Some oppose medical marijuana because patients who aren’t that sick can still get a doctor’s note.
I’ve noticed that people who can walk pretty well still get permits to park in the close spots. Maybe we should outlaw all handicapped parking.
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That’s a great point. And you know, we know very little about how effective handicap parking really is. People are just going around self-prescribing shorter walking distances, with no consistency in terms of number or size of strides. Handicap parking also clearly leads to crime, as it enables quicker getaways in robberies or other criminal acts. Finally, studies have shown that walking shorter distances can lead to obesity, high blood pressure, and even death.
Do we really want to send a message of approval given the costs to society? I think the answer is clear.
Outlaw everything except mommygov. I can’t live without mommygov. Hope my welfare check comes today.
Darn it, you had to go and rub it in. My Handicapped permit expires tomorrow. It’s definitely come in handy in the last 6 months. We got it because the wife broke her ankle back in December. No I’m not handicapped, I only got one because I was driving her around. I didn’t even abuse it. But that’s because back in the ’80s I did some part time pizza delivery and had one night had occasion to park in the fire lane at an apartment building. Without noticing I blocked the ramp cutaway. Upon exiting the building I saw a man in a wheelchair in distress trying to hump his wheelchair over the curb because I had done that. Man I really felt like a low life for doing that, and the man wouldn’t accept my apology either. OK, ok I used it for free parking in downtown DC but that works in any legal parking space.
When I see someone park in a handicapped spot and then bounce out and head for the store, seemingly without any problem, I watch and ask myself, “What’s the disability?” Then it hits me. “OH, retarded!”
When I had my foot crushed, I didn’t opt for a placard or space. I wasn’t “there” yet.
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If people are so disabled they need special parking, are they too impaired to drive? If the presence of cannabis metabolites in urine is evidence of impaired driving and requires incarceration, what does that blue tag hanging from the rear view mirror imply or legally prove?
Not every disability is obvious. Some people may have breathing difficulties, others may be very ill, but need to drive short distances to the store or the doctor. Not to mention what do you do about the person who drives you, or for you? Do you take out the handicapped sticker for someone who’s doing errands for you, or a relative who needs the car anyway?
@CarolDuhart, that’s the whole point. Just as it may not be obvious to the non-handicapped why someone needs a handicapped sticker, it may not be obvious to the non-patient why someone needs medical marijuana. Opposing medical marijuana because not everyone has cancer would be on par with opposing handicapped parking because not everyone needs a wheelchair.
I am over six foot and have extremely long gray hair. I am disabled and 53 years old. I dont always use the parking spots except on a bad day,when i can hardly function. Looking at me one would see no apparent disability. Let me pull down my pants to show you my ostomy bag, and my mris of crushed neck discs and vertabre, and the neuralocgical problems that make chuncks of me go numb. Just a few things here. Its nobodys f-ing buisness as to a persons disability. F_off. Now I gotta smoke to calm down . HEE Hee.
Carly. Stand as tall as you can.
Well said.
Pete, your critical analysis hits a bullseye, again, as always. — kate w.
@domisi: Amen. Just as the reason you take an aspirin everyday is none of anyone’s business, neither should medical cannabis be anyone’s business. Provided there are no effects that endanger other people due to lack of concentration or such, then usage if private.
I have breathing difficulties from time to time, and I have heard that cannabis helps. But I cannot smoke because of where I live and my job. So I support from a distance those who can and the efforts to expand the eligibility. If people can get prescription codeine without supervision I see no reason why medical cannabis patients should be refused the same consideration.