Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Free the Weed Very nice article by Marjorie Preston in the Atlantic City Weekly on the effort to legalize medical marijuana in New Jersey. This is partly due to the way the article is crafed, but when you read the entire thing, the prohibitionist argument sounds so incredibly pathetic. The article also indicts the pharmaceutical industry. Don McGrath believes the biggest obstacle to medical marijuana in New Jersey and across the country is not the federal government but the pharmaceutical industry. "If you legalize marijuana, then maybe you don't need all these heavyweight drugs," he says. "You can grow marijuana yourself. It's a weed!" "The biggest thing lobbying against this is the drug companies," agrees Dan Carroll. "And why? They don't want drug sales to go down." Carroll says one of Jason's anti-nausea drugs -- just three pills a day -- cost $2,800 a month. One of Sean's medications, "a Martha Stewart-type" drug manufactured by Imclone, was "$10,000 a pop," says his father. A very strong quote as a conclusion: Legal or not, Deidre Carroll says she would not hesitate to get marijuana for Jason if his cancer recurred. "I would do it again. I'm not embarrassed or ashamed. Hell, no. My son is standing right in front of me." And that really says it all. If anybody should be embarrassed or ashamed, it's those who would turn Deidre Carroll into a criminal. 10:31:58 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []

James P. Gray in Chicago on Friday If you're in the Chicago area, here's your chance to meet Judge James P. Gray, author of the outstanding Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed and What We Can Do About It: A Judicial Indictment of the War on Drugs The Heartland Institute will host a reception for Judge James P. Gray on July 14, 2006 at the Millennium Knickerbocker Hotel (Prince of Wales Room) at 163 East Walton Placein Chicago. The reception will begin at 5:30 PM and end around 8:00 PM. Hors d'oeuvres are free but the booze costs money. Wish I could be there. 10:19:17 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []