They passed a proposition that is the most sensible of all the med-pot laws in the nation.
The creators of Proposition 203 wrote into the bill language that specifies that employers may not discriminate against registered patients unless that employer would lose money or licensing under federal law.
Employers also may not penalize registered patients solely for testing positive for marijuana in drug tests, although the law does not authorize patients to use, possess or be impaired by marijuana on the employment premises or during the hours of employment.
Conditions approved for a med-pot card include cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, ALS, Crohn's disease, Alzheimer's, cachexia or wasting syndrome, severe and chronic pain, severe nausea, seizures including epilepsy and severe or persistent muscle spasms, including multiple sclerosis.
Proposition 203 authors based their measure on a Michigan court case that involves a former Wal-Mart employee who obtained a medical marijuana card under that state’s compassionate use law.
Arizona med-pot proponents used that and other legal wranglings to beef up its law.
So now, in Arizona, which forces residents to carry citizenship documentation, it gives new meaning if a cop pulls you over and asks to see your papers.
Guess all you’ve got to do is hand him a Zig-Zag, flash your prescription and be on your way.
The question here, of course, is when the rest of the nation will finally figure out that marijuana is not the enemy. Fifteen states – Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington – and the District of Columbia have already approved med-pot. The feds, meanwhile, are reluctant to follow suit, despite the fact that the last three presidents we’ve had – including Obama – have been smokers and, even that stalwart of conservative politics, Ronald Reagan, copped to smoking a joint on a couple of occasions simply to see what it would do. They all seemed to be gainfully employed for some time, rose to prominence and held fairly responsible jobs. Why shouldn’t a Wal-Mart worker be given the same consideration?
All it would take is for a simple signature, reclassifying marijuana in the schedule of drugs.
Californians were on the right track recently when they placed a measure on the ballot to completely legalize weed for not only medicinal but recreational purposes, supporting their position by pointing at the billions of dollars in tax revenue it would generate.
Imagine what that would translate to on a national level.
The disappointing thing is that Babyboomers, who are probably the most familiar with marijuana, have not come out in representative numbers to support such legislation.
It’s time to kick the myths, fears and cultural influences that have forced marijuana underground for so long to the curb.
After all, it’s 4:20 somewhere.
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