Someone mentioned that, "drug level samples of those involved in serious and fatal accidents reflect an alarmingly high level of THC". I argue that marijuana stays in your system for some period of time, so to claim that the THC in someones system is a factor resulting in an accident assumes too much.

ALCOHOL = 150,000 deaths per year TOBACCO = 450,000 deaths per year PRESCRIPTION DRUGS = 100,000 deaths per year ALL LEGAL!!! HEROIN and COCAINE = 10,000 deaths per year CANNABIS/MARIJUANA= 000,000 (ZERO) deaths per year... I find it unbelievable that the 3 listed above LEGAL DRUGS cause 700,000 deaths per year compared to the 3 ILLEGAL DRUGS which cause a mere 10,000 deaths per year.. YOU DECIDE, WHICH 3 DRUGS ARE MORE EVIL??

Make Marijuana a prescription drug and make treatment more available. In Oregon, the state peddles lottery games and offers treatment. They provide a full-cycle of hypocritical services--why can't this model be put in place for marijuana. Check out www.addictionsresources.com for more info.

Just ask any of the adolescents I work with every day who are failing school, unmotivated, hanging out and living in the moment, and they will tell you how weed has nothing to do with their stance in life and anyway, marijuana will be legal any day now!

Opponents of legalization say MJ users would drive while impaired and that some would use MJ only for the high. Hmm. Don't folks taking other legal drugs generally used for medicinal purposes drive impaired due to their use? (think Ambien and other sleeping pills and tranquilizers.) Also, is not misuse of prescription meds one of the biggest problems among youth drug users? Yes legalizing MJ may lead to problems associated with misuse, but that does not stop us from legalizing other drugs causing similar problems if those drugs show some sort of medical benefit.

I will add just one more thought for consideration. It is widely held that marijuana is harmless and has not killed anyone. I suspect traffic accident investigators across the nation might take issue with that claim. Recent research where available on blood alcohol and drug level samples of those involved in serious and fatal accidents reflect an alarmingly high level of THC. Unfortunately, such data is still limited as many jurisdictions still do not test for all substances. But where such tests are done, marijuana is present at least as often as alcohol. Given the nature of THC to alter states of consciousness, slow perception and responses, etc., its safe to conclude that pot has played a significant role in many serious accidents, including fatalities. Anyone want their airline pilot toking off in the cockpit?

Frank- I am prescribed Marinol (prescription THC(marijuana)) for a debilitating condition and it helps on occasion. It costs $1500 a month and my insurance company fights not to pay it every time. The smoked version, however, works quickly and you can decide the dose. One puff for a mild effect and two puffs for a stonger effect. THe better quality the fewer puffs. If someone is worried about smoke then you can vaporize it, removing any harmful effects from combustion of plant materials. Please don't believe the lie the prohibitonist spout- it's not true. The majority of people in treatment for marijuana have been sent there by our courts and draconian laws. John from Oceanside- The dispensaries are new-you may need to adjust the regulations a bit- would you rather Walgreens make the money?

Fred, Betty, F. Winkler - that's a lie! If there were sufficient legal medication on the market then why are patients using marijuana? Ask Michelle Rainey! Of course people want to use it recreationally as well. But, don't deny the truth in doing so. Of the 421 chemicals in marijuana, only 61 are unique to marijuana. The chemicals are known as cannabinoids. One of them, delta-9 THC, produces the psychoactive effect and is the focus of most research. The other 360 chemicals in the marijuana plant are found throughout other natural substances. People who smoke marijuana are probably seeking "treatment" because of judge's orders. Most times, they quit with only a LEGAL irritation AND zero withdrawal. Legalizing marijuana will protect EVERYONE. It will give police officers something to do other than harass people for nothing. Maybe, while the crime rate goes down, the violent crime rate won't go up anymore! Yes, America! The very reason violent crime is up is because police officers don't know how to fight REAL crime. I say let's stop letting the UN tell us what to do, pay attention to the US Constitution which has been toilet paper under the Bush regime, and RE-legalize marijuana.

I say let's stop being hypocrites and either make alcohol illegal or other drugs legal (with constraints). But wait -- we tried that already, didn't we. So the only answer left is decriminalization, isn't it?

Barney Frank should deal with his own States problems. Here in California a so called sick person smoking weed in their own house are not being arrested. The dipensary owners who are banking millions of dollars and selling to anyone who walks in the door are. If this is about sick people why don't these despensary owners take a check. It's only a cash business with no accountability. The businesses and community members around these dispensaries are being terrerized. Barney boy should come live in a community that has one of these businesses before he proposes anything.

Why legalize a drug responsible for more addiction treatment than any other substance? Especialy when the psychoactive ingredient THC is already available as a pharmaceutical-- Merinol (generic dronabinol.) A pharmaceutical takes the wind out of the legalization argument in every respect-- don't need to smoke it-- not carcinogenic, its content is regulated and assured, its already available and its legal (and yes, it can also be abused.) A continued stream of studies from around the globe show repeatedly and only too clearly the many risks of smoking pot-- so to the proponents for legalization, I return the epithet-- shut up!

Fred do you really think drugs need to be illegal for counselors to have enough clients? You also think that people have to be referred by court or work to be in a treatment program involuntarily? Addiction will be rampant whether or not MJ is illegal. I do agree that treatment providers are part of the reason MJ is illegal. After seeing what addiction to MJ can do to a persons life I certainly would not vote to legalize it.

My uncle lived with the debilitating symptoms of multiple sclerosis for 24 years. His muscle spasticity was so severe that he could not pull his knees away from his chest. My uncle did not use marijuana to ease his condition. He did not want to jeopardize the house he built for his family. I respectfully disagree that there are sufficient legal medications on the market for muscle spasticity and the neuronal scarring plaque caused by MS. The greatest harm my uncle and his family would have endured would have been exposure to the law enforcement, court, and prison systems in his weakened physical state, if he had chosen to use marijuana to relieve his symptoms and to retard the progression of MS. The specter of forfeiture of his house prevented my uncle from living a better quality of (and possibly longer) life with the aid of medicinal marijuana. Foods including sugar and coffee, can cause a multitude of physical and psychological effects ranging from hallucinations and impotence, yet these substances are most frequently condoned with tobacco at 12-step meetings for narcotics and alcohol. Economics provides students with more incentive to become wardens instead of educators.

Treatment counselors and those in the Psychology and Pharmaceutical professions are part of the reason marijane is not legal. Politicians, lobbiests, lawmakers, police associations, lawyers and judges are also at fault. Why would any of the above people want to see marijuana legal? Their very paychecks depend on it to be illegal!

If this process of legalization were to occur, what about the Driving Under the Influence laws? I certainly do not want someone who is constantly smoking marijuana driving around me. There is no question: their decision making is impaired, especially the rapid decisions of driving.

I am not a strong proponent of legalizing marijuana. I do believe that it should be accepted in small quantities for people with certain disease processes. Marijuana is a mind altering substance and anytime we are trying to escape our life by altering our mind there is a bigger problem that needs to be addressed. As a recovering alcoholic and addict I understand this all too well. Denial is a widespread problem that many chose to ignore.

my question is why must the ones who don't want to smoke it insist no one else does either? is it a control issue? sure it is. if the majority wants it, thats the real rule of law here. majority gets its way. the rest of you shut up please.

Frank is wrong that there's not a legitimate Federal stake in marijuana. As with all issues that cross state lines, we need to have a federal referee that determines the limits within which states may set their own policy. That's why we have a Pure Food and Drug Act. That's why we have Federal drug and alcohol laws. Local option works for alcohol (somewhat). I'm not sure it would work for other substances. At the same time, I agree with Frank that marijuana enforcement should not be on the Federal agenda. Perhaps after the presidential election, we'll see a change of priorities. If not, then the Congress might consider the decriminalization not only of marijuana, but perhaps of other substances as well. The most dangerous substances (cigarettes ---which kill and make sick at least three times the number of people hurt by all other substances--- and alcohol--- which is certainly more deadly than cocaine or opiates)are legal. There is good evidence that the incidence of alcoholism did not increase after re-legalization in 1933. But criminal activity and violence associated with alcohol really decreased. The lesson seems pretty clear.

Decriminalizing marijuana makes sense. Marijuana is a safe and effective medicine. Betty- Indeed, some people will abuse any drug they can get their hands on. Making them illegal and putting the drugs in the hands of criminals doesn't make sense. The vast majority of people in treatment for marijuana have been forced their by the courts or by their job for no other reason then its illegality. Tax and regulate this safe medication today!

Marijuana has never killed anyone. To throw sick people in jail for using marijuana is ridiculous. Do not believe the 75 years of Gov't propaganda in this matter. Big Pharma does not want marijuana legal because people might choose the less harmful marijuana over Oxycontin. Marijuana has saved my life and someday it may save yours.

Marijuana is a mind altering drug. There are 421 chemicals in marijuana that can cause a multitude of physical and psychological effects ranging from hallucinations to impotence. Who in there right mind who condone such a drug?! I have counseled with many addicts that marijuana is their drug of choice and is ruining their lives. None of them would agree with marijuana as being harmless.

There are sufficient legal medications on the market. Legalizing marijuana will not make a significant difference. The push to legalize this drug is a ruse by individuals who wish to use it legally and using the sick as a vehicle to do so.