Medical Marijuana: Pending legislation in Illinois!!!

Legislators in the state of Illinois are considering passing laws that will allow the use of medical marijuana in that state. If passed, it is my belief that these bills will help to improve the quality of life for thousands of residents who have complex medical conditions.

Those against this bill fear that its passage will lead to increased illegal use of marijuana and believe that there are already prescription medications available for people who would be candidates for the use of medical marijuana.

Here is a link to House bill 2514: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/billstatus.asp?DocNum=2514&GAID=10&GA=96&DocTypeID=HB&LegID=44766&SessionID=76



Here is more information regarding Senate Bill 1381: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=&SessionId=76&GA=96&DocTypeId=SB&DocNum=1381&GAID=10&LegID=42617&SpecSess=&Session=

Marijauna has been reported to be effective in providing relief for numerous ailments, such as:

1. Anorexia (I'm talking about lack of appetite, not the eating disorder).
2. Neurogenic pain
3. Multiple Sclerosis
4. Nausea

To be fair, there are numerous prescription medications on the market today that provide relief for the above mentioned medical conditions. But here's the thing - not all medications work for every person. An example of this is that we all seem to take different medications to treat headaches - Tylenol and Aleve do NOTHING for me when I have a headache, but Ibuprofen works wonders. The use of marijuana will be no different - it will help some and do nothing for others.

Marijuana also has side effects and potential adverse effects. It has been proposed that smoking marijuana will make its users more likely to develop diseases such as lung cancer.

The Institute of Medicine's 1999 report on medical marijuana examined the question whether the medical use of marijuana would lead to an increase of marijuana use in the general population and concluded that, "At this point there are no convincing data to support this concern. The existing data are consistent with the idea that this would not be a problem if the medical use of marijuana were as closely regulated as other medications with abuse potential." The report also noted that, "this question is beyond the issues normally considered for medical uses of drugs, and should not be a factor in evaluating the therapeutic potential of marijuana or cannabinoids."

If you live in Illinois and feel strongly that medical marijuana should be available to the citizens of Illinois, I urge you to contact your legislators TODAY.

If you do not know who your legislators are, here is a link to the Illinois "Legislator lookup" page: http://www.elections.il.gov/DistrictLocator/SelectSearchType.aspx?NavLink=1

Pending Pet Legislation

Several states have pending legislation that will, if passed, affect millions of United States citizens. If you think I'm talking about economic issues, border security, welfare, healthcare, etc - think again. I'm talking about pet legislation. And I'm dead serious.

With all of the serious issues that our federal and state governments are facing at the moment, I find it appalling that pet legislation is even a topic for discussion in the legislature right now. I mean, aren't there more important things to worry about?!

Many states are actually considering making it mandatory that you have your pet spayed or neutered. Others are attempting to dictate what type of dog you can own. Then there are the states that just want to limit the number of pets you own, or prevent you from breeding your pet. To be fair, many of the proposed bills were intended to curtail the puppy mill industry, but will instead impose unfair restrictions on countless responsible pet owners.

At the risk of sounding like John Stossel, give me a break! These proposed laws are so obnoxious, it's hard to know where to begin.

Is our government actually interested in telling us how to own our pets? Are they actually going to tell us what pets we can and cannot own? REALLY????

Here are just a few of the proposed laws:

1. Texas House Bill 4277 and Senate Bill 1845: requires that all dogs over the age of 6 months be sterilized. In order to keep your pet from being sterilized, owners will have to obtain a license from the state at a cost of $300 per animal. Click here to find out who represents you in the Texas State Senate: http://www.senate.state.tx.us/75r/Senate/Members.htm#FYI To find out who represents you in the Texas House of Representatives, click here:http://www.house.state.tx.us/resources/faq.htm#who_rep . The AKC has taken a stance against this bill and has provided a sample letter for you to customize and send to your elected officials; click here for this information:http://www.akc.org/news/index.cfm?article_id=3769 - For the letter, look for the link that is available under the "What You Can Do" header.
2. Arkansas Senate Bill 864: Requires the owners of 12 or more dogs of any age to purchase an annual license for the right to maintain ownership of the dogs, regardless of whether the dogs reside on your property. This bill will unfairly punish responsible dog breeders who retain partial ownership of puppies born in their breeding programs - many breeders do this in order to ensure the safety and well being of those dogs. The American Kennel Club is against this bill. Here is a link to the full text of this bill: http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2009/R/Bills/SB864.pdf
3. West Virginia House Bill 2843: defines commercial dog breeders and limits the ownership of dogs. This bill is similar to the bill in Arkansas that was discussed above. It is also similar to an Illinois bill that was recently stalled. This bill defines a commercial breeder as anyone who maintains 20 or more unsterilized dogs over one year of age, regardless of whether or not these dogs are ever intended to be used for breeding purposes. Imposes severe fines for each violation. Follow this link to find out who your legislators in West Virginia are: http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Districts/district_zip/zipmems.cfm
4. Nevada Senate Bill 241: will require anyone who wants to breed and sell dogs to pay a $500 annual fee to breed and sell puppies. This bill, if passed, would also subject breeders to random inspections. This bill also prohibits breeding an animal beyond 2 litters in its lifetime. To find out who your legislators in Nevada are, follow this link: http://mapserve.leg.state.nv.us/website/lcb/viewer.htm
5. Minnesota House File 253 and Senate File 7: House File 253 is at the very least unconstitutional because it will allow private organizations to become arms of the government. Here's what the American Kennel Club has to say about the proposed Minnesota legislation: http://www.akc.org/news/index.cfm?article_id=3783 . The AKC is also alleging that responsible pet owners have not been able to offer input on the writing of these bills. Senate File 7 is similar to the pending legislation in several states that will impose strict regulatory restrictions on responsible breeders. Here is a link to help you locate your Minnesota legislator: http://www.gis.leg.mn/mapserver/districts/index.html .
6. North Carolina House Bill 733: A brand new bill that was filed on March 19th. If passed, this bill will regulate dog breeding. Yet another bill that could limit the number of animals that you own. Here's a link that will help you find your legislator - there is a place on the lower right hand side of the page to type in your zip code: http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/homePage.pl

While this issue is obviously not as important as your right to bear arms, it is extremely important nonetheless. This topic addresses the fact that the government is trying to control just about every aspect of your life, something that we cannot allow to happen.

If you live in any of the states with proposed legislation listed above, contact your legislators TODAY and urge them to vote against these bills. Do not allow the government to take away any of your rights, no matter how insignificant they seem.

Illinois House Bill 0687

Illinois House Bill 0687, if passed, will amend the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act by requiring that all firearm owners in the state of Illinois maintain liability insurance in the amount of at least ONE MILLION dollars.

Here is a link to the full text of this bill:
http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=&SessionId=76&GA=96&DocTypeId=HB&DocNum=687&GAID=10&LegID=&SpecSess=&Session=

This bill (along with all other forms of gun control) is a direct violation of our constitutional right to bear arms as law abiding Americans, and will limit the ability of many citizens to own a firearm. Meanwhile, anyone with common sense can realize that non law abiding citizens will not be affected - they will disregard the law and continue to own their firearm.

If you live in the state of Illinois, please start contacting your legislators NOW. If you do not know how to contact your legislator, or who your legislators are, here is a link that will help you obtain that information: http://www.capwiz.com/nra/state/main/?state=IL&view=myofficials

Illinois House Bill 687 is not the only anti-gun bill that Illinois lawmakers are looking at. Two other current Illinois house bills that threaten Illinoisans right to bear arms are:

1. House Bill 758, which would virtually ban the private transfer of firearms. Here is a link to the full text of this bill: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=&SessionId=51&GA=95&DocTypeId=HB&DocNum=758&GAID=9&LegID=28058&SpecSess=&Session=
2. House Bill 48 (the private handgun sales ban). Here is a link to the full text of this unfortunate piece of trash that might one day become law: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=&SessionId=76&GA=96&DocTypeId=HB&DocNum=48&GAID=10&LegID=40008&SpecSess=&Session=

You might ask why I, someone who does not own a gun, cares to speak out against gun control.

My position on this is simple: Law abiding citizens are the only people who will abide to gun control laws, making us easy targets for criminals. If you took one look at me- a very small, clean cut appearing woman - you could probably guess that I don't make it my normal practice to break the law. SO IF YOU MAKE IT ILLEGAL FOR ME TO PURCHASE AND CARRY A GUN, EVERYONE WILL MAKE THE EASY ASSUMPTION THAT I DON'T HAVE ONE....