supreme court rules marijuana illegal for medical purposes

The U.S. Supreme Court Monday ruled doctors can be blocked from prescribing marijuana for patients suffering from pain caused by cancer or other serious illnesses.

In a 6-3 vote, the justices ruled the Bush administration can block the backyard cultivation of pot for personal use, because such use has broader social and financial implications.


SAD DAY INDEED, too bad for people who really need it for pain
A plant created by God overruled by the country leaders, who is in charge?
Carly

 

I just heard about this, don't know the details yet...makes me just sick. More govt. interference...just what we need....I know folks that use it for glaucoma treatment...helps to get the pressure in the eyes down. Of course, there are expensive PHARMACEUTICALS for that, and we don't want to deprive the drug companies of their profits, do we??

Homebudz, what you think about all of this, buddy? Hope yer' doing OK!

 

Certainly not "We the people.."

Maybe it's time for another revolutionary war.

 

It's such a damn shame. I know people that use it to help relieve severe pain instead of getting all whacked out on pain meds they could get from their doctors prescriptions and refuse to live life all whacked out like that. One step forward, two steps back!

 

I think it'd be better if pot was legal. I am never going to do it, and I if I ever have kids and they do it, I will kill them, but I think it would be better if it was legal.

 

Now this is truly weird; whoda thunk that the dissenters in the 6-3 decision would be O'Conner, Thomas, and Rehnquist? They opposed it because they are in favor of states' rights.

 

Are there not a myriad of 'alternative' medicines that are perfectly legal.. why does every one think 'pot' is some kind of wonder drug.. it has as much benefit as many other herbal medicines. A vast amount of sythentic medicines started out as extracts of diffrent plants..just you can't make as much 'naturaly' you needed .. Get over this whole 'legalise pot' and maybe focus on something that is perfectly legal and three times as good, the natural world is full of such things.. not enough research is done... imho.

 

Instead of asking why folks want to use marijuana as an alternative to pharmaceuticals, why don't you do some research and find out for yourself? You might learn why some people would risk jail.

I find it interesting that Justice Stevens, who wrote the opinion, said the court was not passing judgment on the potential medical benefits of marijuana. Instead the decision was solely directed at the federal statute overriding state directives. Another thing Stevens said was there are other legal options for patients, “but perhaps even more important than these legal avenues is the democratic process, in which the voices of voters allied with these (California women) may one day be heard in the halls of Congress.” So it seems, at least to me, that Justice Stevens isn't discounting the efficacy of medical marijuana and sees a future where it may indeed be legal.

 

I have...and i do. The only point i was trying to make is that there is a multitude of diffrent natural medicines that are legal.. You don't have to use pot as any kind of 'alternative' nothing much special about it.

 

Maybe it is the efficacy and/or lack of side effects. Could also be an economic factor involved.

 

If the whole issue was about medical advancement and all the things you mention, i would fully agree. It could be a shame that the matter has been hijacked one way or another.

 

Their little "pot pill" marinol (sp?) really doesn't do the same thing for many people. Hey!! alcohol is legal, lmao, does that make it better? OHOH....oxycotins are legal (and one of the suggested pain pills my friend's doctor wanted to prescribe) does that make it better? A know a coupla brothers that use it for serious pain and it does the trick to aleviate it to a tolerable thing. What do you suggest...spend their life whacked out and hooked on their legal pain meds? I personally believe that their choice, although illegal is preferable.

 

No alcohol is not illegal , what would the health of the nation be like if i was ?. Do we need another 'drug' that will be abused , sure it can be scientificaly orchestrated as to not be additctive hold the same level of potency etc etc .. that is what the 'synthetic' world is all about..Sure it is not 'natural' anymore but thats the crux .. people think natural is less destructive to the body when the 'artificial' alternative with all the benefits and not so many of the risks are easily available..If your talking about smoking pot it might aleviate the pain then you get cancer.. i am sure tobacoo was sold as a 'herbal remedy' once upon a time..

 

Yeah, you are so right. Oxycotin addiction is much more preferable than the potential possibilites of getting cancer from smoking pot. Whatever was I thinking.

 

The problem lies in the pharmacuetical companies........pot is grown naturally, and can be grown at home....hey, Oxycotin is synthetic and has to be produced by these companies, they don't want the PEOPLE to grow their own medicines, they would have no need for their over-priced, highly addictive drugs, and the companies would go broke, their ride would be over. Oxycotin and the other pain drugs won't do anything but make addicts out of their consumers...there are natural herbal remedies and should be used, word should be put out on these, but once again, what ever would the high rolling drug companies do, they sure don't want that to happen. Alcohol sucks too, if pot can't be legalized, alcohol should not be legal either, what good health-wise does alcohol do for anyone?
Carly

 

My mother who is pretty sheltered and conservative, but open minded, recently considered the possibility using it while going through chemo for leukemia. Obviously those insensitive enough to support this decision have never had a loved one go through what my mother did. I would have given or done anything to see her have a little relief from what she was going through. Come on, the negative impact of this useage clearly doesn't compare to the benifits in this case.

 

Yea, I think you pointed out a very important part of the majority opinion. I too find that really interesting.

Peace,
poor_old_dad

 

Why? because it is.PERIOD.thousands of yrs of RESEARCH can't be all wrong.DUH.
Can't?? why not if the government would loosen the strangle hold on us..I do believe we could.DUH,DUh
Get over? NEVER NEVER NEVER. why should we? you don't like it great! I am happy you OBVIOUSLY don't have any unbarable pain as I do.
Not enough?? Research can never have enough. I was thrown out a car windshield and died. My newest priscription Said stop use if you have "dizzyness,constipation,diareah,bleeding,abdominial pain,chest pain, shortness of breath, vomiting that looks like coffee grounds" (it actually say's those words.)and more......and that is only an anti inflamitory not my other PAIN med's that was shoved down my throat that make me so sick I end up crwly to the porceline god praying for it to be over. would you say that has had enough research??? you give up.Me I'll toke up.

 

There is an enormous amount of public support for ending the prohibition of medicinal marijuana: Between 1978 and 1996, 36 states passed legislation recognizing marijuana's medicinal value. (They remain stymied by the federal government's blanket prohibition of marijuana, however.) A 1990 scientific survey of oncologists (cancer specialists) found that 54 percent of those with an opinion favor the controlled medical availability of marijuana and 44 percent had already broken the law by suggesting at least once that a patient obtain marijuana illegally. These findings are later published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.



At NORML's urging, U.S. Representative Barney Frank (D-Mass.) introduced legislation in Congress in 1995 (H.R. 2618) to amend the federal law to allow physician's to legally prescribe marijuana as a medicine to patients. NORML testifies before Congress in 1996 on behalf of medical marijuana. The legislature of Washington state appropriated over $100,000 in 1996 to conduct clinical studies on patients to determine the effectiveness of medical marijuana in the treatment of serious illnesses. The appropriation also funded research on cultivating medical marijuana in a tamper-free environment and explores potential ways in which the state can legally distribute the drug for medical use. Due in part to the activism of NORML members, a California initiative to legalize marijuana for medical purposes (Proposition 215) gathers enough signatures to be placed on the November 1996 election ballot. In August, both the San Francisco Medical Society and the California Academy of Family Physicians -- representing a combined total of almost 10,000 physicians statewide -- endorsed the proposition.

Well now....10,00 physicians can't be wrong on this one.

I find it amazing how alot of times those with the most opposing views on a subject are the ones who have never experienced what the subject is truely about.

Four of its general therapeutic applications include: relief from nausea and increase of appetite; reduction of intraocular ("within the eye") pressure; reduction of muscle spasms; relief from mild to moderate chronic pain.



Marijuana is often useful in the treatment of the following conditions:.....

Cancer: Marijuana alleviates the nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite caused by chemotherapy treatment.

AIDS: Marijuana alleviates the nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite caused by the disease itself and by treatment with AZT and other drugs.

Glaucoma: Marijuana, by reducing intraocular pressure, alleviates the pain and slows or halts the progress of the disease. Glaucoma, which damages vision by gradually increasing eye pressure over time, is the leading cause of blindness in the United States.

Multiple Sclerosis: Marijuana reduces the muscle pain and spasticity caused by the disease. It may also relieve tremor and unsteadiness of gait, and it helps some patients with bladder control. Multiple sclerosis is the leading cause of neurological disability among young and middle-aged adults in the United States.

Epilepsy: Marijuana prevents epileptic seizures in some patients.

Chronic Pain: Marijuana reduces the chronic, often debilitating pain caused by a variety of injuries and disorders.

When the goverment realizes that the majority of voters would supportt this..it will shift.
Until then, they are making far too much money on the illegalization of it.

Who cares if a 65 year old granny is smoking a joint because her chemo makes her sick?? Its her business.
But as a whole this is a stepping stone to legalization and the goverment does not want free enterprise of this.

Alcohol is ;egal, however I much prefer being around a bunch of mellowed out potheads, then around a bunch of drunks.