An editorial board gone right

Many years ago, this used to be my hometown paper. Things sure have changed.

Don’t imprison this cancer patient – Quad City Times Editorial Board.

Investigators turned up no evidence of a widespread dope-dealing operation foisting marijuana into the hands of Quad-City kids. All of the evidence points to a cancer patient desperate for relief.

Yet prosecution continues under an unforgiving Iowa drug law that is far behind the rest of the nation. Twenty states, including Illinois, have legalized medical marijuana. Three more have decriminalized recreational use.

The same facts in a different state would leave Mackenzie labeled a homeopathic pioneer. In Iowa, he’s deemed a criminal so dangerous, county authorities have spent tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars in investigation, raids and court appearances that will lead to even higher incarceration costs upon conviction.

All of this is being spent on the same defendant jailed for two months, until Scott County authorities suddenly realized they might be on the hook for his medical bills. Then he was released without bond.

This hypocrisy will continue as long as Iowa lawmakers ignore mounting evidence of marijuana’s medicinal qualities and its recreational harmlessness.

Pretty harsh words for an editorial, and very nice to see.

It’s bound to open up a few more eyes. The people need to wake up and realize that they will no longer put up with this kind of prosecutorial abuse, or the laws that allow it to happen.

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7 Responses to An editorial board gone right

  1. N.T. Greene says:

    The internet is helping the cause. It is a lot harder to hide behind statistics when it is easy to prove they are fake; it is a lot harder to hide behind lies when the truth is more abundant.

    The fact that things have begun to leach into the MSM is proof of our influence. They say no one man can change the world, for sure… but a few can really get the ball rolling nowadays. Hell, maybe that adage is no longer true in an age where the words of one man can reach to the farthest corners of the planet in moments.

    As always, we must remain vigilant. Progress is something people all too often fear. Not because it is bad, but… it is unknown. Ad inexplorate, I say. Problems rarely have straightforward solutions; some have no total solutions at all.

  2. DdC says:

    Iowa Prosecutes Dying Cancer Patient for Pot
    By Russ Belville · Tue Oct 01, 2013 hightimes
    It’s not enough for the state of Iowa to persecute a dying cancer patient for his medical marijuana grow. Prosecutors want to bankrupt his wife, jail his kid, imprison his friend and put his elderly parents on the streets while the state seizes their house, too.

    UPDATE: Iowan Benton Mackenzie Clarifies How He Grew Cannabis Plants To Make Cancer Curing Cannabis Oil

    Iowa lawmaker wants to decriminalize marijuana, legalize medical cannabis
    By William Breathe, September 30, 2013
    An Iowa state senator plan to introduce medical marijuana and marijuana decriminalization bills when the Iowa legislature convenes on Wednesday, even though both have a snowball’s chance in Death Valley of passing. Sen. Joe Bolkcom, a Democrat from Iowa City says both bills are needed, but nobody else seems to agree. That includes Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad who has been outspoken in his opposition to legalization in the past.

    Louisiana Dungeons are anti-American, anti-Humanity.

    US Supreme Court Rejects, reject Marijuana Reclassification Appeal

  3. Dante says:

    Nice to see the media picking up the slack a bit, but nothing will change until two things change in our local, state and federal governments :

    1. The money stops flowing to prohibitionists (no more tanks for Mayberry, no more money for drug-court, no more Byrne Grants, no more money for drug “treatment centers”, etc.). Instead, the money flows toward us.

    2. Police, prosecutors and elected officials are punished by losing their jobs for engaging in or supporting the war on drugs.

  4. Servetus says:

    Iconic photos of Peru’s coca industry:

    http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-202_162-10018534.html

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