medicare
Cannabis Biopharma Company Enters Fight Over CMS Hemp Pilot
A cannabis biopharma company is seeking to join the federal lawsuit challenging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) new hemp and CBD pilot program, adding a pharmaceutical voice to a government-sanctioned program allowing untested and unregulated hemp products into the marketplace. MMJ International Holdings and its subsidiaries, MMJ BioPharma Labs and MMJ BioPharma […]
Study: National medical marijuana laws would save lives — and a billion taxpayer dollars
A fascinating study in Health Affairs last year by a father-daughter pair of public policy researchers found that Medicare prescriptions for things like painkillers, antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications dropped sharply in states that introduced a medical marijuana program.
Rough Election For Paul Ryan
The race for the U.S. presidency can consume and spit out candidates. The young boy wonder Paul Ryan has been a rising star in the GOP and Congress for almost 14 years. However, joining Mitt Romney in the race for the White House may drive down his stock considerably. Already responding to criticisms of misstatements after his address at the RNC regarding welfare and Medicare, the news just has not been great for Ryan.
Clearly Ryan and Romney are not on the same page. Romney selected a man known as a budget hawk, but has not embraced what Ryan believes. In fact Mitt Romney seems to be running from his record. Recently Mitt Romeny told “Meet The Press” that President Obama and the GOP (lead by Ryan on the issue) were wrong to vote to cut military spending. The lack of unity was on display recently as Paul Ryan told a group of voters in Colorado that he felt marijuana laws should be left up to the states to decide. This was soon followed by a statement from the Romney campaign that indicated that Ryan agreed with Mitt Romney 100% and that marijuana should never be legalized.
We do not want to pick on Paul Ryan specifically, but so far he is the only one who has dared engage on the issue of marijuana. Even though marijuana legalization offers the potential to satisfy Paul Ryan’s desire to cut spending and the size of government, we were still surprised to hear him support the issue. We were NOT surprised to see the Romney campaign recant a statement. They seem to have made an art of this.
The Paul Ryan statement that seemed to come from left field motivated marijuana.net to dig a little deeper into Paul Ryan’s view on marijuana. The digging did not require much effort and we were able to figure out that as recently as May of this year, Paul Ryan voted against a bill that would have defunded the DEA’s ability conduct medical marijuana raids. Not exactly a pro state rights view is it?
Politicians In Oklahoma Send Confusing Messages on Drug Policy
We have all had authoritative figures in our lives tell us “I would never ask you to do anything that I was not willing to do myself.” When we actually believe our parents or employers, it will usually result in a healthy level of respect for that individual. Conversely, if you do not trust the hollow words, it can actually be antagonistic.
Lawmakers in Oklahoma have been sending confusing messages to residents of the Sooner State. Oklahoma is known for its harsh stance on any drug conviction. Low level first offense marijuana possession can result in one year in prison. Even more baffling was a law passed last year aimed at those who convert marijuana into hash. Although there have only been a handful of hash production cases in Oklahoma in the past decade, they felt compelled to enact one of the harshest drug laws in United States history. Even the first conviction for hash production in Oklahoma now carries the potential for a life sentence (minimum 2 year sentence). With an already overcrowded prison system, many legal analysts have been shocked at Oklahoma’s handling of marijuana and hash laws.
The hash law has created even more confusion. Was there a hash epidemic we all missed? In the class warfare we have seen developing over the past several years, it has become a popular idea (started first by Arizona) to target and require drug testing for those receiving government assistance. These laws typically target the younger welfare recipients, but never require Medicare participants to prove their moral superiority via urine samples. The whole concept sounds well and good until any financial analysis is performed, which is surprising because the financial guru candidate for president, Mitt Romney, has also championed the idea of drug testing welfare recipients. However, further analysis shows that since drug tests are not free of charge, that it will actually cost taxpayers far more.
Oklahoma has joined over 20 other states that are considering this new legislative trend. There was an interesting twist in the case of Oklahoma’s law. The proposed legislation included provisions to also require anyone seeking public office to pass a drug test. Democrats opposing the welfare recipient drug testing on the grounds of constitutionality, had added the provision. GOP Sen. David Holt categorized the action as a “stunt” and removed the language from the bill that would require legislators to submit to drug tests. Although it may indeed have been a bit of political grandstanding by state democrats, would it not have provided validity to the bill if those who sign it also abide by it?
According to politicians, the only people where drug abuse is a concern is for welfare recipients. Thankfully no politicians or Medicare eligible members carry the potential for substance abuse. Even those on welfare have voting rights and politicians work for the people. If the legislation saved money it would be worth considering, though this still would not preclude it from the constitutionality discussion. We should no longer allow our politicians to say “Do as I say and not do as I do.” Elected officials often forget, but they work for us and should be abiding by the same guidelines we do.