Not for nothing, but this is the kind of forward thinking that makes me think the Republicans have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to this presidential election:
SANTA FE, N.M. – Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson, poised to sign a bill making New Mexico the 12th state to legalize medical marijuana, said Thursday he realizes his action could become an issue in the presidential race.
“So what if it’s risky? It’s the right thing to do,” said Richardson, one of the candidates in the crowded 2008 field. “What we’re talking about is 160 people in deep pain. It only affects them.”
The legislation would create a program under which some patients — with a doctor’s recommendation — could use marijuana provided by the state health department. Lawmakers approved the bill Wednesday. The governor is expected to sign it in the next few weeks.
Richardson has supported the proposal since he first ran in 2002. But he pushed especially hard for it this year, leaning on some Democrats to change their votes after the bill initially failed.
I don’t really see what the problem with medical marijuana really is. If a doctor believes it can help the health of a patient, why shouldn’t the patient be allowed to use it? Or have we gotten to the point where the government is a doctor?
When you think about it, we have drugs that drive people to kill themselves labelled as anti depressants. We have erection drugs that may make you have a heart attack, see lightning bolts pop out of your fingers, or even turn your whole vision a lovely shade of blue.
And yet here we are debating the benefits (which have already been established for chemo patients, MS patients, and glaucoma patients) because it might be bad for you.
Pop quiz… Who gives more money to politicians? Pot dealers or drug companies?
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