6 comments:

• John J Flanagan posted at 5:02 pm on Wed, Jan 9, 2013.

  Posts: 33

  I wonder if those who posted comments here stating that politicians must follow the will of the people realize or want to admit that our beloved socialist leader Obama, contrary to the will of the people, refused to defend laws he is opposed to personally. For example, he dislikes DOMA, and therefore does not enforce it. He rejects Constitutional requirements to release information under the FOI regarding investigations of his activities, and has a host of other areas in which the will of the people, as well as the safeguards of the Constitution are ignored for political expediency. The ball bounces both ways, my friends. As for the medical marijuana argument, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that only potheads and progressives want it, and they do in fact want it to open the door to full legalization.

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• C_Money posted at 1:34 pm on Wed, Jan 9, 2013.

  Posts: 1

  So many of these politicians forget that they are in office to service the will of the PEOPLE. This does not mean they pursue their own agendas of force their values on the people that elected them. If they don't realize this soon they deserve to be removed from office. Marijuana has many positive effects and can help many conditions with fewer side effects than the stuff being pushed on commercials daily. The "real" opposition to legalization is coming from this sector.

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• Smokey posted at 11:44 am on Wed, Jan 9, 2013.

  Posts: 2

  Lawmakers that presume voters are incapable of making an informed decision, such as this one, need to be reminded regularly and firmly that we do, if fact, have a clue--we understand that out-of-control, arrogant lawmakers are a hindrance to our inherent freedom of choice in a multitude of personal issues.
  The shallow, invalid, non-supportable statement by Mr. Flanagan regarding the "gateway" argument is simply close minded and shop-worn.
  I strongly suggest that he and others holding a similar opinion should do a bit of homework--they would discover that the side effects from a countless array of prescription medications on the market today have a laundry list of horrendous potential side effects. In particular, pain medications are virtually guaranteed to become quickly addictive and routinely degrade one's quality of life to the point of making them essentially non-functional. Medical marijuana has NOT been shown to have these side effects, but does help relieve/control chronic pain, has a positive affect on PTSD, and the list of "good" issues goes on.
  I would not want to take away a medication from someone who gets relief from their chronic suffering by using a medication that has proven to be of benefit to them without the downside of street drugs that are unarguably death traps and ignite violent behavior. Also, I cannot recall a single violent incident reported on the local or national news that involved the use of marijuana, for medical purposes or otherwise.
  The bottom line here is that marijuana is not a gateway drug, it is not a cause of violent behavior, and it is not a threat to society. Allowing the will of the voters to be fully enacted as intended will benefit both the people/patients, but also generate critical tax revenue coming from the licensed producers.
  We're going broke on the war on drugs--we need to focus on the ones that are causing the problems such as meth, crack and cocaine, not the ONE that isn't and won't.

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• DaveKAz posted at 1:24 am on Wed, Jan 9, 2013.

  Posts: 2

  The better that we get to know Brewer, Horne(y), Montgomery, and people like Kavanagh the less inclined I am to believe that they have anything other than their own barbaric and selfish self interest in mind when they perform their "duties." It is clear that they consider the words of the oaths they took to apply only to others and not to themselves. I'm not a big fan of federal intervention but realistically they may be the only ones who can save us from people like this.

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• GPicciuto posted at 8:16 pm on Tue, Jan 8, 2013.

  Posts: 1

  "...We need ones who may disagree, but understand what it means for the voters to speak and that it is their job to respect it, protect it and move on already."

  Thank you!

  Imagine if we had the courage to do that nation wide? What wouldn't we be capable of?

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• John J Flanagan posted at 6:46 pm on Tue, Jan 8, 2013.

  Posts: 33

  The medical marijuana idea, known to both proponents and those against it, is nothing more than an open window and a strategy towards full legalization. Marijuana is, without question, a gateway drug to other recreational drugs. The Republicans are not the only ones opposing full implementation. The Federal government also has a bizarre and confusing array of rules and regulations which, when enforced, will further cloudy up the issue. The full legalization and implementation of the marijuana shops in our state will lead to numerous social issues, addictions, crime, and vehicular accidents, however, these issues rarely bother progressives, who readily look for another law to remedy social problems. In the long run, medical marijauna shops will result in unintended consequences and continue the downward spiral of our culture into the abyss of social decay.

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