8/21/2010 1:36:00 PM My Turn: Marijuana's outside influence: carpetbaggers from D.C.
Ivan Anderson
Proposition 203, the initiative to legalize medical marijuana in Arizona, is not a home-grown initiative.
Prop. 203 is a document written and composed by an organization in Washington, D.C., called, the Marijuana Policy Project, (MPP). This group of activists claims to be interested in legalizing marijuana for medical use in Arizona. The health of Arizona residents is not their concern. Their only agenda, as quoted from their vision statement, is to legalize marijuana nationwide.
Prop 203 covers a lot of different scenarios involving pot use and is worded to nullify any consequences for positive test results of pot metabolites in a person's blood. Section 36-2802, letter D, states that "qualified patients" operating a motor vehicle, aircraft or motorboat, that test positive for pot in their system, can be exempt from a DUI charge.
Question: As an employer, could I fire my employee for testing positive for pot? How do I keep a drug free work place? Am I violating an employee's rights if medical marijuana becomes legal? These scenarios will happen. A Wal-Mart store in Michigan is dealing with this issue right now. They terminated an employee who tested positive for pot. He claims it's for medical use and they are in court.
Prop. 203 takes away property owner rights. Section 36-2813, letter A, states that as a landlord, if you refuse to rent to a known medical marijuana card holder, you can be accused of discrimination.
Another question: If you rent to a card holder, does he have the right to smoke pot in your rental? If he lives 25 miles away from a dispensary, does he have the right to grow pot in your rental?
MPP will keep pushing the medical aspect of this issue, to draw attention away from all the hidden extras this initiative is ladened with. Proposition 203 is not about medicine. In November, lets tell these carpetbaggers to stay out of Arizona politics, please, vote "No" on Proposition 203.
Ivan Anderson is a fire fighter/paramedic for the Verde Valley Fire District and a member of MATForce.
Posted: Monday, August 30, 2010
Article comment by:
Joe Miller
The prohibitionist arguments presented by the writer of this article are ridiculous. Why should people be arrested for DUI simply because they test positive for THC metabolites within their blood if they ARE NOT driving while intoxicated but rather ingested cannabis a week prior? Why should employees be fired for having the metabolites in their bodies if they’re not coming to work intoxicated??? Don’t believe these people folks they’re only concerned about being able to continue feeding from the cash cow they’ve manipulated out of the American taxpayer in the name of their decades old failed policy known as the “war on drugs”.
The reality is that if these organizations really cared about the welfare of our community and keeping drugs out of the hands of children, they wouldn't support prohibitionist drug policies that do just the opposite.
Through the policies they support, they turn over the responsibility for the production and distribution of these substances to criminal predators whose only concern is profit criminal predators who care little about the age or mental and physical health of their customers.
Consider also that the policies these prohibitionist people and organizations support and profit from are the primary cause of much of the death, destruction, and mayhem we’re currently witnessing along our southern border violence on a level such that this nation hasn’t seen since alcohol prohibition.
When these prohibitionist claim they care about our children, the infirm, or general public safety they're LYING. They only care about their ability to continue feeding from the government trough of their own creation known as the “war on drugs”- regardless of the costs to our communities or our families.
It doesn’t matter to them that their policies cause more damage to our families, our communities, the patients who use this medication- as well as those who do not- than the very drug they seek to demonize.
Vote Yes on Proposition 203.
Do it for yourself and your communities. But most of all vote yes on 203 to help keep drugs out of the reach of our children!
Posted: Thursday, August 26, 2010
Article comment by:
paleo chaser
It's all about money! The "War on Drugs" is a huge revenue generator for all kinds of agencies. They are just trying to protect their money making policies. Lets all just consume the "safe" drugs that the government approved companies are producing and be dumb and happy!
Posted: Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Article comment by:
Mark Godfrey
Answer: If you employ people on an "at-will" basis you can fire them because you don't like their shoe color.
So yes, you can fire them for being stoned.
Stop trying to scare everyone.
Posted: Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Article comment by:
Paine Jefferson
DC grown? Maybe so, but just where was the original prohibition grown at as well? Is the writer concerned with the property rights violations of the feudal based asset forfeiture laws? Is the writer concerned about the carpetbagger provisions of distance from schools? Why is this person so concerned about carpetbaggers on the lessening of the carpetbagger laws they loosen.
Posted: Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Article comment by:
Santos Halper
Whether this is a "home-grown initiative" or not is immaterial -- what should matter to Arizona voters is whether it's good policy or not. It's time for marijuana prohibition to end, plain and simple. Voters should take any opportunity they have to depart from tired, failed prohibition policies. Medical marijuana is a good place to start, and the people of Arizona should absolutely vote in favor of legal medical cannabis.
Posted: Monday, August 23, 2010
Article comment by:
Richard Steeb
I am proud to be a contributing member of MPP and a number of other organizations dedicated to the repeal of cannabis prohibition. For the sake of my fellow humans, in Arizona or wherever.
It is the prohibition of Cannabis that is reprehensible and to be repudiated.
It is about medicine and it is about justice.
Whether I am hitting my pipe to reduce the intraocular pressure of glaucoma or to make some Hostess Twinkies[tm] taste like Creme Brulee is none of your rational concern.
Period.
-Richard P Steeb, San Jose California
Posted: Sunday, August 22, 2010
Article comment by:
GREEN LEAF RELIEF
Hello Ivan, I don't think you know much about marijuana as medicine. You act afraid of one of safest (no ones ever died from overdose) and most beneficial medicines known to man. It's been used as medicine for 5,000 years. It's only been illegal since 1930's (it was made illegal by lies and racism, read about it) The courts will as they always do, figuring out issues with employment and housing. The real issue here is some people are sick and the best medicine for some of them has foolishly been made illegal. If you loved someone with MS and saw the benefits they received from marijuana without the horrible side effects of prescription drugs you might start to think differently. Please visit our website at www.greenleafrelief.org for information on medical cannabis studies around the world. I believe if you educate your self on this subject you too will vote yes on prop 203
Posted: Saturday, August 21, 2010
Article comment by:
Trent Osborn
Umm no the law was written by the AZ chapter of the MPP. Why is it when ever there is a opinion piece against 203 the author can never get the facts right? Oh I know because there is no real reason to vote no. The author has to use lies to get there point across. Tell me this can a rental owner discrminate because the renter is on anti depressents? Or maybe that the renter uses the morning after pill? No they can't so what is so diffrent about medical marijuana? Please vote yes on 203 vote yes to end suffering.
