Conservative ballot-measure supremo Kevin Mannix just told WWire he and his cohorts are dropping a proposed ballot initiative to kill the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program.
“That petition’s going to stop this week,” Mannix says. There was not enough time or money to gather the 82,769 valid signatures needed, he says.
“That’s the best news I’ve had all day,” says Paul Stanford, head of The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation, a Portland-based national chain of medical marijuana clinics.
Mannix says the decision to drop the petition drive had nothing to do with lack of public support, but rather lack of resources. But Stanford says he believes Mannix ran into trouble because the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act, approved by voters in 1998, is still supported by a clear majority.
Stanford says it’s good news for medical-marijuana advocates that the petition has been dropped.
“We don’t have to waste our resources encouraging people not to sign that petition,” Stanford says. “We don’t have to mount a campaign against them in the fall. It just saves us a lot of time and effort.”
The so-called Oregon Crimefighting Act would have done three things:
•Given repeat “major felony” sex offenders a minimum 25-year sentence.
•Made third-strike DUII convictions a felony.
•Replaced medical marijuana with prescription THC pills.
Stanford has called the initiative a cynical effort to tear down medical marijuana by tagging it onto slam-drunk issues like opposing drunk drivers and sex predators. He says many marijuana patients oppose the change because THC pills are too expensive and not as effective.
Mannix told WWire that the ballot initiative, which he drafted, had financial support from the Florida-based nonprofit Save Our Society From Drugs. He says backers may return with another effort to gut medical marijuana in the 2010 election.
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This is very good news indeed. I find it laughable that the under-educated Mannix was pushing this garbage in the first place. It is CLEAR from clinical trials that Marinol and other synthetic forms of THC/CBD/CBN/Etc are NOT anywhere near as effective as the simple natural plant. It would have, however, made the drug companies a lot of money, but medical patients would still be in pain.
Thank you Mr. Mannix for not making 16,500+ (April 08 Stat) Oregonians on the voter-approved Oregon Medical Marijuana Program suffer needlessly with lower quality medication and costing the Oregon Taxpayers a LOT more money. The OMMP is a completely self-sustaining program that requires $0 from the taxpayers. So self-sustaining in fact that the Oregon Government likes to take money out of the program for unrelated things. (Typical)
Steve Heinsch (aka CroNiX)
Oregon Green Free IT Administrator and OMMP Advocate.
Maybe one day poiliticians like Mannix will try to do things that help the locals of a community instead of serving interests that are based 3500 miles from Oregon. Maybe then the inititives will be based on community need. Maybe, or maybe every few years this bogeyman will appear to waste local resources.
What are you gonna do its a democracy, right?
Ding-Dong-the witch is dead, which old witch-the Mannix Witch, Ding-dong the wicked witch is dead. Go on SING… for this is to celebrate.
I can’t believe that people like Mannix and people who share his views have such a problem with medical marijuana. I don’t understand why medical marijuana is such a problem for them. No one has ever died from marijuana. No one has ever had an accident due to marijuana. No one has ever killed due to marijuana. There is no reason to fear marijuana. Alcohol on the other hand, has killed many, many people in many, many ways…yet, it is legal. What is that? Why don’t these people have a problem with alcohol? Why don’t these people use their energy to make this "drug" alcohol, illegal? Alcohol, is a KILLER, not marijuana!
Thank you very much Mr. Mannix, for seeing that it was a futile effort indeed, to try to hurt innocent patients, needlessly…thank you!
I find it ironic that Mannix wants patients to use a synthetic form of a drug that the Food and Drug Administration claims has no medicinal benefits or value. Now that’s backwards thinking. If marijuana has no medicinal properties, how can Marinol?
Well, Mr Mannix does Not want to appear crass, cruel, apathetic, fiscally irresponsible, just plain heartless and unreasonable towards the Sick and Dying in Oregon.
Instead of Repealing OMMA his Bigger fish is the seat in Oregon’s 5th Congressional District currently occupied by Darlene Hooley…
Voters, however, will Not forget the harm and expense he has cost Oregonians with Measure 11 and this latest assault on the OMMA.
It’s disguistingly gross they tried to package the reform inside the same bill as the 25 year mandatory sentance for felony sex offenders. What the hell do those two things have in common?
A lot of people would read the first part of the measure and vote for it.
We have a name for people like Mannix–’loser’… What a loser.
Thank GOD all our prayers have work, for now. He reminds me of a snail that u dont get enuff salt on, u know u think he dried up and went away only to show his ugly head next week…….. lets just watch the snail and see were the trail goes…..
This is great news for all Oregonians, not to mention medical marijuana patients and their providers. Mannix and his cronies not only wanted to treat patients like criminals, but also sought to waste our hard-earned tax dollars on a prescription drug program for an ineffective, expensive drug that patients don’t even want!
Mannix’s claim that a lack of resources is very dubious since Save our Society from Drugs contributed $50,000 to the effort. Clearly, Oregonians were not in the mood to fall for yet another Mannix boondoggle.
Anthony Johnson
Voter Power Political Director
http://www.voterpower.org
James,
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This is good news for now, but because Rx companies stand to lose so much money over medical marijuana you can be sure another attack is just around the corner. The will of the people doesn’t concern them a bit. They want their market share back.
According to the Oregon State Medical Examiner, Karen Gunson,deaths from Heroin Use jump by 29 percent.Death by drug abuse was higher in 2007 since 1999. Mannix should use his brains to help drug abusers.Marijuana is less addictive than a cup of coffee. Don’t
believe me? Take the coffee pot out of your office. Watch the chaos ensue!
a guy gets drunk… drives home…kicks the dog, yells at the kids, and slaps his wife (this is the GOOD version!).
a guy steals to get high on heroin and then overdoses and dies.
a guy is high on meth and steals, deals the stuff and is a sicko sex creep.
NOW ENVISION THIS…. a guy comes home after a LOOONG and HAAAARRD day at work… smokes a joint…. and KILLS an ENTIRE family size PIZZA!!!!! Who is this hurting??? and that is the ILLEAGL smoker for fun, not a legit patient who really NEEDS the effectc of THC.
Mannis is BS. he’s probably being paid off by somebody… Follow the money.