Campaign for Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Act

by Gordon Mon Oct 25, 2010 20:16 hempirl at gmail dot com

In reference to the first comment, there are only one or two people who have had a bone to pick with me over the draft legislation I wrote. The reason being a senior member of L.C.I. ripped me off and then they got offended that I would not allow them to use my writing to further their agenda. This is a personal attack and nothing more. I challenge the author to tell us who I have deceived?? L.C.I. have been charging people €20 a year to march down O'Connell St. with little else ever being done throughout their 15 year existence. I realised as a patient I had to draft this legislation myself as nothing constructive was being done. Given my experience operating a medical dispensary in California, I am familiar with the laws in place there and in other countries. If L.C.I. or their leaders have an issue with me it is the fact that I have accomplished more in 6 months than they have in 15 years. I had tried several times to mend the fences between us for the sake of the campaign but it appears their egoes are more important than patients rights. It would appear they have tried to sabotage the campaign out of jealousy.... shame on the person who wrote that, he and I both know who he is!

by pete Fri Oct 15, 2010 14:25

If people wanna smoke or ingest it some other way,why the hell not,tobacco is far more dangerous to one's body.. and that is legal.

And it is not the most addictive drug,there are very few people who use cannabis whos lives are destroyed by it.

If people can use (even 'harmful'),drugs in a safe enviornment,with proper hygiene there might be fewer drug related diseases.

Not to mention legalising cannabis will rake in plenty of tax revenue for our greedy government,and who knows , it might keep the greedy b**tards off our backs!

by F.S. Thu Oct 14, 2010 23:20

I invite anyone to tell a grand mal epileptic that they shouldn't smoke cannabis although they haven't responded to any other drug (25% are unresponsive) and even though it may have palliated their condition completely.
I invite anyone to look in the eyes of someone who is terminally ill and tell them that the one thing that is making them see past the pain and enjoy the last few moments of life on earth should stay illegal for them.
I invite anyone to tell someone who vomits regularly and cant eat and are wasting away from chemotherapy that they shouldn't be allowed to try cannabis.
I invite anyone to tell someone that they should stop taking cannabis to halt the progression of their glaucoma, when this is the only think that has worked for them.
I invite anyone to tell someone that was suicidal and now lives a happy life that they shouldn't be using cannabis.

I have met dozens of people that are happy, alive, comfortable, can eat, can sleep, have come to terms with their disease and their fear of mortality through cannabis. Only an inhumane ignorant bystander that hasn't spoken to those in pain, suffering, and those with a fear of death can make any form of argument against medical cannabis. I have seen people laugh and be happy in face of unsurmountable odds. I have seen people defy all odds due to the medical virtues and the profound shift of consciousness that this plant catalyzes.
Cannabis could replace many benzodiazepines, opiates (or reduce the need of when used concomitantly), corticosteroids, pain killers, and many other drugs in many situations for many people.

We need people to believe that we can make a difference and try everything in our power to shape a new better reality. The more support we gather, the more enlightened minds stand up and voice their concern the better. This is not about helping people do drugs, it is about helping those that are suffering and in pain. People are suffering for no reason. This must stop. Please help push this cause in anyway you can.

WAMM members painting memorial rocks for dead members

by Dr. Murphy Thu Oct 07, 2010 11:57

To so-called 'clean now'

I just want to reply to one thing, because I cant be bothered wasting my time talking to someone who has had a negative experience and clearly has a personal vendetta/problem. I work, I have a wife & kids, I studied hard to get to where I am, and to be honest, it was cannabis that took me out my trap in my grubby little estate where I grew up an alcoholic ('legal' definition). So here you see it is very different to your scenario. I know doctors, lawyers, professors, teachers, banking officials - who all smoke cannabis regularly. So go way with your typical stoner image.

If cannabis should remain illegal then lets get the cigarettes and alcoholic into the bracket too. And another thing I find specifically damaging to society is bad food and television -the biggest apathy encouragement in the whole world. So make them illegal, why not? No, its ridiculous. And no we have a mouth-piece for the status quo here giving us advise on what 'stoners' are really like.

Anyway, the one thing I wanted to specifically responded to was this statement - 'If we legalise then at least johnny would be getting his chronic from the local shop instead of from the local drug pusher'.

No, if we RE-legalised (because it was legal before Harry Angslinser, don't know his name? YOU SHOULD) cannabis then at least Johnny will get the highest quality cannabis from a professional. It would be regulated and the effective compounds of cannabis would be balanced so as to have the highest possible quality available in the world. Then we could pass an act that only allows cannabis to be cultivated with a restriction on the levels of THC produced. The cannabis would also be free from harmful chemicals such as metal, glass and plastic, AKA, ''contaminated weed''. But I don't think you care about any of this. You probably reacted lazily and apathetically to getting high. It dint work for you so now your stuck in your own world about cannabis. Well it worked for me but I can see both sides, and I say, you have no right to say what I do and don't put into my body and the state has no right either. Cop on.

by CleanNow Wed Oct 06, 2010 19:36

Come on. We all know that allowing legalisation for medical purposes is mainly just a way to get recreational use legalised by the back door as has happened in the US. I'm not saying it doesn't have medical uses. And God knows some of the legal drugs they pedal for similar purposes are far more harmful in many ways.But lets call a spade a spade here. Nobody insulted anyone. Just making a point about how irresponsible the Irish are in regard to substance abuse and how giving them carte blanche to do the dog on yet another drug may not be as good an idea as people think.
However looking at how ineffective the anti drugs legislation has been, I can't really see how much worse it could get at this stage if they legalise. Anyone who wants it can get cannabis in any town in Ireland. If we legalise then at least johnny would be getting his chronic from the local shop instead of from the local drug pusher and he would be paying tax which could go towards rehabilitation programmes (yeah right. bailing out banks more likely!)
However personally I think we have higher priorities right now than all getting stoned. We need clear heads to get through the times ahead. I thought it was rather cynical the way Lenihen reduced the price of drink while stealing all our money and giving it to banks. Almost as if to say "stay drunk you idiots while we finish robbing you blind". He'd probably legalise the weed in the morning if he thought it would distract us further from what he is doing. Probably great timing for this campaign really!!

by Marcus McSpartacus Wed Oct 06, 2010 18:45

... and he or his colleagues get insulted by one commentator, and the other commentators argue about recreational use. How is this superior to stoner discussions?

Medical Marijuana use has been legalised by several states and jurisdictions in the US, (even while the Federal Government pursues it under the guise of regulating interstate commerce) on humanitarian and empirical grounds. There are rational and humane arguments that can be based on observable phenomena in favour of this; they at least deserve the same in response, without throwing ad hominem, straw man, or non sequitors at the proponents.

by CleanNow Wed Oct 06, 2010 14:36

I never said stoners were violent like drunks. Just grubby cheapskates hanging around stoned everywhere. Maybe if we had state chocolate and crisp sales to stoners in public places we could capitalise on the mass munchies.

Seriously though, smoke cannabis if you like. But the fact remains, it is an insidious drug that saps motivation and dulls the mind. It's most often smoked with tobacco so it encourages nicotine addiction. I know because I used to smoke myself. It's a waste of time and should not be encouraged in young people. As to whether drug policy works, well I agree, it doesn't and it only magnifies petty crime and corruption. But the fact remains, the Irish as a race are not known for their ability to take drugs in moderation. Probably because our society does not encourage responsibility of any kind. Until such a time as this mindset is changed, giving us more drugs is a recipe for further social problems. Mark my words. As far as I can see from walking about at the weekend and looking at the A&E statistics, We are just too immature to handle the freedom to take drugs.

by opus diablos - the regressive hypocrite party Wed Oct 06, 2010 14:17

Not everyone who smokes gets out of bed looking for the makings.Not everyone who enjoys a drink gets up looking for the whiskey tit.
There are those who keep a bit of balance. Quite a lot of damage gets done by the puritan abstainers.And a LOT of damage has been done by the prohibitionists who open the doors for the sort of armed gangsterism that takes over once these substances are thrown to the illegal black market.
Maybe you think we should wait till the kill-rate gets a bit closer to the Mexican level?I've lived and worked in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. I never encountered the smack, coke or pillhead problems we have and nothing like the random violence thats growing all the time(and I dont give flying fart what the statistics say).
But then your ideal tourist is probably a respectable golf-playing corporate white-collar helicopter-borne piece of starch with a stash of Euro-dollar credit skimmed off the backs of the flunky 'jobs' created to elevate us to a green republican servitude in the name of the sacred corporate economy.
Most of our drug victims are still alcohol powered. Mentally retarded by ethyl in its many forms(and I like a pint).I have yet to encounter a smoker starting trouble.
Listen to the pharma ads for their magical life enhancing products and tell me again why weed is illegal.If you are too nervous to risk your chemical virginity by trying some of the readily available street drugs at least read up on the history of the banning of weed in the US and its transfer across the Atlantic. Its all about mafia control.Read the history of Britannia's opium wars and know who controls its derivatives.These people do not voluntarily relinquish gold-mines.

by CleanNow Wed Oct 06, 2010 13:40

We're already the drunks of Europe
All we need now on top of that is to be the stoners of Europe.

The one plus is it might improve tax take and increase tourism. Albeit tourism from the meanest grubbiest undesirable cheapskate element who will stay in cheapest accomodation and buy nothing but drugs and hang out in all our public places stoned out of their brains. Lovely scenario

by opus diablos - the regressive hypocrite party Wed Oct 06, 2010 13:20

But I reckon legalising it for medicinal use is a bit like a campaign to legalise water or food for medical use. The legal profession have no competence on drug issues, or we would have heard challenges to the backward legistlation over the years.Most doctors I've talked to know the score(they checked the schmorgasbord as extra-curricular activity while studying)but aint gonna rock their hegemonic little craft. Several have cheered letters I wrote to the press over the years, but dont go telling anyone I said that. The usual gutlessness.

Ming for president.

by RB Tue Oct 05, 2010 20:17

This wont work. The man who 'created' this act is a fanatic and has ideas of grandeur. He has seemingly been deceiving people left, right and centre. Beggers ears say he split the cannabis legalisation movement in Ireland.

Ah well. Watch out for Gordon/Daithi I guess?