Before she tried medical marijuana, a Queens woman named Natalie was in such pain from two bouts of breast cancer, chemotherapy, and the side effects of medication that she went for weeks not sleeping more than two hours a night—and some nights she got only 15 minutes. In the morning, she says, she hurt so much that “I couldn’t hold a toothbrush.”

The criminality of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who use marijuana for medical purposes hangs in the balance as upstate politicians dawdle. (Photo: Cosmo Spacely/CC/Flickr)

The criminality of hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who use marijuana for medical purposes hangs in the balance as upstate politicians dawdle. (Photo: Cosmo Spacely/CC/Flickr)

Regular painkillers didn’t help her. Percocet and Vicodin “did horrific things to my digestive system.” And Arimidex, the estrogen-blocking drug she takes to prevent the cancer from recurring, causes severe joint pain. “It makes me feel like I’m a 90-year-old woman with severe arthritis,” she says.

Then her husband suggested that she try smoking marijuana before she went to bed. She took a few tokes of mild herb, and “it soothed me, it helped me go to sleep,” she says. “At night, it’s like a lifesaver.”

But under New York and federal law, the 45-year-old mother of two (who asked that her last name not be published) is a criminal, violating Section 221 of the state penal code and Title 21, Section 841 of the federal criminal code. More important, even though possession of less than 25 grams has been decriminalized in New York, she doesn’t have a way of getting a legal, consistent supply of known potency. When she’s had pot that was too strong, she says, it made her feel terrified and throw up.

“It’s not fair that we have to hide and feel bad about something that alleviates things,” she says. “If it’s properly regulated, this could be a magical thing for a lot of people, or at least it’s an option.”

This year, the odds of that changing for New Yorkers like Natalie might be stronger than they’ve ever been. “I believe if a bill comes to the floor of the Senate, it will pass,” says Assemblymember Richard Gottfried (D-Manhattan), the main sponsor of medical-marijuana legislation in the Legislature’s lower house.

The Assembly has passed those bills several times, most recently last year, but in the state Senate, gerrymandered for a Republican majority, the leadership has never let them come to the floor for a vote.

This year, however, the Senate leadership is controlled by an alliance between the Republicans and a breakaway faction of five Democrats—one of whom, Diane Savino of Staten Island, is the medical-marijuana bill’s lead sponsor.

Getting enough votes is more important than the new power alignment, Savino says. On that count, she’s optimistic. She says she’s met only two senators who are “vehemently opposed” to legalizing medical marijuana, although others have expressed concerns about how to prevent the supply from being diverted and whether doctors’ recommendations will be for legitimate ailments.

“I think there’s enough votes,” she says.

The bill has not been drawn up yet, but Savino says it will set up a system where patients who get recommendations from doctors will apply to the state Board of Health for a medical-marijuana card. (continue reading…)

Source: http://www.bqbrew.com/2013/02/02/cannabust-playing-politics-at-the-...

Views: 32

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Doc Vega's 7 blog posts were featured
33 minutes ago
tjdavis's blog post was featured
33 minutes ago
Burbia's blog post was featured

Mystery illness strikes Russia with fever, blood symptoms, and no cure in sight.

I guess releasing this bio-weapon upon Israeli neighbors would be hitting too close to home. I…See More
34 minutes ago
Less Prone commented on Doc Vega's photo
Thumbnail

main-qimg-357a10f7111dcf87a3cc6e2afad83855

"Islam is only a phase preceding a total Talmudic rule and a new world religion."
37 minutes ago
Less Prone commented on tjdavis's photo
Thumbnail

WWRJD

"I doubt a d-rat Jesus would be better. Much worse. “Politicians are the lowest form of life…"
38 minutes ago
Less Prone favorited tjdavis's photo
43 minutes ago
Doc Vega posted blog posts
8 hours ago
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's photo
Thumbnail

Lost History

"The Tartar wall - aka The Great Wall of China is hundreds of years old and was up and running in…"
9 hours ago
cheeki kea posted a photo
9 hours ago
tjdavis posted a blog post
23 hours ago
tjdavis posted a photo
yesterday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
yesterday
Doc Vega posted a photo
Wednesday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

No Place to Hide

Stumbling through this confusing lifeLike a blunt and rusty knifeSo why is there all this…See More
Wednesday
Burbia posted a blog post
Wednesday
cheeki kea posted a photo
Wednesday
cheeki kea commented on cheeki kea's blog post Vaccines Cause Autism: The Burden of Proof has been met.
Wednesday
cheeki kea posted a blog post
Wednesday
tjdavis posted a video
Wednesday
cheeki kea commented on Burbia's video
Thumbnail

Soros Will Never Recover..Elon AIR The whole Thing

"Good find Burbia. It can only get worse. Is Soros too big to fail for he has his thumb in every pie…"
Monday

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted