Arizona Cannabis Bill Could Destroy the Lives of Veterans
Medical Cannabis Patients Risk Losing their Medicine in Arizona
Yesterday, we got word that 15 lawmakers in Arizona co-sponsored legislation that would change the state’s medical cannabis program by instituting a 2 percent cap on THC potency.
Clearly, these folks do not rely on this medicine for any of their own maladies. Because if they did, this would never have happened.
This is nothing more than another prohibitionist attempt to thwart the amazing progress we’ve made towards the legalization and acceptance of medical cannabis.
The bottom line is that if this bill, HCR 2045, were to pass, there would be more than 200,000 Arizona patients being denied access to their medication in the manner it was prescribed by their doctors.
Imagine for a moment, if there was a bill to limit the dosage of blood pressure medicines or cholesterol drugs. It would never fly. But because there’s still an unfair stigma attached to cannabis, lawmakers are putting this forth as if it’s no big deal. Yet it is absolutely a big deal. A very big deal!
Now I’m not saying this thing will pass, but the fact that 15 lawmakers had the audacity to suggest limiting the dosages of patients using medical cannabis, in defiance of actual medical doctors’ prescription recommendations, is not only absurd, it could be argued that it’s a violation of human rights.
Denying sick people their medicine is no different than watching someone hanging off the edge of a cliff, and instead of helping, just walking away.
Now one thing that really bothers me about this is that so many of our honorable and brave veterans use cannabis to help treat PTSD and traumatic brain injuries. This is life-saving medicine for them, and yet 15 lawmakers have decided that they get to dictate how much of this medicine they can use.
This is not acceptable. And while I have no ill will towards anyone – even politicians with whom I disagree – I would encourage Arizona voters to contact these folks, and respectfully request they reconsider their positions.
Perhaps they just don’t know enough about how powerful and important this medicine is to a lot of people. Or perhaps they haven’t done the necessary research on why cannabis was prohibited in the first place, and still based their decisions on multiple decades worth of propaganda and misinformation.
But the bottom line is that these 15 lawmakers are wrong on this issue, and if they get their way, a lot of sick people are going to get sicker. No one should be OK with this.
We are fortunate that in this country, we have the right, and arguably the responsibility, to make a complaint to, or seek the assistance of our government without fear of punishment or reprisals.
Let’s exercise this right, in a polite and respectful way, by contacting the lawmakers supporting this bill, and get them to pull it.
They are as follows …
Russel Bowers
House of Representatives
1700 West Washington
Room Room 223
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Email rbowers@azleg.gov
Phone 602-926-3128
Leo Biasiucci
House of Representatives
1700 West Washington
Room Room 341
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Email lbiasiucci@azleg.gov
Phone 602-926-3018
Shawnna Bolick
House of Representatives
1700 West Washington
Room Room 113
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Email sbolick@azleg.gov
Phone 602-926-3244
Frank Carroll
House of Representatives
1700 West Washington
Room Room 342
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Email fcarroll@azleg.gov
Phone 602-926-3249
Regina Cobb
House of Representatives
1700 West Washington
Room Room 222
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Email rcobb@azleg.gov
Phone 602-926-3126
David Cook
House of Representatives
1700 West Washington
Room Room 309
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Email dcook@azleg.gov
Phone 602-926-5162
Mark Finchen
House of Representatives
1700 West Washington
Room Room 310
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Email mfinchem@azleg.gov
Phone 602-926-3122
Gail Griffin
House of Representatives
1700 West Washington
Room Room 225
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Email ggriffin@azleg.gov
Phone 602-926-5895
Jay Lawrence
House of Representatives
1700 West Washington
Room Room 131
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Email jlawrence@azleg.gov
Phone 602-926-3095
Aaron Lieberman
House of Representatives
1700 West Washington
Room Room 120
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Email alieberman@azleg.gov
Phone 602-926-3300
Becky Nutt
House of Representatives
1700 West Washington
Room Room 207
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Email bnutt@azleg.gov
Phone 602-926-4852
Joanne Osborne
House of Representatives
1700 West Washington
Room Room 112
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Email josborne@azleg.gov
Phone 602-926-3181
Bob Thorpe
House of Representatives
1700 West Washington
Room Room 130
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Email bthorpe@azleg.gov
Phone 602-926-5219
Ben Toma
House of Representatives
1700 West Washington
Room Room 306
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Email btoma@azleg.gov
Phone 602-926-3298
Michelle Udall
House of Representatives
1700 West Washington
Room Room 129
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Email mudall@azleg.gov
Phone 602-926-4856