ASA's Medical Marijuana in the News: Week of 10/26/07

• RESEARCH: Federal Research Project Findings Withheld
• RESEARCH: Pain and Depression Helped by Low-Dose Cannabis
• COLORADO: Test Case Yields Return of Marijuana
• INDIANA: Couple Claims Medical Exception
• MISSOURI: Mayor Uses Marijuana Medicinally
• OREGON: Case May Clarify Cannabis Processing Rules
• MONTANA: Medical Marijuana Eased Woman’s Suffering
• WASHINGTON: Patient Story Illustrates Problems
• CAMPAIGN 08: Candidates’ Position on Medical Marijuana Shows Character
• DISPENSARIES: Patient Need Prompts Proliferation
• ASA BLOG: Comments from ASA Staff and Guests

RESEARCH: Federal Research Project Findings Withheld

Despite the insistence of federal agencies that there is no medical use for marijuana, for decades a handful of seriously ill Americans have been receiving marijuana grown and paid for by the U.S. Government. The Investigational New Drug program includes only a handful of people now, since the program was closed to new applicants during the HIV epidemic of the 1980s. While each of the participating patients has been certified by physicians who report regularly to the federal government on the effectiveness of the treatment, those in charge of the program have yet to release any data.

A few people get Uncle Sam's weed
by Bryan Denson, The Oregonian
The U.S. government's official policy on marijuana is that it's dangerous and illegal, even in states such as Oregon and California that have approved its medical use. Yet Uncle Sam prescribes pot for 68-year-old Elvy Musikka of Eugene, one of seven test subjects in a little-known federal medical marijuana program.

RESEARCH: Pain and Depression Helped by Low-Dose Cannabis

Prohibition and the attendant reluctance of the federal government to fund or even allow research studies on medical marijuana have slowed scientific advances -- as the AMA predicted in 1937, when Congress passed the first law restricting marijuana. But researchers in other countries are active, and the state of California is now funding research that is starting to be published. Recent findings show that relatively low doses of cannabis can be highly effective in treating pain and depression.

Smoked Cannabis Proven Effective In Treating Neuropathic Pain
Science Daily
Smoked cannabis eased pain induced in healthy volunteers, according to a study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Center for Medical Cannabis Research (CMCR.) However, the researchers found that less may be more.

Cannabis shows anti-depression benefits, but too much has reverse effect
Canadian Press
Cannabis in small doses has some beneficial effects for curbing depression, but too much of the drug can cause the polar opposite effect, a new study suggests.

A Little Marijuana Helps, but Lots May Hurt
by Brandon Keim, Wired
A moderate dose of medical marijuana can soothe your hurts, both mental and physical -- but getting flat-out toasted may actually make the pain worse.

Too much cannabis 'worsens pain'
BBC News (UK)
Smoking large amounts of cannabis for therapeutic reasons may increase rather than reduce pain, a US study suggests.

COLORADO: Test Case Yields Return of Marijuana

Another court case has helped clarify the rules around medical marijuana in Colorado, and the outcome is again largely thanks to attorney Brian Vicente, director of the Colorado Campaign for Safe Access, a joint project of Sensible Colorado and Americans for Safe Access. In this case, police returned the property of a qualified caregiver.

Marijuana returned to caregiver
by Howard Pankratz, Denver Post (CO)
A small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia was returned by Jefferson County authorities today to a medical marijuana caregiver who was issued a summons at Mount Falcon Park earlier this year.

INDIANA: Couple Claims Medical Exception

Just because a state has yet to remove criminal penalties for medical use of marijuana does not prevent patients from using it. Indeed, the chief argument for state medical marijuana laws is not that it will make it available to people who otherwise wouldn’t use it – though that’s true enough – but rather that it removes the threat of prison for the seriously ill and injured who will risk using it regardless of the consequences. If this couple can convince a judge to let the jury hear the facts about their medical conditions and the efficacy of medical marijuana, they may have a chance at acquittal, even though state law does not make the exception.

Couple says their pot is for medicinal use
Associated Press
A couple charged with growing and possessing marijuana say they will plead not guilty because they were growing the illegal drug for medicinal purposes.

Couple say marijuana was for medicinal purposes
by Keith Roysdon, The Star Press (IN)
The owners of a Muncie business, arrested and charged with marijuana possession, said Wednesday that they grew the plant in their rural Henry County home for medicinal purposes.

Muncie couple arrested for growing "medical" marijuana
by David MacAnally, WTHR Eyewitness New (IN)
Owners of a Muncie beer and wine making shop are in jail for growing pot and drug possession. They reportedly admit it's pot, but deny it's wrong. But their defense may not play in an Indiana courtroom.

MISSOURI: Mayor Uses Marijuana Medicinally

Like the couple in Indiana, the mayor of this St. Louis suburb will be fighting an uphill battle in trying to get an exception to state criminal laws. The serious gastro-intestinal condition he has, which can be life-threatening, is notoriously difficult to treat, but marijuana has a long, proven history of helping regulate such problems: relaxing cramping, easing pain, and stimulating appetite. More about how and why medical marijuana helps GI conditions can be seen at www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/gi_booklet.

St. George Mayor Admits To Marijuana Use
by Chris Regnier, KTVI - MyFox St. Louis (MO)
St. George Mayor Harold Goodman admits to Fox 2 that there was marijuana in his apartment when cops arrested him there Monday. The 64-year-old former police officer says he suffers from Crohn's disease and at times smoked the marijuana to relieve his nausea and help him eat.

Arrested mayor of St. George, Mo. says marijuana was medical
Associated Press
The mayor of the St. Louis suburb of St. George says marijuana found at his home was for medical use.

OREGON: Case May Clarify Cannabis Processing Rules

A registered Oregon patient has been arrested for processing marijuana into a more concentrated form. Though the process he used was simple one designed merely to separate the active ingredients of the marijuana plant from the leafy and fibrous byproducts, local authorities have charged him with drug crimes. Advocates point out that there is no chemical difference between the extracted product and the raw plant, and predict that the courts will exonerate the man.

Hashing out medical pot law
by Jason Cox, Keizer Times (OR)
Keizer Police recently arrested a medical marijuana grower and patient for manufacturing a controlled substance – hashish oil. Pro-medicinal marijuana advocates have criticized the arrest, saying that creating hash oil – essentially separating the active ingredients of the drug from the plant material, using dry methods, water or a chemical solvent – is legal for medical marijuana patients.

Medical pot provider arrested
by Ruth Liao, Salem Statesman-Journal
A Keizer medical marijuana provider living next to a school was arrested Friday after police found evidence that he was manufacturing hashish, or hash oil, an illegal substance, police said.

A smokescreen for criminals
by Bryan Denson, The Oregonian
Oregon's medical marijuana program has grown colossally in recent years, with autumn harvests so robust it scarcely resembles the modest enterprise approved by voters in 1998.

MONTANA: Medical Marijuana Eased Woman’s Suffering

Since a 60-day hunger strike on behalf of medical marijuana patients first brought her public attention, Robin Prosser was at the forefront of the fight for patient protections in Montana. Those efforts helped persuade voters to approve a medical marijuana law in 2004. But when federal agents intercepted a state-legal shipment of marijuana to her this spring, she lost the supply of the one drug that helped her pain. “Give me liberty or give me death,” she wrote in an OpEd following the incident. Unfortunately, none of her elected officials could guarantee her liberty.

Medical marijuana advocate commits suicide
by Jessie McQuillan , Missoula News (MT)
Robin Prosser didn’t look or sound much like a fighter, but she was. A mother and a musician, the Missoula woman also acted as Montana’s most outspoken advocate for medical marijuana, the only remedy that could ease the ravaging pain of the lupus-like immunosuppressive disease she endured for 23 years. Prosser’s fight ended Oct. 18 when she took her own life.

WASHINGTON: Patient Story Illustrates Problems

Removing criminal penalties for medical marijuana patients is just the first step in a compassionate solution. Devising ways to ensure that they can safely get the medicine they need is the next, and that is one that poses complex situations for law enforcement and policy makers. Washington state is working on addressing the problem by holding community meetings to gather information.

Marijuana patients caught in a cloud of confusion
by Edie Lau and Josh Farley, Kitsap Sun (WA)
Steve Sarich had just finished watering hundreds of marijuana cuttings and stepped into the shower in January when he heard a commotion downstairs. He managed to slip on a bathrobe before a cop walked through the door.

CAMPAIGN 08: Candidates’ Position on Medical Marijuana Shows Character

Medical marijuana may not be the litmus-test issue that most voters in America use to decide whom to support, but attitudes toward the issue reveal much about candidates’ sense of compassion, as well as their attitudes toward federalism, or states’ rights.

Romney hounded by marijuana advocate
by Faith Swymer, The Union Leader (NH)
Clayton Holdon said Mitt Romney's stance on medicinal marijuana is unclear, and the wheelchair-bound Dover resident said he will continue to bird dog the candidate across the state until he receives a sufficient answer.

Politicians continually fail to recognize marijuana's value
by Tim Strube, Daily Trojan (USC)
"I am not in favor of medical marijuana being legal in the country," Presidential candidate Mitt Romney said recently. Like Romney, a large number of Americans don't take marijuana seriously. What most people don't know is the current American view of marijuana is a misconception that denies thousands of years of history.

DISPENSARIES: Patient Need Prompts Proliferation

California has more medical marijuana dispensaries all the time. With a largely urban population and many patients who lack the space or ability to grow their own medicine, patient collectives have sprung up in many communities to ensure that patients have consistent, safe access to the medicine their doctors have recommended. Local officials report that a regulatory approach to dispensaries helps meet the needs of patients while answering the concerns of law enforcement. See more about this at www.AmericansForSafeAccess.org/dispensaryreport.

City Hall accused of dragging feet on medicinal marijuana
by Kevin Herrera, Santa Monica Daily Press
Word spread quickly about the Herb King on Main Street and the owner’s recent decision to dispense medical marijuana. So quickly, in fact, that the midnight tokers barely had enough time to exhale before City Hall put a chokehold on the herbalist, effectively chasing it out of town.

Watsonville council rejects bid for medical pot dispensary
by Donna Jones, Mercury News (San Jose)
The Watsonville City Council banned the sale of medical marijuana in a 5-1 vote Tuesday, noting that patients have relatively close access to pot dispensaries in Santa Cruz.

Watsonville eyes ban on prescription marijuana sales
by Donna Jones, Santa Cruz Sentinel
After narrowly permitting body artists to set up shop last month, the City Council today will consider another potentially controversial business — medical marijuana dispensaries.

ASA BLOG: Comments from ASA Staff and Guests

ASA's blog is helping keep activists informed on the issues and events affecting medical marijuana patients and providers.

ASA’s Trip to LA: Protest, DEA Raid & Interviews
by Rebecca Saltzman
ASA’s trip to LA two weeks ago for the rally calling on Governor Schwarzenegger to Stand Up for Patients’ Rights was apparently well documented.

News From Dallas: ASA on the Road
by Sonnet Seeborg Gabbard
This week, ASA Executive Director, Steph Sherer, Government Affairs Director, Caren Woodson, and I traveled to Dallas, Texas to attend the annual National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s 2007 National Conference in an effort to continue to build a coalition of condition-based groups and expand ASA MS Patients’ Union.

Stop the DEA from Breaking Up Two Happy Families
by Rebecca Saltzman
DEA raids consistently disrupt the lives of innocent patients and providers, but two recent raids have threatened to break up these two happy families: The Naulls and the Martins.

MORE ABOUT AMERICANS FOR SAFE ACCESS

Find out more about ASA at AmericansForSafeAccess.org. More medical marijuana news summaries can be seen at AmericansForSafeAccess.org/News