Posted on 12/18/2014 2:20:21 PM PST by balch3
OKLAHOMA CITY – After legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, Colorado is at the heart of a lawsuit.
The Denver Post is reporting that Nebraska and Oklahoma have filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the justices to strike down Colorado’s legalization laws.
The Colorado attorney general’s office says the lawsuit alleges “that Colorado’s Amendment 64 and its implementing legislation regarding marijuana is unconstitutional under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.”
“Because neighboring states have expressed concern about Colorado-grown marijuana coming into their states, we are not entirely surprised by this action,” said Colorado Attorney General John Suthers. “However, it appears the plaintiff’s primary grievance stems from non-enforcement of federal laws regarding marijuana, as opposed to choices made by the voters of Colorado. We believe this suit is without merit and we will vigorously defend against it in the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Click here to read a copy of the lawsuit.
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt issued the following statement about the lawsuit:
“Fundamentally, Oklahoma and states surrounding Colorado are being impacted by Colorado’s decision to legalize and promote the commercialization of marijuana which has injured Oklahoma’s ability to enforce our state’s policies against marijuana. Federal law classifies marijuana as an illegal drug. The health and safety risks posed by marijuana, especially to children and teens, are well documented. The illegal products being distributed in Colorado are being trafficked across state lines thereby injuring neighboring states like Oklahoma and Nebraska. As the state’s chief legal officer, the attorney general’s office is taking this step to protect the health and safety of Oklahomans.”
One bit of information that I’ve come across is that recreational smokers who have to switch to medical-grade MJ for pain, disease, or injury, find that old issues that street MJ never touched do get better on the MM.
The MM is higher in CBD. This is a compound that does not have psychoactive effects. But it does decrease muscle spasms, inflammation and pain. In epileptics, CBD is an acknowledged treatment - in many cases it works better than any pharmacologically produced medication. There are growers who specialize in strains that are very low in THC and high in CBD, especially for epileptic children. Oils produced from these plants do not make people high.
THC does have it’s own benefits and most people in my situation tend to go for strains that are 1:1 ratio of THC/CBD. The high is much less potent (from what I’ve heard) but can calm the anxiety that goes with chronic pain and help people sleep.
That’s one of my goals. To sleep without Lorazepam. This medication really messes with my brain and makes it difficult for me to form new memories during the day. But I simply cannot sleep without it.
For anyone who says that ‘pot messes with your memory,’ I have to laugh. The drugs that my doctor prescribes me mess with my memory. I cannot imagine that pot will be *worse* than those drugs.
Most of the cartels have been developing MJ for the high - so they breed strains with the most THC. That is not what the MM patient is looking for. (That’s not what *I* am looking for.) Which is why I haven’t tried (readily available) street MJ. I don’t want to get high. I need medicine, not a party.
The steroids are destroying my bones and hormonal and immune systems. The Lorazepam messes with my brain. The narcotics help with the pain, but do make me high and, combined with the OTC pain meds, are destroying my liver. I’ve gradually weaned myself down on narcotics so that I have just enough to take the edge off, but the pain stops me from throwing the rest in the garbage and I have no quality of life. My stomach is ripped up with the large daily doses of aspirin and ibuprofen.
How is pot any worse than what the prescribed medications are doing to me?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrVXRZY1_x0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2qFDb8LExo&list=PL2sS6bGk1mzHh0Lz_h8jsLj87MZQhew3Y
exactly, let the feds deal with interstate commerce...it is not up to Colorado to police people who are purchasing a legal product.
by the way I oppose legalization.
Exactly.
“ultimately concluding that short-term problems like diminished cognitive and psychomotor function and long-term issues like mental illness, dependence and memory problems outweighed any potential pain mitigation effects”
Have ANY of these doctors actually tried the medications that they’re prescribing?!
With all of these ‘dangers’ they just described what my pain medications do to me. Worse, my pain medications are ripping apart my stomach and liver, destroy my immune system, my hormonal system, and degrade my bones.
There is NO study that says that marijuana causes even half of the damage that my prescribed medications are actually doing to me - right now.
I’m so sensitive to infections from the steroids that I may as well have AIDS. I’m on antibiotics all of the time and they have their own effects on the body. The anti-fungals (that counter the antibiotics) are destroying my liver. My surgeon told me that my bones are turning to ‘mush’ from these medications.
The meds that I’m given to help me sleep have destroyed my ability to learn and form new memories. I had to drop a college class because I couldn’t do the memorization work to take a simple test. And I’m the woman to studied astrophysics for FUN. Now I have terrifying black-outs.
ALL of this is from prescription drugs.
If medical marijuana can reduce my pain and get me off of all of the medications that are killing me, then we have a winner.
And I’m not talking about ‘street’ pot with a ton of THC and none of the medicinal benefits. I’m talking about medical MJ that has more of the CBD that actually reduced inflammation and nerve pain WITHOUT the high.
But even if it does make me high - so what? You don’t think that the opiates make me high and unable to function? If marijuana messes with my memory - so what? The benzos that the doctor prescribes me has already destroyed me on that front.
But MAYBE I’ll spare my immune system, my endocrine system, and my bones, stomach and liver with pot.
Sounds like a fantastic trade-off, to me.
“Because of a lack of comprehensive study on the side effects of medical marijuana use and little regulation of dosage and consistency in product, the review by physicians and researchers at McGill University and the University of Michigan recommends against its use for the treatment of pain.”
Yup. But did you know that it’s almost IMPOSSIBLE to do the studies in the US because MJ is a Schedule 1 drug - highly addictive with no medical benefit.
As researchers try to jump through the governmental hoops to ACTUALLY DO THE STUDIES, they just get more roadblocks thrown in front of them by the government.
In Spain and Israel - countries where the government really does allow the research - they’re finding a ton of benefits.
Saying, “There are not enough studies to conclude that marijuana has a benefit,” and saying, “We, the government, refuse to allow anyone to DO ANY studies,” is disingenuous, to say the least.
The pain meds that I am on are killing my endocrine and immune systems. I am suffering liver and stomach damage and bone loss. You cannot stay on these drugs for years.
In addition, opiates do not do well when it comes to treating nerve pain. (One of my major problems.) They are HIGHLY addictive and highly damaging to the body and the brain. The steroids destroy multiple systems and bone and make the patient susceptible to infections. The anti-fungal medications that offset those infections damage the liver.
The doctors are limited in their pain management arsenal, and that is the truth.
I’m going to try medicinal marijuana for my nerve pain, muscle spasms, and chronic inflammation. IF marijuana can get me off of half of my prescribed medications and end my dependency on the handfuls of OTC meds, then marijuana will extend my life expectancy significantly.
As I’m on the brink of death now, what do I have to lose?
I challenge you, and everyone else on this thread, to show me one confirmed area where medical marijuana will do MORE damage than the doctor-prescribed medications that I’m on. In ANY area, where is marijuana worse? (Or even as bad?)
“We all know many who want this drug pretend to have pain to get high, only an idiot would pretend otherwise”
Yup. And there are people who want to get drunk. And people who want to get stoned on vicodin.
And I don’t give a crap about those people.
I really don’t.
If your efforts to prevent one person from getting stoned stands in the way of a sick person getting help, then you’re wrong.
Let them get high. Let them OD and die. I really don’t care about them any more.
I care about the person suffering and in pain.
“I stopped at when you had written about 3 Docs were laughing at you.”
Then you’re cruel.
At that moment, I had just undergone jaw surgery and I was in horrible pain. But the effects of the opioid that I was given scared the hell out of me.
The fact that you can’t look at a young mother who just had her jaw broken and empathize with her terror as she experienced mind-altering medication for the first time in her life (and had medical personal who had seen the worst and had no care for her terror) shows that you’re about as unfeeling as they were.
I didn’t touch alcohol until I was in my 30’s. I’ve never had marijuana.
I’m not a stoner. I’m a mother, a wife, a grandmother, and a pain patient. And I’m fighting for my life right now.
At this point, I don’t give a fig what you think.
I think you have already been able to reach this conclusion on your own, but I wish to support it, just the same.
It is rarely a good idea to let people certainly with no real knowledge of your condition or circumstances, and quite possibly with no particular or specialized knowledge to support the opinions they put forth, guide you in important personal decisions; least of all, those who have the mistaken certainty that they know what is best for everyone.
As you have already discovered, you can post that you have long term chronic pain (redundant, I know), with opiates not being an option and have some post that opiates are the preferred treatment for short-term pain. Well, duh, thank you Captain Obvious! Maybe tomorrow we can learn the startling news that the sun rises in the east! Unfortunately the problem was neither the alleviation of short term pain, nor the preferred direction of sunrise.
The right medicine is the one that works for you. Period. I hope that you will be able to find a doctor who has a real interest and experience in your particular circumstances.
Your life is precious in the eyes of God. Suffering comes to each of our lives in different ways. God will not let us carry more than we can handle. Maybe your situation will be the very one that proves wrong the people who would declare themselves your judges.
When someone tells you something won’t work, some reasonable questions for them are:
Under what circumstances did you try this?
What protocols did you follow?
How did you validate the results?
What parameters may have influence those results?
How has the state of the art changed since that trial?
Best wishes and prayers for a successful result in your search for relief.
Thank you so much for your empathy. As I’ve slowly discovered an alternative to death, I’ve gradually approached my family and friends with this decision to try something unorthodox.
They love me and some are whole-hearted. But some are afraid to even look at the information. (And they say that pot makes you paranoid. When you’re too terrified to even watch a YouTube video, then you’re paranoid.)
Yes. This is my last resort. And I’m going to leave my home and find a place to rent in order to even try this last resort. Who would do this for Vicodin?
Everyone thinks that they’re strong enough to withstand pain. Sure you are... but even a consistent small pain will destroy you in time.
Again, thank you for your support. As I take the leap off the cliff into my final hope, I do need that support.
What moves between states isn't "international."
And don’t forget making prison corporations rich while providing little or no education, job training, mental health services, or pay.
“Do you support the original intent of the Commerce Clause and Tenth Amendment, yes or no?”
Yes, but apparently there’s some misunderstanding of their intent. Commodities which are traded between, through, or across state borders, illegal or legal; moral or immoral; just or unjust; holy or unholy; can and should be regulated by the federal government. And who says it’s Colorado-grown pot and not weed coming in from Mexico anyway? Regulation and separation makes locally-grown weed impossible to do profitably. We’re already seeing it here. Projected tax revenues are much lower that projections. Why is that (that’s a rhetorical question)?
States can produce their own food, their own supplies, and anything else. The second those items cross their borders, illegally or not, the second it becomes the business of the feds. That’s what this lawsuit is all about. The feds must step in and regulate, ban, or force Colorado’s hand to end illegal distribution. Colorado did a horrible thing legalizing marijuana before it was able to eliminate 95% of the illegal distribution. It’s not fair, just, or correct for Colorado citizens. It’s not fair, just, or correct for Colorado weed farmers. It’s not fair, just, or correct for Kansas and Nebraska. They don’t want it in their states, and they’re abiding by the federal laws prohibiting it. I’m 100% FOR this as it’s clearly spelled out in the Constitution. Refer to USC: “general welfare of the United States”.
“What moves between states isn’t ‘international.’”
Weed coming from Mexico was, is, and always will be international. And at this point in time, 98% of the weed is still coming from Mexico. If we had the damned wall built between us and Mexico, it doesn’t matter anyway. The Commerce Clause enables the feds to regulate weed regardless. The framers knew this quite well... they were experts in commodities trading.
So you are indeed trashing the Constitution, specifically the original meaning of the Commerce Clause and the Tenth Amendment, just so you can have your drug war. Here's a real world example =>
Not long after the decision in Raich, the Court vacated a lower court decision in United States v. Stewart and remanded it to the court of appeals for reconsideration in light of Raich. In Stewart, the Ninth Circuit had held that Congress lacked the Commerce Clause power to criminalize the possession of homemade machine guns.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonzales_v._Raich
Unfamiliar with the "Cheese" strains? I was, too. Bought a copy of High Times the other day. Let's just say that things have changed since '79.
Colorado's law is pretty specific about exporting weed, and NE and OK sound like they're serious about enforcing their laws. If they don't like the current arrangement, maybe they could adjust their bail schedules for weed.
Nobody uses seeds? Why do they cost 10 bucks apiece for some strains?
Eliminating 95% of the illegal distribution without legalization is a utopian pipe-dream; even the world's police states have drug problems. The way we eliminated the illegal distribution of alcohol was to end Prohibition.
That is very true especially considering that marijuana is illegal at the federal level. If marijuana was not illegal at the federal level then Oklahoma and Nebraska would face a probable uphill battle. I think the argument for Oklahoma and Nebraska is made stronger by the federal marijuana law.
Interesting. You are making two arguments which are non sequitur. Unfortunately, this is how the federal government continues on its path to Leviathan status.
By your first definition, which closely matches the intent of the commerce clause, if Mary goes to Colorado and purchases a hundred packages of smoked salmon and takes them back to Oklahoma for resale, then the Federal government has some standing. Primarily, their intended role was to ensure that a pound of smoked salmon weighed in Colorado, and unaltered, has the same weight in Oklahoma, and that tariffs would not be charged by Oklahoma for the "import" of the smoked salmon, thus stoking trade wars between the confederation of states.
By your second definition, if Mary buys a single smoked salmon in Colorado to eat at home with her prime rib, she is magically involved in interstate commerce. This is an obvious overreach of the federal government to anyone who is not a lawyer for the leviathan.
Unfortunately for every citizen of the US, the current situation is actually far worse than this. The supreme court has actually upheld this scenario:
Lucy and Jenny live in California. California has decriminalized medical use marijuana. Jenny is confined to a wheelchair, and cannot do much to help herself. Lucy grows pot in their back yard, specifically and uniquely for Jenny's use. The pot is grown in California, is never sold to anyone, and is consumed in California. In point of fact, the pot never leaves Lucy's private property. The DEA raids Lucy & Jenny and arrests them for violation of federal law. They get a conviction, followed by appeal ... ultimately to the supreme court.
The government argues that Lucy's production of pot on her own private property in a state that allows such use, has ...wait for it... the potential to affect interstate commerce of pot by other parties, in other states, even when they have no knowledge of Lucy and Jenny's activities.
And this is how a federal government gives itself unlimited power over anything in anyone's life. Your homemade apple pie may now be considered to potentially affect the interstate commerce of something...maybe saran wrap, under this interpretation, even if it never leaves your kitchen and is made from sugar, wheat and apples that you grew on your own property.
George Orwell was a piker.
They should have shot Wickard, and sent Filburn to Congress.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.