House Votes For Sane Marijuana Thing, And We're Still Mad Anyway

So the House did an amazingly rational thing -- yes, we are all quite shocked, quite -- and voted to prohibit "the DEA from spending funds to arrest state-licensed medical marijuana patients."

Hooray! We can smoke 'em if we got 'em for medical reasons!

The bill passed with bipartisan support, 219-189. Finally, Democrats and Republicans can agree on something. As Rep. Dana Rohrabacher so perfectly stated, it "should be a no-brainer," especially for states' rights loving conservatives. Which is why he so eloquently and compassionately freedomsplained :

"Some people are suffering and if a doctor feels that he needs to prescribe something to alleviate that suffering it is immoral for this government to get in the way," Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) said. "And that's what's happening. The state governments have recognized that a doctor has a right to treat his patient in any way he sees fit and so did our founding fathers. I ask for support for my amendment."

Good point, sir. Quite noble to acknowledge that a doctor should be able to treat "his" (not her, of course) patient, just like Thomas Jesus Jefferson wanted and that to interfere with that most holy of private relationships is in fact immoral.

Rohrabacher also debunked the junk science mentioned by some of his Republican colleagues who are proud graduates of the Acme School of Medicine for Wingnuts that marijuana has no medical benefits.

"Over half the states have already gone through every argument that was presented and decided against what you just heard," Rohrabacher argued. "There are doctors in every one of those states that participated in a long debate over this and found exactly the opposite of what we've heard today."

How could you argue with doctors? And science? And after all, as conservatives who believe in states' rights, who is the federal government to tell those states what to do? Especially when it is a private matter between doctors and patients about how to best address their needs.

Who indeed.

During his illustrious career as the surfing conservative in the House of Representatives, Rohrabacher has repeatedly supported the federal government infringing on that very right. To the shame of our founding fathers, no doubt:

• He has voted, repeatedly, for the No Taxpayer Funding For Abortion Act

• He has voted, repeatedly, for Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act to ban abortions at 20 weeks

• He has voted for the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act (PRENDA), to ban abortions on the basis of race or sex

• He has voted, repeatedly, to prohibit the Affordable Care Act from covering abortions (which it doesn't anyway, but details)

• He has voted, repeatedly, to ban "partial birth" and late term abortions (even though almost all abortions occur in the first trimester anyway, but again, details)

• He voted to prohibit the use of chemically induced abortions

• And of course he has repeatedly supported the prohibition of any federal funding for abortions

It's real nice and reasonable of Rohrabacher, as well as Reps. Andy Harris and John Fleming -- both doctors whose voting records are basically the same as Rohrabacher's when it comes to the federal government intervening in doctor-patient relationships -- to recognize the patriotic morality of allowing doctors to do their damn jobs without the government getting all busy-body in their faces about it. We are glad the House is coming around to the thinking of the majority of Americans who think getting high is just fine, thank you very much, especially if it's what the doctor prescribes.

But it would be even nicer if they really meant it for everyone, for all patients and all doctors and all health care. It would be nice if they could recognize that sometimes patients suffer for reasons that cannot be treated with a doobie, and there is no reason doctors should not be able to use their own judgment to decide how best to treat their patients. Like the founders would want.

So good for you, fellas, for at least seeing clearly on this one point. Now if you could just stop trying to get between doctors and their patients when their patients happen to be ladies with ladyparts, that would be swell.

[ HuffPo ]

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