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July, 2003 Edition
A publication of Ohio Patient Network (OPN). Contact Jean Taddie, Editor (editor@ohiopatient.net). |
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July, 2003 Edition
A publication of Ohio Patient Network (OPN). Contact Jean Taddie, Editor (editor@ohiopatient.net). |
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| OPNews: July 2003 Edition A publication of the Ohio Patient Network (OPN). Contact Jean Taddie, Editor ( editor@ohiopatient.net ) The following new items are included in this month's OPNews: ORGANIZATION NEWS: 1. Join Dr. Ethan Russo at OPN's Online Patient Forum August 7 2. Welcome New Members 3. OPN in the News 4. Help OPN Support Patients STATE NEWS 5. Taft Picks Toledoan as Chief of Addiction Services Agency NATIONAL NEWS: 6. American Nurses Association Endorses Access to Medical Marijuana 7. Company Commences First Ever US Trial of Synthetic Pot For Head Trauma 8. Bush, Ashcroft Ask Supreme Court for Permission to Punish Doctors Who Recommend Medical Marijuana 9. House Votes to Continue Attacks on Patients 10. House Committee Rejects Medical Marijuana in D.C. 11. New DEA Drug Warrior 12. Medical Marijuana Eroding Capitol Hill Prohibition Consensus 13. MPP Pressures Presidential Candidates 14. Democratic Presidential Candidate Supports Medical Marijuana on U.S. House Floor INTERNATIONAL NEWS: 15. Pot Ingredient Neuroprotective in Animals, Study Says 16. Health Canada Releasing Marijuana Manual 17. Feds to Sell Pot Pending Court Appeal 18. Government Gets Nowhere on Pot Research 19. Medical Marijuana Bill Introduced in Argentina The following items are included in every OPNews: * OPNews Disclaimer * You Are Invited to OPN Meetings * How to Get Your Information in OPNews * How to be Removed from the OPNews List * How to Contact Your State Representative and Senator *************************************************** *************************************************** 1. JOIN DR. ETHAN RUSSO AT OPN'S ONLINE PATIENT FORUM AUGUST 7 Dr. Ethan Russo, MD, noted expert in headaches and the clinical use of cannabis, will be OPN's guest at the online Patient Forum on Thursday, August 7, 2003 starting at 7:30 p.m. EDT. Dr. Russo is a practicing neurologist at the University of Montana. He is editor of the Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics (see http://www.haworthpressinc.com/store/product.asp?sku=J175 ). He also conducted the "Chronic Cannabis Use in the Compassionate Investigational New Drug Program: An Examination of Benefits and Adverse Effects of Legal Clinical Cannabis," which examined the overall health status of four of the seven remaining patients in the Compassionate Investigational New Drug (IND) program of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). One of Dr. Russo's principle areas of interest lies in headaches, particularly migraine headaches. He has submitted several protocols to the FDA to study the effectiveness of cannabis-based treatments in migraine headaches and was finally approved to conduct a clinical study in 1999. He has also authored a historical review of cannabis therapy in obstetrics and gynecology. Dr. Russo will be sharing his insights and taking questions from the audience, so bring your questions to the meeting. OPN Patient Forums are held monthly on the FREE Internet voice/text chat software and "rooms" provided by Paltalk ( http://www.paltalk.com/PalTalkSite/ ). For instructions on how to join this meetings, see http://www.ohiopatient.net/Paltalk_instructions.htm . For more details, see http://www.ohiopatient.net/Events.htm or contact Rob Ryan ( RRyan@ohiopatient.net ). *************************************************** 2. WELCOME NEW MEMBERS The Ohio Patient Network just keeps growing! Over the last few months, OPN volunteers signed up more than 150 new members. If you are one of these new members, welcome to OPN! Check out our website ( http://www.ohiopatient.net/ ), which is loaded with medical marijuana information and weblinks. You will also find our newsletter archives ( http://www.ohiopatient.net/OPN_Newsletter.htm ), so you can catch up on what the OPN has been doing. To make finding the information you need even easier, the OPN webpage will have a whole new look soon. Watch for big changes ahead. Maybe you are thinking, "I would like to get more connected than this monthly newsletter." The Ohio Patient Network gives you the chance to network with other patients, caregivers and health professionals through our private email discussion list. To join, just complete the brief webform at http://www.ohiopatient.net/Become_an_OPN_member.htm#opn%20disc . OPN sends a great big THANKS! to all the volunteers who staffed the Million Marijuana March, Hempfest and Comfest events. *************************************************** 3. OPN IN THE NEWS The OPN and medical marijuana were a featured part of the Cleveland Plain Dealer article "KUCINICH'S CAMPAIGN PICKS UP STEAM OR IS THAT SMOKE?" (see: http://www.cleveland.com/search/index.ssf?/base/opinion/1057225171134221.xml . For related links, see also: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1008/a10.html?1315 ) In response to the article, which made light of Kucinich's support of medical marijuana, OPN Vice President Jim White wrote a letter to the editor, "KUCINICH IS BRAVE TO BACK MEDICAL MARIJUANA." The LTE was published in the July 14 Plain Dealer and is archived at http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n1117.a09.html . Jim White also had his LTE, "DOUBTING D.A.R.E.", published July 27 in The Metro Press (see http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1135/a09.html ). *************************************************** 4. HELP OPN SUPPORT PATIENTS The Ohio Patient Network is pleased to announce that it has been approved for 501(c)(3) status by the Internal Revenue Service. This means that monetary donations to OPN are tax deductible to the extent provided by law. Please visit http://www.ohiopatient.net/Donate.htm to make a donation by credit card. Checks should be made out to the Ohio Patient Network and mailed to P.O. Box 26353, Columbus, OH 43226. We'd again like to remind all of our members that there are a number of ways to "donate" to OPN. The tax status we have gained certainly makes monetary donations more attractive, but OPN also accepts donations of time, which may be more valuable than money. We have a number of activities and campaigns coming up. Ideas in the works include a lending library and a conference. We have ongoing projects like the Speakers Bureau and our annual meeting. In addition, we are creating educational packets for the media, Speakers Bureau, and government officials. We'd like you to join us in these efforts. If you're on our e-mail discussion list ( opn@ohiopatient.net ), send out a message and tell us who you are and what you can do. You can also e-mail us at volunteer@ohiopatient.net . OPN gratefully accepts all donations, whether large or small, whether time or money. We know it's going to take contributions of all kinds from all of us to make the medicinal use of marijuana a reality in Ohio. Because of your donations, it will happen. Thank you. *************************************************** 5. TAFT PICKS TOLEDOAN AS CHIEF OF ADDICTION SERVICES AGENCY Source: The Toledo Blade ( http://www.toledoblade.com/ ), July 10, 2003. (View the archived article at http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1035/a06.html .) (Columbus, OH) Gov. Bob Taft yesterday [July 9] appointed Gary Tester director of the state Department of Alcohol and Drug Addictions Services. He will replace Luceille Fleming, who retires tomorrow. "It's a great honor" said Mr. Tester, 44. "Ohio is among a handful of states with a cabinet-level post on drug and alcohol issues." Mr. Tester of Toledo has been the chief of prevention services for ODDAS since November, 2000. [snip] *************************************************** 6. AMERICAN NURSES ASSOCIATION ENDORSES ACCESS TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA Source: The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue #294, 7/3/03 http://www.drcnet.org/wol/294.shtml#nursesendorse Nine years of work by Patients Out of Time ( http://www.medicalcannabis.com ), a nonprofit organization devoted to the medical marijuana issue, paid off last week when the American Nurses Association (ANA) adopted a resolution calling for safe access to medical marijuana for patients under appropriate doctor's supervision. The ANA now joins dozens of other health professional organizations, including the National Society of Nurses on Addiction and the American Public Health Association, in calling for eased access to medical marijuana. Efforts to get the ANA to adopt such a position began in 1994, when Patients Out of Time president Mary Lynn Mathre, RN, MSN, CARN, began meeting with leaders of the Virginia Nurses Association to discuss the scientific merits of therapeutic cannabis. Expanding beyond Mathre's home state, Patients Out of Time managed to convince state nursing associations in 11 states to adopt positions supporting medical marijuana. In 1995, the New York State Nurses Association signed on and asked the ANA to adopt the Virginia policy. The ANA declined that year, but this year the New York nurses again submitted a medical marijuana resolution, and this time it passed. It passed after Mathre addressed the ANA convention in Washington, DC. "Nurses provide direct care to patients and we are above all else patient advocates," Mathre said. "This resolution is not a policy change that is in any form a departure from our professional goals and ethics. This resolution in fact validates our commitment to the patient and our communal commitment to providing the most appropriate care." The measure overwhelmingly adopted by the nurses resolves that the ANA will: *Support research in controlled investigational trials on the therapeutic efficacy of marijuana/cannabis, including alternative methods of administration. *Support the right of patients to have safe access to therapeutic marijuana/cannabis under appropriate prescriber supervision. *Support the ability of health care providers to discuss and/or recommend the medicinal use of marijuana without the threat of intimidation or penalization. *Support legislation to remove criminal penalties including arrest and imprisonment for bona fide patients and prescribers of therapeutic marijuana/cannabis. *Support federal and state legislation to exclude marijuana/cannabis from classification as a Schedule I drug. *Support and encourage the education of registered nurses regarding current, evidence-based therapeutic use of marijuana/cannabis. NOTE: Patients Out of Time has compiled a list of Organizations in Support of Therapeutic Cannabis at: http://www.medicalcannabis.com/Grouplist23.pdf . *************************************************** 7. COMPANY COMMENCES FIRST EVER US TRIAL OF SYNTHETIC POT FOR HEAD TRAUMA Source: NORML News, July 2, 2003 http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5688 . (Iselin, NJ) The Pharmos pharmaceutical company announced on Tuesday the commencement of the first ever Phase III US study on the effectiveness of the synthetic marijuana derivative Dexanabinol for the treatment of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). An estimated 270 US patients in some 15 trauma centers will take part in the double blind, randomized, placebo controlled trail. US patient recruitment is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Worldwide, Pharmos has already enrolled some 630 patients throughout Europe, Australia and Israel to participate in the trial. Results from the trial are expected to be available late next year. [snip] *************************************************** 8. BUSH, ASHCROFT ASK SUPREME COURT FOR PERMISSION TO PUNISH DOCTORS WHO RECOMMEND MEDICAL MARIJUANA Source: The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue #296, 7/18/03 http://www.drcnet.org/wol/296.shtml#conantappeal . The Bush administration has asked the Supreme Court to overturn a US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that bars the federal government from taking prescription licenses from doctors who recommend marijuana to patients for medical reasons. After the passage of California's medical marijuana initiative in 1996, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (the drug czar, then Gen. Barry McCaffrey) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) moved to strip licenses to write prescriptions for drugs from physicians who recommended that their patients use marijuana for medical purposes. California doctors, patients and activists filed suit to block the DEA, and the 9th Circuit agreed in an October 2002 ruling, finding that forbidding physicians from writing recommendations -- not prescriptions -- for or even discussing medical marijuana violated their First Amendment right to freedom of speech. The Supreme Court is not bound to hear the Justice Department's appeal, but if it does so it will give the court the first opportunity to revisit the medical marijuana issue since 2001, when it ruled that federal drug laws provide no exception for medical marijuana use. Since the laws in all nine states where medical marijuana is legal (Maryland, the ninth state, retains a token fine for medical marijuana users) require some sort of physician recommendation mechanism, an adverse ruling in the Supreme Court could effectively neutralize those laws -- if no doctor will recommend for fear of losing his prescription license, no patient can meet that requirement. At the least, it would have a chilling effect on doctor-patient communication about medical marijuana. "Doctors would begin censoring their conversations with patients," said Graham Boyd, head of the American Civil Liberties Union Drug Policy Litigation Project, who successfully argued the case, Conant v. McCaffrey, in the lower courts. "Important medical information for patients who could benefit from marijuana will not be conveyed if the government prevailed, information about dosage, frequency, routes of administration," he told DRCNet. On July 10, the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to review the case in its next session, which begins in October. The 9th Circuit's decision barring the government from taking action against physicians who recommend medical marijuana "effectively licensed physicians to treat patients with prohibited substances" and interfered with the government's authority "to enforce the law in an area vital to the public health and safety," the Justice Department wrote in documents filed with the Supreme Court. Doctors who recommend medical marijuana are no different than those who would dispense LSD or heroin, argued Solicitor General Ted Olson. [snip] NOTE: For more information, see the San Francisco Chronicle story, "BUSH ESCALATES MARIJUANA WAR", which is archived at http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1038/a08.html . Of related interest, see The Oakland Tribune's "PSYCHIATRIST'S LICENSE MAY BE REVOKED" at http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1055/a07.html . *************************************************** 9. HOUSE VOTES TO CONTINUE ATTACKS ON PATIENTS Amendment to End DEA Medical Marijuana Raids Defeated, 152-273 Source: Marijuana Policy Project press release, July 23, 2003 http://www.mpp.org/releases/nr072303.html . (Washington, DC) The U.S. House of Representatives voted today to allow the Bush administration's Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to continue raiding and arresting seriously ill medical marijuana patients and caregivers in states that allow the medical use of marijuana. Nevertheless, patients and advocates were cheered by the growth in the number of congressional allies since the last House vote on medical marijuana in 1998 -- and by the fact that more than two thirds of House Democrats voted to protect patients. The overall vote was 152 in favor, 273 opposed, and 10 not voting. Today's vote came on an amendment to the Commerce-Justice-State Appropriations bill introduced by U.S. Reps. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA). The amendment would have barred the Justice Department, including the DEA, from spending any money to raid or arrest medical marijuana patients and providers in states that have eliminated or reduced penalties for medical use of marijuana: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. [snip] NOTE: The Congressional Record transcripts of the Hinchey/Rohrabacher Medical Marijuana Amendment debate are archived at: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03.n1110.a09.html . *************************************************** 10. HOUSE COMMITTEE REJECTS MEDICAL MARIJUANA IN D.C. Republicans Out of Touch With Voters on Issue Source: Marijuana Policy Project press release, July 15, 2003 http://www.mpp.org/releases/nr071503.html . (Washington, DC) The House Appropriations Committee today voted 36-16 to defeat an amendment that would have allowed the District of Columbia to place a medical marijuana initiative on a future ballot. The amendment defeated today was introduced by U.S. Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA) in an effort to amend the existing "Barr Amendment" to the D.C. appropriations bill. The Barr Amendment, named after its sponsor, former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr (R-GA), prohibits the city from using any money to "enact or carry out" any effort to vote on or implement a medical marijuana law. Farr's amendment would have allowed the D.C. government to use city -- but not federal -- funds to place a medical marijuana initiative on the ballot. All 16 votes for the Farr Amendment came from committee Democrats, including ranking member U.S. Rep. David R. Obey (D-WI), who criticized the Republicans opposing the amendment. [snip] *************************************************** 11. NEW DEA DRUG WARRIOR Source: Honolulu Weekly ( http://www.honoluluweekly.com/ ), July 23, 2003. (View the entire article at http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1129/a07.html .) By: Cindy K. Mackey Associate U.S. Deputy Attorney General Karen Tandy, nominated to replace Asa Hutchinson as head of the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), has medical marijuana supporters alarmed. During a nomination hearing before the Senate judiciary committee June 25, long-time drug warrior Tandy made it clear that she supports DEA med-pot raids in California and Oregon, despite the fact that these patients and providers have been acting in compliance with state laws. Despite evidence to the contrary, Tandy has consistently denied marijuana's medicinal value. During that hearing, Tandy denied any knowledge of a 1999 National Science Association study which confirms the value of med pot. "I have no basis for believing that marijuana, and specifically smoking marijuana, has any such benefits," Tandy said. [snip] *************************************************** 12. MEDICAL MARIJUANA ERODING CAPITOL HILL PROHIBITION CONSENSUS Democrats Also on Attack Against Drug Czar, Drug War in General Source: The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue #296, 7/18/03 http://www.drcnet.org/wol/296.shtml#consensuseroding . (Washington, DC) A series of recent votes on Capitol Hill suggest that the medical marijuana issue is causing fissures in what is becoming an increasingly shaky consensus in support of harsh anti-drug measures in Congress. While none of the votes resulted in victories for drug reformers, they appear to signal a growing acceptance of medical marijuana in Congress and the emergence of a partisan divide on drug policy, at least at the national political level. In the last two weeks, hearings on the nomination of Karen Tandy as administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the reauthorization of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP, the drug czar's office), and the Barr Amendment barring Washington, DC, from implementing a voter-approved medical marijuana program have provided the opportunity for critics of the Bush administration's hard-line drug policies to step up and fight back. The result has been criticism of the drug war the likes of which has never been heard on the Hill. [snip] *************************************************** 13. MPP PRESSURES PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES Source: Marijuana Policy Project ( www.mpp.org ) update, July 8, 2003. The Marijuana Policy Project's work to pressure the presidential candidates on the medical marijuana issue in New Hampshire is really starting to pay off. In just the past week, representatives of Granite Staters for Medical Marijuana (GSMM) -- a campaign of the Marijuana Policy Project -- have confronted all four U.S. senators running for the Democratic Party's nomination and have forced them to make public statements on the issue... GSMM supporters have cornered Senators John Kerry, Bob Graham, Joe Lieberman, and John Edwards during the past week. The results have been surprisingly favorable. * On July 2, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) told New Hampshire medical marijuana advocate Linda Macia that he was "in favor of" medical marijuana. Ms. Macia said that Sen. Kerry "came right out and said, 'I'm in favor of it.'" Kerry added that he is "in favor of its prescription." This is a positive statement from Sen. Kerry, who is a top contender for the Democratic presidential nomination. * The next day, Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL) told MPP's Aaron Houston that although as president he would not sign legislation that would allow seriously ill people to use marijuana, he would respect and defer to the laws of the individual states. "If a state, like Oregon, has said that this, their judgment, is appropriate, I would, although I would disagree with it, I would defer to the state judgment." While it is clear that Sen. Graham personally opposes medical marijuana, his statement that he would support the rights of states that have decided to protect patients is an encouraging development. * On July 6, Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) told GSMM that he would "probably" sign legislation to allow seriously ill people to use medical marijuana with their doctors' approval and that he is "sympathetic" on the issue. This statement represents a possible change of heart for Sen. Lieberman. In 1998, he endorsed a resolution in Congress that supported the arrest and imprisonment of medical marijuana patients. * Not all developments were positive, however. Last night, before a national C-SPAN audience, Sen. John Edwards (D-NC), in response to a question from Ms. Macia, said that as president he would "put together a group of people" to study whether medical marijuana is "important to provide pain relief." Such a study would offer no relief in the short term to patients who are living with the threat of DEA raids hanging over their heads. Interestingly, when confronted by GSMM representatives after the televised portion of the town hall meeting, Sen. Edwards claimed that the fact that Californians are being raided is "all new information" to him. He offered to look at the information and provide GSMM with a response. * Meanwhile, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean continues to struggle to nail down his own position on medical marijuana. Earlier last week, on June 30, Dean retreated from a previous promise to ask the Food and Drug Administration to report on the evidence regarding marijuana's medical safety and efficacy within 60 days of taking office. Dean stated on his Web site that marijuana should not be treated any differently than other drugs up for FDA approval. As governor, Dean blocked legislation that would have protected patients in Vermont. *************************************************** 14. DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE SUPPORTS MEDICAL MARIJUANA ON U.S. HOUSE FLOOR Source: Marijuana Policy Project press release, July 24, 2003 http://www.mpp.org/releases/nr072403gsmm.html . (Washington, DC) Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) backed up his previous support of medical marijuana with words and actions Tuesday night. Kucinich delivered a speech on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, urging his colleagues to support an amendment to the Commerce-Justice-State Appropriations bill that would have barred the Justice Department, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, from spending any money to raid or arrest medical marijuana patients and providers in the states that have eliminated or reduced penalties for medical use of marijuana. Rep. Kucinich voted in favor of the amendment, which failed in a floor vote, 152-273. "Congressman Kucinich gave action to his earlier statement in support of medical marijuana," said Granite Staters for Medical Marijuana (GSMM) Campaign Coordinator Aaron Houston. "He's said that, as president, he would protect seriously ill medical marijuana patients from arrest and prison, and his vote yesterday shows that he'll stick to his word." Notably absent from the voting was fellow presidential candidate U.S. Rep. Dick Gephardt (D-MO). Gephardt told GSMM on Sunday that he favors states' rights to medical marijuana and that, as president, he would respect the rights of states that have chosen to protect patients with medical marijuana laws. Gephardt's comments were surprisingly positive given his 1998 vote for House Joint Resolution 117, a resolution opposing efforts to legalize marijuana or other Schedule I drugs for medical use. [snip] *************************************************** 15. POT INGREDIENT NEUROPROTECTIVE IN ANIMALS, STUDY SAYS Source: NORML News, July 10, 2003 http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=5702 . (Milan, Italy) Cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive compound in marijuana, is protective against brain injury in animals, according to a study published in this month's issue of Neuroscience Letters. Researchers in Italy reported that administration of CBD in gerbils prevented brain damage caused by ischemia (a reduction of blood flow to the brain that can cause cell death). "These findings suggest a potential therapeutic role of cannabidiol in cerebral ischemia, though the clear mechanism of action remains to be elucidated," authors concluded. [snip] *************************************************** 16. HEALTH CANADA RELEASING MARIJUANA MANUAL Source: Red Deer Advocate ( http://www.reddeeradvocate.com/ ), July 21, 2003. (This article is archived at: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1107/a08.html .) By: Dean Beeby Health Canada is set to release a user's manual this week for a drug it has long opposed: marijuana. The unprecedented move has been triggered by the courts, which compelled Health Canada this month to begin distributing government-certified marijuana to a group of patients who take the substance to alleviate symptoms. The department must also release a manual on how to use its dope -- but a draft version of the document shows patients will get little practical advice about ingesting marijuana and lots of warnings against using it at all. [snip] *************************************************** 17. FEDS TO SELL POT PENDING COURT APPEAL No Permanent Regulations in Place Source: Sentinel Review ( http://www.annexweb.com/sentinel ), July 10, 2003. (The whole article is archived at http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1044/a02.html .) By: Dennis Bueckert, The Canadian Press (Ottawa, Canada) Health Canada is getting into the business of selling marijuana to the sick, even while police continue to bust people for growing or dealing the drug illegally. Under an interim policy announced Wednesday, the government will sell bags of marijuana seeds and dried marijuana to sick patients who qualify under Ottawa's medical pot program. The announcement came on the day an Ontario court judge set as the deadline for the federal government to come up with regulations for distributing medical marijuana. The judge ruled Ottawa couldn't logically give sick people permission to use pot without also providing a legal source of supply. Health Canada is appealing the ruling and Health Minister Anne McLellan hinted the sales program could end quickly if her department wins the appeal. "It was never the intention for us to provide product," she said in Edmonton. "What we wanted to do was in fact determine whether there is medicinal benefit in relation to the use of marijuana." She expressed strong skepticism about the premise of the medical marijuana program instituted by her predecessor, Allan Rock. "There have been no studies anywhere in the world that have been able to confirm medicinal benefit," she said. The tone of her comments differed from that used by Rock who said the medical marijuana program was based on compassion for people who are seriously ill or in discomfort. NOTE: The press conference presented by Canadians for Safe Access http://www.safeaccess.ca/, is currently on line as video files at http://www.epress.ca/index-en.asp?whowhere=epress *************************************************** 18. GOVERNMENT GETS NOWHERE ON POT RESEARCH Source: Halifax Herald ( http://www.herald.ns.ca/ ), July 9, 2003. (View the entire article at: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1025/a08.html .) By: Dennis Bueckert, The Canadian Press (Ottawa, Canada) Four years after former health minister Allan Rock announced a major effort to assess the medical benefits of marijuana, not a single study has been completed and the whole research program is clouded with uncertainty... In March, Health Canada terminated funding to the Community Research Initiative of Toronto, which was studying whether smoked marijuana can alleviate nausea and weight loss experienced by many people living with AIDS. The cut came just as the project was about to start enrolling volunteer research subjects, said Derek Thaczuk, a spokesman for the Toronto group. [snip] NOTE: For the latest news about medicinal cannabis in Canada, see: http://www.mapinc.org/mmjcn.htm . *************************************************** 19. MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL INTRODUCED IN ARGENTINA Source: The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue #295 - July 11, 2003 http://www.drcnet.org/wol/295.shtml#argentina Deputy Irma Fidela Parentella has introduced the first bill in the Argentine legislature that seeks to open the door to the medical use of marijuana in that South American nation. The bill introduced last week would allow cancer and HIV/AIDS patients to use the herb in clinical research trials. [snip] *************************************************** *************************************************** *************************************************** The following items are included in every OPNews: *************************************************** OPNews DISCLAIMER OPNews, a publication of Ohio Patient Network (OPN), provides medical cannabis news that affects Ohio patients, caregivers, and health professionals. All articles are intended for educational purposes and do not reflect an official position, either positive or negative, by the OPN or its Board of Directors. Ohio Patient Network does not endorse any candidates running for office. The reports of campaign-related activities are for educational purposes only. For more information, contact Jean Taddie, Editor ( editor@ohiopatient.net ). *************************************************** YOU ARE INVITED TO OPN MEETINGS The OPN Board of Directors invites you to participate in OPN patient forums, which are held at 7:30 p.m. (eastern time) the first Thursday of each month. You are also welcome to attend the weekly OPN business meetings. These electronic voice/text meetings are held at the OPN chatroom in PalTalk ( http://www.paltalk.com/ ). To receive further information, including instructions for the PalTalk meeting room, contact info@ohiopatient.net . *************************************************** HOW TO GET YOUR INFORMATION IN OPNews OPNews is published monthly. To have your information considered for publication, submit your story to editor@ohiopatient.net . PLEASE DO NOT SEND ATTACHMENTS. Please do not boldface or italicize text. Include a contact name with a phone number and/or e-mail address with submissions. *************************************************** HOW TO BE REMOVED FROM THE OPNews LIST You may sign off this list at any time by using the webform at http://www.ohiopatient.net/Become_an_OPN_member.htm . *************************************************** HOW TO CONTACT YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE AND SENATOR Find your Representative in the Ohio House at http://www.house.state.oh.us/jsps/Representatives.jsp . Find your Ohio Senator at http://www.senate.state.oh.us/senators/ . Write to your officials care of their district office, or send your letter to their Columbus office at: The Honorable (name) Ohio House of Representatives 77 South High Street Columbus, Ohio 43266-0603 -or- The Honorable (name) Ohio Senate Building Columbus, Ohio 43215 Telephone calls and emails are also persuasive, especially when the constituent contacts the district office. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --- The views above and/or any links to any outside websites do not necessarily reflect the views of the Ohio Patient Network, it's members or it's Board of Directors. |
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