Medical marijuana a 'con,' U.S. deputy drug czar says

[MonteSano]

The nation's deputy drug czar on Friday said proponents of the medical marijuana initiative on the Nov. 7 ballot are playing to voters' sympathies to pass a dangerous measure.

"It's a step backwards in South Dakota and a step backwards nationally," said Scott Burns, deputy director of White House National Drug Control Policy, who spoke to reporters Friday. "Do not fall for the con."

If voters approve Initiated Measure 4, South Dakota would join 11 other states that allow some medical patients to grow and smoke marijuana to help ease their medical problems. Residents of those states still can face federal drug charges.

Conditions that could qualify under the measure include cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, severe or chronic pain, severe nausea, seizures, severe or persistent muscle spasms and multiple sclerosis. The state's health department also could approve other qualifying medical conditions.


http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061021/NEWS01/610210338

[DoYouEverWonder]

1. Got keep the pharmaceutical companies in business

If they ever legalize marijuana, the drug industry will be in big trouble.

[Bill McBlueState]

2. How so?

Seems like legal marijuana would be a great money-making opportunity for drug companies.

[Chulanowa]

4. Because it's easy to grow

Have a flowerpot? Have dirt? Congratulations, you have smoke.

There's a reason it's called "weed". The stuff will grow anywhere.

[jaysunb]

6. That's for sure !

Can you just imagine the different strains and intensity level ?
:evilgrin:

[TheMadMonk]

8. becasue it is a weed which can be grown virtually anywhere

There is naf all money to be made from legit weed.

[DoYouEverWonder]

12. Not only is it cheap and easy to grow

Plus marijuana would make obsolete half of the overpriced drugs on the market, for everything from helping you keep it up, to reducing the symptoms of MS.

[Tellurian]

9. This deputy is too lazy to do his homework..

and he's making himself sound foolish.

He ought to do the research and find out
how a vegetable morphed into a drug.

clues: Hearst newspapers, government tax.

[loveable liberal]

19. not just drugs, but damn cotton, oil and textile industries....

MJ is good on a variety of fronts, not just drugs (there is the difference between mj and hemp, im not sayin, im just sayin....)

[niallmac]

3. "Drug War A Con" Niallmac says n/t

[hpot]

5. Our government should regulate drugs and not criminalize

Besides the tax money they can make, there would be less non-violent offenders in the system and less murders committed.

Our "drug war" is the real scam.

[jaysunb]

7. It's not a drug....

n/t

[TheDebbieDee]

13. Drugs like marijuana and hash are legal in Denmark,

I think it's Denmark and a few other sensible countries. I've never travelled to Denmark but when I was in the Army stationed in Germany in the late 80s, I knew a few soldiers in my company travelled to other parts of Europe as tourists. If we were really serious about winning the drug war, our government should check out how this war was won by Denmark!

I agree with you - I think the drug war is a big scam! And the biggest benefactors, proponents and lobbyists for the continued criminalization of these drugs are the criminals that profit from the sales of these illegal drugs.

Imagine, drug Czars lavishing money on legislators to keep doing absolutely nothing with regard to decriminalization of the use and possession of drugs!

Criminalization of these drugs will keep the prices high and our prisons filled.

And no, I don't believe everyone would use these drugs if they were decriminalized!

ETA: Please replace instance of drug(s) with substance(s).

[High Plains]

17. Sorry, drugs were never legal in Denmark.

You must be thinking of Christiania, the Copenhagen military base taken over by hippies in 1970 and turned into a sort of free city within the city. Up until last year, Christiania allowed open soft drug sales on its streets, but the conservative Danish government finally put a stop to that.

Still, many European countries are using much more progressive approaches to drug policy than the US. Holland has the coffeehouses, where you can buy pot even though it is technically illegal, in Spain and Portugal and Belgium pot is practically legal, in Switzerland, they are providing heroin to addicts in an experimental program, in several European countries, junkies can go to safe injection rooms to shoot up under medical care.

But even those approaches can't solve the problems caused not by drugs but by drug prohibition.

[sweetheart]

10. Scottie burns his ass afire

Republican prepubescent violent child,
give us a rest from your preschool rant,
czarish millions in prison are piled,
while stupid neocriminalss won't recant.

Aye for the burns in 'is name
or otherwise his life become a plant,
and assistant to the person with fame,
unwelcome the lies of his viscious slant.

What makes a republican tame,
dying in iraq from stupid stupid,
A bushian drugs nazi totally lame,
vile, insipid, underaged boy's, a cupid.
Republicans do fuck you, one way or other,
poverty or prison, destroy your own brother.

[bullimiami]

11. its obvious the 'con' is the politico-industrial complex

they built from criminalizing drugs.

it funnels billions upon billions of public dollars to those industries who fight drugs and run the prisons, while helping keep those in political power that stand to gain from it and dole out these dollars.

Thats criminal.

[indepat]

14. All legal pain killers derived from opiates et al are cons: right?

[Dogmudgeon]

15. What really freaks them out ...

... is that most of these decrim and medical marijuana initiatives are taking off in the red states.

--p!

[Thickasabrick]

16. When people say things like this the bad side of me hopes that

karma will prevail and they will end up having cancer and die in horrific pain because the marijuana that would relieve the horrific pain has been deemed "a con" based on unscientific right wing talking points.

The good side of me feels guilty for having such thoughts.

[High Plains]

18. Medical marijuana has won in every state it has gone to the voters

But we're worried about South Dakota. It's a socially conservative state where they will still throw you in jail for "unlawful ingestion" after they drug test you for pot. There are also other issues on the ballot--that insane abortion law, gay marriage--that will propel conservative voters to the polls. Still, it remains to be seen whether religious conservatives will vote against the compassionate use of marijuana by sick people.

[bonito]

20. Same thing with using silver ions for infections

It works very well, but no money in it because anyone can prepare it at home.
Been using it for years.