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Why isn't it legal? Marijuana Policy Project @ the Playboy Mansion
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, Dr. Bernie Ellis, Rob Kampia. The Marijuana Policy Project., Interviews at the Playboy Mansion with celebrities and musicians regarding medical marijuana. Kat Von D, LA Ink, Perry Farrell, Jane's... more
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Medical Marijuana Documentary "Waiting to Inhale" Screening in Clovis July 7
CONTACT: Aaron Smith, MPP California organizer, 707-575-9870
FRESNO, Calif. — A free screening of the award-winning medical marijuana documentary, "Waiting to Inhale," takes place July 7, at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Fresno in Clovis, followed by a panel discussion with local medical marijuana patients, advocates and medical experts.
The film is a gripping examination of all angles of the medical marijuana controversy, including interviews with leading researchers, patients, advocates and government officials.Click for the full story on the Canna Zine cannabis news portal. CONTACT: Aaron Smith, MPP California organizer, 707-575-9870 ... more -
N.Y. assembly passes medical marijuana bill
By Dan Bernath
For the second year in a row, New York Assembly members have voted to stop the heartless policy of labeling the seriously ill as criminals for relieving their suffering in accordance with their doctors' advice. To ask your state senator to follow suit, please visit: https://ssl.capwiz.com/mpp/callalert/index.tt?alertid=1... . To watch patients' testimonials, visit www.mpp.org/NYads
ALBANY, NEW YORK — The New York Assembly passed a bill today that would protect New Yorkers with life threatening or debilitating conditions from arrest for using medical marijuana when their doctors believe it would be the best treatment option, 79-48.
The bill is similar to the medical marijuana bill the Assembly passed last year. The version passed today was modified to address concerns voiced by members of the Senate, who have until June 23 to pass the bill before the legislature recesses.
"Every day that goes by without this sensible, compassionate law is a day in which our most vulnerable citizens must choose between suffering debilitating pain or risking arrest in order to find relief," said bill sponsor and Assembly Health Committee Chair Richard N. Gottfried. "These patients don't have the luxury of waiting another year for their elected representatives to act – they need the Senate to stand up for them now."
Dr. Kevin Smith, a Saugerties psychiatrist who has been recognized by the state legislature for his work with police forensics, said the bill would change the lives of people like him who have no better pain relief options.
"Unless you or a loved one has experienced it, it's difficult to understand the frustration and helplessness that comes from knowing that relief is readily available but forbidden by law," said Smith, who suffers from a painful genetic defect that causes his immune system to attack his spine and hips as though they were foreign bodies; the debilitating pain forced him to quit practicing medicine. "Medical marijuana can give me my life back, but right now I am barred by law from using it. This is crazy."
Glenn Amandola, a medically retired New York City police officer from Northport who suffers from chronic pain and a seizure disorder after being injured on the job in 1987, said it makes no sense for the law to prevent him from using medical marijuana when his doctor says it could help.
"As an officer with the New York City Police Department, I swore to uphold state law, and I'll never break that oath," he said. "The flip side to that, however, is that our lawmakers owe it to people like me who live in constant pain to make sure the law doesn't penalize us for seeking relief. I should have the right to decide for myself – with my doctor – what my best treatment options are."
With more than 23,000 members and 180,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit www.MarijuanaPolicy.org.
By Dan Bernath karen@mpp.org http://www.NYPatients.org By Dan Bernath ... more -
Legalize Every Drug
By JOHN STOSSEL, Creators Syndicate, Inc.
June 18, 2008
The other day, reading the New York Post's Page Six gossip page, I was surprised to find a picture of me, followed by the lines: "ABC's John Stossel wants the government to stop interfering with your right to get high. ... The crowd went silent at his call to legalize hard drugs."
I had attended a Marijuana Policy Project event celebrating the New York State Assembly's passage of a medical-marijuana bill. (The bill hasn't yet passed the Senate.)
I told the audience I thought it pathetic that the mere half passage of a bill to allow sick people to try a possible remedy would merit such a celebration.
Of course medical marijuana should be legal. For adults, everything should be legal. I'm amazed that the health police are so smug in their opposition.
After years of reporting on the drug war, I'm convinced that this "war" does more harm than any drug.
More follow link... By JOHN STOSSEL, Creators Syndicate, Inc. June 18, 2008 ... more -
Medicinal marijuana can cause range of adverse effects, say researchers
The use of medical marijuana to relieve pain and other disease symptoms can cause a huge range of adverse effects, says an analysis of safety studies co-authored by University of B.C. and McGill University researchers.
The use of medical marijuana to relieve pain and other disease symptoms can cause a huge range of adverse effects, says an analysis of... more -
Man DIES after he is denied a liver transplant due to prescribed medical marijuana...
a 56 year old prescribed medical marijuana user (to treat his hepatitis C symptoms) was DENIED a liver transplant BECAUSE of his dope usage, and died.
they said they couldnt put him on the list for transplants until he completed a 60 day drug treatment program, even though he was prescribed pot from his doctor.
what do we think about this?
Should using medical marijuana with a doctor's blessing be held against a dying patient in need of a transplant? It is considered an illicit drug under federal law..
a 56 year old prescribed medical marijuana user (to treat his hepatitis C symptoms) was DENIED a liver transplant BECAUSE of his dope ... more -
Oaksterdam News - V3 Issue 4
Oaksterdam News about medical cannabis and more
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American Alliance for Medical Cannabis
Medical marijuana (cannabis) - Facts regarding medical marijuana (Cannabis) as medicine, laws for medicinal marijuana, patient resources, recipes.... Medical marijuana (cannabis) - Facts regarding medical marijuana (Cannabis) as medicine, laws for medicinal marijuana, patient resourc... more
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TIME 4 HEMP
Time 4 Hemp is all about information and education.
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Marijuana Uses - Dr. Lester Grinspoon's Marijuana Uses
Learn
There are no truths, only stories.
-Simon Ortiz, Acoma Pueblo poet
You and I are among the more than 70 million Americans who have used cannabis -- and possibly among the more than ten million who use it regularly. We know that people smoke marijuana not because they are driven by uncontrollable "Reefer Madness" craving, as some propaganda would lead us to believe, but because they have learned its value from experience. Yet almost all of the research, writing, political activity, and legislation devoted to marijuana has been concerned only with the question of whether it is harmful and how much harm it does. The only exception is the growing medical marijuana movement, but as encouraging as that movement is, it represents only one category of marijuana use. The rest are sometimes grouped under the general heading of "recreational", but that is hardly an adequate description of, say, marijuana's capacity to catalyze ideas and insights, heighten the appreciation of music and art, or deepen emotional and sexual intimacy.
These kinds of marijuana experiences, which I like to call "enhancement", are often misunderstood and under-appreciated -- not only by non-users, but even by some users, especially young people who are interested mainly in promoting sociability and fun. Most of marijuana's powers of enhancement are not as immediately available as its capacity to lift mood or improve appetite and the taste of food. Some learning may be required, and one way to learn is through other people's experience. Some colleagues and I hope to promote this kind of learning by assembling an anthology of accounts of cannabis enhancement experiences. It is our hope that these stories will ultimately provide the basis for a book. Toward that end, we seek to identify contributors who are willing to share their knowledge of the uses of cannabis.
Accounts judged to be useful will be posted on this web site as they are received. The longer ones will be presented as Essays and the shorter ones as Brief Accounts. Interesting comments received on any of these contributions to the web site will be presented at the end of the essay or brief account. Some contributors may wish to share their e-mail address. If and when the collection is of a quality and quantity which would justify publication as an anthology, a book proposal will be written.
A little about me. I am on the faculty (emeritus) of the Harvard Medical School in the Department of Psychiatry. I have been studying cannabis since 1967 and have published two books on the subject. In 1971 Marihuana Reconsidered was published by Harvard University Press. Marihuana, the Forbidden Medicine, coauthored with James B. Bakalar, was published in 1993 by Yale University Press; the revised and expanded edition appeared in 1997. Other books include The Speed Culture: The Use and Abuse of Amphetamines in America, Cocaine: A Drug and its Social Evolution, Psychedelic Drugs Reconsidered, and Psychedelic Reflections.
I have posted as the first essay on the web site "A Cannabis Odyssey", an essay about my personal involvement with this issue. I identify myself as a cannabis user, but contributors who wish to remain anonymous can; some may want to use a pseudonym.
Most contributors will know what they want to write and how to go about it. However, for those who are in doubt, I suggest you read a few of the essays to get a sense of some of the ways these ideas can be presented. I hope you will be interested in submitting a contribution.
Cordially,
Lester Grinspoon, M.D.
PS: Please click here to learn more about medical uses of marijuana.
Learn There are no truths, only stories. -Simon Ortiz, Acoma Pueblo poet ... more -
Maripharm
History of Medical Cannabis
Cannabis was a part of the American pharmacopoeia until 1942 and is currently available by prescription in the Netherlands, Canada, Spain, and Italy in its whole plant form.
In 1937, the U.S. passed the first federal law against cannabis, despite the objections of the American Medical Association (AMA). Dr. William C. Woodward, testifying on behalf of the AMA, told Congress that, "The American Medical Association knows of no evidence that marijuana is a dangerous drug" and warned that a prohibition "loses sight of the fact that future investigation may show that there are substantial medical uses for Cannabis."
Ironically, the U.S. federal government currently grows and provides cannabis for a small number of patients. In 1976 the federal government created the Investigational New Drug (IND) compassionate access research program to allow patients to receive up to nine pounds of cannabis from the government each year. Today, five surviving patients still receive medical cannabis from the federal government, paid for by federal tax dollars.
In 1988, the DEA's Chief Administrative Law Judge, Francis L. Young, ruled after extensive hearings that, "Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known... It would be unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious for the DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance..." Yet the DEA refused to implement this ruling based on a procedural technicality and resists rescheduling to this day.
In 1989, the FDA was flooded with new applications from people with HIV/AIDS. In June 1991, the Public Health Service announced that the program would be suspended because it undermined federal prohibition. Despite this successful medical program and centuries of documented safe use, cannabis is still classified in America as a Schedule I substanceâ€"indicating a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical value. Healthcare advocates have tried to resolve this contradiction through legal and administrative channels to no avail.
In 1996, patients and advocates turned to the state level for access, passing voter initiatives in California and Arizona that allowed for legal use of cannabis with a doctor's recommendation. These victories were followed by the passage of similar initiatives in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Maine, Montana, Nevada, and Washington D.C. The legislatures of Hawaii, Rhode Island, Maryland and Vermont have also acted on behalf of their citizens, and every legislative session sees more bills introduced at the state level across the country.
In 1997, The Office of National Drug Control Policy commissioned the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to conduct a comprehensive study of the medical efficacy of cannabis therapeutics. The IOM concluded that cannabis is a safe and effective medicine, patients should have access, and the government should expand avenues for research and drug development. The federal government has completely ignored its findings and refused to act on its recommendations.
Despite the federal barriers to research, hundreds of peer-reviewed studies have been published worldwide since the IOM report. While there is still much to learn, the medical potential is indisputable for a variety of symptoms and conditions.
In 1997, the Federal government began a campaign to arrest and prosecute medical cannabis patients and their providers. These raids resulted in two Supreme Court Cases, OCBC and Gonzales v. Raich. In each of these cases the Justices found that the Federal law and state law can exist in conflict and that the federal government could continue their campaign against medical cannabis patients if they so choose. However, the Justices questioned "the wisdom' of going after patients and their providers and called on Congress to change the current laws to allow for medical use.
History of Medical Cannabis ... more -
Marijuana? Legal? Taxable? Downright Good for the Economy?
New York Times Video Clip describes how marijuana production and consumption has moved into the mainstream in California. Demonstrating that marijuana can be separated from any unnecessary criminality and can be a viable source of Income for the state. New York Times Video Clip describes how marijuana production and consumption has moved into the mainstream in California. Demonstrati... more
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Marijuana Hotbed Retreats on Medicinal Use
UKIAH, Calif. — There is probably no marijuana-friendlier place in the country than here in Mendocino County, where plants can grow more than 15 feet high, medical marijuana clubs adopt stretches of highway, and the sticky, sweet aroma of cannabis fills this city’s streets during the autumn harvest.
Lately, however, residents of Mendocino County, like those in other parts of California, are wondering if the state’s embrace of marijuana for medicinal purposes has gone too far.
With video and slide show. UKIAH, Calif. — There is probably no marijuana-friendlier place in the country than here in Mendocino County, where plants can grow mo... more -
Cannabis Cancer Cure Proven - video
After a serious head injury in 1997, Rick Simpson sought relief from his medical condition through the use of medicinal hemp oil, (which differs greatly from hemp seed oil which contains none of the "active" THC compound).
When Rick discovered that the hemp oil (with its high concentration of T.H.C.) cured cancers and other illnesses, he tried to share it with as many people as he could free of charge. After a serious head injury in 1997, Rick Simpson sought relief from his medical condition through the use of medicinal hemp oil, (whi... more -
Jerry Brown to challenge court's ruling on medical marijuana
The Court of Appeal decided that lawmakers overstepped their bounds by amending the Compassionate Use Act. Brown, the attorney general, disagrees with that ruling.
"State Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown is preparing to challenge a recent appellate court decision that struck down California's guidelines on medical marijuana possession and cultivation, leaving patients and police wondering how much weed is too much.
Brown said in an interview this week that he would ask the Supreme Court to overturn last month's decision by the state Court of Appeal in Los Angeles, because it inhibits the state's attempts to control abuses while protecting legitimate access to cannabis.
The court ruled that the Legislature in 2003 made an unconstitutional amendment to the 1996 voter-approved Compassionate Use Act by specifying the amount of marijuana that patients could possess for medicinal purposes.
The decision, hailed by some medical marijuana advocates, did not only cast doubt on the legality of the standard of eight ounces of dried pot and six mature or 12 immature plants, which is contained in the legislation. It also threw a cloud of uncertainty over more liberal guidelines adopted by some counties, particularly those in the marijuana belt of the North Coast.
Brown, who supports medicinal use of marijuana, said the legislation was a reasonable approach to implementing a vaguely written ballot measure. "The proposition is not as clear we would like," he said. "You do not need an unlimited quantity of marijuana for medicine. But what is the quantity?"
The medical marijuana law was designed to provide access to patients with cancer, AIDS and other ailments. But implementation has created a hodgepodge of local marijuana controls."
By Tim Reiterman
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer The Court of Appeal decided that lawmakers overstepped their bounds by amending the Compassionate Use Act. Brown, the attorney general... more -
Is Senator Kennedy A Victim Of Pot Prohibition?
May 20th, 2008 By: Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director
Forgive me if the headline above sounds slightly exploitive. My intention is not to piggyback on a personal tragedy, but I did want to get your attention.
As I originally wrote in 2004 essay for Alternet.org, entitled “Pot Shows Promise as a Cancer Cure”
In fact, the first experiment documenting pot’s anti-tumor effects took place in 1974 at the Medical College of Virginia at the behest of the U.S. government. The results of that study, reported in an Aug. 18, 1974, Washington Post newspaper feature, were that marijuana’s psychoactive component, THC, “slowed the growth of lung cancers, breast cancers and a virus-induced leukemia in laboratory mice, and prolonged their lives by as much as 36 percent.”
Despite these favorable preliminary findings, U.S. government officials banished the study, and refused to fund any follow-up research until conducting a similar – though secret – clinical trial in the mid-1990s. That study, conducted by the U.S. National Toxicology Program to the tune of $2 million concluded that mice and rats administered high doses of THC over long periods had greater protection against malignant tumors than untreated controls.
However, rather than publicize their findings, government researchers shelved the results, which only became public after a draft copy of its findings were leaked in 1997 to a medical journal which in turn forwarded the story to the national media.
In the years since the completion of the National Toxicology trial, the U.S. government has yet to fund a single additional study examining the drug’s potential anti-cancer properties. Is this a case of federal bureaucrats putting politics over the health and safety of patients? You be the judge.
Fortunately, in the past ten years scientists overseas have generously picked up where U.S. researchers so abruptly left off, reporting that cannabinoids can halt the spread of numerous cancer cells — including prostate cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, and in one human clinical trial, brain cancer.
Writing earlier this year in the journal Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, Italian researchers reiterated, “[C]annabinoids have displayed a great potency in reducing glioma tumor growth either in vitro or in animal experimental models. … [They] appear to be selective antitumoral agents as they kill glioma cells without affecting the viability of nontransformed counterparts.” Not one mainstream media outlet reported their findings. Perhaps now they’ll pay better attention.
What possible advancements in the treatment of cancer may have been achieved over the past 34 years had US government officials chosen to advance — rather than suppress — clinical research into the anti-cancer effects of cannabis? It’s a shame we have to speculate; it’s even more tragic that the families of Senator Kennedy and thousands of others must suffer while we do.
May 20th, 2008 By: Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director ... more -
Smoking pot all day, every day might not be good for you
Ever wonder why the studies purporting to ‘prove’ marijuana’s health risks only recruit subjects who smoke pot 24 hours a day, seven days a week?
"Heavy marijuana use shrinks brain parts
via Reuters
Brain scans showed the hippocampus and amygdala were smaller in men who were heavy marijuana users compared to nonusers. … The men had smoked at least five marijuana cigarettes daily for on average 20 years."
The answer: If they didn’t, there wouldn’t be any purported risks left to write about.
I mean, seriously, imagine if these scientists had tried recruiting 15 subjects who drank at least five shots of vodka every day for 20 years? That is, if they could find 15 subjects who were still alive.
"Marijuana may up heart attack, stroke risk
via Reuters
Heavy marijuana use can boost blood levels of a particular protein, perhaps raising a person’s risk of a heart attack or stroke, U.S. government researchers said on Tuesday. …The marijuana users in the study averaged smoking 78 to 350 marijuana cigarettes per week."
The study did not look at whether the heavy marijuana users actually had heart disease.
So here we go again. Three-hundred and fifty joints per week?! Who are these people? And what’s with the caveat at the end of the story? If the purpose of the study is to assess whether there might be a link between ridiculously heavy pot use and heart disease, then why not, you know, look to see whether the subjects actually suffered from heart disease? (Likely answer: aside from the abnormal protein level, the patients were probably otherwise healthy.)
Bottom line: smoking pot all day, every day probably isn’t good for you (though I find it interesting that, even among the most prolific pot users, most of the herb’s purported dangers are either speculative or are only apparent on hyper-sensitive brain scans and multi-tiered neurocognitive tests). Fortunately, 99.9 percent of pot smokers don’t behave this way.
And no, it’s not prohibition that curbs their use habits; it’s the recognition that too much pot is not conducive to an otherwise healthy, responsible lifestyle (just as pounding five shots a day wouldn’t be conducive to, well, life).
So what lesson can be learned from the two studies above (aside from the fact that our government has no interest in investigating the health of ordinary cannabis consumers)? It’s that pot, like alcohol, is best consumed in moderation, and that pot prohibition — even when compared to the excessive use of the drug itself — still poses the greatest threat to health.
By Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director Ever wonder why the studies purporting to ‘prove’ marijuana’s health risks only recruit subjects who smoke pot 24 hours a day, seven d... more -
Just say ‘No’ to Big Pharma’s anti-pot pill
I’ve said this before but it bears repeating. The endocannabinoid system is involved in the regulation of a broad range of primary biological functions in humans — including appetite, mood regulation, blood pressure, bone density, reproduction, learning capacity, and motor coordination.
Shutting down this system in order to lose a few vanity pounds is likely not a good idea — and, in fact, is a pretty effective way to kill mice.
It’s arguably not a healthy option for humans either.
UK drug body: Sanofi’s Acomplia linked to five deaths
via CNN
Sanofi-Aventis S.A.’s (SNY) anti-obesity pill Acomplia has been linked to five deaths and 720 adverse reaction since its U.K. launch in 2006, according to a document posted on the U.K. drug regulator’s website Tuesday.
One of the deaths was due to suicide, said the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, or MHRA, document, which recorded adverse side effects up until May 9.
The drug, a new kind of obesity treatment that blocks certain brain receptors that regulate appetite, last year was rejected by a panel of U.S. Food and Drug Administration experts on concerns that the drug increases the number of psychiatric events like depression and suicidal thinking among users.
… Despite withdrawing its application to market the drug in the U.S., where it was to have been known as Zimulti, Sanofi-Aventis has plans to resubmit it to the FDA and other regulators in 2009 for approval as a treatment for type 2 diabetes.
In a study released in 2006, Acomplia showed promise as a diabetes treatment after patients who took the pill for a year reported improvements in blood sugar control and cholesterol along with modest weight loss.
However, a recent study of the drug in obese heart patients found more than 40% of those who took the drug developed psychiatric problems, while another study, published last month, raised concerns about using drugs like Acomplia in children.
I’ve said this before but it bears repeating. The endocannabinoid system is involved in the regulation of a broad range of primary bio... more -
New York medical marijuana TV ad
Burton Aldrich, a quadriplegic from Kingston, NY, explains how medical marijuana helps with his excruciating pain and spasms and says, "I … don't know if I would be around if it wasn't for marijuana." Viewers are urged to ask the state Senate to make New York the 13th state to allow medical marijuana.
If you are a New Yorker, please write your state senator in support of allowing medical marijuana here or call him or her here. Burton Aldrich, a quadriplegic from Kingston, NY, explains how medical marijuana helps with his excruciating pain and spasms and says,... more -
Cannabis treats memory loss?
Alzheimer's patients might benefit from the use of cannabis. ITN's Sue Saville reports.
http://st0ckman.blogspot.com
The active ingredient in marijuana may stall decline from Alzheimer's disease, research suggests.
Scientists showed a synthetic version of the compound may reduce inflammation associated with Alzheimer's and thus help to prevent mental decline.
They hope the cannabinoid may be used to developed new drug therapies.
The research, by Madrid's Complutense University and the Cajal Institute, is published in the Journal of Neuroscience.
We would warn the public against taking marijuana as a way of preventing Alzheimer's
Dr Susanne Sorensen
The scientists first compared the brain tissue of patients who died from Alzheimer's disease with that of healthy people who had died at a similar age.
They looked closely at brain cell receptors to which cannabinoids bind, allowing their effects to be felt.
They also studied structures called microglia, which activate the brain's immune response.
Microglia collect near the plaque deposits associated with Alzheimer's disease and, when active, cause inflammation.
The researchers found a dramatically reduced functioning of cannabinoid receptors in diseased brain tissue.
This was an indication that patients had lost the capacity to experience cannabinoids' protective effects.
The next step was to test the effect of cannabinoids on rats injected with the amyloid protein that forms Alzheimer's plaques.
Those animals who were also given a dose of a cannabinoid performed much better in tests of their mental functioning.
The researchers found that the presence of amyloid protein in the rats' brains activated immune cells.
However, rats that also received the cannabinoid showed no sign of microglia activation.
Using cell cultures, the researchers confirmed that cannabinoids counteracted the activation of microglia and thus reduced inflammation. Alzheimer's patients might benefit from the use of cannabis. ITN's Sue Saville reports. http://st0ckman.blogspot.com ... more
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Medical Marijuana
