Xavier Onassis's Open Salon Blog

Marijuana Users Poised for Victory of a Lifetime

Thu, 1 Nov 2012 03:11:50 -0400

Those of us of a certain age may have resigned ourselves to the idea that Nixon’s stupid, racist, Prison Industrial Complex-funded War on Drugs would be a permanent fixture in our lives — the wall of opposition too dense, the logic too absent.

If (like me) you had given up following the depressing news on it years ago, be prepared to be pleasantly surprised. Next Tuesday one or more states is almost guaranteed to completely legalize it. Not medically, just common-sensically. Like, grown adults can do what they want.

Marijuana Regulation Works and Prohibition Fails
via US News & World Report

Come November 7, voters in one, if not two, U.S. states will have decided in favor of legally regulating cannabis. Why? The answer is clear: regulation works; prohibition fails.

There’s a ton of reading on this, I won’t even attempt to do a comprehensive breakdown. I’m not getting into the prison industrial complex or the inherent racism of the whole thing. My goal is mostly to spread the glad tidings. The given links will provide a clicky garden path that will let everything become clear.

A good starting point for the wonkier/data-driven types is of course NORML. They deserve a standing O for their Smoke Out the Vote campaign.

The two frontrunners appear to be Washington, with I-502, and Colorado, with Amendment 64. One or both of those are almost sure to pass.

From the NORML link above:

The campaign in Colorado supporting Amendment 64 has also released a new television ad, this one focusing on the issues facing our veterans suffering from PTSD. The commercial features a father and returning veteran who is unable to procure the cannabis he needs for his condition under Colorado’s medical marijuana laws. Under the current law, patients suffering with PTSD do not qualify for access, but Amendment 64 would remove criminal penalties for possession and would provide them places of safe retail venues at which to procure their medicine.

[T]he latest polling from PPP had Amendment 64 leading by ten points, 53% support to 43% opposition.

I have PTSD, and haven’t been able to smoke marijuana in almost a decade. It sucks. Everyone I know that has PTSD wants to smoke weed pretty much every day.

The Democratic Party of my home state, North Carolina, has passed a resolution supporting medical marijuana.

The NC state house has tabled a medical marijuana bill (HB577) twice.

House Bill 577 amends state law to “authorize an individual to use marijuana for medical purposes as directed by a physician.” HB 577 would allow patients both the ability to cultivate their own cannabis at home or to purchase it at state licensed distribution centers. This proposal remains pending before the House Committee on Rules, Calendar, and Operations and has yet to be assigned a hearing.

People will be heavily lobbying the state house in February. Hopefully it passes, and with PTSD as a qualifying condition.

Currently only New Mexico allows for PTSD, and the forces of stupid are fighting hard to roll that back, no pun intended. Arizona similarly has a pack of *ssholes trying to gut their medical marijuana bill, as does Montana. And note, none of these patriotic heroes give a damn about PTSD or our veterans (or retired public safety personnel, who almost all have it).

In my travels researching this issue, I have discovered a stunning array of unexpected supporters; check out the Marijuana Majority.

Turns out that Pat Robertson, Glen Beck, Bill O’Reilly, Sarah Palin, David Koch, William F. Buckley, the Cato Institute, and many more wacky villains all think the whole thing is stupid and needs to stop already. (Note: President Obama not included on list of people who want to end the WOD/legalize it. Rick Perry is to the left of President Obama on this, go figure.)

Polling data released last week by Strategies 360 had I-502 [Washington] at 54% support with opposition trailing at 38%.

One more thing putting the pressure on: The classification of marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance is being challenged again by way of ASA v. DEA. The long and short of it, marijuana is considered an extremely abusable drug with no redeeming value, in the eyes of the DEA — who both write and enforce the laws in their wheelhouse. It’s good to be king!

Here’s a nice readable article on it

The DEA rejected the petition in June 2011. Administrator Michelle Leonhart declared that marijuana had no accepted medical use, because no form of it has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The Department of Health and Human Services had previously concurred that it had a high potential for abuse, because an estimated more than 14 million people get high illegally at least once a month.

As a paramedic let me assure you of the utter idiocy of the Schedule I classification. Of all the 911 calls I’ve ever run, approximately zero of them were caused by marijuana alone. That’s 0%. When marijuana was involved, it was in conjunction with alcohol (the grand prize winner of things that should be Schedule I IMHO), cocaine, amphetamines, or prescription pills.

Alcohol is job security for first responders, plain and simple. Drunks get strapped to backboards constantly, because they wrecked cars, got in fights, did random stupid things, drank way too much, blew our their pancreatitis, went into liver failure, etc. And they are the mainstay of the emergency rooms Mittens wants everybody to go to. They’re the single largest group of 911 customers, with no close second, in my experience.

Cocaine users frequently call 911 when they notice they’re having a heart attack and still can’t stop. Nobody’s ever had that experience no matter how much weed they smoked. Nobody’s ever been on a two-week long weed binge and couldn’t stop even though they realized it was killing them. You know why? They fell asleep long before that level of problem could arise.

I don’t know if you’ve ever seen someone try to detox from alcohol or benzodiazepenes, i.e., Valium, Ativan, etc. but it’s not pretty. Both of those withdrawals need to be medically supervised, unlike someone who stops using marijuana — even after years. Yet benzodiazepenes are a Schedule IV, and alcohol is unscheduled. Here’s more info on that whole pile of malarkey if you’re interested.

Ultimately the DEA already had more than enough scientific evidence to revise the schedule 20 years ago when the door knocking began. It’s bullsh*t and we all know it. The obstacles are purely political. So even if they punk ASA on this case, guess what? The barbarians are at the gates, suckers. There will be another challenge, and another one after that, and meanwhile we’re knocking the states down one at a time.

Unfortunately for the obstructionists, the meter’s running. Their ability to dismiss the majority of Americans with a flick of their wrists is coming to an end.

It seems to me that once one state has full-on availability and regulation, the others will begin falling like bricks. The federal government will eventually have no choice but to pull its head out of its *ss.

Hell yeah.

The Cliff Notes for 11/7/2012:

*Washington and/or Colorado will likely have wide open access after this election. (It will take a while to get situated, but the law will be in place.)

*Massachussets will likely legalize medical marijuana.

*A number of municipalities in Michigan are likely to decriminalize it.

*Arkansas‘ medical marijuana bill is not likely to pass.

*Oregon‘s aggressive full-on legalization bill is not likely to pass… this time.

Filed under: #EtherSec, Fire and EMS, Political commentary, Progressive strategy Tagged: ASA v. DEA, Colorado, election 2012, marijuana, Marijuana majority, Marijuana reform, Medical cannabis, NORML, War on Drugs, washington

Soup Kitchen Sam on Paul Ryan

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 14:10:34 -0400

What a perfect reflection of the bigger picture. Find a way to exploit the poor without ever having to make eye contact with them or give them a single damned thing.

I saw this post from Soup Kitchen Sam on the FB page of (the excellent) Lee Camp:

Wait, who is this working class hero again?

Filed under: Political commentary Tagged: austerity, exploit the poor, firefighters, lies, paul ryan, shame, Soup kitchen

Firefighters Show How They Really Feel

Tue, 9 Oct 2012 13:10:07 -0400

VIVA ESPANA!

Filed under: Fire and EMS, Political commentary Tagged: anti-tax zealots, austerity, firefighters

Seeing the Unseen

Sat, 6 Oct 2012 13:10:02 -0400

Everyone sees the unseen in proportion to the clarity of his heart, and that depends upon how much he has polished it. Whoever has polished it more sees more — more unseen forms become manifest to him

–Jalal-Uddin Rumi

Filed under: #EtherSec Tagged: #EtherSec, Iran, Persian literature, Rumi, sufi

If Mitt Romney Was A Paramedic

Sat, 29 Sep 2012 15:09:34 -0400

Saw this today on Medic Madness:

If Mitt Romney Was A Paramedic

September 28, 2012 By Sean Eddy 2 Comments

With election season around the corner, 2 people are going to be faced with some major career changes. One of them is going to lead this country, and the other is going to become unemployed. With Mitt Romney’s poll numbers starting to slide, it’s uncertain if he’s going to have a job come November. Sure, he could probably stand to not work for the rest of his life, but at the risk of becoming one of the 47%, I would imagine that he would immediately start to look for some form of employment. This would be a huge opportunity for him to make a difference in healthcare by taking up a job in the pre-hospital setting.

So without further delay, we must ask ourselves the big question of the week:

What kind of paramedic would Mitt Romney be?

Mr. Romney’s job would start sometime around January and wouldn’t be secure forever. He would have to re-apply and go through the employment screening and hiring process every 4 years.

Once employed, Mitt’s first item on his agenda would be to immediately work towards repealing whatever set of protocols are in place. These would most likely be replaced by new guidelines that many would argue withhold or limit care for women and retired seniors. Others might argue that the new protocols would save the service money by limiting supplies and care to only those that pay their bills.

Funding for Mr. Romney’s ambulance service would be obtained similar to that of a campaign contribution. These donations would primarily be made by large drug companies. While this method would be effective in maintaining more than adequate funds, it would require protocols to be written that regularly include the use of said drug company’s products.

Staffing for Mitt’s ambulance service could be kept to a minimum as 47% of the population in his response area would never use his services. Instead, those residents would utilize a government-run EMS service that is funded by 100% tax dollars.

Performance for Mr. Romney’s service would not be evaluated based on response times. Instead, agencies would be hired to conduct scientific polls in his response area to determine the approval rating. This method would also be used heavily during contract bids.

Documentation would not require the use of paper or electronic patient care reports. Instead, all interventions during his call would be recorded secretly using cell phone cameras or tape recorders. He would only be require to maintain these medical records for 2 years.

Mitt’s radio reports would be unique as the information provided would be different than that of a traditional report. He wouldn’t provide the basic information about the chief complaint, vitals, or response to treatment. Instead, he would explain how the last paramedic to run the patient didn’t do a good enough job and how they will be better off not repeating their last pre-hospital experience.

In the end, his care would differ very little from the last few paramedics to hold his job. Treatment would continue to consist mostly of promises to start feeling better and blaming of previous forms of treatment. Most patients would complain that the service is inadequate, however they would continue to utilize and support it.

Have a suggestion for the next “Celebrity Medic”? Send me an e-mail at sean@medicmadness.com.

Filed under: Fire and EMS, Humor, Political commentary Tagged: 47%, 53%, humor, Medic Madness, Mitt Romney, paramedics, politics, Sean Eddy