Not Soft on Crime, Just Soft in the Head and Hard in the Heart

By a vote of 29 to 22, the Illinois Senate has rejected a bill that would have allowed patients with cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and other debilitating conditions to use marijuana for symptom relief:

Julie Falco is one of those people. An MS survivor, she testified before lawmakers earlier this year, saying she mixes marijuana into her brownie batches to help subdue her pain. The Chicago resident and others swear by the drug, claiming it eases discomfort and boosts their appetite.

"I don't think sick people should be treated like criminals," said state Sen. John Cullerton, a Chicago Democrat and sponsor of the plan.

Opponents worried that their support would signal they're soft on crime.

But they're perfectly happy to signal that they're hard on cancer, AIDS, and MS patients.

Comments

[henry]

WWJD?

[damaged justice]

In the unlikely event that the only person on earth ingesting legally prohibited drugs was on a desert island with nobody else, sitting on the beach ingesting drugs, never interacting with another living soul, the combined forces of the Chattering, Concerned classes would descend on that island like so many locusts and blow that person's brains out, then proclaim their heartfelt belief that the world was a better place because of their actions.

[Andrew]

On behalf of my mom, who has MS:

The State of Illinois can go f*** itself.

Thank you.

[John]

When my mother was dying of cancer, at one point she had straight up morphine pills prescribed to her. I saw them in her medicine cabinet. The bottle said "morphine" not oxycodone or Tylenol 3, but morphine.

So under the current system, my mother could take straight heroin as prescribed by a doctor but her and her doctor would have gone to jail if she had been prescribed a joint.

Yeah, that makes sense and all because some political bastard doesn't want to look "soft on crime". Why? Because they might get voted out of office and loose their license to steal? I really hope those fuckers burn in hell. I really do. I hope they die some day, face judgment and burn in hell and eternal torment for wasting their lives ignorant leeches on society.

[gizzle]

How is it that these craven idiot politicians can't even stick their finger in the wind and understand that medical marijuana is fucking popular?!?

People hate cancer even more than they hate the dope.

[Bhh]

Weird politics here in the land of the free. These dudes spend all their time worrying about being seen as "softon" so they're constantly trying to look "hardon" and handing out crackdowns like candy.

It's that whole fear of freedom thing popping up again. Please lord over us, the openness of Being is too terrifying.

[de stijl]

WWJD?

Buy some ciggies and then ask Daddy to change it into weed.

[John]

There was another thread where a commenter said there was a guy in his office who was sick and had a medical marijuana prescription out in California somewhere. The commenter said that no one noticed or cared. I said on that thread and will say again that the real reason why the drug warriors are so heartless about this is that once medical marijuana is in wide use, people will realize how benign the drug is and all of the drug propaganda will be shown to be the lies that it is. Basically in the drug warriors' view, they are sorry that sick people have to be deprived of a drug that would ease their misery but if they were allowed to have it, people might want to use the drug themselves and we can't have that.

[Ellen E]

WWJD?

Probably remind our legislators that His Father instructed us to eat of every herb of the field, no?

[Hippie Messiah]

Those who smoke weed from a normal stash will come down from their high soon after. But those who smoke the weed that I give will have a fountain of THC spring up inside them, welling up to eternal life.

[Warren]

It's all about money and power. Marijuana can't be allowed, because it would be too easy to grow. Drugs like marinol, that profit big-pharma and are strictly controlled and regulated, that washes all the "drugs are bad" away.

[Mike Laursen]

While running for office, I campaigned at a medical marijuana rally and got to know know our most prominent local marijuana activist fairly well. While I still strongly oppose the War on Drugs, and a Libertarian was in no position to criticize political ineptness, my takeaway was that the medical marijuana crowd was that they were very, very far from being a force to be reckoned with politically:

* The activists and guys who run the dispenseries told me they couldn't adopt a straight image, cutting their hair or wear business attire, because the marijuana users wouldn't trust them.

* For every legitimate medical marijuana user I met, there were four guys who were smoking pot because of their headaches or back problems or some other claimed minor chronic condition.

* Sounds cliched, but most of the medical marijuana users were extremely apathetic about politics. Many more that you would think were staunch Republicans and pro-Iraq War, and this was in the San Francisco Bay Area. (That's when I learned the lesson that I couldn't ever assume what anybody's poltical views on subject B was based on their political views on subject A.)

[Andrew]

Somewhat related, have you ever seen the government's own drug war blog? It alternatively makes me laugh and makes me want to punch a hole into my monitor.

http://pushingback.com/blogs/pushing_back/default.aspx

[highnumber]

* For every legitimate medical marijuana user I met, there were four guys who were smoking pot because of their headaches or back problems or some other claimed minor chronic condition.

Chronic (heh!) headaches and back problems are not minor. Not quite as "sexy" as MS, but not minor.

[JW]

Who else here is hoping the irony fairy makes a visit on Illinois politicians?

[Alanis M]

"Who else here is hoping the irony fairy makes a visit on Illinois politicians?"

You mean she'll make it rain on their wedding day?

[de stijl]

And put black flies in their chardonnay.

[JW]

No, no, more like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife.

[Reinmoose]

JW - You think they'll encounter a "No Smoking" sign on their cigarette break?

[JW]

God, I hope not. That would be like a traffic jam when you're already late.

[Unfortunate Circumstances Fair]

I hate Alanis. Buy a goddamn dictionary.

[Chief Illiniwiccan]

I'm getting sick and tired of these people contracting diseases just so they can smoke pot. The lengths these horrible people go to just to get away with their crimes.

[Mad Max]

"For every legitimate medical marijuana user I met, there were four guys who were smoking pot because of their headaches or back problems or some other claimed minor chronic condition."

Better that four potheads get high than one cancer patient be tortured. And the four potheads would probably be getting an illegal high if they couldn't get a bogus prescription.

National Prohibition (1920-1933) had an exemption for medicinal alcohol. While I'm sure the exception was abused, Prohibition lawbreakers tended to defy the law altogether rather than go to the trouble of getting fake prescriptions. It wasn't the "medicinal alcohol" exception which killed off Prohibition, so the drug cops needn't worry about a "medical dope" exception.

[John]

"The activists and guys who run the dispenseries told me they couldn't adopt a straight image, cutting their hair or wear business attire, because the marijuana users wouldn't trust them."

If I didn't know better I would think that the typical activist is on the DEA payroll to discredit the idea of legalization. The typical hippie sitting at a table on some college campus with the "legalize hemp" t-shirt isn't going to get anywhere.

"For every legitimate medical marijuana user I met, there were four guys who were smoking pot because of their headaches or back problems or some other claimed minor chronic condition."

That is probably true, but how is it any different with regard to other prescription drugs? What you think Rush Limbaugh really needed all of those Vikadins for his "back pain"? How many people out there have prescriptions to prozac or valium on BS ailments that their doctor should have told them to take asprin and get over it? We don't out prescriptions of those drugs, why should marijuana be any different?

[Mike Laursen]

Better that four potheads get high than one cancer patient be tortured.

That is probably true, but how is it any different with regard to other prescription drugs?

Good points, and you are right, of course.

Please understand that my point was purely about how the image of the medical marijuana cause came across. There was a reporter from the local newspaper at this medical marijuana rally, and not one example of anyone with a serious illness present.

[John]

"There was a reporter from the local newspaper at this medical marijuana rally, and not one example of anyone with a serious illness present."

Since most people with the type of diseases it could help, cancer, MS, tend to be older and thus more conservative, it doesn't surprise me they are not too keen on marching with the hippies for medical marijuana. Also, they are sick after all, which can make marching a bit hard.

I think there are a lot of people out there who would never dream of smoking marijuana or marching for it, but would be helped by the drug and would take it if prescribed by their doctor. Those people sadly won't be voting on the issue though.

[scandalrag]

@Henry: WWJD?

Hold his hands up to his mouth and whistle?

[Dee]

All we can hope is that those that would keep others from something which could help easy their pain and create a better quality of life suffer long painful deaths as they choke on the pills pharma feeds them. Eat those fucking pills and like them, you wanted them to be your only choice, here ya go. Now go puke your guts up with all these SAFE chemicals. But do not let us catch you trying to get rid of your pain with anything other than what we allow you to use. And no it doesn't matter that you know what works best for you because the politicians know your wrong and of course they are as always right.

Die fuckers, die.

[Robert]

It's difficult enough getting any treatment newly legalized, and usually there's no mass constituency against it, as there clearly is in this case -- a minority, but a minority that makes it a priority.

Look at dietary supplements. Practically speaking, there was no mass constituency against them, but it took a lot of doing to get DSHEA, and since then it's been hard to keep the pendulum from swinging back, as evidenced by new proposals re marketing.

[brotherben]

"de stijl | May 11, 2007, 11:56am | #

WWJD?

Buy some ciggies and then ask Daddy to change it into weed."

By far the funniest thing I've seen all week.