|
October, 2001 Edition
A publication of Ohio Patient Network (OPN). Contact Jean Taddie, Editor (editor@ohiopatient.net). |
|
|
October, 2001 Edition
A publication of Ohio Patient Network (OPN). Contact Jean Taddie, Editor (editor@ohiopatient.net). |
|
|
|
The following new items are included in
this month's OPNews:
* SEIZED CALIFORNIA MEDI-POT PATIENTS' FILES WON'T BE RETURNED,
FEDERAL JUDGE RULES
* NEVADA MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW GOES INTO EFFECT, BUT PROGRAM LACKS FUNDS, SIMPLE POSSESSION REDUCED TO MISDEMEANOR * NATURAL COMPOUND MAY REDUCE BRAIN TRAUMA DAMAGE * BRITAIN ANNOUNCES PLAN TO ABOLISH ARRESTS FOR MARIJUANA POSSESSION * GW WELCOMES HOME SECRETARY'S STATEMENT ON CANNABIS-BASED MEDICINES * MARIJUANA PRESCRIPTION LAW OK'D * STUDENTS WITH DRUG CONVICTIONS NOW LOSING FEDERAL FINANCIAL AID
The following items are included in every OPNews:
* 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
***************************************************
SEIZED CALIFORNIA MEDI-POT PATIENTS' FILES WON'T BE RETURNED, FEDERAL JUDGE RULES
Source: NORML Weekly News Bulletin, October 25,
2001. http://www.norml.org/news/index.shtml#story3
SACRAMENTO, CA – Nearly 5,000 patient and legal records seized by
federal drug agents in an early-October raid on the offices of the
California Medical Research Center (CMRC) in El Dorado County will
remain in police hands, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. US Magistrate
Gregory G. Hollows rejected a motion filed by J. David Nick, an attorney
for the defendants - club proprietors Dr. Marion Fry and her husband,
attorney Dale Schafer - arguing that the files were protected by
attorney/client privilege and should be returned.
“[Schafer] affirmatively told his purported clients from the
inception of their meeting that he was not their attorney," Judge
Hollows concluded. Hollows did stipulate that the individual patients'
medical records must remained sealed, but that government officials
could access other files for the purpose of establishing evidence that a
crime has been committed.
This month's raid of the CMRC marked the first time federal agents
have targeted a state medical marijuana facility since voters legalized
the possession and cultivation of the drug in 1996, and came only weeks
after newly-appointed DEA Director Asa Hutchinson announced that no use
of medical marijuana would be tolerated by federal officials.
“By all indications, this bust appears to be the first wave of an
impending federal crackdown on medical marijuana support groups,"
said NORML Executive Director Keith Stroup.
***************************************************
NEVADA MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW GOES INTO EFFECT, BUT PROGRAM LACKS FUNDS, SIMPLE POSSESSION REDUCED TO MISDEMEANOR
Source: The Week Online with DRCNet, Issue #204
-- September 28, 2001. A Publication of the Drug Reform Coordination
Network http://www.drcnet.org
NEVADA - Nevada voters overwhelmingly approved the medicinal use of
marijuana in two elections in 1998 and 2000, and the state legislature
enacted legislation to implement the will of the voters earlier this
year. Gov. Kenny Guinn signed the bill. The new law's program goes into
effect on October, and people are already lining up to register. There's
just one problem: There is no money to pay for it.
The state Department of Agriculture will run the program, which
enables sufferers of AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, muscular dystrophy,
seizures or severe nausea who obtain a doctor's signature to register as
officially-recognized medical marijuana patients. Registered patients
can possess up to three mature marijuana plants and four immature plants
at one time. They can also possess one ounce of harvested marijuana.
Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani (D-Las Vegas), who sponsored the
enabling legislation, had originally earmarked $30,000 for the first
year's program costs -- primarily staff time at the Agriculture
Department -- but she told the Las Vegas Review she removed the funds
from the bill after it became apparent that legislation using taxpayer
funds for the program might not pass.
Gov. Guinn did not include the $30,000 in his annual budget, which
incited former gubernatorial candidate Aaron Russo to chide the governor
for ignoring the will of the voters and Agriculture Department head Paul
Iverson for calling the program an "unfunded mandate."
"This is not an unfunded mandate," he told the
Review-Journal in July. "It is a constitutional law. How can you
vote for a governor who doesn't listen to the will of the people? The
people wanted medical marijuana. It is the law of the land. Guinn, who
opposed the medical marijuana initiatives, "is a dinosaur,"
Russo added. The initiative last year garnered 100,000 votes more than
the governor did, he noted. (Russo at the time also vowed to donate the
$30,000 himself, but the Hollywood producer has so far not come
through.)
In May, when the funding issue arose, Guinn's office said it did
not include funding because the governor doubted the legality of a
medical marijuana program. "The federal government has tried to
restrict medical marijuana programs in every state that tried to start
them," Guinn spokesman Jack Finn told the Review-Journal.
Agriculture head Iverson vowed to start the program anyway.
"We are going to take care of it with existing staff," Iverson
said. "It is no different than any other unfunded mandate. We
encourage donations, but we are going to make it work with what we
have." The department had collected $3,000 in donations, he said.
Cecile Crofoot, the Ag Department's medical marijuana program
manager, told the Review-Journal she had sent out 24 application forms
as of September 24 and she had fielded about a hundred additional
inquiries from possible applicants. She said the process of applying and
becoming registered as a medical marijuana user would take "several
weeks." Once prospective participants receive their applications,
they must then be fingerprinted to ensure that they have not been
convicted of a drug distribution felony. Under the new law, persons with
such convictions cannot participate in the program. Once the application
has been approved, Crofoot will notify the applicants and they must go
to a local Department of Motor Vehicles office to obtain a $9 license
allowing them to legally possess marijuana for medical purposes.
People who wish to apply for the program can contact Crofoot at
(775) 684-5333, she added.
Nevada will become the ninth state to enact legal protections for
medical marijuana users. (Voters in the District of Colombia also have,
but Congress blocked the city from implementing them.)
Also on October 1, Nevada ends its lonely run as the only state in
the nation to make it a felony to possess even small amounts of
marijuana. Again led by Assemblywoman Giunchigliana, the legislature
agreed to make possession of an ounce or less of marijuana a misdemeanor
carrying a $600 fine, with escalating fines for subsequent offenses. A
fourth possession offense, however, will be treated as a felony.
In recent years, even under the felony possession statute, few
smokers went to prison; most instead faced fines in the hundreds of
dollars. But now the specter of the prison gate moves even further into
the distance for Nevada tokers.
***************************************************
NATURAL COMPOUND MAY REDUCE BRAIN TRAUMA DAMAGE
Source: Reuters Health, 10/3/01. Copyright: 2001
Reuters Health
By Melissa Schorr
A compound the brain manufactures in response to trauma may be
useful as a treatment for complications resulting from brain injury,
Israeli researchers report.
``We believe that this compound, that the brain itself produces,
may serve as a neuroprotectant agent,'' lead author Esther Shohami, a
professor in the School of Pharmacy at the Hebrew University in
Jerusalem, told Reuters Health.
The compound, known as 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG), is a
cannabinoid, a substance the body produces with a similar structure to
chemicals found in the cannabis plant, the source of marijuana.
In research published in the October 4th issue of Nature, the
investigators found 2-AG at 10 times the normal level in the brains of
mice 4 hours after a traumatic injury.
The researchers theorize that the compound somehow helps prevent
some of the secondary complications associated with brain injury,
possibly by reducing the inflammatory response, slowing the production
of a toxic brain chemical or boosting the blood supply to the brain
immediately after the injury.
However, the natural amounts the brain cells produce following
trauma probably do not reach high enough levels to be effective, Shohami
noted.
To investigate the effects of the compound, the researchers
synthesized 2-AG and injected it an hour after brain injury had been
induced in mice. The mice were evaluated 1, 4 and 7 days after injury.
``We found a tremendous improvement in the recovery of the mice,''
Shohami said, noting that there was less excess fluid causing swelling
in the brain, better recovery of motor function, and fewer dead brain
cells and brain tissue.
However, the drug's protection against neurological damage was
short-lived, with significant effects lasting only a day after
treatment. Shohami said she hopes to eventually investigate the compound
on humans who have suffered brain injuries and to extend the timeframe
in which the substance could be offered.
``Its administration, as a single injection, should be considered
as a novel therapeutic modality,'' she said. ``Since the benefit was
achieved by a single administration, I do not expect serious
side-effects or toxicity to be a major problem.''
***************************************************
OPENING THE DOOR By Jim White, Copyright 2001 One argument often used in opposition to medical marijuana is that it somehow would open the door for further abuse of the drug. This argument itself requires that one assume that the 'door' is presently closed, and that use of marijuana is for the most part non-existent. The notion is absolutely ludicrous, the use of marijuana is and has been widespread for decades. The problems associated with marijuana use are such that current law treats personal use and possession as minor misdemeanors. Even if we were to assume that some form of a floodgate would be flung open upon the passage of a medical marijuana bill, we could only expect that there might be an increase in cases of simple possession and use of a substance that even now only ranks alongside parking tickets and littering. As for the argument that we'd be "sending the wrong message" to our children, I submit that we're already sending the wrong message. Because we fear what might possibly happen, we're content to see that people who are currently suffering from certain debilitating medical conditions, from which they cannot gain any substantial relief, continue to suffer needlessly. That message is contrary to the ethical and moral underpinnings of our society, and indeed to that of the rest of the free world. Surely our children are deserving of a more compassionate government than that of one more concerned with the existence of an imaginary door holding back an equally imaginary tide of widespread abuse of marijuana. No one would ever believe or retain any credibility were they to state that because we allow a terminal cancer patient to use a drug such as morphine to alleviate pain, that we are also sending the message that the recreational use of morphine is acceptable - that we have opened the door to the abuse of morphine - because we permit it's medical use. The general public clearly knows and understands the difference between using a substance for medical purposes and using them for recreational purposes. Indeed in the general election of 1996 an overwhelming majority of voters, nearly 65%, approved of adding a medical necessity defense clause to the Ohio Revised Code; Later to be erased, presumably, by the guardians of the imaginary door. Nationwide the number of people whom support the medical use of marijuana is approaching 75%, nine other states and the district of Columbia have enacted medical marijuana provisions with all but one being by grass roots effort and voter initiative. Clearly a message is being sent, but politicos intent on proffering intellectually defunct arguments are apparently incapable of reception, and if they are incapable of reception, what would convince anyone that they have the ability to effectively send a message? That the weakest and most vulnerable among us are made to suffer a personal living hell out of the fear that they might inhale "the smoke from hell" -as one piece of early American propaganda put it.- is one of the most detestable forms of torture ever thrust upon our fellow beings, yet that is precisely what we have been and are still doing --torturing the sick in order to keep the bolt on the imaginary door in place. It is inconceivable that such a miscarriage of justice, such wanton violation of basic human rights, and such an utter lack of compassion for those whom we ourselves might one day replace as recipients of intractable suffering, is allowed to continue for what is essentially a fairy tale comprised of lies and misinformation and kept in place by imaginary doors bolted by politicians that have not the courage to stand and let the door swing open to reveal the absurdity behind it.
***************************************************
BRITAIN ANNOUNCES PLAN TO ABOLISH ARRESTS FOR MARIJUANA POSSESSION: Pot to Be Reclassified by Spring, Declares Top Government Official
Source: NORML Weekly News Bulletin, October 25,
2001 http://www.norml.org/news/index.shtml#story2
LONDON, ENGLAND – Possession of marijuana will no longer be an
arrestable offense, Britain's Home Secretary David Blunkett announced
Tuesday, in a move marking the first major relaxation of England's pot
laws in 30 years. Under the new national policy, marijuana will be
reclassified as a "Class C" or "soft" drug, putting
it in the same category as anti-depressants and steroids.
“In spite of our focus on hard drugs, the majority of police time
is currently spent handling cannabis offenses," Blunkett said,
noting that nearly 7 out every 10 British drug arrests are pot-related.
"It is time for an honest and common sense approach focusing
effectively on drugs that cause the most harm. Given this background,
and the very clear difference between cannabis and 'Class A' drugs [such
as heroin and cocaine,] I want to ... reclassify cannabis from 'Class B'
to 'Class C.'"
Although possession of "Class C" drugs technically
carries a two-year maximum prison term, only offenses punishable by at
least five years imprisonment are arrestable in England. Therefore, pot
smokers will unlikely face any serious legal consequences other than a
verbal warning or a court summons if they are caught will small amounts
of pot. "[Police] will still have plenty of powers to stop people
but possession of cannabis won't be one of them," a Home Office
spokesman told The Guardian newspaper.
NORML Executive Director Keith Stroup praised Blunkett's decision,
calling the UK's impending policy de-facto decriminalization. "By
eliminating the threat of arrest and jail for responsible adult
marijuana smokers, police and criminal justice resources can be focused
on more serious and violent crimes," Stroup said.
England's pot-law change will not be enacted legislatively, but
instead by an executive order, the BBC reported. The new law will likely
take effect early next year.
This week's announcement by the Home Office is the latest in a
series of drug policy reforms occurring throughout Europe. Earlier this
year, governments in Belgium, Luxembourg and Portugal decriminalized the
use and possession of marijuana. In contrast, the US FBI revealed Monday
that a record 734,498 Americans were arrested for marijuana violations
last year.
"The United States is quickly becoming isolated regarding the
way in which we choose to target and vilify marijuana smokers,"
said Stroup. "American elected officials would be well advised to
heed the lessons learned by their European counterparts, and recognize
that a rational and just marijuana policy is one based upon
decriminalizing responsible adult use."
***************************************************
GW WELCOMES HOME SECRETARY'S STATEMENT ON CANNABIS-BASED MEDICINES
Source: GW Pharmaceuticals Press Release, 10/24/01.
http://www.gwpharm.com/news_pres_24_oct_01.html
ENGLAND – GW Pharmaceuticals plc, the company licensed by the
Home Office to develop cannabis extracts into non-smoked prescription
medicines, warmly welcomes the Home Secretary's statement yesterday to
the Home Affairs Select Committee. The statement confirmed that,
"subject to the satisfactory outcome of phase three of the clinical
trials currently being carried out, he would approve a change to the law
to enable the prescription of cannabis-based medicines".
Throughout the Company's history, GW has worked closely with Home
Office officials and provides regular updates to the Home Office on the
progress of its clinical trials. GW's phase three clinical trials
commenced earlier this year and the Company remains on track to make its
first submission to the Medicines Control Agency ("MCA") in
2003. Following MCA approval of GW's non-smoked cannabis based medicinal
extracts, yesterday's announcement re-confirms that the Government
intends to permit the prescription of these medicines by doctors.
Dr Geoffrey Guy, Executive Chairman, said: "GW's programme is
dedicated to providing patients suffering from multiple sclerosis,
cancer, arthritis and other serious medical conditions with prescription
medicines which harness the medical effects of cannabis without the
harmful effects of smoking. We are delighted that the Home Secretary
continues to recognise the potential importance of these medicines for
patients."
In yesterday's statement, David Blunkett, Home Secretary, also
stated that he was considering re-classifying cannabis under the Misuse
of Drugs Act 1971 from Class B to Class C. In doing so, Mr Blunkett
stressed that reclassification is quite different from decriminalisation
or legalisation and that cannabis will remain a controlled drug and
using it a criminal offence.
*************************************************** MARIJUANA PRESCRIPTION LAW OK'D
Source: Associated Press (Wire), 10/19/01. Copyright 2001
Associated Press. Available at: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1792/a05.html?1959
By Anthony Deutsch
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands ( AP ) – The Dutch Cabinet approved a bill
Friday that would allow pharmacies to fill marijuana prescriptions and
for the government to pay for them.
Parliament was expected to vote in the next few months on the
proposal to put medicinal marijuana on the national health care plan.
If the bill is passed by the 150-seat legislature, pharmacies would be
supplied with "pharmaceutical quality" marijuana after testing
by a government agency.
Although the sale of marijuana is technically illegal, Dutch
authorities tolerate the sale of small amounts in hundreds of so- called
"coffee shops" that operate openly. A gram of marijuana
costs about $4.
Under the new law, most users would have the cost of their joints
paid by the government as long as it is prescribed by a doctor.
A government statement recognized that some patrons of coffee shops
use marijuana to alleviate pain.
"An increasing number of patients suffering illnesses such as
cancer, AIDS and multiple sclerosis receive medicinal cannabis," it
said.
The law is needed to remove an "undesirable"
contradiction between practice and law "despite lack of scientific
evidence" of the effects of marijuana use, the statement said.
Many patients using the drug without professional assistance have
had successful results, it added. "Experiences are positive:
less pain, less nausea after chemotherapy, less stiffness with MS,"
the statement said.
The prescription marijuana would be grown along government
guidelines. As is selling, growing marijuana is illegal but
tolerated in small quantities, and the Netherlands produces some of the
most potent varieties in the world.
Though several countries tolerate marijuana use by medical
patients, only Canada licenses them to legally grow and possess it, said
Paul Armentano, a spokesman for the Washington-based National
Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. The Canadian
government is also growing marijuana and plans to create a
government-run system to distribute it.
Britain has licensed a company, GW Pharmaceuticals, to grow large
amounts of marijuana to develop a medical extract, such as a spray that
patients can spray in their mouths. However, smoking marijuana
remains illegal there.
In the United States, nine states have exempted medical patients
from prosecution under state laws, but they can still be arrested under
federal laws, Armentano said.
NOTE: View the Reuters 10/19/2001 article titled “DUTCH
CABINET APPROVES MEDICAL USE OF MARIJUANA” which is available in its
entirety at: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1790/a08.html?1606
***************************************************
STUDENTS WITH DRUG CONVICTIONS NOW LOSING FEDERAL FINANCIAL AID
Source: Columbus Dispatch (OH), 10/6/01. (Associated
Press). Available on-line at: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1747/a10.html?1604
CLEVELAND, OH (AP) – About 36,000 college students won't get
federal financial aid this fall because of drug convictions.
Under a law that is being fully enforced for the first time,
students convicted of drug possession are ineligible for federal
financial aid for one year. Students convicted of selling drugs lose aid
for two years.
Justin Marino, 23, of Poland, a Youngstown State University
student, is one of them.
Marino was convicted of two drug misdemeanors last year after he
got caught growing a marijuana plant in his bedroom closet. He lost his
eligibility for education loans, grants and work assistance this year.
"It's got to be one of the stupidest laws I ever heard of," he
said. "I wasn't using the money they gave for school on
drugs."
Students deemed ineligible can be reinstated for aid if they enter
a rehabilitation program that includes random urine tests.
But critics say that the law does not define rehabilitation, that
such programs are often costly and that the law amounts to a second
punishment.
The law, a provision of the Higher Education Act Amendments of
1998, went into effect last fall but is being fully enforced for the
first time this school year.
"The majority of these people have first-time marijuana
convictions," said Shawn Heller of Students for Sensible Drug
Policy, a Washington group working to charge the law. "It will have
a disproportionate effect on low-income and minority students."
U.S. Rep. Mark E. Souder, R-Ind., who sponsored the law, never
intended for students to be denied aid because of transgressions that
happened years before, said his spokesman, Seth Becker. The intent was
to discourage students from breaking drug laws while they were getting
aid, he said.
"The original intent was to make sure that students who
receive taxpayer money out of your pocket and my pocket have a
responsibility to live within the law," Becker said.
"Obviously, we're not particularly pleased with the way this is
working."
But Souder still supports the concept, so he opposes a bill by Rep.
Barney Frank, D-Mass., that would repeal the law.
Becker said Souder is working with the Bush administration to
change the way the law is administered.
But if negotiations with administration officials fail to fix the
law, Souder would not rule out introducing a new bill, he said.
"We're certainly not in favor of repealing," Becker said.
"But it was never intended to be used this way. There are people
being denied federal aid who should not be denied federal aid."
*************************************************** *************************************************** 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. Articles are intended for information purposes and do not reflect an official position by OPN or the OPN Board of Directors. 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 the OPN planning meetings. Electronic voice/text meetings are held at the OPN chatroom in PalTalk. To receive PalTalk and meeting room instructions, as well as date and time information, 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 www.ohiopatient.net. *************************************************** 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.
|
Ohio Patient Network - P.O. Box 26353 - Columbus, Ohio 43226-0353 - (614) 265-8683
