Don’t Call It “Medical Marijuana!”
Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, October 17, 2014 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler
During the medical marijuana study committee meeting a couple of weeks ago, law enforcement officers stood firmly against legalizing marijuana. They are particularly concerned about the cultivation of marijuana, and specified that IF marijuana IS grown in Georgia, the growing must be done in indoor laboratories under strict control.
During the meeting, a Gwinnett Coalition for Health worker said, “We are concerned about substance abuse and we’re concerned with dispensaries. When dispensaries grow [marijuana], abuse expands. Black marketing marijuana is already in other states. There are big, big dollars behind this. Lots of money is involved.”
She continued, “Look at the people who are here. They are not children,” pointing out that the audience included business people, who want marijuana legalized for ALL purposes, not just for medicine, but for recreation, too.
Then she said, “[Using] the term ‘medical marijuana’ is a negative ‘norming’ thing [that makes it sound like a normal thing to do]. The message implied by the term is, ‘Since it’s medically good for you, it must be okay to smoke,’” reminding them that the number of young people using marijuana has increased since states passed medical marijuana laws. The last speaker did a powerful job. It was Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter. The first thing he said was,“Don’t use the term ‘medical marijuana.’ It’s a mistake to say that.” Then he said, “What you are trying to do is a violation of federal law. The federal law is not being enforced, but it’s still on the books. We cannot accept a law that causes us to violate our oath of office.”
In Colorado there’s conflict between medical marijuana and federal employment law. Also, in Colorado anyone with a prescription can choose what kind of marijuana they want, and buy whatever strength of the marijuana oils and vaporizers they want. Then, he warned the panel, “This is not the end, it’s only the beginning, the stepping off of the first step.”
He said the term “caregivers” in marijuana legislation must be carefully defined and the manufacturing process must be secure. He wants them to specify the dosage, the level for DUI enforcement, and limit its use to certain health conditions. Then, make product abuse a criminal offense.
The bottom line from that meeting is this: Unless a marijuana bill includes these safeguards, law enforcement personnel cannot support it in Georgia. For Georgia Insight I’m Sue Ella Deadwyler, your Capitol correspondent.