Medical Marijuana

In an interview with National Journal, Gil Kerlikowske didn't have much to say about medical pot:

NJ: Do you have plans to review potential changes to the country's medical marijuana policies?

Kerlikowske: I have not had my meeting with the attorney general, who had made some statements, but I plan on following up with that pretty closely.

NJ: Will you at least be conducting a study on the topic?

Kerlikowske: I don't know. I think it is a little premature, and frankly, looking at the overdose deaths -- there is such a huge increase in people dying from prescription drug overdoses -- is a little higher on my priorities right now than the medical marijuana issue....

Well that makes sense, but considering that there's a raging controversy in America right now over the federal government's war on medical marijuana, maybe the drug czar should at least be able to provide a little insight instead of changing the subject. Of course, it's likely that Kerlikowske's attempts to downplay the issue are actually intended to dismiss potential controversy surrounding the new administration's positive statements on the issue, i.e. medical marijuana isn't a top concern, so don't give us a hard time for not raiding dispensaries.

This 'medical marijuana isn't a priority' stuff is fine for now if it means they won't be interfering with state laws, but it's a pretty weak cop-out in the long run. Eventually, Washington will have to come to terms with the deep unpopularity of the war on medical marijuana. That means declaring an end to federal raids based on firm moral and scientific grounds, rather than vague policy statements.

They seem to understand that public opinion requires a new direction with regards to medical marijuana policy, but if that much is understood, why tiptoe around it? If the goal is to avoid controversy, then tell us exactly what we want to hear, follow through on it, and the matter will be closed.

For starters, why not look into rescheduling marijuana so it isn't any more illegal than these FDA-approved pharmaceuticals that are killing so many people?

NY Daily News reports that incoming CDC Chief Thomas Freidman is "in favor of developing a synthetic marijuana spray to be used for medicinal purposes." That's good news, I suppose, but what really caught my attention about the story was its repetition of the bizarre and wildly false assertion that synthetic THC doesn’t get you high:

Marinol is prescribed for treating vomiting in chemotherapy patients and other uses. It provides relief, not a high.

Says who? The first thing anyone who's ever taken Marinol will tell you is that the stuff gets you blasted for several hours. In fact, that's one of the primary reason patients prefer the herbal alternative. With marijuana, you can control your dose more effectively to achieve the desired effect. The spray was developed for the exact same reason, thus by suggesting that Marinol doesn’t get you high, the NY Daily News completely misses the point of why a spray even exists. It's ridiculous.

We've heard this crap before and I just don’t understand why anyone would struggle with the concept that a pure THC pill would make you high as hell. I suppose it's a convenient claim for pharmaceutical execs trying to separate their product from its controversial context and it's certainly convenient for drug warriors desperately endeavoring to explain why one is medicine and the other is poison. But it's bullshit and it shouldn’t take a scientist to deduce that you will not remain sober after swallowing concentrated THC. That's like saying heroin gets you high but synthetic opiates don't.

Hilariously, there's a side column of "relevant articles" on the page with the top item titled Marijuana Potency Higher Than Ever. We're actually supposed to be intrigued and perhaps alarmed by the fact that domestic marijuana potency now averages 10% THC, meanwhile the FDA has long approved a 100% THC pill that's proven to be completely safe in every way, except that some people think it's a little too strong and want weed instead.

It's amazing the lengths some people will take to rationalize the mindless paradox of arresting medical marijuana patients while simultaneously trying to sell them potent THC pills.

NYT's Freakonomics Blog has a pro-con piece on marijuana decriminalization that includes this bizarre argument from USC professor Joel W. Hay:

There isn’t a shred of scientific evidence that marijuana is safe and effective for any medical condition. Moreover, THC, the active ingredient of pot, has been approved by the FDA and on the market in capsule form since 1985.

How could you even write something like that without seeing how silly it is? If we've been selling FDA-approved concentrated marijuana pills for almost 25 years, then there's really no question how "safe and effective" marijuana is. The fact that pills made of pure THC have been approved by FDA and sold legally for decades without incident is the best proof you could ever ask for that marijuana is remarkably safe.

What was he thinking when he wrote this?

Update: And, of course, the claim that there's no evidence of medical marijuana's safety and effectiveness is absurd. I wouldn't even know where to begin.

We knew Gov. Pawlenty was likely to veto medical marijuana legislation due to pressure from law enforcement, but then the bill was changed so that only terminally ill patients would qualify. Surely, the governor would at least agree not to arrest people who are dying, right? Wrong:

He announced his intention to veto the medical marijuana bill at his news conference today. Then, amazingly, he went on to wax rhapsodic about how “The sky is blue, the sun is out. The minds of Minnesotans are turning to Memorial Day, summer, fishing.”

Tell that to Joni Whiting, whose daughter Stephanie gained some comfort and the ability to eat from medical marijuana during the last months of her doomed struggle with melanoma. Pawlenty thinks it’s just fine to treat Joni, Stephanie, and others in that dreadful situation as common criminals. [MPP]

There's no middle ground here. You either think it's ok to arrest dying patients for using doctor recommended medicine, or you don't. If Pawlenty vetoes this bill, he firmly rejects even the vague appearance of compassion for dying patients.

Send him a polite note here.

Good news! Something bad could have happened, but didn't:

California's medical marijuana law survived its most serious legal challenge today as the U.S. Supreme Court denied appeals by two counties that argued they were being forced to condone violations of federal drug laws.

The justices, without comment, denied a hearing to officials from San Diego and San Bernardino counties who challenged Proposition 215, an initiative approved by state voters in 1996 that became a model for laws in 12 other states. It allows patients to use marijuana for medical conditions with their doctor's recommendation. [San Francisco Chronicle]

Today's result was really a foregone conclusion because it's just a basic fact that states can make their own drug laws. Still, it's good that this happened insofar as it will hopefully serve to silence those who continue to cite conflict between state and federal laws as a reason why no one can have medical marijuana. They are completely wrong and it's amazing how many federal judges had to break it down for them.

For the hundredth time, conflict with federal law is not an obstacle to passing and implementing state laws that permit medical marijuana. Federal law enforcement can come in and cause trouble, but that doesn’t make state laws invalid. Those laws still apply and provide valuable protection against state police, who patients are more likely to come in contact with.

The very idea that federal law somehow cancels out state policies is just some made-up nonsense that enemies of medical marijuana have been spewing in desperation for several years now. Nice try, but you're wrong. Case closed.

This is interesting/disturbing:

Kern Sheriff’s deputies and agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency were searching a medical marijuana store in east Bakersfield Wednesday afternoon.
…
Calls to the sheriff’s department were not immediately returned. A spokesman from the DEA said that agency was there only to assist. The spokesman said the sheriff’s department was the lead agency in the case.
…
Sheriff Donny Youngblood said his office will not interfere with the operation of non-profit medical co-operatives run by patients for patients. But, he said, dispensaries that sell marijuana for a profit should be expected to be treated like other drug dealers. [KGET]

DEA explained that they're "only there to assist," but that doesn’t eliminate the possibility of federal charges down the road. This isn’t the first time DEA has "assisted" local law enforcement during a dispensary raid. I just spoke with Caren Woodson at Americans for Safe Access and they're waiting to learn more about the situation.

I'll update as details emerge.

Update: ASA just informed me that this appears to be a DEA raid being assisted by local authorities, rather than the other way around.

Update 2: Turns out it really was a state raid, based on a state warrant. ASA got some mixed messages from the PR dept. at DEA.

Good news from Rhode Island:

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Rhode Island Senate Wednesday afternoon approved a bill to allow licensed dispensaries -- known as "compassion centers" -- to grow and sell marijuana to the estimated 600 patients who currently have the state's blessing to use the drug for medicinal purposes.

The vote was 35-2. The bill now moves to the House. [Providence Journal]

This should get through the House, but Gov. Carcieri vetoed a similar bill last year and is likely to do the same this time around. Click here to contact him.

Good news from New Hampshire:

CONCORD, N.H.—The state Senate has joined the House in endorsing medicinal marijuana use by residents with crippling ailments.

The 14-10 Senate vote Wednesday sent the bill back to the House to review relatively minor changes. If the House endorses the changes and Gov. John Lynch signs the bill, New Hampshire would be the 14th state to legalize medicinal marijuana. [Boston Globe]

It looks like this will get through the House, but I don't know anything about Gov. Lynch's intentions. Click here to contact him.

Good news from Minnesota:

After a debate pitting compassion for those suffering from the pain of cancer or HIV-AIDS against concerns about abuse and violence from expanded availability of a "gateway drug," the Minnesota Senate gave tentative approval Wednesday to the use of marijuana for medical purposes in the state.

The 36-28 vote came despite questions about whether the measure fully defines who would be eligible and whether it provides proper safeguards against potential abuse. [Star-Tribune]

The bill could still get blocked in the House and a veto from Gov. Pawlenty is a definite possibility. If you're in Minnesota, click here to contact your legislators in support of medical marijuana.

This story from FOX Memphis provides a rare glimpse into the federal government's massive marijuana grow-op:



My favorite part is when Dr. Mahmoud Elsohly boasts about the high quality of the government pot he grows, then proceeds to demonstrate by sticking his hand in a barrel of disgusting brown schwag. It's all ground up, and you can see the stems sticking out. Anyone can plainly see that the government's weed just sucks.

I also noticed how the FOX story explained that the marijuana is used for research purposes, but conveniently left out the fact that the government actually provides medical marijuana to a small group of patients, while simultaneously prohibiting medical marijuana under federal law. I guess that contradiction was too much for a local FOX affiliate to explore in a fluffy pot-porn segment. Or, more likely, Dr. Elsohly never mentioned it to the reporter.

Given the popular urban myth that government-grown marijuana is super-potent, it's amusing to consider how stunningly bad it actually is. Ironies aside, however, it's actually a serious problem that these guys don't know what they're doing. They won't make any of their product available to researchers seeking to make marijuana an FDA-approved medication, and even if researchers gained access, the material is so weak that you couldn't do much with it.

Someone else needs to be growing marijuana for research purposes, but the DEA won't allow it because they're afraid of what the research will show. Our friends at MAPS and ACLU have spent years in court trying to gain approval for one well-qualified scientist to grow research-grade marijuana, and they've been blocked at every turn. Unless the Obama Administration intervenes before May 1, the DEA's Final Order will take effect and the effort to establish an independent source of research-grade marijuana will return to square one.

Click here to encourage Obama to support science over politics by allowing independent marijuana cultivation for research purposes.