[420 Girl]

In another misguided attempt to tell the American People that that are too stupid to know what is good for them, Dianne Feinstein (D), Senator from California introduced a bill (S258) that would force medical cannabis patients to smoke marijuana by doubling the federal penalties for distributing medical marijuana edibles.

Coyly named "Saving Kids from Dangerous Drugs Act, Senate Bill 258, makes no exception for medical cannabis. Since there is no nationwide movement to lace children's candy with ***, ******, or ***************s, clearly, this bill is targets legitimate medical marijuana dispensaries operating in states that have legalized it as medicine.

If this bill, which comes up soon for a floor vote, passes, patients who use edibles to relieve pain, ease digestion, or reduce neuropathy will be driven to smoke marijuana rather than ingesting it orally.

Though significant studies have shown that marijuana smoke does not cause cancer, and may even to protect against it, all smoke contains particulate matter which can irritate the lungs. While vaporizing the medication can go a long way to relieve this irritation, edibles supply a sustained, longer-lasting dose of medication, that, for instance, can carry a patient, pain-free, throughout the night.

There are two exceptions in this bill, but they do nothing to protect legitimate medical marijuana patients or their providers, since the federal government does not acknowledge any legitimacy of medical cannabis.

Though marijuana is legal as medicine in 14 states, the federal government has not yet removed whole cannabis from Schedule I (the most restricted category, defined as having no current use for treatment in the United States), though THC, the active, psychotropic ingredient in cannabis is placed in the much more relaxed Schedule III, and is sold, under FDA approval, as Marinol.

This legislation would be fine, if it also changed the category of whole cannabis to Schedule III or lower, but as it stands now, this bill specifically targets legitimate medical marijuana dispensaries who have pioneered the development of alternative forms of edibles for their patients.

The full text of the bill can be read here.

Make your own views known to your senators by clicking here.

How to contact Senator Feinstein to voice your opinion about this legislation:

Senator Dianne Feinstein
United States Senate
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Phone: (202) 224-3841
Fax: (202) 228-3954
TTY/TDD: (202) 224-2501

Click here to email the senator.

A review of the top 20 contributors of Senator Feinstein's campaigns indicates that she is heavily financed by large law firms which to stand to gain from ensuing litigation.

NewsHawk: Ganjarden: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: Open Salon
Author: Brinna Nanda
Contact: Open Salon
Copyright: 2010 Salon Media Group, Inc.
Website: Feinstein's Nanny Senate Bill Forces Patients to Smoke Pot

* Thanks to Brinna for submitting this article


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