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Title: Medical Marijuana Becomes Legal in Ohio; Sets Foundation to Nullify Federal Prohibition in Practice
Source:
Tenth Amendment Center
URL Source: http://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.co ... deral-prohibition-in-practice/
Published: Sep 9, 2016
Author: Mike Maharrey
Post Date: 2016-09-09 21:48:32 by Hondo68
Keywords: marijuana program in Ohio, access medicinal cannabis, Gov. John Kasich signed HB523
Views: 8877
Comments: 60
COLUMBUS, Ohio (Sept. 8, 2016) – Medical marijuana officially became legal in Ohio today, marking the step forward toward nullifying the unconstitutional federal prohibition on cannabis in practice. Rep. Stephen Huffman (R) introduced House Bill 523 (HB523) on April 14. The legislation sets in motion the creation of a limited medical marijuana program in Ohio. There is hereby established a medical marijuana control program in the department of commerce and the state board of pharmacy. The department shall provide for the licensure of medical marijuana cultivators and processors and the licensure of laboratories that test medical marijuana. The board shall provide for the licensure of retail dispensaries and the registration of patients and their caregivers. The department and board shall administer the program. The House passed the bill by a 71-25 margin on May 10. The Senate approved the measure 19-15 on May 25th. The House concurred with Senate amendments 67-29. The new law establishes a limited “seed-to-sale” system for growing, testing and dispensing marijuana. Patients suffering from 20 medical conditions will now be able to access medicinal cannabis with some limitations. The law prohibits smoking marijuana and does not allow for home cultivation of cannabis. The law permits patients to use patches, edibles and vaping products. Although the new law went into effect today, it will take up to two years for the program to get up and running. According to the Columbus Dispatch, “The system will be overseen by Ohio Department of Commerce, Ohio Board of Pharmacy, State Medical Board and an appointed advisory committee. Initial rules will be rolled out later this month, but marijuana is not expected to be available for 18 months to two years.” With passage of the bill, Ohioans for Medical Marijuana dropped its effort to put the issue on the November ballot, citing lack of money and other issues. “This is a joyous day for the thousands of Ohioans who will finally be able to safely access much-needed medicine,” Ohioans for Medical Marijuana spokesman Aaron Marshall said after Gov. John Kasich signed HB523. “We still have much work ahead of us to improve this imperfect law…” According to activists on the ground in Ohio, the success of the program will be determined in large part by the rule-making and implementation process over the next several months. “September 8 is the first step in a long process, and MPP and Ohioans for Medical Marijuana are watching that process closely. Many important policy decisions that will directly affect the success or failure of the system are yet to be made,” a Marijuana Policy Project spokesperson said on the organization’s website. Despite the federal prohibition on marijuana, measures such as HB523 remain perfectly constitutional, and the feds can do little if anything to stop them in practice. EFFECT ON FEDERAL PROHIBITION While somewhat limited, Ohio’s new statute does partially remove one layer of law prohibiting the possession and use of marijuana in the state, but federal prohibition remains in place. Of course, the federal government lacks any constitutional authority to ban or regulate marijuana within the borders of a state, despite the opinion of the politically connected lawyers on the Supreme Court. If you doubt this, ask yourself why it took a constitutional amendment to institute federal alcohol prohibition. While this Ohio law does not alter federal law, it takes an important step toward nullifying in effect the federal ban. FBI statistics show that law enforcement makes approximately 99 of 100 marijuana arrests under state, not federal law. By easing the state laws, the Ohio legislature would remove some of the basis for 99 percent of marijuana arrests. Furthermore, figures indicate it would take 40 percent of the DEA’s yearly-budget just to investigate and raid all of the dispensaries in Los Angeles – a single city in a single state. That doesn’t include the cost of prosecution. The lesson? The feds lack the resources to enforce marijuana prohibition without state assistance. Ohio joins a growing number of states simply ignoring federal prohibition. Colorado, Washington state and Alaska have all legalized both recreational and medical marijuana, and 23 states now allow cannabis for medical use. With nearly half the country legalizing marijuana, the feds find themselves in a position where they simply can’t enforce prohibition any more. The feds need state cooperation to fight the “drug war,” and that has rapidly evaporated in the last few years with state legalization, practically nullifying the ban. “The lesson here is pretty straight forward. When enough people say, ‘No!’ to the federal government, and enough states pass laws backing those people up, there’s not much the feds can do to shove their so-called laws, regulations or mandates down our throats,” Tenth Amendment Center founder and executive director Michael Boldin said. Poster Comment: John Boehner can quit crying now, they legalized his Medical Marijuana. Can you smell the freedom?
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#25. To: hondo68 (#0)
The camel's nose is under the circus tent. Ohio, with it's once great but now withering cities like Cleveland, Youngstown, Toledo, Dayton and Cincinnati will become a haven for drugged worthless fools. It's a short step from 'medical' weed to weed for everybody! The nation will continue its collapse into the swampy mire of drug culture. Keep an eye on the Philippines and it's new president who has copied a page from Singapore's playbook. He has ordered troops into drug zones and so far has executed over 2,500 druggies. I hope that America doesn't have to go through that in order to clean up it's burgeoning drug addiction.
Fixed it. In America we don't do extrajudicial executions - thank God.
Before it's all over, America will be clamoring for 'judicial' but swift executions of all who sell drugs! Users get six months to change their habits and if they don't they get to join the rat who sold them the poison. No drug problems in Singapore and problems being drastically reduced in the Philippines.
By all means, let's do away with the presumption of innocence, due process...hey what the hell, why not do away with the 4th amendment... Yes, let's become like the other third world nations and execute dealers and stoners all in the name of the glorious war on drugs. How a bout putting a bounty on potheads? I'm sure there are a few here who would relish the idea. On second thought, since you seem to admire authoritarian societies, why don't you move to Singapore or the Philippines? No drug problems in Singapore and problems being drastically reduced in the Philippines. Not a whole lot of problems in Portugal either. What happened when Portugal decriminalized drugs In July 2001, Portugal decriminalized all drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, and heroin. The possession of small quantities of those drugs was shifted to a public health — rather than criminal — issue. Rather than getting arrested for a small amount, you get sent to a "dissuasion commission" where a doctor, lawyer, and social worker prescribe treatment or give you a fine. Mic's Zeeshan Aleem reports that people walk away without a penalty most of the time. Here's what the data says about Portugal's decriminalization: • Drug-related HIV infections have plummeted by over 90% since 2001, according to the drug policy think tank Transform. • Drug-related deaths in Portugal are the second-lowest in the European Union. Just 3 in a million people die of overdoses there, compared with the EU average of 17.3 per million. • The number of adults who have done drugs in the past year has decreased steadily since 2001. • Compared to rest of the EU, young people in Portugal now use the least amount of "legal high" drugs like synthetic marijuana, which are especially dangerous. • The percentage of drug-related offenders in Portuguese prisons fell from 44% in 1999 to 21% in 2012. • The number of people in drug treatment increased 60% from 1998 to 2011, from 23,600 to 38,000.
It's fair to visit Singapore and Malaysia where the drug problem is non- existent. These nations make it clear to all who 'visit' that the penalty for dealing or using drugs is death. The new Philippine president has sent the army into the hinterlands to shoot the drug trade rats on sight! The drug epidemic dictates that extreme measures are the only way to combat this infection.
Hysterical nonsense - almost twice as many people die of influenza and pneumonia as from opioid overdose, but neither you nor anyone else is calling for "extreme measures" there.
Drugged up potheads on the highways and in positions where they are controlling the lives of others, like engineers on trains, pilots, school bus drivers, etc. etc. etc. So one idiotic gaggle of people hedonistically satisfying themselves by endangering the rest of us should be 'allowed to do what they want' causing endangerment to others? I don't think so. There are 'some' things to be admired about you Libertarians, but this stand is certainly not one of them.
Drugged up potheads on the highways and in positions where they are controlling the lives of others, like engineers on trains, pilots, school bus drivers, etc. etc. etc. We address driving etc. under the influence of the drug alcohol without resorting to any "extreme measures" - we can and should do likewise with respect to other drugs.
Did you see the photo of the car pulled to the side of the road with a toddler in the backseat, while his grandmother and friend were in a state of unconsciousness in the front seat. Too much drugs.
Would a Bigger Police State Win the Drug War? Most everyone would agree that China is not a free society. It is ruled by a brutal communist regime, one that has absolutely no regard for civil liberties and such criminal-justice principles as due process of law, trial by jury, right to counsel, and habeas corpus. When the state wants to go after someone, there are no institutional barriers that stand in its way. China has something else: the war on drugs, the same war that the U.S. government has been waging for decades. According to an article in the New York Times, despite a fierce, unrelenting war waged against drugs, drug use in China remains as big a problem as ever. Why is that important to Americans? Two reasons. One, it shows that drug laws are part and parcel of tyrannical regimes. It is only in genuinely free societies that people are free to ingest any substance they want without being punished by the state for it. In other words, the United States has the same type of governmental program as the brutal and tyrannical communist regime in China. Two, the China experience shows Americans that no matter how much more the federal government were to crack down in the war on drugs, it wouldn’t make any difference whatsoever. People would continue to ingest drugs, even while a large percentage of them were being incarcerated or otherwise punished. In other words, if the U.S. government were to impose the same type of totalitarian police state as China as part of the war on drugs, it would destroy freedom without achieving the desired result.
#52. To: Deckard (#51)
Wouldn't this work? Something dramatic rather than the namby-pamby crap our central government dishes out. Fearing execution under the new and tough president Rodrigo Duterte’s rule, at least a thousand drug pushers and users have surrendered themselves to police across Philippines over the past four days to sign a pledge to stop trading and using illegal drugs.
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#31. To: HomerBohn (#25)
so far has executed over 2,500 accused by some of being druggies.
I hope that America doesn't have to go through that
#35. To: ConservingFreedom (#31)
In America we don't do extrajudicial executions - thank God.
#38. To: HomerBohn (#35)
Before it's all over, America will be clamoring for 'judicial' but swift executions of all who sell drugs! Users get six months to change their habits and if they don't they get to join the rat who sold them the poison.
#39. To: Deckard (#38)
#41. To: HomerBohn (#39)
The drug epidemic dictates that extreme measures are the only way to combat this infection.
#44. To: ConservingFreedom (#41)
#46. To: HomerBohn (#44)
'almost twice as many people die of influenza and pneumonia as from opioid overdose, but neither you nor anyone else is calling for "extreme measures" there.'
#50. To: ConservingFreedom (#46)
#51. To: HomerBohn, ConservingFreedom (#50)
I've answered you on this, but it would appear that the only way the drug lords south of the border and the drug-selling pimps in America will dry up is by executing them in large numbers.
Replies to Comment # 51.
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