Author: Matt Witemyre

Opponents of Proposal 1 have falsely claimed that the initiative would allow “pot shops” to spring up. Opponents have also falsely claimed it will allow employees to use marijuana in the workplace, in hospital waiting rooms and prevent employers from initiating disciplinary action against employees using medical marijuana on the job. None of these claims have any factual basis.

“To disagree with Proposal 1 is fine, and we welcome an honest debate that helps Michigan voters make an informed decision”, said Dianne Byrum, spokesperson for the Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care. “But this cynical attempt to deceive the voters of Michigan into thinking Proposal 1 is something it’s not must stop. These are deplorable tactics, and they’re at the expense of seriously ill patients.”

Opponents of Proposal 1 believe that Dr. Wagoner should have been arrested and jailed for making the compassionate choice.  How does that “protect kids” in any way?  

Please visit www.stoparrestingpatients.org for more information on this important proposal.

Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care sets the facts straight on Proposal 1 opponents’ lies:

A group opposing Proposal 1 has issued press releases containing factual errors designed to mislead the news media and Michigan voters. Here are the facts:

MYTH: Proposal 1 would allow the opening of “pot shops” in Michigan like California.
FACT: The Michigan law does not allow this.

MYTH: Proposal 1 would cost taxpayers by funding a “new Lansing bureaucracy.”
FACT: Patients who qualify will be required to register with the state Department of Community Health for a photo ID card and must pay annual registration fees, which will cover all costs.

MYTH: Proposal 1 will result in “greater access to drugs for teenagers across Michigan.”
FACT: Teen marijuana use has gone down dramatically in medical marijuana states, official state surveys show.

MYTH: “We have scientifically tested pharmaceuticals that are proven effective.”
FACT: Marinol is a synthetic form of only one of 66 compounds in marijuana. Studies indicate compounds other than THC also offer relief. Pills are not practical for chemotherapy patients who vomit constantly.

MYTH: Proposal 1 would allow use of marijuana without a doctor’s prescription.
FACT: Proposal 1 requires the written recommendation of a licensed physician.

MYTH: Proposal 1 would “allow a flood of lawsuits over things such as whether doctors and hospitals must allow patients to smoke marijuana in a doctor’s office or hospital room, despite every other law banning smoking.”
FACT: Current anti-smoking ordinances will continue to be enforced under Proposal 1, which has a provision prohibiting smoking marijuana on any form of public transportation or in any public place. There has been no flood of lawsuits in any of the 12 states that permit the use of medical marijuana.

MYTH: Some oppose Proposal 1 because “smoking anything, including marijuana is harmful.”
FACT: Smoking is not the only method of ingesting marijuana. Doctors do not have to recommend it if they do not feel it would be an effective treatment.

If you support Proposal 1, the medical marijuana initiative in Michigan, or medical marijuana in general, please check out this video from www.stoparrestingpatients.org

This is who opponents of Michigan’s Proposal 1 say should go to prison… to “protect our kids.”

I cross-posted this at Diatribune.  I also originally wrote this at my blog, ScaryShit.  So, here goes:

I don’t know if anyone read Digby’s post from early this week, but for right now, would anyone be interested in helping me with some Hatch Act stuff?

This government explanation of the Hatch Act?

This video and the Drug Czar last year?

This claim by MPP?

This video and the Clark County Commission?

This lawsuit being dismissed and it’s implications?

Digby, if you happen to see this post, might you be able to tie together a few threads, better than this guy’s marijuana-addled mind? It seems to me that the links that I posted here, and this post is kinda important as well.  Anyone willing to take a crack at this?

(sorry, I can’t do html, links for this post are found at my main blog, http://www.scaryshit.blogspot.com go there to find usable links to the DNC, ACLU, etc.)

Money is power, money is speech, money is the only thing that most political hacks understand.

So, while the congress is out of session, until August 31, why don’t we make a pledge to raise a million dollars for the ACLU.  Seriously.  How many tens of millions of dollars have the Democratic presidential candidates raised so far this year?

Why should you donate to the ACLU?  Because they get shit done.  Also, to send a message to the DNC.  Every dollar you donate to the ACLU is a dollar the Democrats don’t get, because they folded on FISA (among countless other issues).

For the past four years, some of the most powerful politicians in America have made it their mission to accumulate unchecked government power, relentlessly undermining civil liberties. In unprecedented ways, they are invading our privacy, undermining our Constitution and squelching dissent. All too frequently, they are shamelessly using the “war on terror” as cover for their assault.

Time and again, the ACLU and its members have shown that we can be successful in defending freedom even in the current inhospitable climate. We have built bipartisan congressional support for eliminating certain unwarranted, dangerous provisions of the Patriot Act, and we have inspired a resounding chorus of diverse voices, individuals and community groups all across the country, calling for measures to reverse the government’s unjustified overreaching and to restore our precious freedoms.We have challenged the Patriot Act in court and won. We have squelched numerous government programs designed to spy on Americans. We have won legal victories curtailing executive power. We have defeated the first-ever federal abortion ban in court.
True to its history, the ACLU will continue to build on these successes, and will remain unwavering in our determination and commitment to defending freedom.

Here’s the challenge.  Donate to the ACLU.  Let the DNC know that you did this.  Email me, with the header “I donated.”  I will keep track of the donations.

If we want to do this for real, we have to work together.  I propose that we make it a challenge to get an ACLU fundraising post on every major blogger’s site.  I will get the ball rolling, I challenge Avedon Carol, Booman, and Digby.  Not for any particular reason other than they are three bloggers that I enjoy, and I think do good work.  Help me spread the meme.  Email this post to your favorite blogger, or write your own post challenging people to donate to the ACLU (I’m talking to you, CrazyMonk and LudditeRobot, Pruning Shears, in particular.) and then challenge three other bloggers to take up the meme.  We have 18 days to raise a million for the ACLU.  Can we make it happen?  I think so.