Salem-News.com Medical Marijuana

A 2008 study by the RAND Corporation showed that 20 percent of soldiers returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from PTSD. Despite widespread evidence showing medical marijuana to be a safe and effective treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs forbids all VA doctors from recommending medical marijuana to veterans.

Last Friday, Feb. 26, the Maryland House Judiciary and Health and Government Committees held a public hearing on a bill that would allow chronically ill patients to have safe access to medical marijuana with their doctor’s recommendation. Dozens of witnesses—including physicians, patients, and former law enforcement officials—testified in favor of the bill, and no one testified in opposition.

The total amount of marijuana seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration nearly doubled from 1,539 metric tons in 2008 to 2,980 metric tons in 2009, according to numbers disclosed by the DEA as part of their budget request for 2011. Meanwhile, the cultivation of marijuana in Mexico rose 35% in 2009 to nearly 30,000 acres, according to a report released by the U.S. State Department.

An annual survey released today by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America shows that the number of American teenagers who use marijuana has increased for the first time in 10 years, with 25 percent of teens in grades 9 through 12 saying they’ve used marijuana in the past month, up from 19 percent the previous year. Experts say that if marijuana were taxed and regulated, and sold only by licensed merchants who would be required to check IDs, we could much better control marijuana and help to keep it out of the hands of teenagers.

I had heard rumors about studies conducted in the past ten years that the California Legislature had spent several million dollars on, to confirm that marijuana/cannabis was really a safe, effective drug --but it smelled fishy to me. As it has been used for at least 4,000 years by at least 400 million people, one would wonder if those studies were real.

Today, high-ranking officials from the United States and Mexico concluded a three-day conference meant to outline ways the two nations could reduce the illicit drug trade-associated violence that continues to plague the U.S.-Mexican border. Unfortunately, officials concluded their talks without making any reference to the most sensible and guaranteed strategy for reducing that violence...

Tuesday, the New York State Senate Health Committee passed S. 4041-B, the Senate’s medical marijuana bill. This marks the second consecutive year that the bill has gotten out of the Senate Health Committee. The Assembly’s medical marijuana bill, A. 9016, passed the Health Committee last month and is now sitting in the Assembly Codes Committee.

Salem-News.com's Dr. Phil Leveque just returned from a speaking engagement that he was invited to attend at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. The subject was medical marijuana, and this is one individual who can speak at length about the history and usefulness of marijuana or cannabis, as a tool to restore health.

A California Assemblyman reintroduced legislation today that would tax and regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcoholic beverages. A.B. 2254 would create a regulatory structure similar to that used for beer, wine, and liquor, permitting taxed sales to adults while barring sales to or possession by those under 21.

The results of a series of randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials assessing the efficacy of inhaled marijuana consistently show that cannabis holds therapeutic value comparable to conventional medications. The findings are from a 24-page report issued Wednesday to the California state legislature by the California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research.

Salem-News.com writer Dr. Phil Leveque, is in Orlando, Florida to speak at a special event at the University of Central Florida. He was set to go last week, but freezing conditions across much of the country, even in place like Florida and Texas, saw airport traffic slow to a halt.

Today, the Iowa Board of Pharmacy voted 6-0 to recommend to state lawmakers that marijuana be reclassified as a Schedule II drug. They say a state task force will be established to study how a medical marijuana law could be implemented in Iowa.

Of all of the horror stories about the corrupt legal system against marijuana users, this one takes the cake but I’m sure there are worse cases, if so, send them in. I have already posted about Marijuana Addiction and Fraudulent Therapy. This does it in spades. The criminal was a 20 year old male college student with a totally alcoholic mother and baaaad home environment.

You have probably read about my take on this subject. It continues to be of great importance as more and more states are waking up, coming out of the Reefer Madness closet and finally recognizing the FACT that marijuana/cannabis is really a MIRACLE MEDICINE highly effective for literally hundreds of diseases. The fact that it is a mild euphoriant, brain stimulant substance gives it an added benefit which almost no other medicine can claim. As such, it is not a bit like Amphetamines and METH which are powerful brain stimulants but also highly addictive and even lethally toxic.

Representatives from CBS and Neutron Media Screen Marketing have rejected a paid advertisement from the NORML Foundation, the educational arm of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. It was intended to appear on the CBS Super Screen billboard in New York City’s Times Square.

Dr. Phil Leveque, Salem-News.com writer and also one of the most noted and educated physician/pharmacologist/forensic toxicologists in the world today, will speak at the University of Central Florida this week about medical marijuana, a subject drawing increasing attention from one side of the U.S. to the other. During Dr. Leveque's talk on Wednesday, 100-200 people from a Florida Chapter of NORML are expected to attend.

Tonight, Gov. Jim Gibbons will deliver his State of the State address, in which he will discuss the serious financial crisis facing Nevada. The state reportedly needs to cut nearly $900 million in spending in order to bring its budget into balance. According to some reports, Gov. Gibbons is seeking new ways to close the budget gap and is willing to put all options on the table.

According to 2011 funding “highlights” released this week by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), the Obama administration is expanding the war on drugs and focusing its funds toward law enforcement over treatment. The budget puts America’s drug war spending at $15.5 billion for fiscal year 2011; an increase of 3.5 percent over 2010 and an increase of 5.2 percent in overall enforcement funding ($9.7 billion in FY 2010 to $9.9 billion in FY 2011).

A bill to decriminalize the possession of less than one ounce of marijuana and substitute a civil penalty of $150 was introduced in the Rhode Island House of Representatives yesterday. H 7317, a bipartisan bill was co-sponsored by 35 House members and has been referred to the House Judiciary committee.

Boy oh boy do we get weird questions. Writing “ask Dr. Leveque, Pharmacologist” in my biography is a mixed blessing. One recent inquiry, “What is Spanish Fly and does it really work?”. I think every 15-year-old boy has heard about this, and it seems to pique his fancy.