tagged w/ medicinal marijuana
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User current89 pointed us to this story: Obama Issues New Medical Marijuana Policy.
"The Obama administration will not seek to arrest medical marijuana users and suppliers as long as they conform to state laws, under new policy guidelines to be sent to federal prosecutors Monday."
This is a much different tact than the Bush Administration, which carried out federal raids over the protests of state and local officials.
As more states relax their laws around medical marijuana and dispensaries like California's become more common - should we anticipate a shift in federal law that follows this trend? Or will marijuana legalization prove to still be too divisive of a national issue to tackle during Obama's term?User current89 pointed us to this story: Obama Issues New Medical Marijuana Policy.... more
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(09-22) 15:41 PDT San Francisco -- Two prominent East Bay marijuana advocates got clearance from the state today to try to put a pot-legalization initiative on the November 2010 California ballot.
Richard Lee, executive director of the medical marijuana dispensary known as Oaksterdam, and Jeff Jones, former director of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, are the sponsors of a measure that would allow anyone over 21 to possess or grow marijuana for personal use. It would allow each local government to decide whether to tax and regulate marijuana sales.(09-22) 15:41 PDT San Francisco -- Two prominent East Bay marijuana advocates got... more
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SAN FRANCISCO – A drug deal plays out, California-style:
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A bill to legalize marijuana has been introduced in the U.S. Aaron Houston, the only full time marijuana lobbyist on Capitol Hill, says taxing the drug will bring millions into the U.S. budget.
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Hell ya!! We've got to rally around this bill!! This is it, the time we've been waiting for!
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EDIT: Since I cannot find anything about a legalization bill on the federal level, they must be talking about the bill that has been introduced in California as it is so far the only recent bill to openly call for legalization and regulation similar to what we have for alcohol and tobacco now.
Link: http://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=7814
This is not an April fool's joke like someone has claimed. There has in-fact been a bill to legalize cannabis, and it has been introduced in the US, just not on the federal level (I don't think the video intended to mislead anyone). There are several bills that have been introduced on the federal and state level that seek to both allow industrial hemp production (Federal: HR 1866) and in many states there are both medicinal marijuana bills and decriminalization bills being considered.
The following bills were on the table in the House for the 110th session, with similar bills expected when the new session begins (The next meeting of the Senate is Apr 20, 2009; the House next meets Apr 21, 2009.). How appropriate that they would start on 4/20!! LOL!:
KEY BILLS FROM 2008:
H.R. 5842: Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act
The bill would have ended marijuana's classification as a Schedule I drug and allowed doctors to prescribe it for medical use. Additionally, this bill would have protected medical marijuana patients who use marijuana legally under state law from arrest and jail. H.R. 5842 was introduced on April 17, 2008 by Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and co-sponsored by Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas) along with 22 other representatives. On April 17, 2008, it was referred to the House Subcommittee on Health.
H.R. 5843: Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2008
The Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2008 marked the first time in decades that Congress has considered removing criminal penalties for marijuana. Introduced by Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.), this bill sought to decriminalize the possession of up to 100 grams of marijuana and the not-for-profit transfer of one ounce of marijuana. On April 28, 2008, H.R. 5843 was referred to the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
Hinchey-Rohrabacher medical marijuana amendment
The Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment would have prevented the Department of Justice from interfering with state medical marijuana laws. Congress failed to pass this legislation in 2007, but it did receive a record number of votes (165; we need a total of 218).
Visit MPP's action center and take action on new issues in the 111th Congress.
Link: http://www.mpp.org/legislation/A bill to legalize marijuana has been introduced in the U.S. Aaron Houston, the only... more
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There's a push by students at Florida State University to legalize marijuana.
Students are gathering petitions for a constitutional amendment. They'll need almost 700,000 to get it on the ballot next year.
Kim Russell is one of the organizers and says it could help her father with Parkinson's disease avoid surgery.
"It's a pain reducer. It's a neuro-protector, meaning it protects the brain. It has anti-oxidant properties. There's many medicinal purposes for it".There's a push by students at Florida State University to legalize marijuana.... more
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Former Seattle Police Chief: LEGALIZE MARIJUANA and ALL DRUGS.
Citing Failed War on Drugs, Former Seattle Police Chief Calls for Legalization of Marijuana and All Drugs
Norm Stamper is a thirty-four-year police officer who retired as Seattle's chief of police in 2000. He now supports the legalization of marijuana and an advisory board member of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and a speaker for the 10,000-member Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.
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The argument against prohibition keeps getting louder and stronger with every passing week!Former Seattle Police Chief: LEGALIZE MARIJUANA and ALL DRUGS.
Citing Failed War on... more
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Despite having promised not to raid medical marijuana facilities operating legally under state law, his administration yesterday raided a pot dispensary in San Francisco. On what basis? Alleged state law violations. Specifically, evasion of state sales taxes. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws notes, "The normal process in such cases is for the Board of Equalization to audit the business in question, NOT for federal agents to enter like storm troopers and steal all of the business's inventory."Despite having promised not to raid medical marijuana facilities operating legally... more
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Seeing discussions like this take place on national television really encourages me that we could be at the turning point!!!
The more people inform themselves, the more prohibitionists like this asshole Hutchinson will seem completely out of touch with reality (which he totally is).
THEY CAN'T KEEP LYING TO US!!!! THE TRUTH WILL PREVAIL!!!
I'm very strongly considering a trip to DC this July to join in the national protest of prohibition. The social climate seems perfect for such an action!Seeing discussions like this take place on national television really encourages me... more
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Despite the ongoing political debate regarding the legality of medicinal marijuana, clinical investigations of the therapeutic use of cannabinoids are now more prevalent than at any time in history. A search of the National Library of Medicine's PubMed website quantifies this fact. A keyword search using the terms "cannabis, 1996" (the year California voters became the first of 13 states to allow for the drug’s medical use under state law) reveals just 258 scientific journal articles published on the subject during that year. Perform this same search for the year 2008, and one will find over 2,100 published scientific studies.
While much of the renewed interest in cannabinoid therapeutics is a result of the discovery of the endocannabinoid regulatory system, some of this increased attention is also due to the growing body of testimonials from medicinal cannabis patients and their physicians. Nevertheless, despite this influx of anecdotal reports, much of the modern investigation of medicinal cannabis remains limited to preclinical (animal) studies of individual cannabinoids (e.g. THC or cannabidiol) and/or synthetic cannabinoid agonists (e.g., dronabinol or WIN 55,212-2) rather than clinical trial investigations involving whole plant material. Predictably, because of the US government's strong public policy stance against any use of cannabis, the bulk of this modern cannabinoid research is taking place outside the United States.
As clinical research into the therapeutic value of cannabinoids has proliferated – there are now more than 17,000 published papers in the scientific literature analyzing marijuana and its constituents — so too has investigators' understanding of cannabis' remarkable capability to combat disease. Whereas researchers in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s primarily assessed cannabis' ability to temporarily alleviate various disease symptoms — such as the nausea associated with cancer chemotherapy — scientists today are exploring the potential role of cannabinoids to modify disease.
Of particular interest, scientists are investigating cannabinoids' capacity to moderate autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease, as well as their role in the treatment of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (a.k.a. Lou Gehrig's disease.)
Investigators are also studying the anti-cancer activities of cannabis, as a growing body of preclinical and clinical data concludes that cannabinoids can reduce the spread of specific cancer cells via apoptosis (programmed cell death) and by the inhibition of angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels). Arguably, these latter trends represent far broader and more significant applications for cannabinoid therapeutics than researchers could have imagined some thirty or even twenty years ago.
[ Much More @ Link ]Despite the ongoing political debate regarding the legality of medicinal marijuana,... more
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Excellent work from the MPP
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Dear NORML Members and Supporters,
Sure, tens of millions of Americans will be hunkering down in front of their television sets with friends and family tomorrow to ostensibly watch the Super Bowl between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals, but as we all know the day of the Super Bowl is America’s showcase for the most expensive and often creative commercial television advertisements of the year.
That’s all fine and dandy, but how much cooler is NORML’s first ever SuperBOWL Pro-Marijuana Law Reform Ad Contest? Heh?!
$10,000 in cash prizes and NORML swag is up for grabs for the most creative pro-marijuana law reform ad—and YOU and your friends are the judges to determine this year’s winners.
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Lots of well done videos were entered, which one would YOU like to see aired on national television?
Voting online for the winners will last one week and end at midnight (PST), Sunday, February 7, 2009.
I encourage all of you to help spread these videos by posting them everywhere you can! Also, go to the YouTube page and vote it up if you like it!!Dear NORML Members and Supporters,
Sure, tens of millions of Americans will be... more
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There are plans for a Million Marijuana March on DC for July 4th 2009.
I've been talking with the organizer who had some interesting things to say about support he has gotten. This could be a pretty big deal if he pulls it off!
Here's what he said about the initial plans and who's involved:
"Ask Larry Lippert of American Cannabis, or Richard Rawlings from Norml, Or Casper from Time for Hemp, all people I have associated with and are collaborating with me on this.
... I am willing to give up my freedom, even my life, so that others can be free, that I was able to confidently coin myself in the phrase and context of a civil rights leader... Fear cannot drive freedom. Only spur on tyranny. So be not afraid brother. There is no greater an action in a man's life then to be a martyr of freedom, and many have sacrificed to do so, I am not afraid to sacrifice.
Also me and my counter-parts in NORML, American Cannabis, The Marijuana Policy Project, and artists like the Individuals and DJ Slim are currently contacting Willie Nelson, Cheech and Chong, Cypress Hill, ZZ Top and Woody Harrelson personally, to help us promote the march. The Million Man March only had Snoop Dog as they're main artist helping them promote, and they acquired nearly 750 THOUSAND marchers. Imagine what we can do with the artists we are acquiring.
There is nothing to fear but fear itself. Be brave my brother, the world needs you too."
-Tom D. (TRM3)
We need more freedom fighters like Tom. The media won't cover it unless it's impossible to ignore it. A million people in DC would certainly draw some attention. Especially with headliners like DJ Slim, Willie Nelson, Cheech and Chong, Cypress Hill, ZZ Top and Woody Harrelson!
Here's the TRM3 mission statement:
WHAT IS TRM3 THE REAL MILLION MARIJUANA MARCH: TRM3 The Real Million Marijuana March is a grass-roots organization based out of Salt Lake City Utah, who's aim is to gather one Million protesters in D.C. July 4th of 2009 for the worlds largest sit-in and protest of marijuana being illegal!!! Being as it is the worlds largest sit-in, it is a great act of civil-disobedience, and though we may get permits for our routes there and to arrive there, there is no permit issued by the U.S. government for a sit-in with no end date. We want a million activists to gather and STAY in D.C. until the United States government legalizes marijuana. This massive act of civil disobedience will cause the United States government to react in one of three ways: They will ignore us (which is highly doubtful) or; They will remove us (probably by force which will most likely end in rioting and martyr our cause further like the civil rights riots of African Americans in the past) or; Legalize it. These are the only options we give our government if we can accomplish one million people in D.C. next year. So help spread the news, help spread the word, and those that believe in personal freedom and the right for everyone to choose for themselves, I ask for a dedication to be there and protest with us in non-violence. Thank you! -Tom D. (TRM3)
There are plans for a Million Marijuana March on DC for July 4th 2009.
I've been... more
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I’d like to give you seven specific reasons why the use of cannabis by adults remains a crime in America.
Marijuana law reformers, myself included, have spilled volumes of ink commenting on the numerous reasons and vested interests responsible for the continued prohibition of cannabis. But while these lengthy writings may be worthwhile intellectual exercises, I fear that they overlook the obvious.
That’s why, right now, I’d like to give you seven specific reasons why the use of cannabis by adults -- including seriously ill patients -- remains a crime in America. Ready? Here they are:
Governor Donald Carcieri (R-Rhode Island)
Governor James Douglas (R-Vermont)
Governor Linda Lingle (R-Hawaii)
Governor John Lynch (D-New Hampshire)
Governor Tim Pawlenty (R-Minnesota)
Governor Jodi Rell (R-Connecticut)
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-California)
Each of these Governors have single-handedly opted to kill marijuana law reform legislation in their states — either by the stroke of a pen (Carcieri, Lingle, Rell, Schwarzenegger) or by applying enough legislative pressure to abruptly halt ‘pro-pot’ proposals from ever reaching their desk. (In fairness to Gov. Douglas, he has allowed both medical marijuana and hemp law reform bills to become law without his signature.) Governors Carcieri and Schwarzenegger are multiple offenders — having combined to veto half a dozen marijuana-law reform bills in recent years.
Want to know why pot remains illegal in America? You can start by asking your Governor.I’d like to give you seven specific reasons why the use of cannabis by adults... more
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"The hazy legality of medical marijuana just got a little clearer. Since 1996 when voters approved a measure allowing the humane use of cannabis to ease sickness and pain, California has struggled to come up with an orderly way to supply the weed.
Federal law hasn't help as Washington insisted that pot is illegal, plain and simple. And local communities have deployed varying rules to rein in the runaway profusion of loosely watched dispensaries. Neither police nor medical marijuana sponsors are happy with the confusing present-day picture.
California Attorney General Jerry Brown believes new guidelines can solve the practical problems, minimize the legal worries and calm patient fears.
His plans, as always, rely on a wink and a nod from the feds, who retain the last word legally. But the Justice Department, via Joseph Russoniello, the U.S. attorney for Northern California, suggests that scaling back operations as outlined by Brown would be tolerated. The feds, Russoniello says, are mainly interested in the big growers and traffickers, not the small-time tokers with chronic back pain or a debilitating illness.
The changes call for dispensaries to be run as nonprofits or cooperatives, a shift designed to cut out big-bucks operators who now exploit the medical label to sell pot to nearly anyone who shows up at the door. There are approximately 300 dispensaries statewide with 29 operating in San Francisco, far more than the city needs.
Under Brown's outline, patients would be urged to get a state ID card obtained with a doctor's note. Presently, some counties issue such cards while others don't. Marijuana sellers also accept a physician's recommendation, adding another variable, while some hardly ask at all.
Brown also wants a reality check on the vast amount of pot on the market. Only a patient, caregiver or dispensary could grow the relatively small amounts of marijuana needed. This would cut medical pot off from a surging and often violent weed-growing industry worth $14 billion in 2006, according to a recent drug-policy study. ""The hazy legality of medical marijuana just got a little clearer. Since 1996 when... more
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edicinal marijuana helps relieve neuropathic pain in people with HIV, says a University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine study.
It included 28 HIV patients with neuropathic pain that wasn't adequately controlled by opiates or other pain relievers. The researchers found that 46 percent of patients who smoked medicinal marijuana reported clinically meaningful pain relief, compared with 18 percent of those who smoked a placebo.
The study, published online Aug. 6 in Neuropsychopharmacology, was sponsored by the University of California Center for Medical Cannabis Research (CMCR).
"Neuropathy is a chronic and significant problem in HIV patients as there are few existing treatments that offer adequate pain management to sufferers," study leader Dr. Ronald J. Ellis, an associate professor of neurosciences, said in an UCSD news release. "We found that smoked cannabis was generally well-tolerated and effective when added to the patient's existing pain medication, resulting in increased pain relief."
The findings are consistent with and extend other recent CMCR-sponsored research supporting the short-term effectiveness of medicinal marijuana in treating neuropathic pain.
"This study adds to a growing body of evidence that indicates that cannabis is effective, in the short-term at least, in the management of neuropathic pain," Dr. Igor Grant, a professor of psychiatry and director of the CMCR, said in the UCSD news release.edicinal marijuana helps relieve neuropathic pain in people with HIV, says a... more
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"In recent years I had the opportunity to question other doctors. There was always caution in their voice because of illegalities. This policy punishes those who benefit and prohibits reasonable scientific research. It keeps America under a cloud of fear and duplicity. "The government knows best," seems to be a belief unquestioned by too many.""In recent years I had the opportunity to question other doctors. There was always... more
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Interviews at the Playboy Mansion with celebrities and musicians regarding medical marijuana. Kat Von D, LA Ink, Perry Farrell, Jane's Addiction, Jackie Martling, Adrianne Curry, Margaret Cho, Scott Kirkland, Crystal Method, Christopher "Kid" Ried, Kid 'N Play, House Party, Bernie Ellis, Rob Kampia. The Marijuana Policy Project.Interviews at the Playboy Mansion with celebrities and musicians regarding medical... more
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Slate posted a letter from John Conyers Jr., chairman of the House judiciary committee, to the DEA's acting administrator Michele Leonhart about the agency's "dramatically intensified … frequency of paramilitary-style enforcement raids" on legal cannabis users and dispensaries.
Conyers asked for an accounting of the agency's costs for these measures against "individuals who suffer from severe or chronic illness" and for its rationale for threatening landlords of licensed dispensaries with "arrest and forfeiture of their property." Meanwhile, the California State Legislature is considering a measure that would allow state and local law enforcement agencies to refuse cooperation with the DEA.
http://www.slate.com/id/2192062/entry/2192063/
Slate posted a letter from John Conyers Jr., chairman of the House judiciary... more
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Dr. Phil Leveque Salem-News.com
When I chose this title I thought I was being a smart aleck. I checked Google I found over 50 articles on the same subject.
Scene from the propaganda movie "Reefer Madness" from 1938
(MOLALLA, Ore.) - Response to February 4th 2008 editorial in The Oregonian.
This is not what you may think but it could be because marijuana acts like a comforting tranquilizer. But that is not exactly what I am writing about.
The Oregonian seems to be getting some perverse superpleasure writing about how bad it is with the pejorative words "abuse", "workplace hazard" and "out of control medical marijuana program" and that the Oregon Marijuana law is a "bad law".
They decry that Oregon has the highest rate of marijuana use and the highest rate of marijuana abuse. Both of these allegations are perversely false and they should know it. It reminds me of the "Reefer Madness" movie. Perhaps they saw it and believed it.
Oregon has possibly the toughest marijuana law. They do not mention that about 2,700 doctors have signed the applications for patients they certify are eligible for the about 20,000 patients who have permits. If the Oregonian thinks these patients are bamboozling the doctors they are totally mistaken.
The U.S. government estimated that there are 300 thousand Oregon marijuana users. It is a cheap, safe, quick-acting tranquilizer. These patients are getting to doctors as soon and fast as possibly and the number of permit card holders is increasing by about 100 per week.
The Oregonian's allegation that medical users use it to "get high" is ridiculous. It costs too much to be used so frivolously. I must admit some high schoolers do get high. How would they like to be in high school these days?
For the Oregonian to infer and publish that it was for "terminal cancer patients" shows their ignorance. However if it is good for a dying patient in pain, why should it not be good for a chronic pain patient with many years ahead? There is some strange perverse sophistry going on here.
The Oregonian fails to address the "on the job hazards" of Oxycontin use, alcoholic hangovers, heavy anti-depressant or tranquilizer use, all of which are far more dangerous than marijuana use which even with heavy use ceases its brain effects in about four hours.
The DEA's administrative judge, Francis J. Young, after hearing two weeks of testimony, wrote: "nearly all medicines have toxins, potentially lethal affects, but marijuana is not such a substance...Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within a supervised routine of medical care" (DEA Docket No. 86-22, 57)
By the way, marinol, the pure substance in marijuana, is an FDA approved prescription drug. If one is bad and dangerous, both are! In fact, marinol is worse than marijuana.
I hope the Oregonian writers can get over this obsessive-compulsive activity and get themselves educated. At one time cannabis medications were the most prescribed in the U.S. Furthermore, cannabis has been used as medicine for about 4,000 years and NEVER caused a death. Even aspirin is far more dangerous.Dr. Phil Leveque Salem-News.com
When I chose this title I thought I was being a smart... more
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It's generally believed that the number one product from California's number one industry isn't legal. Agriculture remains the Golden State's biggest business, and some believe marijuana is worth $14 billion. No one really knows for sure.
The LEGAL medical marijuana business is estimated by advocates to be worth up to $2 billion. Legal, that is, in the state's eyes. It's still illegal under federal law.
Today I'm reporting on the business of selling pot legally, the costs and challenges that go with it. Twelve years after California was the first state to make medical marijuana legal, many clinics are still raided as criminal enterprises (and some are--even under state law), and many others remain paranoid, having come from an underground culture that has pervaded the industry for so long.
Then there are those pushing for openness, transparency, ethics, and standardized practices. In the face of almost no regulatory standards, they're developing their own, and making money doing so.
Follow link for full story and Video'sIt's generally believed that the number one product from California's number one... more
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