OPNews - September 2006 edition
A Publication of Ohio Patient Network (OPN)

ORGANIZATIONAL NEWS

OPN/OPAN ANNUAL MEETING

The 2006 Annual Meeting of the Ohio Patient Network and its sister Ohio Patient Action Network will be held on Sunday, October 22nd at the Westerville Public Library in 'uptown' Westerville, Ohio.

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http://www.ohiopatient.net/v2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=450&Itemid=2

NATIONAL NEWS

Medical Marijuana: South Dakota Ballot Description Erroneous and Apparently Illegal

Drug War Chronicle (July 28th, 2006) -- Organizers of South Dakota's medical marijuana initiative are in for a tough fight in the socially conservative Upper Midwest state. All they ask is that it be a fair fight, but South Dakota Attorney General Larry Long (R) apparently isn't ready to provide them with an even playing field. Long's office this week issued the summary of the initiative that will appear on the ballot, and that summary contains biased and factually incorrect statements -- an apparent violation of South Dakota law.

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http://www.ohiopatient.net/v2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=449&Itemid=2

Medical marijuana board holds first meeting

By FRANK HARTZELL Of The Mendocino Beacon (08/03/06) -- A defendant was perched next to the district attorney at a not-very-relaxing first meeting of the Mendocino Medical Marijuana Advisory Board Friday in Fort Bragg.

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http://www.ohiopatient.net/v2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=447&Itemid=2

JUDGE ALLOWS MEDICAL MARIJUANA ADVOCATES TO OPPOSE SAN DIEGO SUIT

SAN DIEGO -- Medical marijuana advocates and patients will be allowed to oppose a lawsuit filed by San Diego County seeking to overturn a state law legalizing medicinal use of the drug, a state court judge ruled Friday.

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http://www.ohiopatient.net/v2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=446&Itemid=2

Cops slip up on medical marijuana

By Felisa Cardona, Denver Post Staff Writer -- Not many people go to the Denver Police Department to pick up bags of marijuana, but Thursday a police officer handed Larisa Lawrence about 2 ounces of the drug.

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http://www.ohiopatient.net/v2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=445&Itemid=2

OK for Pot ID Cards

By April Charlton The Adobe Press - August 8, 2006 -- San Luis Obispo County will become the 22nd county in the state to implement a medical marijuana identification card program for qualified users of the medicinal drug.

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http://www.ohiopatient.net/v2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=444&Itemid=2

AFSCME Endorses Medical Marijuana

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the country's largest public service workers' union, passed a resolution endorsing medical marijuana at its national convention in Chicago Tuesday. AFSCME thus becomes the latest major civic organization to advocate for access to therapeutic cannabis.

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http://www.ohiopatient.net/v2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=443&Itemid=2

Colorado Cannabis Legalization Initiative Certified For November Ballot

August 17, 2006 - Denver, CO: The Colorado Secretary of State's office announced Wednesday that a statewide initiative that seeks to eliminate all criminal and civil penalties for the possession of cannabis by adults has been certified to appear on the November 2006 ballot.

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http://www.ohiopatient.net/v2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=441&Itemid=2

THC inhibits primary marker of Alzheimer's disease

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, have found that THC inhibits the formation of amyloid plaque, the primary pathological marker for Alzheimer's disease. The study to be published in Molecular Pharmaceutics says, THC is "a considerably superior inhibitor of [amyloid plaque] aggregation" to several currently approved drugs for treating the disease.

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http://www.ohiopatient.net/v2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=440&Itemid=2

Cannabis use not associated with risk factors for diseases of heart and circulation

According to research published in the American Journal of Cardiology the use of cannabis is not associated with development of risk factors for cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke. While acute cannabis use is associated with increased appetite and changes in blood pressure, a long- term study (the CARDIA study) with 3,617 participants from the United States found no effect of regular cannabis use on blood pressure and blood lipids.

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http://www.ohiopatient.net/v2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=439&Itemid=2

MEDICAL POT: LEGAL, BUT STILL UNDER WRAPS

Every week, the ad runs on the front page of the Little Nickel:

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http://www.ohiopatient.net/v2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=437&Itemid=2

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Pot Pediatrics

By Paul Armentano, AlterNet. (March 15, 2005) -- Newly published scientific research suggests there may be a role for cannabinoids in pediatric medicine.

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http://www.ohiopatient.net/v2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=448&Itemid=2

Cannabis pitched as a pain-killer

By Cameron French (Mon Aug 14, 6:46 PM ET) The light scent of marijuana wafted among exhibits at the 16th International AIDS Conference in Toronto on Monday, as activists took advantage of Canada's comparatively pot-friendly policies to make a pitch for the drug as a pain-killer.

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http://www.ohiopatient.net/v2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=442&Itemid=2

Cannabis clubs in Spain legal, first formation of a club in Belgium

Recently several charitable cannabis clubs were founded in Spain, whose lawfulness was now confirmed by courts in Catalonia and the Basque region. People join to grow cannabis together and distribute it to members of the club at cost price. Only members have access to the growing rooms and the cannabis. In Spain trade with cannabis is prohibited, but possession for personal use is legal. A court in Bilbao, the biggest city of the Basque region, cleared four defendants of a cannabis club with 66 members from the prosecution of illegal cultivation of 150 kg of cannabis (fresh whole plants that resulted in 17.4 kg dried cannabis). 39 members use cannabis for medical purposes.

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http://www.ohiopatient.net/v2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=438&Itemid=2

MARIJUANA MAY RELIEVE CHEMO PATIENTS' NAUSEA

Marijuana may help prevent nausea in certain situations -- relief many cancer chemotherapy patients can't obtain from existing drugs, says a University of Guelph psychology professor.

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http://www.ohiopatient.net/v2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=436&Itemid=2

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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 8:00 p.m. (Eastern time) every Wednesday. Electronic voice/text meetings are held at the DrugSense MAP sponsored chatroom in PalTalk. More information about meetings, password, and using PalTalk 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

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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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