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The inscription on the Statue of Liberty reads...
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."
They forgot " Give me your ill, disabled, pain ridden and dying"
when this inscription was originally written. In a country so full of great
things and people, with such a rich heritage of helping those who can't help
themselves, it's hard to believe that things have gotten so bad. The stories
of those persecuted for seeking relief from their torment strikes a chord in
the hearts of even the most cynical, yet the beat goes on. Another politician
busted for lying, Anna Nicole's death and funeral, conditions at military hospitals
and the V.A., Hillary Barack Mccain Kucinich and Giuliani, inundate me from
6 different news channels, but not a word about any of the dozen or so studies
recently released confirming the medical benefits of marijuana. The only story
about cannabis is two teens who videoed themselves smoking with babies. Negative
publicity from a lying government that holds the media outlets in it's sad little
hands, so eager to prosecute those that are hopeless, yet Scooter Libby will
wind up with a "Get out of jail free" card in the end. How did it
ever get so bad? In the beginning of this great country, politicians were eager
and proud to serve the people that elected them, frequently travelling for weeks
to return to the home of their constituency, just to get their point of view
and to represent their wishes in the bigger scheme of things. In world war II,
politicians were paid $1.00 per year, a rate they voted on themselves. In the
1968, president Johnson refused to seek re-election because his conscience tortured
him so over a war he inherited. Jimmy Carter was pounded in the 1970's for trying
to do what was right; at least history remembers him more favorably. Giving
of themselves was expected, and gladly they gave.
We now live in an electronic age where information is available at the touch
of a fingertip, but people have become so jaded and lazy that they just accept
the pablum foisted upon them by a corrupt legislature. The outing of a C.I.A.
operative by political rivals who were trying to discredit her husband, a lie
told to the world to support war on a country that was better left to it's own
devices, a losing drug war that keeps getting more expensive every year, and
the ill and dying who are treated as criminals when they are actually victims.
Victims of prosecution, victims of criminal activity, victims of just plain
bad luck. These are major causes for concern, yet the culprits are allowed to
continue to rule this country as if they were owed something. Bad choices are
becoming commonplace in this day of instant gratification and forgiveness. All
you have to say is that you were molested, or drink too much, or had too much
pressure on you, and you can walk away from nearly any crime or mistake without
a backward glance. We are so eager to forgive, but where is this compassion
when it comes to medical marijuana? The legitimacy of a medicine should not
be decided by politicians or voters (although the latest numbers show that between
70% to 80% of americans support medicalized marijuana), it should be decided
by doctors and scientists, and I don't mean that den of thieves and liars that
make up the FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services (who are currently
being sued for lying about the medical benefits of cannabis by Americans for
Safe Access and others).
Will we ever get back to what made this country great in the first place?
How a people treat the aged, infirm, and dying, tells a great deal about where
their moral center lies, and right now it doesn't look so good for the U.S.A.
No matter what your religion or belief, it is just wrong to prosecute those
who are only seeking relief from pain and suffering. Changing the minds of those
that have been lied to for generations is hard and time consuming, but you can
help. Call or write your government representatives and insist on congressional
hearings about the benefits of medical marijuana. Support ASA, Norml, the OPN,
or whatever state organization is active where you live and insist on the truth
about possibly the safest and most universal medicine ever discovered, Cannabis.
Please support the Ohio Patient Network.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnqRWiqWNeM
Michael Boop
Cridersville, Ohio
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