I live in Arizona where my state had a medical marijuana proposition on the ballot called Prop 203. Unfortunately this model bill was a victim of the anti-Democratic backwash that hit our shores this election cycle. Medical marijuana has passed twice before in Arizona (1996 and 1998) and this one showed just as much support this time around. The final election results are still out but it looks like a long shot that Prop 203 will pass because of the dominance of the Republican Party up in that crazed Republican enclave of Maricopa County. Why else could Cryptkeeper (John McCain) and his half-wit corpse bride (Jan Brewer) get elected with such wide margins over very qualified Democratic challengers.
For the first time in the long storied history of medical marijuana legislation, every state ballot measure was defeated last night from Oregon to wanting to add dispensaries to South Dakota also trying to institute medical marijuana to the ground breaking Prop 19 in California, all went up in smoke. These measures were all great steps in moving forward to re-legalizing hemp for everyone. Whether for industrial, medical, inspirational or even recreational, marijuana needs to be a legal crop for not just the United States but the world.
When I woke up this morning and saw the grim news that the No votes on Prop 203 were still hanging in there at 6,000 votes I said a few choice words that are said frequently at KOS and I moved on to my next battle. I immediately thought why not go for the whole enchilada when it comes to medical marijuana and make it so for everyone in the country. Right now there are 14 states that allow for medical marijuana and it just shocks me that New York and Florida do not offer legal protection for patients that use medical marijuana.
There is currently a bill in Congress that addresses the issue of Medical Marijuana for all states. This bill would re-schedule marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II which would make it legal for doctors to prescribe marijuana as medicine. Seems so simple to take something and add an I to it and you will have legalized medical marijuana across the nation and help potential millions of Americans with debilitating conditions.
So here is the link to the bill
Medical Marijuana Bill in Congress
With a new Congress coming in there will be some interest in working on a piece of legislation right away. There are currently two other legislative bills sitting in committee (Decrim and Industrial Hemp) but taking care of medical marijuana patients should come first.
So any of your legislative aid types please feel free to run with this and post how we can get this bill out of committee for an Up or Down vote will be greatly appreciated.