Last time I checked, both Attorney General Tom Horne and Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery were employees of the state of Arizona, not the federal government.
If Attorney General Tom Horne and Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery want to enforce the federal marijuana laws, they should resign from their jobs as Arizona elected officials and get hired by the federal government as prosecutors.
Until then they should stop wasting our tax dollars in their personal war against Arizona medical marijuana users.
Yes Arizona’s Prop 203 does conflict with federal law. If they don’t like it they should resign, instead of wasting our tax dollars for their personal witch hunt against medical marijuana users.
Mike Ross
Tempe
Arizona Willie posted at 1:37 pm on Sun, Aug 26, 2012.
I know the governor wants them to do this so she isn't going to be any help.
But Horne and Montgomery should be recalled.
How does a recall get accomplished?
Probably won't happen but don't forget this the next time they come up for election.
Would be dispensary owners should sue them for lost income due to the delay Horne and Montgomery are causing.
Maybe if a lot of people sued them one at a time it would keep them too busy to intefere in everyone else's business.
The strangest part of it is that they are refusing all the tax revenue that would be coming in from dispensaries and at a time when the State direly needs the money.
Hmm, causing the State to lose Tax Revenue should be good for a Dereliction of Duty charge.
Leon Ceniceros posted at 3:46 pm on Sun, Aug 26, 2012.
Last time I checked, (Arizona willie...you might want to double check this for me too)....MARIJUANA WAS STILL A...."SCHEDULE 1" SUBSTANCE UNDER THE CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT.
Which means that there is.........."NO CURRENTLY ACCEPTED MEDICAL USE".
It is illegal to use or sell...period.
Now our ..."TOKER-IN-CHIEF"...currently residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue could with a stroke of his pen.......REMOVE MARIJUANA FROM BEING A SCHEDULE 1 SUBSTANCE....but doesn't have the political will to do it because it would cost him the Election....and we have seen how he has ...."PIMPED AWAY AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP" to 1,800,000 Illegal Aliens from Mexico to get the Hispanic Vote but he knows that the Marijuana issue is a horse of a different color.
As to the Letter Writer's and Arizona willie's contention that Arizona Governor Jan Brewer and Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne can over-ride the Federal Controlled Substances Act which lists Marijuana as a Schedule 1 substance........there is a small legal matter about Article IV (4), Clause II (2) of the United States Constitution that says...."LAWS MADE PURSUANT TO THE US CONSTITUTION (passed by the House and Senate and signed by a President) = THE SUPREME LAW OF THE LAND.
NOW DO I NEED TO TYPE OUT THE DEFINITION OF THE WORD..."SUPREME"..???
Dale Whiting posted at 7:55 pm on Sun, Aug 26, 2012.
Mike,
What have you been smoking?
chatmandu002 posted at 10:25 pm on Sun, Aug 26, 2012.
Mike,
I gotta go with the sate attorney general on this one. If down the road AZ gets sued by the federal government because of medical marijuana then we will have to pay to defend the law anyway. It's better to address this now.
wdgnas posted at 7:34 am on Mon, Aug 27, 2012.
mike, not going to happen. the governor will only enforce the laws she favors, not every state law.
Engaged Voter posted at 8:56 am on Mon, Aug 27, 2012.
Gee, what happened to "enforce all the laws all the time"?
It's amusing to watch the hypocrites expose themselves. ;)
chatmandu002 posted at 11:39 am on Mon, Aug 27, 2012.
That's right Enraged One, Enforce all the laws all the time.
VofReason posted at 12:33 pm on Mon, Aug 27, 2012.
Have not heard of the ground swell for recall of Horne or Montgomery. I think that most people are pretty confident of both men. Additionally, while many voters bought the "medical mj" for the cancer patients etc. I think they also realized they got hoodwinked and that the effort was more about legalization rather then help for those in need. Sure, there could be a benefit with mj for people who really have medical problems, but be honest- most the vocal people are just the headshop dwellers.
Arizona Willie posted at 4:29 pm on Mon, Aug 27, 2012.
VofReason, I disagree with you about the type of person that is seeking mmj.
I have a challenge for you.
Try to get a Medical Marijuana Card.
You have to submit your medical records from a doctor recognized by the Arizona boards.
You have to go through a lengthy interview ( at least if you use one of the clinics set up to help people get the paperwork done right ). I would recommend it because there are so many hoops to jump through if you self-file.
Just getting your records from a doctor is an adventure in itself. Many doctors are trying to refuse to follow the HIPPA law that says you have a right to a copy of your records. As far as they are concerned ... if it isn't a pill or an operation it is of no value and they fight mmj as hard as they can. Many will delay and bring it to the edge of you having to take them to court and sue them.
It is not a casual undertaking that kids looking to get high will go through. Most of them can get it on the street or in a bar they go to. Older folks who don't go to bars have no good source usually. I believe the statistic in Arizona is most card holders are over 50.
I'm sure there are some people with card that are just looking to get high. But I believe the majority have real ailments. Since you have to produce medical records documenting a recognized qualifying condition ... I don't know how someone would get a card that didn't have some painful condition.
There may be doctors who will doctor up some records for a person but they would be putting their medical license at risk and I just don't see that happening.
Arizona Willie has spoken [smile]
PeacefulCat posted at 9:54 am on Tue, Aug 28, 2012.
Even the AZ Supreme Court wold not let the State argue that Medical mj has no value; since the evidence Is out there that it Does have medical use-Hardesty v AZ
If you look at the cases in other states the majority of the time the state losses to the patient and state law.
In AZ on many state as well as the Feds one will do more time for a marijuana charge then rape, murder or child molestation-think their priorities are wrong? or maybe because there is no RICO law for rapist, murders or molesters.
Our State officials are our officials not Federal employees. Also there are some who are organizing to rid us of Montgomery & Horne-we will see
Engaged Voter posted at 10:11 am on Tue, Aug 28, 2012.
"but be honest- most the vocal people are just the headshop dwellers."
The only three MMJ cardholders I know personally all have cancer - esophogeal, pancreatic, and lymphoma. And they don't hang out at head shops.
Not that actual FACTS and EVIDENCE will sway someone like VofReason...but there they are.
Engaged Voter posted at 10:12 am on Tue, Aug 28, 2012.
"That's right Enraged One, Enforce all the laws all the time."
Medical Marijuana is a LAW,. chatstew.
Remember that the next time you rail against it.
Arizona Willie posted at 12:17 pm on Tue, Aug 28, 2012.
PeacefulCat ... welcome to the forum [smile]
You say there are people organizing to get rid of Horne and Montgomery --- can you pass on info how to help them?
Who are they?
Where do I sign their petitions or whatever they have going?
VofReason posted at 1:00 pm on Tue, Aug 28, 2012.
Interesting. I feel for anyone who has been diagnosed with Cancer. I do have a little trouble reconciling the gentleman from the Headshop on Scottsdale and Thomas that use to have a (ahem) "Representative" out on the street cornr with a body sign that said "Get your Medical Use card here". I am sure this is just an isolated incident. Or maybe not if the experience in CA has any sway. They are finding that anyone that can hang a shingle is growing and distributing. In fact LA is doing sweeps and trying to end the "Reefer Madness". Also interesting is that we did not see a goundswell of actual Physicians and Patietien rights groups in the intitial push. But let's not get too picky around "facts".
Dale Whiting posted at 1:48 pm on Tue, Aug 28, 2012.
Ok, gang. Let's put this discussion where it belongs, on a solid analytical basis.
We have Federal law banning marijuana and now an increasing number of laws from states which make exceptions to the Federal Law for medical marijuana. But in most areas of the law, state law cannot trump Federal law. This concept is called pre-emptions. Some areas of the law are reserved exclusively for the states. Other areas are reserved exclusively for the Feds. Some areas may be jointly addressed. But marijuana use is neither exclusively reserved for the states nor open to joint addressing.
So If Brewer or Horne want to challenge the Federal Law by pushing medical marijuana state law, they can get themselves and those who rely on them into serious trouble. And believe it or not, Brewer and Horne are smarter than that! Hard to believe, no?
Arizona Willie posted at 3:38 pm on Tue, Aug 28, 2012.
VofReason -- a lot of places are offering a service to help people get the MMJ cards.
If they are legit -- that is ALL they are offering. So when they have a sign out " Get your Medical Marijuana Card here " is does NOT mean you can walk in and plunk down $100 and walk out with a card.
They are just advertising that they can help you get it.
It's also possible they are ripping people off and selling them a fake card.
But I wouldn't think they would last too long doing that.
*****************
Dale, California didn't require dispensaries in the MMJ law, as I understand it. That left things pretty open for people to set up shops.
Arizona's laws a MUCH stricter.
Something like 19 states have now passed MMJ laws. The Feds KNOW that MMJ is useful to people with pain and other chronic conditions.
For the most part, the Feds are only putting on < show > raids and those are usually on places that have gotten out of line and grown into marijuana supermarkets.
The Federal Attorney for Arizona has said he isn't interested in going after people / places that are in compliance with State law.
It's pretty much a < wink-- wink > situation.
The Feds know it is going on -- they know people are benefiting from MMJ -- and despite the claims of anti-mmj people it has NOT resulted in a crime wave.
The incidence of crime in vicinity of dispensaries is just the same as it was before they had them ( in places where the dispensaries have opened ).
In my opinion, the only reason the Feds don't declassify MMJ is the fact that there is an entire industry built up around chasing and catching marijuana smugglers and it would put a lot of people out of work --- or should I say a lot of cops would have to go get real jobs.
Engaged Voter posted at 4:00 pm on Tue, Aug 28, 2012.
VofReason -
'out on the street cornr with a body sign that said "Get your Medical Use card here".'
I have trouble reconciling this as well, since shops like the one you mention cannot issue medical ID of any sort.
Do you have a photograph or some other documented evidence, or is this just hearsay?
In fact LA is doing sweeps and trying to end the "Reefer Madness".
They are? But the Federal Government PROMOTES "Reefer Madness" - have you seen the movie? LOL
Dale -
"marijuana use is neither exclusively reserved for the states nor open to joint addressing."
An interesting claim. Source please.
"So If Brewer or Horne want to challenge the Federal Law by pushing medical marijuana state law, they can get themselves and those who rely on them into serious trouble."
So they're okay in challenging SOME Federal Laws (SB 1070 ring any bells) but not others? Sounds like hypocrisy to me!
wdgnas posted at 6:59 am on Wed, Aug 29, 2012.
vofreason: They are finding that anyone that can hang a shingle is growing and distributing. what is wrong with this? just someone wanting to start a small business. i thought you of all people would be for this. that's what i get for thinking.
Arizona Willie posted at 12:17 pm on Wed, Aug 29, 2012.
wdgnas, right wingers are absolute 100% advocates for personal freedom and personal responsibility --- until YOUR freedom is something they < don't > like such as using medical marijuana or abortion or gambling on the Internet.
Yep that wonderful Republican Party -- the advocates of personal freedom -- have put a plank in the party platform to make it illegal to play penny ante poker on the internet.
A federal court had recently ruled that poker was a game of skill and Congress is on the verge of making online poker legal again.
But the Republican part is having none of it.
They want to ban:
a) women from practicing contraception
b) women having an abortion no matter what the circumstances
c) marijuana use, no matter what illness a person is suffering from
d) people playing poker over the internet
This from the party of " personal freedom " and " freedom from regulations ".
VofReason posted at 1:15 pm on Wed, Aug 29, 2012.
Now we have hit paydirt. It never really was about cancer patients, it was exactly as wdgnas spells it out above- " just someone wanting to start a small business". Frankly, I don't think mj is that big of a deal other then it creates more people who live in their parents basements all their life hoping to crack into the video game tester career path. However, say it for what it is and take it before the people. Don't hide behind the cancer patient myth. Sell it for what it really is and see how people vote. I am willing to live with that outcome.
Engaged Voter posted at 3:14 pm on Wed, Aug 29, 2012.
"I don't think mj is that big of a deal other then it creates more people who live in their parents basements all their life hoping to crack into the video game tester career path."
*yawn* Another baseless claim.
"It never really was about cancer patients,"
Yes, just stick your fingers in your ears and scream "LALALALA" whenever the facts don't fit in with your preconceived idiocy.
"Don't hide behind the cancer patient myth. "
You are quite the immoral slimeball.
"I am willing to live with that outcome."
CANCER PATIENTS DON'T HAVE THAT OPTION, GENIUS!
VofReason posted at 1:36 pm on Thu, Aug 30, 2012.
I wasn't aware MJ that it cured cancer or that there were no other options. I hadn't heard that "fact". If it helps them, I say let them have it. Again, I am saying that the whole state Medical MJ push had very little to do with the cancer patients that it may help and everything to do with the path to legalization. Again, I don't care, just be hhonest about it when you put it before the people for a vote.
Some commentators here are pretty quick to call others names. I suppose if you are unsure of your suppositions, have no moral code and no understanding of a higher power- it makes it much easier. I will pray for all cancer patients and those people.
Engaged Voter posted at 2:51 pm on Thu, Aug 30, 2012.
"I wasn't aware MJ that it cured cancer or that there were no other options."
Obviously. You also seem to be unaware of the ravages of radiation treatments and chemotherapy, to make such an ignorant comment.
Facts are facts, they don't require quotation marks. Note that I do not regurgitate religious dogma and call it fact. ;)
"Some commentators here are pretty quick to call others names."
Like calling me Enraged and a slew of other insults? Pot, meet Kettle.
"no understanding of a higher power"
As much of an understanding, if not more, than you. The fact that you have to LIE about understanding something you have no grasp of speaks volumes.
This is why I dismiss all such superstitious claims.
"I will pray for all cancer patients and those people."
How nice. While you and your ilk "pray", the rest of us will actually DO something to help these people. One pair of working hands accomplishes more than a thousand hands clasped in prayer.
wdgnas posted at 7:14 am on Fri, Aug 31, 2012.
vofreason: so now you are against someone wanting to start a small business. what difference does it make to you if it is a marijuana dispensary or church? and don't worry your pretty little head praying for me. i am not so in love with myself that i think that the supreme being cares about me.
VofReason posted at 12:59 pm on Fri, Aug 31, 2012.
This is strange, Doctors have been giving chemo and radiation therapy for years and just now MJ comes out as the panacea. Odd that it wasn't an oncologist group who asked for this long ago. Maybe this is why, but I don't want to spoil your "fact" party.
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=6376&page=3
Efficacy of Cannabinoid Drugs
The accumulated data indicate a potential therapeutic value for cannabinoid drugs, particularly for symptoms such as pain relief, control of nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation. The therapeutic effects of cannabinoids are best established for THC, which is generally one of the two most abundant of the cannabinoids in marijuana. (Cannabidiol is generally the other most abundant cannabinoid.)
The effects of cannabinoids on the symptoms studied are generally modest, and in most cases there are more effective medications.
VofReason posted at 1:01 pm on Fri, Aug 31, 2012.
Of course the study does not go into the benefits of making cheetos taste better or bugs bunny being even funnier than normal. Those are more subjective than the hard facts above.
wdgnas posted at 7:16 am on Sat, Sep 1, 2012.
vofreason: The effects of cannabinoids on the symptoms studied are generally modest, and in most cases there are more effective medications.
more effective medications, such as opiates. of course i would rather take meperidine but the side effects. when taking anything for pain management the side effects should always be taken into consideration.
this would not be an issue if medical marijuana's side effects were growing hair or making a man hard.
Engaged Voter posted at 11:43 am on Tue, Sep 4, 2012.
"Odd that it wasn't an oncologist group who asked for this long ago"
Odd that you make false claims without even doing 30 seconds of online research to check the accuracy of said claims:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17976975
http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/HerbsVitaminsandMinerals/marijuana
"The effects of cannabinoids on the symptoms studied are generally modest, and in most cases there are more effective medications. "
Yes, if you completely ignore the PAINFUL AND AGONIZING SIDE EFFECTS of the "effective medications".
Engaged Voter posted at 11:46 am on Tue, Sep 4, 2012.
"Of course the study does not go into the benefits of making cheetos taste better or bugs bunny being even funnier than normal."
Ya gotta love the immorality of those who claim to worship a "higher power".
Yes, let's marginalize cancer patients even more by equating them with high school stoners.
What a spineless, cowardly, pathetic thing to do. I wish I could say I was surprised.