Medical marijuana and federal laws

Fuente: http://blog.nj.com/ledgerletters/2011/12/medical_marijuana_and_federal.html

Medical marijuana and federal laws

Published: Friday, December 23, 2011, 6:09 AM

 By Letters to the Editor/The Star-Ledger 
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Protecting their community
Your Dec. 19 editorial “Push back on medical pot,” in which you deny possible risk of federal prosecution and describe the citizens of Upper Freehold as uncompassionate, is inaccurate and misguided.

California is not the only medical marijuana state where there are federal prosecutions; Michigan, Oregon, Washington and Montana have similar actions. U.S. attorneys in Hawaii, Arizona, Maine, Vermont and Rhode Island have issued warning letters referencing the 2009 Ogden memo, which clearly states the federal government will enforce the Controlled Substances Act “rigorously against individuals and organizations that participate in unlawful manufacturing and distribution activity involving marijuana, even if such activities are permitted under state law.”

News out of Colorado, a state regulated like New Jersey, indicates that letters were sent to dispensaries warning them that marijuana remains illegal under federal law. Translation: States, including New Jersey, cannot authorize violation of federal law.

In states that register and track marijuana users and their conditions, combined statistics indicate very few are treating serious conditions such as cancer, glaucoma and HIV/AIDS. To suggest the vote denies relief to those on “death’s doorstep” is shameful. In reality, Upper Freehold is protecting its community from federal raids and large-scale marijuana operations. 
David G. Evans, Drug Free Schools Coalition

Sex abuse statutes
I applaud your Dec. 18 editorial calling for elimination of the statute of limitations in child sexual abuse cases (“Eliminate time limits on child sex abuse lawsuits”).

The ongoing scandals at Penn State and Syracuse universities illuminate once again how prevalent this phenomenon is in our society and how difficult it is for victims to step forward to enforce their rights. When they do so, we need to make it procedurally less difficult for them to gain access to the courts. I have represented many victims of childhood sexual abuse and have had to turn others away due to the current state of the law.

Victims should be permitted to confront their abusers and the institutions that employ them. In most cases, abusers are able to perpetrate their horrible crimes due to the negligence or, even worse, indifference of the institutions that employ them.

The most effective way to change this is to expose the institutions and make them pay for the permanent damage their conduct has inflicted upon innocent young people. This can only be done by removing the bar of the statute of limitations.
Lawrence Z. Kotler, Florham Park

More than controversial
Kim Jong Il was “controversial”? (“North Korea’s controversial leader dies,” Dec. 19.) When one of the most evil people in the world passes, all you can muster is “controversial”?

I guess in your morally equivalent universe, a murderer like Kim Jong Il is no worse than someone like, say, Tim Tebow, who has also been tagged by some in the media as “controversial.” 
Bob Hunt, Hillsborough

He’s no moderate
Your summary of the sitting New Jersey representatives included a sentence describing Rep. Leonard Lance (R-7th Dist.) as a “moderate” (“N.J. reps wonder who will lose seat,” Dec. 19). I guess you don’t read the legislative summaries of your own paper. Here are two of Lance’s recent votes that many New Jersey voters would consider not moderate, but radical right wing.

Lance voted for Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-Wisc.) budget plan that would lower taxes on our wealthiest citizens. Part of the legislation also would privatize Social Security and eliminate Medicare. Lance also voted to weaken gun control laws. That legislation would allow guns to be carried in New Jersey bars and restaurants.

Lance signed Grover Norquist’s “No Tax” pledge. This pledge was authored by a guy whose stated goal is the destruction of our current government. Lance’s signature to such a pledge indicates he does not want to use reason to evaluate issues on their own merit.

No matter how you look at it, Lance is not a moderate legislator. 
He votes as a lock-step follower of the radical right wing of the Republican Party. 
John Caffrey, Bedminster

Environmental victories at risk
When I was 18, I saw my first bald eagle in New Jersey, near the Wanaque Reservoir. It took another 15 years until I saw another one. Now, we can see them on a daily basis.

The return of the bald eagle is a wonderful environmental victory. It shows how protecting endangered species and having strong environmental regulations against pesticides have worked. This exemplifies the success of governmental programs that get results.

These landmark results are very important at a time when the Christie administration and Republicans in Congress want to roll back environmental protections. We are concerned for the future of the eagles because, as New Jersey sprawls out and develops, we will lose critical habitat and pollute waterways that they are dependent on for survival. One of our other concerns is when eagles return to urban areas such as the Meadowlands and Petty’s Island, toxins in the ecosystem harm them and future generations. That is why we need to do a better job protecting open space and cleaning up contaminated sites.

We have seen wonderful results of how environmental programs can work and how vital they are for all of us. 
Nicole Dallara, outreach coordinator, N.J. Sierra Club