Congress quietly ends federal government's ban on medical marijuana

Just got into a screaming argument with my own brother over the semantics and nuances of this issue. He is one of those sheep that firmly and dimwittedly hold onto the notion that just because something is illegal (despite the corruption behind said illegality) that it is wrong.

He thinks it is perfectly ok to send non-violent pot offenders to prison where they face torturous activities like rape and stabbings. They should not have broke the law he says, he fails to see that the laws should have never been conceived in the first place. I hate to say that I really do not like a single member of my immediate family, all a bunch of working drone sheep that blindly believe whatever the gubment tells them.

originally posted by: windword
a reply to: jhn7537

I'm thinking out loud here, which is a very dangerous thing... lol... I wonder why the US Govt. is being so kind with their marijuana drug policies now, is it progressive minds in D.C. or is there an agenda behind this?

Two words; Tax Revenue.

Yes, but Big Pharm does not want marijuana legalization, which is why lobbyists from that industry are constantly trying to derail any legislation that attempts to fully legalize it.

Revenue for your constituents or handshakes with Big Pharm Lobbyists? Most seem to enjoy those handshakes more than bringing tax revenue to their states..

originally posted by: AceWombat04
a reply to: Kali74

So does this mean that I can now actually use the prescription for chronic pain my doctor gave me without fear of losing my federal housing assistance (section 8)? Can anyone clarify this? Since I'm on a state coverage plan, they will know immediately if I fill the prescription, and I have friends who lost their Section 8 after doing so.

Does this specifically change that? Or is it limited only to just prohibiting the feds from raiding dispensaries? Any clarification (preferably with proof) would be welcome.

Peace.

Those are some great points you bring up there. Maybe you can contact your congressman/state rep to find out the details. But it seems to me, if this Bill is to be signed into law, it is more along the lines of no more DEA/FED raids on the doctors who prescribe and the dispensaries who provide medical Cannabis. Not much in there about those who need Section 8 housing assistance not losing their home due to the draconian laws and views of this medicine.

I'm not a Cannabis user, but I 100% support legalization. At the very least for medical use. My daughter has severe anxiety, depression and chronic pain issues from a very bad injury to her neck. She could get all the opioids and benzos she wanted for just her neck problem (Valium for the spasms, Oxy or Vicodin for the pain).

Crazy that she's given all these addictive meds but she doesn't have access to Cannabis where we currently live. She'd much rather use a small amount of Cannabis for relief of her pain and (especially) the severe muscle spasms she gets.She hates those pills and they make her feel like complete poop. It's a catch-22, either be in severe and excruciating pain or be sick, constipated and irritable. It breaks my heart to see her suffer like that.

Our state hasn't legalized for medical use yet and it appears that it's never going to happen, at least not any time soon. The AG finds problems with any/all petitions that have been turned in and is now even "launching an investigation" into the practices of the non-profit that did the signature gathering. This should have been on the ballot two years ago and it looked like it would be on it this year as that is what the people want, but the AG and governor have squashed it again. Ridiculous.

We are in the process of moving to a state where it is legal both recreationally and medically. That isn't the main reason we are moving there, but it certainly is a "perk" so to speak. I cannot wait to say goodbye to the state I have lived in for 40+ years and start anew in a much more beautiful, healthy and progressive part of the USA. Better economy, better jobs for all and a much better place for my daughter and her fiance to start their lives than this poop hole we're in now.

originally posted by: whyamIhere

originally posted by: olaru12

originally posted by: Kali74
WOW!

LA Times

Tucked deep inside the 1,603-page federal spending measure is a provision that effectively ends the federal government's prohibition on medical marijuana and signals a major shift in drug policy.

The bill's passage over the weekend marks the first time Congress has approved nationally significant legislation backed by legalization advocates. It brings almost to a close two decades of tension between the states and Washington over medical use of marijuana.

Under the provision, states where medical pot is legal would no longer need to worry about federal drug agents raiding retail operations. Agents would be prohibited from doing so.

The Obama administration has largely followed that rule since last year as a matter of policy. But the measure approved as part of the spending bill, which President Obama plans to sign this week, will codify it as a matter of law.

I'm too shocked to say much at the moment. This is freaking huge news for chronic pain sufferers, PTSD/Anxiety sufferers cancer and glaucoma patients and the doctors that prescribe medical MJ and the dispensaries. WOW! Progress!

Christie must be ****** bricks about now. Just blew away one of his campaign talking points.

I never thought I see this during my life time. Will MJ now be taken off schedule 12?

This is unbelievable...

For the first time I am speechless...lets burn some dried flowers in Celebration.

I prefer to eat cookies and brownies in celebration for you guys

originally posted by: jhn7537

originally posted by: windword
a reply to: jhn7537

I'm thinking out loud here, which is a very dangerous thing... lol... I wonder why the US Govt. is being so kind with their marijuana drug policies now, is it progressive minds in D.C. or is there an agenda behind this?

Two words; Tax Revenue.

Yes, but Big Pharm does not want marijuana legalization, which is why lobbyists from that industry are constantly trying to derail any legislation that attempts to fully legalize it.

Revenue for your constituents or handshakes with Big Pharm Lobbyists? Most seem to enjoy those handshakes more than bringing tax revenue to their states..

You hit the nail on the head. BIG PHARMA is the biggest opponent of legalization of Cannabis and their pockets run much, much, much deeper than you or I can even imagine.

See my above post about my daughter. She could get all the opiates and benzo's she wanted/needed for her neck, but she absolutely HATES taking those drugs! What she really needs, she cannot have where we live. Not legally, anyway.

Because of that I cannot WAIT to move...

Hope springs eternal.

Congress Did Not Repeal the Ban on Medical Marijuana

what you think you really know is not always a delayed reaction.

a reply to: corvuscorrax

Where might that be and what are grown up states?

originally posted by: introvert
Individual liberty wins a small victory.

Small steps lead to bigger things.

Right!

Ban guns legalize weed!

Individual liberties eh.

I am just waiting for the sacred cow of a government program that robs from the rich so the less fortunate can get their free weed.

This is one step for man,

One giant Coughing fit for mankind...

Live long and prosper, and giddy.

a reply to: Kali74

People have been using pot for 10000 years, for various uses, and it behooves me that a government can just tell us we have no right to do what humans have been doing almost as long as there have been humans. So they are giving us back a freedom we had for centuries, woo hoo.

originally posted by: neo96

originally posted by: introvert
Individual liberty wins a small victory.

Small steps lead to bigger things.

Right!

Ban guns legalize weed!

Individual liberties eh.

I am just waiting for the sacred cow of a government program that robs from the rich so the less fortunate can get their free weed.

I wasn't aware guns have been banned yet.....


Of course typical you to trying turn a topic that has nothing to do with in guns into.

You do know there's more to life than guns right?

a reply to: openminded2011

Not quite giving us a freedom back but we're a bit closer.

i cant wait.
my state needs 305,591 signatures to get it on the ballot.

if medical mj is legalized, im good to go.
with my medical history, it shant be a problem....

originally posted by: Swills
a reply to: Kali74

This is great news! Now if they will only remove marijuana's schedule 1 classification and finally taking their heads out of their collective asses because everyone knows pot is not more dangerous than coke or heroin and clearly has medical uses!

By reclassifying cannabis they would have to stop lying and come to terms that cannabis is a miracle plant. But of course the feds won't want to stop lying. I'm 99% sure they're being bribed by 'competition' to keep it criminalized and such just to make money. Same reason we supposedly dont have a cure for cancer and people are still dying; in 2012, the reported spending on cancer 'treatment' was 124.6 billion dollars.

Although cannabis is a treatment/cure for cancer.

a reply to: Kali74

I am greatful for my card. I have had it for quite a few months and it really is a great alternative medicine.

a reply to: Kali74

I am greatful for my card. I have had it for quite a few months and it really is a great alternative medicine.

a reply to: Kali74

They are so close to installing the NWO, that they want as many of us high as possible, that way they can do it without our intervention. We will be too high to even care.

I read somewhere a while back that Monsanto was working on developing a medical strain of marijuana that could easily be tested by the police. If that is true, and I am not saying it is, that is a pretty scary thought.

Legalized medical version that would require a prescription while the regular version would still be illegal seems to be the way this is headed.

a reply to: RickinVa

i dont see it headed that way at all.
the ball is rolling and i think we are going to see more and more states legalizing medical mj

i hope my state gets on board with it fast.

i would much rather have a script for that over what i have now.

a reply to: lovebeck

Indeed.

Yeah, I'd love to know this. Because as a chronic pain sufferer myself, as you said, they give out synthetic opioids like candy, but none of them help me. On the contrary, they make me quite ill. So I basically just have NSAIDs and that's it. Which isn't ideal, and will damage my kidneys over time. My doctor prescribed me cannabis as an alternative, yet I'm not allowed to follow my physician's recommended treatment regimen without fear of losing not only my home, but my section 8 status entirely so that I can't go anywhere else either. It's ridiculous and sad.

It's a plant. It's like telling me I can't grow and eat broccoli. I wouldn't even smoke it as prescribed. It was an Rx for an edible. The risks to my health would be nil.

Meanwhile, something like Salvia is completely legal here. I don't want it to be illegal either, but having experimented once years ago, let me tell you... that should be banned long before cannabis. I turned into a black hole in the floor and thought I was having a stroke. I guarantee no one has ever experienced that under the influence of cannabis.

*Sigh*

Peace.