Letter to State Representative - please copy and send to yours!

I'm writing because I have been going to the Norml meetings the last few months as I have watched the 'green industry' grow out west and through several other states. I saw through the Tenneseans for Compassionate Care that our representatives needed to hear from Tenneseans themselves how they feel about the Koonzer- Kuhn Medical Cannabis Act (sp?). So here it goes.

My story includes many years in the medical field, both as clinical staff as well as management. I no longer work within the allopathic healthcare community, however I am still very interested in the health of our state. I am also a product of the 60's having grown up here in Tennessee through the 70's and watched our state grow and expand, change and evolve, as all cities do. 

I will start by providing a few links on scientific studies that have identified several uses for cannabis as a useful medication. These uses cover a vast list of symptoms and diseases that can be relieved or effected by the use of cannabis, whether it is smoked, vaporized, eaten or applied topically. These studies plus numerous others have shown that medical cannabis brings relief to patients, regardless whether they 'get high' or not, they get relief. Most patients report more relief from cannabis, than many other highly addictive and expensive medications.

Therapeutic Aspects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids
ROBSON: Br J Psychiatry, Volume 178().February 2001.107-115

Immunoactive cannabinoids: Therapeutic prospects for marijuana constituents Immunoactive cannabinoids: Therapeutic prospects for marijuana constituents

Preliminary assessment of the efficacy, tolerability and safety of a cannabis-based medicine (Sativex) in the treatment of pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis
Preliminary assessment of the efficacy, tolerability and safety of a cannabis-based medicine (Sativex) in the treatment of pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis -- Blake et al. 45 (1): 50 -- Rheumatology

US Patent 6132762 - Transcutaneous application of marijuana
Transcutaneous application of marijuana - US Patent 6132762 Abstract

The Endocannabinoid System as an Emerging Target of Pharmacotherapy
http://pharmrev.aspetjournals.org/cg...t/58/3/389.pdf

These are just a few of hundreds if not thousands of reports and articles from our medical and scientific communities.

Healthcare should include bringing the greatest amount of physical relief that we can to our sick and dying. With the Affordable Care Act looming in front of millions of people that are unable to afford the monthly premiums,  hundreds of thousands who do not qualify for tenncare, many if not all of the insurance companies not paying for medicines that cost the consumer exorbinate prices, physicians writing prescriptions requiring patients to go pick up injectable medications at a pharmacy and return to the clinic for the injection, these are just a few of the challenges those in our state face when trying to manage thier own healthcare.

There are many other points that must be brought to the table as well when discussing medical cannabis, things outside the healthcare arena.

Things such as the inconcievable incarceratoin rate that our state has, the enormous amounts of money spent on this system that just is not working for anyone.

The Court Dockets in all of our counties are over flowing with small possession cases.

The culture in our law enforcement of siezure and confiscation, now under the national eye.

The fact that cannabis has remained our number one cash crop for several years running even though it is illegal.

The fact that Tennessee has been the 2nd largest producer of outdoor cannabis for several years running, although it is still illegal in this state.

These things point to a reality that no one wants to admit, the cannabis industry is not only here to stay, it is growing right here in our very own state. DEA reports for the last several years have recognized Tennessee as not only a large producer of cannabis, but also an area where the trafficking of cannabis is very busy, one of the busiest places in the nation. Statitstics are quickly proving that prohibition is not reducing the amount of drugs available to the population, the underground blackmarket industry seems to be thriving here in Tennessee.

This illegal industry, that my tax dollars go to fight, investigate, prosecute, incarcerate, confiscate and sieze, should be paying our state in a way that all of our residents benefit from, rather than only those that line thier pockets with money to allow the illegal industry to continue to operate within this state. These 'criminals' that are growing and trafficking cannabis through our state should be paying taxes on this, those that are creating the market for the growing and trafficking should be paying taxes that are used to benefit our state, rather than cost our state more money in our state prisons.

The war on drugs is over, it has been lost, let us offer relief to the sick and dying, we must offer alternatives to the allopathic healthcare system that is collapsing in on itself with the introduction of the ACA. It is immoral to continue the prohibition on cannabis, and keep a life saving medicine from millions of Americans. It is immoral to continue arresting those that choose to use this as thier medication while we allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise on every form of media offered today. It is a breach of our human rights to eradicate nature, it is a transgression that goes beyond moral concepts. Man has come to such a place that we believe that we can eradicate nature at will, Man has decided that God made a mistake, we do not need this plant, we are not able to determine this for ourselves.

We are losing families, they are leaving to go to states where they have the choice of how to treat themselves. We are losing tax dollars, everytime someome is arrested rather than billed a tax. We are losing our children to disease and the treatments that our modern medicine brutally torture patients with. We are losing our politicians to the drug lords who pay more than citizen tax dollars. We are losing our law enforcement to a culture that promotes piracy on the highways.We are losing our schools to a very lucrative unregulated 'business' that operates within them every day. We are losing our greatest resource in Tennessee, our people, when we lock them up for reaching out for relief.

Please re-consider your stance on this medical cannabis bill, even though it is an election year, it is the morally right thing to do, it is the Godly thing to do.