California Man Arrested In Anniston Alabama For Possessing Prescription Drug
Posted: Friday, August 20, 2010
by Joel Hendon
http://hebronics.org/index.html
There is little question that some type of reciprocal law needs to be passed throughout the nation. Doubtless the incident in Anniston is not the first one to have occurred in other places.
Fourteen states and the District of Columbia have passed laws legalizing marijuana as a prescription drug. Rhode Island, Maine, Montana and Michigan have past laws of reciprocity which allows anyone from out of state to continue their use of the drug as long as they have a valid Medical Doctor's prescription.
He now faces the possibility of a jail sentence plus two years probation.
Lapihuska remarked: "I understand that I broke the law, but the law was wrong, If I would have had OxyContin or Xanax, morphine, anything like that, and walking down the street, the police would have just gave me my prescriptions back and let me walk."
He has a point there, yet the laws as they stand, do not take those things into consideration. The Alabama legislature has wrestled with this problem for six years but, not until the past session has the bill cleared committee. It's passage in the next session is quite doubtful.
Lapihuska has additional problems here. He was imprisoned in Alabama for possession of marijuana before he moved to California. He received his first legal prescription for the drug after he reached that state. He claims the marijuana allowed him to stop taking five other prescription drugs which he was on for major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Without taking a stand as to the merits of medical usage of marijuana, it becomes quite obvious that something desperately needs to be done. If a state is unwilling to recognize another state's legal prescription for marijuana, it should be publicized nationally and if someone is caught as was Lapihuska, offer him the choice of bus ticket home or remaining and being charged with the possession. A bus ticket would be far cheaper than the housing and legal expense of putting one on trial and then in prison
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Joel, this type of situation will continue to happen unfortunately. Why? Because the FDA has not approved the distribution of marijuana throughout the country. Until and unless it does, people like Mr. Lapihuska will need to make sure when they travel they travel to places that will accept his prescription. Hopefully more states will begin to see the light soon.GraceHi Grace, I agree with you. The only concern I have with it is, I am sure there will be a lot of hypochondriacs, when it is legalized.
Whatever happened to common sense? I am not for legalizing marijuana but something does need to be done for those who have am actual medical prescription for it - wonder when some manufacturer will get the active ingredient out and make it an Rx?Hi Marijo, thanks for the comments. I am actually in favor ot it's being made available by prescription. I do think though, that doctors should beware that many will attempt to finagale a prescription for it when in reality they only want it for pleasure.. After all they do permit the heavy drugs to be presdcribed. I had heart by-pass surgery 19 years ago and they sent a whole bottle full of pain pills home with me that I know were not available OTC. Tylenol No 3 with codeine. I only took two of them.
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