'Tis the season for organizations to reflect on the prior year, and the Ohio Patient Network is no exception. We faced many struggles in 2006, but accomplished a number of victories, too.

One of OPN's greatest assets is its Website. This site holds a great compilation of information for anyone interested in medicinal cannabis. We're very proud of it and grateful to our volunteer Webmaster for her time and dedication.

That's why this year's OPN Year in Review will tour the site (http://ohiopatient.net). All of the links in this message go to some portion of this site or that belonging to its sister, Ohio Patient Action Network. You should be able to click the link and go directly to the OPN site, but if that doesn't work, please highlight, copy, and past the URL into your browser's address window.

Now, sit back, click, and enjoy OPN's 2006 Year in Review.

-- The first destination on our virtual trip is to OPN's monthly newsletter OPNews. This assemblage of medical cannabis news goes out to approximately 500 subscribers each month and represents one of the finest medicinal-cannabis-only newsletters available in reform. It is also cross-posted to many e-mail discussion lists and blogs.

One of the most interesting components of OPNews in 2006 was the litany of articles about conditions for which cannabis has been found to be therapeutic. A small collection of these conditions include:

AIDS - "Marijuana AIDS Therapy"

Alzheimer's Disease - "THC inhibits primary marker of Alzheimer's disease"

Brain Tumors - "Cannabinoids Curb Brain Tumor Growth, First-Ever Patient Trial Shows"

Breast Cancer and Pancreatic Cancer - "Cannabinoids Halt Pancreatic Cancer, Breast Cancer Growth, Studies Say"

Cancer Pain - "Sativex to Enter Directly into Phase III Cancer Pain Trials in U.S."

Diabetic Retinopathy - "Marijuana compound may help stop diabetic retinopathy"

Glaucoma - "THC reduces intraocular pressure in patients with glaucoma"

Migraines - "Migraine study"

Multiple Sclerosis - "Could Cannabis Slow the Progress of MS?

Spinal Cord Injury - "THC reduces spasticity in patients with spinal cord injury"

The next time someone asks what cannabis can be used for, send them a copy of OPNews!

-- One of our greatest 2006 accomplishments was the launch of OPN's sister lobbying organization, the Ohio Patient Action Network (http://ohiopatientaction.org/) OPAN received its 501(c)(4) approval in May 2006 along with a grant from the Marijuana Policy Project to promote SB 74 in the Ohio Legislature. On November 15, Senator Robert F. Hagan (D-33) gave Sponsor Testimony before the Ohio Senate Criminal Justice Subcommittee, but unfortunately the bill failed to get another hearing before the legislative cycle expired at the end of the year. However, we have received promises from both an Ohio senator and a representative to reintroduce this bill into the next session. With a new, more sympathetic governor, OPAN is hoping to make real progress toward enacting medical marijuana legislation this year.

-- In May of 2006, OPN also received a grant from the Columbus Community Festival (Comfest) to strengthen our speaker's bureau, OPNSpeak. While OPNSpeak was formed in 2003, the effort fielded less than six speaking engagements in 2004 and 2005 each. During 2006, we participated in 13 different events for a total of 19 presentations, not only to the 'choir', but also to religious and educational institutions. OPN applied again for a Comfest grant in 2007 to further build this important outreach effort.

-- Unfortunately, Spring 2006 brought OPN its biggest crisis of the year. Medicinal cannabis patient, Randy Brush, was arrested in 2005 for growing four cannabis plants on the rooftop deck of his Wellsville, Ohio, home. Brush's trial began and ended quickly in January 2006 with a conviction, and he was sentenced to an astonishing three years in prison in March. Brush was quickly ushered off to serve his sentence. Together with North Ohio NORML and other individuals and organizations, OPN helped to secure attorney Dennis Day to appeal Brush's case in the Seventh District Court of Appeals in Columbiana County. We also processed over $2,000 in donations through our Zoretic Patient Defense Fund on behalf of Brush. While he remains incarcerated at the Pickaway Correctional Institution in Orient, Ohio, OPN recently learned that Brush will be released to a halfway house in February.

-- Randy Brush was not the only medical marijuana patient to be arrested in 2006. Unfortunately, Michael Boop of Cridersville, Ohio, experienced a similar fate in November. Just one day after his Letter-to-the-Editor appeared in the Lima News, the police showed up at his doorway and arrested him for only ONE ROACH! He will be sentenced sometime in early 2007, but not before taxpayers expend an estimated $25,000 on this insipid prosecution.

-- Perhaps the saddest moment of the year came in September with the loss of longtime medical marijuana activist, Dan Asbury of Oregon, Ohio. Asbury, a founding member of OPN, used cannabis as treatment for a spinal cord injury (see condition list above) that left him a quadriplegic. He initiated the idea of a Journey for Justice by vowing to roll his wheelchair all the way to Columbus as a protest against the removal of the "medical necessity" defense from Ohio law in 1997. The Memorial section of OPN's Website honors those, like Dan, whose journey we had the honor of sharing.

-- The final down notes of this somewhat difficult year belonged to two setbacks for Ohio's medical marijuana patients. First, the Ohio Senate passed SB 8, Ohio's "Driving while Under the Influence Drugs" (DUID) bill after it remerged in the Criminal Justice Committee in March where it passed easily. The bill went on to the governor's desk and became law in August. Now, it's a criminal offense to have certain levels of drug metabolites in your system, regardless of how impaired you may or may not be. In addition, Cincinnati, not known for its crime-free streets, saw the need to vastly increase the penalties for minor marijuana possession within its jurisdiction. Written into the law, however, was a sunset provision as well as a six month report. Just released publicly, this damning report found that police had made 2,330 arrests and garnered 1,063 convictions under the new law. Now, multiply each of these times the $25,000 anticipated cost of Michael Boop's arrest for one roach. You can see how skewed the war against medical marijuana patients is.

Other interesting links on the OPN Website:

Ohio Marijuana Laws

The Power of Juries: Information on jury nullification, the power of a jury to acquit if it finds a law unjust.

Medical Maps: Map showing the legal status of marijuana in the U.S., along with a similar, but simpler, map displaying the legality of medical cocaine, methamphetamine, and PCP.

Patient/Doctor: Have trouble discussing cannabis with your doctor? Useful resources to aid this conversation.

Library: Here are flyers, brochures, reports, and fact sheets that you can print off and use.

One Patient at a Time: Profiles and testimonials of medicinal cannabis patients.

Chemical Bigotry: The practice of discriminating against medical marijuana patients, which will serve as our theme this year.

OPN Calendar: Learn what OPN events are coming up in your area.

Ways to get involved. Tired of the denigration of this useful medicine? There are many ways to get involved with our growing organization:

Online Meetings. OPN and OPAN hold meetings on alternating weeks (please see the event calendar above) using online chat software. Instructions for participating are here.

OPNews. Receive your free copy of this acclaimed newsletter in your inbox each month.

E-mail Discussion List. Engage in e-mail discussions with others about all kinds of medicinal cannabis topics.

Donate. The Ohio Patient Network is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. Help fund our work to make medicinal cannabis a reality in Ohio. Your donation is tax deductible to the extent provided by law.

In addition, we're planning to broaden OPNSpeak (our speakers bureau), produce a printed newsletter, form local chapters, and even hold a medical marijuana conference in Columbus. And don't forget OPAN's important work to pass acceptable medical marijuana legislation at both the local and state levels.

This ends OPN's Year in Review and the tour of OPN's Website. We hope you enjoyed both and that you learned about the good work we are doing on behalf of Ohio's medical cannabis patients. From educating groups to championing legislation, OPN is here to make a difference. As this review should indicate, the truth about cannabis is emerging quickly, and our organization wants to take advantage of this opportunity to make sure every patient finds support when he or she turns to this plant's therapeutic benefits. We invite you to join us on this important journey to find justice for this beneficial plant and those who use it.