Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Monday, June 03, 2013

Bloomberg: Medical Marijuana 'One Of The Greatest Hoaxes Of All Time'

Mayor Michael Bloomberg thinks arguments for legalizing medical marijuana are half-baked.

"Medical, my foot," Bloomberg-- who has admitted to enjoying smoking weed when he was younger-- told John Gambling during his weekly radio show.

"There is no medical. This is one of the great hoaxes of all time," he said, suggesting legalizing medical pot would just make it easier for recreational users to light up.

"The bottom line is, I'm told marijuana is much stronger today than it was 20, 30 years ago," he continued, according to The New York Post. "That's one problem. No 2, drug dealers have families to feed. If they can't sell marijuana, they'll sell something else. And the something else will be something worse. The push to legalize this is wrongheaded."

State Senator Diane Savino, who's co-sponsoring a bill to legalize medical marijuana in New York, thinks otherwise.

"We're talking about people with terminal illnesses, seizure disorders," she told The Post. "We're not talking about recreational use."

Dr. Sunil Aggarwal, Associate Member of the New York Academy of Medicine and Vice-Chair of NY Physicians for Compassionate Care, also disapproved of Bloomberg's comments.

"Mayor Bloomberg's statement that medical marijuana is a hoax is tantamount to saying that the moon landing was faked,” he said in a statement. “Marijuana, given in oral and inhaled forms, has been shown in large, gold-standard, double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trials conducted at major medical centers to relieve pain and muscle spasm, and stimulate appetite and weight gain in patients with wasting syndromes."

Earlier this week, the New York Assembly passed a marijuana decriminalization bill.
Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.com
Author: --

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