Updated May 26, 2013, 10:15 AM
HB 573 in New Hampshire would legalize the use of cannabis for medicinal use.
The New Hampshire House (which represents the people of NH) has, for the past four years, proposed a bill to legalize medicinal cannabis 3 out of the 4 years with an overwhelming majority of votes.
Under our former governor, John Lynch, this was an impossible act to pass through the Senate, let alone through the governor, as John Lynch felt that cannabis, aka marijuana, was nothing other than a dangerous, addictive drug, in much the same way as does the federal government which lists it as a Schedule One drug (narcotic) with zero medicinal value and an extremely high propensity for addiction.
To John Lynch, life in the "Live Free or Die" state meant life living in a family oriented amusement park with nothing that realistically related to the realities of the human condition. The fact that life involves people of all ages with different life situations and conditions meant nothing to him. He looked upon adults as children, life in NH as a child's amusement park and there were no adults present, just the state to mandate laws oriented towards children, with the insight being, adults other than government were not present. The day he left was the day I let out a huge sigh of relief. and voted for Maggie Hassan.
I voted for our new governor Maggie Hassan as I believed she was more open-minded, better educated and had the will of the people of New Hampshire in mind, and that she did not think of adults in our state simply as children. It appears, much as I wish it were not true, that I was deceived and sorely wrong.
The good news is that the NH Senate approved HB 573. The bad news is that it was severly gutted before passage - much of the slashing due to governor Maggie Hassan.
Normally i would post a link to the actual bill, but under the circumstances I am convinced the Senate bill as it has been rewritten is hardly suitable for consideration. It's like telling a kid you can eat popcorn, but without the corn.
Passage of HB 573 would legalize use of cannabis for those with medical need - and establish state run facilities to grow the cannabis for distribution. This could take 2 - 5 years.
In the meantime, although passage of the bill would legalize medical cannabis, the bill was stripped of protections for those who qualify as per legal exclusion until such time as the facilities are in operation. What this means is if one qualified legally, possession or use of cannabis until such time as the facilities are operational would mean the user is a criminal and subject to prosecution under current state laws prohibiting cannabis use.
Second: NH is a state without much in the way of public transportation. We are a commuter state. Stripped from the bill is the authority of those with a medical need to grow their own. The governor felt it would be a burden to law enforcement should the grow your own option be included, as law enforcement would be forced to make determinations of legality should they find someone growing cannabis. Since most such encounters involve law enforcement drawing their weapons under the assumption that cannabis users are equivalent to terrorists, murderers and rapists, it was felt that the grow your own option was too much for law enforcement to adapt to.
Third: Written permission needed to be required for a patient using medical cannabis - meaning that cannabis use is so dangerous per se, that a patient would need to provide land-lord or property owner permission of such use before the patient could be approved. Essentially, this equates to if you're gay, you can be gay if your land-lord or property owner approves.
Fourth: PTSD is not a valid condition for use of cannabis. You will want to read the following article first, but suffice to say that cannabis is very effective in treating symptoms of PTSD, for which alternative pharmaceuticals are extremely strong and potentially very addictive. Stripping the bill of the treatment for PTSD is like saying you can simply drink yourself to death or subject yourself to extremely powerful pharmaceuticals instead. CANNABIS AND PTSD
And finally... oddly enough the senate bill is written to require patients to sit in the pharmacy, sorry, cannabis facility, to use the medicine rather than provide for legal use at home.Yes, you heard me correctly. Under Gov. Hassan's guidance she felt it was irresponsible to allow patients the right to use cannabis at home. Even with written permission of the landlord or home-owner. No other medicine requires a patient to use it while at the pharmacy, but Gov. Hassan felt cannabis is the exception. Well, maybe not the only exception as those addicted to heroin often must inject methadone at the methadone clinic.
However, seriously, does she actually believe that cannabis is equivalent to heroin addiction? Where cannabis is medicine for many people, methadone is prescribed exclusively for heroin addiction and withdrawal. There is absolutely no comparison, yet that is how Governor Hassan views a prescription for cannabis. Under her mindset, we should require alcoholics to drink booze at the liquor store.
You can read about the SENATE BILL HERE.
All told, considering the empathy and understanding in all the other New England states, the current NH bill to legalize cannabis for medical use is a farce. I wish really I didn't have to say that, but it's the truth. The Live Free or Die state is encouraging death. And a torturous one at that.
Of course, should one wish to consider the position of the NH Medical Society, which suggests they've advocated for the betterment of medicine since 1791, one would be aghast at the possibility that a natural plant like cannabis be legalized for medicinal use given all they claim are dangerous about it, and how modern pharmaceuticals are far better for use by humans, drugs such as marinol, and other synthetics. I hate to suggest they are playing god, but they are, as natural plants, although subject to pollutants introduced by us humans render much of what we eat today dangerous, nonetheless, I'd suggest, if there is a natural alternative to pharmaceutics, that is far better than a pill. Still, to provide for open, honest discussion about the subject, refer to this document, submitted by the NH Medical Society, as to why a pill is better than the plant God provided us.
For myself, yet another misplaced vote for an elected official who simply just doesn't have what it takes to see reality, NH Medical Society aside as I believe they are wrong, and centuries of safe use of cannabis by humans is my proof. That official and the NH Society are welcome to comment on my blog to put forth their point of view and rebuttals. I doubt they will, but surprise me.Fact is, the natural plant provides a balanced God provided therapy that no pill can equally provide. Consider coffee as a basic example... it provides caffeine, which is available in pill form. But who the hell would give up their coffee for a pill???
Live Free if you can, but sadly, most of us must die first... and love NH, if you can believe in a lie, which I do not.
Stop The Hurt!
HB 573 in New Hampshire would legalize the use of cannabis for medicinal use.
The New Hampshire House (which represents the people of NH) has, for the past four years, proposed a bill to legalize medicinal cannabis 3 out of the 4 years with an overwhelming majority of votes.
Under our former governor, John Lynch, this was an impossible act to pass through the Senate, let alone through the governor, as John Lynch felt that cannabis, aka marijuana, was nothing other than a dangerous, addictive drug, in much the same way as does the federal government which lists it as a Schedule One drug (narcotic) with zero medicinal value and an extremely high propensity for addiction.
To John Lynch, life in the "Live Free or Die" state meant life living in a family oriented amusement park with nothing that realistically related to the realities of the human condition. The fact that life involves people of all ages with different life situations and conditions meant nothing to him. He looked upon adults as children, life in NH as a child's amusement park and there were no adults present, just the state to mandate laws oriented towards children, with the insight being, adults other than government were not present. The day he left was the day I let out a huge sigh of relief. and voted for Maggie Hassan.
I voted for our new governor Maggie Hassan as I believed she was more open-minded, better educated and had the will of the people of New Hampshire in mind, and that she did not think of adults in our state simply as children. It appears, much as I wish it were not true, that I was deceived and sorely wrong.
The good news is that the NH Senate approved HB 573. The bad news is that it was severly gutted before passage - much of the slashing due to governor Maggie Hassan.
Normally i would post a link to the actual bill, but under the circumstances I am convinced the Senate bill as it has been rewritten is hardly suitable for consideration. It's like telling a kid you can eat popcorn, but without the corn.
Passage of HB 573 would legalize use of cannabis for those with medical need - and establish state run facilities to grow the cannabis for distribution. This could take 2 - 5 years.
In the meantime, although passage of the bill would legalize medical cannabis, the bill was stripped of protections for those who qualify as per legal exclusion until such time as the facilities are in operation. What this means is if one qualified legally, possession or use of cannabis until such time as the facilities are operational would mean the user is a criminal and subject to prosecution under current state laws prohibiting cannabis use.
Second: NH is a state without much in the way of public transportation. We are a commuter state. Stripped from the bill is the authority of those with a medical need to grow their own. The governor felt it would be a burden to law enforcement should the grow your own option be included, as law enforcement would be forced to make determinations of legality should they find someone growing cannabis. Since most such encounters involve law enforcement drawing their weapons under the assumption that cannabis users are equivalent to terrorists, murderers and rapists, it was felt that the grow your own option was too much for law enforcement to adapt to.
Third: Written permission needed to be required for a patient using medical cannabis - meaning that cannabis use is so dangerous per se, that a patient would need to provide land-lord or property owner permission of such use before the patient could be approved. Essentially, this equates to if you're gay, you can be gay if your land-lord or property owner approves.
Fourth: PTSD is not a valid condition for use of cannabis. You will want to read the following article first, but suffice to say that cannabis is very effective in treating symptoms of PTSD, for which alternative pharmaceuticals are extremely strong and potentially very addictive. Stripping the bill of the treatment for PTSD is like saying you can simply drink yourself to death or subject yourself to extremely powerful pharmaceuticals instead. CANNABIS AND PTSD
And finally... oddly enough the senate bill is written to require patients to sit in the pharmacy, sorry, cannabis facility, to use the medicine rather than provide for legal use at home.Yes, you heard me correctly. Under Gov. Hassan's guidance she felt it was irresponsible to allow patients the right to use cannabis at home. Even with written permission of the landlord or home-owner. No other medicine requires a patient to use it while at the pharmacy, but Gov. Hassan felt cannabis is the exception. Well, maybe not the only exception as those addicted to heroin often must inject methadone at the methadone clinic.
However, seriously, does she actually believe that cannabis is equivalent to heroin addiction? Where cannabis is medicine for many people, methadone is prescribed exclusively for heroin addiction and withdrawal. There is absolutely no comparison, yet that is how Governor Hassan views a prescription for cannabis. Under her mindset, we should require alcoholics to drink booze at the liquor store.
You can read about the SENATE BILL HERE.
All told, considering the empathy and understanding in all the other New England states, the current NH bill to legalize cannabis for medical use is a farce. I wish really I didn't have to say that, but it's the truth. The Live Free or Die state is encouraging death. And a torturous one at that.
Of course, should one wish to consider the position of the NH Medical Society, which suggests they've advocated for the betterment of medicine since 1791, one would be aghast at the possibility that a natural plant like cannabis be legalized for medicinal use given all they claim are dangerous about it, and how modern pharmaceuticals are far better for use by humans, drugs such as marinol, and other synthetics. I hate to suggest they are playing god, but they are, as natural plants, although subject to pollutants introduced by us humans render much of what we eat today dangerous, nonetheless, I'd suggest, if there is a natural alternative to pharmaceutics, that is far better than a pill. Still, to provide for open, honest discussion about the subject, refer to this document, submitted by the NH Medical Society, as to why a pill is better than the plant God provided us.
For myself, yet another misplaced vote for an elected official who simply just doesn't have what it takes to see reality, NH Medical Society aside as I believe they are wrong, and centuries of safe use of cannabis by humans is my proof. That official and the NH Society are welcome to comment on my blog to put forth their point of view and rebuttals. I doubt they will, but surprise me.Fact is, the natural plant provides a balanced God provided therapy that no pill can equally provide. Consider coffee as a basic example... it provides caffeine, which is available in pill form. But who the hell would give up their coffee for a pill???
Live Free if you can, but sadly, most of us must die first... and love NH, if you can believe in a lie, which I do not.
Stop The Hurt!
I myself voted for Hassen thinking how happy I am to see Lynch go. I also thought she was more open minded and progressive. Guess I was also wrong. She won't get my vote again. The stipulations to the HB are beyond ridiculous. And yes they (the government) do treat us like children. Cannabis is a medicinal herb and should be treated as such. Chamomile tea is a sleep aid, a relaxant, so I guess we should get a script for that one too!
ReplyDeleteBest not be caught growing chamomile or any other medicinal herb or you might get arrested!!!
Mrs. Hassen will be getting a letter from me. Good post Bobkat!
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