Medicinal

Activists decry restrictions

By Shaun Waterman, THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Medical marijuana is coming to the District of Columbia - but still with too many restrictions for some pot advocates.

Now that Congress has lifted its decade-old hold on the measure, legislation to implement a 1998 voter-passed referendum is backed by 10 of the city's 13 D.C. Council members and seems sure to pass.

Council committees and city officials are wrestling with an armful of questions about how the law will work in practice - especially the question of where the licensed dispensaries that will sell the drug can be located, and who will be allowed to own and operate them. And opponents are calling for Congress to block the measure, as it can do under long-standing federal powers over D.C. affairs.

By Katherine Gregg, Journal State House Bureau

PROVIDENCE – They are on the front lines of the marijuana debate, the ones who decide who should be allowed to smoke, ingest or inhale what is still an illegal drug in Rhode Island without fear of arrest.

They include neurologists, oncologists, infectious disease specialists, more than one family clinic doctor, the medical director of a drug-abuse addiction center and a psychiatrist running for mayor of Providence who is a conservative on most other issues, but not the politics of marijuana for a patient prone to nausea, anxiety and panic attacks.

Altogether, 355 Rhode Island doctors have signed state forms asking the Department of Health to issue marijuana-use cards to at least one of their patients.
Extra

355 R.I. doctors have approved medical marijuana use

Special Report: For hundreds of Rhode Islanders, marijuana provides legal relief

But twenty-one of those doctors account for more than a third of the 1,347 medical marijuana cards issued so far, according to the Department of Health.

Dr. Vladislav Zayas, an East Providence neurologist, tops the list, having signed off on the legal use of marijuana by 100 of his patients. The next closest doctor signed 54; the third signed 36.

Dr. Zayas has declined comment. But nine doctors talked openly in recent interviews about why they opened the door to legal marijuana use by their patients.

By Steve Elliott, Toke of the Town for Hemp News

Despite medical marijuana being legal in Michigan, WalMart has fired a cancer patient and former employee of the year who tested positive for the drug, which was recommended by his doctor.

"I was terminated because I failed a drug screening," ex-WalMart employee Joseph Casias told WZZM-13.

In 2008, Casias was Associate of the Year at the WalMart store in Battle Creek, Mich., despite suffering from sinus cancer and an inoperable brain tumor.

By Gary Storck, Madison NORML Examiner

State medical cannabis activists have established a daily presence at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison to push for passage of the Jacki Rickert Medical Marijuana Act as the 2009-2010 legislative session winds down. There is a real sense of urgency and interest in the bill that extends from rural townships and villages across the state to the largest cities to people watching from around the country. A vast coalition of people across the state are getting involved, enlisting others and doing whatever they can to get the JRMMA passed: "This Bill, This Time!"

"Operation Floodgates" is an organized campaign aimed to highlight the urgency of the issue, to make people aware a bill is being considered and to allow constituents to act now and help legislators find the compassion and logic to allow the use of medical marijuana.

The daily presence on Wisconsin's Capitol Hill will soon be enhanced with the planned opening of a Wisconsin NORML office close to the Capitol. This will also create a place for supporters to help out, pick up literature, learn strategies and skills, etc.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is receiving about 500 new requests everyday for medical marijuana cards and the applications have completely back-logged the system.

By McKenzie Martin, kktv.com

There is concern about the number of people getting these cards from both the opposition and proponents of Amendment 20. The health department says they estimate that they have received about 60,000 applications as of the end of February. Some lawmakers say the law is being abused and are trying to pass restrictions. Those potential restrictions are causing concern for many patients who say they need the drug.

Every day, Pauline Archuleta's health seems to improve. "I have been getting better,” Pauline said.

She's been slowly recovering since a brain aneurysm put her in a coma back in 2007. "I couldn't even walk hardly ‘cause I was paralyzed on [one] side," Pauline said.

And while she was in the hospital doctors discovered she had six more un-ruptured aneurysms. "I was always sick and in pain, my head was always hurting," Pauline said.

By Marika Lorraine, KFOR

OKLAHOMA CITY -- There's a move underway to legalize the use of medical marijuana in our state. Fourteen states have already done it. One Oklahoma woman tells us, when she tried to talk about the issue with her state senator, she ended up face-to-face with a number of law enforcement officers.

Denise Stahl lives taking 12 to 14 pills a day.

"I've been diagnosed with chronic Hepatitis C, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Arthritis, and Asthma."

Denise recently made a trip to the state capitol to discuss legalizing medical marijuana with her state senator.

By Michael Bachara, Hemp News Staff

Raphael Mechoulam is an Israeli professor for Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. While working on research at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Michoulam succeeded in the isolation, structure elucidation and total synthesis of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the main active principle of cannabis. He and his research group have also succeeded in the total synthesis of the major plant cannabinoids delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol, cannabigerol and multiple others. Another research project initiated by him led to the isolation of the first described endocannabinoid anandamide which was isolated and characterized by two of his postdoctoral researchers, Lumír Hanuš and William Devane.

Over the past few years, Professor Mechoulam, has become a great inspiration to activists, doctors, scientists and citizens worldwide for his dedication and continual striving to find cures to devastating human ailments, such as PTSD and chronic pain.

By DEMETRA GANIAS

ALBANY, N.Y. -- A push to allow for medical marijuana has passed a State Senate committee in hopes that the issue will come to the floor for a full Senate vote this session.

But there are serious concerns among law enforcement that the need for weed could spark new public safety problems.

Michael Kessler of Elmira broke his back in 6 places, then burned 90% of his body in a motorcycle accident.

Timothy Cerrone of Amsterdam has multiple sclerosis, and needs injections to be able to see.

They're among thousands of patients who say medical marijuana is the best way to help dibilitating pain, and won't damage to the liver as badly as decades of taking prescription drugs.

By KSFY Staff

Tuesday, thousands of signatures were submitted to South Dakota officials which could bring the issue of legalizing medical marijuana to a public vote in November. The South Dakota Coalition for Compassion turned in more than enough petitions to put the issue on the ballot. They've been collecting the petitions for over a year now with a door to door search for signatures as well as other methods.
Multimedia

Patrick Lynch is in support of legalizing medical marijuana and suffers from M.S., which can be treated by medical marijuana. His mother and sister also have M.S. and he's hoping the issue is on the ballot and passes. "The pros far out weigh the cons on the medical marijuana issue to where if people really truly understood it they would be more receptive of it"

Although Research Shows Medical Mariuana Works, Critics Say California Center's Research Is Flawed

By Kathleen Doheny, WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Marijuana can be a promising treatment for some specific, pain-related medical conditions, according to California researchers who presented an update of their findings Wednesday to the California Legislature and also released them to the public.

"I think the evidence is getting better and better that marijuana, or the constituents of cannabis, are useful at least in the adjunctive treatment of neuropathy," Igor Grant, MD, executive vice-chairman of the department of psychiatry at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and director of the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at the University of California, tells WebMD.

"We don't know if it's a front-line treatment. I'm hoping the results of our studies will prompt larger-scale studies that involve a much more varied population."

"This [report given to the Legislature] sets the stage of larger-scale studies,'' he says.

Some experts who reviewed the report say some of the studies are flawed and that they worry about the long-term health effects of marijuana smoke.

Perspective: Medical Marijuana Research

Trey Bundy, Special to The Chronicle

Anyone who doubts the mainstreaming of the cannabis industry might want to skip "Letterman" and check out "Cannabis Planet." The weekly program, premiering in the Bay Area at midnight Friday on KOFY-TV, intends to promote the benefits of marijuana, but viewers shouldn't tune in expecting "KOFY and Bong Hits."

"It's that stoner mentality we're trying to get away from," says creator and executive producer Brad Lane. "We're pro-recreational use, but we're not rubbing people's faces in it."

The show is structured around a pair of cannabis news anchors (yes, one of them has dreadlocks) and a mashup of educational segments, such as cooking demonstrations for hemp smoothies and medicated chicken stir-fry, and cannabis cultivation tips with marijuana guru Ed Rosenthal.

Lane pays KOFY to put "Cannabis Planet" on the air, like an infomercial, and generates revenue by running ads during the show for companies that produce grow lights, plant food and other products geared toward the cannabis industry. His operational philosophy is "Fuel, food, fiber, medicine," and he's bent on showing the public that medical marijuana isn't just for those with serious illnesses. He claims cannabis can alleviate everything from menstrual cramps to sleep disorders, and personally uses marijuana to curb attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, from which he's suffered since his days in Montessori school.

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2009 to be the International Year of Natural Fibers. Events were organized around the world to enhance awareness of the benefits to workers, consumers and the environment of using natural fibers and to bring natural fiber organizations together to promote common interests. Accordingly, natural fiber organizations will continue working together beyond 2009 under the auspices of the 'Discover Natural Fiber Initiative.'

Natural fibers are being used increasingly in industrial applications, especially as reinforcement for plastics. A new book, 'Industrial Application of Natural Fibers,' will be available in April 2010. This essential resource brings detailed information about natural fibers, including information about agricultural production, fiber separation, fiber processing and manufacturing of final products. The book focuses on important materials such as emerging applications in polymer composites, non-woven or felted products and textiles.

The book has 20 chapters spread over 576 pages and covers structure, properties and technical applications of most natural fibers, including coir, cotton, flax, hemp, jute, silk, sisal and wool.

International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC)


Source: http://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/textile-news/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=...

By Taryn Bianchin, KOB.com

Medical marijuana users celebrate a victory as another condition is added to the list of diseases that qualify for the state's medical marijuana program.

So far, there are 1,188 active patients in the Department of Health's medical marijuana program. Over the last year, a total of ten new diseases have been added to the list.

Under the new addition, people with inflammatory auto immune-mediated arthritis can now apply for a medical marijuana card in New Mexico.

Essie de Bonet is one of the many New Mexicans who believes in the benefits of medical marijuana and she worked closely with Governor Richardson to push the reform.

The Sixth National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics, co-sponsored by the School of Medicine, University of California at San Francisco; the Rhode Island State Nurses Association and Patients Out of Time will be held on April 15 - 17, 2010 at the Crowne Plaze Hotel in Warwick, RI.

Continuing education credits will be available through the University of California's Office of Continuing Medical Education.

Nursing contact hours have been applied for through the Rhode Island State Nurses Association and are pending approval.

Agenda - Sixth National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics

Thursday April 15, 2010

7pm Reception & Exhibits

Friday, April 16, 2010

7:30 - Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:00 - Al Byrne - Welcome/Opening Remarks – Donald Abrams, MD (UCSF), Jesse Stout (RIPAC) and Donna Policastro, RN (RISNA)

8:30 - Raphael Mechoulam, PhD – Cannabis:Opening New Vistas in Both Therapy and Chemical Biology

9:10 - John McPartland, DO – A Molecular View of the Synergistic Shotgun

9:35 - Robert Melamede PhD– Endogenous Cannabinoid System Review

10:00 Break

10:20 - Gregory L. Gerdeman, PhD – Cannabinoids and the Neurobiology of Reward, Habit Formation and Addiction

10:45 - Andrea Hohmann, PhD – Endocannabinoid System & Neuropathic Pain

11:10 - Heather Bradshaw, PhD – The Endogenous Cannabinoid System and Reproductive Pain

By Marla Miller, Muskegon Chronicle

Gregory Adams grew up in the college town of Ann Arbor, home to some of the most lenient laws on marijuana possession in the country.

Adams, 25, has been involved in marijuana advocacy efforts since his high school days there. And he is bringing his passion to West Michigan as executive director of the Lakeshore Compassion Club. The club plans to meet monthly at Muskegon Community College to help interested individuals wade through the confusion of Michigan’s new medical marijuana law.

“This is what the people want here,” said Adams, citing the fact 67 percent of Muskegon County voters — the third highest county percentage in the state — approved the ballot referendum. “We’re just trying to get our information out to the community. It’s a touchy subject and everyone’s scared. We want everyone to come and get informed.”

That includes law enforcement, lawyers, community activists, regular residents and opponents of the law.

The Lakeshore Club, a nonprofit group run by volunteers, had its first informational meeting last December at Muskegon Community College and had more than 40 people attend. A second meeting Jan. 22 drew about 30 people.

“All those people were so happy when they left,” said Steve Lanore, also a board member of the Lakeshore Compassion Club. “This is legal now in Michigan. We don’t want people to be scared.”

Compassion clubs sprouting up

For Immediate Release:

The Office of the Secretary of State received a certified ballot title from the Attorney General on February 2, 2010, for initiative #73, proposing a statutory amendment, for the General Election of November 2, 2010.

In addition, Secretary of State Kate Brown determined that the proposed initiative petition was in compliance with the procedural requirements established in the Oregon Constitution for initiative petitions.

The certified ballot title is as follows:

Permits personal marijuana, hemp cultivation/use without license; commission to regulate commercial marijuana cultivation/sale

Result of "Yes" Vote: "Yes" vote permits state-licensed marijuana (cannabis) cultivation/sale to adults through state stores; permits unlicensed adult personal cultivation/use; prohibits restrictions on hemp (defined).

Result of a "No" Vote: "No" vote retains existing civil and criminal laws prohibiting cultivation, possession and delivery of marijuana; retains current statues that permit regulated use of medical marijuana.

by Gary Storck

MADISON: For nearly 20 years, dating back to the middle years of Tommy Thompson's 14 years as governor, medical cannabis supporters began holding vigil outside the Governor's State of the State Address (SOTS) to the Legislature and other state officials. On January 26, 2010, they were outside the Assembly Chambers once again, with their leader Jacki Rickert.

Supporters spoke with lawmakers heading in to watch Gov. Doyle with several stopping to warmly greet Jacki, including bill sponsors Rep. Mark Pocan, (D-Madison), and Sen. Jon Erpenbach, (D-Waunakee) as well as Rep. Penny Bernard Schaber (D-Appleton) and Rep. Jeff Smith (D-Eau Claire).

Medical cannabis supporters called out to Gov. Doyle as he ascended the stairs leading to the Assembly Chamber. He looked over at supporters with signs and a "Medical Marijuana is Healthcare" banner held by patients.

Most JRMMA supporters held vigil while others watched the SOTS from the gallery. JRMMA Media was also on hand, taking photos, filming video and doing interviews. Once the Address was over, supporters fanned out, speaking with individual lawmakers. We spoke to Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Madison), after the speech, and he remains hopeful that the JRMMA can move this session. One supporter even managed to talk to medical cannabis arch-opponent Rep. Leah Vukmir (R-Wauwatosa).

By Journal Staff

An organization promoting the legalization of marijuana for medical purposes in South Dakota plans to turn in more than 29,000 signatures this week to bring the issue to a public vote.

Emmett Reistroffer of Sioux Falls, director of communications for the South Dakota Coalition for Compassion, said the organization will turn in the petitions Wednesday to the secretary of state’s office in Pierre.

The group is months ahead of the filing deadline. And, provided that most of the names on the petitions are valid, it will be well above the 16,776 signatures needed to put the issue on the 2010 general election ballot.

Reistroffer said the organization was “extra careful” in the way it gathered the petition signatures, after the problems that opponents of an expanded smoking ban encountered last year with invalid signatures in their petition drive.

Related: South Dakota Coalition for Compassion
http://www.sdcompassion.org/


Source: http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_4e1304f4-046b-11df-9c47-001...

By WNYC Newsroom

New Jersey has become the 14th state - and the first in the region - to allow medical marijuana.

A law granting chronically ill patients legal access to marijuana was one of over 50 bills Governor Corzine signed on his last full day in office. Governor-elect Chris Christie will be sworn in at noon today.

The legislation allows for dispensaries to be set up around the state where patients with prescriptions can access the drug. Growing marijuana at home will remain illegal, as will driving while high.

Assembly sponsor Reed Gusciora says New Jersey's medical marijuana law is the strictest in the country and will serve as a model for other states.

Related: N.J. Lawmakers Pass Medical Marijuana Bill
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/11/politics/main6085182.shtml

New Jersey Legislature Approves Medical Marijuana Bill
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/01/11/new-jersey-legislature-approv...


Source: http://www.wnyc.org/news/articles/148472

Green is their signature color. Medicinal marijuana gardeners throughout the state of Oregon enjoyed a plentiful harvest last fall, and look to 2010 as a year of growth, and change.

By Bonnie King, Salem-News

(SALEM, Ore.) - “After living through arrests in the past for growing marijuana, to be able to do it legally, it’s almost entirely stress-free compared to when it was illegal. So to be able to help the people that need this - it warms our hearts,” said Paul Stanford, Executive Director of The Hemp & Cannabis Foundation. The fear of breaking the law has stopped most people for seven decades from considering marijuana, or cannabis, to treat their ailments. That is no longer the rule of the day, as this medical marijuana garden clearly proves.

By Tristan Scott of the Missoulian

Jim Swansiger took a road trip to Missoula on Monday. When he returned home to Great Falls, the 60-year-old retired construction worker was a legitimate medical marijuana patient.

“My paperwork’s all in order,” Swansiger said. “I’m just going to stop by the Capitol on my way home and drop it off.”

He’ll have to wait a few weeks before the state Department of Health and Human Services sends him an identification card in the mail, but he’s covered under the Montana medical marijuana law until then. That means he can legally grow six marijuana plants and possess up to an ounce of pot, which he intends to start using for pain relief in lieu of a prescription drug called oxycodone.

Swansiger suffers from peripheral neuropathy, a disorder he says causes pain and numbness in his legs and feet – “It’s like someone is jamming pins in the tops of my feet,” he says – and his preferred course of treatment is marijuana.

And so he drove to Missoula, where a nonprofit organization called The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation was offering an all-day clinic to help patients obtain their permits.

With medical records in hand, Swansiger and dozens of other patients sat in a conference room at the Grant Creek Inn. They paid a consultation fee, which is adjusted based on income, and waited to meet with Dr. Eric Eisenbud, an ophthalmologist from Boulder, Colo.

By David Kocieniewski, The New York Times
Photo by Damon Winter, The New York Times

TRENTON — The New Jersey Legislature approved a measure on Monday that would make the state the 14th in the nation, but one of the few on the East Coast, to legalize the use of marijuana to help patients with chronic illnesses.

The measure — which would allow patients diagnosed with severe illnesses like cancer, AIDS, Lou Gehrig’s disease, muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis to have access to marijuana grown and distributed through state-monitored dispensaries — was passed by the General Assembly and State Senate on the final day of the legislative session.

Gov. Jon S. Corzine has said he would sign it into law before leaving office next Tuesday. Supporters said that within nine months, patients with a prescription for marijuana from their doctors should be able to obtain it at one of six locations.

False facts offered to Americans in the first half of the 20th Century were accepted by an otherwise ignorant public, and guided by an industrial desire to rid the United States of the strongest natural fiber known to man.

Commentary by Tim King, Salem-News.com

(SALEM, Ore.) - We left messages with John Kitzhaber's campaign for Governor, to ask what his position on medical marijuana is, especially now that the state has passed laws in support of it. The answer? No answer, no reply. It seems the Kitz might see this issue as a hot potato, though it seems a bit late for that.

Former Gov. Kitzhaber will face longtime Secretary of State Bill Bradbury in the next Oregon Democratic Gubernatorial primary, and this equally familiar face in Oregon politics didn't flinch when asked about his position on both Oregon industrial hemp, and medical marijuana.

Changing Laws