SentLTE-Digest Thursday, December 3 2009 Volume 09 : Number 074
001 LTE: George Will's column, 'Medical Marijuana Mocks the Idea of Lawful
From: John Chase <>
002 LTE: George Will's column 'Column: Rocky Mountain Medical High'
From: John Chase <>
003 LTE: 'The Leaf Offers False Hopes'
From: John Chase <>
004 LTE: Column: Drop 'Medical' From Medical Pot Laws
From: John Chase <>
005 LTE: George Will's column 'The Rocky Mountain Medical High'
From: John Chase <>
006 LTE: George Will's Column: 'Pot Basically Legal in 13 States'
From: John Chase <>
007 LTE: George Will's Column: 'Be Wary Of Rocky Mountains' High'
From: John Chase <>
008 LTE: George Will's column 'The Case Against A Rocky Mountain Medical Hi
From: John Chase <>
009 LTE: George Will ltr #15
From: John Chase <>
010 LTE: George Will's column: 'Medical' Marijuana Invites Abuse
From: John Chase <>
011 LTE: George Will's column 'A Look at a Rocky Mountain Medical High'
From: John Chase <>
012 LTE: Re: 'A stinky stockyard full of sacred cows'
From: Kirk Muse <>
013 LTE: George Will's column 'Rocky Mountain (Medical) High May Be New Low
From: John Chase <>
014 LTE: George Will's Column: 'Medical Marijuana'
From: John Chase <>
015 LTE: George Will's Column: 'Medical Marijuana'
From: John Chase <>
016 LTE: George Will's column 'Medical marijuana big loophole for drug scof
From: John Chase <>
017 LTE: 'Denver City Council Weighs Rules for Medical-Marijuana Outlets'
From: John Chase <>
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Subj: 001 LTE: George Will's column, 'Medical Marijuana Mocks the Idea of Lawful Behavior'
From: John Chase <>
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:24:43 -0800
Editors -
George Will's column, "Medical Marijuana Mocks the Idea of Lawful
Behavior" infers that lawful behavior can be defined. But the key is to
define UNlawful behavior, so a person can know, before the fact, what he
must not do. Most medical marijuana law doesn't do that.
An example is overprescribing. Doctors know pot has never killed anyone,
so they may prescribe "too much". But who decides the "too much"? State
medical boards should, but many prosecutors will try to play doctor, to
create crimes that are not criminal except by their own interpretation.
Most ill-defined of all is the requirement that $300 pot be distributed
"nonprofit", whatever that means. The law is bad public policy.
So how do we get the patients out of the drug war? Cut to the chase and
put pot on the same legal plane as beer. But hold the ads.
John Chase
727 787 3085
1620 E Dorchester Dr
Palm Harbor, FL 34684
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Subj: 002 LTE: George Will's column 'Column: Rocky Mountain Medical High'
From: John Chase <>
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:05:36 -0800
Editors -
George Will sees medical pot as a slippery slope: Pot is a 'gateway' to
harder drugs, etc. If true, it is because buying pot on the street puts
the buyer in touch with criminals who make more money selling hard
drugs. But I reject his premise. If anything the 'gateway' is reversed.
Many millions of drinkers, for instance, drink beer, but will never try
200 proof alcohol. Perhaps it's because they buy beer in a store and not
on the street. Or perhaps they just don't want Big Brother to coerce
them into line. Or perhaps they just don't like the hard stuff.
Marijuana prohibition is bad public policy. We must get relief to sick
people who need it, but how? I suggest we end prohibition and put pot
the same legal plane as beer. Except lose the TV ads.
John Chase
727 787 3085
1620 E Dorchester Dr
Palm Harbor, FL 34684
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Subj: 003 LTE: 'The Leaf Offers False Hopes'
From: John Chase <>
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:08:10 -0800
Sent online to the Post-Star (NY)
George Will's column 'The Leaf Offers False Hopes' will prove to be
prescient because most medical marijuana law is too vague to be
enforceable. A key precept of law is that a person can know, before the
fact, that the behavior he contemplates is illegal.
An example is overprescribing. Doctors know pot has never killed
anyone,so they may prescribe "too much". But who decides the "too much"?
State medical boards should, but many prosecutors will try to play
doctor, to create crimes that are not criminal except by their own
interpretation.
Most ill-defined of all is the requirement that $300 pot be distributed
"non-profit", a requirement that can mean almost anything except in a
Marxist society.
So how do we get relief to the patients? Put pot on the exact same legal
plane as beer. Hold the ads, and use part of the tax revenue to provide
treatment, but only if asked.
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Subj: 004 LTE: Column: Drop 'Medical' From Medical Pot Laws
From: John Chase <>
Date: Mon, 30 Nov 2009 21:30:57 -0800
Sent online to Grand Forks Herald
George Will understands the dynamics of prohibition when he says
"...legalization of medical marijuana may be more socially destructive
than full legalization."
The same thing happened with medicinal alcohol during alcohol
prohibition in the 1920s. Lots of quibbling about which medical
conditions required how much of what kind of alcohol. It was like a
conversation about how many angels can stand on the head of a pin, and
it created disrespect for the law.
But we must get patients out of the drug war. The best way is to
legalize pot. Decriminalization is not a compromise because it would do
nothing to end the street market. When pot has the legal status of beer,
patients can have it without concern that they -- or their docs -- might
be arrested for using "too much' or the wrong kind of pot, or for a
questionable medical diagnosis.
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Subj: 005 LTE: George Will's column 'The Rocky Mountain Medical High'
From: John Chase <>
Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 05:14:07 -0800
Sent online to the San Angelo Standard-Times
George Will is shocked that many Colorado college students are suddenly
becoming sick enough to need marijuana. He's right, but it's just one of
many unintended consequences of our antidrug laws. It is to be expected
when laws are enacted that criminalize behavior that is not criminal.
But allowing kids to buy pot is criminal. Far better to just legalize
the stuff so anyone who sells to kids can be prosecuted. Anyone who
smokes it knows it's no stronger than beer, so let's treat it like beer.
Surely, legal pot would bring in enough tax revenue to pay to treat the
few who can't handle it. Some say a lot more tax revenue than that.
A fringe benefit would be that truly sick people can get the relief that
it brings, even Colorado college students.
John Chase
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Subj: 006 LTE: George Will's Column: 'Pot Basically Legal in 13 States'
From: John Chase <>
Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 05:21:03 -0800
Sent online to Telegraph Herald (IA)
Re: George Will's Column: "Pot Basically Legal in 13 States"
Actually it is worse than legal in some states because kids are getting
pot, and a "prescription" is easy to get. It is understandable because
docs know pot has never killed anyone so it cannot trigger a wrongful
death lawsuit, unlike most other drugs.
So how to make it difficult for kids to get pot? Put it on the same
legal plane as beer. It amazes me that we haven't done this already. And
lose the talk about decriminalizing. All that would do is excite the
profit and violence of the street market. Any kids who has passed
Economics 100 knows about the law of supply and demand.
John Chase
727 787 3085
1620 E Dorchester Dr
Palm Harbor, FL 34684
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Subj: 007 LTE: George Will's Column: 'Be Wary Of Rocky Mountains' High'
From: John Chase <>
Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 05:26:11 -0800
Re: George Will's Column: "Be Wary Of Rocky Mountains' High"
We should have seen it coming. Medicinal alcohol expanded during the
1920s, especially after the 1929 Jones Act increased the penalties for
bootlegging. The Hoover Administration committed to enforcing an
unpopular law, and lost in 1932 to FDR partly because of it.
Our lawmakers today have painted have themselves into a corner trying to
get relief to certifiably sick patients. But good intentions are not
enough. No statute, for instance, can tell police whether a smoker has a
medical reason to smoke, especially when the prescribing doctors know
pot has never caused a death, so will not trigger a wrongful death lawsuit.
It's past time to put marijuana on the same legal plane as beer.
John Chase
727 787 3085
1620 E Dorchester Dr
Palm Harbor, FL 34684
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Subj: 008 LTE: George Will's column 'The Case Against A Rocky Mountain Medical High'
From: John Chase <>
Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 07:01:04 -0800
Re:George Will's column "The Case Against A Rocky Mountain Medical High"
George Will says Colorado's medical pot law may cause more societal harm
than it prevents, that full legalization would be better. He's right.
Legalization would be better, even, than decriminalization because it
would dry up the street market by taking out its profit, hence its
violence. Anyone who has passed Economics 100 knows that arresting
dealers, but not smokers, drives up the profit. It also would restore
some of the respect for the law lost to the drug war.
But the best reason for legalization is to clear the air of the
distortions and ignorance being displayed by both sides of the war on
pot. We could finally do the research to assess the merits, and
demerits, of pot, so patients can make informed decisions.
John Chase
727 787 3085
1620 E Dorchester Dr
Palm Harbor, FL 34684
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Subj: 009 LTE: George Will ltr #15
From: John Chase <>
Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 08:31:08 -0800
Ltr to Pocono Record
Re: George Will's column "Peril Of Rocky Mountain Medical High"
George Will is right. Colorado's medical pot law fosters hypocrisy and
disrespect for the law. Legalization would be better.
Legalization would be better, even, than decriminalization because it
would dry up the street market by taking out its profit. Anyone who has
passed Economics 100 knows the law of supply and demand. We saw it at
work in the 1920s when we arrested bootleggers, but not drinkers. The
street violence ended only when we quit arresting bootleggers.
But the best reason for legalization is to clear the air of the
distortions, outright lies and ignorance being displayed by both sides
of the war on pot. If it were fully legal, FDA could finally do unbiased
research, blocked for decades by DEA. Then patients could make informed
decisions on whether to smoke pot.
John Chase
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Subj: 010 LTE: George Will's column: 'Medical' Marijuana Invites Abuse
From: John Chase <>
Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 10:23:45 -0800
Sent online to Hartford Courant
Re: George Will's column: 'Medical' Marijuana Invites Abuse
Is "inviting abuse" the price we must pay to enable certifiably sick
patients to have the only medicine that helps them? I think not.
My grandparents' generation saw medicinal alcohol use skyrocket in
National Prohibition. Since it lasted only 13 years, they remembered
that life with legal alcohol was safer than life with prohibition. We
can't remember life with legal pot because it has been 72 years since
"marihuana" was effectively outlawed in the U.S. But we can read history.
Reading back to 1920 shows many other parallels between National
Prohibition and today's War on Drugs. Reading back further, to 1500,
shows the spine-chilling parallels between the Spanish Inquisition and
today's War on Drugs.
We need a paradigm shift to clear the air. Put pot on the same legal
plane as beer (but hold the ads.) Then kids won't be able to get script
for faked illnesses and adults won't need to. FDA can do the unbiased
research previously blocked by DEA, so patients can make informed choices.
John Chase
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Subj: 011 LTE: George Will's column 'A Look at a Rocky Mountain Medical High'
From: John Chase <>
Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 11:09:43 -0800
Sent online to the Winona Daily News
Re: George Will's column "A Look at a Rocky Mountain Medical High"
Legal pot would be better than medical pot, better, even, than
decriminalized pot, because it would dry up the street market by taking
out its humongous profit. Anyone who has passed Economics 100 knows the
law of supply and demand. We saw it at work in the 1920s when we
arrested bootleggers, but not drinkers. The 1920s was a time of
decriminalized alcohol, although we didn't call it that. The street
violence ended only when we quit arresting bootleggers.
But the best reason for legalization is to clear the air of the
distortions, outright lies and ignorance being displayed by both sides
of the war on pot. If it were fully legal, FDA could finally do unbiased
research, blocked for decades by DEA. Then patients could make informed
decisions on whether to smoke pot, kids couldn't fake illness to get
script to get pot, and adults wouldn't need to.
John Chase
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Subj: 012 LTE: Re: 'A stinky stockyard full of sacred cows'
From: Kirk Muse <>
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 2009 09:03:15 -0800
To the Editor of The Journal Inquirer:
I'm writing about Chris Powell's thoughtful column: "A stinky
stockyard full of sacred cows" (12-2-09).
While Connecticut and many other states are trying to figure out how to
close their massive budget shortfalls, the Dutch in the Netherlands are
trying to figure out what to do with their closed prisons.
While the Netherlands has a total population of about 16.5 million, it
has only about 12,000 prisoners. On the other hand, the United States
has greater than 2,300,000 total prisoners.
If my math is correct, we in the U. S. have 18.2 fold the Dutch
general population and 191.6 fold their prison population.
Why the glaring disparity? I suggest it’s our drug policies.
In the Netherlands, adult citizens can use, buy and possess small
amounts of marijuana without criminal sanctions. In the United States,
adult citizens are subject to arrest, and jail or prison for buying,
selling or possessing various amounts of marijuana.
Kirk Muse
1741 S. Clearview Ave.
Mesa, AZ 85209
(480) 396-3399
Thank you for considering this letter for publication.
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Subj: 013 LTE: George Will's column 'Rocky Mountain (Medical) High May Be New Low'
From: John Chase <>
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 2009 18:53:57 -0800
Editors -
Re: George Will's column "Rocky Mountain (Medical) High May Be New Low"
New low? I call it chaos. Colorado continues to refine its medical pot
regulations to allow only sick people to smoke. The result depends on
who defines "sick". Is it to be the person, the doctor, the policeman,
the prosecutor, the judge, the jury or the legislature? In practice it's
going to be all-of-the-above. As I said .... chaos.
Simplify. Put pot on the same legal basis as beer, except lose the ads.
If it were legal, FDA could conduct unbiased research, blocked for
decades by DEA, to assess its benefits and risks. Then patients could
make informed decisions on whether to smoke pot, kids couldn't fake
illness to get script to get pot, and adults wouldn't need to.
John Chase
727 787 3085
1620 E Dorchester Dr
Palm Harbor, FL 34684
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Subj: 014 LTE: George Will's Column: 'Medical Marijuana'
From: John Chase <>
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 2009 19:06:35 -0800
Re: George Will's Column: "Medical Marijuana"
Our lawmakers have painted have themselves into a corner trying to
get relief to certifiably sick patients. But good intentions are not
enough. No statute, for instance, can tell police whether a smoker has a
medical reason to smoke. We should cut through this fog and legalize.
Legalization would clear the air of the ignorance and distortions
displayed by both sides of the war on pot. If it were fully legal, FDA
could do unbiased research, blocked for decades by DEA, to assess the
benefits and risks. Then patients could make informed decisions on
whether to smoke, kids couldn't fake illness to get script to get pot,
and adults wouldn't need to.
John Chase
727 787 3085
1620 E Dorchester Dr
Palm Harbor, FL 34684
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Subj: 015 LTE: George Will's Column: 'Medical Marijuana'
From: John Chase <>
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 2009 19:31:31 -0800
Editors -
Re: George Will's Column: "Medical Marijuana"
George Will's column suggests that good intentions are not enough to get
relief to sick people. No law, for instance, can say conclusively who
defines "sick", or even what that word means. So how do we get relief to
patients? Full legalization would be strong medicine, but the only way
to avoid chaos. Put pot on the same legal basis as beer, but lose the ads.
Legalization would clear the air of the ignorance and distortions
displayed by both sides of the war on pot. If it were legal, we would
see unbiased research to assess pot's benefits and risks. Then patients
could make informed decisions on whether to smoke, kids couldn't fake
illness to get script to get pot, and adults wouldn't need to.
John Chase
727 787 3085
1620 E Dorchester Dr
Palm Harbor, FL 34684
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Subj: 016 LTE: George Will's column 'Medical marijuana big loophole for drug scofflaws'
From: John Chase <>
Date: Wed, 2 Dec 2009 19:48:30 -0800
Sent online to The Northwestern (WI)
George Will is right that "...by mocking the idea of lawful behavior,
legalization of medical marijuana may be more socially destructive than
full legalization." A law that criminalizes a popular behavior causes
more societal damage than it prevents. My parents' generation saw it
happen during National Prohibition with so-called "medicinal alcohol".
It is time to acknowledge a mistake. Stop trying to fine tune a law that
never should have been enacted in the first place. Just give pot the
same legal standing as beer. Then kids couldn't fake illness to get
script to get pot, and adults wouldn't need to.
John Chase
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Subj: 017 LTE: 'Denver City Council Weighs Rules for Medical-Marijuana Outlets'
From: John Chase <>
Date: Thu, 3 Dec 2009 05:30:25 -0800
Re:"Denver City Council Weighs Rules for Medical-Marijuana Outlets"
Editors -
I am struck by the detail needed to reduce medical marijuana law to
practice. We are reinventing the wheel. Wouldn't it be easier just to
let liquor store regulations be applied to marijuana dispensaries?
Or take it a step further and give marijuana the same legal status as
beer, but without the ads. If it were legal, we would see, finally,
balance in research to assess marijuana's benefits and risks.
Then patients could make informed decisions on whether to smoke, kids
couldn't fake illness to get script and adults wouldn't need to. Then
liquor store regulations could be used as is. Simple, no?
John Chase
727 787 3085
1620 E Dorchester Dr
Palm Harbor, FL 34684
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End of SentLTE-Digest V09 #74
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