Ohio Patient Network - December 2007

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OPNews - December 2007 edition

A Publication of Ohio Patient Network (OPN)

ORGANIZATIONAL NEWS

OPN/OPAN Annual Meeting

This year's annual meeting brought unity to the efforts of the medical cannabis patients in Ohio. The first portion of the meeting was a lively discussion on medical marijuana legislation and strategy led by lobbyist Penny Tipps of State Street Consultants. The second portion of the meeting included the annual elections. The vote was conducted by a show of hands from those present and proxy votes submitted by email were counted.

OPN/OPAN 2007 Accomplishments

A 501(c)(3) educational non-profit organization, the Ohio Patient Network (OPN) was founded in 2001 to provide networking, education, and support for patients who use cannabis therapeutically in the State of Ohio. The group established its sister Ohio Patient Action Network (OPAN) in 2005 as a 501(c)(4) to promote medical marijuana legislation. Together, the groups achieved the following milestones in 2007.

OPN goes to Amsterdam

OPN will be represented as a sponsor of the 20th Anniversary High Times Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam, NL November 18-23. The sponsorship includes a large table space at the expo during the day and 8 sponsor passes.

HOT HOLIDAY GIFTS FOR EVERYONE ON YOUR LIST

It's holiday time again! That means the office holiday party, Solstice, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, and Christmas preparations, cooking, decorating, greeting cards, and GIFT-GIVING! Not to mention winter break vacation traveling and New Year's Eve celebrations.

The Ohio Patient Network has partnered with iGive.com and GoodShop to help you support your favorite cause effortlessly while you do your holiday shopping. Please see below for different options that cost you only a few moments.

Tax Deductible Donations!

It's the time of year to remind you that donations to the Ohio Patient Network are tax deductible to the extent provided by law. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit, you can assist our work to provide networking and support to Ohio's cannabis patients and to educate the media, public, and government officials about this medicinal plant. Just make your check or money order payable to the Ohio Patient Network and mail to P.O. Box 26353, Columbus, Ohio 43216. You can also make your donation by Paypal. Just click on the Paypal button at the top right of any page on our website.

Upcoming Meetings

Online meetings represent one of the primary ways OPN and OPAN conduct business. It's a great feeling to speak with like-minded people from all over Ohio in real time and, in the process, plan how we're going to make a big difference in this state.

STATE NEWS

Mary Jane Borden named LEAP volunteer of the month

LEAP's Volunteer of the Month for October is Mary Jane Borden, a long-time activist who resides in Columbus, OH. MJ answered LEAP's request for help, and traveled to Pittsburgh to assist at the ICMA conference. Conferencing is a major part of LEAP's overall effort to promote their position to large groups of people at one time. And, as Mary Jane explained: “Participating with LEAP at the ICMA conference gave me the opportunity to step out of my own comfort zone and speak with scores of people for whom our drug policy reform ideas are uncommon.” Thanks, MJ, for all that you do to help not just LEAP, but the whole reform effort.

HAMILTON COUNTY JAIL TAX DEFEATED: Marijuana played a significant role

Nov 7 - Yesterday Ohio's Hamilton County voters rejected a sales tax for a new jail despite a well-funded campaign on the part of the proponents. Marijuana and Cincinnati's toughened possession laws were a continual part of the dialog by opponents.

NATIONAL NEWS

IN: COUPLE SAY MARIJUANA WAS FOR MEDICINAL PURPOSES

Plants Were for His Wife's Pain, a Local Man Contends. Police Say Indiana Doesn't Allow Medical Use.

MUNCIE -- The owners of a Muncie business, arrested and charged with marijuana possession, said Wednesday that they grew the plant in their rural Henry County home for medicinal purposes.

Meet the man who gets 300 joints a month from the Feds

Oct 26, 2007 -- The government says marijuana isn't medicine. What most people don't know is that they actually grow and ship medical marijuana to a small group of patients.

Unparallel Paths

By Mary Jane Borden - The statistics are staggering. In 2006, marijuana arrests reached a record 829,627, with one occurring every 38 seconds. Of these, 89% involved mere possession, not sale or 'manufacture'. (1) The Bureau of Justice Statistics reported in 2004 that state and federal prisons held 41,507 individuals on marijuana-related offenses. (2)

DEA Head Announces Resignation

Oct. 28, 2007 -- Washington, DC: US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) chief Karen Tandy announced this week that she will be stepping down as the agency’s first female director.

MT: MEDICAL MARIJUANA BUSINESS OPENS IN LIVINGSTON

LIVINGSTON -- Three years ago, Montana voters decided by a 62 percent margin that marijuana should be available for medical purposes.

Can Medical Marijuana Cost You Your Kid? In California, It Can

from Drug War Chronicle, Issue #508, 11/2/07 -- Ronnie Naulls never saw it coming. The church-going businessman, husband, and father of three young girls knew he was taking a risk when he opened a medical marijuana dispensary in Corona, a suburban community in the high desert of Riverside County east of Los Angeles.

Watch the Drew Carey Project Medical Marijuana Episode!

In the second episode of The Drew Carey Project, released on Reason.tv, Drew interviews ASA Executive Director Steph Sherer and takes a look at federal interference with medical cannabis dispensing in California.

CALIF HIGH COURT CONSIDERS WHETHER MEDICAL POT USERS CAN BE FIRED

When his new boss at Ragingwire Inc. ordered Gary Ross to take a drug test, the recently hired computer tech had no doubt the results would come back positive for marijuana.

American Psychiatric Association Assembly Backs Medical Marijuana Patient Protection

Unanimous Vote Signals Growing Acceptance of Medical Marijuana

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a unanimous vote, the Assembly of the American Psychiatric Association has approved a strongly worded statement supporting legal protection for patients using medical marijuana with their doctor's recommendation.

CA: GOLD FROM GREEN IN A GRAY AREA

You Might Be Surprised Who Profits From the Semi-Legal Marijuana Trade

A gentleman with a neatly trimmed beard stands at the counter of an Arcata business on a weekday morning and asks the clerk for an eighth of an ounce of Trainwreck, a popular strain of sinsemilla marijuana. The young woman on the other side of a glass partition, who looks to be a typical Arcata college student, reaches under the counter and produces a bag of fresh green buds. She pours a portion into a paper cup set on an electronic scale, then carefully transfers it to a plastic bag.As she does so, the customer asks questions about other strains available. He's looking for some variety. He ends up buying small bags of several different kinds, paying the going rate - $40 per eighth of an ounce - with a handful of $20 bills.

TN: Mother vows to fight abuse, drug charges

November 5, 2007 - If Suzette Evans lived in North Carolina, where marijuana possession is decriminalized, it's unlikely she'd have gotten more than a $50 citation when police found a pipe in her home.

In Grainger County, however, like most of Tennessee, possession of a marijuana pipe can cost nearly $1,000 - and your children.

Marijuana-like Brain Chemicals Work As Antidepressant

ScienceDaily (Nov. 7, 2007) — American and Italian researchers have found that boosting the amounts of a marijuana-like brain transmitter called anandamide produces antidepressant effects in test rats.

If Sativex Works, So Does Pot

Jacob Sullum, Reason Magazine (November 12, 2007) - A new study reported in the journal Pain finds that Sativex, an orally administered cannabis extract spray, is effective at treating neuropathic pain in patients for whom standard painkillers do not provide adequate relief. During the five-week study, 125 subjects with peripheral neuropathic pain continued to take previously prescribed analgesics and achieved additional relief from Sativex, averaging a reduction of about 1.5 points on a 10-point self-reported pain scale, compared to half a point for the placebo spray. The research is part of GW Pharmaceuticals' efforts to gain wider regulatory approval for Sativex, which is approved for treatment of multiple sclerosis in Europe and for treatment of both cancer pain and M.S.-related neuropathic pain in Canada.

Cannabis and Cannabinoids in the 21st Century: Medical Marijuana

One of the leading physicians specializing in cannabis therapeutics, Dr. David Bearman, who serves on ASA's Board of Directors, testified before a committee of Wisconsin lawmakers this week. The state legislature is again considering enacting a measure that would remove criminal penalties for patients who use marijuana on the advice of their doctors. Dr. Bearman, a Wisconsin native, also gave an educational talk on “Cannabis and Cannabinoids in the 21st Century” to the University of Wisconsin Medical School. A video of Dr. David Bearman's presentation on Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2007 is now online. You can view it at http://videos.med.wisc.edu/videoInfo.php?videoid=1107

OR: Grand jury says no to prosecuting medical pot user on hash charge

Associated Press, November 9th, 2007 - A grand jury has refused to indict a man police suspected was making hashish or hash oil from his medical marijuana.

US Marijuana Market “Saturated,” Pot Prices To Fall, Federal Report Says

Washington, DC: Domestic marijuana production has risen dramatically in recent years and will likely result in reduced retail prices for pot, according to the US National Drug Intelligence Center’s (NDIC) 2008 "National Drug Threat Assessment" report.

CO: Historic Lawsuit Overturns State's Medical Marijuana Policy

Denver Judge slaps state health department; rules medical marijuana patients can appoint provider of their choice.

DENVER -- Sensible Colorado will hold a press conference on Monday, Nov. 19, in front of the Denver City and County Building, to announce the issuance of an order by Chief Denver District Court Judge Larry J. Naves permanently overturning the Colorado Health Department's "Five Patient Policy." Adopted by the Health Department in a closed meeting in 2004, this policy limited the number of patients to which a caregiver can provide marijuana for medical purposes.

Marijuana Compound May Stop Breast Cancer From Spreading, Study Says

November 19, 2007 - A compound found in cannabis may stop breast cancer from spreading throughout the body, according to a new study by scientists at California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute. The researchers are hopeful that the compound called CBD, which is found in cannabis sativa, could be a non-toxic alternative to chemotherapy.

NC: MARLOWE SAYS MARIJUANA CHARGES WILL BE FOUGHT

Medical marijuana advocate Jean Marlowe says recent marijuana charges against Steve Marlowe will be fought and the fight will cost the taxpayers of this county thousands of dollars.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Schwarzenegger Says Marijuana is Not a Drug

October 28, 2007, Associated Press (Wire) London -- California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says marijuana is not a drug, a British magazine reported Monday. But his spokesman said the governor was joking. Schwarzenegger told the British edition of GQ magazine that he had not taken drugs, even though the former bodybuilder and Hollywood star has acknowledged using marijuana in the 1970s and was shown smoking a joint in the 1977 documentary "Pumping Iron."

UK: Symposium

A joint symposium of the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain entitled "Cannabinoid Medicines" will be held on 10 March 2008 in London. More information at: http://www.rpsgb.org/worldofpharmacy/events.

DUTCH HEALTH MINISTER EXTENDS MEDICAL MARIJUANA PROGRAM FOR FIVE YEARS

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands: The Dutch Health Ministry announced plans Wednesday to extend its experimental medical marijuana program for five years, despite setbacks.

REGULAR FEATURES

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.

YOU ARE INVITED TO OPN MEETINGS

The OPN Board of Directors invites you to participate in OPN/OPAN meetings, which are held at 7:30 p.m. (Eastern time) every Wednesday. Electronic voice/text meetings are held at the DrugSense MAP sponsored chatroom in Teamspeak. More information about meetings and using Teamspeak is available at http://www.ohiopatient.net/v2/content/view/435/160/.

HELP THE OPN SUPPORT PATIENTS

The Ohio Patient Network's goal is to provide a voice for Ohio's medicinal cannabis patients and create an environment where this vital medicine becomes an accepted and legitimate therapy. To do this, we need your help. We'd like you to personally become involved in OPN by donating your time. Please check out our various committees on our website.

If you'd prefer, you can also support medicinal cannabis and what we are doing by contributing monetarily to OPN. Please note that the Ohio Patient Network is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation in the State of Ohio. Donations to OPN are tax deductible to the extent provided by law. Please visit our website (http://ohiopatient.net) and click on the Donate button on any page to make a contribution using your credit card. Please note that these donations will be processed through Paypal.

If you would prefer to donate by check or money order, please make them payable to the "Ohio Patient Network" and mail to P.O. Box 26353, Columbus, OH 43216.

Thank you for supporting the Ohio Patient Network

HOW TO SUBMIT NEWS

You may submit news items via email. To have your information considered for publication, submit your story to feedback@ohiopatient.net with NEWS SUBMISSION in the subject. PLEASE DO NOT SEND ATTACHMENTS.

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.

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