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Crazy hysteria over a simple weed
Friday, May 6, 2011 - Posted by Rich Miller * Rep. Lou Lang said yesterday that he thought he had 58 votes going into the debate on his medical marijuana bill. That’s still two votes shy of the 60 required, but Lang thought he might pick up a couple of extra votes during the debate. He was wrong. When all was said and done, he ended up with just 53 votes. However, four members, all Democrats, switched from Yes to No before the roll call was closed. Watch… Democratic Reps. Acevedo, Reitz, Thapedi and Verschoore all flipped to No at the end when they saw the bill was going down. Thapedi switched back and forth a couple of times. [Sigh.] * That vote was seriously disheartening for those of us who believe we need some sane drug laws in this country. The bill established a three-year pilot project. No growing by patients would be allowed. The amount of pot that people could have was reduced to two and a half ounces. A specific list of maladies that could be treated with medical marijuana was in the bill, as well as a limit on the number of dispensaries and who could operate them. You can’t get much tighter than that, although they could lower the amount of pot that patients could purchase and it wouldn’t bother me much. Even some opponents agreed with that. But the rhetoric by some opponents was just ridiculous. “A flawed piece of West Coast marijuana legislation,” said Rep. Rich Morthland. Watch… You’d think by listening to some of these people that marijuana is some outrageously dangerous drug. When you talk to legislators, quite a few privately admit that they tried weed in college or even high school, or even since then. Yet, they seem fine now. The simple fact is that pot itself doesn’t damage nearly as many lives as being arrested for smoking it. Our last three presidents all admitted to smoking it. The republic has somehow managed to survive. Yet, it’s highly doubtful that any of them would’ve been elected if they had been busted by the cops for giving it a try. What rank hypocrisy this is. * Sheesh…
More…
* A solid editorial by the Southtown Star…
So am I. * Roundup…
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- PaGo - Friday, May 6, 11 @ 10:40 am:
This is nuts. Alcohol causes more damage to the body and oh boy, we can all buy and use it.
It’s Reefer Madness all over again!
Political posturing makes me sick.
- Generation X - Friday, May 6, 11 @ 10:47 am:
Might as well have cited “Reefer Madness” as a reason for voting against this bill. What Hypocrisy. I consider myself a Conservative, but I cannot rationalize a far more destructive drug like alcohol being legal and marijuana treated as Satan’s hand picked drug
- Just Observing - Friday, May 6, 11 @ 10:47 am:
Great Southtown Editorial — although it could be more than just putting politics over people.. it could be the nay voters are just dumb.
- sos@illinois - Friday, May 6, 11 @ 10:48 am:
Morthland’s speech was rediculous!
- Larry Mullholland - Friday, May 6, 11 @ 11:09 am:
Disappointing day for Illinois.
- TJ - Friday, May 6, 11 @ 11:21 am:
Sad to hear that it failed. I was against past efforts as I didn’t want a repeat of the mess that’s in California, but everything I read about this bill made sense to me. Shame that there are so many state reps unwilling to vote in favor of something as sensible, compassionate, and non-budget draining as this.
- nieva - Friday, May 6, 11 @ 11:36 am:
If you did a poll where our goverment officals could answer without fear of being found out I would guess more than 75 percent have tried pot. Maybe pot does burn out brain cells from looking at some of the decisions they make!
- amalia - Friday, May 6, 11 @ 11:40 am:
Acevedo. what the what?!?
- Jimmy CrackCorn - Friday, May 6, 11 @ 11:47 am:
==“ I have a daughter with epilepsy and sir she does not need marijuana… But if a medical doctor disagrees with me, she WILL receive it. That is NOT right”==
Not to make light of Morthland’s daughter’s condition… but if a doctor says something is best for your child, and you imply you would go along with it, what is “Not right” about that? If in his hypothetical he and his daughter decide that they do not want to use medical marijuana… so be it. Rep. Lang is not going to come into the examination room with a bong and a mandate that his daughter smoke the reefer.
Furthermore, epilepsy patients would not have been eligible to receive medical marijuana under the proposal (unless there was a proper medical Latin name in the list that I am unaware of).
Lastly, the argument that young marijuana patients will be pressured into selling their drugs because the drugs will no longer be of the traditional pill variety, is ridiculous. Spend some time in a high school/college cafeteria… prescription drugs are already swapped and sold like baseball cards.
- Rob in KS - Friday, May 6, 11 @ 11:48 am:
The simple fact is, this plant should have never been illegal in the first place. So…who do we talk to about that? When are we actually going to do something at a federal level? It can’t be because everyone in favor of legalization are just a bunch of apathetic stoners…because some of the smartest and most successful people I know smoke or consumer in other ways on a regular basis. This has gone on long enough…the time for action is way overdue.
- reformer - Friday, May 6, 11 @ 11:53 am:
Congrats to the 9 Republicans who voted Yes.
It’s hard to understand No votes from some black and Latino members, however, when it’s their communities that are the target in the War on Drugs.
Had Obama grown up in Chicago, rather than Hawaii, he would’ve had a higher risk of being busted for pot, since young black men are so routinely rousted and patted down here. As Rich noted, a drug conviction would’ve prevented Clinton, Bush or Obama from becoming president.
- mjmatt - Friday, May 6, 11 @ 11:56 am:
I’m from michigan where medical pot has been legal since 2008 and guess what, no rise in drugged driving, no actual danger to society! Simple fact if weed goes legal too many people lose their jobs. Cops guards lawyers prosecuters judges. There’s too much money that is too well protected
- just sayin' - Friday, May 6, 11 @ 11:57 am:
I think some broke out the weed before legalizing the weed. Say it ain’t so.
In all seriousness, was unbelievable to see Tom Cross crowing about his long ago prosecutor experience right before he told people to vote yes on a bill that would put citizens at risk of federal criminal prosecution if they listened to Cross. Way to mislead people Tom.
- vole - Friday, May 6, 11 @ 11:59 am:
Rich: “Yet, it’s highly doubtful that any of them would’ve been elected if they had been busted by the cops for giving it a try.”
Gov. Daniels of Indiana may still put this theory to the test. And it appears that he gave it more than the average college try. The man has grassitas.
So the question may be: “Which candidate would you rather share a doobie with, Obama or Daniels?” (I’d have to pass on the non-inhaler, inhaler, Clinton.)
- wordslinger - Friday, May 6, 11 @ 12:30 pm:
Do any of the sanctimonious “no” votes think there is any difficulty, whatsoever, in anyone buying weed that wants it?
Would it be so bad to lift one burden from these poor folks — that they don’t have to worry about getting busted for hooking up with a little herbal relief?
- Mary Burge - Friday, May 6, 11 @ 12:33 pm:
Prohibition is and always will be a form of repaling rights of American’s liberty. It created the “mob” with liquor and the “cartell” with cannibus.
- Gregor - Friday, May 6, 11 @ 12:34 pm:
I’m thinking that the medicinal pot law and the concealed carry law are joined by an illogical, invisible thread, and Lou will never get one passed without the other. Does that make sense, heck no. But it might still be true, regardless.
- 47th Ward - Friday, May 6, 11 @ 12:47 pm:
The stupidity continues. What a bunch of brain-washed idiots. As Wordslinger noted, it’s not like marijuana is difficult to acquire now. The laws banning drugs have not succeeded in eradicating their use. Instead they have become cheaper and more potent, and still widely available.
Where are the lovers of the Free Market when we need them. This is a classic supply-demand issue, and because of silliness like this, the black market continues to thrive and consumers are labeled criminals.
When will this long nightmare end?
- Unbelievable - Friday, May 6, 11 @ 1:03 pm:
Maybe we should all send our legislators some brownies
that would pass the bill.
- Pat T. - Friday, May 6, 11 @ 1:27 pm:
There is no logic - can anyone come up with how many people have died from using pot? Prescription drugs are far more dangerous but then, the pharmaceutical companies line all these people’s pockets so we shouldn’t be surprised.
- MrJM - Friday, May 6, 11 @ 1:52 pm:
R. Miller FTW!
– MrJM
- mjmatt - Friday, May 6, 11 @ 3:25 pm:
Nixon lives on stop the drug war
- downhereforyears - Friday, May 6, 11 @ 3:57 pm:
@Rubicon- it happens every so often. I was told I looked at the “wrong string”. Yep that’s what it was.
- girlawyer - Friday, May 6, 11 @ 3:58 pm:
I was going to comment on how glad I am that my relative who needs medical marijuana to deal with his cancer pain, doesn’t live in IL. Then I read MJMatt’s comment. Really? If weed is legalized we won’t need “guards, cops, lawyers, prosecutors, judges” because that’s all they do? Keeping it illegal is just a jobs program for the criminal justice system? Now I’m wondering what he’s smoking.
- Bemused - Friday, May 6, 11 @ 4:03 pm:
I have posted before about my situation with a friend dying of cancer and my feelings about medical pot, enough said about that.
I am a child of the late 60s and early 70s and know a thing or two about a thing or two. I can not say I remember a lot of mean stoners. And if you were getting laid much at that time you most likely had a little stash. My feeling long ago and today was that young people who tried pot figured out real quick someone was lying about how bad it was. The problem then was that they would often think it was a blanket lie about all drugs and get into some things that indeed were quite bad. I do not advocate general legalization but would have little problem with it.
Only Richardo Cabeza would allow those who suffer real pain no relief.
- thechampaignlife - Friday, May 6, 11 @ 4:09 pm:
@Gregor - Excellent idea! Combine the medical marijuana and concealed carry bills, two bills that narrowly were defeated by opposite ends of the political spectrum, and we might just see them passed!
- hisgirlfriday - Friday, May 6, 11 @ 4:47 pm:
Pathetic. Just who was lobbying so hard against this bill? Was it just law enforcement or was it also the alcohol distributors?
And how many people with DUIs voted against the bill? I see at least two off the top of my head.