by Andrew Freedman

Created on: November 07, 2008   Last Updated: November 08, 2008

Allowing a terminally ill person, with a Doctor's prescription, to use Marijuana is not the samething as letting everybody use it. It is obvious to me that if no one can smoke Marijuana in California, unless they have a note from a Doctor, then only very sick people will be using it. So I am not opposed to allowing Cancer patients, A.I.D.S. patients, and other terminally ill people to have Marijuana. However critics of medical Marijuana, believe that anyone who wants to smoke Marijuana will just hire some corrupt Doctor to write them a prescription. And then people, who are not suffering from any life threatening illness, will get away with smoking Marijuana. My response to that argument is that if 100 Cancer and A.I.D.S. patients get some Marijuana which alleviates their suffering. But 10 healthy people scam the system and also get some pot. Since those 10 people committed a nonviolent offense. And 100 sick people had their pain and suffering lessened, don't the positives outweigh the negatives? 10 consenting adults getting away with a nonviolent but socially unacceptable behavior. Is a price worth paying if in exchange for that, 100 terminally ill people have their lives made a little bit more comfortable. So I don't think that Federal Government Drug Enforcement Agents should patrol the streets of L.A. and Oakland in order to enforce a law that the people of California voted to modify. And that local law enforcement doesn't feel needs to be enforced. There are things that local states should and shouldn't be allowed to do. This issue brings up the age old question of, "What can the Federal Government force the states to do?"

I believe the Federal Government has a right to make sure that no state discriminates against anyone for their Ethnic background, Religion, Gender, or Sexual orientation. I think that the Federal Government has a right to make sure that in every state ex-convicts who have paid their debt to society are allowed to vote.Because it would lead to the abuse of the old and vulnerable I think the Federal Government has a right to make sure that Doctor assisted suicide is not legalized.But I don't think the Federal Government should stop a local state from giving sick people access to a form of medicine that under normal circumstances would be illegal. Medical Marijuana is one of the few things that I think a local state should be allowed to do.Eventhough in most instances I support Federal Laws over local control

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