Drug War Issues
Politics & Advocacy
Voters in Dane County, Wisconsin, the home of Madison, the state's capital and second largest city, will be asked if they support passage of a state medical marijuana law, and they might not be alone. A city councilman in River Falls last week filed petitions seeking to put the same question on the local ballot in that town of nearly 15,000 in west-central Wisconsin, near the Twin Cities.
In the November 2 election, Dane County, voters will be asked: "Should the Wisconsin Legislature enact legislation allowing residents with debilitating medical conditions to acquire and possess marijuana for medical purposes if supported by their physician?"
The move comes after medical marijuana activists such as Is My Medicine Legal Yet (IMMLY) have spent years trying to get the state legislature to pass a bill, to no avail. It is designed to show legislators they have nothing to fear politically by approving medical marijuana, and to suggest that the opposite could be the case.
The Madison resolution was approved by the Dane County Board in a unanimous voice vote on July 15. The charge was led by east side supervisors John Hendrick and Barbara Vedder, according to a report from IMMLY's Gary Storck.
"I would just invite all of you to join Representative Vedder to represent our constituents and to represent the opportunity for all of your constituents to vote on this in November and to advise the legislature that they have nothing to fear from the people of Wisconsin if they decide to pass a bill to legalize medical marijuana," Hendrick told his colleagues before the vote.
And they took him up on it. Now, the city council in River Falls will have the same opportunity, after City Council Member Bob Hughes filed more than 800 signatures last week with the city clerk's office seeking to put a referendum question with identical language there.
Now, the city attorney will review the referendum question and then submit it to the city council. The council will then vote on whether to add the question to the ballot.
"Some community members contacted me about it and asked if I was willing to help," Hughes said. It is another step in the process of bringing medical marijuana to Wisconsin, he said.
Fourteen states and the District of Columbia have already approved medical marijuana, although programs are not yet in effect in New Jersey or the District. Arizona will vote on it in November.
Permission to Reprint: This content is licensed under a modified Creative Commons Attribution license. Content of a purely educational nature in Drug War Chronicle appear courtesy of DRCNet Foundation, unless otherwise noted.
Comments
Medical Marijuana
i believe it would be very
i believe it would be very beneficial to legalize medical marijuana. my parents are very disabled and are on all sorts of medicines that makes them not life like at all and i hate when i have to go over there and talk to them when there on all those pills, its like they dont know whose coming and going when they are on them, but the few times that they have used marijuana they were in such a good mood and you could tell they felt better about life! People who are in pain need something that will help them feel better about life, not something that brings them down and make them want to sleep for hours and hours and make them feel icky. marijuana doesnt do that, it helps people to eat and have a good mood. and when your in pain you just dont want to do any of that. good luck with the passing of medical marijuana. i very much support it!!
Medical Pot
Medical marijuana should be allowed , if just for the Vets. They are the ones that turned the world onto it. Not just American vets, but all the countries that had troops in Vietnam. They brought this penicillin of the future back with them. The veterans are a cash a cow for the big pharma companies. These prescription drug dealers don't want Vets to be able to find relief to their ills with a simple plant that grows out of gods earth, and it does not need any doctoring to do its stuff.
Is the Veterans Administration in lockstep with these big drug dealers just to keep the flow of profits off our Vets.
Shouldn't their first priority be the health and well being of our brave women and men whom preserve and protect our way of life, with their life. God suggests liberty and freedom. It is our brave men and women whom fight and die for it.
They deserve it the most. Google vawatchdog. See for yourself the stories of horror. Weed vs Narcotics. Narcotics kill, Weed does not. You do not get high from Marijuana. It relaxes you more then any drugs made by man, with no harmful side affects. Anyone tells you different is very ill informed. (google cannabinoids) FREED the WEED. Hemp Solo
In reply to Medical Pot by Hemp Solo (not verified)
Vets did not introduce this
Vets did not introduce this to anybody, though. It was grown widely in the US and worldwide for thousands of years, bot for hemp fabric and for medicine. George Washington grew hemp. It didn't get banned until the 20th century, to scapegoat Mexicans and to help the lumber, cotton, and chemical industries. It should simply be legal, for everybody, period.
In reply to Vets did not introduce this by Anonymouse (not verified)
Vets did introduce cannabis.
While it is true cannabis has been with us for thousands of years. Yes, George Washington grew it, but not just for the Hemp value. There is also some historians that say Mr. Washington had asked Ben Franklin to bring back the good seeds found on his trips to France in those days. That might of been the way he got to get his troops to follow him across the Delaware on that cold December night, by promise of a great buzz when they had finished the job. You might call George the first "Pot Patriot". Our first "Stoner Soldier" Back in the fifties some knew of it and its ability to get what some would say a high, but it was kept a secret for fear of the Reefer Madness type of propaganda going on in those days, and the fear of the laws inspired by those rumors about weed. It was not until the recent Military action in Vietnam, that millions of troops brought it back with them after their tour of duty. Troops from all over, Austrailia, Canada, England, Sweeden, New Zealand, The United States and others. They turned their friends on to it and their friends passed it on. They noticed that it was a buzz that did not bring on a hang over. The worst was the munchies. Cannabinoids , as what we should call it, made you relaxe so much, that it was enjoyable. Cannabinoids are found in mothers milk. It is in all animals, and mamals. It is found in the reproductive organs of both male and female creatures on this planet. The worst thing about pot is the way we ingest it. We smoke it. The way we did in Nam. We should be putting it in our salads. Add it to our food groups for health reasons. People, do some google research. Then go farther. Cannabinoids are used in smoking cessation presriptions. They are found in some seditive type prescriptions. People wake up. It is the Veterans that turned us on to this great plant on mass. It does not do what what the big drug companies want you to believe. It rebuilds you memories, it rebuilds brain cells. This is its job. It Relaxes you with out the side effects of the drug comapnya products. If made legal. Yes, you could just grow your own medicine. Whats so bad about feeling good all the time. "Some say I'm a Dreamer , but I'm not the only one".STAND UP AND YELL OUT, YA I SMOKE POT SO WHAT !" Again Google (Cannabinoids) Learn some truth about it. Then Go to (theveteransforweed.com) The new VFW a site created by Vets for Vets. Like the other guy says LEGALIZE for everyone. Hemp Solo 1/23/11
fighting the good fight in WI
Thanks DRCNet for the article on our progress here in WI. Although the medical bill we helped introduce in our state legislature last session never got out of committee, it did gain the most number of sponsors, co-sponsors, support, etc. that we have ever seen thus far. Many believe if it had made it to a floor vote it would have passed due to the Dem majority in both Assembly, Senate and the Gov on record promising to sign if it ever got to his desk.
So we continue to educate voters on who is supportive and who is holding up medical marijuana in WI. Unfortunately these are only advisory referendums, but expect they will keep the issue at the forefront by appearing on the ballot in Dane Co, and possibly others.
I also want to thank fellow WI Norml member Jay Selthofner for his relentless hard work and dedication to the cause. Anyone from his District reading this - tell everyone you know to consider voting for him.
Finally I want to give a plug for the 40th Annual Great Midwest Marijuana Harvest Festival taking place in Madison WI, 10/1 - 10/3.
http://madisonhempfest.com/
According to what I read, one
According to what I read, one part of the marihuana is harmfull (THC)and other is harmless, so the scientist has to remove any part that will be toxic, and make a good capsule.Nobody should use the herb totally, until the doctors make it safe, non toxic or remove anything is not good from it..Also, the big problem is when people start to use the drug in the working place, as airports controlers, pilots, bus and train drivers, surgeons...or use a high dose..GOD help us!
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