I think that's a great endgame, but consider this: Marijuana is so controversial due to all the government-produced misinformation about it that somehow we've convinced a lot of people that even 80 year old cancer patients shouldn't have access to it... that Vicodin is somehow a safer and less addictive painkiller...

If people believe that, recreational legalization is a long way off. I'd say getting medical legalization is the proper beginning as it will finally blow the cover off of the propaganda, as people will begin to see that grandma won't go on a killing spree after a THC tincture. Once the critics see that firsthand, recreational legalization is suddenly more palatable.

http://o-mm.org (Ohioans for Medical Marijuana)

Big Pharms and other manufacturing dont want this to happen because of all the profits they would lose. What? Give the people the ability to take care of themselves...*gasp*. Just like big pharm want a big chunk of the health food industry and stop the sales of food suppliments, herbs and vitamins. Plus all the other side products like soaps, oils, cosmetics, paper and clothing. Gosh, this could take our reliance off oil companies....Oh say it aint so..... And believe me it is less expensive for those herbal remedies than the stupid meds the doc perscribes, then has to perscribe yet another med to counter the side effects of the first. Seriously? I found my blood pressure meds cause diabetes....I consumed more olive oil in my diet and Im off the meds and saving a bundle....take that big pharm!

That's a big 10-4 Indigogal!

My friends grandfather was dying of cancer some years back. He could not hold anything down and was in real bad shape. The doctor never actually said get him some pot but he hinted around it. So we did. And his grandfather, a career military man who raised a beautiful, successful, smart, hard working family smoked the pot and actually got a few meals in, and held down, before he died. RIP Pop, you would be proud of your family.

He needs to call Syllvia Brown and ask her if this will pass or not.

Everyone knows Montel like to fire one up, but I wonder if Dave Chappelle would back legalizin pot.

Yes, it's big pharma. Legalized marijuana would eliminate the need for so many other, artificial, synthetic drugs, and big pharma would be out of so much money. Every sensible person knows marijuana needs to be legalized and we know why. Too much money is involved.

Actually, it's not "Big Pharma" but a lack of enforcement in general. How are you gonna quantify stoned drivers? People that are high (myself included) think and say, "I drive better when I'm a little irie," but they are dead wrong, and they kill people.

You can't legalize something that you can't "enforce" and part of that enforcement is being able to ensure safety (driving, machinery, surgery, etc).

Nahhhh, that's a copout easily dismissed with the word "beer." We don't ban alcohol, seems like a strange double standard.

It actually happens quite frequently with articles of various types on various subjects, depending on the article's content, and not because of any agenda.

Marijuana is a hotbed issue, hence it appears in the "Explore" section at the top of the page. It's also a political issue as it's something that's popping up in many states and typically has to be voted on in some way. Lastly, Montel Williams is a former talk show host who has been outspoken about his fight with MS, so it makes perfect sense for it to also appear in the "Entertainment" section of MSN's page.

Are you feeling a little less pressured by this imaginary agenda now?

OMG!! They've now added it to the "Health" section of MSN!!

Will they ever stop trying to make us smoke pot? Damn you, MSN!!! Where will you be trying to force it on us next? The "World" section because people smoke it elsewhere in the world?? Please, make it stop!!!!!!!!

I hope you're just feeling sillier and sillier, Steven B, if you have the guts and stayed on to read others' posts here.

What a bold statement!

I agree with that because of first-hand reasons. I am 67 and have severe osteoarthritis. I have had one knee replacement and will probably have another before the end of the year. There is also the probability of a hip and shoulder replacements somewhere down the line.

My arthritis causes me a huge amount of pain, especially on cold rainy days such as today. And I cannot get much relief because I have a pseudo-allergy to all opiates. That means that drugs like morphine bind to mast cells instead of to the opiate receptors in the brain. This means that I get no pain relief and instead get a histamine release and allergy symptoms.

I have cobbled together what I can do for pain so that I can stay active. I use heat a lot and a TENS unit when I can and NSAIDs daily, but heat and TENS are not always an option (such as in a movie theater.) And NSAIDs can cause GI problems when taken over a long period as I am doing.

The symptoms of the allergy cause me the most problems in that I can not take painkillers after about noon or I cannot sleep at night and itch like my skin is coming off. When I do not get a good night's sleep, it reduces my coping ability the next day.

So what I so is take about 2-3 hits of weed from a vaporizer just before bedtime. This gives me considerable pain relief and I am able to get to sleep. Once I am asleep I can usually stay asleep pretty well.

I see nothing wrong with what I am doing. You can buy synthetic variants of THC on Amazon and have it delivered to your house by mail. They are legal and almost as effective as THC for those who might think that I am some sort of stoner scofflaw. And unlike opiates, there is zero risk of physical addiction with marijuana.

I favor legalization immediately for legitimate medical purposes and also favor legalization for recreational use as well. I favor legalizing recreational use because otherwise it is too easy for law enforcement to blur the line between medicinal and recreational use and go after easy target such as people with MS.

You go, Chris. I am glad you have found something that works for you. You sound like you would be fun to hang out with, not because you "hit the bong" but because of your open mind.

The biggest problem is there is no test. Drunk driving give a blow and the police know just how drunk you are...pot has no such test. Until someone can come up with a test that can be given car side, its not going to be legal. That is the problem. I have suffered from cronic pain for over thirty years, and nothing works like Gods weed. I do not condone it for all, but for myself it has allowed me to stay active and enjoy a quality of life I would not have otherwise. I tried the "legal " avenue, hated walking around in a fog all day. Some cronic always does the trick.

Just teach the cops to tell bad jokes; if the suspect laughs, then they are high. ;-)

i agree, however although i think they could generate SOME taxes i dont think it would be the windfall that most people think for the government.

I like most people i know would simply grow our own if it were legal,,i think it would end up in a sharing frenzy,,,,i would trade you an ounce of what i grew for an ounce of what you grew and so on and so on...lol

but i think you are right on with the incarceration part.

the problem i have whenever people start talking about legalizing pot is that most of the time they dont say pot,,they say drugs.

coke,meth,herion,crack,ice,,these drugs should be heavely inforced with extream penalities,,because they and others like them can simply destroy a country. when someone runs out of pot its no big deal but with the others i mentioned the addicted will simply rob and kill people to get more.

not to mention if everyone could legaly grow or buy their pot it would be one less thing to make the cartels rich,because noone would buy their pot...lol

just my 2

i disagree, you can grow your own tobacco legally, who does? the government windfall would come from the masses of lazy Americans (i'm not pointing fingers, i'm a happy one of you) who prefer to spend more for convenience than actually do any work, even for a superior product. If the pharmaceutical companies were smart, they would be buying up the rights to strains, and pushing for legalization, so that those who wanted to grow had to buy from their seed banks, and those that don't would have to buy directly for them. no one's going to go pick ditch weed, if they can buy a bag of Alaskan Thunderf*** for twenty bucks.

Actually Michelle.... i've been hearing rumors that the cigarette companies have already started trademarking strain names. Not sure if that's a fact.... but it wouldn't surprise me in the least.

For me growing is a hobby that has turned into a pretty profitable business. And i think you're right on the money as far as the big corps. trying to stay on top. I'm glad I got into it when i did, because the train is pulling away from the station as we speak.

michelle,,,well that may be true if i were able to collect a seed or 2 from a pack of smokes,,and also pot is a WEED it will pretty much grow anywhere all on its own.

not sure about tobacco,,,guess im going to have to research where to buy tobacco seeds and how to grow it.

yes, it can grow anywhere, but that doesn't mean it's going to be the quality of smokable that people want. i've done my fair share of growing. if you want high quality, you don't get your pot from the side of the road.

Your grandfather probably would've been better off smoking the marijuana, as this dilates the arteries and lowers blood pressure (the opposite of smoking tobacco). Brownies are dangerous for heart patients because they contain high amounts of fat. Hopes this suggestion helps anyone with cardiac problems!

Do you see people in these positions that have been drinking? If not, then why would you think they would be allowed to use pot on the job? I can't believe you think a PILOT would drink before flying! How absurd!

Oh.......wait a minute.....they HAVE been caught drinking on the job. Well thank God they were only drunk and not high! It could have been dangerous if they were high.

As a fishing guide we have to take drug tests just like taxi drivers if you carry people on a boat ..Pilots I don't know I don't fly

Employers will still not allow drug use on the job. It's not like there will be pot parties in the taxi dispatch areas. Nor will you see pilots lighting up in the cockpit.

However, you will still see people in a stupor at work from thier FDA approved pain killers.

No recreational drugs for these people, but if they have a few Bud(weisers) or some Jack Daniels after work that's ok? Rather see someone in these jobs smoke a little weed and wake up in the morning capable of doing their job safely, rather than being hungover from one too many drinks the night before.

I know of many people on State Aid and every one of them smoke pot. Some of them have medical marijuana cards. All of them sell pot. Many of them sell their Food Stamps for cash to buy more pot. Your tax dollars at work getting people high.

Ron-398986 lies.

Ron, shut up as no one, most of all me, wants to read your made-up, crap-filled diatribes full of nothing!

Ron-398986 doesn't like pot smokers!

We're all pretty clear on that, so leave the poor, dead horse alone already!!!!!!!

that is NOT what it is about moron.

Agreed trout! All though the law here in Cali permits growing.

Send those drones my way, sounds like good target practice,,but then I would be called a terrorist, and have my ass handed to me by my government,who sends drones to spy on me.

So you carded everyone who entered and reviewed their medical documents? So since you don't see any outward displays of illness, they are all faking?

If you see no need for it, why do you still go to the dispensaries? Why support a system you are against.

The word "everyone" you were sure to place in all caps causes your statement to lose all credibility. That and the fact you are still using the dispensaries that you state are just a money mill. You can't both support and be against something at the same time.

I hate that type of comment, "They don't look sick." I don't either, but can't eat proberly due to my stomach condition. I am at a high risk for malnutrition, but my body gose into starvation mode, holding on to every calorie that I take in. Because of that I am overweight, so I don't look sick. That led to over seven years of suffering before being diagnosed because noone belived I was unable to eat without pain or nausea. Not everyone who is ill looks sick. Not everyone who deals with chronic pain looks sick. Don't be such a judgmental jerk.

Legalize it ! Good for medication AND recreation.

My girlfriend, who's been dealing with chemo and is preparing for surgery for her Stage IV breast cancer would whole-heartedly agree with you, and we are in the fight with you and your husband.

It has been legalized here in Michigan, but the DEA is still interfering and our laws are so jumbled, unclear, and just overall poorly written so we've encountered many problems.

Too many of the prescribed drugs made her feel worse than the cancer and chemo did to begin with, but the medical marijuana gives her an appetite, relieves her pain, calms her nerves, and helps her relax and sleep. It has been a literal life-saver.

I've worked with many doctors in my career over the years who have been crying out for the laws against marijuana to be erased. The reason for the continued illegalization of this medicinal substance is simple rampant, malignant propaganda - one of the worst cancers to plague mankind.

I challenge any naysayers to watch both the original and send-up, mocking versions of "Reefer Madness", and you'll see much more merit in the modern, musical version than you will in the original which was intended as an utterly serious ultimate warning of some kind to the evil ills of pot and the mayhem it would bring about, and now it's nothing but an archaic, embarrassing joke, just like the laws that keep this beneficial, NATURAL "drug" illegal.

There have been some recent studies which have shown just the opposite. The smoke does contain some carcinogens but the effect was that usage was a deterent to many forms of cancer. We waste a lot of money fighting a was we can never wind. We have made criminals out of hard working, tax paying and responsible citizens who are closet users. Lot of green grease applied to Congress and state legislatures by the Pharmceutical companies, the law enforcement lobby, organized crime and other vested entities to keep it illegal.

You need to do some research. There has NEVER been a single case of ANYONE getting cancer or dying in any way from use of cannabis. It just doesn't happen.

Tobacco is a completely different plant from cannabis. Tobacco leeches heavy metals out of the soil, and holds them in the fibers of the plant. When the plant is burned, all kinds of toxic chemicals are released, and in fact, get more hazardous when they are burned. Tobacco is also a vaso-constrictor, which shrinks membranes and vessels that it comes in contact with.

Cannabis, on the other hand, is a vaso-dialator, it opens up passages it comes in contact with, which is why your eyes get red. MORE blood flows, so there is more possibility for healing. Blood flow is what causes healing. There are also tests and studies that the Spanish have done recently that show that cannabis is much closer to a CURE for cancer than an instigator of it, shrinking brain cancer tumors faster and more safely than any drug out there currently.

Even IF cannabis were implicated in cancer, so what? No one gets out of here alive, do they? We allow people to drink, which kills about 150,000 Americans a year, to smoke tobacco, which kills 450,000 of us a year, or to take prescription drugs, which by some accounts cost us 200,000 Americans per year, but we lock up people for smoking cannabis? Find ONE person on ANY list that shows someone, ANYWHERE who died from cannabis use. The feds don't have such a list, nor does ANY state, because NO ONE DIES FROM IT. The hypocrisy is astonishing.

I think that you are right on target and stated the case perfectly. Lets legalize marijuana and stop wasting time and money fighting something that is no worse than alcohol. Alcohol and marijuana should be treated with the same penalties under the law and have the rules governing use.

Absolutely. I'm 60 years old. I grew up in the Texas panhandle. I was at ANY parties in my younger years. I never saw a fight when people were smoking. Alcohol - well that's another matter!

you ever get Twinkie cream in your eye?? i'm just sayin... :P

I bet you liked it!

Here is a story...newlywed couple having there first dinner, wife cooks a ham, before she puts it in the oven she cuts it in half and sets it in two seperate pans...new hubby asked why? Wife states, " Thats how mom does it" When hubby calls mom in law to ask why she says " thats how my mom did it" then hubby calls grandma and askes. " Well she says, when I first got married I did not have a pan big enough for a whole ham." Morral...just because its the way its always been done does not make it right. Thats were the Gov is with this one.