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ASA's Summary of Medical Marijuana Media: March 3, 2007

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RESEARCH: Pain Study Draws Comment MICHIGAN: Flint Voters Pass Measure NEW MEXICO: Bill Passes Two Committees VERMONT: More Conditions may be Covered RHODE ISLAND: Renewal of Medical Law Sought WASHINGTON: Expanded Protections Considered OREGON: Patient Job Protections Urged CALIFORNIA: Leno Halts ID Card Hike COLORADO: Prosecutor Challenged in Caregiver Case DISPENSARIES: Debates Around State Continue ________________________________________________ RESEARCH: Pain Study Draws Comment The recently published landmark study showing cannabis eases neuropathic pain continues to draw comment for doctors and opinionmakers. Illinois does not yet have a medical cannabis law, despite repeated attempts by legislators, but with this new study and the Chicago Tribune weighing in, hopefully it will soon. Meanwhile, Dr Grinspoon points out that the study tells scientists nothing they did not already know. Truth and medical marijuana EDITORIAL, Chicago Tribune Medical marijuana has had a lot of successes. Eleven states have legalized the therapeutic use of cannabis for people whose doctors think they can benefit from it. The Supreme Court has upheld the right of physicians to recommend pot to their patients. A 1999 report by the federal government's Institute of Medicine concluded, "Scientific data indicate the potential therapeutic value of cannabinoid drugs, primarily THC, for pain relief, control of nausea and vomiting, and appetite stimulation." http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=4296 Marijuana, the wonder drug by Lester Grinspoon, M.D., OpEd, Boston Globe A new study in the journal Neurology is being hailed as unassailable proof that marijuana is a valuable medicine. It is a sad commentary on the state of modern medicine that we still need "proof" of something that medicine has known for 5,000 years. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=4281 _________________________________________________ MICHIGAN: Flint Voters Pass Measure State lawmakers have not yet passed a bill protecting patients in Michigan, but one by one, communities there have taken it upon themselves to pass local ordinances to that effect. Flint is but the latest. Flint voters OK legalizing medical marijuana Associated Press Voters in the city gave approval to a measure legalizing the use of medical marijuana. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=4295 _________________________________________________ NEW MEXICO: Bill Passes Two Committees The latest attempt to get a medical cannabis law through the New Mexico legislature is moving quickly, passing two committees last week. With the support of the governor on the record, this should be the year they get it done. House committee endorses medical marijuana measure by Associated Press, KOB TV (NM) The House Judiciary Committee has overwhelmingly endorsed a bill that would legalize the use of marijuana by some New Mexicans who have debilitating illnesses or are in hospice care. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=4301 Vote keeps medical marijuana bill alive KRQE TV A House panel today kept alive a bill legalizing the medical use of marijuana. The Agriculture and Water Resources Committee voted 5-2 to pass the bill. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=4302 _________________________________________________ VERMONT: More Conditions may be Covered When lawmakers try to legislate medicine rather than leaving it to the professional expertise of doctors, patients do not get all their needs met. Vermont is facing up to the consequences of having specified conditions for which cannabis can be recommended, leaving out many patients who doctors know could be helped. Medical marijuana law could expand by Ross Sneyd, Associated Press, Rutland Herald (VT) State senators gave preliminary approval Wednesday to a bill that would expand a Vermont law that permits marijuana to be used to alleviate some medical conditions. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=4293 _________________________________________________ RHODE ISLAND: Renewal of Medical Law Sought A one-year “sunset” clause in the state’s medical cannabis law means that legislators are again having to consider protections for patients, this time the more permanent kind. The program’s success in the past year indicates they should not have a problem with passage. Legislators, students seek to make medical marijuana permanent URI The Good 5 Cent Cigar The war is not over for supporters of the Edward O. Hawkins and Thomas C. Slater Medical Marijuana Act in Rhode Island, as legislators and the University of Rhode Island Students for Sensible Drug Policy now call for the bill to remain permanent. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=4288 _________________________________________________ WASHINGTON: Expanded Protections Considered Another state doing some tinkering with the protections afforded patients is Washington, which is taking up the matter of how patients are to get their cannabis in the first place. Many state laws protect patients once the medicine is in their possession but make no provision for how they are to legally obtain it. Users press panel on medical pot by Richard Roesler, Spokesman Review (WA) Everett horticulturalist Steve Sarich surprised a roomful of state lawmakers Tuesday when he showed up with a small cardboard box that read "raspberries." http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=4303 _________________________________________________ OREGON: Patient Job Protections Urged Patients are urging Oregon lawmakers to protect their jobs. A state legislative committee is currently considering a bill that would make it legal for employers to fire any employee who tests positive for cannabis, even if that employee is a qualified patient in the state program. Because cannabis drug testing cannot determine when the drug was ingested -- whether at work or not, even if it was that week -- such testing effectively makes it impossible for patients to use cannabis. Medical marijuana users ask lawmakers to protect jobs by Associated Press, East Oregonian Medical marijuana advocates pleaded with lawmakers Monday to enact a bill that would prohibit employers from firing them because of their choice of medication. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=4298 _________________________________________________ CALIFORNIA: Leno Halts ID Card Hike Thanks to Assemblyman Mark Leno, one of the authors of the bill that created California’s voluntary medical cannabis ID card program, the huge hike in fees for the cards has been halved. Now the state just has to figure out how to educate patients and caregivers on the benefits of participating in the program; more counties approving the cards is a start. Calif backs off big hike in medical marijuana ID fees Associated Press California health officials abandoned a plan to raise the cost of medical marijuana identification cards by more than tenfold after patient advocates and a state lawmaker complained. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=4305 State scales back fee for medical marijuana cards Los Angeles Times The state Department of Health Services has scaled back a fee increase for medical marijuana identification cards after an outcry. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=4287 Medical marijuana ID card fee hike halved by Katie Mintz, Ukiah Daily News Just a day after the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors grudgingly voted to adopt a tenfold increase in the state's fee for issuing medical marijuana identification cards, the California Department of Health Services announced it would cut the charge by more than half. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=4286 Marijuana cards to see huge fee increase by Sarah Villicana, Porterville Recorder (CA) Fewer county residents are likely to seek medical marijuana identification cards after March 1 when the cost jumps from $100 to $344. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=4285 County supports marijuana ID cards by Josh Fernandez, Daily Democrat Within a few months, Yolo County medical marijuana patients will be eligible for ID cards that some say could save them a lot of legal hassles. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=4290 Medical marijuana permit process approved by Heather Hacking, Chico Enterprise-Record Procedures for issuing identification cards for people with prescriptions for medical marijuana got the nod Tuesday at the Board of Supervisors meeting. Voters approved Proposition 215 in 1996, which allows use of marijuana for people with certain illnesses, such as cancer. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=4289 _________________________________________________ COLORADO: Prosecutor Challenged in Caregiver Case The case of a Colorado couple took a bizarre turn in the past few weeks when the prosecutor was caught at a defense-strategy training being provided by the couple’s attorney, Brian Vicente. With support from ASA, Vicente has been leading the fight for safe access in Colorado. Stoned in Court by Joshua Zaffos, Rocky Mountain Chronicle A lawyer for Fort Collins medical marijuana providers will still have to square off against the Larimer County District Attorney’s Office this summer. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=4292 TOKIN’ OPPOSITION by Joshua Zaffos, Rocky Mountain Chronicle Brian Vicente was about halfway through schooling a roomful of defense lawyers on how to represent medical marijuana patients, when "there was a ruckus of some sort,'" says Vicente. "After the talk, [one of the attorneys] said, ‘There was a prosecutor in here spying and we had to kick him out.'" http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=4291 Prosecutors will remain on test case by Sara Reed, The Coloradoan Prosecutors handling a Fort Collins medical marijuana case will stay on the case, a judge ruled Monday. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=4267 Medical marijuana case takes new twist by Sara Reed, The Coloradoan Defense attorneys in what is being called a “test case” for the caregiver provision of Colorado’s medical marijuana law are asking the District Attorney’s office to remove itself from the case. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=4304 _________________________________________________ DISPENSARIES: Debates Around State Continue The benefits of dispensaries for patients are many, particularly the elderly and most seriously ill who have few options for obtaining cannabis. ASA’s study of communities around California that have enacted regulatory ordinances found that they are working well for those cities and counties, eliminating whatever problems they might have had pre-ordinance. See ASA’s report at http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=3676. Council to hold public hearing on medical marijuana dispensaries by Sarah Villicana, Porterville Recorder (CA) The Porterville City Council will accept the public's input on medical marijuana dispensaries at a public hearing set next week. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=4284 Marijuana committee lays out scope of work by Mike A'Dair, Willits News There were few fireworks at the first meeting of the board of supervisors' Criminal Justice Committee. The committee, chaired by Supervisor Jim Wattenburger and which includes Supervisor Michael Delbar, is preparing to tackle the difficult question of setting policy for medical marijuana production in the Mendocino County. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=4294 Judge orders closing marijuana dispensary in Norco by Laura Rico, Press Enterprise A Riverside County Superior Court judge Thursday ordered the immediate closure of a medical marijuana dispensary operating in the city of Norco. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=4297 Hearing scheduled today for CannaHelp operators Desert Sun A preliminary hearing is scheduled today at 8:30 a.m. at Larson Justice Center for three men charged with three felony counts each related to marijuana possession, sales and transport. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=4299 Salinas seeks medical marijuana ban The Californian The Salinas City Council will consider an urgency interim ordinance banning medical marijuana dispensaries on Tuesday. http://safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=4283 ___________________________________________ MORE NEWS: See ASA's Website News stories and archives of the weekly news summaries are available on ASA's website, www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org. For previous summaries, see http://www.safeaccessnow.org/article.php?list=type&type=122.
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