The Debate On California's Pot Shops

Morley Safer Reports On Proposition 215

(CBS)  This segment was originally broadcast on Sept. 23, 2007. It was updated on Dec. 30, 2007.

Eleven years ago, California became the first of a dozen states in the nation to legalize medical marijuana. True believers, including many doctors, say pot works to ease pain or counter the side effects of chemotherapy. And the National Academy of Sciences agrees, if the drug is carefully used. Critics see medical use as the gateway to legalizing all marijuana.

Well, how is the California state law working? As correspondent Morley Safer reports, the answer involves another statute: the law of unintended consequences.

For one thing, the federal government still views marijuana, medical or otherwise, as illegal and has been cracking down on dispensaries that sell it. For another, it's clear there are legions of people buying medical marijuana for the sole purpose of getting high. For both them and the truly ill in California, it's become an easy matter: just drop by your little pot shop around the corner.

---

It's just another day at a dispensary, as they call them, in San Francisco. There, with a note from a doctor, you can buy marijuana for anything you claim ails you, in just about any form, including cookies, pies and chocolate milk.

In many dispensaries up and down the state, there's a tasting corner, where you can sample the wares, and where you'll find any number of satisfied customers.

"I use medical marijuana for anxiety, neck pain and back pain. It seems to be the only thing that works that's not an opiate derivative," one man tells Safer.

Another man says he smokes marijuana because he has a torn ligament in his knee. "I use a pipe, a little bit of a time when needed," he explains.

There are hundreds of such stores in the state, and as many as 400 in southern California alone. The people who run them are members of the state's latest entrepreneurial class, calling themselves "caregivers." The feds call them something else. Case in point is a young man of many faces named Luke Scarmazzo.

He has been described as a businessman, a hip hop artist, and, by the government, as a drug dealer. Asked which of the descriptions apply to him, Scarmazzo says, "I'm a hip hop artist first. 'Cause that's what I've always been. And I'm a businessman second. But I'm not a drug dealer."

But he does acknowledge that he is in the drug business.

And like a growing number of people in the business of selling medical marijuana, Scarmazzo found himself and his dispensary on the receiving end of an unannounced, early morning raid by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

"They handcuffed me and put me on my kitchen table. And one of 'em walked up to me and held his badge up and said, 'You knew I'd be coming soon,'" Scarmazzo tells Safer.

But Scarmazzo says he didn't have a hint that the feds were on his case.

The DEA hits a handful of businesses like Scarmazzo's every few weeks. And in his case, business was good: in the town of Modesto, population 200,000, he sold $4.5 million worth of medical marijuana in two years.

And he was paid a good salary, too. "I took home $13,000 a month," he says. "I was working a lot of hours."

Scarmazzo’s lawyer, Tony Capozzi, says the business was above-board, by the book, and perfectly legal in California.

"We think this is selective prosecution," Capozzi says.

Selected, Capozzi says because of a high profile video Scarmazzo had made. In some scenes, he's a well-tailored businessman, a caregiver. But in other shots, he's a different man, flaunting money, pot, babes, and attitude, in a manner more in tune with drug dealing than care-giving.

"Do you not think that it's easy to see that video as him…being a smart ass…and saying, you know, 'Come and catch me if you can'?" Safer asks.

"In hindsight, yes," Capozzi agrees.

[gunownerdan]

Marijuana has been illegal for over 70 years and today it is America''s #1 cash crop.
Prohibition will never work.
Cops say legalize and regulate marijuana.
FIGHT CRIME AND VIOLENCE!
www.leap.cc

[rematenaj]

No, prohibition will never work. The biggest problem is that marijuana is considered a drug. That in itself is ridiculous. It''s a plant that grows in the ground, and has many uses. Law enforcement should concentrate their efforts elsewhere!

[thee0racle]

Just tax it, and that should relieve any angst the FED has about its'' distribution. Case in point: isn''t that why the killer of millions known as tobacco is still on the market?

[linfinster]

HAHA My back hurts, I''m movin to California!

[bizzzz-2009]

Imler admits the noble idea turned out to be a pipe dream. "I think there''s a lot of people just buying the drug to get high,"
WOW, REALLY?
Minister or not. Just another liberal idiot who can''t see past his nose, much less long term consequences.

[revtombrown-2009]

Greetings Brethren,



Scott Imlar is a narc. He informed on peter Mc Williams and others in LA for his own profit. Nothing said by him should be given any credence - as he has none outside such credible sources as Morley Safer.



By the Way, the first intimations of Prop 215 came when Peter Gorman, editor of High times magazine, hosted Dennis Peron and our own Rev. Sam Smith of Our Church in his hotel room at the Norml convention in Washington DC in 1992 or 3. Sam met with Dennis to broach the subject, they worked out the details over seveal hours, and Dennis went back to San Francisco to write and organize the petition drive that resulted in the Initiative 215 being passed. Jack Herer attempted to mount a seperate initiative for hemp legalization that failed to get on the ballot as I recall. I have a picture of Dennis and Jack, united together on election nite 1996 in San Francisco, smoking the Peace Herb to their mutual delight. This has been verified to me as reported by Peter Gorman, by Dennis and Jack.



Again, give Scott Imlar a wide berth. He has no honor, nor respect amongst those who actually did the work. He has the blood of Peter McWilliams on his hands.



One Love revtombrown.

[marcpcbs]

Take it from someone who spent the lasy 24 years watching this problem grow first hand.

1 Who ever smokes pot gets all the same poisons as a person that smokes sigarettes.

2 Mendocino County CA alone profits over $45 Billions a year from pot.

3 More than half of the pot sold in this country is sold to students under the age of 18.

4 There has been the THC pill ( marinol ) around for the last 35 years. We dont need pot.

5 These drug deakers took advantage of our simpathy for people in pain.

6 The pot growers care about nothing but money, and they make tons of it. Mostly from our kids.

We need to turn this around. We don''t need to legalize pot and start collecting kids lunch money through taxation.

We need to stop the lie of med pot and stop the poisoning of kids now.

[marcpcbs]

Take it from someone who spent the last 24 years watching this problem grow first hand.

1 Who ever smokes pot gets all the same poisons as a person that smokes cigarettes.

2 Mendocino County CA alone profits over $45 Billions a year from pot.

3 More than half of the pot sold in this country is sold to students under the age of 18.

4 There has been the THC pill ( marinol ) around for the last 35 years. We don''t need pot.

5 These drug dealers took advantage of our sympathy for people in pain.

6 The pot growers care about nothing but money, and they make tons of it. Mostly from our kids.

We need to turn this around. We don''''t need to legalize pot and start collecting kids lunch money through taxation.

We need to stop the lie of med pot and stop the poisoning of kids now.

[marcpcbs]

THC has been available in pill form for the last 35 years. It''s called Marinol and it doesn''t have all the carcinogens that come with smoking anything.

[ladydrgnfly]

Video Healing Humanity with Cannabis made it to Washington DC. If you haven''t seen this video please view it at http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=17270117
and share it with others. We need your support.

Below are comments from the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington DC.

Thanks so much for sharing that remarkable video. I will pass it along to others.

Take care,
Karen

Karen O''Keefe, Assistant Director of State Policies
Marijuana Policy Project
P.O. Box 77492, Capitol Hill
Washington, D.C. 20013
P: 202-462-5747, ext. 121
F: 202-544-1841
[e-mail]
http://www.mpp.org


Thanks for passing that on! We appreciate your support and commitment. Please feel free to contact me any time with your comments, questions, or concerns -- or any other good links that you''d like to pass on!

Sincerely,
Sarah Hench
Membership Coordinator
Marijuana Policy Project
P.O. Box 77492, Capitol Hill
Washington, D.C. 20013
Tel: [phone] x132
Fax: [phone]
[e-mail]
www.mpp.org

[gunownerdan]

marcpcbs,
Marijuana has been illegal for over 70 years.
Today it is America''s #1 cash crop and it is easier for kids to get than alcohol.
Drug gangs and drug dealers are making billions of dollars in profits because of their monopoly on the black market.
Legalization and regulation is a lot better than prohibition, we should have learned this important lesson from alcohol prohibition!
www.leap.cc
www.mpp.org

[tnt1954]

if you like living in a society of drunk, stoned
dirt bags, who only think of love and food and
music, its up to you. i don''t like driving
with millions of drunk and stoned drivers. do you?
epicureans? eat, get drunk, love, make merry, for
tomorrow we die? hedonists? the purpose of life
is to have fun, fun, fun, at others expense? good
luck. otherwise, i have no comment.

[tnt1954]

the libertarian society? it oughta be against the
law to make a law? the law of the jungle? 50% of
the world are teetotallers, never touch the stuff.
its just putrid fermentation. and the other
plants, and derivatives, poisonous, totally toxic,
and addicting. like deadly amanita in a way.
like sleeping with rattlesnakes in your cave.
the wisdom is non-intervention though. let the
society of drunks and stoners hit bottom. the grave.
that''s the final bottom. the bottomless pit, oblivion. co-existence? world health organzation
says constantly, not enuff being done by u.s.a. to
combat its dope demand, liquor demand, *** demand,
its gambling demand, its poisoning of the rest of
the world. u.s.a. called on the carpet continually.
again and again. we give lipservice to our recommendations for other countries and the rest
of the world. say one thing, do another. are
we responsible for the behavior of all our citizens,
here or overseas?

[ringading3]

Does anyone in the rest of the country really care what the pot heads in California do?

[brianbwb-2009]

So people like ingesting marijuana, so effing what?

For those who are anti smoking, it can be eaten, so there goes that argument.

It is fun, it aids relaxation, stimulates appetite, slows the progression of glaucoma, aids chemotherapy and is a mild aphrodisiac, as well.

For those who don''t like it, don''t use it, but to tell others they have no right do enjoy something that does no harm to others, and benefits themselves (if you discount the effects and consequences of it being illegal) is at best fascism.

Legalize it totally, tax it, and use the money to improve health care, education, and social services. For a plant that costs more than gold, but is a consumable, it is stupid to ignore the cash potential the pot sales people have enjoyed for centuries.

[juwboy]

marcpcbs:

Yes, THC, the active constituent of marijuana, has been available in capsule form for some time. However, as far as pain-riddled cancer patients on chemotherapy are concerned, it''s worthless.

While the chemotherapy is kicking in, anything ingested orally will be thrown up, so the THC has to be inhaled to be effective. The Feds have repeatedly vetoed any attempts to develop a THC inhaler because thay fear that THC in this form will be abused, so cancer sufferers have no choice other than to smoke marijuana as their THC source.

[gkc99]

Pot is less dangerous than tobacco, which gets fat government subsidies. But it doesn''t have the corporate giants buying off politicians the way big tobacco companies do.

If pot is illegal, tobacco should be illegal. But neither is going away, and such stupid laws just increase police abuse, payoffs, and general disrespect for laws. Decrim is a better answer.

[eggy1620]

The medical community has established hazardous toxicity levels for alcohol, morphine, tylenol, dextromethorphan (cough syrup), aspirin, cocaine, heroin, speed, water, salt, sugar, nicotine, etc. etc. etc. Every ingestible chemical EXCEPT marijuana. Fact is, dope is not hazardous to your health, with the exception of the combustion particulates. It is illegal because Big Tobacco and Big Brewers continue to pay the government to keep it illegal.

[ohamkrw]

I am sure that the majority Americans agree that people with serious and terminal medical conditions should be allowed to obtain and use a limited amount of marijuana if recommended by their physician.

Logic says that doctors can prescribe far more dangerous and addicting drugs than marijuana. Common sense says that this issue ought to be decided for the good of the patient, in the privacy of the doctor-patient relationship. Compassion says that no patient should suffer needlessly, and no patient should go to prison for following a doctor''s advice. Science says that marijuana has great potential to safely relieve pain and other symptoms associated with a wide range of medical conditions.

Registered nurses have taken a leadership position on this issue because so many of us have seen first hand how marijuana can safely and effectively relieve patient suffering. It is our duty, as patient advocates, to speak out. For more information, visit www.medicalcannabis.com/, the web site of Patients Out of Time. Patients Out of Time''s 5th National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics is scheduled for April 4 - 5, 2008 in Pacific Grove, California.

Ken Wolski, RN, MPA
Executive Director, Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc., (www.cmmnj.org )
844 Spruce St.
Trenton, NJ 08648
609.394.2137 [e-mail]

[tonebowles]

According to the growing tide of research, the analgesic, anti-inflammatory and potentially curative effects of cannabis continues to support that marijuana is a safe, effective part of therapeutic treatment. Twelve states legally recognize the medicinal use of marijuana, and eighty percent of Americans support medical cannabis, according to a 2002 CNN/Time poll. Get involved in the movement for safe and legal access to medical cannabis today. Our power comes from our collective action. Whether it''s calling Congress, attending rallies, organizing a local ASA chapter, signing an online petition, or supporting federal defendants, take action today! When your elected officials hear from you %u2013 and often %u2013 they are more likely to support our calls for safe and legal access to medical cannabis!

http://americansforsafeaccess.org/

[dbuckles--2008]

Almost on a daily basis I suffer from chronic nausea and vomiting caused from Diabetic Gastropasesis. Diabetic Gastroparesis is severe nerve damage in the stomach, an affliction I''ve suffered with for over seven years.
Following a doctors prescription I have tried different types of Valiums, these knock me out, if it even stays down. I''ve used various suppositories; they''re not much fun to use, and they help about like a Valium. I have also used Marinol. When I don''t vomit it up Marinol can take anywhere from half an hour or more to do anything (and often times it helps none at all). Marinol can costs up to 10 dollars a pill, or more, which is more expensive than marijuana harvested from a home garden.
Often when I smoke marijuana while experiencing an episode of nausea or vomiting. My stomach pain ebbs and the nausea often subsides or ends all together, occasionally instantly. Sometimes without marijuana these episodes of nausea and vomiting have lasted for days. This herb helps in keeping these episode''s shorter, fewer in number, and when I do have a serious episode out of the hospital from dehydration; by helping me hold down enough fluids to stay hydrated.

[dbuckles--2008]

Thank god I live in Oregon, a state that accepts marijuana as medicine. If a doctor suggests Marijuana could help a patient''s condition, the patient can pay a fee to OMMP and register a grow site.

Being able to grow and use my own medicine has worked better than anything I''ve been prescribed. In monetary terms this medicinal plant has saved me, and the government thousands of dollars.

When I medicate with herbs I don''t have to fill my prescription for Marinol, suppositories, or Valiums all of which hardly work, and cost a fortune. Also I''m not Valiumed out or so doped up to where I can hardly keep my tongue in my mouth.

[dbuckles--2008]

Now step aside... don''t just think of marijuana as a medicine, but rather as a recreational substance. Perhaps "Bud" could be accepted as something like tobacco and alcohol. Pot could be a commodity that is taxed, regulated, voted on, and governed by the states.

Law enforcement has been wasting time locking up and busting people for possession and distribution of this stigmatized plant. Tax payers waste money prosecuting citizens who in turn spend money defending themselves from harsh marijuana laws.

However, if the herb was legalized and taxed the government''s problems with funding education could be subsidized. Optimist believe all education and law enforcement could be funded with the legalization and taxation of marijuana.

Imagine the government generating revenue from marijuana: growers, employers, employees, and customers of hash bars/smoke shops could all be taxed on different levels. Enterprising Americans can see the potential in marijuana being a new facet of commerce.

[dbuckles--2008]

Tobacco was once America''s cash crop, and alcohol used to be illegal under prohibition, though times have changed. Society''s antiquated associations with marijuana hinder America''s development of health care and our symbiotic relationship with each other and nature.

People of the modern age prefer prohibiting a healthy substance that anyone can grow in a window. To men in white coats designing drugs that cost a fortune and are synthesized from god only knows what.

It''s time for change.

[dbuckles--2008]

If you go to my first post a few below this one and read my post up from there it will flow right.

[caseys_dream]

As a Maryland medicinal marijuana patient/advocate I hope your episode doesn''t go too far in labeling people as just another pot smoker trying to get high when it comes to pain. I run a political blog called Casey''s Dream on which I ask people to send me their stories. I want to make sure that every person under the care of a doctor for chronic pain has as an option to use cannabis to relieve their pain. I personally am a polio survivor. I now have Post Polio Syndrome. Due to the changes in my muscular/skeletal system I have multiple compressed or herniated discs. I have osteoarthritis, who doesn''t at 54. The thing is my osteoarthritis was diagnosed when I was in high school. It now affects my hands and knees, as well as the cervical and lumbar regions of my spine. Add to this the muscle pain from fatigue I endure everyday and did so from my early twenties to my late forties without significant drug therapy you might understand my frustrations. I currently take a combination of five medicines, or 12 pills a day just to be able to have some sort of normal functionality in my life. I testified before committees of the Maryland legislature last year and plan on doing so again this year. Mr. Safer, I know you remember the summers of polio scares and telethons for the little children in braces. Well we grew up and we''re in pain please don''t help America now turn its back on us now. http://caseysdream.blogspot.com

[hewhispers]

snidegrass: there may be millions of drunks on the road, so perhaps you should start preaching about the ban of alcohol.

there is a very simple reason why marijuana was made illegal: corporations cant control it as a product; it occurs in nature and what you need you can grow in your backyard. one way or another: its all about $$$

which is why hard grains (vodka, gin) are legal but moonshine is not. think about it.

alcohol is more debilitating and more addictive, as is gambling but they are legal. Hmmmmm. I wish you would just be honest and admit that it is all about $$$ run by the friends of politicians.

[dbuckles--2008]

Casey, I don''t want to look like a pot smoking radical (that happens to have a condition that marijuana helps with). I couldn''t post my thoughts all in one comment so after writing it I had to break up my comment into separate posts, with my comments reading backwards. I do believe that our country''s current view on marijuana is greatly skewed in many ways. An interesting thing is I earned my Eagle Scout by the age of 17. So you would think my feelings would be more to the right wing, like my fathers were until he saw first hand how marijuana relieve my nausea and vomiting.

[kemp53]

Well the only way to calm the chaos Is to get the DEA out, Get Legislaters that do not vote the way the majority of the constituants whis out. Dea is forcing co-ops to go black market. They can not grow enough to supply the demand under DEA rules. Then you have someone saying that it is abused. Get Real. If they are sick get off their BACK. People like Imler have no real idea of what we are going through though the profess to know everything and high and mighty the way they condemn us...Shame on you All!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[catchdmc]

So what if people are self-medicating with "Medical Marijuana"? If doctors are failing to do their jobs, and patients are forced to find relief for their symptoms elsewhere; why is it the fault of the patient and not the failing medical professions? If people can''t afford medical insurance, and self-medicate with Medical Marijuana (MMJ), how is it thier faults, and not that of an administration that would rather waste lives than save them? We allow people to self-medicate with alcohol, a much more dangerous drug, to the point of absurdity. Where, then, are our priorities?
People are suffering, and in pain. They need relief and doctors are the gatekeepers to that relief. That is, with the exception of Medical Marijuana. It relieves muscle spasms, massive headaches, nausea and vomiting, vertigo, depression and mania, nerve pain, insomnia, colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, digestive upset, inter-occular pressure, deep tissue pain, just for starters. And, it leaves the user with a feeling of well-being and comfort. Is there any wonder why the medical community would want it to remain illegal? They simply can''t compete with a natural medicine, patients self-administer, that can do so many things traditional medicines (pharmaceuticals) fail miserably at.

[catchdmc]

One final question. Why are so much funds and energy being expended harrassing LEGAL medical marijuana growers/patients when there are methamphetamine and crack factories flourishing all over the country. There are children being raised in homes that are also drug labs. These kids grow up steeped in these chemicals. I wonder how it will effect our next generation. Does anyone care? Or are we so fixated on MMJ patients medicating themselves in the absence of their doctors'' competance that the DEA is willing to cast these children''s, and America''s, futures aside?
This administration REALLY needs to get its priorities straight. Our country''s children, and the ill, are suffering so that the DEA can harrass LEGAL MMJ users. I wonder if targeting "MMJ Sitting
Ducks" has anything to do with the failing "War On Drugs" that we are dumping millions of dollars into? Hmmmmmmmmm easy pickings, no work, who cares if they lose all the cases-they only count the arrest. Conversely, sniffing our Crack dens and Meth labs takes a considerable amount of work, and it''s dangerous work too. Better to chase down herbalists.

[hearmy2cents]

Cannibus has only in recent decades has become illegal in the US. As this drug remains legal in other counties, they continue to have a significatly lower crime rate as us. Marijuana was made illegal not because it is a harmful drug, but infact, most people are unaware of the real reason, and are basing their opinions on faulty facts. Before 1883, 90% of the worlds paper supply was Made of hemp. In the early 1930''s, the US Dept of Agriculture proposed making paper from this hemp, but the production of paper using this fiber had to be put on hold until someone invented a machine that could seperate hemp pulp from the fiber cheaply. During this time a number of other large companies developed a way to make white paper from trees. Soon after this, a hemp "decorticating" maching was invented. This machine created a way for Americans to make white paper from cannibus, cheaply. At this time paper companies invested huge sums of $ into making cannibus-hemp illegal, so they wouldn''t lose money. This series of events is referred to as "Reefer Madness Movement". The only part of this whole occurrence that the public was aware of, until this time, was "Killer weed with roots in hell", and other similar ads from these paper companies. (Pluff, 1996) This is what the "Drug war" is about. The government has continued to keep these facts from us and has continued to make us to think that this herbal plant is a killer when infact, there have been no reported incidents of an overdose.

[hearmy2cents]

Cannibus has only in recent decades has become illegal in the US. As this drug remains legal in other counties while they continue to have a significatly lower crime rate than us. Marijuana was originally made illegal not because it is a harmful drug, but infact, most people are unaware of the real reason and are basing their opinions on faulty facts. Before 1883 nearly 90% of the worlds paper supply was made of hemp. In the early 1930''s, the US Dept of Agriculture proposed making paper from this hemp base fiber, but the production of paper had to be put on hold until someone invented a machine that could seperate hemp pulp from the fiber cheaply. During this time a number of other large companies developed a way to make white paper from trees. Shortly after this, a hemp "decorticating" machine was invented. This machine created a way for Americans to make white paper from cannibus, cheaply. At this time paper companies invested huge sums of $ into making cannibus-hemp illegal, so they wouldn''t lost money. This time and series of events is referred to as "Reefer Madness Movement". The only part of this whole occurrence that the public was aware of, until this time, was "Killer weed with roots in hell", and other similar ads funded by these paper companies. (Pluff, 1996) This is what the "Drug war" is about. The government has kept these facts from us and, made us think that this herbal plant is a killer when infact, there have been no reported overdoses of Marijuana.

[hearmy2cents]

In fact, we can use Marijuana to make paper! Eight percent of the stalk from a cannibus plant is hurds, which is the part of the plant used to make paper. Amazingly enough, not publicly known, is that ONE ACRE OF CANNUBIS PLANTS WOULD BE AN EQUIVELENT TO FOUR ACRES OF OLD GROWTH FOREST! In order to make this paper from forest trees, or from the tree pulp, it must be soaked in a powerful acid to break down the lignin, this acid contaminates the enviroment! It is also whitened with bleach, another pollutant. Hemp contains no lignen, and whitens much easier. Hemp paper also lasts much longer, does not crack, harden or crumble with age. It was used to write the US Declaration of Independence, and the US constitution, (Pluff, 1996). Cannibus can alsp be used to make ethyl alcohol, or otherwise known as ETHANOL. If this were to go in effect, by 2005, the price of ethanol would be approximately .67 cheaper than other power supplies. (Gettman, 1995) So why keep making fuel in other counties, when we could be making it right here in the US? (Kemp 1996) Ninety percent of the worlds fuel could be made in this manner. (Miller, 1996)
The Netherlands%u2019s drug use was at the same levels as the United States. Since the partial legalization of cannabis, hard drug use (heroin, LSD, cocaine, etc...) has gone down sub- stantially, while in the US it has risen in huge amounts. If marijuana really were a gateway drug, hard drug use would have gone up, not down. Gateway drug? I think not.

[hearmy2cents]

The Netherlands%u2019s drug use was at the same levels as the United States. Since the partial legalization of cannabis, hard drug use (heroin, LSD, cocaine, etc...) has gone down sub- stantially, while in the US it has risen in huge amounts. If marijuana really were a gateway drug, hard drug use would have gone up, not down.

Resource, http://members.tripod.com/~totaleuphoria/marijuana.html.

People, this drug war is seriously rediculous. Let sick people get what they need to feel comfortable.

[elhs50]

ok so I find it rediculous that pot is illegal but yet salvia is still legal. Having tried salvia to see if its as crazy as people say, I know from experience that there is no way to function properly after smoking even a little pinch of the drug. It is supposed to be used in meditation but it is closer to an acid trip then anything. The fact that they are selling a drug that could cause serious problems if used while driving, and yet still preach how dangerous and unhealthy pot is for you,if just obserd

Marijuana will be legalized one day in the United States, it''s just a matter of time. People are naturally stubborn and usually aren''t willing to accept new ideas that challenge their current ideas.

We should have learned from the past - alcohol prohibition, the same thing is going on here.

I read a comment earlier by someone who said that over half of the black market marijuana is sold to students under 18. How true this actually is I''m not sure, but it wouldn''t surprise me. Adults that are trying to follow their dreams aren''t going to risk losing their freedom with current laws. As a former marijuana smoker (over 2 years ago), at the age of 17, it was easier for me to obtain marijuana than alcohol and yes, even easier than cigarettes. No one IDs you or asks for your age, if you got the money, and you certainly know the local dealer at your school, then you can buy. With legalization - it would be regulated and you would most certainly have to be at least 18 to buy. That''s just not the case currently.

I also read earlier someone posting that cocaine is also found naturally in nature. While this is true, it''s not found in large concentrations that are then snorted - that''s not how it is in nature. That''s like saying that paper is just found out in nature - not really.

[friedamae1]

Dr. Hamilton Wright: "the Father of The War on Drugs" based on lies, mis-truths, and deceptions and a body of lawmakers who failed to do their homework.
http://www.csdp.org/publicservice/hamwright.pdf
http://druglaw.typepad.com/drug_law_blog/2007/07/the-top-5-archi.html

Harry Anslinger: Cannabis Prohibition based on racism and sold it from a foundation of fear. sound familiar??? it was a lie then, its a lie now.
http://www.csdp.org/publicservice/anslinger.htm

[friedamae1]

Dr. Hamilton Wright: "the Father of The War on Drugs" based on lies, mis-truths, and deceptions and a body of lawmakers who failed to do their homework.
http://www.csdp.org/publicservice/hamwright.pdf
http://druglaw.typepad.com/drug_law_blog/2007/07/the-top-5-archi.html

Harry Anslinger: Cannabis Prohibition based on racism and sold it from a foundation of fear. sound familiar??? it was a lie then, its a lie now.
http://www.csdp.org/publicservice/anslinger.htm

[friedamae1]

Dr. Hamilton Wright: "the Father of The War on Drugs" based on lies, mis-truths, and deceptions and a body of lawmakers who failed to do their homework.
http://www.csdp.org/publicservice/hamwright.pdf
http://druglaw.typepad.com/drug_law_blog/2007/07/the-top-5-archi.html

Harry Anslinger: Cannabis Prohibition based on racism and sold it from a foundation of fear. sound familiar??? it was a lie then, its a lie now.
http://www.csdp.org/publicservice/anslinger.htm

[friedamae1]

Dr. Hamilton Wright: "the Father of The War on Drugs" based on lies, mis-truths, and deceptions and a body of lawmakers who failed to do their homework.
http://www.csdp.org/publicservice/hamwright.pdf
http://druglaw.typepad.com/drug_law_blog/2007/07/the-top-5-archi.html

Harry Anslinger: Cannabis Prohibition based on racism and sold it from a foundation of fear. sound familiar??? it was a lie then, its a lie now.
http://www.csdp.org/publicservice/anslinger.htm

[kduble1]

Medical marijuana, like any other prescription drug, should only be prescribed for ailments for which it has been clinically proven as safe and effective. The problem, of course, is that researchers can''t study a controlled substance. Therefore, it is in the public interest to legalize marijuana in order to control it.

[ericv2644]

I have HIV-AIDS and take a lot of pills without pot I would not be able to tolerate all those pills, and I would be dead by now. Instead I have earned about 60 credits toward a Nursing degree.

[sweetjayne]

Thank you so much for the piece on the NEED of medical marijuana for those of us who suffer from
various serious ailments. It''s important that the public understand that "It''s not all about getting high or it''s a gateway drug"

Marijuna has been proven as mentioned in your interview has many positive properties that can help those of us who suffer from chronic pain on a daily basis without the use of powerful pain medications such as vicodan,oxycontin etc. These drugs can cause great physical/mental dependencies - people can and do become ADDICTED which causes problems within our society as a whole.

I only hope that the Government throughout the USA will become aware of the medical benefits so those of us who legitimately could use this substance to aliviate serious pain without feeling like a criminal anylonger.

[rambleonjoe-2009]

It is a shame that the DEA is arresting SICK people. I have left messages on all my congressional Representatives staffers answering machines expressing my OUTRAGE that the DEA is shutting down these compassion clubs. Please put pressure on your elected officials and ask them to stop funding special DEA budgets to shut down marijuana compassion clubs. REMEMBER YOU CAN CHANGE THE LAWS AND THE SQUEAKY WHEEL GETS THE GREASE. Thank you 60 minutes for your wonderful reporting in the past and hopefully in the future about a war on drugs that has stripped Americans of their civil liberties and has thrown us into a police state. Please everyone do your part and contact your elected legislatures to express your concern with the war on drugs and especially the war on sick medical marijuana patients.

[rambleonjoe-2009]

I think it horrible that the DEA is arresting marijuana compassion clubs PLEASE people call your congressional reps and express your outrage that your government is arresting sick people. This just makes me sick. Thank You 60 minutes for another great piece on the hypocrisy of the drug war.

[mh71921]

The day I learned I had Cancer was then the worst day of my short 42 years of life. So I thought. Later once I was informed that the form of Liver Disease I have means I can not take any medications of any kind. Even the ones that help now, in the long run, shorten my very existence. I was told by my own Specialist that the ONLY drug he knew of that would cause no liver damage was cannabis. My wife and I made appt. after appt. and to no avail. We could not find a medical doctor in our area that would or could prescribe cannabis for one reason or another. I am now forced as most to break a law that is imposed on me by the country I defended as a member of the US Army. I simply can not understand why I am to be punished by people who are misinformed or just do not want to know.
Michael

[mh71921]

If you can help ,,,,,,, please help

[eddaly1]

going to countries where it has been legalized,ie; Denmark...and other north sea countries. The typical pot head walks about as a zombie everyday. They don''t contribute anything to the common good, unproductive, disconnected from normal behavior activities. That''s what you''ll end up with, a new batch of homeless losers on pot. You are what you consume: WEED

[eilandc]

Was it facetiousness, irony, or just a networks attempt to placate a concerned pharmaceutical advertiser? I am referring to the ALEVE commercial immediately following 60 Minutes piece on medical marijuana.

The pharmaceutical industry would like nothing better than to see the demise of medical marijuana. They have the government in one of their hip pockets, why am I not surprised that the media might be in the other.