Political & Elections

soccerguy315 · Guru

RE: medical marijuana...

Razorsharp · Guru

I have no problem with medical marijuana for those who truly need it for medical reasons. There are very few people who cannot be treated with other medications before using marijuana as a last resort.

Every time a doctor prescribes medical marijuana, he or she receives a fee. In some cases that fee is reimbursed by an insurance company. Marijuana is a scheduled drug just like methadone, morphine, cocaine, methamphetamine, etc. Doctor's have an incentive to over-prescribe medical marijuana and many are getting rich from it. I absolutely want the government monitoring prescription of medical marijuana to people who are not really in medical need and just lying to get high.

I don't think the issue is whether alcohol should be legal (although it would be fine with me if it was illegal). The issue is the degree of regulation. Alcohol cannot be sold to anyone under 21. Alcohol usually cannot be consumed in public places. Drinks containing alcohol can only have a certain percentage of alcohol. With medical marijuana it is as if we are permitting alcohol to be sold to eight year olds. We need very strict regulation of medical marijuana. There simply is no reason for all of the pot stores in California and Colorado for example. They are not selling pot to the sick. They are selling it to those who are pretending to be sick.

romanigypsyeyes · Guru

razor- But why is it the government's place to come between a doctor and his/her patient? If a doctor prescribes it, it is most likely because they believe that it is a better treatment than other pill treatments.

And then with that same argument- danger on the road- should alcohol be illegal? Seems logical to me given your argument.

SamuraiLandshark · Guru

I would venture to say that there are far, far more people driving impaired with alcohol on the road than using marijuana before they drive.

There are always people who lie and cheat, but when my family member went for his physical, he had to bring in doctor's records and X-Rays to prove the need.

The 9 inch surgical scar probably was a pretty good indication that he had a major surgery.

longprime · Guru

maybe so Razor. However, millions of people buy anacin or tylenol when they could buy generic. evileye

I got a 95yo mother, at 73lbs with a small appetite. Does MJ work for seniors to increase appetite?

-- Edited by longprime on Tuesday 13th of September 2011 05:16:46 PM

Razorsharp · Guru

I have absolutely no problem with medical marijuana for those who actually need it. The problem is that it is abused to an extreme that endangers the rest of society. There are millions of people in California and Colorado who lie and claim they have medical conditions requiring medical marijuana. Doctors listen to their made up symptoms and then issue prescriptions to healthy people. My objection is not to reducing pain in people whose pain cannot be reduced any other way (and there are very few of these people relatively speaking). My objection is to the millions of healthy people who lie and abuse marijuana and profit from that abuse while creating danger to other drivers on the road. With the exception of a very few people, medical marijuana is a scam.

SamuraiLandshark · Guru

Have you ever experienced chronic pain that lasts not just for days, but weeks, months or years?

If you haven't, then you have no idea how beneficial this is.

I know no "potheads" that have prescriptions. However, I know several adults with stable jobs and a chronic health issue who now have a good quality of life because of medical marijuana.

I am not sure what an "extreme case" would be, but I know many people who could benefit from this.

Having seen how this has helped my family member, it's remarkable the difference. He hadn't slept a whole night due to massive pain for years and years. Instead of sleeping, there were times he would hang upside down on one of those traction machines until he could decrompress his spine enough to get some relief.

Is it better to medicate with alcohol or prescription drugs?

We have actually been down this road before, Razorsharp. You probably won't see this perspective, so it's probably pointless to discuss this...but it can be a difference maker for many who live with chronic health conditions.

Lest you think I am a pot smoker, I am not. If I lived with that kind of intense pain, I absolutely would. And I have never tried it before, either.

Razorsharp · Guru

There are more medical marijuana shops than starbucks in Colorado. It shows that medical marijuana is just a scam to get potheads their pot. We already have enough drunks driving on the road. I really see no reason to add millions of potheads to the road. I certainly believe in having freedom to do whatever you want in your own home, but I fail to see how a pothead benefits from smoking pot. There is no upside to medical marijuana except in the most extreme cases.

SamuraiLandshark · Guru

I am totally for medical marijuana. I have a family member who used it and it works - for multiple ailments, where other things DO not work.

This person is not a "pot head", either.

It's absolutely unreal that marijuana is a class 1 drug. It's insane.

romanigypsyeyes · Guru

So I know I've made my opinion known about this subject... not sure if on this board or elsewhere, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around why people would be against it.

So, story time. As some of you know, I am an intern for a state senator in michigan. Today, there was a protest on the capitol building against the recent raid on and ban of dispenseries. They were also fighting bills that would make it harder to obtain medical marijuana.

Anyway, I had to run papers to the senator while the protest was going on. The only conter protester I saw there stopped me and asked who I worked for. I told him that I was an intern for a senator (the guy made me a little uncomfortable, but he saw my badge and I knew I worked for someone in the House or Senate, so I tried to give him as little information as possible). I tried to politely inform him that I had to be somewhere quickly, but he insisted on talking to me because he wanted the senators to know how he felt. Again, I was a little uncomfortable so at the tive I thoght it was just better to sit and listen than to make a big deal out of it. He kept telling me that the senators need to vote to keep marijuana illegal and to "ban the f*ing pot heads". When I asked whether or not he actually knew any medical marijuana patients or knew how marijuana worked for patients, he told me no. I thanked him for his opinion, told him I'd pass it along to the senator.

I see this all the time though- people not knowing really what marijuana is other than what we learned in DARE programs when we were young. I admit, that I am biased in this because both of my parents are medical marijuana patients and I believe that marijuana as a whole should be legalized if we're going to keep alcohol and tobacco legal. I myself have smoked pot once and it just wasn't for me (I also don't drink either, just not my style). I have tried talking to my aunt, who is about as nerdy and straight-edged as you can possibly get and a top gasteroenterologist, to ask her her opinion on this issue. She has been an advocate for medical marijuana from the get-go and can't think of a single valid scientific reason why it should be banned. I share her opinion that a treatment should be between a patient and his/her doctor, not the government.

Can anyone here give me a valid reason (whether you share that belief or not) about why it should be banned? It's something I've been thinking about all day and I just wanted to see what other people had to say about it. I have tried searching for credible articles by doctors and scientists who oppose it (and whose evidence hasn't been challenged) and I just can't seem to really find anything. Albeit, I haven't spent too much time and energy on the search. It's hard to sort through the propoganda from both sides out there. The only ones I can really find are against smoking marijuana- which makes sense, but there are numerous other ways to get marijuana into your body besides smoking it.

Have a good day everyone :)

ETA: The text looks weird. my "m" key is broken so I have to constantly paste it. That is why the text is changing colors and I can't figure out how to make it look normal lol. Sorry!

-- Edited by romanigypsyeyes on Wednesday 7th of September 2011 01:12:53 PM