New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
On November 6th, 2012, Massachusetts voters will decide “Yes” or “No” on three statewide ballot questions. Two of the questions are major medical issues and will have a lasting impact on our state. Do we want to prescribe medication to end the life of suffering patients? Do we want to be a state that prescribes medical Marijuana? As a general rule, I don’t take sides on political issues on NewBedfordGuide.com. In this article, I’ll simply provide the facts on each ballot question and relevant resources so YOU can decide.
Question #1: Availability of Motor Vehicle Repair Information
This ballot question would force vehicle manufacturers to provide consumers the same diagnostic and repair information that the car dealers and in-state authorized repair facilities get. Basically, it stops dealers from overcharging consumers for diagnostic and repair information and forces them to make it available outside of their proprietary networks. It provides the consumer (or the consumers repair facility) the right to obtain diagnostic and repair information electronically on a subscription basis, for no more than fair market value and on terms that do not unfairly favor dealers and authorized repair facilities. It also provides consumers unfiltered access to the information outside of the dealerships propriety systems. You can read the official ballot question summary here.
A YES VOTE would enact the proposed law requiring motor vehicle manufacturers to allow vehicle owners and independent repair facilities in Massachusetts to have access to the same vehicle diagnostic and repair information made available to the manufacturers’ Massachusetts dealers and authorized repair facilities.
A NO VOTE would make no change in existing laws.
Question #2: Prescribing Medication to End Life
This is probably the most controversial ballot question in decades for Massachusetts residents. At a terminally ill patients request, should Massachusetts doctors be allowed to prescribe medication to end that patient’s life? In 1999, Dr. Jack Kevorkian served 8 years of a 20-25 year sentence for second degree murder for assisting a terminally ill patient’s life. There are several strict requirements to the law. First, the patient must be “mentally capable” of requesting these medications. Second, the patient must have “an incurable, irreversible disease that will, within reasonable medical judgment, cause death within six months.” Third, the patient must “voluntarily expresses a wish to die and has made an informed decision.” Finally, “the patient would ingest the medicine in order to cause death in a humane and dignified manner.” You can read the official ballot question summary here.
A YES VOTE would enact the proposed law allowing a physician licensed in Massachusetts to prescribe medication, at the request of a terminally-ill patient meeting certain conditions, to end that person’s life.
A NO VOTE would make no change in existing laws.
Question #3: Medical Use of Marijuana
In 2008, through a ballot question, Massachusetts decriminalized Marijuana use for anyone in possession of 1 ounce or less. Instead of jail time, these users paid a $100 fine. This year’s Question #3 addresses the medical use of Marijuana. In simple terms, “this proposed law would eliminate state criminal and civil penalties for the medical use of marijuana by qualifying patients. To qualify, a patient must have been diagnosed with a debilitating medical condition, such as cancer, glaucoma, HIV-positive status or AIDS, hepatitis C, Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, ALS, or multiple sclerosis.” Currently, 17 U.S. states and the District of Columbia approve and regulate Marijuana for medical use. You can read the official ballot question summary here.
A YES VOTE would enact the proposed law eliminating state criminal and civil penalties related to the medical use of marijuana allowing patients meeting certain conditions to obtain marijuana produced and distributed by new state-regulated centers or, in specific hardship cases, to grow marijuana for their own use.
A NO VOTE would make no change in existing laws.
Are you for or against any of these ballot questions? Post a comment!
Voting yes on all of them.
Voting yes on #1, NO on #2 and yes on #3. People better take a better look at the “Prescribing Medication to End Life.” Lets face it, if someone with a terminal illness really wants to die, they can surely accomplish this task with the help of family. What this bill is really all about is money, yes you heard it, money..In Oregon where this is legal, the insurance companies flat out refuse to pay for some treatments for the terminally ill, instead they offer to pay for the pills to end one’s life. Is this what we want in our society, insurance companies pushing people to hurry up and die because its cheaper for them? Watch out people, this is what this is all about. It has nothing at all to do with pain and suffering – its about the cold hard cash that insurance companies do not want to dole out.
you got that right
voting yes on one and no on two and tree
Voting “Yes” on all 3, especially question #3.
Voters need to realize that their preconceived notions and opinions about marijuana may not be in line with reality. It is medicine, and it does things for people that prescription pills cannot.
People who use marijuana medically are still going to go out and find it even if Question #3 doesn’t pass. Wouldn’t it be better if they had a safe way to go about finding it, instead of going to a drug-dealers house or some street corner?