Larry Long, not a fan of ‘Getting Mongolian’ when dying of Cancer
Bob Newland brings us up to date on his fight with AG Larry Long. Though I support Newland’s measure, it doesn’t surprise me Long opposed it, he is our Attorney General and responsible for upholding the law. Marijuana is still illegal by Federal standards, no matter what you use it for. I don’t think you will get him to budge on it.
There is some irony here though. Long had no problem helping the anti-choicers write an abortion measure that was unconstitutional, so why the refusal to help with this measure?
It’s all about priorities I guess. The wrong priorities.
Listen to the program below;
Jan. 6, 2009
Today I engaged in a discussion for an hour with Larry Long, the Attorney General of South Dakota on So. Dak. Public Radio’s Midday Show, on the issue of SDSA’s proposed medical cannabis law.
You can listen to the archived show atÂ
http://www.sdpb.org/Archives/ProgramDetail.asp?ProgID=7583
After several mentions by the A-G of sections of our proposal with which he disagreed, during which I mentioned several times that I had tried to engage him in working on a bill that we could all live with, I finally asked him if he would work with me to come up with a bill that would work for the patients who need it.
“No,†he said.Â
Even though he did not deny that some patients benefited from cannabis therapy, nor that sometimes cannabis is the only therapy that works, he simply, throughout the entire show, continued to denigrate our motives, saying that we were only after general legalization of marijuana.Â
And then, “No, I will not try to help draft a law that will protect sick people from arrest for trying to save their own lives.†(not his actual words, but that’s the essence of what he said)
Read the letter we sent General Long on Dec. 9, 2008.Â
http://www.sodaknorml.org/sdsa_files/campaign/081209AttyGenl.htm
Six days left until the legislative session starts. We’re down to seeds and stems in the finances dept.Â
Please go to http://www.sodaksafeaccess.net/ and hit the “Donate†button, or send a check to the address on that page.
Best regards,
Bob
“It should be illegal because it’s illegal” is about the only reason anyone can come up with for the continued criminalization of pot.
Imagine how much we could cut law-enforcement budgets if the cops weren’t chasing pot smokers around – wait, I think we’ve found the real reason.
You can thank Billy Bob Janks for that. He loved spending money on prisons. Remember the bumpsticker he distributed for law enforcement vehicles?
“If you bring illegal drugs into South Dakota, plan to stay a long, long, time” – William Janklow
Unless you are my son-in-law, I’ll just pardon you.
When the Randy Scott trial was going on I was going to make a bumpersticker that said,
“If you recklessy kill someone with your vehicle in South Dakota, plan to get off with a slap on the wrist.”
What Bob should have said when Larry tried to accuse him of attempting to legalize weed for any reason was “Why shouldn’t it be legalized?”
What would be a better solution than simply saying it’s legal (and conflicting with federal law) is simply announcing that due to budget constraints, the state will no longer enforce the law against it. If the feds want to keep it illegal, they can enforce the laws instead.
It seems to be sort of working in British Columbia and in Holland.
Then what would our law enforcement have to do? Compare buzzcut flatops and mustaches?