Posted on 11/11/2015 11:22:02 AM PST by ConservingFreedom
Another day, another controversy. Medical marijuana activists are rightly upset over comments DEA head, Chuck Rosenberg, made to reporters last week.
During a Q&A, he talked about his stance on medical marijuana.
"What really bothers me is the notion that marijuana is also medicinal because it's not. We can have an intellectually honest debate about whether we should legalize something that is bad and dangerous, but don't call it medicine -- that is a joke."
Right, so you want to have an intellectual debate prefaced with medical marijuana is a joke. Want to clarify that bit a more?
"There are pieces of marijuana -- extracts or constituents or component parts -- that have great promise," he said. "But if you talk about smoking the leaf of marijuana -- which is what people are talking about when they talk about medicinal marijuana -- it has never been shown to be safe or effective as a medicine."
I'm with the activists who point to study after study showing it helps with chronic pain, muscle spasms and other ailments. In fact, here's an analysis of 79 studies from JAMA pointing to "moderate-quality evidence to support the use of cannabinoids for the treatment of chronic pain and spasticity."
Damn, here he is making a blanket statement and along comes science...
No. I get the frustrations of medical marijuana activists. They have turned to change.org demanding his resignation. As of today, the petition has gathered nearly 16,000 signatures.
Nothing wrong with voicing frustration at the DEA head, but it's empty. The DEA works like every other agency in the executive branch. It enforces the law. Well, sometimes...
23 states and DC have passed some form of marijuana legalization. Specific medicinal uses all the way to recreational. One problem, none of the state laws trump federal law.
And yes, the DEA is a federal agency. Chuck Rosenberg isn't a fan of marijuana. Even if he was on the side of legalizing it for everyone, he can't do anything. His job is to enforce the law as directed by the President.
Notice the raids have quieted down on dispensaries across the 23 states? Rosenberg may think it's a joke, but the latitude given to the states is telling. Politicians make bombastic statements, but state after state is flipping green.
The FDA is moving to give researchers more room to study the drug. The JAMA study above? 79 studies. That's it. In 2013, 16,000 people overdosed from opioid painkillers. How many died from overdosing on marijuana? Oh right... Zero.
Other studies have shown a decrease in painkiller overdose deaths when medical marijuana was accessible.
It isn't just pain where marijuana plays a significant role. Seizure disorders have been treated with various strains. Who knows what researchers could unlock in the future?
Is it time to open the doors and make it legal? For medicinal use? Definitely. Recreational? Soon, but it needs tight regulation to prevent a wild west of potent strains and no oversight. In Colorado and Washington, the results are still early, but you cannot call it a failure.
Is it a joke? Maybe to Chuck Rosenberg and others. Should he resign or be fired? Of course not.
To the people medical marijuana helps? They aren't laughing. And it's a shame they get targeted. But, the tide is turning. The American people are with them. State governments are increasingly with them. The Federal government? One day you'll wake up to a simple voice vote that finally ends the debate.
“You could say that about any drug-—such as morphine.”
Well, yes, morphine IS an opiate, so that is exactly what I’m talking about. This is true about all pain relief drugs, except for over-the-counter stuff like aspirin and ibuprofen. So vicodin, oxycontin, Tylenol 3, codeine, etc, are all more toxic and addictive than marijuana.
“I’m saying mm here in CA is a total fraud and recreational use is total bs.”
Maybe, but don’t say there are less toxic pain relievers out there, because the ones that are less toxic are basically lightweight stuff that wouldn’t be prescribed to deal with any serious conditions. Even those (aspirin and nsaids like ibuprofen) are still probably more toxic than marijuana with prolonged use.
It shows that California medical marijuana dispensaries are hubs for criminality which an above poster (trapped behind liberal lines) has been saying.
If you want to cop some weed avoid the California Medical marijuana dispensaries//// There have been shootouts at them and they are thronged with Obama voters
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One Dead in Shooting Outside Marijuana Dispensary …
www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/security-guard-shot-outside-socal...
One person was killed in a shooting Wednesday that began outside a Southern California medical marijuana dispensary near LAX, officials said.
Yeah. I know about all this stuff. My parents are in the medical field and they think mm is bogus bs.
I have some of my own personal experiences. I suffered a lumbar strain while lifting weights in the gym. I was prescribed vicodin, not mm. Another drug which is often abused.
TRUTH!!! especially the nation of losers part.
TRUTH!!! especially the nation of losers part.
“horsepoop. MJ is toxic crap. There are other things you take to relieve pain.”
Oh goodness. You have that completely backwards. EVERY SINGLE OTHER pain reliever is very toxic and has drug interactions (opiods, ibuprofen, acetaminophen and naproxen)
Cannabis was shown repeatedly to have *absolutely zero* toxicity at any dose and no known drug interaction. Even when the doses are astronomical and only possible in a lab setting.
There has NEVER been any organ damage or overdose from cannabis at ANY dose.
Sure, smoke causes lung damage but with today’s advancements nobody has to smoke it. You can inhale clean vapor or take pills.
Cannabis prohibition is a SCAM to keep the sales of toxic, expensive painkillers high.
MM is extensively abused here in CA.
But all drugs probably have some medicinal purposes.
Many cancer patients, particularly those with terminal cancer, are prescribed morphine to relieve pain, including some individuals in my family.
*ping*
Which proves what? Should all restaurants be banned if one restaurant employed a murdering illegal alien?
It shows that California medical marijuana dispensaries are hubs for criminality [...] There have been shootouts at them
A handful of cases don't make a "hub".
The use of hydrocodone, or morphine, or any of the opiates is tightly controlled and used in very limited instances, although it IS still abused.
"Medical" marijuana is sold as a long-term, habitual "treatment" unlike any of the pain-relieving drugs.
Here's a good test: Show me the correlation of the advocacy of "medical" marijuana and advocacy for it's recreational use. A month's pay says that they track right on top of each other.
Big pharm’s painkillers are toxic (you can die from an overdose), plus addictive and develop tolerances, not to mention a host of other negative side effects. MM is mild and benign in comparison. You are simply spouting ignorance.
Yes, indeed.
You might as well say "party marijuana," because that is the effect.
Oh, look. A libertarian, who is really just a fake liberal.
Do any of the advocates for medical marijuana posting here OPPOSE legalizing recreational use?
But...wouldn’t the heat from grow houses and smoking it lead to more global warming?
Has recreational use of hydrocodone been pushed into acceptability by its accepted medical uses?
The use of hydrocodone, or morphine, or any of the opiates is tightly controlled and used in very limited instances, although it IS still abused.
Is that abuse "accepted"?
"Medical" marijuana is sold as a long-term, habitual "treatment" unlike any of the pain-relieving drugs.
I know of no evidence that MM is prescribed longer-term than any other painkiller.
Here's a good test: Show me the correlation of the advocacy of "medical" marijuana and advocacy for it's recreational use.
No, that's a crappy test ... marijuana's medical benefits are what they are, regardless of anyone's motive for highlighting those benefits.
All the instances that you mention can be treated with oral THC, which provide the pain and nausea relief purportedly provided by marijuana. So, why the insistence on the leaf?
Do any of the Reefer Madness brigade know how to read a thread? "I'm very pro medical marijuana, but against legalizing it for recreational use." - post #25
The pharmaceuticals you recommend in place of medical MJ kill thousands upon thousands of people every year.
The MJ that you rabidly attack kills approximately zero people every year.
Your ignorance is showing.
Wrong, it's an excellent test. I contend that those pushing for medical marijuana are EXACTLY those who are pushing for it's legalization across the board. That is highly relevant.
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