Medical Marijuana
Medical Marijuana Victory
You Can Make a Difference |
Dear friends, Today we have something huge to celebrate. All your calls and letters to the White House this year have paid off: The Obama administration just announced that it's directing federal drug agents not to arrest or harass medical marijuana patients who comply with state laws. Your determination to hold the administration accountable turned campaign promises into official policy. Congratulations! Donate now to turn this momentum into more medical marijuana victories. The next step is to protect patients by making sure that states with medical marijuana laws also provide safe and legal ways for people to obtain their medicine. We have a perfect chance to do that in Maine on Election Day. An initiative on the state's November ballot would create a legal, regulated distribution system for medical marijuana. We can reach 35,000 Mainers who support the initiative to make sure they cast their vote, but we need your help to do it. Will you make a donation to help us call Maine voters? Raising $10,000 in the next week will allow us to conduct the outreach that could make the difference on Election Day. A victory will not only protect patients in Maine, but build momentum for medical marijuana efforts around the country. Please donate now and help us reach our $10,000 goal. Sincerely, Bill Piper |
Yes, we did: Obama ends medical marijuana raids in 13 states
DrugSense FOCUS Alert #417: Los Angeles Prepares for Clash Over Marijuana
Press Release: Pharmacy Board ordered to appear in Polk County District court again on October 9th
He was in a wheelchair!
You Can Make a Difference |
Dear friends,
You wonât believe whatâs happening on your dime! San Diego law enforcement called in the DEA this month to assist with SWAT-style raids of 14 medical marijuana dispensaries. Local and federal authorities arrested dozens of people and physically accosted at least one patient.  We have to stop the district attorney behind this persecution campaign! News footage even shows local police pulling a handcuffed patient out of his wheelchair. San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis has long defied California's medical marijuana law. Now she's using federal resources to crack down on dispensaries and aid her re-election campaign. Donât let a rogue prosecutor and the DEA use any more of your tax dollars to hurt patients and harass the people who provide their medicine. Join me in urging the governor and attorney general to hold Dumanis accountable. Sincerely, Bill Piper  |
Are these ads too hot for TV?
[Courtesy of MPP]Â
Dear friends:
Do you think these ads are too hot for TV? New York City's ABC, Fox, and CBS affiliates do â they've rejected them.
These stations have no problem airing lewd and violent commercials selling products like video games and reality shows, but they're rejecting ads asking the New York Legislature to allow seriously ill patients to use medical marijuana (something that 76% of New Yorkers support). What's wrong here?
We have a real shot at making New York the 14th medical marijuana state and the third to have state-licensed medical marijuana dispensaries. But before the legislature returns for a special session, they need to hear our message.
Don't let big media bureaucrats stand in the way of justice and compassion. Please join me in ensuring that as many New Yorkers as possible view these compelling ads by donating to the ad buy today.
Fortunately, many other stations have approved the ads. Let's show ABC, FOX, and CBS that their rejections have simply inspired supporters nationwide to light up the rest of the airwaves with these ads.
The ads are starting to air today, and any money you generously donate in response to this message will go straight into the purchase of more airtime. I invite you to give what you can today â $10, $25, $50, or more â to spread these ads across the airwaves.
The last time TV stations rejected one of our ads, it turned into a massive national news story. The same could happen this time with these ads. By donating to the ad campaign today, you can be part of making a big media splash that puts voters face-to-face with the patients they have the chance to protect from arrest, while at the same time exposing the outrageous hypocrisy shown by some stations in rejecting the ads.
If you donate in response to this message, I'll make sure to send you a personal message in a few weeks to show you exactly how your investment in this special project paid off.
Thank you for considering this timely request.
Sincerely,
Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.
P.S. As I've mentioned in previous alerts, a major philanthropist has committed to match the first $2.35 million that MPP can raise from the rest of the planet in 2009. This means that your donation today will be doubled.
TV Ads Air, Pleading for Medical Marijuana Law Despite Rejection by CBS, ABC, Fox
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEÂ Â Â
SEPTEMBER 16, 2009Â Â Â Â
TV Ads Air, Pleading for Medical Marijuana Law Despite Rejection by CBS, ABC, Fox
Spots Debut in Key NY Districts as Local Polls Show Strong Support
CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications ............... 415-585-6404 or 202-215-4205
ALBANY, NEW YORK -- Two new TV ads featuring patients who have benefited from medical marijuana began airing today in media markets covering key New York Senate districts. Rejected by ABC, CBS and Fox, the spots will nevertheless air on WNBC in New York City and on cable outlets around the state, including the New York City, Buffalo and Rochester metropolitan areas, Westchester and Rockland counties and the rest of the Lower Hudson Valley, Watertown, Oswego, and Ogdensburg.
    Local polls in these districts show overwhelming, bipartisan support for medical marijuana legislation. For example, Mason-Dixon polls conducted Sept. 1-3 in Senate Districts 12 (Queens), 48 (Watertown, Oswego), and 58 (Buffalo and nearby areas) showed support for the legislation running at 72 percent, 69 percent, and 74 percent, respectively. Full results of these and earlier district polls on the medical marijuana bill are at mpp.org/nypolls2009. A separate set of polls from 2007 is at http://www.mpp.org/nypoll2007.
    One of the spots features Conservative Party member Joel Peacock of Buffalo, who suffers from chronic pain as the result of a serious accident. In the ad, he describes running out of his prescription medication while on a work assignment in the south after Hurricane Katrina and being given marijuana by a client. "It took away the pain," Peacock says in the ad. "It took away the nausea. I didn't have stomach cramps. I slept. It just did everything my medicine doesn't do. Please, ask your senator to have compassion."
    Both spots, sponsored by the Marijuana Policy Project and New Yorkers for Compassionate Care, can be viewed at mpp.org/NYTVads. In nearly all areas, the ads are customized to name the specific state senator who voters should contact (in New York City and Orange County, the configuration of Senate districts and TV markets made this impractical).
    Kevin Smith, M.D., of Saugerties, who appears in the second spot and who suffers severe pain from a genetic disorder known as ankylosing spondilitis, was angered by the stations' rejection of the ads. "As a patient whose well-being would be dramatically improved by the medical marijuana bill, I am appalled that these TV stations won't even let us tell our stories to their viewers," Smith said. "These stations are out of touch with the public, 76 percent of whom support protecting patients."
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    With more than 27,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.
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Press Release: 33 U.S. Clinical Studies Show Marijuana's Medical Use, New Journal Article Says
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEÂ Â Â
SEPTEMBER 14, 2009
33 U.S. Clinical Studies Show Marijuana's Medical Use, Journal of Opioid Management Article Says
Contrary to Opponents' Claims, Controlled Studies Have Repeatedly Demonstrated Safety, Efficacy
CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications ............... 415-585-6404 or 202-215-4205
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON -- In a landmark article in the Journal of Opioid Management, University of Washington researcher Sunil Aggarwal and colleagues document 33 U.S. controlled clinical trials published from 1971 to 2009 confirming that marijuana is a safe, effective medicine for specific medical conditions.   Â
    Under federal law, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug, defining it as having high potential for abuse, unsafe for use even under medical supervision, and lacking currently accepted medical uses in the U.S. "In fact," Aggarwal and colleagues write, "nearly all of the 33 published controlled clinical trials conducted in the United States have shown significant and measurable benefits in subjects receiving the treatment." Additionally, the paper documents the growing acceptance of the therapeutic use of marijuana among organized medicine groups and estimates that "in 2008, approximately 7,000 American physicians have made such authorizations for a total of approximately 400,000 patients."
    Regarding abuse and safety issues, Aggarwal et al. write that withdrawal symptoms -- a classic symptom of drug dependence -- are notably absent from the published trials, while "the vast majority of reported adverse events were not serious ... It is clear that as an analgesic, cannabis is extremely safe with minimal toxicity."
    Unfortunately, the article continues, ignorance regarding marijuana remains widespread in the medical community. "There remains a near complete absence of education about cannabinoid medicine in any level of medical training," Aggarwal writes.
    "This is arguably the most thorough review of the literature on medical marijuana since the Institute of Medicine report over a decade ago, with a trove of data that wasn't available to the IOM," said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project. "It is simply incomprehensible that a medicine that is so clearly safe and effective remains banned from medical use by federal law and the laws of 37 states."
    The article, "Medicinal Use of Cannabis in the United States: Historical Perspectives, Current Trends, and Future Directions," is available at http://tinyurl.com/m9oo44. A complete list of the 33 U.S. clinical trials is available from Sunil Aggarwal at [email protected] or 206-375-3785.
    With more than 27,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.
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Press Release: Revelations of DEA Participation in San Diego Medical Marijuana Raids Raises Questions about White House Policy toward State Law
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