State Attorney General Kelly Ayotte and county prosecutors have aggressively pushed back against a bill that would legalize marijuana for some seriously ill patients, sending lawmakers a letter calling marijuana an addictive drug and claiming that reclassifying marijuana as medicine could undermine efforts to keep youths from trying drugs. The bill's supporters decry the letter as "misleading" and have circulated a seven-page rebuttal of the two-page letter.
The bill easily passed the House in March and the Senate last month, but its future remains in doubt. Gov. John Lynch has stopped short of vowing to veto it, saying he has "serious concerns" and calling the Senate version of the bill "unacceptable." In the House, supporters put the brakes on the bill last week, voting not to accept the Senate's amendments to the bill and instead calling for a conference committee to hammer out a final bill - with an eye toward crafting something Lynch will accept.
State Rep. Cindy Rosenwald said she met with senior Lynch staffers and left certain that Lynch would veto the current incarnation of the bill if it was sent to his desk. She left the meeting with a list of eight issues flagged by the governor's staff, the most difficult one of which is distribution. The current bill would allow medicinal marijuana users - individuals who suffer from specific illnesses or symptoms, who've been prescribed the drug by a doctor and who have registered with the state - to grow their own marijuana. They're also allowed to obtain it from other patients, including those from patients in one of the 13 states where medicinal marijuana is legal. Lynch, Rosenwald said, is "not comfortable with marijuana grown in residences."
"I was absolutely clear when I left the meeting that he would not allow the Senate version to become law," said Rosenwald, a Nashua Democrat. That, she said, "is why I asked for a committee of conference."
Debate over Ayotte's letter is a microcosm of debate over the bill itself, an argument in which the urge to help human suffering competes against fears about human frailty, where practical considerations meet a backdrop of the decades-long national fight over marijuana policy, including questions over whether the drug is addictive and whether it is a "gateway" to other drugs.
Matt Simon, the executive director of the New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy, distributed a seven-page response to Ayotte's letter peppered with footnotes. The response says the letter co-signed by Ayotte and nine of the state's 10 county attorneys "makes several points that are simply incorrect and several other misleading statements," in particular taking on claims about marijuana as an addictive, gateway drug.
"I wish they would cite their sources and say where they're getting their information," Simon said in an interview yesterday.
Ayotte said she stands by every point in the letter and said there's no incarnation of a medicinal marijuana law that she could support. In addition to concerns cited in the letter, she cited practical concerns and noted that marijuana hasn't been through a normal approval process by the Food and Drug Administration. Marijuana remains illegal under federal law, she said, despite the recent statements by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder pledging not to raid marijuana dispensaries that are legal under state law.
"I have to say that, despite the attorney general's statement, the law, the federal law is still the same," Ayotte said. "It's against federal law. The law hasn't changed."
Medicinal validity?
Ayotte's letter cut to the heart of the bill, questioning the medicinal value of marijuana use.
"In fact, marijuana is an addictive drug that poses significant health consequences to its users, including those who may be using it for medical purposes," the letter said. "The use of smoked marijuana is opposed by all credible medical groups nationwide." (next page »)
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Comments
freedom is dead...
By fasionablefascism - 06/10/2009 - 8:55 pmThe problem with prohibiting it from severly ill medical patients is... They're really sick and this plant if smoked helps them. dont forget if your afraid of getting cancer there is always the vaporizor. I mean really your gonna tell someone who could be dead in a short period of time what they can use for pain relief. Its funny how these super religous folks run from science when it refutes creationism. they run strait for thier science books when it suits them. whats next? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFmkwmc1xKY
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soundslikefreedom
By Anonymous - 05/19/2009 - 8:44 amTo those who say : YOU HAVE BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS!!"
I say please, if you are a married woman, or engaged.... please now look at that shiny rock on your left hand and tell me now...... WHO? who has blood literaly on their hands.... hmmmm?
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Live Free or Die
By Anonymous - 05/18/2009 - 1:19 amI am very disappointed that New Hampshire is so far behind other states, fixing
the wrong on harsh marijuana laws... I don't get it?? I am 49 years old whom has worked full time ever since I smoked herb for the first time at age 16. It truly motivated me to get
a steady pay check so that I could buy my herb (long story short...)and enjoy my life.
So I smoke marijuana almost everyday, I have raised a family of 4, they are great assets to the generation, they where raised to enjoy life and respect others. I have worked hard making a successful small business that is almost 20 years old. I have paid off my mortgage early. I help others in need, We donate where we can and once again I smoke pot.I am your neighbor whom you want to move next to, here in New Hampshire or anywhere.You may now put another face on a typical Marijuana Smoker.
In my opinion Marijuana worst consequence for me is running the risk of being Hand Cuffed, Arrested and then Judged for something I enjoy doing peacefully in MY life.
Please at the very least let those suffering, who find aid in en-jesting Marijuana alone with
THERE life's and there Family's.
Near buy states like Maine, Rhode Island and Vermont, have Medical marijuana laws enacted. Is there motto "Live free or Die" or Is it ours?
...Oh yea, lots of us Vote also..... O-~
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Even William F. Buckley Wasn't Brainwashed about Cannabis
By EndtheHype - 05/17/2009 - 6:00 pm"The anti-marijuana campaign is a cancerous tissue of lies, undermining law enforcement, aggravating the drug problem, DEPRIVING THE SICK OF NEEDED HELP [caps added], and suckering well-intentioned conservatives and countless frightened parents... Narcotics police are an enormous, corrupt international bureaucracy ... and now fund a coterie of researchers who provide them with 'scientific support' ... fanatics who distort the legitimate research of others."
-- William F. Buckley, Commentary in The National Review, April 29, 1983, p. 495
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To "Legalize it and..."
By Budd123 - 05/17/2009 - 9:29 amYour post shows that you believe everything your government told you without verifying fact. You really have no idea of what stoners are or any idea about Pot and its effects. You probably know someone who you think is a loser and he happens to smoke Pot so you blame the drug instead of blaming the person. But the fact is that Pot is much milder and far safer than alcohol, tobacco or even caffeine. 100,000,000 Americans have tried it. 20,000,000 use it about once a month. And guess what. Most of them are employed full time and pay their taxes just like you. If you want I can have a contest with you. For every loser you can name who smokes Pot I can name you one, or even more, who is successful. Does the name Michael Phelps ring a bell?
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story title
By Anonymous - 05/17/2009 - 12:02 amMarijuana Debate Sharpens. If so, why do they call 'em blunts?
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Legalize it AND.......
By Anonymous - 05/16/2009 - 8:19 pm1. Make it mandatory that any driver found with THC in their system loses their license for 2 years. A second offense is a lifetime revocation.
2. End ALL public funding for drug addiction. You idiots want it? You got it...and all the responsibility that goes with it!
3. End ALL public assistance (Welfare, etc) for anyone who tests positive for THC. Again, with great freedom comes great responsibility. If you want to waste your life being a stoner, that's fine. Just don't ask the rest of us to support you.
4. Tax it @ 500%. It will still be cheaper than street cost and it's another tax on stupidity...just like booze, cigarettes and gambling.
Long story short: I don't care if YOU want to poison YOUR life. Just make damned sure it doesn't hurt mine, and don't ask me to pick up the bill when your life ends up in the toilet.
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Ohhh LIAMD2, in deed and word You are part of the problem
By Anonymous - 05/16/2009 - 6:47 pmI noticed you didn't address alcohol, so I can only assume that is your drug of choice, which explains your specific amnesia with respect to the clear consequences of its prohibition and subsequent reinstatement as a legal vice. Not very moral of you LIAMD2.
Unlike you, in all likelihood, I have never quaffed the aromatic tendrils of the sweet herb. But like anyone who adheres to sound principal, and freedom, I don't cherry pick which manifestations of human behavior between consenting adults should be allowed by me and the mob muscle (your State of NH). Just because a bunch of thugs make something "illegal" doesn't make their shakedown tactics any more right. Given your definitive tilt to the right, perhaps you should inquire: "WWJD?". As I recall, he wasn't a big supporter of humanoids imposing their will on others, but advocated that the individual have free will and make their choices, moral or not. Otherwise, you're just another slave biding time before you go.
I actually had more hope for you LIAMD2 that you want more out of life than just following orders. There's such bad precedent for that kind of behavior, just ask any Jew you happen to know. And just because you may not be on the front line of the Drug War Farce bashing down doors and shooting people with your BATF and DEA comrades, the blood they shed is just as assuredly on your hands. Systems of violence are never the solution if you want more than slave factories.
Have sweet dreams smokin' on that.
- C. dog sleeps well knowing he doesn't enslave and support violence
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c. dog (or snoop dog?)
By LIAMD2 - 05/16/2009 - 4:54 pmI did not prohibit pot but it is illegal. Last time I checked, I did not make the laws. I just try to live by them. I've grown up a little bit over the years and have a completely different view of illegal drugs and law enforcement. If pot is illegal, it should stay illegal. If we, for a minute, enter fantasyland we can believe the legalization of drugs will reduce crime and end (or help end) the economic crisis. Do you really believe this? I don't. I thought you were more intelligent than this. Maybe you're just an educated burnout who drags his/her ass around the living room carpet.
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Doe's eat oats?
By BillFromDover - 05/16/2009 - 1:13 pmWhat the hell are "eat oats"?
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Ohhh LIAMD2, you've said it again.
By Anonymous - 05/16/2009 - 12:55 pmYou're the one with both blood and shackles on your hands.
First, the shackles: by your and your conservative cohorts efforts, you have taken away people's freedom to choose which drugs, if any, they wish to use. Noticeably absent from your position is a consistent call to prohibit alcohol from legal sale. I guess that just happens to be your drug of choice.
Second, the blood: by you and your ilk prohibiting pot, etc., you have dimwittingly repeated history during Alcohol Prohibition, with all its (unintended?) consequences of violence and corruption. Do you think for a moment that the current, very expensive "bad" drug distribution system would survive a day if these drugs were made legal? Do you see any Al Capone wannabes selling keggers these days?
Remember, Liamd2, just because you say something is so doesn't make it so.
- C. dog barks at invisible Conservative hand of enslavement
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make it legal
By Anonymous - 05/16/2009 - 12:22 pmWith it legal, the number of NH citizens committing a crime will go way down. How's that for a positive outcome? However, like with drinking, there needs to be laws about driving while stoned. Many say there have been no deaths by an overdoase of pot, but there is likely some accidents that have caused death. I was recently in California, and one gets a license to smoke, based on a number of illnesses. I can feel my arthritis coming on now! :-) They have a growing number of clubs, similar to what Amsterdam has, where folks can go to buy their weed and smoke it. Very civil. Legalization will cut down on the criminal element that supplys it, and increase respect for the law. Put it to a vote if you must. I think you'd be surprised at the outcome. I even know Republicans that partake.
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you don't have to feel guilty...
By LIAMD2 - 05/16/2009 - 7:10 am...you can just convince yourself that all the drug-related violence is caused by someone else. Convince yourself that it has nothing to do with supply and demand. And you people that buy from "local growers", where does he/she get his seeds? If he runs out, where does he/she re-stock so that he can keep his customers happy. All you pro-pot people out there have presented weak arguments - you have blood on your hands.
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Marijuana is not addictive...
By Abu - 05/16/2009 - 1:01 am... I've quit hundreds of times.
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Smoke free, then Die
By Anonymous - 05/15/2009 - 10:51 pmHmmm, if I get me one of them State marriage licenses, I can get me a passel of goodies. Maybe some day the State will issue pot licenses, or better yet, only let people they marry smoke pot. That's the ticket to equality and freedom in New Hampshire!
- C. dog enjoys toking while wearing his smoking jacket given to him by Mr. Barbo
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Point to Ponder...
By Anonymous - 05/15/2009 - 7:42 pmWhen did it go from "Protect & Serve" to "Protect your assets & Serve Your own Interests"?
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A reality check is needed
By Cuchulainn - 05/15/2009 - 6:21 pmOne huge fact that we all need to face is that the "War on Drugs" is not succeeding, especially with respect to marijuana. I agree that a lot of the violence that occurs relative to drugs is due to the prohibition of the substances. Just like what happened with alcohol, once you make something illegal that society has a hunger/thirst for, you put power into the hands of people who are willing to do terrible things to profit off of that demand. The harder you fight back, the higher the stakes get raised.
I am critical of ANY study out there relative to the benefits/risks of marijuana. There are some sources that are better than others, but it's hard to make sure (from the outside looking in) that the studies were conducted with due diligence.
And as far as current usage in this country, it's everywhere. Anyone who makes the claim that only "certain types" of people use it are sorely naive. Go to any high school or college and throw something down the halls in between classes. Chances are high that you'll hit someone who has at least tried it, doesn't matter if you're a "geek" or a "jock" or belong to any other social clique. Some of these people will end up screw-ups and some will go on to be CEO's of multi-billion dollar businesses. Marijuana use is not necessarily a predictor of anything about anybody.
Bottom line though, the more time and money we spend studying it, the more likely we can come to a conclusion about it's legality.
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"Horrific murders"?
By Anonymous - 05/15/2009 - 4:27 pmReally, LIAMD2?
"Let me start by saying, I'm no prude and I'm certainly no saint...but those of you who buy pot contribute to horrific murders perpeutrated by organized crime (think Mexican narco-terrorists, etc)."
Perhaps you missed the obvious, even though you wrote the words yourself: the only violence associated with marijuana is organized CRIME. No crime, no violence. It is prohibition that creates these violent criminals, and the more vigorously the laws are enforced, the greater the level of crime.
Stop drug violence: legalize drugs.
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Kelly Ayotte is forgetting where her authority ends.
By Anonymous - 05/15/2009 - 1:56 pm"In fact, marijuana is an addictive drug that poses significant health consequences to its users, including those who may be using it for medical purposes," the letter said. "The use of smoked marijuana is opposed by all credible medical groups nationwide." Kelly Ayotte
Wow...I hope they do not take this outright fabrication as the truth without clear proof and evidence that she can back it up. Some lawyer she must be??? Let's just make things up and hope it sounds good enough that they will believe me?
Legalize marijuana and go enforce laws of public safety. To claim it hurts the user's health is stepping over her clear line of authority. She is now stepping in to our homes and telling us how and when to be healthy. Enforce the laws...not our individual health.
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Sorry BuzzBomb
By Anonymous - 05/15/2009 - 10:36 amYou are incorrect. Ms. Ayotte and the Chiefs of Police are running scared. One of their goldmines of funding could be running out. If calmer heads prevail and stop listening to the law enforcement propoganda machine some of their funding for their cute little black outfits, face masks, battering rams, etc. could be lost. This has become big business for them and now someone is threatening to take away the easiest bust for them. It is well known that law enforcement likes to see spikes in crime because it keeps their funding through the roof, whether it is truly necessary or not. Don't get me wrong, I want them to continue holding Lawrence to the South off our streets, but this argument is complete bunk and they know it. Half of them are more addicted to their booze than any cancer patient or social smoker of marijuana could ever be. What a sham.
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IN WHO'S EYES
By Anonymous - 05/15/2009 - 7:07 amSO WHAT'S SO BAD ABOUT AMSTERDAM? WE AS A COUNTRY ARE IN A RUT WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD.....WE COULD USE A FACE LIFT!!..................BAIL OUT THE DEFECIT....LEGALIZE MARIJUANA.!
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LIAMD2
By Anonymous - 05/15/2009 - 6:44 amBRING ON HORRIFIC MURDERS?? that could apply to almost any product out there ...christ, there are WARS being fought over less......in fact to legalize it, NO ONE DIES............it;s the opposition doing all the KILLING!!
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drugs
By Anonymous - 05/15/2009 - 6:34 amI am in pain and I need strong opiates
even though smoking pot is far more appropriate
They give me drugs, they pour on the morphine
but I could smoke one joint so why is it obscene
I carry Methadone in my pocket and in my car
I keep Oxys and Xanax on hand by the jar
I carry hundreds of pills but I have a prescription
but I carry one joint and the cops have a ka-nip-tion
I live in pain and pain drugs make me so sick
I can smoke some pot and my pains' not so chronic
I can overdose on opiates, take them by the pail
but smoke just one small joint and I end up in jail
The pain that I suffer is ruining my life
cost me my job, my kids and my wife
I take so much morphine, dilaudid and Methadone
that I walk wasted far worse than just pot stoned
Time that I end this rhyme and go to the drug store
I ran out of Oxys and its time that I get more.
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Medical Marijuana Debate Sharpens
By Anonymous - 05/15/2009 - 3:00 amThe bottom line is pot should be legal. Mexico just legalized possession of small amounts of all drugs. Switzerland just legalized heroin. Portugal decriminalized all drugs in 2001 and their experience has been positive. Now if you are caught with a 10 day supply of your drug or less you face an administrative court, not a criminal court, but in practice they are just not arresting people. A group of 10,000 very serious policemen, prosecutors, attorneys and citizens have formed a group to legalize ALL drugs, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (http://leap.cc ) They see what happened when we legalized alcohol in 1932 as a good example of how drug legalization would work. This foolish war on drugs has lasted 37 years and cost us over a TRILLION dollars and we are not an inch closer to stopping drugs. How many millions of Americans are we going to lock up in prison for decades? Mark Montgomery boboberg@nyc.rr.com
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Doe's eat oats...
By Abu - 05/14/2009 - 10:56 pm...and goats eat oats, and little lambs eat Ivy.
A kid'll eat Ivy too.
Wouldn't you?
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Just a Few Health Organizations Supporting Access to Medical Can
By EndtheHype - 05/14/2009 - 10:51 pmAmerican Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Physicians, American Medical Student Association, American Nurses Association, American Preventive Medical Association, American Public Health Association, American Society of Addiction Medicine, Arthritis Research Campaign (United Kingdom), Australian Medical Association (New South Wales), Limited Australian National Task Force on Cannabis, Belgian Ministry of Health, British House of Lords Select Committee On Science and Technology (First & Second Report), British Medical Association, Canadian AIDS Society, Canadian Special Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs, Dr. Dean Edell (surgeon and nationally syndicated radio host), Health Canada, Kaiser Permanente, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Lymphoma Foundation of America, The Montel Williams MS Foundation, Multiple Sclerosis Society (Canada), The Multiple Sclerosis Society (United Kingdom), National Association for Public Health Policy, National Nurses Society on Addictions, Netherlands Ministry of Health, New South Wales (Australia), New England Journal of Medicine, AIDS Action Council, AIDS Treatment News, Parliamentary Working Party on the Use of Cannabis for Medical Purposes, Dr. Andrew Weil, Alaska Nurses Association, Being Alive: People With HIV/AIDS Action Committee (San Diego, CA), California Academy of Family Physicians, California Nurses Association, California Pharmacists, Colorado Nurses Association, Connecticut Nurses Association, Florida Governor's Red Ribbon Panel on AIDS, Florida Medical Association, Hawaii Nurses Association, Illinois Nurses Association, Life Extension Foundation, Medical Society of the State of New York, the Minnesota AIDS Council, Mississippi Nurses Association, New Jersey State Nurses Association, New Mexico Medical Society, New Mexico Nurses Association, New York County Medical Society, New York State Nurses Association, North Carolina Nurses Association, Rhode Island Medical Society, Rhode Island State Nurses Association, San Francisco Mayor's Summit on AIDS and HIV, San Francisco Medical Society, Vermont Medical Marijuana Study Committee, Virginia Nurses Association, Whitman-Walker Clinic (Washington, DC), Wisconsin Nurses Association, etc...
And that's just a tiny fraction of the medical support for medical Cannabis, which is legal -- in its whole plant form -- in several countries and nearly a quarter (13) of the United States. I have the position statements or supportive comments from the groups listed above, if there are any questions about a specific group's endorsement.
The Big Cannabis Lie is rapidly unraveling...people with serious illnesses are demanding access to medicine that cannot kill them NOW and cannot wait until the politics and games end.
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The AMA's Medical Student Section Supports Reclassification
By EndtheHype - 05/14/2009 - 10:28 pmA proposal from the AMA's Medical Student Section, brought before the Interim Meeting of the AMA House of Delegates in November 2008, asked the AMA to seek the reclassification of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act from a Schedule I drug
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AMA objected to marijuana prohibition in the first place!
By Anonymous - 05/14/2009 - 9:45 pmThe AMA objected heavily to the legislation that effectively outlawed marijuana!
The letter is here: http://www.marijuanalibrary.org/AMA_opposes_1937.html
Ironic that now they can't affirm medical viability, when before prohibition they staunchly upheld medical value!!!
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It will....
By Anonymous - 05/14/2009 - 9:40 pmI know who grows my pot, he is not in a Mexican Drug Cartel, he is an underground farmer, pity that he isn't paying any taxes.
No one will stop smoking marijuana, I hate to break it to you. Either we legalize the market or we are subsidizing the drug cartels. Drug Violence will not end until it is LEGALIZED PERIOD
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Some pretty shocking things
By Anonymous - 05/14/2009 - 9:20 pmState Attorney General Kelly Ayotte said some pretty shocking things. Seriously ill patients are not criminals.
It's true that marijuana may be slightly addictive but far less addictive then many other drugs prescribed to seriously ill and dying patients. Does she want to ban dozens of drugs? I never saw her letter about that.
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AMA
By Anonymous - 05/14/2009 - 9:02 pmInteresting, I see that the AMA has gone from one of many physician professional associations to a supreme master of all medication in the USA - without the approval of that specific body, we are not allowed to take a given medicine, regardless of the dozens of nursing groups that support it, or the ACP which has 124,000 practicing doctors.
Gee, do you think the AMA is influenced by physician income from Big Pharma? Nah, couldn't be that. I'm sure all those doctors are totally impartial toward free herbal medication that replacing Big Pharma products for dozens of chronic diseases.
As for the DA's of New Hampshire, shame on you - Shame! You're ruthless and cruel. Your lack of compassion is a disgrace to the people of New Hampshire.
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pot will not be legalized
By LIAMD2 - 05/14/2009 - 8:52 pmLet me start by saying, I'm no prude and I'm certainly no saint...but those of you who buy pot contribute to horrific murders perpeutrated by organized crime (think Mexican narco-terrorists, etc). You also make the job of law enforcement more difficult too. Pot will not be legalized so it's time to grow up and move on. Most of you are far too old to be fighting this losing battle.
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pot is illegal and will remain that way
By Anonymous - 05/14/2009 - 8:48 pmLet me start by saying, I'm no prude and I'm certainly no saint...but those of you who buy pot contribute to horrific murders perpetrated by organized crime (think Mexico narco-terrorists, etc). You also make the job of law enforcement more difficult too. Pot will not be legalized so it's time to grow up and move on. Most of you are far too old to be fighting this losing battle.
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The Last Three (3) Presidents smoked MJ
By Anonymous - 05/14/2009 - 8:23 pmWhy in the world don't we wake up and stop making such innocent things criminal? I can assure you the majority of police, prosecutors and Judges have had their day. Lets save the jails and prisons for real crimes.
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It is truly a crime that marijuan is not legal
By Anonymous - 05/14/2009 - 7:52 pmIm incredulous that there are people who honestly believe that decriminilizing marijuana will change our society for the worse. That argument is devoid of any facts, logic or reason and only serves to perpetuate the plethora of falsities that have repeatedly been fed by neo conservatives and big business/special interest groups that want people to have to pay to see a doctor, pay for insurance, pay for a prescription etc... .. It is really a crime against humanity and the citizens of this country to continue this absurd prohibition. Educate yourself and this decision is a no brainer, regulate, tax and stop criminalizing ourselves. I guess it really is true that in an insane world a sane man must appear insane.
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Re: Go, Kelly, Go!
By fiddlingglassblower - 05/14/2009 - 7:50 pmYes, please do. Someplace far away, preferably, along with all the ignorant sadistic haters of a medicinally very beneficial plant.
Compassion is a New Hampshire value. So is honesty and integrity.
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What a joke!
By Anonymous - 05/14/2009 - 7:08 pmI smoked pot for over 20 years and quit in 1 day and have not smoked for over 2 years. Try doing that with coffee and let me know if that is possible!
The double message is when you try to convince children it is so harmful to them and then they try it and realize it is not so bad. Then the kids assume that everything the adults tell them must be a lie. Watch refer madness and if you are experienced you will just laugh alot but if you have no idea you may become scared.
Maybe we should spend more time going after the "Pushers" big drug companies that are rewarding the doctors for getting our children hooked on monthly prescriptions. 30 years ago there was mabye 1 student out of 100 that actually tried ridilin or something of the sort. I bet that there is more like 50% of the kids on something today and everyone seams to think that is okay..... I don't.
Stop wasting our dollars on a relative harmless substance that is a victimless crime and go after some real criminals that are doing harm to others. I guess the police are not busy enough and need justification to remain occupied!
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Political Puppets
By Anonymous - 05/14/2009 - 7:00 pmKelly Ayotte is a crook. She is paving the way and quite successfully for a future in politics. Her double talk and lopsided justice has been well know for years. Under Ayotte we have seen two types of justice one for them and one for us. Lynch is a fence sitter who makes his silly decisions based on the lateset polls and doesn't have what it takes to be a leader. Ayotte, Rice and the rest of the crooks up there in Concord are dispicable fakers, liars, and thieves. It makes me sick that they actually think we can't see through it. No wonder people smoke weed this reality is starting to get me very angry.
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THE HONORABLE FRANCIS L. YOUNG, DEA CHIEF ADMIN. LAW JUDGE
By EndtheHype - 05/14/2009 - 6:45 pmto vote
Why not just admit it?
By BillFromDover - 05/14/2009 - 6:17 pmYou're against all uses of pot (both medical & recreational) because people using it are having more fun and enjoying life much more than your pathetic existence.
Misery loves company, but ya can leave me out.
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Ridicolous
By Anonymous - 05/14/2009 - 5:09 pmI might just be a stupid kid but its funny how heavy opiates such as oxycontin and oxycodone, percocets, morphine pills are over, OVERprescribed. I have never heard of anyone overdosing on marijuana and died, or rob and steal even from their families, i have never heard of such big problems when self medicationing with marijuana. Oxycontin however have ruined and torn apart families, turn people to herion once they can't afford the prescription, but they physically need that opiate or they cannot function properly, ive witnessed it. And also its funny how the government orescribed citizens with government amphetamine,(aderall and such) to supress ADHD and ADD symptoms. To be honest i see aderall around my school everyday and it does far more damage then marijuana does, once they have started using Aderall, they physically and mentally depend on it heavily to perform well in school/work etc. And when they can't get ahold of the drug anymore, they become zombies, chronic mental and physical fatigue. Marijuana does not make you physically addicted, mentally addicted is a slim possibility and also if the big concern is about lung cancer, there are several other ways to ingest THC then to smoke it. Marijuana is cheaper and is not a dangerous or heavy drug, therefore a person with legitimate medical conditions, would be better of to smoke marijuana then to pop pills. And also would you rather have your kids out in the towns and cities with people driving under the influence of Oxycontin or marijuana.
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NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES' INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE (IOM)
By EndtheHype - 05/14/2009 - 5:08 pm"There will likely always be a subpopulation of patients who do not respond well to other medications ... The critical issue is not whether marijuana or cannabinoid drugs might be superior to the new drugs, but whether some group of patients might obtain added or better relief from marijuana or cannabinoid drugs ... Although some medications are more effective than marijuana for these problems, they are not equally effective in all patients."
"For patients such as those with AIDS or who are undergoing chemotherapy and who suffer simultaneously from severe pain, nausea, and appetite loss, cannabinoid drugs might offer broad-spectrum relief not found in any other single medication.
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Crazy, throw them out!
By Anonymous - 05/14/2009 - 4:30 pmNutty ain't it? I'm in my 50's and I've known several older folks that say they received comfort from pot while dying from cancer. I have a former classmate with chronic pain, he says pot is one of the few treatments that helps his situation. You know what? I believe them. Tobacco, Alcohol, Opiates all legal. Hell, we have state stores selling alcohol for criminy sakes. I just do not get it.
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Go, Kelly, Go!
By Anonymous - 05/14/2009 - 4:25 pmKelly Ayotte is going to be our next governor, by opposing such unNewHampshire bills like this one. Her approval ratings have never been higher, and she enjoys the complete loyality of all Granite State policemen.
Ayotte's star is so high, I bet she runs as both a Democrat and a Republican candidate, as no one will dare challenge her. She is the champion of New Hampshire values. Let the dopeheads go to the People's Republic of Vermont!
--BuzzBomb
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Re: Political opportunism
By Anonymous - 05/14/2009 - 4:14 pmI agree. Just look at Sullivan County where last week a pair of child abusers got off with a $250 fine while a guy that abused a cat got 6 months in jail. She's lost more than her focus. Every time a criminal case comes along that involves cops, ex- cops, judges or elected officials it's quickly swept under the rug. Talk about pandering. And a message to both lynch and ayotte, I've smoked pot for most of my life but my "gateway drug" and "drug of choice" was ALCOHOL. And that's not all. Hell I can't count the number of times, back when I used to drink, that I bought liquor and soda at Hookset and drank and drove back home at a speed of around 80 mph or better in a 65 zone while your state troopers sat and watched me fly on by! I'm not proud of that by any stretch of the imagination, just pointing out that it's happening everyday! And by the way, there's a certain amount of irony here too, that the state chose a town called Hookset, as in setting the hook, to sell somthing as addictive as alcohol!
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Pill popper
By Anonymous - 05/14/2009 - 4:10 pmI have been taking Vicoden for two years with out any relief but smoking Grass has made me feel much better.I think its time to get Gov. John Lynch and his cronies out of office and bring in People that will help out the state not hurt it with dummy laws and bi laws and tax an what happened to live free or die.
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Town Chat
By Anonymous - 05/14/2009 - 4:08 pmStopped in and had a cup of coffee at a restaurant full of locals this morning and all were laughing about the article. Pretty much cast as a political fabricator versus a good Attorney General. Even a quite conservative elderly man agreed that her arguements have no validity.
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LEGALIZE & TAX
By Anonymous - 05/14/2009 - 3:54 pmIt's hypocritical to allow tobacco and alcohol sales, with the state taxing both heavily; with a monopoly on alcohol! Legalize marijuana, period. Tax it heavily and apply those funds to the general fund. "Gateway" drug? Ha! What about beer being a gateway to rum, vodka, gin, whiskey.....? They're all legal. Ask any police officer; "When was the last time you got assaulted by a person only under the influence of pot?" Control pot as we do hard liquor. It's no worse than the state selling liquor next to the highways. Let's direct law enforcement to serious crime like; hard drugs, child porn, terrorism, multi-million dollar fraud. You got to pick your battles and marijuana is not worth fighting, relative to all the real crime out there.
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Countdown to Ayotte running for office
By Anonymous - 05/14/2009 - 3:41 pmSuch obvious pandering it is not even funny.. She must not currently have any briefs to file in other states opposing abortion rights etc.
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Confused
By Anonymous - 05/14/2009 - 3:36 pmAfter reading the article and comments, I am very saddened by the decisions that are being made. I have a big story that I would love to write but I feel it is so long that I will sum it up. My mother in law passed away from a drug overdose. PRESCRIBED pills that her doctors gave to her. They NEVER monitored it and actually they gave her pills that should not have been mixed and guess what....she died in her forties. If marijuana is such a bad thing and is so additive then our attorney general needs to take into consideration that our doctors are writing prescriptions for pain killers and are not doing a very good job making sure the patient is taking what their body can handle. Why dont you, meaning the attorney general, spend more time focusing on the real problems....PAIN PILLS!!!! It really makes me sick to think about how easy it was for my mother in law to pick up the phone and get more pills called in to her pharmacy from her doctors office and they didnt even want to see her. I think things are really backwards in this country. My mother in law didnt "abuse" the pills, she took them as they were directed. They were not monitoring her liver, heart or anything and again, she is now gone. So, please think carefully about this!!!!!!!!
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