The Chicago Flame is running a story on the most recent state in the USA to allow medical Marijuana; Michigan. Over the November election, Michigan became the 13th state in the United States Of America to allow sick and chronically ill people to seek a doctor's recommendation for Marijuana.

To keep medical marijuana illegal is to be contemptuous of science and our patients. Time and time again, marijuana has been shown to be safe and effective. Yet in 2004 Merck had to pull its anti-inflamatory drug Vioxx from the market after it killed an FDA-estimated 27,000. Surely if we allow such insufficiently tested drugs to be sold to the public, a plant that had been deemed by multiple authorities to be less dangerous than alcohol is safe enough. Our legislation regarding marijuana must have been authored by individuals who were either highly irrational, or let their offense at the youth culture and its attack on their generation's entrenched mores supercede expert medical opinion.

It's time for a change! Right on Michigan!

Attention: You are now free to float about the cabin.

Well, not yet, but maybe someday - that is, if Mason Tvert has anything to say about.

Tvert, a crusader for legalizing marijuana, has called for pot-smoking lounges in the nation's airports. His reason for doing goes beyond his cannabis liberation mission: He wants to help make flying safer.

"There's been this growing trend of alcohol-related air rage," he said Tuesday, alluding to episodes of drunken passengers creating in-flight disturbances.

The Dayton Daily News informs us that State Sen. Tom Roberts wants to legalize Marijuana for medicinal use.

"Our laws should reflect the latest in medical research, which has shown that medical cannabis has a variety of benefits for treating pain, nausea and other symptoms related to a wide range of disease," Roberts said in a prepared statement.

The plan would set up a state regulated system of care. The Health and Agriculture Departments would be authorized to set up an advisory board to:

• Consider granting medicinal use of cannabis in cases of debilitated medical conditions.

• Consider applications for and renewals of registry identification cards for qualified patients and primary caregivers.

• Provide recommendations for the safe use and efficient growing of medicinal cannabis.

Alright Ohio! Very progressive thinking you've got over there. I'm glad someone is recognizing the legit research being done on Marijuana and not the BS from the FDA.

I found this post on WashingtonWatch via reddit and thought our readers would be interested in this tidbit of information.

H.R. 5843 is described as an "Act to Remove Federal Penalties for Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults". The bill has been introduced by US Congressman Barney Frank (D-MA) and co-sponsored by US Presidential candidate Ron Paul (R-TX). If passed, this legislation would legalize the possession, use and non-for-profit of up to 100 grams (3.5 ounces) of Marijuana. Under this legislation, adults who consume Marijuana would no longer face arrest, prison or civil fines.

This bill will not affect federal laws prohibiting the sale of Marijuana for profit, nor the import, export and cultivation of Marijuana. It will also not alter the legal status of Marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug according to the Controlled Substances Act.

It seems that on 4/17/08 the act was referred to House committee as well as the Committee on Energy and Commerce, we will keep a close watch on this one. We'd have a kinder, gentler America with legalized Marijuana, as well as a cash surplus from taxing it.

"Not only should it be legalized, it should be mandatory." -Bill Hicks

"I do not believe that the federal government should treat adults who choose to smoke marijuana as criminals," Frank said in a statement, adding that it's "not appropriate in a free society."

It seems Frank's indulgences are limited to puffing on cigars between votes. He indicated last month on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher that he does not smoke marijuana

This is the first time that Frank has pulled for the decriminalization of personal pot use since he was in the state Legislature in the 1970s.

"When I got to Congress, frankly, I was feeling more cautious," Frank told Maher. "I finally got to the point where I think I can get away with it."

The New Hampshire House of Representatives' recent passing of Bill 1623, which would decriminalize the possession of a quarter-ounce of marijuana or less, is a logical - if controversial - decision, and one that the Daily supports.

New Hampshire would be the 13th state to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana. Under current New Hampshire law, possession of a quarter-ounce of marijuana is punishable by a $2,000 fine and up to a year in jail - a punishment that supporters of the bill say is too harsh.

Supporters hope users would grow their own plants, but in the interim until harvest, the marijuana would have to be bought off the street.

``We've got people who will be legally able to possess marijuana, but then they're going to be buying it from someone who is committing a felony,'' said Joseph Taylor, commander of the Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team, which targets illegal drug use in Kalamazoo County. ``I don't support that. That's a loophole that needs to be changed.''

Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank is proposing a bill that would remove federal penalties for possession and use of small amounts of marijuana.

Why do we need a federal bill?

Because the rest of the country is far behind Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Oregon in decriminalizing the herb, with Michigan on the verge of approving a similar bill. We need a federal bill because we need to put an end to this fruitless, expensive prohibition once and for all.

It didn't come as a huge shock to Bill Maher when Rep. Barney Frank announced on Real Time (Mar. 21) he plans to "file a bill as soon as we go back to remove all penalties for small amounts of marijuana." Barney Frank The two clearly had talked about this before the show.

The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws rebukes the addiction claim, citing a 1999 U.S. Institutes of Medicine report that shows less than 1 in 10 of marijuana users become regular smokers.

Putting that into context, the study states 15 percent of alcohol consumers and 32 percent of tobacco users exhibit signs of drug dependence.

NORML also states you can't die directly from a marijuana overdose.

Then there is drugwarfacts.org, which states there are plenty of other things that kill more people each year than marijuana use.

In 2000, there were 435,000 tobacco-related deaths in the United States, 365,000 attributable to poor diet and inactivity and 85,000 linked to alcohol.

That poses the question: Should alcohol be banned again? How about tobacco? Maybe fast-food restaurants instead of marijuana?