WI's Gerrymandered Republican majority ignore and enjoy peoples pain in opposition to Medical Marijuana.

Take the issue of medical and recreational marijuana and climate change.

Conservative voters don't care if they're wrong about really important things. Even when published peer-reviewed scientific journals show that 97 percent or more of actively publishing climate scientists agree* change is happening. You'd think they would at least play it safe and hedge their bets a little, just in case, right? Nope, science is wrong.

They won't believe 97 percent of scientists on climate change, but say they want to wait until there is enough science to determine if marijuana is safe? Will "97 percent safe" be enough? Didn't think so. 

Marijuana Science Hypocrisy: Isn't it funny how those same voters don't mind letting our gerrymandered Republican majority insist on getting more scientific research done before letting medical and recreational marijuana become legal in Wisconsin? Nevermind border states like Illinois and Michigan will soon pour vast amounts of pot into our state, costly us massive amounts of taxpayer money policing and prosecuting our friends and neighbors, turning them into criminals. 

Conservative voters don't seem bothered by the following mindless nonsensical comment by Rep. Vos grouping a bunch of unrelated issues as a reason to keep pot illegal. See if you can follow Vos' logic...I couldn't. Makes you wonder what he's smoking:

Rep. Robin Vos argued Illinois residents are "fleeing" the state. "I think if all they've got to offer people is high taxes, high regulations, lower home values and marijuana, that should not be an economic growth strategy. So I'd much rather be Wisconsin, where we have more jobs than we can fill, rising wages, home values that are increasing and no recreational marijuana."

Actual Research is all the proof you need: The latest issue of AARP had an important article detailing what we currently know, and why many states and one northern border country has made it legal:

1. It’s like a trip to an adults-only candy store, loaded with tinctures and oils, vape pens and “flower” (dried marijuana), mouth sprays and skin patches, fancy chocolate truffles, cinnamon-scented cookies, and sodas, balms and lotions, all laced with the active ingredients in cannabis. 

2. Scientists can’t buy it at a dispensary and study it in most labs. That research gap means only a handful of the common uses of cannabis are backed by substantial evidence from human clinical trials, according to a rigorous 2017 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM).


3. More than 600,000 Americans turn to cannabis for relief from chronic pain — and the scientific evidence for its effectiveness is substantial. In gold-standard randomized clinical trials of people who had agonizing health concerns — peripheral neuropathy (nerve pain from diabetes), spinal cord injury, HIV or complex regional pain syndrome, cancer, chemotherapy, muscle and joint problems, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis — cannabis reduced pain by 40 percent, according to the 2017 NASEM report.
4. In a recent Canadian study, cannabis even soothed arthritic lab rats. Surprisingly, there’s little evidence (yet) from human studies for the most common form of arthritis, osteoarthritis — the wear-and-tear joint disease affecting 50 percent of adults age 65-plus. Clinical trials are underway. But who’s waiting? Arthritis was the top reason older adults used cannabis in a 2019 Colorado survey, followed by back pain. Overall, 79 percent said it helped. BOTTOM LINE: It seems to help.

The '60s and '70's Boomers Loved Pot: Many of the stories I've read about recreational marijuana seem to have forgotten how boomers saw pot as a normal fun thing to do. Maybe that's why seniors are once again, into it. I gave up smoking it because it made me tired, but even that has changed now, with the development of non-drowsy marijuana: 

1. No surprise that across the nation, 58 percent of Americans 55 and older now say smoking pot is morally acceptable, according to a 2018 Gallup poll. Over 25 percent of Americans 50 and older — some 29 million — live in one of the 11 states or the District of Columbia where recreational pot is legal.

Still, I can't imagine working out "stoned."

2. It's way out in the open as a “cannabis culture” has erupted, with cannabis-themed dinner parties, yoga sessions, art classes, vacation tours and even a night out at a local tavern.

3. In Oregon, where recreational marijuana became legal in 2015, you can sample edibles infused with cannabis at bakeries, restaurants and private dinners featuring “cannabis cuisine” — then work off the calories by getting “lit and fit” at a stoned exercise class.

4. "I'll have infused recipes — like lemon bars with a cannabis strain that derives its lemony scent from a compound called limonene,” notes Laurie Wolf, 65, the author of several cannabis cookbooks, who hosts dinner parties at her floating home near Portland. “But I'll also do an entire cannabis meal where I will infuse the starters with an uplifting strain and end with something a touch more sedating."

5. In one recent survey of Colorado residents age 60 to 94, a third said they smoke, vape or munch recreationally (versus medically). “At times, I have just as many older people taking the tour as younger people,” says guide Alayna Adair, 32, of Denver-based Colorado Cannabis Tours. “We stop at dispensaries and growing facilities, and people definitely indulge on the bus. I've had older people celebrate their birthday here. It's a real party.”