Medical
Marijuana:
California,
New
Mexico,
Netherlands
MS
Study
8/22/97
WIN-WIN IN 215 DECISION: In what could be termed a double victory for proponents of Proposition 215, a California appeals court threw out the pre-215 conviction of Sudi Trippet and ordered that she be granted a new trial. The 1st District Court of Appeals said that standard legal principles allowed defendants to take advantage of favorable changes in the law while their appeals were pending. Trippet, who had attempted to raise a medical necessity defense prior to the passage of the initiative, had been sentenced to six months in jail - with credit for 51 days already served - for possessing and transporting about two pounds of marijuana. The court further ruled that although Prop. 215 didn't make specific allowance for the transporting of marijuana, "the voters could not have intended that a dying cancer patient's primary care-giver could be subject to criminal sanctions for carrying otherwise legally cultivated and possessed marijuana down a hallway to the patient's room." DRCNet will let you know as soon as the complete decision becomes available online. RESCHEDULING MJ IN New Mexico? The New Mexico Board Of Pharmacy is currently considering whether to recommend rescheduling marijuana off of schedule 1, to allow it to be prescribed by physicians. Also under consideration is a report to the Governor requesting a system of supply through licensed pharmacies. The next meeting of the board will be held on Sept. 22-23. Such a finding would not only put pressure on the state government to reschedule marijuana, but it would set an important precedent for other states' regulatory boards. Support from New Mexico residents is most helpful, but any support is important. New Mexicans for Compassionate Use requests that letters in support be sent to: New Mexico Board of Pharmacy And you can email the NM press at: Albuquerque Journal: [email protected] SPASTICITY STUDY On August 18th, the University of Groningen, the Netherlands, announced that their academic hospital would begin research on the medical benefits of marijuana for spasticity related to Multiple Sclerosis (MS). According to Dr. J. de Keyser MD, professor of neurology, "We have conventional medication to fight these spasms but they all stop to work after some time after which we can do nothing to help." Citing increasing numbers of patients who have come to the hospital reporting significant improvement with the use of smoked marijuana, especially in the reduction of painful night spasms which deprive patients of sleep, Keyser reports that using marijuana has apparently "increased the quality of their life substantially." He went on to say, "When marijuana shows to be of therapeutic value we should work with great dedication to develop it further."
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