|
Newsbrief:
Illinois
Nurses
Join
Growing
List
of
Nursing
Groups
Supporting
Medical
Marijuana
12/24/04
https://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle-old/368/ina.shtml
The Illinois Nurses Association
(INA) has joined at least a dozen state nursing associations and the American
Nursing Association in endorsing the use of marijuana as a medicine. In
a position paper submitted by the INA's Assembly on Health Policy on November
23, adopted unanimously by Board of Directors, and now prominently displayed
on the group's web site (http://www.illinoisnurses.org),
the INA declared that it is the position of the Illinois Nurses Association
to:
-
Support continued research in
controlled investigational trials on the therapeutic efficacy of cannabis,
including methods of administration.
-
Support the right of patients
to have safe access to therapeutic cannabis under appropriate prescriber
supervision.
-
Support and encourage the education
of registered nurses regarding current, evidence based use of therapeutic
cannabis.
-
Support the ability of health
care providers to discuss and/or recommend the therapeutic use of cannabis
without the threat of intimidation or penalization.
-
Support legislation to remove
criminal penalties including arrest and imprisonment for bona fide patients
and prescribers of therapeutic cannabis.
-
Support federal and state legislation
to include cannabis classification as a Schedule III drug.
The Illinois nurses implicitly
rebuked the anti-medical marijuana pronouncements of the likes of drug
czar John Walters or Illinois' own Dr. Andrea Barthwell, his former henchwoman.
"Illinois nurses have an obligation to the public regarding matters of
science and health as well as an obligation to protect the integrity of
the profession," read the position paper. "A basic principle of the American
Nurses Association maintains that nurses participate in the profession's
efforts to protect the public from misinformation and misrepresentation.
Therefore, the Illinois Nurses Association joins the Institute of Medicine
(1999), the ANA (2003), and twelve Constituent Member Associations, the
American Public Health Association, and the American Academy of Family
Physicians, among other organizations in recognizing the value of science
over cultural misrepresentation and supports patients requiring safe access
to therapeutic cannabis."
The position paper was authored
and presented to the INA Board of Directors by Paula N. Kagan PhD, RN --
and therein lies a tale. As Patients Out of Time (http://www.medicalcannabis.org)
spokesman Al Byrne told DRCNet, Kagan attended the group's Third National
Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics at the University of Virginia
in Charlottesville in May.
A grant from the Peter Lewis
funds controlled by the Marijuana Policy Project enabled Patients Out of
Time to invite Dr. Kagan to the conference on a scholarship, and when the
INA heard about the forum, it agreed to kick in for part of her expenses,
said Byrne. "The total cost of having the INA join in support of medical
marijuana was $ 238.72." The Fourth National Clinical Conference will be
held in Santa Barbara in April, and Byrne is looking for other political
or health care organizations that might be open to sending a representative.
The Illinois nurses gave
a shout-out to Patients Out of Time, mentioning two of its board members
by name: "It is important to note that the impetus to promote the scientific
and scholarly agenda on cannabis has been lead by two American nurses,
Mary Lynn Mathre, MSN, RN, CARN (Virginia Nurses Association) and Melanie
Dreher, PhD, RN, FAAN (Iowa Nurses Association) and has facilitated the
international dialogue currently taking place among scientists, providers,
patients, and legal experts," the document noted.
The INA is only the latest
of dozens of medical organizations that have stepped up for medical marijuana.
For a complete list, visit http://www.medicalcannabis.com/PDF/Grouplist.pdf
online.
-- END --
|
Issue #368
-- 12/24/04
Editorial:
Jury
Manipulation
|
Conflict
Over
Pain
Management
Heats
Up
as
Mainstream
Medical
Groups
Wake
Up
|
In
Run-Up
to
New
European
Union
Drug
Strategy,
European
Parliament
Adopts
Report
Critical
of
Continued
Drug
War
|
Young
Reformers
Give
Drug
Czar
Hard
Time
at
Monitoring
the
Future
Press
Conference
|
DRCNet
Book
Review:
Under
The
Influence:
The
Disinformation
Guide
to
Drugs,
Edited
by
Preston
Peet
(The
Disinformation
Company
Ltd.,
2004,
312
pages,
$24.95)
|
Legalization
Talk
|
Newsbrief:
Senior
Citizens
Support
Medical
Marijuana,
AARP
Poll
Finds
|
Newsbrief:
This
Week's
Corrupt
Cops
Stories
|
Newsbrief:
From
Federal
Prison,
Martha
Stewart
Calls
for
Sentencing
Reform
|
Newsbrief:
Anachronistic
Law
Could
Hamper
Hemp
in
South
Africa
|
Newsbrief:
Dutch
Open
First
Retirement
Home
for
Junkies
|
Newsbrief:
Hungarian
High
Court
Overturns
Drug
Reforms
|
Newsbrief:
Intelligence
Bill
Yields
New
Federal
Drug
Fighter
Position
|
Newsbrief:
First
Cannabis-Based
Prescription
Drug
Wins
Preliminary
Approval
in
Canada
|
Newsbrief:
Canadian
Study
to
Examine
Safety
of
Medical
Marijuana
|
Newsbrief:
Illinois
Nurses
Join
Growing
List
of
Nursing
Groups
Supporting
Medical
Marijuana
|
Media
Scan:
Reason
on
Pain,
Cockburn
on
Webb,
Grits
for
Breakfast,
Faith
Under
Fire,
BJS
|
This
Week
in
History
|
Apply
Now
to
Intern
at
Drcnet!
|
Job
Opportunity
at
MAPS
|
DrugWarMarket.Com
Seeking
Information,
Affiliations,
Link
Exchanges
|
The
Reformer's
Calendar
|
This issue -- main page
This issue -- single-file printer version
Drug War Chronicle -- main page
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|
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