Marijuana Blog

TULSA, Oklahoma - An Oklahoma group is taking a step toward legalizing medical marijuana in the state. Oklahomans for Health will file an application for petition with the Secretary of State Friday, hoping to put the legalization of medical marijuana up for a statewide vote.

"The time is right now in Oklahoma to really get this going," said Oklahomans for Health chairman, Chip Paul.

 

Paul said the non-profit group has made it easy for lawmakers, by drafting a proposal to legalize marijuana for medical purposes.

 

"We've done a lot of research in other states -- what worked, what didn't, what's the most effective way, from a state perspective, to manage this and we've put that language in this initiative, so it should be a very easy thing for the state of Oklahoma to manage," Paul said.

 

Oklahoma's current ban on medical marijuana for medical purposes has some families so desperate that they're leaving the state, like little Jaqie Angel Warrior and her family.

 

Jaqie's mom, Brittany Hardy, said her daughter has the name of fighter.

 

"For a very strong little baby, she's the strongest soul I've ever met in life," said Hardy.

 

Jaqie is living with a very rare and potentially deadly form of epilepsy. At 20 months old, she's already been hospitalized 25 times and has up to 150 seizures a day.

 

"Every day that she's able to wake up and live through these seizures is another miracle and I'm tired of gambling with her life here in this state," Hardy said.

 

Her mom said Jaqie has tried every anti-seizure drug allowed in Oklahoma, with no success and no relief.

 

"She deserves some peace, she deserves her suffering to end, Oklahoma will never provide her that, not right now anyway," said Hardy. "She doesn't deserve to have to suffer just because of her zip code."

 

Hardy said Jaqie's doctor agrees, the little girl's only hope is medical marijuana.

 

So on Saturday, Jaqie, along with her mom, dad and three sisters, are packing up and moving to Colorado, where medical marijuana is legal.

 

"As parents, we refuse to let seizures come in and steal our baby," Hardy said. "At this point, we have no other option."

 

Its stories, like Jaqie's, that have moved Oklahomans for Health to push the state to lift its ban on medical marijuana.

 

"Literally, you could go to the Oklahoma State Penitentiary for treating your cancer with marijuana and that's just wrong," Paul said.

 

He said doctors, not the government, should determine if patients use pot to treat their pain.

 

As of now, Paul said, patients who suffer from serious medical conditions are prescribed pharmaceutical drugs that are highly addictive and have serious side effects.

 

"They would be far better served with something that's non-addictive, that's an herbal remedy, versus and addictive prescription drug," said Paul.

 

Jaqie's parents say their little one takes two different narcotics.

 

"One of them she's physically addicted to, she's been addicted to it since she was 6 months old," Hardy said. "We would literally be arrested if we didn't give them to her."

 

Hardy said she calls and writes lawmakers nearly every day, begging for an amendment to the law. She, like Paul, believes Oklahoma voters have the right to decide whether the marijuana, for medical purposes, should be legalized in the state.

 

"It's a valid medicine and it needs be recognized as such, it could literally help hundreds of thousands of people," Paul said.

 

If the state gives Oklahomans for Health the green light on starting a petition, Paul said the plan would be to kick of the initiative June 1st. Then, they will have 90 days to gather 190,000 physical signatures.

 

Read more: http://www.newson6.com

One of my biggest pet peeves is when a marijuana reform opponent automatically assumes that because someone smokes marijuana that they are some lazy loser that lives in their parents basement. Not all marijuana consumers are lazy. Not all marijuana consumers live with their parents. In fact, most marijuana consumers are hardworking, responsible adults that just happen to choose a product that is safer to consume than alcohol.

 

According to a new poll released by YouGov.com, most Americans agree with me. According to the poll, “The latest research from YouGov shows that most Americans (59%) think that it is possible to occasionally smoke marijuana and still be a responsible adult, though 28% disagree.”

 

Do you consume marijuana? Are you a responsible adult? I have always felt that people that are lazy and unproductive are that way regardless of if they smoke marijuana, or really anything else. Lazy people are lazy. Unproductive people are unproductive. Marijuana consumption doesn’t add to that or take away from it. What do readers think?

 

Stereotyping marijuana consumers as being lazy bums has been a ‘go-to’ tactic for marijuana opponents for a long time. This form of propaganda has been successful for many decades, but those days are gone. Marijuana is mainstream, and people are more educated on the topic than ever before. Marijuana opponents know it, whether they want to admit it or not.

 

Read more: http://www.theweedblog.com

Long Beach residents on the Golden Coast voted to allow the city to collect taxes on medical marijuana—that is, if the City Council ever allows dispensaries to sell the drug.

 

The Long Beach Press-Telegram reported:

 

 Measure A passed with 74 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results released Wednesday, which includes all of the city’s 268 precincts and mail-in ballots.

Taxes can only be collected if the council creates regulations to govern medical marijuana sales in Long Beach. If that takes place, the city would be able to impose a business license tax at an initial rate of 6 percent of for-profit dispensaries’ gross sales receipts for marijuana. The tax rate could be increased to a levy of up to 10 percent of gross marijuana sales.

 

The measure also provides for a tax, to be initially assessed at a rate of $15 per square foot, on business property improvements made to grow medical marijuana. The tax could be increased to a $50 per square foot assessment on business improvements.

 

For dispensaries that qualify as nonprofits, the taxes would instead be assessed at a rate of $10 per square foot of business improvements rather than as a percentage of sales.

 

The city has tried for years to regulate the sale of medical marijuana. After court decisions and legal wrangling, the city began a new process to come up with a broad framework for the ordinance. The issue is before the Planning Commission, which would send its recommendations to the council.

 

 

Long Beach created a lottery in 2009 and gave permits to 32 medical marijuana facilities. A group of dispensary owners ended up challenging the lottery and, as a result, the city banned all medical marijuana facilities.

 

The new tax would bring much needed revenue to the city, supporters claim, and would help dispel underground drug circles.

 

It is almost rather comforting that Long Beach residents are willing to pass a tax on medical marijuana, considering that only about 28 miles up the beach acquiring marijuana entails no more than a simple stroll up Venice boardwalk.

 

Source: http://townhall.com