[Vision2020] Legalizing Medical Marijuana

[lfalen]

Right again, Paul
Roger
-----Original message-----
From: Paul Rumelhart godshatter at yahoo.com
Date: Wed, 07 Apr 2010 22:06:05 -0700
To: Tom Trail ttrail at moscow.com
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Legalizing Medical Marijuana

> 
> I'm glad to see some movement in this area.  Of all the drugs that are 
> available, legally or otherwise, marijuana seems to be one of the least 
> dangerous.  I'm all for legalizing it completely so that we can invest 
> our efforts in tackling the truly dangerous drugs more efficiently.  
> Marijuana use is not something I'm particularly interested in, but it 
> doesn't have the devastating effects that cocaine, heroin, and some of 
> the more exotic drugs do.
> 
> I'm not a big fan of legislating who can do what to their own bodies, 
> but the more potent drugs that are immediately addictive or nearly so 
> are dangerous enough that I can see the need for intervention in the 
> interest of stopping mistakes that cannot be easily undone.  Marijuana 
> doesn't seem to be in the same category, from what I've read about it.
> 
> Criminalizing people, sometimes with lifelong consequences, because they 
> smoked an herb that is less dangerous than tobacco has always seemed 
> like a really stupid idea, in my opinion.  This bill at least helps out 
> those to whom marijuana is known to have a positive effect.  The next 
> step would be to legalize it for everyone and free up the tax dollars 
> that have been invested in enforcing the laws on it's usage and 
> incarcerating those who have done nothing else wrong.  It might even 
> take some of the cash flow away from the very groups that are making the 
> Mexico border into a militarized zone.
> 
> Paul
> 
> Tom Trail wrote:
> > Visionaries:  Some questions have come up about the process of developing
> > legislation for legalizing the use of medical marijuana.  During the past 18
> > months I have met with citizens around the state who suffer a great deal of
> > pain from conditions such as brain cancer, AIDS, and a variety of other
> > chronic illnesses.  Medical marijuana is the only substance that brings
> > them relief from their severe pain.
> >
> > The majority of states in the West have legalized the use of medical
> > marijuana.  This was done via the initiative process rather than the
> > legislative route.  In Idaho the initiative processes is very expensive
> > and difficult compared to surrounding states.   Therefore, it seemed that
> > the legislative route was the best way to go.
> >
> > During the past year I worked with contacts in other states who had
> > passed via the initiative route the legalization of medical marijuana.
> > Draft legislation was developed and reviewed, and then I asked my other
> > state contacts for their input.  I was about ready to introduce the
> > legislation in this past legislative session when I learned that New
> > Jersey had passed via the legislative process a bill which was considered
> > one of the toughest among the 14 states who have legalized the use of
> > medical marijuana.
> >
> > We all know that Idaho is a very conservative state so my contacts around
> > the state recommended that the New Jersey model might be the best one to
> > follow.  I worked closely with Robert Capecchi, Legal Analyst, of the National
> > Medical Marijuana Program in Washington, D.C. and his team to review the
> > proposed legislation.  I met with Mr. Capecchi and Assembleman, Don Murphy
> > (Republican) from Maryland last December in Washington, D.C.  Don led the
> > successful effort to legalize medical marijuana in the state of Maryland.
> > During the months of January and February the review process continued
> > until we finally reached agreement that we had a good proposal for Idaho.
> > It, obviously, was too late in the session to introduce the proposal.
> >
> > I've already held meetings with stakeholder groups in the Treasure Valley
> > and have good contacts in Sandpoint, Idaho Falls, Pocatello, and Hailey.
> > The plan is to hold a series of town hall meetings this summer around
> > the state (at my own expense) inviting all of the stakeholders including
> > legislators to attend.  We also plan to meet with a group of stakeholders
> > in Boise with Governor Otter.  We will also be meeting with the Idaho
> > Medical Association,  law enforcement agencies,  Department of Health and
> > Welfare officials, and many others as the process moves forward.  We are
> > now in the process of selecting a state coordinator and applying for
> > several grants.
> >
> > As you can see, there is a great deal of work involved is working with
> > this type of legislation.
> >
> > Rep. Tom Trail
> >   
> 
> 
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