Paul Chabot, in the recent Riverside Press article referenced below, and his 200-plus members of the Inland Valley Drug Free Community, should not be in the business of judging what makes someone else feel better in a medical sense. They are not a doctor's, or scientific research, group. We, I am under the impression in this 'free' nation, still have the right or should have, to make decisions about what affects our personal selves ... in concert with our personal doctors, should we be blessed and able to afford one.
What is wrong with feeling more confident, even if people do have 'hair loss', or evidence of "itchy skin," and "sleep problems"? Why is it wrong to search for real relief with as few bad side effects as possible? To minimize, or ridicule by implication, any one of the problems mentioned is just plain wrong, and very insensitive to those with these conditions. The suffering can be very severe, and can be totally life changing, and not in a good way!
Interestingly that the so-called minor illnesses/complaints that marijuana has been known to help, including those Mr. Chabot referred to, also may be some of the complications of already published side effects of the legal alternatives to THC consumption!!! Seriously I think, all the current facts, easily found online, should be also addressed in what should be a public debate, and I look forward to seeing them published by the Riverside Press Enterprise.
Actually some of the more common effects of involuntary sleep deprivation, people who have serious sleep issues, is horrific! ... like driving around and not realizing it! Unable to recognize difference between dream and reality, as in the relatively recent case of one of Edward Kennedy's sons, and maybe even in the recent Tiger Woods episode. Somewhere I overheard that Tiger too, suffered terribly from sleep deprivation, and then there is Michael Jackson who took being not able to sleep to a deadly level. And then there is my daughter, who is legally correct in her drug use, but the cost she pays in the addiction, and illusions caused, and who knows what else .... hair loss, horrible itching, paranoia, lack of appetite, and so on, and so on.
Can we ever in this state, or in the nation, spend time actually addressing the issues we are trying to make laws about? A nice little graph showing the effects and side effects of a lot of our 'legal' drugs vs. marijuana, which is the subject at hand, would be enlightening, I am sure. Mr. Chabot seems to weigh in, with only a 'them or us' attitude. Figuring out 'the mess' really quick would be to consider the facts already on the table, and available to all, and then use common sense in helping to make our laws.
Clarification from the state attorney generals office would be nice. Maybe while we are all waiting, we could study up on the truth behind the use of Ambien like drugs, which is actually speed, under the name of Aderall, and Ritilan, and numerous other legal drugs ... so called legal drugs, which by the way are being passed around in our local schools like candy.
Recent reports on CNN I believe, and by Dr. Nancy on MSNBC, took a look at the addiction trends from 'legal' speed, basically now ignored by law enforcement, even when used illegally. The use, and addiction levels in college ages, as well as in high schools, was mind boggling.
As a concerned resident, with a seriously, critical ill daughter on a horrendous very legal 'cocktail' of 'after transplant drugs', the message I try to teach my 16 yr. old grandson, is that the first concept to remember is find the truth and go from there.
The truth does matter, and a suggestion to Mr. Chabot and his group: ... this is the computer age, Google, or Bing, the information on the current drugs in discussion. Educating oneself, speaking out about the facts, is part of a participatory and democratic system, not waiting on some governmental agency to do the work.
We are the government. It is up to each of us to find the truth, by looking for the facts, and updating 'our truths' as needed on the road to learning. Then, we need to share what we have learned with our fellow citizens in congress, so they have what they need to help make, and implement just laws.
Something else, I tell my grandson, is that the shame is not in the falling down, or the taking of the wrong road ... the shame is not getting up ... the shame is not looking for the path that best represents the truth, the shame is in the not looking for it with all your heart, and not responsibly updating when proved necessary.
What the truth is, sometimes changes, and history is adjusted. Human beings are a learning species ... hopefully evolving into being the very best that they can be, given what they were ... well ... given.
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_marijuana01.453e0cb.html
"Paul Chabot said the fact that Inland marijuana advocates are excited about the policy "raises a big red flag for us," referring to 200-plus members of the Inland Valley Drug Free Community Coalition.
"I think Riverside County is a great example of how confusing the situation has become. Now we have locals trying to figure out this mess ..." Chabot said. "I think it would be better to get clarification from the state attorney general's office or the federal government on this issue."
Chabot said the problem with further legitimizing medical marijuana cards is that practically anyone can get one.
"They're supposed to be for very sick people but anybody can get a marijuana card for any reason," Chabot said. "You can claim any illness whatsoever including hair loss, itchy skin or sleep problems."
Meanwhile, some medicinal users have said their marijuana has been unlawfully seized by deputies though they were making efforts to abide by the law."
http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stories/PE_News_Local_S_marijuana01.453e0cb.html
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