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Medical marijuana "expert" Kelly Ayotte's letter

by: Matt Simon

Fri May 08, 2009 at 12:28:11 PM EDT
Prior to the Senate vote on medical marijuana, Sen. Jack Barnes argued that senators should oppose the bill because members of law enforcement are the true experts on marijuana and marijuana policy.  He then read aloud a portion of this letter from AG Kelly Ayotte to senators.

The letter contains many false and misleading statements, so it is easy to see why the House and Senate were not convinced by the Attorney General's objections.  If Ayotte's concerns are also Governor Lynch's concerns, then unfortunately the Governor is acting based on some very bad information.  The following refutations (two-page version, seven-page version) should help.  

If you are embarrassed that the attorney general of your state would send such an uninformed letter to senators, please call Governor Lynch's office at 271-2121 and tell him Kelly Ayotte is not an expert on medical marijuana!

(Note: the House and Senate have both passed HB 648 in different forms.  The House would have agreed to the Senate's minor changes on Wednesday, but Governor Lynch indicated that he would veto the bill as written.  Instead, legislators on the "committee of conference" will attempt to craft a compromise bill that Lynch won't veto.)
Matt Simon :: Medical marijuana "expert" Kelly Ayotte's letter
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Medical marijuana "expert" Kelly Ayotte's letter | 7 comments
interesting (0.00 / 0)
I see that Jim Carroll and Kathy Rogers are opposed, acording to the letter; I don't believe they would be opposed if there weren't problems with the bill.

I should make it clear, I'm not opposed to the concept, I'm just not sure that the Governor is  wrong about the bill as written.



"When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on."  Franklin D. Roosevelt    

it's one thing to be opposed (0.00 / 0)
...quite another to sign a letter that contains many false and misleading statements.  These county attorneys have not been part of the process of this bill, and nobody in favor of the bill has presented them with any information, so I assumed this was (at least potentially) a case of misplaced trust in the AG.  

With that in mind, I sent a polite letter to the 9 county attorneys asking them to read the 7 page response and perhaps reconsider their position on the issue.

With regard to the bill itself, the House and Senate HHS committees worked hard to make it as tight as possible.  Unfortunately, Governor Lynch doesn't appear to have done his homework on this issue, and he appears to have formed a judgment without considering both sides of the argument.  At least this committee of conference buys advocates some more time to explain this potentially complicated issue, and why the provisions of this bill are necessary in order to adequately protect patients.

There is still much hope for HB 648, but this development is a real bummer for the seriously ill patients who are currently either going without their medicine or living in fear of arrest...

Executive Director, NH Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy

[ Parent ]
It's incredible... (0.00 / 0)
I don't think I've ever seen a footnote or reference in anything the AG's office has put out on this topic, yet the refutation letter is full of sources, references for further research, and footnotes... hmm...

"[Brinck Slattery is a] political attack dog for hire" =Ray Buckley
It's not the AG's place to pass judgment on this. (4.00 / 1)
This isn't about how the law is enforced, it's about what should or should not be legal.  Unless the AG has an opinion about the Constitutionality of the bill, she has no business trying to influence the outcome in her official capacity.
What I'd like to know is to what extent law enforcement has (4.00 / 1)
a vested interest in the war on drugs.  If you listen to our town administrator and police chief talk about how college students have to be "socialized" and taught proper behavior, it's easy to conclude that there's not enough real crime to keep the police engaged.
law enforcement (4.00 / 2)
and other agencies have a huge vested interest in perpetuating the war on drugs - they get money and cool toys for "fighting" it.

The testimony of Ayotte's minion, Ms. Eckels at the senate committee  hearing was embarrassing. I still can't believe that an assistant AG would show up, and spout such  ill informed nonsense.

I have yet to speak to a doctor who is opposed to medical marijuana - and I speak to a lot of doctors these days.  

sanctimonious purist/professional lefty

[ Parent ]
What Ayotte to do? (4.00 / 1)
My first experience with our AG was at the hearings about the death penalty. It seems to me that once you get past the arguments about whether there is a deterrent effect (and if anything, the opposite seems to be true) the rest of the argument is moot - overwhelmed by the argument of those incorrectly executed. She presented only testimony about the feelings of the law enforcement community and really no facts in this regard (though there might be some). It was an embarrasing exposure to me. I would like our AG to at least have at her command some facts to support her stated opinions not just common fears and apprehension. Most of her testimony, and that of the police officials, centered around the "slap in the face" which is both laughable and irrelevant. No matter how much we respect the sacrifices made by the military and law enforcement, among others, societal decisions are made by legislative process not polling affected groups. Did the civil war slap slave owners in the face? Did the women's sufferage movement slap men in the face? Who cares? That isn't the point.
Medical marijuana "expert" Kelly Ayotte's letter | 7 comments

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