Since Sanjay Gupta came out swinging in support of medical marijuana for small children with rare seizure disorders and realizing we have been systematically lied to for years about marijuana, it seems as if part of the dam has burst.
CNN highlights how marijuana prohibition harms children
In a segment on The Lead, CNN host Jake Tapper interviewed a man whose young daughter suffers from a rare form of epilepsy that causes her to have daily seizures. The condition has been treated with a special strain of marijuana, but the young girl is currently prohibited from using it under New Jersey state law. Brian Wilson recently confronted Gov. Chris Christie (R) about the issue.
“With Dravet Syndrome and all forms of severe epilepsy, these seizures can be life ending,” Wilson explained on CNN. “They’re extremely taxing on your heart, on your respiratory system, on your brain. Vivian has stopped breathing twice during the course of extended seizure. She has seizures that will last sometimes 45 to 60 minutes.”
Without controlling her seizures through the use of marijuana, his daughter is constantly at risk of dying, Wilson said.
“So, her life is at risk every day. Kids die all the time from this. There was a week — there was a four-week period in April where four children with Dravet Syndrome died. So, it’s one of the realities we face unless we can get this under control.”
This is actually a 2-fer: Part One is that we have the question "What about the children?" turned against a republican like Chris Christie. he's been besieged by the parents of a 2 year olf girl with Dravet Syndrome, a condition brought to light by Sanjay Gupta last week with regards to how medical marijuana applications work basic wonders with this intense seizure disorder.
Part Two is that CNN, a major media outlet and historical "part of the propaganda problem" is using its muscle to report on this, adding to the pressure on Christie to 'do the right thing". You KNOW how republicans feel about doing the right thing to begin with, but signing a medical marijuana bill that is currently sitting on his desk in order to help tiny, sick children? Hoo-boy - sucks to be him.
As reported at AlterNet, parents of the 2 year-old girl plead with Governor Christie 'Don't Let Our Daughter Die—Legalize Medical Marijuana' as part of what was described as becoming a 'heated exchange':
The exchange continued when Wilson asked the Governor what the hold up has been with the bill, leading the Christie to state that the medical marijuana bill is a "complicated issue."
"Very simple issue," the father snapped back.
"No, I know you think it's simple…and it's not," Christie retorted.
It's complicated for a republican, like Christie, who has to balance placating his nutjob base with actually helping a child with the dreaded evil weed.
The bill has already been passed, and is simply awaiting Christie's signature. But the presidential hopeful is surely thinking more about his future prospects than saving children. How would it play to the Republican base is, in all likelihood, foremost on his mind.
What about the children, Governor Christie?
That's been the rallying cry of the Reefer Mad supporters for generations - that marijuana is the "assassin of youth", a gateway to the hell of heroin addiction. Or if you have seen the documentary Grass you know the terrible things marijuana is supposed to do change as the years go by.
Christie has put off the signing until Friday; my gut feeling is he's footdragging until the weekend news dump so whatever he decides can be muted by the dynamics of 'the Friday Night News Dump'
Releasing bad news or documents on a Friday afternoon in an attempt to avoid media scrutiny.
This is a lose-lose in Christie's mind, most likely, for the reasons already laid out. Clearly he should - "should" - fall on the side of helping the child and children and others who clearly benefit from cannabis extract medicines. But there's that pesky political reality that many folks who support Christie and the GOP are foamy-mouthed reefer-mad nitwits who would let a child die without a second thought if it...uh...meant ...ummm....sending a bad message to the children.
Sign the bill, dude.
[UPDATE] Here is a link to a poll @NJ.com Poll: Should Gov. Chris Christie sign N.J.'s kid medical marijuana bill? where you can vote on what Christie should do. Currently it's 85% FOR him to sign the legislation, 11% opposing and 2% 'can't make up their mind".
I will keep scouring the news for what he has done.
Christie conditionally vetoes kids medical marijuana bill
Gov. Chris Christie has agreed to give chronically ill children easier access to medical marijuana.
However, the governor conditionally vetoed a bill on the issue because it goes further than he was willing to go.
"As I have repeatedly noted, I believe that parents, and not government regulators, are best suited to decide how to care for their children," Christie said in a statement. "Protection of our children remains my utmost concern, and my heart goes out to those children and their families who are suffering with serious illnesses. Today, I am making commonsense recommendations to this legislation to ensure sick children receive the treatment their parents prefer, while maintaining appropriate safeguards. I am calling on the Legislature to reconvene quickly and address these issues so that children in need can get the treatment they need."
Christie agreed to allow production of ingestible forms of pot at state-approved dispensaries and to allow dispensaries to grow more than three strains of the drug.
But he wants to leave a requirement that a psychiatrist and pediatrician sign off before children are allowed medical marijuana.
It now goes back into the state legislature.
In other words, he weaseled out of it and punted the ball down the field like a classic reefer mad politician more concerned about votes than children.