OPN members and supporters the 2004 outdoor festival season is upon us and we have been making plans to be part of some great community festivals. But, even at this point we still have open spots in our schedule that need to be filled if we want to reach out and educate the public about medical cannabis in Ohio. We need your input now! What festivals or events in your community would be a good venue for OPN in your area?
As your Director of Development who lives in Columbus, I know what events go on in my hometown. What I don't know is what is happening in your area? What events are happening in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton, Toledo, Youngstown, Mansfield and many other cities and communities around Ohio? Only with your help will we be able to take our mission to the public across the state. Only with your input will we be able to achieve the unachievable and gain a medical cannabis law in Ohio!
We can tailor our presentation to fit almost any situation from conservative to middle of the road to liberal. Our message is one of compassion and common sense not partisan politics. We need to reach out to patients, caregivers, medical professionals and the concerned public. We need to break through the lies, myths and propaganda that has confused the general public for far too long.
We can table almost any event no matter how small or large. Just a few hours, an evening, a day, or a weekend we can be there to inform and enlighten. But this cannot happen without your ideas and suggestions. So please, help us help you, contact me today and help keep OPN growing and make medical cannabis a reality in Ohio!
Help Support Ohio 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.
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.
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.
EDITOR'S Note: There were no Medical Cannabis related news items in Ohio during July. If you are aware of any news items dealing with medical marijuana in Ohio, which were not covered by OPNews, please contact Editor@ohiopatient.net
MEDICAL TALK OF POT NOT ALLOWED
TRAVERSE CITY - Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Dennis LaBelle filed a motion to suppress any talk of medical marijuana in future criminal proceedings of Matthew Barber.
Barber, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2001, was arrested in June after officers found two ounces of marijuana - equivalent to a month's supply for his symptoms, he said - in the vehicle his wife, Laura, was driving during a traffic stop.
ATTACKING MEDICAL MARIJUANA USERS DOESN'T MAKE SENSE
It's difficult to see what good could come from federal prosecution of an emaciated cancer patient who needs a pot brownie to keep her dinner down.
It's equally difficult to see why the U.S. House of Representatives is seeking to limit states' rights by overriding laws that allow the use of medical marijuana.
UMASS PROFESSOR SUES DEA OVER POT-GROWING APPLICATION
A University of Massachusetts plant and soil sciences professor is suing the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration for "unreasonable delay" in approving or denying his application to grow high-potency marijuana on campus for government-approved medicinal research.
CURE BAD MEDICAL MARIJUANA POLICY
In many respects Washington, D.C., is a separate world, removed from the rest of the country, and nowhere is that gap more evident than on the subject of medical marijuana. A full 80 percent of Americans believe doctors should be able to prescribe marijuana to relieve the suffering of terminal cancer patients and others who science has proven benefit from its use. Thirty-five states have passed declarations supporting medical marijuana, and nine states, including California, have passed laws making its use legal.
EASING THE PAIN
Medical Marijuana Supporters Hope Justice Department Cuts Could End Raids
Vicki Wagner occasionally eases back in her electric wheelchair and, as she puts it, lights up a "big, old fatty."
The 35-year-old Colorado Springs resident says she's been smoking marijuana so long that it doesn't make her high anymore.
MEDICAL POT
Angel Raich and Diane Monson had hoped the U.S. Supreme Court would decline to review a decision last December by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco that sanctioned their production and use of marijuana for ostensible medical purposes. However, the high court agreed this week to hear the Bush administration's appeal of the 9th Circuit ruling, much to the disappointment of the two California women, as well as marijuana advocates from San Francisco to San Diego.
FEDS SAY POT SHOPS ILLEGAL
Colfax Store Owner 'Ashamed' Of House Vote
If it were up to the federal government, marijuana distribution stores such as the one operated by Jim Henry in Colfax would be shut down permanently.
Actually, it is up to the feds, according to a vote by the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday. The vote sent a resounding message to California and eight other states that allow medical marijuana: Our laws trump yours.
SURPRISING POLL ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA
Alabama, as my boss loves to say, is a state of mind. I'll add: It is one heck of a confounding state of mind.
We vote down a lottery, even though the data shows that we trek over to Georgia, Florida and now Tennessee to play their lotteries.
MARIJUANA ISSUE REQUIRES REAL STUDIES
Television talk show host Montel Williams is addressing a new audience today.
Instead of his loyal following of viewers, he is lobbying Congress on behalf of the cause of medicinal marijuana. Williams is trying to stir support for a bill by Reps. Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., and Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., that would loosen federal reins on state medicinal marijuana laws.
FOES OF PATRIOT ACT FORCE VOTE ON LIBRARY, BOOKSTORE RECORDS
Lawmakers who say portions of the USA Patriot Act went too far are taking aim at its provision that made it easier for investigators to learn what people are reading - despite a veto threat from the White House.
The House planned to vote today on a proposal by Rep. Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., that would prevent the government from using the Patriot Act to demand records from bookstores and libraries. The election season showdown is the latest over the law, which President Bush has sought to expand but which Democrats and some conservative Republicans say has infringed on individual rights.
BALLOT DRIVE FOR 'POT' RX IN ARKANSAS LOSES ITS LEGS
A national organization pushing for the legalization of marijuana for medical use snuffed out its effort Friday to put the issue to a vote in Arkansas.
The Marijuana Policy Project's decision, which surprised and disappointed advocates who have pushed for similar measures in the state for years, came just a week after the Arkansas Alliance for Medical Marijuana submitted just over 67,000 petition signatures asking for a vote.
VOTERS TO CONSIDER TWO MORE INITIATIVES ON BALLOT
HELENA - Initiatives to more than double the taxes on most tobacco products and legalize marijuana for medical purposes qualified for the November ballot Friday.
That brings to seven the number of initiatives and referendums that will go before voters in the fall general election.
MEDICAL MARIJUANA INITIATIVE TO APPEAR ON NOV. BALLOT
For University alum Charles Ream, the fight to place the issue of marijuana legalization on the ballot has been a political and personal crusade. The Scio Township trustee led the petition signatures drive that was recently approved by the city clerk's office, allowing the issue to appear on the ballot this November.
SCIENTISTS SAY MARIJUANA RESEARCH BLOCKED
WASHINGTON - The government is violating federal law by obstructing medical marijuana research, scientists contend in lawsuits seeking faster action on applications to grow the drug.
In lawsuits to be filed Wednesday, researchers assert that Washington is refusing to act on legitimate research projects and delaying studies that could lead to marijuana's use as a prescription drug.
MEDICINAL MARIJUANA PATIENTS' LOST JUSTICE
The term medical marijuana took on dramatic new meaning in February, 2000 when researchers in Madrid, Spain announced they had destroyed incurable brain tumors in rats by injecting them with THC, the most psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
CANNABIS CRITIQUE
Government-grown medical marijuana was given a thumbs down by two Chilliwack patients who say the strain won't meet the needs of most patients.
Brian and Shannon Carlisle say the sativa strain they received last week from the federal government doesn't even work for the medical conditions listed on Health Canada's criteria to get a medical marijuana licence: multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, cancer, HIV/AIDS and epilepsy.
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.
The OPN Board of Directors invites you to participate in OPN patient forums, which are held at 8:00 p.m. (eastern time) the last Thursday of each month. You are also welcome to attend the weekly OPN business meetings.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
