Medical marijuana in Illinois

[rorydaman]

Wow, I never thought a nation could go to Hell so quickly and so fast. Just 4 years ago, states were adamant against the bastardization of marriage and dope-smoking. Now it seems they are giddy about legalizing those things. I wonder if burning Christians will become next on the agenda…may God save us.

Medical marijuana = nation going to hell? Tell that to the people that can only eat during chemo after smoking a joint or people that prefer the pain killing effect of marijuana to much harder, more addictive, and more deadly synthetic heroine.

And marijuana should be legalized for recreational use as well. Marijuana is far less damaging to both the individual and society than alcohol and tobacco.

 

[rorydaman]

I hope everyone realizes that police get calls ALL THE TIME for alcohol related incidents (spousal abuse, bar fights, drunks at parties fighting, drunks at parties making too much noise, etc) and rarely if ever get calls for marijuana disturbances…what…they are making too much noice crunching cheetos? And this is about med mj, californias med mj is a joke but the law passed in MA this year is very strict. Very strict. No one will be able to scam it.

Alcohol causes tons, TONS of problems for the users//abusers and innocent victimes. Marijuana very rarely does. I don’t smoke it, but would rather people smoke it than get drunk, much less risk to me and my family.

Peace,
Bill

Exactly. How many times do you hear about people getting in fights at bars? When people drink too much they do really stupid and dangerous things. When people smoke too much weed they are probably going to sit on the couch quietly and eat far too much food. Which is better?

 

[ReasonBeing]

God also made tobacco, did he not?

Marijuana can be misused and all someone has to do is lie about a condition and get a “prescription” for medical marijuana.

There are better ways to manage pain…the Rain Forests are full of natural plants that can help with pain management.

And marijuana isn’t a natural plant? As someone who suffers from intractable pain, I can tell you that marijuana helps tremendously with pain and there is no good reason that it shouldn’t be available.

 

[Rence]

No surprise there, considering the IL political climate. From what I understand, the medicinal properties in marijuana are accessible through the drug Marinol. But I surmise most advocates just want it legal to get high.

Marinol is used to increase appetite and to manage nausea/vomiting associated with chemotherapy. It does nothing for pain relief. Medical marijuana does these things too, but it is used more for pain relief especially for those terminally ill, or with MS.

 

[Ghosty]

Marinol is used to increase appetite and to manage nausea/vomiting associated with chemotherapy. It does nothing for pain relief. Medical marijuana does these things too, but it is used more for pain relief especially for those terminally ill, or with MS.

Marinol is only a synthetic analog to THC, which is not even the main “helpful” chemical in marijuana.

Peace and God bless!

 

[Bill_7154]

If the pot sellers undercut the government, that would take so much money out of the hands of the drug cartels that the murder rate would go down in Mexico so much that it would be a victory for the pro-life movement. That decrease would be greater than the actual documented health failings of pot. Also would put a lot of prison guards and defense attorneys out of work .

There will also be plenty of legit pain customers who will feel too sketchy going to anyone but a gov’t approved seller, older folks especially…

Peace,
Bill

 

[edwest2]

Smoking marijuana is a really bad drug delivery method.

asam.org/policies/state-level-proposals-to-legalize-marijuana

Peace,
Ed

 

[Bill_7154]

But I surmise most advocates just want it legal to get high.

Does this include the folks at Law Enforcement Against Prohibition? www.leap.cc

Go to that site (if your not too close minded on the subject and afraid to hear what law enforcement has to say on the topic, listening with an open mind, and tell me they are for getting high.

 

[Bill_7154]

JUst as I thought, no one wants to address the SERIOUS issues around this law, as in responding to my posts. Have an agenda much?

 

[wondrousgnat]

I would have thought since I started this thread that the large majority in this room would be against legalizing marijuana. Boy, was I wrong. I think I am in the minority.

 

[christofirst]

I hope everyone realizes that police get calls ALL THE TIME for alcohol related incidents (spousal abuse, bar fights, drunks at parties fighting, drunks at parties making too much noise, etc) and rarely if ever get calls for marijuana disturbances…what…they are making too much noice crunching cheetos? And this is about med mj, californias med mj is a joke but the law passed in MA this year is very strict. Very strict. No one will be able to scam it.

Alcohol causes tons, TONS of problems for the users//abusers and innocent victimes. Marijuana very rarely does. I don’t smoke it, but would rather people smoke it than get drunk, much less risk to me and my family.

Peace,
Bill

Living in California, I experienced first-hand how our medical marijuana law is being abused. A close family member in his early twenties easily obtained a license from a local doctor known for being an easy prescriber. The supposed ailment was insomnia. Once access became unlimited, his use escalated to the point where he lost his job and eventually suffered a psychotic episode - a mental breakdown.

He recovered, thank God, and we all learned a few things from the experience. As has been noted before, cannabis is being selectively cultivated to increase the levels of THC, much higher than the “weed” of decades past. It has been suggested by the doctors who helped him recover, that this higher potency, coupled with his completely irresponsible usage (he was smoking a LOT of pot) led to the temporary psychosis.

Obviously, this is an extreme case, but it did happen. I guess my message is that education must increase as prohibition continues to decrease. Just as we do for alcohol and tobacco, there should be a public-awareness campaign regarding the potential dangers of the misuse and overuse of cannabis.

Now despite this negative experience, and I have never smoked the stuff myself either, I still think marijuana should be legally available for medical purposes. I have suffered from debilitating back pain, and if it ever became chronic or unbearable, God forbid, I would want access to anything that might help alleviate the pain.

 

[Bill_7154]

Smoking marijuana is a really bad drug delivery method.

asam.org/policies/state-level-proposals-to-legalize-marijuana

Peace,
Ed

I hear that vaporizing it is a great method as you get no smoke.

 

[Bill_7154]

Living in California, I experienced first-hand how our medical marijuana law is being abused.

CA’s laws around this are a joke, other states like MA allow only for cancer, etc

 

[Bill_7154]

Living in California, I experienced first-hand how our medical marijuana law is being abused. A close family member in his early twenties easily obtained a license from a local doctor known for being an easy prescriber. The supposed ailment was insomnia. Once access became unlimited, his use escalated to the point where he lost his job and eventually suffered a psychotic episode - a mental breakdown.

He recovered, thank God, and we all learned a few things from the experience. As has been noted before, cannabis is being selectively cultivated to increase the levels of THC, much higher than the “weed” of decades past. Now despite this negative experience, and I have never smoked the stuff myself either, I still think marijuana should be legally available for medical purposes. I have suffered from debilitating back pain, and if it ever became chronic or unbearable, God forbid, I would want access to anything that might help alleviate the pain.

CA’s ‘medical mj’ is a joke, everyone and there mother gets it if they want it. But in addition to it being bred for high THC, I learned that some strains are bred for high DBT (might have the initials wrong) content and that has no effects (or very little) towards ‘getting high’. I saw a case of one girl about 10yo who had like 50 seizures/day, no med would help. Dad got her on high DBT mj and no seizures! So that’s an extreme example of someone with legit med purposes on it and on a strain that doesn’t get you high!

Due to the terrible effects drinking has on our country compared to mj I think that legalizing mj would be a good thing. Then police can arrest minors for having it if they want (like booze) and when someone does something bad on it, but not before (like a fight or driving on it, etc). I would even go so far as to say we should try to get alkie’s addicted to pot instead of booze!

Peace,
Bill

 

[mojoe]

Marinol is only a synthetic analog to THC, which is not even the main “helpful” chemical in marijuana.

Peace and God bless!

Cannabis is much more complex than having just one active/effective ingredient.

 

[edwest2]

I will always be against it. The Vatican pharmacy won’t fill prescriptions for it. And instead of selling it at dope houses, it should be sold only in pharmacies. That way, Joe can’t make some tax-free money selling it in legal dope houses, along with the ‘regular’ stock. In any case, it will harm you. And that’s wrong.

Yeah, the Mafia will be all over this. They’ll undercut the legal price and buy stock in whoever grows the stuff. People will do anything to avoid paying a tax.

Sad.

Peace,
Ed

 

[Kevin_B]

I will always be against it. The Vatican pharmacy won’t fill prescriptions for it. And instead of selling it at dope houses, it should be sold only in pharmacies. That way, Joe can’t make some tax-free money selling it in legal dope houses, along with the ‘regular’ stock. In any case, it will harm you. And that’s wrong.

Yeah, the Mafia will be all over this. They’ll undercut the legal price and buy stock in whoever grows the stuff. People will do anything to avoid paying a tax.

Except that none of that happened when alcohol was legalized and taxed. Your prediction sounds good except that history has already proven it won’t happen.

Marijuana is a gateway drug simply because it is illegal. You have already broken the law, so why not break out a little more? I can’t understand why anyone who thinks alcohol and tobacco should be legal would be against marijuana

 

[edwest2]

Except that none of that happened when alcohol was legalized and taxed. Your prediction sounds good except that history has already proven it won’t happen.

Marijuana is a gateway drug simply because it is illegal. You have already broken the law, so why not break out a little more? I can’t understand why anyone who thinks alcohol and tobacco should be legal would be against marijuana

I don’t think alcohol or tobacco should be legal either. You can get good data here about the harm caused by tobacco use:

cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/sgr/2012/index.htm

It goes without saying that addiction to alcohol is an ongoing problem.

cdc.gov/alcohol/

When Joe’s Compassionate Dope House opens, his stock will be numbered and have some type of tax label. Meanwhile, after business hours, Joe sells some extra he grows himself to a few friends, and offers all those fun other drugs like crack, heroin and methamphetamine, since marijuana is last week’s drug.

Medical marijuana is claimed to help people. I’ve seen zero good science to back that up. Meanwhile, those who believe it will help them will still buy it from that unnamed dealer nearby, or not buy the store variety because it’s not the blend or type they prefer. “Hey man. You got any Panama Red? That legal store don’t got what I need.”

Cigarette warning labels are more explicit about the effects of smoking today.

Nowadays, you drive drunk and you go to jail.

And binge drinking among young adults - well, the science is in:

parade.com/health/2011/06/12-teen-drinking-epidemic.html

Peace,
Ed

 

[Kevin_B]

So you’re admitting that keeping marijuana illegal doesn’t stop people from using it.

So what does making it illegal accomplish? The only effects I see are increased gang crime ( like the increased mafia crime during prohibition) and making it easier for minors to get, since drug dealers don’t ask for I.d.

You say alcohol should be illegal. We tried that. It was a disaster. We realized we much preferred a few violent drunks than mafia thugs murdering people for not paying protection.

Making drugs illegal, especially " less harmful" drugs like marijuana or alcohol (please don’t insult my intelligence to saying these are as harmful as heroin or crack) doesn’t keep people from doing them. So it create no benefits whatsoever. It just makes it easier for minors to obtain them and creates a huge, incredibly violent black market.

Why on earth would anyone support that, except to make you feel good about yourself for making a dangerous drug illegal, even if it causes thousands of murders and doesn’t actually stop anyone from doing it?

I hate how people think it is the governments job to protect people from their own stupidity.

 

[edwest2]

So you’re admitting that keeping marijuana illegal doesn’t stop people from using it.

So what does making it illegal accomplish? The only effects I see are increased gang crime ( like the increased mafia crime during prohibition) and making it easier for minors to get, since drug dealers don’t ask for I.d.

You say alcohol should be illegal. We tried that. It was a disaster. We realized we much preferred a few violent drunks than mafia thugs murdering people for not paying protection.

Making drugs illegal, especially " less harmful" drugs like marijuana or alcohol (please don’t insult my intelligence to saying these are as harmful as heroin or crack) doesn’t keep people from doing them. So it create no benefits whatsoever. It just makes it easier for minors to obtain them and creates a huge, incredibly violent black market.

Why on earth would anyone support that, except to make you feel good about yourself for making a dangerous drug illegal, even if it causes thousands of murders and doesn’t actually stop anyone from doing it?

I hate how people think it is the governments job to protect people from their own stupidity.

Everyone gets one vote. You know where my vote is going. And you also know that people who want or need marijuana will get it however they want. You don’t think the Mafia hasn’t figured this out? That due to the tax, they’ll just price their street product a little lower and they’ll also be able to offer their customers all those other fun drugs I mentioned. They’ll also buy stock in whatever company supplies the legal stuff.

And you think it’s the government’s job to get into the marijuana business? After all, they, not us, will collect the tax and use it, minus licensing, processing and administrative fees, and hiring “compliance” personnel who will visit the various dope houses to make sure that they can see the owners’ books to make sure they’re getting their full cut, or maybe finding out the owner is also selling a few illegal goodies on the side.

Peace,
Ed