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VT Gov. Peter Shumlin (photo: VT Governor's office/flickr)
A spokesman for Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin (D) told the AP that he will join the recent petition filed by other governors to the federal government requesting marijuana be rescheduled. Yesterday, Washington state Governor Christine Gregoire (D) and Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee (I) jointly filed the petition to the Drug Enforcement Agency asking that marijuana be moved from schedule I to at least schedule II.
Moving marijuana, which is currently schedule I, to a lower schedule will allow medical marijuana to be legally prescribed at a federal level. Currently marijuana is schedule I, which means -according to federal law- it has “a high potential for abuse, has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.” As a result marijuana can’t be legally prescribed according to federal law.
The executive branch of the federal government is allowed to change a drug’s scheduling and does with some frequency. Moving cannabis to schedule II or schedule III would allow doctors to legally prescribe marijuana under federal law, while still keeping it illegal for recreational use.
Gov. Shumlin has traditionally been very good on marijuana policy reform issues so his willingness to join this new push isn’t surprising but is still encouraging. While it is too early to tell if this new petition by the governors will actually produce any change in federal policy, it is still a very important development for the marijuana reform movement. Having now three seating governors publicly stating the federal government’s current stance toward medical marijuana is absurd and needs to change is a powerful sign that the issue is gaining significant traction.
34 Comments
Shumlin = Dustin Hoffman?
How about getting Dayton to join the call from MN…
The total stupidity of the drug laws is the study where in medical MJ results in a 10% reduction in Auto accidents because without MJ relief people turn to drinking” legal “rotgut.
If that’s all you can say, you should have remained silent.
I am surprised, though, that it hasn’t been legalized for recreational use. Surely that would mean huge profits for someone, wouldn’t it? Where there is the potential for that kind of profit there must be the potential for huge campaign contributions. I don’t understand.
Yes, it can, although Congress has at times passed legislation scheduling certain drugs.
But, Obama could change it today if he wanted.
Never fear though, you can rest assured that the fact that he CHOOSES not to isn’t his fault, it’s the fault of those mean Republicans. Somehow. Someway.
Sometimes it’s fun to to hear the apologist’s reasoning for Obama’s actions/inactions just for the laugh it induces. Bet this one would be funny too. Anyone wanna share how this one works??
Poifect.
Great news he is getting on the band wagon to end the draconian laws against Pot!!! I wonder just how many are in jail for Pot… I am sure way too many…
But surely guvs in states the size of RI & VT can change O’s mind about supporting PhRMA.
IIRC Tommy Chong did time for merely selling
bongswater pipes. So apparently you don’t even have to sell it or use it to end up in prison.Still though, I would think that most of those that are in prison due to weed are there for trafficing, not so much using.
Everyone has to tighten their belt.
I suspect if the Governors of California, Texas, New York, and Illinois joined the petition it wouldn’t change his mind about supporting PhRMA.
The public option polled at better than 2-1 and that didn’t seem to influence him at all.
It was just a “sliver.”
Add CT Gov. Malloy to the list.
Well, pshaw on you. You anticipated my next comment. At least I don’t have to buy you a drink since you spontaneously typed before I got started.
exactly my thoughts… too funny… Dustin won’t even need any makeup or even the Honest Abe style beard of Daniel Day Lewis… haha…
It is mildly interesting that a few guvs in small states have decided it’s politically advantageous to run against O.
Agreed. But it makes sense to me. Besides the economy, he’s a hypocrite on so much. Just today, WH attorneys were arguing that O’s hit list of Americans is legal. Why? Because anyone who helps al-Qaida is an enemy of America.
And that’s not even the flip-flops from 2008 to 2011. This hypocrisy only took a month or so!
AP (Washington) Shortly after learning that yet another governor had signed the petition to move marijuana from schedule 1 to at least schedule 2, the line of lobbyists representing the private prison industry and the pharmaceutical industry grew so long outside the White House that capitol police had to institute crowd control measures.
In a related story, the Obama campaign reported a new fund-raising record ………..
which consisted or serving martinis to all.
In response to TimWhite @ 10.
al-Qaida today, OWS tomorrow.
And there’s just no way the framers intended for the President to be able to order citizens killed with no due process. If that’s what they meant, they would not have bothered with the Bill of Rights at all.
But now we live in a world where if you’re a WH attorney and you say something is legal, then it is!!!! So, when you’re President and want to do something, all you need to do is shop around for the attorney willing to say that something is legal, and hire him to the WH.
This country has so lost it’s way….
Danforth sez that R candidates for prez are embarrassing. Falls under moderate command of the obvious.
haha… to you and Coach!
Yeah, they weren’t satisfied with Xmas cookies.
that really depends on the state they live in…
reminds me of the seven years I spent on my local Council in CT. People made a big to do about the choice of town attorney. I guess I was too young (30 yrs old at first) at the time to fully appreciate the arguments people made that the choice of Town Attorney was important because what s/he said would effectively be law.
I just kept scratching my head, thinking “huh?” S/he is a political appointee. I’m interested in what s/he says, but if I disagree… then I’ll say so… and completely ignore the advice.
In reality, many elected officials prefer to have someone who will voice the opinions of the elected officials… but with an air of nonpartisan authority.
Such nonsense. It’s appropriate to listen to the advice of political appointees. But it’s an abdication of an elected officials duties when s/he says an political appointee’s consent is required.
I wonder how O sleeps at night? Why would anyone want the powers, such as assassination, that he seeks?
Or maybe everything seems normal after you join the 1%?
WOW!!
I don’t think I’ve EVER seen a statement of that length by a Republican that was completely reasonable. He sounded sane.
Probably wouldn’t win a Republican Primary for anything now. So he’ll move into the D Party, which is now probably about where he was when he was a Republican Senator.
Same for you, one could say. But I won’t.
It should be rescheduled. If the pill form which has had related deaths(4 at last count) is a 3 then I see little reason that the stuff that seems to have better time release be categorized as a 1. Furthermore, it would allow us to gather more data to determine both the pros and cons of its usage and its side effects.
While it could potentially be another revenue stream, there is alot of unexplored data on marijuana that needs to be reviewed. We barely have begun to understand the cannaboid receptors and because of their location in the brain it’s best we proceed cautiously. Medical usage and a reschedule could give us better access to data.
Not necessarily. The profit centers could be made non-existent. To obtain the substance, one only needs a tad of potting soil, a grow light, and a bit of patience.
Ali, There’s much more money in keeping pot illegal. The War on Drugs is about price support, keeping the price high and increasing profits. If it’s legal, the price would crash back to 1968 levels…$15/OZ., Or one could just grow it themselves. It would be nice wouldn’t it? Forget it it. Not going to happen. Regards.
Yeah . The Guv’s son got busted.