A quiet victory for medical marijuana patients
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) introduced legislation in the U.S. Senate today that sought to undermine the 13 state medical marijuana laws. Coburn’s legislation was defeated in committee (13-10) on a party-line vote.
Offered as an amendment to the Family Smoking and Tobacco Control Act, Coburn’s legislation would have placed state medical marijuana laws under the regulatory control of the FDA – not necessarily a bad thing on its own. But Coburn’s intentions become apparent when you realize that FDA approval requires specific, FDA-approved research into marijuana’s risks and benefits as a medicine, something the federal government has blocked for decades. Without the research, MPP feared that the FDA would shut down medical marijuana access nationwide.
The fact that medical marijuana opponents are going on the offensive (and failing) speaks volumes to the success we’ve had in recent months. The Supreme Court recently affirmed California’s medical marijuana law, and the new administration has stated a policy of non-interference with state medical marijuana laws – and both points were raised during the committee debate. Even Sen. Coburn conceded, “It is not an illegal product in 13 states.”
It is possible that Sen. Coburn will continue his attack on medical marijuana, but given the opposition he faced today, it’s unlikely he’ll succeed.
Tagged with: Medical Marijuana and Sen. Coburn by the author
46 comments
Well Obama isn’t the MMJ patient’s messiah but I’m diggin the fact that he’s at least letting it remain a state issue. In my mind this means that Obama does favor medical marijuana, but rather than actively pursue federal legislation (which could risk his political career), he is just backing off federal involvement and letting the states do their thing.
So in conclusion, Obama is being a bit of a politician, but things are slowly progressing our way. Keep it up MPP!
I just want to know where these Mother F*ckers get off doing such things? Do they not realize that they can only buy their places in Congress and state legislation for much longer? We the people are really starting to get pissed off about these low lifes that are in Congress for the pay check and not giving a rats ass about the people that voted them in. Why the hell is someone like this still in Congress? Oklahoma, VOTE THAT SOB OUT of his seat. I say we impeach all the people we voted into Congress and are not following what WE the PEOPLE want to be done!…Mr. Senator Coburn…is simply want to say to you, FUCK YOU!
Hey Chris, How is Obama risking his career? There is how many pot smokers out there? 25 million or something like that….Im pretty sure that would be a good start on getting people to vote for him, oh, and how many people are out there that do not smoke pot, but still support legalization and taxation?
As an Oklahoman, I am disgusted with our Senators (one who argued for states’ rights while tacking his amendment on the credit card bill allowing people to carry loaded guns in national parks, and then pulls this stunt trying to put certain state laws under FDA authority; the other so deep in the oil companies’ pockets that he parades around claiming global warming is a myth) and regret to inform you that the reactionary populous here will not be voting them out anytime soon. I sincerely apologize.
ya’ll are missing the bottom line. i don’t know if you know what a party-line vote is but it basically means that out of the 23 republicans voting on this, 13 shot it down. do you see what i’m saying here? i want leap forward with this as much as anybody but this, so it seems, is going to take baby steps. progress.
President Obama can best respect states’ rights by lifting the federal laws against cannabis and its derivatives. This simple act would allow individual states to determine medical marijuana programs, industrial cultivation for hemp, and regulations for recreational use by adults over 21.
free all non-violent drug offenders
stop the misinformation
i heart dank
love,
donny danko
hey vocal citizen, check out the 10th amendment sometime. the federal government is not to have any control over state laws and cannot enforce its laws on any state. the prohibition of marijuana on a federal level is not wrong, technically, but them enforcing it onto other states is. basically, i think.
Submission #4 Global warming is a myth! Caused by people anyway. The earth goes through cycles of cooling and warming. We do not have the power to change that. A volcano puts out in one eruption more than we could ever. They just want to get rich of the bs they are spoon feeding you.
The following were taken from the three largest American political party platforms. I can only see one that actually cares about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Can you guess which one?
Republican Party
We will continue the fight against producers, traffickers, and distributors of illegal substances through the collaboration of state, federal, and local law enforcement.
Democratic Party
We must work with close partners like Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia on issues like ending the drug trade, fighting poverty and inequality, and immigration.
Libertarian Party
We support the protections provided by the Fourth Amendment to be secure in our persons, homes, and property. Only actions that infringe on the rights of others can properly be termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating “crimes” without victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational purposes.
Andrew,
I don’t know where your getting your ‘facts’ but I had to check out your claim about volcanoes and so after about one minute I found this on The United States Geological Survey (USGS) website.
http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/1998/98_10_22.html
Kilauea volcano emits more than 700,000 tons of CO2 each year, less than 0.01% of the yearly global contribution by human sources. For some local perspective, this is about the same amount of CO2 as is emitted by 132,000 sport utility vehicles.
Even I need to do more research to be completely convinced one way or the other. After all, this was taken from a government source. Since I don’t have the time to do the research, my area of interest is mechanical engineering, I will choose to accept the vast majority of scientists’ (who actually study this) opinion that we are a significant contribution to global warming. The only people who are claiming it is a myth now, to my knowledge, are a few lone politicians, fringe political groups, or those who profit from the burning of hydrocarbons.
My point: The American people will always bicker with one another so long as they choose to spew their political parties propaganda whether than to do the research themselves to validate or, most often, invalidate claims that are made by politicians or political pundits. Sorry for getting off topic. Let’s legalize weed.
Great!!! Your alert yesterday encouraged myself and numerous friends to call our Senator here in North Carolina…..MPP, you made a difference, and friends, we made a difference….feels good
Partially Free American Yes we do need to stay unified for the fight of our life to make cannabis safely available to all who choose to use it as medicine. We do need to take care of the planet. But there are some that push it for there own greed both ways. Like Gore. He stands to make a lot of money of carbon credits. But anyways lets unite to make Cannabis legal again and for all of our farmers to be able to grow it. We can get hundreds of gallons of bio fuel from an acre of hemp. We could be able to use it for paper and 1 acre is equal to 4 acres of trees. No chemicals to grow it, it is extremely easier to brake it down to pulp for paper. If we would have not made hemp illegal we would not be in the prediament that we are in now with oil. If you also take a look at the numbers since we started using oil primarily the co2 levels have risen since then. Hemp is a carbon nuetral pland.
Due to me moving I have missed a few notices and this one was a sneaky sneak.
I am greatly relieved to see it’s defeat just at the moment I was alerted to the vote.
I’m in Stanislaus County California and we are still waiting for Medical ID cards.. Boy oh Boy the sneaky sneakers never stop do they.
Slow and steady, It’s been illegal for so long we need to take every victory as a blessing, and just keep building on them. Obama, yes, he laughed it off, but we have to remember he’s a very young president in very tough times, it’s a cop out because he should still do whats right ( legal eyes) but that’s really a second term sort of thing, unless we get real grass roots congressional action, we won’t force him to make a decision on this anytime soon.
Chris
It is good that Obama is backing off from going after medical marijuana patient right now, but unless we can get MJ reclasified all the progress we’re enjoying right now could go away as soon as the next administration takes office. President Jimmy Carter said that (paraphrasing) laws are created to protect people from each other. When we make laws to protect people from themselves we’ve gone to far. During the Carter administration law enforcement eased up on posession. But once Regan took office the “war on drugs” was elevated to a new level of severity. The only way to win this is to get it legalized, otherwise the next anti-marijuana president will simply crack down on us again.
13-10
I guess we are not as far along as i thought.
Sen Coburn is a doctor by profession, You can surely tell who owns him, BIG PHARMA
CNN wants your comments:
http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2009/05/20/video-fbi-defends-marijuana-laws/#addcomment
Plus there is a good video of Rep Steve Cohen (D-Tenn) questioning the FBI Director about marijuana…
Ahh yes, I was born and raised in Oklahoma. As soon as I turned seventeen and graduated high school I ran screaming into the night. The best decision I have ever made, and I’ve made some good decisions!
The religious “right” and the Republicans ( I know, I know, I must have went to the redundancy school of redundancy) have such a choke hold on the entire state. Its like the “Christian Taliban” own the place.
Spring of 2008 I mentioned in my book, “Medical Marijuana Activist Community Empowerment Resources,” saving lives with MJ meds and products should be legalized immediately, without delay. Political due process to legalize MJ is killing more people who could live with things like hemp oil, a cancer killing product and it’s yours free if you grow your own MJ to produce the medicine.
If we move in mass, be it ever so circuitously, we shall attain our object; but if we break into squads, everyone pursuing the path he thinks most direct, we become an easy conquest to those who can now barely hold us in check.
Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Duane, 1811
truer words were never spoken.
I agree that we need to get it legalized on a federal level and so forth because once Obama is out of the white house, the next ass hole bush or nixon will be in. However, why should WE THE PEOPLE who vote for these ass holes? Like I said many times already, and Ill say it again, BRUCE FOR PRESIDENT 2012. If we vote in someone that is honestly going to do what we want, then our worries will be over! On the last election I said I would vote anyone into office that would Nullify NAFTA, and I voted for Obama *he said he would change it*. Next election, Im voting anyone into office who will legalize pot!….who do you think? Jon Stewart? Steven Colbert? NO, BRUCE MIRKEN!
keep up the good fight, we’re getting there. Just one small request. Throw any extra seeds in the grass or bushes at the local cop shop, courthouse and city hall. Let’s get the local government goons growing too. PLANT the seeds, FREE the WEED….
I am just glad win or lose there is still mmj, it is great when the opposition has to accept medical marijuana, and try to sneak and bull shit their way out of the truth!
i agree with jj, legalization will be the most important subject for me and i will only vote for a canidate that will end prohibition. it not that this is the biggest issue the us faces but it seems like ever canidate that opposes it is a two face lier that ends up being a puppet to big corporate interests. also the wheels of justice move slowly in the us system it is a good thing, it they move to fast we get stuff like the patriot act and the like. one voice, perseverance, let our generation be the one to end prohibition of marijuana.
called my nc representative,kay hagan when alerted to this vote.The young lady who took my call said”what is going on here my office has been floode with calls?”Your alert worked.
The Cmte. Sen Coburn was on voted 13-10 against his amendment. When Ben said “along party lines” it meant that the 13 democrats on the cmte voted against it and the 10 republicans voted for it.
Ben, can you please link the names of the 10 Senators to vote with Coburn so we can get voters in their respective states to vote them out?
Does anyone know if Barney Frenk or any of the others in the Government plan to reintroduce the Bills for Medical Marijuana and The legalizing and transporting Marijuana?
And I havnt YET seen The PSA that NORML was running, Is it still running Nationwide?
The information in this PSA is OUTSTANDING … the percentage of people wanting to outright legalize MJ went from the High 40% percentile to the low 50% percentile.. I can only amagine that this informative PSA caused this, by bringing needed information to those that don’t have proper information. If its not running.. I do hope it will RUN again soon.. at these low costs…
Rep Cohen may be my new favorite Congressman.
Thank you **DarthNole** comented
Ray
Is this the PSA you are referring to?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuZVLpBfHSs
jj, vote gary johnson in 2012. if ya haven’t heard of him check him out. as far as poly-tricking politicians go hes ok
and he didn’t say ‘along party lines’, he said ‘party-line vote’. look up what that means. it basically means that they do a quick party-line vote within the party to see if it can get enough backing from its own party to go forward with it. look up the definition of party-line vote jerky
and its danko, not darko
** Freedom Seeker ** No thats not it but that is a GOOD one full of information.. The one NORML was using had the girl laughing at the end, Alot of people said the laughing part was removed…
It was called “YES WE CAN”
here is a Youtube link to it..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0mEDE_w1xo
So Dave in post 22, if we move in mass, could we develop an approach that would end prohibition AND give the politicians a golden carrot? I’m thinking of a personal use and cultivation permit, at $100 a year for a permit to grow a dozen plants. Will a mass form around that idea?
It is past time the true American patriots rid this nation of prohibitionists and put an end to all the evil they have spawned. It is prohibitionists’ policy which protects and guarantees that criminal drug profiteers continue to make dangerous drugs available to our children. Prohibitionists are continuing to violate the God given rights of tens of millions of American citizens in direct violation of those rights guaranteed in the Constitution. Prohibitionist policy is directly responsible for funding terrorists and gang violence. Prohibitionists’ policies have seriously degraded the domestic tranquility of several allied nations. All this and more damage, corruption and carnage at a rising cost of more than a trillion dollars of the public’s hard earned tax dollars. Any rational accounting of prohibitionists’ chronic failures leads to only one conclusion–it is past time we tried something else. For a change, I suggest a policy in compliance with freedom and liberty as clearly written in the Constitution of the United States. There must also be accountability by those who waged this unjust war on American citizens, and full restitution made for those war crimes.
never thought this would happen in oklahoma, considering we’re apart of this bible belt…. i hope the FDA doesnt push it away
As a citizen of OklahomaI am well aware of the politicians in this great state.The proposal by Ron Paul,HR 1866.Hemp Farm Bill,has been referredto the House Judiciary Committee &House Committee on Energy and Commerece where it awaits further action.Frank Lucas,my representitive, has finally answered my 2 month 3 times a day email.,not agreeable,I might add.So I know how certain politicians are. Coburn didn’t see the need to answer the same amount. Go to http://www.gradeyour gov.com and grade them. Legalize.
In about a week I will be free of a job which has restrictions on my use of MMJ in Wa state. Meaning I am a health care professional with two licenses. One as a “chemical dependency professional.” I can no longer practice in that field in good faith, as I believe pot should be decriminalized. We are out there, the tide is turning. I am thrilled to be a legal grower and user of this medication with a MMJ certificate to prove it. Eat your heart out Sen. Coburn. I encourage anyone in any of the 13 states to get their certificate. Arthritis is spot on. Lets hear it for aging baby boomers. We have work to do.
“…a vote in which every member of a political party votes the same way (usually in opposition to other political parties with members of the legislature, who vote the opposite way)”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Party-line_vote
13-10 means what then? (rhetorical)
We do appreciate your support of the cause though.
13-10 partyline vote means: Every Democrat on the committee voted against this horrible amendment, and every Republican on the committee voted FOR it.
So we have two bad big parties, but one party is clearly more evil and more destructive, while the other is (too) slowly becoming progressive on this issue.
This is why I hate living in Oklahoma….nothing to do(for the most part), and our politicians are narrow minded…
I’ve been on high doses of prescription pain meds for the last 24 years. Not only have they stopped working well, my condition has deteriorated. Now with liver problems, my only help is from passing a medical marijuana law and PASS IT NOW!!!
We are lucky to be in these hard financial times!! It gives Politicians the excuse to give us what we have been begging for !!! While I feel the same as Mike does. I think only Heaven will try these war criminals. They are for the most part beyond our reach. These Evil Men are well protected and probably only the Angels of the Most High God will have permission to met out justice. But like the Devil, their time is very short and they are doing a scorched earth policy and taking as many freedoms and lives as they can before they start their terms of Prison in the darkest, dankest, dungeons of Hell!!!! It will be terrifying for them to fall into the Hands of the Most High!!!!!
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