The American people overwhelmingly support medical marijuana. Nearly every time the voters have been asked to vote on medical marijuana, they have approved it. More than a half dozen state legislatures – from Hawaii to Maine – have passed medical marijuana laws – and over 17 states and the District of Columbia have medical marijuana programs.
Yet, as though the calendar on the wall were stuck on 1995, the DEA continues to raid patients, doctors and state-authorized medical marijuana dispensaries in states where medical marijuana is legal. Tens of thousands of patients have lost access to a medicine critical to their fight against cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis or crippling pain.
Not surprisingly, many Members of Congress are deeply opposed to this oppressive action by federal law enforcement that endangers the health of their constituents. Even Democratic Leader (and former Speaker of the House) Nancy Pelosi has criticized the Obama-Holder Justice Department about its medical marijuana raids.
To stop these raids, leading Members of Congress offered an amendment to the Justice Department spending bill to block the DEA from raiding patients, doctors and medical marijuana dispensaries in medical marijuana states. The amendment was debated on May 9, 2012 in the U.S. House of Representatives. Unfortunately, despite many strong statements by members of Congress in support, the Amendment was defeated in a roll-call vote.
Eight members of Congress representing California, New York, Massachusetts, Colorado, and Tennessee argued thoughtfully about the simple justice and constitutional logic of recognizing the validity of these state laws. But one member — only one member — stood up to defend the raids, U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA). Wolf, nearly hysterical, brought up almost every myth about marijuana. He even suggested that medical marijuana laws should be compared to laws that would allow sexual trafficking in children!
Students for Sensible Drug Policy, in the long, honorable tradition of world-wide student activism, went to his home turf of Leesburg, VA to call out Rep. Wolf to his constituents and to confront him at the Fourth of July parade as he was campaigning for re-election to a 17th term.
Our plan was to march in the parade, like other citizen and neighborhood groups — but ahead of Rep. Wolf — and pass out leaflets saying that Wolf voted to arrest cancer patients. The leaflets invited voters and parade watchers to ask Rep. Wolf, “Why?” But we had not signed up in advance to be part of the parade. We had many questions: We were not local- could we still successfully sneak in to the parade somehow? Would we be booed? Would Wolf supporters try to stop us? Would cops seize our leaflets? Would we get thrown out of the parade? Would we be arrested for crashing the party without an invitation? Did we have a First Amendment right to participate in a Fourth of July parade with a political message?
Watch this short YouTube video to see what happened…
If the government really wanted to make people safe then it would legalize every recreational drug that’s safer than booze.
That would retain alcohol as the most harmful recreational drug you can legally buy, and at the same time would give people the option of legally choosing drugs that are safer than alcohol – and that’s definitely NOT something we can do today.
If the government really wants to keep us safe then why is it bending over backwards to make us unsafe?
He said he was once for it. Then he switched. What caused him to change his mind?
Bad trip.
Most people don’t really know if marijuana is safer than alcohol or not so it is a tough sell. I have talked to several people who have tried both and they feel that marijuana is no big deal. I never tried marijuana so I can’t compare from experience. I personally don’t want to stop people from using marijuana who have a medical condition. A problem is that lots of people will fake a medical condition to get marijuana, and I can’t come up with a good way to stop that. Should we punish those who have a medical need because we can’t stop people faking to get marijuana? That is terribly cruel and I am against that. My conclusion is that we must take the risk to make sure that those who need it for a medical condition can get it. As for making marijuana legal for everyone, I am the wrong person to ask. I just don’t know. The advantage is that the quality of marijuana could be controlled that way.. The disadvantage is that some people will try it and get hooked on it who would not have otherwise. Another concern of mine is that smoking it will harm one’s lungs. My question is would cookies or something made with marijuana be effective for those who need it for medical reasons?
Only traitors wage war on fellow citizens.
Many medical marijuana dispensaries sell more than just the herb-form of marijuana. Members who come to these dispensaries may buy edibles and even beverages infused with THC if they prefer these methods of ingestion to smoking.
The congressman displays an ignorance borne of unquestioning acceptance of tired, fear-based propaganda and a cowardly inability to found his policies on demonstrable facts. Sad, but true.
O my goodness. You CANNOT get “hooked” on marijuana. And yes you can eat it , drink it, vapor it. It is a very healthy alternative to alcohol as well. Not addictive
I am truly shocked and stunned that we still have IGNORANT Congressional Representatives making RASH and WRONG decisions Governing our Great Nation. They are all Wall Street Senior Partners with one thing in mind. Destroying what we have taken 236 years of defending with our lives and building a Government for the PEOPLE whom we can live with without saying at this juncture in time we cannot live with this Government’s intrusions on our free and legal rights to live free and healthy with our right to have equal justice for all and to defend ourselves against Tyranny in any form. We have the GOD given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We also have the rights of the American Constitution of the United States to put food on our families tables and feed our family’s. Make that illegal. Make us pay their salaries and taxes but send us to jail if we feed our family’s and send Cancer Patients to jail. Make that illegal so we can have our day in COURT and fire all of Congress so we can start all over again with the Constitution as our Nations first and only legal purpose for living. Otherwise Destroy US with expedience so we can start over again with all new Government Officials starting with Congress and the Presidency continuing down through the chain of command. WE THE PEOPLE! We will not be silenced, ever…
This comment is for Rudy, regarding cannabis smoke harming the lungs. It actually helps protect the lungs from other types of smoke, like tobacco. They tried for 30 years to prove that pot was bad for your lungs, and the studies finally revealed that it had a protective effect. You only need a puff or two of pot to feel it’s effects. It worse to breathe the air in a big city than have a puff of pot.
Congress, the President and all the Governors and Attorney Generals along with the Completely BIASED Supreme Court are complete being sick in their minds and actions regarding our Country. It’s TREASON and they should be taken out and shot in the finest of MILITARY STYLES. Their HEADS are BROKEN!!! Even Gabriel Gifford has better mental faculties than any one person in Congress…
Legalizing and regulating marijuana is the only effective way to prevent underage children from getting it. When I was in high school, it was pretty much impossible to ever get alcohol, but it was easy to find weed any day. I still kept good grades and got a 2030 on my SAT in my senior year (and I smoked just about every day) but there are some kids who don’t have their priorities straight like I did, so it is important that this temptation is kept out of their reach. For that reason I would advocate having a legal age of 21 to purchase and consume cannabis, and possibly an age of 18 to be able to grow your own (make the young adults appreciate it more
). Also, in response to Rudy, your concern for people “getting hooked on it” is unfounded. According to a study published by the Lancelet, a prestigious British medical journal, that reviewed the addictive potential of close to 30 legal and illegal drugs, marijuana scored very low. Nicotine, caffeine, and alcohol are actually much more addictive. I have done lots of research now that I am attending the college of my choice and have access to the online databases of many peer-reviewed scientific journals, and have discovered that the most “healthy” way to consume cannabis is through vaporization. In this process, the plant matter is heated to a point where the chemicals are activated and release vapor, but no smoke is produced, and therefore all tar and carcinogenic matter is avoided. Edibles are another way to go to avoid smoke but I think eating cookies and brownies everyday may make a patient slightly rounder (especially if the patient is in a chronic debilitating condition and unable to exercise). Best of luck to everyone educating themselves and others and remember to keep an open mind and evaluate your sources critically!
Only traitors wage war on fellow citizens.
Time for the executions of the traitors like Wolf to start. Wolf should be tried for treason and shot
Hey Rudy,
I would say people really do know marijuana is safer, there really isn’t anything to sell. There isn’t any evidence to say marijuana is addictive, at least not in the sense of physical dependence. Along with no recorded overdoses in its ancient history marijuana is definitely a safer alternative to alcohol. Anyone who claims medical marijuana programs are being abused and therefore need to be shut down clearly have an agenda to push. Pain clinics are far more abused then medical marijuana dispensaries and cause far greater damage, to the health of the individual and the community around them. How many representatives do you hear or see pushing to shut down pain clinics? I haven’t seen one. Watch Oxycontin Express. Also watch Ken Burns Prohibition, a PBS documentary. The quality of marijuana isn’t the only advantage to regulation. It also puts the distribution of marijuana into the hands of businesses, legally and morally obligated to follow regulations. A street dealer has no regulations to follow. They also have no legal obligation to financially contribute back to our society through taxes and fees. Of course inhaling any smoke is damaging to your lungs but correct me if I am wrong anyone, the evidence shows that marijuana doesn’t have nearly an impact on your lungs, as let’s say tobacco. I believe I have even seen some studies indicating an improvement in an individuals lung capacity. Vaporizers are also an alternative to traditional smoking. And as you mentioned there is the method of ingesting cannabis, which of course is much healthier for your body then smoking. However the doctor would have to determine the most effective method of administering cannabis. But as far as I know edibles are a very effective alternative.
Zach
You call that a confrontation? It has to be public with well planed questions and rebuttals to anticipated answers. He says it’s harmful WHY? What is the harm, call his bluff. How is helping sick people sending the wrong message to kids? Shouldn’t we then ban morphine, and speed for prescriptions as well? You let him get off without any embarrassment – better planning next time. Re-watch those Mark Souder videos!
Right! Not much of a “confrontation.” Not like SSDP’s Dan Goldman getting in the face of Rep. Bob Dornan in New Hampshire in 2000!!!
Like Ron White says – You can’t fix “STUPID”! This man is uneducated on the subject and doesn’t let facts or science get in the way of his opinion.
i’ve smoked marijuana for the last 20 years, and recently quit. It is not addictive in the sense that anything can be addictive, even chocolate. During the 20 years that I smoked, I went to collage, got a job, got married, got a better job, all while living in a foreign country, which one could call challenging. It hasn’t been a negative in any way in my life, quite the opposite. Now with new vaporization technologies one can vaporize tobacco or marijuana without getting the tar, which is a major breakthrough in application and reduced health risks dramatically. It should also be noted that one smokes marijuana at rate much less than tobacco. Watching the video, I’d say that that Congressman is a hack that is way out of touch with the times. I guess he thinks it sends a better message to young people by putting them behind bars. I hope the good people of the state of Virginia have the good sense to retire him come election time.
The research is clear. Marijuana is less a health or social harm than alcohol or tobacco. Prohibition does not work and increases the costs to society. The harm to an individual who is caught breaking the law along with the costs to society are much greater than the individual harm or societal costs from the use of the substance. I agree that an argument could be made regarding the harm to society from criminal elements supported by the illicit use of prohibited substances, but the criminal element is a direct result of prohibition. It’s time to use science, moral reasoning, and politics to end prohibition of this substance.
Wow this guy is one big steaming turd who the hell voted him in?
people that has not turned on,thats who
The entire govt is busy denying our rights in eforts to forestall the day, coming soon, when nobody will accept, as payment, another IOU from the private company called the Federal Reserve Bank-the ‘drug war ‘ helps this effort as does mandatory car insurance, excessive taxes, “defense spending”, and more. The longest lasting fiat money scheme in history is long overdue for a correction. Get ready to duck!