Legal issues

An economic look at medical marijuana

November 22, 2005

The case for legal pot use A Harvard University professor of economics, Jeffrey Miron, has crunched the numbers, and he’s determined that legalizing marijuana would save $7.7 billion annually in money spent on enforcing dope laws. That breaks down to $5.3 billion in savings for state and local governments, and $2.4 billion in cost reductions [...]

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More on States’ rights

October 11, 2005

Alice writes: I’ll agree to support states’ rights for Oregon, if those judges can reason far enough to then apply that same standard to states’ anti-abortion laws. Surely if one state can decide to kill its elderly, another state can decide not to kill its babies. And maybe if this were permitted, it would promote [...]

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More on the Oregon case

October 9, 2005

The New New Federalism The Oregon case will be an early test of whether the Roberts Court will continue and extend William Rehnquist’s legacy of restoring meaning and force to the notion that our system of government is one of limited and enumerated powers. For at bottom, the Oregon case turns on whether the Attorney [...]

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Previous writings on physician assisted suicide

October 6, 2005

A reader asked why I had moral problems with the Oregon law. I have written about the difference between active and passive euthanasia in the past – and provide these two links: I the Oregon assisted suicide law legal More on passive euthanasia Those two posts make my personal position clear. viagra free viagra buy [...]

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The Supremes and physician assisted suicide

October 5, 2005

Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Oregon’s Assisted-Suicide Law As I have written previously I am morally against physician assisted suicide. In my mind this action crosses an ethical line which troubles me. However, I also consider myself a libertarian and a supporter of States’ Rights. While I disagree personally with the Oregon law, I must [...]

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The Great Debate

September 6, 2005

Occasionally this blog provides me intellectual entertainment. Two weeks ago I blogged about the Vioxx settlement. An interesting perspective on the Vioxx damage award This rant has sparked one of the most spirited, entertaining and thoughtful debates ever seen on this blog. Curious JD stands on one side. He consistently attacks physicians. He blames us [...]

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An interesting perspective on the Vioxx damage award

August 24, 2005

Vioxx-type danger and legal frivolity Last week, a Texas jury found Merck was liable for the death of a man, Robert Ernst, who took Vioxx, the company’s painkiller. While the company will appeal an award of over $250 million to the Ernst widow, claiming that the jury did not find that Vioxx caused his death, [...]

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This made me laugh

August 23, 2005

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For those interested in the medical marijuana question

August 17, 2005

If you have a JAMA subscription here is the link to an excellent commentary – Medical Marijuana, American Federalism, and the Supreme Court The analysis is more technical (legally) than I really understand, but these quotes give the gist of the argument. In Gonzalez v Raich, the US Supreme Court held that federal law enforcement [...]

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Alabama paper writes about medical marijuana

April 18, 2005

Boys and girls this is not California, or Oregon, or even Nevada. This is the Deep South. Prescription for pot? My colleague, Amos Bailey, gives some excellent summaries here: Besides acting as an analgesic for chronic-pain patients, marijuana is used as an appetite stimulant and anti-nausea drug. Doctors believe it works in the part of [...]

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