Beaten by "The Watch"
Tim Johnson Supports Medical Marijuana?

SD Watch beat me to the punch on posting about this, but I was equally as suprised at the RSS newsfeed brief that appeared a while ago. Here's what (According to the Medical Marijuana website) Senator Tim Johnson had to say about the issue:
I am open to the idea of a carefully managed, medically supervised treatment regimen that involves the use of marijuana where no other alternative is available. I am, however, very much opposed to the general legalization of marijuana.

I will continue to closely monitor the status of this legislation, and I will keep your thoughts in mind should legislation revisiting federal laws relating to medical marijuana be considered by the Senate.
Holy crap! SD Watch is wondering how long until the main stream media picks up on this. I would concur. (Or will there be a supplementary statement coming from T.J. saying my staffer shouldn't have written that?)

Oh yeah, unless anyone has forgotten, I'm against it myself.

(PP prepares himself for yet another wave of MM propaganda appearing in the comments section)

Comments

Anonymous said…
I always knew most democrats were sympathetic toward drug use. This simply confirms my hypothesis. I just can't believe Johnson is dumb enough to say it. I guess Daschle isn't giving him direction anymore.
Bob Newland said…
Actually, Eddie Welch beat you and SD Watch to it;
http://www.southdakotaformedicalmarijuana.blogspot.com/

No reason to bother providing more logic and reason, since you simply won't answer the questions.
Douglas said…
Wow, that "Anonymous" guy really gets around. I see daringly deceptive and outrageous posts by "Anonymous" all over the blogosphere. Must be a very large family with lots of mental problems.
Anonymous said…
Anonymous is a coward.
Bob Newland said…
This is in response to a post at SD Watch (just so you won't have to click over there to get it).

=======
First, thanks for responding to my questions. Neither Todd nor PP at War College will do so. Neither will any number of titular “leaders” from the level of county commissioner on up to Senator Thune.

I’ll state my opinions on cannabis as plainly as I can, so my sincerity should not be at issue.

First, it is counterproductive and stupid to deny American farmers a shot at the international market in industrial hemp. Hemp is the most versatile crop on earth, in every respect. It grows everywhere, with less fertilizer and water than any commodity crop of which I am aware. It provides great promise in A) alleviating our dependence on foreign fuel sources, B) alleviating food shortages, and C) revitalizing family farms. (Regardless of what opponents say, it is quite easy to distinguish hemp from marijuana.)

Second, marijuana prohibition doesn’t work. It’s expensive and harmful. Anyone who wants weed can get it. Add to that the fact that there is no societal rationale for putting people in jail for using marijuana. Add to that the fact that the ONLY success in marijuana prohibition has been to enrich people who are willing to take the risks of production and distribution. Anyone who wants weed can still get it, at prices lower than 20 years ago.

Third, I assure you that my purpose in advocating that sick, disabled and dying people have safe legal access to therapeutic marijuana is to help provide a way for sick, disabled and dying people to have safe legal access to therapeutic marijuana. I do so because I have personally witnessed the palliative power of cannabis and I believe it is cruel beyond characterization to deny medicine that works to people who need it.

Those who look at these arguments and still say that we are piggybacking on sick people to get weed legalized are, in a word, despicable. Their prized prohibition policy is a failure and creates huge damage. They are obviously not lying on a bed writhing in agony from a migraine attack that could be alleviated by marijuana (for some sufferers).

Incidentally, alcohol prohibition doubled alcohol consumption in the US in 10 years. It also succeeded in making some very vicious people very rich. So, it those senses it was a success, yes. Much like the War on (some) Drugs.

The 1948 LaGuardia Commission, the 1972 Schafer Commission (a Nixon-appointed group) and the 1997 Institutes of Medicine Commission (a Barry McCaffrey group) were all gummint-funded. All three commissions recommended decriminalization of marijuana, because they could discern no threat to social order from the herb. All were ignored and derided by their appointers. Another three or four dozen smaller studies from all over the world have arrived at the same conclusions, including universal acknowledgment of cannabis’ medical indication.

No credible study has found a single serious threat posed by even long-term heavy use of marijuana. On the other hand, hundreds of unarmed people have been killed by cops attempting to enforce marijuana prohibition. In addition, people have served about 20 million years in prison in the US since 1937 on marijuana prohibition charges.

It appears that the prison-industrial complex is piggybacking on sick people to maintain its reign of terror. Once we take the very weakest and neediest folks out of this equation by giving them safe legal access to the medicine that works for them, we can get on with a more sensible argument over a controlled, regulated, taxed and socially acceptable cannabis policy in general.

This much is obviously true. Keeping things the way they are assures an uncontrolled and ready market for marijuana among people of all ages, along with obscene profits for those who deal in the black market for it.

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