More Americans Misusing Illicit Painkillers For The First Time Than Trying Pot, Study Says
Washington, DC: More Americans report misusing prescription opioids than trying pot, according to a study released last week by the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
According to the report, a record 2.15 million Americans over age 12 reported misusing prescription pain relievers for the first time in 2007 (the last year for which data was available). By comparison, the study found that 2.1 million Americans reported using cannabis for the first time.
The study reported that the total number of unintentional deaths involving prescription opioids increased 114 percent from 3,994 in 2001 to 8,541 in 2005, the most recent year for which nationwide data was available.
Violent crime associated with the diversion and abuse of pharmaceutical painkillers has increased steadily over the past five years, the study’s authors found. Researchers concluded that Americans’ misuse of prescription opioids now costs taxpayers over $72 billion annually.
Commenting on the new report, NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said, “Were U.S. drug policy to be guided on science and objective harms rather than on ideology and cultural stereotypes, it is clear that the focus of America’s so-called ‘war’ on drugs would be on Americans’ widespread misuse of potentially deadly pharmaceuticals rather than on adults’ occasional use of a relatively nontoxic plant that is incapable of causing human overdose.”
Minnesota: Governor Vetoes Medical Marijuana Measure
Saint Paul, MN: Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty vetoed legislation on Friday that sought to allow for the limited use of medical marijuana by qualified patients.
As passed by the legislature, the measure would have exempted patients with a diagnosed “terminal illness” from state arrest and prosecution for the use of marijuana under a physician’s supervision. Under the proposal, authorized patients would not have been allowed to cultivate marijuana for medical purposes.
Lawmakers voted to limit the scope of the measure late last week in an attempt to avoid the Governor’s veto.
In his veto statement Gov. Pawlenty wrote, “While I am sympathetic to those dealing with end-of-life illnesses and accompanying pain, I stand with law enforcement in opposition to this legislation.”
Proponents of the measure have indicated that they may try to enact medical cannabis legislation via the passage of a constitutional amendment next year.
For more information, please visit: http://www.minnesotacares.org.US Supreme Court Rejects Challenge To State Medical Marijuana Laws
Washington, DC: The US Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal brought by a pair of Southern California counties that sought to challenge the legality of the state’s medical marijuana laws. The Court’s order lets stand a unanimous 2008 Fourth District CA Court of Appeals ruling that determined that state laws allowing for the medical use of cannabis by qualified patients “do not create a ‘positive conflict’ [with federal law.]”
In 2006, lawmakers from San Diego and San Bernardino filed suit against San Diego NORML and the state of California, arguing that federal anti-drug laws preempt the state’s medical marijuana laws. Both the California Superior Court and the Court of Appeals had rejected the counties’ legal arguments.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented San Diego NORML in the suit: “The Court’s order … hold[s] that state medical marijuana laws are entirely valid despite the federal prohibition on marijuana. … The Court’s order leaves ample room for states to move forward with enacting and implementing independent medical marijuana policies.”
Commenting on the outcome, NORML Executive Director Allen St. Pierre said: “San Diego and San Bernardino’s protracted lawsuits – lawsuits that arguably cost county taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars and jeopardized the health and safety of thousands, if not tens of thousands, of citizens – were not about resolving legal ambiguity. These cynical efforts were about the arrogance and recalcitrance of a few who were willing to abuse their political power to hamstring the will of the voters, the state legislature, and the courts.”
Rhode Island: Legislature Approves Medical Marijuana Distribution Centers
Providence, RI: Members of the state House overwhelmingly approved legislation on Wednesday that seeks to make Rhode Island the second state to regulate the establishment of ‘compassion centers’ to provide medical marijuana to state-authorized patients.
As passed, House Bill 5359 mandates the Department of Health to establish rules governing the licensing of non-profit facilities “to acquire, possess, cultivate, manufacture, deliver, transfer, transport, supply, or dispense marijuana, or related supplies and educational materials, to registered qualifying patients.”
The House approved the bill by a vote of 63 to 5.
The Senate previously approved a companion bill, Senate Bill 185, by a vote of 35 to 2.
The General Assembly overrode a gubernatorial veto to legalize the use of medical marijuana by qualified patients in January 2006. Republican Gov. Donald Carcieri is likely to also oppose this effort. However, lawmakers appear to have the votes to once again override the Governor’s veto.
For more information, please visit: ripatients.org.
O, and check out this excerpt from an interview between CNN.com and the Governator about his opinion on legalization:
Q: What is your stance on the legalization, cultivation, and regulation of marijuana in the state of California?A: I like the law that we have in place. And I don’t believe in legalizing marijuana, but I’m always open for the debate because there are people that feel differently. And I said I’m always interested in debating any of these issues because there’s always different ways of looking at it. And I think it would be interesting to see the information that is available, if there’s any information available, of how well countries are doing that have legalized marijuana. But I don’t think that information is available, and I’d want us to see that.
But I believe in the law, the way the law is right now, and I think it’s worked very well for the state of California. And I think it would be a mistake to just go and legalize something that we don’t believe in just because it would produce an extra billion dollars in revenues. And I think we just have to learn how to live within our means rather than trying to do things we really don’t want to do.
Q: New polls actually show that more than half of Californians support legalizing marijuana. So would that sway your stance on it whatsoever in this open debate that you’re calling for? Would it sway your opinion?
A: Well, it could very well go on an initiative one day, where they ask the voters directly, that could very well be. And if the voters make that decision, that’s fine. But I think it is very important for us to make certain decisions not just because they would bring in some extra money, and I think this is why people have been talking about that in California, to go in that direction, and to start debating that issue. Because it would produce, as they say, $1.3 billion, $1.4 billion extra revenues.
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