Ohio Patient Network - September 2007

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OPNews - September 2007 edition

A Publication of Ohio Patient Network (OPN)

ORGANIZATIONAL NEWS

Ohio Loses a Freedom Fighter - Joseph Stephen Zoretic

The Ohio Patient Network was quite saddened to learn of the untimely death of one of its founding members, Joe Zoretic. On Monday, August 27, 2007, Joe suffered a massive heart attack that resulted from an undiagnosed heart condition. He was 38 years old and resided with his family in Lakewood, Ohio.

From the President of OPN

Sticks and Stones

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me." An ageless little playground ditty. We know it isn't true, for names do hurt.

Come one, Come all!

OPN would like to invite everyone in Central Ohio and surrounding areas to lunch at Victorians' Midnight Café on Thursday, September 20, beginning at 12:00 noon.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA PATIENTS IN OHIO DESERVE BETTER!

Ohio Patient Network, Ohio Patient Action Network, Medical Marijuana Action Network, North Ohio NORML, and Ohio Cannabis Society share the common goal of changing Ohio law so as to protect her patients, physicians and caregivers from the prejudice, bigotry and prosecution of these chronically and terminally ill patients.

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

MEDICAL MARIJUANA MAY GO ON OHIO BALLOT

Michigan's Vote of Interest to Proponents Here--A statewide issue to legalize medical marijuana is headed for the ballot in Michigan next year -- and could swing south to Ohio shortly thereafter.

NATIONAL NEWS

Details of Hinchey Vote

Below are the results of the Hinchey vote. Please take a moment to send a note of thanks to those who did vote YES, and express your disappointment for those voted NO. Use this link to identify your reps: http://ohiopatientaction.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=36&Itemid=1

MCNERNEY DRAWS FIRE FROM BACKERS OF MEDICINAL POT

Freshmen Dems Blamed in Defeat of Plan to Stop Feds

Washington -- Backers of a proposal that would have blocked federal authorities from interfering in state-approved medicinal marijuana programs, stung by a disappointing defeat in the House, are zeroing in on freshmen Democrats such as Rep. Jerry McNerney of Pleasanton who opposed the proposal.

POT-DISPENSARY CRACKDOWN ACTIVATES SEARCH FOR OPTIONS

As the number of medical-marijuana dispensaries in the Inland area dwindles, patients are looking for other options while their advocates try to shield them from arrest.

SUIT OVER POT'S 'BENEFIT' STUMBLES

An Oakland, Calif.-based nonprofit can't put the federal government on trial for saying that marijuana has no medical use -- but it might get to challenge the government for blowing deadlines, a federal judge in California ruled last week.

NO RULING YET IN MEDICAL MARIJUANA SUIT

Judge Barbara Roberts is sitting in the hot seat right now, private legal strategy consultant Gordy Dise said after the judge did not make a ruling Friday about whether it's legal to sue regarding the way the medical marijuana law is being prosecuted.

Will One Joint Really Make You Schizoid?

Maia Szalavitz, July 30, 2007 -- Just what did a new study on marijuana and schizophrenia actually say – and what did the media leave out?

Getting Busted for Pot Can Cost Your Right to Vote

By Silja J.A. Talvi, In These Times
Posted on July 31, 2007, Printed on August 1, 2007
http://www.alternet.org/story/58346/

When a person is sent to prison for the first time on a drug-related felony charge, there is little chance that he or she will be told about the "collateral consequences" of their sentence.

FEDS STRIKE MEDICAL POT GROWERS

Grand Jury Seeks Patient Records After DEA Raid on Portland House

A secret federal grand jury is duking it out with the state of Oregon to obtain the confidential records of some medical marijuana patients, the Portland Tribune has learned.

"HANDS UP, AND BACK AWAY FROM THE BROWNIES"

Raids and Arrests Are Up, but So Are the Number of Dispensaries--and More States Are Coming Aboard. Activists Say Regulation Could Help

Feds Bust Former Portland Police Detective for Medical Marijuana

The people of Oregon passed medical marijuana legislation that is now regarded as the most conservative program in the nation, but it is in danger as the federal government does what they can to trample on state's rights.

MEDICAL POT: 25 PLANTS

After eight months of discussion in the Criminal Justice Committee and nearly three hours of public comment from community members, including attorneys, doctors and medical marijuana advocates, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors voted to uphold county medical marijuana plant limits at the number established in 2000 by Measure G.

STATE WORKERS COULD FACE CHARGES FOR MARIJUANA LAW

Medical Approval in New Mexico Doesn't Make Pot Less Illegal to Feds

The state Department of Health and its employees could face federal prosecution for implementing New Mexico's new medical-marijuana law, the attorney general has cautioned.

FEDS' EFFORT TO GET PATIENT FILES CALLED 'SCARY'

Medical Marijuana - The DEA Tries to Subpoena Medical Records of Patients, Some From Oregon, in an Investigation of Growers

Advocates of medical marijuana say federal authorities have deployed a new tactic in Oregon to curb or stop state programs that permit the sick to use the weed: subpoenas demanding medical records for 17 marijuana patients.

TREATMENT INTERRUPTED

Orange County Agrees to Medical-Marijuana ID Cards Just As the DEA Cracks Down on Dispensaries in L.A.: Every Positive Step Seems to Be Met With a Step Backward

Eleven years after California voters, by passing Proposition 215, created exceptions to the marijuana prohibition laws for medical patients using marijuana, or cannabis, with the recommendation of a licensed physician, the issue of safe access to this medicine is still in turmoil. Orange County just became the most recent county in California to comply with California law and begin the process of setting up a voluntary ID cards program for patients. The Los Angeles City Council has declared a temporary moratorium on new medical cannabis dispensaries, but under the leadership of Dennis Zine, a former policeman, it has declared its clear intention to set up a regulatory and licensing regime for them.

Group Advocates for Medical Marijuana Patients in Kansas

WIBW CBS 13 (KS) August 8th, 2007 -- A new, grassroots organization has been created in Kansas to advocate for legal protection of patients who use medical marijuana and for physicians who recommend the drug as part of a treatment program.

Medical marijuana dispenser pleads not guilty to charges of selling drug illegally

by Stephen Curran, San Luis Obispo Tribune (CA) August 6th, 2007 -- The former owner of a Morro Bay medical marijuana dispensary pleaded not guilty today on charges he used his controversial co-op as a front for illegally selling the drug.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA USER WINS CASE AGAINST CITY OF MERCED

Small Claims Judge Orders City To Pay Man $1,700 For Pain And Suffering

LAPD WILL CONTINUE TO HELP WITH FEDERAL POT STORE RAIDS

Some on the Council Say the Action Undermines a State Law Allowing the Medical Marijuana Sales.

COUNCIL FRUSTRATED BY DEA POT RAIDS

Wearing pink arm bands to show their support for the use of medical marijuana, the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday asked for information on other cities' success in stopping clinic raids by federal agents.

MEDICAL MARIJUANA PROGRAM BEGINS IN EL DORADO COUNTY

As of this week, adult pot smokers deemed to have "serious medical conditions" can apply for a county permit and pay an annual $114 fee to use the psychotropic drug legally with a doctor's prescription.

LEGAL FEARS HACK AWAY AT STATE'S POT PLAN

Patients Have Few Options to Find Pain-Relieving Drug

New Mexico could have been the first state in the nation to build a centralized production and distribution system for medical marijuana, but the Health Department doesn't want to take the risk of butting up against federal law.

THE RESPONSIBILITY OF STATES TO THEIR PEOPLE

When New Mexico passed their medical marijuana law that required the state to supply patients with marijuana, that turned some heads -- surely this was an interesting end run around the approach of busting medical marijuana dispensaries that the DEA uses in California. How would the DEA bust a state?

JUDGES ASKED TO ORDER THE RETURN OF O.C. MEN'S POT

The Medical Marijuana Users Ask the State Appellate Court to Order the Return of the Drug That Doctors Recommend They Use for Pain.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Europe: Withdrawal of current regulatory application for Sativex

On 20 July the British company GW Pharmaceuticals announced that it has withdrawn its current regulatory application for Sativex in Europe for the treatment of spasticity in patients with multiple sclerosis. It expects to resubmit an application for approval either for spasticity or for neuropathic pain in MS in 2008. This decision followed discussions with regulatory authorities.

With the use of cannabis tea only a small proportion of THC in the cannabis is ingested

The users of medicinal cannabis in The Netherlands are advised by the Office of Medicinal Cannabis to prepare cannabis tea as follows: "add 1.0 g of cannabis to 1.0 L of boiling water and let simmer for 15 min. Filter out solid parts by using a common tea- sieve. Tea can be consumed immediately, or stored in a closed bottle in a refrigerator for up to 5 days."

FOR A POT SMOKER IN PAIN, NO HELP IS ON THE WAY

Sitting back on a comfy couch in her Burlington residence, Alison Myrden looks ready for battle. Two long braids are tucked under her black cargo cap, while sunshine hits her sparkling nose stud and glints off of her fierce amber eyes.

Germany: MS patient receives a certificate of exemption for the medical use of cannabis by the Federal Health Ministry

By a letter of 9 August the Federal Institute for Pharmaceuticals and Medical Products (FPMP), an agency of the Federal Health Ministry, for the first time issued a certificate of exemption for the medical use of cannabis extract. The 51 year old patient from Baden-Wuerttemberg had applied for a certificate of exemption for the import of cannabis from the Netherlands. Instead, the agency suggested she use a cannabis extract, which would be made available by pharmaceutical companies at the end of August.

Canada: Health Ministry approves cannabis extract for use in cancer pain

On 7 August GW Pharmaceuticals and Bayer announced that Health Canada has approved Sativex, a cannabis extract with equal concentrations of dronabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), which is sprayed into the mouth, as analgesic treatment in adult patients with advanced cancer, who experience moderate to severe pain during the highest tolerated dose of strong opioid therapy.

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.

To Unsubscribe from this Newsletter

You can remove yourself from this list at any time. Please go to http://ohiopatient.net/v2/content/view/169/95/ to unsubscribe.

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