Paul Ryan Says Feds Shouldn’t Interfere With Legalized Medical Pot

KCBS ^ | September 7, 2012

[Ken H]

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS/AP) – Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan tells a Colorado television station that the federal government shouldn’t interfere with states that have legalized medical marijuana.

Ryan told KRDO-TV in Colorado Springs that he personally doesn’t approve of medical marijuana laws. But he said that states should have the right to choose whether to legalize the drug for medical purposes.

[Paradox]

Next on GeronL’s list, another straw man...

[eddie willers]

I’m happy to see that most of the posters have gotten it right, along with Paul Ryan.

[rawcatslyentist]

Thank you for informing me of your first hand account of the potency of ancient cannabis.

You can pretend what you want to pretend.

I go by faith in the Word.

[angry elephant]

I am in Washington state and I think we should legalize it and tax it. We have driven out a lot of business here.

When researching why marijuana is illegal while alcohol is not, I discovered that Hearst had a big lobby against it. He had huge timber holdings and did not want hemp competing.

Before that, of course, the cotton industry lobbied against it because it makes better ropes and sails.

It is a state’s rights issue. The feds have no business in it accept, of course, for their massive totalitarian quest.

[funfan]

I guess next week we will hear that Obama has had a change of heart and he will say the same as Paul Ryan but he will just give lip service

[DrewsMum]

Exactly. And the drug companies are the reason medical mj is illegal. I’m a capitalist through and through, but I’ve had a problem with the pharmaceutical industry for years. They are why apricot seeds are illegal in the U.S. YES, it is illegal to sell apricot seeds outside the fruit in the U.S. WHY? They are proven cancer curers..

[TigersEye]

He might even get my vote.

[TigersEye]

Cannabis today bears little resemblance in potency to that of just 40 years ago

That's total BS. I gare-own-tee it.

[3Fingas]

This is a states rights issue. I don’t like potheads, but medically prescribed and clinically administered medical marijuana is not the same as the kind sold behind head shops.
If doctors see some value in prescribing it, I would not oppose its legalization for that purpose. I do, however, oppose the recreational use of marijuana.

[TigersEye]

What you really mean is that Los Angeles is a dismal failure not marijuana. We don’t have any of those problems in CO.

[bobo1]

i would legalize it, tax it and use the same procedures we use with cigs.

state law, get over it. a war against drugs was lost a long time ago.

get it out in the open and you can control it a lot better than we are doing now.

the money we spend to try to keep people from doing what they are going to to anyway is ridiculous.

we sat around in college in the 70’s and decided that the best thin to do was round em up behind a chain link fence and take a dump truck and give them the drugs.

cheaper than what we are doing now.

Blessings, bobo

[skully]

Hat's off to your step dad, he's a hero in my book.

My best friend's father, who served 2 tours in Vietnam; died a few years ago of cancer. He claimed pot gave him the appetite to eat enough to retain strength, and extend his life a few years beyond what the doctors told him. He was able to see a granddaughter born; he believed he never would have seen otherwise. He was as solid an American you will ever find.

I get bouts of insomnia from time to time, and will occasionally take a toke or two to sleep when they occur. I find it way less a “narcotic” like effect than Ambien, and the other OTC meds I've tried over the years. I have no problem getting up the next day for work. I'm always hungry when I get up in the morning; so there's no noticeable affect on my appetite though.

[WVKayaker]

... I do, however, oppose the recreational use of marijuana.

I'd bet you do, however, approve the recreational use of BEER and BOOZE!

Is it really any of your business if your neighbor smokes a doobie? Do you have any understanding of our God-given rights through our Founding Documents? What part of "Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness" don't you understand, and where do you perceive any authority for entering my home to arrest me for possessing a WEED???

I smoked it when I was young, and at 65, have no problems if somebody lights one up. I have a circle of friends which meets up weekly for a "jam session", with beer, pot, and whiskey. It includes a Deputy Sheriff Sargent and a County Attorney. I smoke a good cigar and enjoy a good Scotch or Brandy, and don't criticize those that toke. It's THEIR decision to make! If I choose to be in that circle, I have that RIGHT! I'm an American citizen.

Alcohol is AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN, the biggest scourge in our society!

[Ken H]

Suppose Colorado votes to legalize recreational use by adults this November (see post #82).

Would you support its authority under the Tenth Amendment to enact such a policy?

[3Fingas]

Just because I oppose something doesn’t mean I want a law against it. Marijuana is currently a controlled substance, so if you don’t like that, work to change the law. Simple.

I did say it was a States’ Rights issue.

I agree with you that alcohol causes a lot of problems. I generally think that people are better off not consuming it, but I don’t favor a law banning it.

So, back to my original point, I think the Federal Government should not interfere with a state’s right to legalize marijuana for prescribed, medical purposes.

[3Fingas]

I would support Colorado’s right to do so; however, if I lived in Colorado I would not avail myself to that right as I have seen what the recreational smoking of dope does to people and it is not an improvement.

[higgmeister]

come on you say a dry pill of thalidomide can release enough medication through the skin to be teratogenic? why isn’t it delivered as an enteric coated pill, so that such contamination by casual contact would be impossible?

I can still see, in my mind, the haunting pictures from Life magazine of the thalidomide babies. I did not know about the use of thalidomide to alleviate nausea from chemotherapy. That tells me that insanity is still alive and well in the human race.

[WVKayaker]

... I think the Federal Government should not interfere with a state’s right(s) ...

Would it also be a state's right to legalize it for ANY use? Marijuana is a controlled substance, just like tobacco, alcohol, and firearms...

[Blue Ink]

“The reason why it gets so bad with drug dens is that it’s still illegal.”

Um, it was illegal. We lived in a nice neighborhood. Then they legalized it. Collectives in every strip mall. That’s when it got “so bad.” When it was legal.

All you people arguing for its legalization? Live with it on the front lines a few years and then call back.

[cynwoody]

we just to find a manufactured airborne pathogen to eradicate it

From the real story:

I[Eric Singer, of KRDO, Colorado Springs] asked Congressman Ryan: "In Colorado we have medical marijuana. Under a Romney Ryan ticket, what happens?"

Ryan: "It's up to Coloradans to decide."

I said: "So even if federal law says marijuana is illegal, you're saying?"

Ryan: "My personal positions on this issue have been let the states decide what to do with these things. This is something that is not a high priority of ours as to whether or not we go down the road on this issue. What I've always believed is the states should decide. I personally don't agree with it, but this is something Coloradans have to decide for themselves."

With what part of Mr Ryan's position do you disagree?

Ryan's head is screwed on right. Yours?