Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Monday he had signed legislation making New York the 23rd state to allow medical marijuana, calling his approach, which forbids smoking of the drug and includes strict limits, the "smartest" any state had taken so far.
"This new law takes an important step toward bringing relief to patients living with extraordinary pain and illness," Cuomo told a news conference at the New York Academy of Medicine, flanked by lawmakers and 9-year-old Amanda Houser, who suffers from seizures.
First of all, I support people's right to medical marijuana. I think that marijuana has plenty of medical benefits and should be legal for medical purposes.
Now the reason I don't support this legislation is because it forbids smoking of the medicine. I don't see what the problem in people smoking it is and I also don't see how it is remotely possible to enforce a ban on smoking it.
The other reason I don't support this legislation is because it is only for medical marijuana. It's 2014! There are already two states where marijuana is legal for recreational use. Who cares if people smoke weed just because they want to get high? It doesn't effect anyone other than the people smoking it. Marijuana is not even remotely bad for you.
I think the best approach to marijuana legalization is the approach that Colorado has taken. Make it legal for recreational use and tax it. Put a lower/no tax on marijuana sold under a medical prescription. In a situation like this everyone wins. People who need marijuana for medicine will get it, people can get stoned without having to worry about getting into legal money, states can generate money, and it will eliminate a lot of crime.
People are going to smoke weed whether it is legal or not and its much safer if they do it in a controlled setting. It's not going to cause the downfall of society or anything like that. Nothing bad will come of making marijuana legal.
I can't believe medical marijuana is still a taboo issue. I feel the law should have always been in effect throughout the entire country. Generally speaking marijuana isn't some stimulant design to damage the body like cocaine or heroine. All it does is relaxes the body. Sighs, some days I can't deal with certain governing bodies and their unwillingness to see common sense.
Quote:Marijuana dispensaries in Washington state began legally selling recreational weed on Tuesday morning, joining Colorado to officially become the second state in the country where adults can lawfully purchase pot.
Customers formed lines outside of retailers in the Pacific Northwest state early Tuesday as select shops planned to open their doors for the first time ever.
On Monday this week, state officials handed out licenses to 25 proprietors, clearing the way for recipients to begin selling weed 24 hours later. Early Tuesday, local media outlets were showing that some prospective buyers had begun lining up outside of dispensaries with the intention of being among the first Washingtonians to legally buy marijuana.
