Marijuana? More like "mariwinning"

I read an interesting post on Mr. Ebeling's blog about legalizing marijuana in Texas. I completely agree that we should legalize marijuana. Not only would it help our economy, but if we do put the money towards education as suggested, we would be able to keep our economy stable by providing better paying jobs and making higher education more affordable. The only thing that I might find problematic about the legalization of marijuana is the rule book that is going to go along with it. What will the age requirements be if not prescribed for an illness? Will it be covered by health insurance companies here? How affordable is it going to be and will we be facing isues with those who are currently illegally dealing the drug? While I am sure there are answers that can be made, it will be a very long time until such a conservative area sees this drug in vending machines. As soon as we do see it, I'm hoping there's food being sold right next to them. You know...for my glaucoma.

$61 Million to HHSC, WHP still hurting

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, Texas will be receiving $61 million to improve health clinics and provide more jobs within those clinics. We'll finally see more opportunities for low-income families, the uninsured, and those who are looking for a position within the medical field to assist these new patients. Not only will we be steering this money to helping those less fortunate, we will also be creating new facilities and touching up the old ones, getting better equipment and ensuring the clinic and hospital staff is well-paid for their duties. Texas has a fairly high reputation for housing some of the best hospitals in the country and even within the nation, so being able to give that care not only to those who are lucky enough to afford it but to those who can't and who need it is exciting and I am all for giving the best back to our health clinics. Texas is short of medical providers, so with this money, they are hoping to see a proportional ratio to provider-population.

My only concern has to do with the WHP. Ever since the federal agency opted the WHP out of gaining anymore funding because of Planned Parenthood, women may still be hurting for specialized clinics that cater to their needs. It was as if a cut and paste of money was taken from the WHP and placed into the HHSC. It's hard to argue that it is wrong when this money is also going to better the health of our community, but it does strip away a significant source of medical attention that is needed to help out the women in our communities. Unless the $61 million will tap into creating better and more affordable services geared strictly towards women's health, I can't help but feel torn about the money we are receiving. It should be an equal distribution, including the WHP, and until I see some sort of settled negotiation that has put them back on something more than just the little state funds keeping them barely alive, I can't be fully okay with all of the money we're getting to go elsewhere.