of the issue." (http://blog.mlive.com/cns/2008/09/voters_consider_allowing_marij.html).
I think this rhetoric is interesting. Call cannabis a drug if you wish, but people do not have to smoke it in order to reap its benefits. I'm assuming the "other health problems" referenced here are those that arise from heating plant matter to combustion and inhaling the resulting smoke. However, cannabis buds can easily be steeped in butter or oil and used in cooking, therby avoiding the potential health problems Mr. McCurtis seems to be concerned with. Another alternative would be to use a vaporizer in order to heat the plant matter to just below its combustion point, releasing the active chemicals but none of those nasty carcinogens.
Reading further into the article, I found that the "[Michigan Department of Community Health cannot] legally take a stand on the proposal." I wonder why that could be?
Ladies and Gentlemen, enter the US Drug Enforcement Agency, the brainchild of none other than Richard Nixon (who, for the record, was bar none more paranoid than any smoker or toker I've ever met).
In 2007 the budget of the DEA ("Global Presence with a Tradition of Excellence") was $2.35 billion (http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/agency/staffing.htm). The President's 2008 Budget "Includes $2.8 billion to combat the spread of illegal drugs" (http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2008/justice.html).
I'm not sure how many of my fellow bloggers are tax payers, but I think this is an issue that needs to be addressed, especially given the fact that Michigan could become the 13th state to enact medical marijuana laws - not to mention the numerous other states where possession of marijuana has been decriminilized. Regardless, 12 states currently have medicial marijuana provisions included in their code of laws, and yet the federal government is spending upwards of 2 billion dollars a year to prevent patients (with legal access to prescription medication) from purchasing, growing, or possessing their meds.
What are your thoughts on this juxtaposition of states rights versus federal power? How do you feel that in this current economic climate, billions of dollars are being spent on raiding legally sanctioned businesses, dispensaries, and private homes?
