Link.
Gov. Jack Markell has signed legislation making Delaware the 16th state to allow the use of medical marijuana.
Markell signed the bill Friday morning with no fanfare.
The bill received final legislative approval Wednesday. A spokesman said Markell wanted to sign the measure as quickly as possible because of the lengthy time that will be needed to get a state-run system for distributing medical marijuana up and running.
The new law allows people 18 and older with certain serious or debilitating conditions that could be alleviated by marijuana to possess up to six ounces of the drug. Qualifying patients would be referred to state-licensed and regulated "compassion centers"...
This will be a pretty tightly-regulated system. Patients, unfortunately, will not be allowed to grow their own medicine.
MPP continues to achieve legislative victories on the state level. From mpp.org:
Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley has signed SB 308! As of June 1, patients in Maryland charged with possession of up to one ounce of marijuana who can show they’ve been diagnosed with a debilitating condition that is resistant to other treatments will be found “not guilty” if they demonstrate they’re likely to benefit from medical marijuana.
Of course, medical patients across the country wouldn't have to fight so hard to access to medicine if Prohibition weren't already in place, blocking them. The fact that this plant is both used recreationally and medicinally is too much information for drug warrior to comprehend, just like the belief that we must ban industrial hemp because people smoke cannabis flowers.
Also from mpp.org is a study that was posted here and elsewhere last year, but is worth re-posting:
A new report released today by the International Centre for Science in Drug Policy uses figures provided by the U.S. government to highlight the unquestionable failure of America’s marijuana prohibition to accomplish a single one of its goals. Reviewing 20 years of data, the report shows that despite drastically increased spending on enforcement efforts, including near record-level arrests and seizures, marijuana has become cheaper, more potent, and more available than ever. It concludes, “the legalization of cannabis, combined with the implementation of strict regulatory tools could help reduce cannabis-related harms, as research has demonstrated is successful in tobacco and alcohol control, when strictly enforced.”
Among the report’s findings:
The annual overall budget for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy increased by more than 600%; growing from approximately $1.5 billion in 1981 to more than $18 billion in 2002 (the last year reliable figures were available).
Between 1990 and 2006, marijuana-related arrests increased by 150%, while marijuana seizures increased by more than 400%.
The estimated retail cost of marijuana decreased from $37 per gram in 1990 to $15 per gram in 2007.
Marijuana has remained almost “universally available” to American youth during the last 30 years of prohibition.
The FDA has approved studies of cannabis as a form of treatment for PTSD. The National Institute for Drug Abuse stands in the way of science. [Ironically, a group claiming to represent "research" is actually stifling REAL research]
We need more of this.
The active ingredient in marijuana cuts tumor growth in common lung cancer in half and significantly reduces the ability of the cancer to spread, say researchers at Harvard University who tested the chemical in both lab and mouse studies.
In Delaware, we see the Democratic governor signing a bill that represents both scientific reality as well as overwhelming support by voters for medical mmj programs.
Here's to more future progress on one of the easiest and most popular reforms being proposed in this country.