Medicinal

"Every generation must re-win its own freedoms." Gatewood Galbraith

By Michael Bachara, Hemp News Correspondent

On January 31st, legislation that would make cannabis a schedule II drug, thus legal for doctors to prescribe, was introduced in the Kentucky State Senate. Senate Bill 129, sponsored by Senator Perry B. Clark, D-Louisville, is being titled the "Gatewood Galbraith Memorial Medical Marijuana Act".

Gatewood Galbraith was a prominent lawyer from Kentucky and an avid supporter of cannabis legalization. He dedicated over forty years to the restoration of the cannabis plant. Galbraith passed away last month from complications of pneumonia.

"Marijuana has positive medical benefits for patients dealing with illnesses like cancer, multiple sclerosis, and AIDS, to name a few," Senator Clark said. "I want to allow this as another treatment option for those individuals."

Senate Bill 129 would limit patients who are prescribed the drug from possessing more than five ounces per month. The patient could choose to fill their prescription at a board-certified pharmacy or to grow their own plants. Patients deciding to cultivate plants would be prohibited to no more than five at one time.

By Jonathan Bender, The Pitch

For the third time in three years, a medical marijuana bill sits before the Kansas Legislature. And for the first time in three years, the bill will actually be heard.

The Cannabis Care and Compassion Act, HB 2330, will be discussed tomorrow at an informational hearing of the Kansas House Committee on Health and Human Services. The measure, introduced by state Rep. Gail Finney (D-Wichita), would legalize and regulate the sale of medical marijuana in Kansas.

In 2010, a bill seeking to legalize medical marijuana failed to come to a vote. And last year's Kansas Cannabis Compassion and Care Act met the same fate.

If the bill passed, doctors would be able to issue patients with "debilitating medical conditions" and designated caregivers ID cards that they could use to purchase medical-grade marijuana at registered dispensaries known as compassion centers. The Department of Health and Environment would oversee the regulation and licensing. The bill, if passed, requires rapid implementation with a provision that calls for the rules governing the application process to kick in within 90 days of the effective date of the act.

Medical cannabis has been legalized in 15 states. Considering Kansas was the first state to ban K2 - a synthetic pot - back in 2010, it seems unlikely that it will be the 16th state to give patients a license to toke.

By Sharon Ko, KDRV

MEDFORD, Ore. -- Some of the patients who lost their medical marijuana to federal raids got free pot on Monday.

So-Norml, The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation and The Greenery joined forces and came up with an idea to help patients who lost their medical marijuana. They asked patients who had overages, meaning they had more than they could legally have, to donate instead.

Lori Duckworth, Executive Director of So-Norml, says many patients went back to pharmaceutical drugs after the pot raids, but still helped 300 patients before Monday's free giveaway.

So-Norml says they collected nearly 72 pounds of marijuana for the event, and for each patient that came in, organizers gave away an ounce.

The executive director says the entire cannabis group in Oregon is working to put several petitions up in the future, so voters can have the opportunity to vote. She adds the several groups want to get the word out to more community members hoping to educate them about the benefits of medical marijuana.


Source: http://kdrv.com/news/local/231272

By Jordan Grummer, Times Record

The leader of Arkansans for Compassionate Care said his group is hoping to gain more support in Sebastian County for a proposed measure that would legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes in the state.

In April, the organization was given until July 6, 2012, to collect 62,507 signatures from registered voters to qualify the proposal — The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Act — for the November 2012 general election ballot. So far, about 16,000 signatures have been gathered, but less than 1,000 of those have come from voters in Sebastian County, said ACC spokesman Ryan Denham on Wednesday during a meeting at Sweet Bay Coffee, 3400 Rogers Ave.

The meeting was for people interested in volunteering to gather signatures for the initiative that would make Arkansas the 16th state to legalize medical marijuana, but it only attracted two people not affiliated with the group. Denham remained optimistic about the movement in the Fort Smith area despite the lack of attendance. He said the meeting was only made official about three days ago, and more attention has been placed, so far, on places like Little Rock, Jonesboro and the northwest Arkansas region, where support has "been strong."

The meeting was also at 3 p.m. on a business day, he added.

By Steve Elliott Toke of the Town/Special to The Silver Tour

What if I told you there is a secret weapon that, if understood and utilized by the cannabis reform community, could fairly quickly and very decisively decide the issue of marijuana legalization once and for all?

Everybody knows that cannabis legalization is very, very near the tipping point in the United States. Even the folks at Gallup, not exactly known for wild-eyed political statements, said this month after examining their latest poll results -- which showed that a record-high 50 percent of Americans support legalization -- that "If this current trend on legalizing marijuana continues, pressure may build to bring the nation's laws into compliance with the people's wishes."

Drilling down into the results of that same Gallup poll reveals our potential secret weapon for marijuana legalization.

Support for legalizing cannabis is directly and inversely proportional to age, ranging from 62 percent approval among those 18 to 29, down to only 31 percent among those 65 and older.

The doctor group questions the medical value of pot and acknowledges some health risk from its use but urges it be regulated like alcohol. A law enforcement official harshly criticizes the new stance.

By Anthony York, Los Angeles Times

The state's largest doctor group is calling for legalization of marijuana, even as it pronounces cannabis to be of questionable medical value.

Trustees of the California Medical Assn., which represents more than 35,000 physicians statewide, adopted the position at their annual meeting in Anaheim late Friday. It is the first major medical association in the nation to urge legalization of the drug, according to a group spokeswoman, who said the larger membership was notified Saturday.

Dr. Donald Lyman, the Sacramento physician who wrote the group's new policy, attributed the shift to growing frustration over California's medical marijuana law, which permits cannabis use with a doctor's recommendation. That, he said, has created an untenable situation for physicians: deciding whether to give patients a substance that is illegal under federal law.

"It's an uncomfortable position for doctors," he said. "It is an open question whether cannabis is useful or not. That question can only be answered once it is legalized and more research is done. Then, and only then, can we know what it is useful for."

By Kristina Nelson, KVAL News

EUGENE, Ore. - You might call it her morning routine.

With her lighter in hand, 72-year-old Elvy Musikka gets a cannabis buzz every day, courtesy of the federal government.

"It does give you a push. The high is nothing but feeling good about things," she said sitting on her couch in her South Eugene apartment.

The grandmother, who uses cannabis for her glaucoma, is part of a very unique club.

Since 1988, Musikka has been getting more than three and a half pounds of pot every year from the federal government.

"These are the tins that the federal government sends to the University of Miami," she said pointing to her rolled joints. "I have to go there and see my doctor and pick up a prescription. I call them my green Pall Malls."

She's part of the "Compassionate New Drug Access Program."

It started in 1976 after a man sued the government, claiming only pot helped his glaucoma.

The National Institute on Drug Abuse or "NIDA" provided rolled joints for sick people until the first Bush Administration halted it in 1992.

"Every single one of us had to have reliable doctors that they would count on, extensive medical records, and had to prove to FDA, DEA and NIDA," Musikka said. "I eventually became the first woman to join the two men who were smoking legally at the time."

By Nigel Duara, AP
Photo by Don Ryan, AP

EUGENE, Ore. — Sometime after midnight on a moonlit rural Oregon highway, a state trooper checking a car he had just pulled over found pot on a passenger.

The discovery was not surprising in a marijuana-friendly state like Oregon, but the 72-year-old woman's defense was: She insisted the weed was legal and given to her by none other than the federal government.

A series of phone calls from a dubious trooper and his supervisor to federal authorities determined that the glaucoma patient was not joking — the U.S. government does grow and provide pot to a select few people across the United States.

For the past three decades, Uncle Sam has been providing patients with some of the highest grade marijuana around as part of a little-known program that grew out of a 1976 court settlement and created the country's first legal pot smoker. The program once provided 14 people government pot. Now, there are four left.

Advocates for legalizing marijuana or treating it as a medicine say the program is a glaring contradiction in the nation's 40-year war on drugs — maintaining the federal ban on pot while at the same time supplying it.

Silver Tour: Century Village Program (PDF)

Teaching Seniors the Benefits of Medical Marijuana - Century Village, Florida - October 4, 2011 10AM

Robert Platshorn - Presenter - Director of Florida NORML, Founder of the Silver Tour, Author of Black Tuna Diaries. Featured in the hit film, Square Grouper Robert founded the largest chain of schools in Europe. Once he returned home he became the second largest distributor of Breyers Ice Cream. Robert smuggled marijuana from Colombia in the 1970's and spent 30 yrs in prison for a non-violent pot offense.

In regards to Robert Plashorn, the late, great Billy Mays said "Bobby Platshorn is a legendary pitchman and one of the all time greats".

Dr Julie Holland - Video - Attending Psychiatrist, Bellevue Hospital New York, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, NYU School of Medicine. Dr. Holland has appeared on; The Today Show, Good Morning America, Peter Jenning and Live with Paula Zahn. She will present an introduction to medical marijuana that is the most comprehensive consensus of physicians and researchers.

Karen Goldstein - University of Bridgeport - National Director of NORML. (National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws) Karen is an activist and parent of a medical marijuana patient. She will address medical marijuana for Epilepsy and vision.

By Chris Henry, Kitsap Sun

BREMERTON — Legislation passed revising Washington state's medical marijuana laws this year turned the focus from dispensaries to collective gardens.

But Kitsap County's cities have been slow to shift gears.

Legislators last spring debated a revision of Washington State's medical marijuana law dealing with cannabis dispensaries. Proponents of the bill (ESSB 5073) sought regulation of dispensaries to clarify their legitimacy. After Gov. Chris Gregoire vetoed the bill, however, the only substantive new option for authorized patients was a provision for collective gardens.But Kitsap County officials have not moved as swiftly on regulations of gardens as their peers around the Puget Sound region did. And local opinions are all over the board.

The new state law, effective July 22, allows up to 10 authorized patients to cultivate up to 45 cannabis plants in a single location, but no individual can own more than 15 plants. Not clear in the law is how many gardens can be on one tax parcel, how many gardens a patient can belong to or the minimum length of time a patient must be a collective garden member.

The lack of clarity has unsettled cities and counties around the state, many of which recently enacted moratoriums or interim zoning ordinances on the gardens, essentially buying time to weigh the law's ramifications.

Kettering woman supports Constitutional amendment.

By Lynn Hulsey, Dayton Daily News
Photo by Teesha McClam, Dayton Daily News

DAYTON – A group supporting legalization of medical marijuana in Ohio has taken the first steps to place a Constitutional amendment on the November 2012 ballot.

Supporters turned in 2,143 signatures on petitions containing summary language of the proposed amendment to Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, who has sent the signatures out to local boards of election to verify.

The group needs 1,000 signatures before DeWine will determine if the summary is a fair and truthful statement. After that, it is forwarded for review by the Ohio Ballot Board and to Ohio secretary of State Jon Husted. The group would then need to gather at least 385,245 valid signatures on petitions to place the amendment on the ballot, said Matt McClellan, press secretary for Husted.

"I'm totally opposed to that amendment," said Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer. "I think it would make too much marijuana available to kids in the community."

He said it would create traffic problems because people high on marijuana could be driving and causing accidents and it would be an issue for employers, including him, who want drug-free employees.

'My mood’s stable now,' says Ryan Begin of Jackman, who fought in Iraq

By Michael Shepherd, Maine Today

AUGUSTA -- Ryan Begin was checking a report of an improvised explosive device in Iskandariya, Iraq, on Aug. 1, 2004.

Then the U.S. Marine Corps corporal saw one. It detonated, blowing apart his right arm.

More than 30 surgeries later, Begin said he has regained some use of his arm. But the psychological damage has taken a harsher toll, including drug addiction and violence.

Begin told doctors in federal health centers high-grade medical marijuana was his only hope for tamping down the innumerable nightmares, flashbacks and fears that followed him from the battlefield.

"My mood's stable now -- no peaks and valleys, just stable ups and downs," he said.

His mother, Anna -- "a little bit apprehensive" about medical marijuana at first -- is a believer.

"When he started the marijuana, it was like having my son back," she said.

Doctors in the federal veterans' health care system aren't as convinced. The substance remains illegal under federal law, and guidelines for federal health centers don't support medical marijuana.

That ended Begin's relationship with the federal health system.

Battle scars

Today, Begin is unemployed, and one of 1,807 patients registered with the state to use marijuana medicinally.

By CBS 13 Staff

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Marijuana is no medical marvel — that's according to a new federal ruling generating plenty of controversy across California.

The Drug Enforcement Administration decree states that "marijuana has no currently accepted medical use" – in other words, this bud is not for you.

Yet in California you can easily get pizza, brownies, even cannabis cookies because medical marijuana is incredibly edible and of course, smokable. And all you need is a medical marijuana card – it's easy to get – but the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has ruled that “marijuana lacks accepted safety for medical use under supervision.”

"I’m here to disagree with the DEA," said Shane Randall, a medical marijuana patient at Alternative Medical Source (AMS) in Fair Oaks.

He told CBS 13, "I'm a type one diabetic. I also have auto-immune disease. I've been using medicinal marijuana for 5 years now."

By City News Service

A referendum aimed at overturning restrictions on medical marijuana in San Diego got enough voter signatures to qualify for the ballot, City Clerk Elizabeth Maland said Wednesday.

The results mean that the City Council will have to decide whether to repeal the laws, approved in April, or put the issue to a public vote — most likely on the June 5, 2012, ballot. Council members also have the option to call a special election, but the cost makes it less likely.

The ordinances, which address zoning, permitting and public safety concerns, restrict marijuana dispensaries to commercial and light industrial zones 600 feet from sensitive locations, such as residences, schools and playgrounds. Operators would also have to obtain a condition use permit that would cost thousands of dollars and take as long as two years to get.

Around 44,000 voter signatures were turned in by opponents of the laws, and because the projected number of valid names was close to the total needed
to qualify — 31,029 — petitions were hand counted by the county Registrar of
Voters, Maland said.

California voters passed the Compassionate Use Act, which decriminalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes, 15 years ago, but the county of San Diego and area municipalities have only addressed regulation of dispensaries in the past couple of years.


Source: http://www.lajollalight.com/2011/07/13/medical-marijuana-measure-qualifi...

By Erica Warren, Columbia Crime Examiner

Two ballot initiatives were filed with the Secretary of State in the state of Missouri on July 6, 2011, two days after Independence Day, that would legalize possession of marijuana by adults, allow for medical marijuana use, and create an agricultural hemp industry for this Midwest state. This ambitious endeavor has been undertaken by a group that calls themselves “Show-Me Cannabis”, playing on Missouri’s motto as the “Show-Me State”. Their website can be found at www.show-mecannabis.com.

One of the initiatives would amend the state’s Constitution, while the other would revise the state’s statutes. Once the Secretary of State’s office approves the language of one, or both, initiatives the next step to get them on the November 2012 ballot would be signature gathering. The constitutional amendment would require the gathering of around 160,000 signatures by May of 2012 to be put on the ballot, while the initiative to revise state statutes would only need around 100,000 signatures by May of next year to make it to the ballot.

By Anne Thompson, FOX 19

INDIANA (FOX19) - Indiana lawmakers are set to begin studying whether they should amend its drug laws and decriminalize marijuana, or create a medical marijuana program.

Indiana State Representative Tom Knollman, a Republican from Union County, has gotten used to a life of prescription medications and motorized scooters since he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.

Now the lawmaker is weighing in on the debate over whether marijuana use should be legalized in the Hoosier state. He says the chronic pain associated with his condition, for which there is no cure, might be lessened by the use of medical marijuana.

He gets emails almost every day from others in his state who suffer from not only M.S. but other conditions which are chronic and painful, and the request is the same from them all. They want to be able to use the drug lawfully, to alleviate their pain.

Rep. Knollman has not decided if he would supporting the legalization of pot for the public.

Very few doctors are willing to allow opioids and marijuana together

By David Rosenfeld, The Lund Report

June 17, 2011 – Christine Mullins was diagnosed two years ago with fibromyalgia, a condition causing complete body-wide pain. The only way she’s found relief has been a regular dose of Oxycontin, an opioid prescribed by her doctor.

The medication, however, causes nausea and Mullins, 38, is allergic to every anti-nausea medication on the market. So for the past year, she’s been using medical marijuana with a prescription from another doctor to relieve the nausea and regain her appetite.

But recently her pain management doctor has said she can’t continue using marijuana if she wants to keep her opioid prescription.

"He told me they don’t recognize it because they get federal funding and that I needed to choose one or the other," Mullins said. "He said he didn't care what I used it for. It was an illicit drug and if I continued using it he would no longer fill my pain medication."

The doctor who prescribed the marijuana, meanwhile, won’t prescribe opioids. Mullins said she’s contacted 150 doctors in the Portland-area and none of them are willing to prescribe both opioids and allow her to use marijuana.

And Mullins isn't alone.

Paul Stanford, president of The Hemp and Cannabis Foundation headquartered in Oregon with clinics in 11 states, said he's received thousands of similar complaints from chronic pain patients in Oregon.

Dr. Phil Leveque has helped treat many veterans through medicinal Cannabis.

By Bonnie King, Salem-News

(SALEM, Ore.) - No recruit ever considered that basic training would be easy, and in a time of war, they quickly discover that combat is a far cry from Hollywood's portrayal. Reality is what it is. Dr. Phil Leveque knows this to be true. He served in the US Army and lived through World War II- and bears the scars within to this day.

"We were psychologically and physically stretched beyond normal limits and many recruits died. A bunch more were permanently psychologically damaged and the end result was PTSD even during training."

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a severe anxiety disorder which can occur after witnessing or experiencing even one traumatic event, especially when it involves injury or death, or the threat thereof, so being in a war takes that trauma to new levels. It is important to note that PTSD can be, and usually is, a long term/lifetime problem.

A recent report estimated that up to 40% of the Middle East veterans would be victims of combination of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).

Maybe more.

As a regular general practice physician and later as a marijuana doctor, Dr. Leveque saw the devastating results of the effects on veterans for generations.

By KVOA, Staff

TUCSON - After years of debating you'll soon be able to apply for a medical marijuana card.

In a close race back in November voters approved the sale and use of medical marijuana. Prop 203 was signed into a law by the Governor in December. Under the new law, qualifying patients will be allowed to buy two and a half ounces of marijuana every week, but it does require a doctor's recommendation.

The state had 120 days to get the program up and running and Thursday is the end of that period and when it will all come together as thousands ready to apply. Some are looking to just purchase the pot legally with a prescription, while others are looking to grow it.

To apply for medical marijuana there is no doubt there will be a lot of interest and attention. The state said it's expecting numbers into the thousands and because of that, it decided the best way to do the application process was online.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – A new defense for Maryland residents who use marijuana for medical reasons has cleared the Maryland General Assembly.

The Senate gave final approval to the bill on a 39-5 vote.

The bill would enable Marylanders to avoid a $100 fine and misdemeanor conviction if they are arrested with marijuana but have a doctor’s permission to use the drug for medicinal purposes.

The measure also calls for a study on how medical marijuana could be distributed in the future in Maryland.

Gov. Martin O’Malley says he’ll sign the bill.


Source: http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2011/04/12/defense-for-medical-marijuana-c...

By Dan Devine, Yahoo

After an at-times notable but mostly just steady and entertaining 11-year NBA career, Cuttino Mobley was traded from the Los Angeles Clippers to the New York Knicks with Tim Thomas in exchange for Zach Randolph and Mardy Collins. A post-trade physical turned up hypertrophic cardiomyopathy — an enlarged heart, the same condition from which Hank Gathers and Reggie Lewis suffered, and an affliction about which Mobley had reportedly known throughout his career.

The Knicks finalized the deal (after all, they needed to shed Z-Bo's contract), but Mobley never stepped on the court for New York, retiring in December 2008. He worked out with the Boston Celtics for a few days back in September, but didn't catch on.

Since then, we haven't heard too much from the Philadelphia-born shooting guard. Now, though, the former member of the Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic, Clippers and Knicks is working on something.

In late January, the Providence Journal's W. Zachary Malinowski reported that the 35-year-old Mobley was listed in documents filed with the Rhode Island Department of Health as "the sole financier for the Summit Medical Compassion Center," a proposed medical marijuana dispensary to be located in Warwick, R.I., about 20 minutes outside of Providence. In a wide-ranging column published Tuesday, Mobley discussed with ProJo columnist Bill Reynolds the dispensary and some of the other irons he's got in the fire.

By Kyle Munzenrieder, Miami New Times

With 14 states and the District of Colombia allowing the legal medical use of marijuana, acceptance of the issue is steadily growing in America. A new poll shows that 57 percent of Floridians support legalization of medical marijuana as buzz grows that the issue could be placed on the ballot as soon as 2012.

Bob Norman reports that the poll was conducted by Fabrizio, McLaughlin & Associates, a Republican firm that worked with Rick Scott's gubernatorial campaign. The pollsters asked point blank: "If there was a Constitutional Amendment on the statewide ballot to legalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes only when prescribed by a practicing physician and the election were held today, would you vote YES to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes or NO to stop it?"

Fifty-seven percent said they would vote yes (roughly 41 percent said they definitely would, and about 17 percent said they probably would). A recent ABC News poll shows that across the nation, 81 percent of voters support medical marijuana. It's possible this poll might even be conservative in estimating support.

Norman reports that such an amendment could come to the ballot in 2012, but 60 percent of voters would need to check yes for such a measure to pass.

By TONYA MOSLEY, KING 5 News

SEATTLE -- A group called "Grammas For Ganja" is fighting to not only have marijuana legalized but for users to be a part of the workforce without the fear of getting fired.

Jeanne Black-Ferguson, 70, is not your typical grandma. She is front and center in the fight, not for herself, but for her grandkids.

"I think when Washington legalizes cannibas across the board we will become one of the wealthiest states in America!" she said. "If one in five are going to be impacted by the criminal justice system for cannibus which one of my five [grandchildren] will be? I already know two of them that are using the plant!"

Black-Ferguson thinks they should be able to use it and get a job. The issue however, it's not that simple.

"I've gone on four interviews in the past two weeks," says Maggie, who did want to give us her last name.

Maggie uses marijuana to ease the pain of a brain tumor. Her doctor's note means nothing to most employers.

By Roberto Ceniceros

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The American Civil Liberties Union said it will appeal a ruling by a federal judge who found that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. does not have to accommodate employees who are legally registered to use medical marijuana.

The case involves Joseph Casias, a 2008 associate of the year at a Battle Creek, Mich., Wal-Mart store who was fired after he tested positive for marijuana use.

Mr. Casias was legally registered to use marijuana to treat pain associated with an inoperable brain tumor and cancer. But he did not ingest the drug at work, according to the ACLU.

In 2008, voters passed the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, which the ACLU claims protects workers like Mr. Casias. But U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Jonker said the law doesn't mandate that businesses accommodate employees.

The Feb. 11 ruling came after a recent finding by a Michigan magistrate who said neither an employer nor the employer's workers compensation insurer are required to pay for medical marijuana that is reasonably necessary to treat an injured worker.


Source: http://www.businessinsurance.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110216/NEW...