Now that you know my thoughts on medical cannabis for cancer patients, you'll understand why I think this is a noble cause. Patients gathering in Sacramento, May 19-22. On Monday May 21, public demonstration at the state capitol.

  • Cocomaan

    Xeni, any part of the pro-mj movement is blessed to have you advocating for them. I think tokers need to speak out publicly. 

    • http://www.xeni.net/ Xeni Jardin

      Cool. I think all of it should be legal, both medical and recreational. But as someone whose experience of chemotherapy was made much less hellish by cannabis, I am focused on arguing this particular point.

      • Cocomaan

        Indeed, being able to point to yourself and say, “If what I’m doing to ease my suffering is against the law, I’ll risk my own freedom to feel better”, is powerful. In the end, the only way to fight unjust law is to break it, and then spread the word. 

      • Cocomaan

        By the way, I really wish I could be there. Unfortunately, I’m on the other side of the country, haha

      • hymenopterid

        It needs to be said.  I feel like this issue is not taken seriously because of the stereotypes associated with pot smokers, and that’s just insulting.  It’s infuriating that people are being sent to prisons but our politicians won’t entertain any discourse decriminalization.  Basically we’re being ignored.  We need to show them that we’re not just a bunch of kids with a short memory that you can pay lip service to every four years.  This issue is just as relevant as any other issue.  It’s just as relevant as gun control, or abortion or taxes or the federal reserve.

      • Brainspore

        Cool. I think all of it should be legal, both medical and recreational.

        I agree wholeheartedly, but I seem to recall that you were a little more ambivalent on this issue in the past. Did your views on this issue change? If so, can you share any aspects of your experience that helped win you over (other than the obvious therapeutic benefits) that might change more minds?

        Thank you so much for continuing to share your thoughts and experiences on this subject. I hope to be in Sacramento that weekend, even if I’m among the few non-toker (or rare tokers) there.

        • Brainspore

          By the way, I did a mock ad campaign for the cause a number of years back when I was in design school. I’d be happy to share the original source files with any interested group or activists. Send me a tweet (@brainspore:twitter ) if you’re interested.

      • http://profile.yahoo.com/RQDMXLTKI2F6CP3MUDIZKMHU2I re

        Sadly, cannabis is cross reactive with latex allergies.  I’m all for helping those in suffering. But it sucks that I can’t go to see a show at the Fillmore or the Warfield because a bunch of jerks are smoking in public.  
        I should be able to breath fresh air, and not have to worry that I’m going to be puking my guts out for the next 12 hours. 

        Sadly I have a chronic pain condition, and let’s just say my medical mj was  the worst night of my life. It hurt more, and I puked all night. I do know what it’s like to be in constant pain. It sucks terribly. But I would like to be able to go outside my house without having to worry about second hand pot smoke making me barf for a few hours.

        As latex allergies are on the increase… I can’t be the only one who has this problem. 

  • dioptase

    I think there wouldn’t be as much controversy if every other stoner in the state hadn’t suddenly developed some need for palliative care once medical marijuana got the ok.

    • Cocomaan

      Considering the money made in the private prison industry, I highly doubt that it has as much impact as you are attributing to it. 

      • hymenopterid

        My doctor told me going to jail was bad for my health.

    • hymenopterid

      That’s why I think it should be OTC. I think wanting to get high is a legitimate reason for an adult to get high.

    • ppdd

      I don’t think medicinal marijuana laws would get passed in the first place if not for the efforts of a bunch of stoners who wanted an excuse to smoke it legally.  

      • Cocomaan

        Indeed!

  • Kl-0

    Uh, marijuana is legal for medicinal purposes in the state of California (with a prescription and so forth). It has not been made legal under federal law (which regulate illegal drugs under the power given the federal government under the Commerce Clause). There was a belief among some that the department of justice wasn’t going to enforce the relevant drug laws, but then lately, arrests have been on the rise. My point is, if folks would like to protest (and to be fair, I have no skin in this game one way or the other), they should  probably be protesting the White House, or Congress, or perhaps even the Supreme Court, as again, the  problem is federal, not state law. It would be sort of like my having a protest against the Iraq war in front of  a Denny’s; either way, the people in the building (The Denny’s or the CA capitol) have nothing to do with, or any power to change the matters being protested.

    • Cocomaan

      I see no reason for geography to be a limiting factor on public protest in the age of the internet. Do you think that it was pointless for Iranians in Tehran and Isfahan to protest the 9/11 terrorist attacks?

  • D Wyatt

    Getting High!  Getting away from oneself is a very natural thing and has been done safely since the beginning of time by man and beast alike. Eating fermented fruit, drinking fermented drinks, ingesting plants and fungus as a religious experience, smoking marijuana,  etc.   Its of course also has been documented for nearly 10,000 years for medicinal use.  Making it criminal is a crime against nature, unnatural.  Even children as young as 4 seek a way to get away from themselves, which is evident when you see a child spinning around until they get dizzy and fall down laughing or walk funny.  Of course it should be regulated against abuse by anyone under the age of 21, but there is no question marijuana is far less dangerous than mere alcohol. 

    Get this, I have a “pocket partner” police manual that has this information in it for new officers.
    It remains on the RIDICULOUS SCHEDULE I list, specifically meaning “having no medicinal use” then in the same manual about 6 pages later it says, “Marijuana: Medicinal uses-Wasting, Aids, Cancer, ” etc.  for about 40 uses!!!

    H.A.H.
    Hypocritical As Hell!