It's about time the government grew up and allowed citizens to make choices concerning their own health treatment options. Marijuana is a medicinal plant, it's a much better cure for nausea than any pharmaceutical out there. The pharmaceutical companies have been very successful at lobbying Congress to keep it out of the reach of Americans. This is a small victory for liberty, for common sense, and for the values we Americans hold dear. The money generated by taxing decriminalized medicinal marijuana alone could pay our national debt in two years if it were legal in every state.

I guess this is the only way to get support for government controlled health care. Get everybody stoned.

I wondered where the states' rights folks were when the Bush admin wanted law enforcement to crack down on medical marijuana facilities in states where it was legal.

Yes, yes, let's focus on violent crime and financial crimes that actually hurt people rather than sick people wanting to alleivate their symptoms the best way they know how.

Yes, of course. Why on earth a ridiculous little plant is illegal is beyond me anyway. It's like outlawing goldfish.

It is about time. Now all they have to do is legalize it and tax the heck out of it like they do tobacco and alcohol and hold people responsible for their actions. If they go out high and kill someone with their car then prosecute them for manslaughter. Didn't think a "conservative" would say this, huh Diogenes?
STR,
Good point that I did not think about.

Of course I don’t agree, but I do understand that a liberal government will take a lighter stance on drug use than a conservative one will.

Three reasons why it's a bad idea.

The marijuana industry is rife with violent criminals, we shouldn't forget that. Amsterdam attempted to regulate marijuana to reduce the crime associated with the trade. It didn't work. A'dam is now scaling back because criminals still control the trade.

Places with legal pot have pretty horid economies. Should we model our effort to create jobs after Jamaica and Amsterdam?

The American Medical Association repeatedly says it doesn't want or need medical marijuana as a treatment option. They currently have other options that don't have the dangers of a narcotic.

Me: Doc, I am stressed coz I just lost lost my job after 15 years, my house is in foreclosure, my kids are being passed through school without learning anything, my wife needs chemo but our health plan was cancelled, and our retirement plan is down the tubes.
Doc: Smoke two joints and call me in the morning.
Me: Yes we can!

Should we find comfort in the page 5 subtitle, "Prosecuters are told to lay off people who use the drug legally"? By definition, shouldn't prosecuters layoff people who do anything legally. The Fed. gov't has no constitutional authority on drug policy, and must cease its encroachment on powers reserved to the states or to the people by the tenth amendment.

I think it woul be a smart move for California. If they legalized it for medical use only and taxed it, the state would profit one billion dollors in one year and thats a fact. With the state of California in debt billions of dollors it would be a great move! I Personaly think they should legalize marijuana for "medical use only" in all 50 states.

If people want to destroy their brain cells, that's their decision. I'm convinced smoking weed over a long period of time is very bad for memory and cognative thought; but drinking alcohol over a long period of time is probably equally bad for your health.

@ brad2

3 reasons why you are so wrong, and so misinformed.

1) Legalizing marijuana gets rid of trafficing criminals. Period.
2) Growing marijuana for personal use is legal in Australia. Last I heard, Australia had a very healthy economy, even though it has single-payer health care.
3) The AMA is in the pockets of Big Pharma. Of course they don't want competition! Before the AMA become corrupt like our Congress, the AMA supported decriminalizing MJ in 1937.

The so-called War on Drugs has been a huge failure costing our country (and other countries) billions of dollars and thousands of innocent lives.

The Obama Admin. step is a move in the right direction, but it is time to decriminalize addiction and treat it as the illness that it is.

Yes We Cannabis!

@ brad2

Marijuana is not a narcotic (medical definition), though it is treated as one (arbitrary legal definition).

Prohibition does not work. We proved that in the 1920s. Stop the so-called War on Drugs and make the world a lot safer for everyone.

I support any progressive and positive movement for this country, incuding decriminalization of marijuana.

@brad2
Some broad sweeping inaccurate statements.

Perhaps you feel the marijuana industry is "rife with violent criminals" because it is still, archacially illegal in the US, therefore breeds the violence you speak of.

Your statement about Amsterdam simply is not true. They haven't "attempted to regulate marijuana", they did. And, yes, it has it's problems, but is nothing compared to the problems we have with our current arcane laws.

"Places with legal pot have horrid economies". HUH?

Marijuana really should not be lumped in with narcotics, but unfortuntely and not surprising this inaccuracy is very widespread. "...these substances are not considered narcotics in a medical context": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcotic

What is the "lighter stance"? Are we encouraging people to protect the environment by lighting their bongs with Zippo's instead of matches?

A few more questions:
Isn't there something wrong when a doctor prescribes smoking (anything) to treat a problem?
Can’t the ‘medical ingredient” be put into sera or a pill?
How can a doctor accurately measure the dosage (by the puff - what if I roll one fat one?)
How is abuse prevented? Or, is “puff as necessary to mitigate pain” a valid dosage?
Can a doctor prescribe MJ to minor?
Can military/police/Feds with security clearances receive this treatment?
Will patients be allowed to self-medicate in public spaces, with the public nearby?

Would the burning of pot not increase pollution and hence bring about more "climate change?"

I think so. I'm too high to read the article right now but it seems like something I could get behind.

Yes, this decision is long overdue. With limited law-enforcement resources, the cost of pothibition is prohibitive and does not justify whatever benefits can be imagined from locking up sick people who choose to use an alternative form of medicine.

I agree, coz I am a fan of Darwin. This effort will eventually solve problems with deforestation, urban sprawl, air and water pollution, and high crime rates. Can't wait for this 'lighter stance' to take hold in all 50 states.

The Executive Branch is violating the separation of powers by choosing not to uphold laws passed by Congress. Get Nancy and Harry to put this in the Health Care reform Bill, and then everything will be fine--then perhaps they can put a federal excise tax on it while they're at it.

Re: another person @ 1:01PM -
I dunno. At face value, your point is taken that the O-man may be treading where He ain't supposed to. But, I don't know that Congressional power is actually being usurped here. The Feds have been told to stand down in existing cases where medical users are the "target" where states have sanctioned it. The suppliers are state sanctioned as well, so there is no need to transport across any international or state boundary. LE still has plenty of arrests to make. I do like your proposal for Nancy and Harry to step up.

Duuuuude. I think this is totally.....wait, what were we talking about?

Just wondering said:
A few more questions:
Isn't there something wrong when a doctor prescribes smoking (anything) to treat a problem?
Can’t the ‘medical ingredient” be put into sera or a pill?
How can a doctor accurately measure the dosage (by the puff - what if I roll one fat one?)
How is abuse prevented? Or, is “puff as necessary to mitigate pain” a valid dosage?
Can a doctor prescribe MJ to minor?
Can military/police/Feds with security clearances receive this treatment?
Will patients be allowed to self-medicate in public spaces, with the public nearby?

These questions are common sense:
1. First of all most of them prescribe use of a vaporizor which heats it up just enough to release the THC and avoid smoke in your lungs. This method is completely smokeless, but you are allowed to use whichever method you prefer.
2. They dont measure the exact daily dosage, they just prescribe you a bag, you smoke as needed.
3. Obviously you cant prescribe it to a minor. And if you are in law enforcement/military then you obviously cant smoke pot. Its in the initial contract.
4. You can only smoke in your home or at the clinic. Not in public.

I cannot believe that I am seeing people suggest that the government tax medical marijuana!

Don't you all realize how cruel that would be? Taxing the medicine people need to control their nausea, or deal with their depression, or because they need to have the appetites stimulated?

We don't tax (yet, anyway!) high blood pressure meds, or heart meds, birth control meds or Viagara.

I cannot believe that people are suggesting taxing medical marijuana. If it is used as a medicine, then it should NOT be taxed.

Man.

No. This is clearly another example of the Obama administration throwing a bone to special interest groups - in this case, the snack-food industry.

Why is this such a big deal? Given we have limited law enforcement resources and illegal drug problems larger than pot used for medicinal purposes, it makes sense to focus on the other drug issues first. Some regulated, legal use should be the least of our concerns.

This should have happened a long time ago.

Conservatives should strongly approve of this move in support of states' rights.

In 1932 marijuana was legal and beer was illegal. Marijuana sellers had no troubles but beer sellers faced a lot of violence. Violence results from criminal control of illegal substances, not from the substances themselves.

Absolutely, but they don't go far enough. Marijuana needs to be fully legalized.

Yeah, Bush was too dumb to even think of it.

Not if the government is going to provide health care as well. But now that the states can pass their own laws to supersede fed statutes, I wonder if they'll be allowed to so the same thing with cap-and-tax, health care and so on.

@ BaDum 4:08 PM post -
It took me a millisecond to catch on. But that was the best post of the day. :)

Wow, Kevin, a conservative advocating taxation of anything. I'm shocked!

But, yeah, I agree with you, and I've said before the U.S. should legalize it, regulate it, and tax the hell out of it. Pot should be treated like alcohol or tobacco--age restrcitions, you can't drive while drunk/high, and so on.