Category Archives: Medical Marijuana

January 16, 2015 Newsletter

Posted on by

Georgia Newcomers in 2015 General Assembly & Congress

Several pieces of legislation – pre-filed and new – took a backseat to multiple office changes, new assignments and freshmen legislators during the first week of the Georgia General Assembly.  On Thursday they adjourned for ten days and will return on January 26th for the fifth day of the 40-day legislative session.

Meanwhile, two vacant seats in the House of Representatives will be decided in a February 3rd special election.  Georgia legislators taking the oath of office on January 12th included the following newcomers:

  • To read the rest of this newsletter in PDF format, please click here.

January 16, 2015 Radio Commentary

Posted on by

Ralston said, “We’re Going to ‘Move’ on [Marijuana]!”

Radio Commentary, 90.7, 91.7 New Life FM, January 16, 2015 – By Sue Ella Deadwyler

Representative Allen Peake’s January 9th press release explained how he and the governor had “been in intense conversations over the last several days about [Peake’s marijuana bill, H.B. 1].” After those talks, he decided to rewrite his bill and file it with the Clerk’s office today.

Some say the bill has been gutted because the new version will not allow marijuana to be grown in Georgia. However, “individuals with certain medical conditions” could go to another state to legally obtain cannabis oil with a three to five percent THC level and bring it back to Georgia, without fear of prosecution.

During the marijuana study committee meeting in Gwinnett County, where law enforcement officials were asked to express their opinion, committee member Representative Margaret Kaiser revealed that cultivation of marijuana is the heart of their plan. After hearing each law enforcement official urge them NOT to allow cultivation, she said, “We don’t think we can do this without cultivation. It’s a big point to take cultivation off the table.” Last Saturday morning I was reminded of her comment when someone called WSB radio and asked Walter Reeves to tell him how to grow marijuana. Continue reading →

October 2014 Newsletter

Posted on by

No Perfect Choice? Select the “Less-Bad” Candidate, and Vote!

In the 1986 race for the U.S. House of Representatives, Arlan Strangeland of Barnesville, MN, defeated Collin Peterson by 142 votes out of 186,320 – less than one vote per precinct.

  • Pennsylvania 1974 – in a special election in the 12th Congressional District, John Murtha defeated Harry Fox b y a total of 122 votes. There were 430 precincts in the district and Murtha won by a margin of one-fourth of a vote per precinct!
  • Presidential Election 1960 – John F. Kennedy defeated Richard M. Nixon by 113,000 votes. That was about one-half vote per precinct.
  • Texas 1948 – Lyndon B. Johnson was elected to the U.S. Senate by 87 votes out of 988,295 votes cast in 6,000 precincts. That computes to 1/69th of a vote per precinct.
  • In 1918, Woodrow Wilson carried the State of California less than one vote per precinct. California’s electoral vote made the difference and Wilson was re-elected President.1

Know nothing about the candidates? Party Platforms reflect their positions.

Click here to view the party platforms and to read the rest of the October 2014 Newsletter.

October 17, 2014 Radio Commentary

Posted on by

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. Continue reading →