Spitzer Changes Stance on Medical Marijuana

New York State Governor, Eliot Spitzer has said he can support the legalization of marijuana for some medical uses. While I think this is a step in the right direction, and I applaud him for opening his mind and allowing his pre-conceptions to be corrected, I found another section of the article hillarious.

"Legislation in Albany would permit an eligible patient to grow up to 12 marijuana plants or be in possession of up to 2.5 ounces of harvested marijuana. To get the marijuana, though, patients would need to find their own suppliers, whether on the streets or by other means. "

This means, yes people will be able to use marijuana for some medical uses legally, but... Unless plants start miraculously sprouting up around their house, they're still going to have to purchase it from drug dealers, unless the drug dealers freely give it to them.

I have a huge problem with this. It completely defeats what I see as a huge purpose for legalizing medical marijuana or just legalizing marijuana. It will contribute money to the pockets of drug dealers rather than legitimate channels that would otherwise contribute to further research on marijuana. How does this make sense?

Its not all the State government's fault though. The federal government needs to relax its laws relating to the use of marijuana for medical purposes, and stop raiding the institutions that provide it. Those responsible in the federal government need to get off their lazy asses, and do exactly what Spitzer did - put their preconceived ideas aside, and listen to the facts.