Tim Pawlenty doesn't believe in medical marijuana - thinks users should be arrested

TechBoyJK

Lifer
Oct 17, 2002
16,699
60
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http://stopthedrugwar.org/speakeasy/2011/may/23/will_tim_pawlentys_crazy_ideas_a

Someone has to finally stand up and level with the American people. Someone has to lead. I will.” So says [4] newly announced Republican Presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty, who believes that people who are dying from serious illnesses deserve to be arrested if they use the marijuana for relief:

Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoed a bill to legalize marijuana for terminally ill patients late Friday evening, saying he sides with law enforcement opposition to the bill.
…
Joni Whiting, whose testimony of finding marijuana for her dying daughter brought tears to many legislators’ eyes, had harsh words for Pawlenty.

"The governor thinks I’m a criminal for allowing my daughter some comfort during the last months of her life," she said. "I don't know how he sleeps at night, but I do know I'm not giving up until others in my daughter's situation are protected." (Minnesota Independent [5])

If nothing else, Pawlenty can at least be remembered as having taken a bold stand for what he believed in, which in this case was the right to imprison people with months to live. It's a sickening position to take, but at least he did it for a legitimate reason (some cops told him to). Ok, this is hard to spin, actually.

A 2010 poll showed [6] Republican support for medical marijuana at 72% (and that's without narrowing it down to only covering dying patients in a failed attempt to stop stupid Tim Pawlenty from vetoing it). Marijuana policy in general isn't exactly the top issue among voters on the right, but it's gained tremendous momentum in recent years. Ron Paul and Gary Johnson have proven that supporting reform of marijuana laws can create significant support from previously alienated republican voters, and their growing bandwagon will be eager to discuss subjects such as Pawlenty's bone-headed opposition to even the strictest possible medical marijuana law.

The number of swing votes tied directly to the marijuana policy debate has never been larger than it is today and if the GOP is serious about winning back the White House in 2012, it really might be a good idea to choose a candidate who is better than Obama when it comes to fixing harsh marijuana laws. That person is not Tim Pawlenty.

I already thought this guy was a douche, this just confirms it. How can he take this position and expect to win?
 

fskimospy

Elite Member
Mar 10, 2006
85,951
51,437
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Tim Pawlenty attempts to appeal to Republican primary voters, news at 11.

Republican primary voters, particularly those in Iowa, are ultra, ultra conservative. I bet if you looked at Iowa Republican primary voter support for medical marijuana, it sucks.
 

Linflas

Lifer
Jan 30, 2001
15,395
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The only announced candidate from either party that has spoken intelligently regarding our so called war on drugs is Ron Paul.
 

MotF Bane

No Lifer
Dec 22, 2006
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So again, a Republican that panders to the base, will get the rabid fringe, and the independents will go vote for someone else. Either that, or he's really an idiot, and that panders to the base, and repeat previous sentence.
 

Genx87

Lifer
Apr 8, 2002
41,091
513
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This happened two years ago while he was actually gov of MN.

That said it is a sad situation we cant start dismantling the war on drugs as no serious contender from either party is willing to do so.
 

ayabe

Diamond Member
Aug 10, 2005
7,449
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Law enforcement opposition? That almost sounds like the Maine mural thing, where a single anonymous letter to the governor became an imaginary hoard of people wanting the mural taken down.

Whatever he needs to cover his ass I guess.
 

xj0hnx

Diamond Member
Dec 18, 2007
9,262
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we cant start dismantling the war on drugs as no serious contender from either party is willing to do so.

Sure we can, it has nothing to do with presidential candidates, and everything to do with being the right thing to do for the country on so many levels it boggles the mind.
 

woolfe9999

Diamond Member
Mar 28, 2005
7,153
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Law enforcement opposition? That almost sounds like the Maine mural thing, where a single anonymous letter to the governor became an imaginary hoard of people wanting the mural taken down.

Whatever he needs to cover his ass I guess.

No, law enforcement almost universally opposes medical marijuana, or any softening of marijuana prohibition. It's probably true in almost every municipality in the USA. It's in their economic interests. I'm sure Pawlenty was telling the truth about law enforcement's opposition to it. The laws prohibiting drugs are also essentially the Full Employment For Police Act.
 

TechBoyJK

Lifer
Oct 17, 2002
16,699
60
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Sure we can, it has nothing to do with presidential candidates, and everything to do with being the right thing to do for the country on so many levels it boggles the mind.

Exactly. Congress could end the war on drugs. Many states are now lobbying against congress to get things changed, not the president.

Simply rescheduling the drug would go a long way. The way it is now, the scheduling is a sham because many drugs aren't scheduled according to any scientific fact, they are clearly scheduled by ideological standards.

Just like pot, cocaine has a lot of medical uses and many organizations still acknowledge it.

Like any drug, if it's unregulated, and left up to the black market to distribute and produce, the quality is going to undesirable. Most of what people fear about drugs is a sole product of their illegality.

Cocaine is bad because it's illegal, and it's illegal because it's bad. Regulate cocaine, and leave the production up to a licensed lab/plant and people won't be over dosing as much, or dying unexpectingly since the purity and integrity is going to be consistent and people can better gauge how they use it. Just like alcohol. I can look at a can and it tells me how much alcohol by volume it has. I know that if I drink 40 cans I will deathly ill.

I could do the same for cocaine if there was a label telling me what I had. As it is now, it's just a crap shoot. (i haven't touched coke in years).
 

EagleKeeper

Discussion Club Moderator<br>Elite Member
Staff member
Oct 30, 2000
42,589
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Medical MJ shot itself in the foot by allowing everyone to climb aboard with imagined/false problems.

It was warned that such would happened; many MJ advocates openly stated as such and then went around describing how to circumvent the system.

Even here on AT; people admit to abusing the system because they can.

Put a bad taste in peoples mouths over the complete MMJ discussion.
 

MotF Bane

No Lifer
Dec 22, 2006
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Medical MJ shot itself in the foot by allowing everyone to climb aboard with imagined/false problems.

It was warned that such would happened; many MJ advocates openly stated as such and then went around describing how to circumvent the system.

Even here on AT; people admit to abusing the system because they can.

Put a bad taste in peoples mouths over the complete MMJ discussion.

MMJ is not a solution itself, IMO. It's just the first step towards legalization.
 

xj0hnx

Diamond Member
Dec 18, 2007
9,262
3
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Medical MJ shot itself in the foot by allowing everyone to climb aboard with imagined/false problems.

It was warned that such would happened; many MJ advocates openly stated as such and then went around describing how to circumvent the system.

Even here on AT; people admit to abusing the system because they can.

Put a bad taste in peoples mouths over the complete MMJ discussion.

I would completely agree with this statement if I thought medical marijuana should be legalized, but since I think all weed should be legal, as well as heroin, cocaine, as well as pretty much any other drug, than I'll just say, I told ya so (not that I told you in particular, but I did tell lots of people long ago when everyone started jumping on medical pot for whatever reason that it would cause a backlash).
 

xj0hnx

Diamond Member
Dec 18, 2007
9,262
3
76
Like any drug, if it's unregulated, and left up to the black market to distribute and produce, the quality is going to undesirable. Most of what people fear about drugs is a sole product of their illegality.

Cocaine is bad because it's illegal, and it's illegal because it's bad. Regulate cocaine, and leave the production up to a licensed lab/plant and people won't be over dosing as much, or dying unexpectingly since the purity and integrity is going to be consistent and people can better gauge how they use it. Just like alcohol. I can look at a can and it tells me how much alcohol by volume it has. I know that if I drink 40 cans I will deathly ill.

I could do the same for cocaine if there was a label telling me what I had. As it is now, it's just a crap shoot. (i haven't touched coke in years).

I personally have three friends that would be alive right now if they had access to regulated drugs instead of scoring some insanely pure dope. These weren't weekend warrior kids either, they were hardcore, long time users that just got the wrong stuff. This kind of shit has claimed MANY lives in the Bay Area too, Chicago as well, other places I'm sure. This isn't even counting people I know that are chronic pain patients that have diverted to illegal drugs because doctors are too scared to prescribe them enough, or the right kind of, meds to even stabilize their pain, much less fight it. The WoD™ has closed down so many doctors, and put patients in jail, and has a lot of completely legitimate doctors too scared to write prescriptions.
 

EagleKeeper

Discussion Club Moderator<br>Elite Member
Staff member
Oct 30, 2000
42,589
5
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MMJ is not a solution itself, IMO. It's just the first step towards legalization.

The problem is that is was mishandled or the idea was hijacked to the point that the abuse of it overrides the benefits in the public eye.

What was to be a door opener has been not able to be turned into a slam shut.
 

PokerGuy

Lifer
Jul 2, 2005
13,650
201
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One sided site with one sided commentary is fail. Just because he vetoed that bill doesn't mean anything. Perhaps he doesn't want his state to become a situation like cali where every dopehead claims the "medical" use loophole.

Most people don't have any problem with true medical use (I see it as no different than any other prescription drug), but the dopeheads hijacked that one a long time ago, ruining it for real medical need users.

Pawlenty is starting to look better every day.
 

piasabird

Lifer
Feb 6, 2002
17,168
60
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The real problem is the federal government does not enforce the current drug laws and refuses to change them. However, any time they choose to enforce the laws on the books they can arrest anyone they want with marijuana in any amount and charge them under federal laws with a felony charge that will follow them everywhere they go and make it hard to get any kind of job.

This can lead to selective prosecution based the personal whim of federal agents, and the public policy depending which way the political wind is blowing. This is similar to how they enforce immigration policy. If you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, too bad for you.

Medical marijuana is just a big lie. Most people are just abusing the law to get high, Duhhhh!!!!! It would be more honest to just legalize growing and using it for personal use. While I would not rush to the local nursery to get some plants of my own or buy it, I would not be against legalizing it. That does not mean you could not still be arrested for driving under the infuence, just like any alcoholic.
 
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xj0hnx

Diamond Member
Dec 18, 2007
9,262
3
76
One sided site with one sided commentary is fail. Just because he vetoed that bill doesn't mean anything. Perhaps he doesn't want his state to become a situation like cali where every dopehead claims the "medical" use loophole.

Most people don't have any problem with true medical use (I see it as no different than any other prescription drug), but the dopeheads hijacked that one a long time ago, ruining it for real medical need users.

Pawlenty is starting to look better every day.

Sounds more and more like an idiot on the issue in every thing I read him saying about it.

Pawlenty, who in 2008 set an apparent single-year record for most vetoes by a Minnesota governor, indicated in a letter that he was torn by the medical marijuana legislation. He said that while he was "sympathetic to those dealing with end-of-life illnesses," he felt marijuana poses "serious public safety and health risks." Legalizing marijuana, even under limited conditions, "could serve to compound these problems," he wrote.
 

Fern

Elite Member
Sep 30, 2003
26,907
173
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Gov. Tim Pawlenty vetoed a bill to legalize marijuana for terminally ill patients late Friday evening, saying he sides with law enforcement opposition to the bill.

Assuming the above is true (and that's hard to say given the obvious slant of the article) I don't see why anyone would veto something for terminally ill patients. Terminally ill patients are often given much stronger opiate drugs, WTH could a little weed hurt?

Strikes me as a bad move on all fronts, including politically.

And WTH is with the police objection to pot for terminally ill patients? That makes no sense either.

Fern
 
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PokerGuy

Lifer
Jul 2, 2005
13,650
201
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Assuming the above is true (and that's hard to say given the obvious slant of the article) I don't see why anyone would veto something for terminally ill patients. Terminally ill patients are oftem given much stronger opiate drugs, WTH could a little weed hurt?

Strikes me as a bad move on all fronts, including politically.

And WTH is with the police objection to pot for terminally ill patients? That makes no sense either.

Fern

The bill says nothing about "terminally ill" patients, it's probably a bill regarding "medical use". The dopeheads just want to use the "look at this poor sick person, you evil guy!" emotional argument.