The Great Marihuana Legaliztion Debat Hits New Hi

A current bill suggested towards the condition legislature might have Florida join the 16 states that presently have legal medicinal marijuana.

American support for legalizing marihuana reaches a brand new a lot of 50 %, based on an October Gallup Poll. Conservative pollster Fabrizio, McLaughlin & Affiliates reported in March that 57 percent of Floridians support it, along with a 2010 survey from Gallup discovered that 70 % of People in america preferred legalizing the drug for medicinal use.

However, it's unlikely the measure will reach the 2012 ballot, stated Janet Rosenson, a UF political science connect professor.

The majority of the people around the Florida legislature are Republican, and passing a bill of the character is going to be difficult due to variations in political opinion, she stated.

"I'd think this is an uphill fight," she stated.

Additionally, political figures don't wish to look like supporting drugs, even when the key behind medicinal marijuana is relieving ailing patients, she stated.

"There is a stigma in marketing something which supports drug abuse,Inch she stated.

Grassroots actions happen to be the reason for medicinal marijuana legislation in the majority of the states where it's been legalized, political science instructor Joshua Huder stated.

Some states allow people to gather signatures for any petition to place an problem on the ballot, going completely around condition legislatures. But it is nothing like that in Florida.

"I do not think it's a chance to get at the ground,Inch Huder stated.

For medicinal marihuana being broadly recognized, he stated, more states will need to legalize it first.

"The greater it's in conventional make use of the more institutions that support this, the greater chance it's,Inch he stated.

Despite the fact that medicinal marijuana is legal in other states, will still be illegal under federal law.

An Agenda I drug, marijuana is determined by the us government like a substance having a high possibility of abuse without any recognized medical use, based on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's website.

Consequently, the DEA is cracking lower on regulating marijuana in states where it may legally be utilized for medicinal reasons. It has brought the governors of Washington and Rhode Island to petition the us government to reclassify marijuana like a Schedule II drug, exactly the same category as drugs like morphine and OxyContin, meaning it may be legally recommended with a physician under federal law.

John Rohde, the treasurer for that student chapter from the National Organization for that Reform of Marijuana Law, stated because marijuana is presently an agenda I drug, the us government will not fund research for medicinal usage. For now, individuals will remain doubtful associated with a possible benefits it might have, he stated.

On campus, NORML has recommended for medicinal marijuana. This past year, the business collected signatures for any petition to legalize marijuana and assisted register individuals to election, based on Rohde.

Despite his support for that suggested bill, Rohde stated he could not begin to see the bill being passed using the partisan makeup from the legislature.

"It might be wonderful because you will find lots of patients in Florida who frantically need that care," he stated.

Not everybody concurs that medicinal marijuana will be a positive thing.

Patrick Shaffer, a 19-year-old political science newcomer, thinks if medicinal marijuana was legalized it might be mistreated.

"It simply appears as an illegitimate approach to me," he stated. "There is a reason it isn't legal now."

As they sees the way it may help people, Shaffer stated the issues would over-shadow the advantages.

"It might just cause more problems of computer solved," he stated.

Dem's and Rep's agree! Give the Sick What They Need!

Democratic Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire and Republican Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee have filed a petition using the Drug Enforcement Agency requesting a reclassification of marijuana - from the substance with “no presently recognized medical use” to some drug with “currently recognized medical use within treatment.” On Thursday, Democratic Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin became a member of them.

“It 's time to show empathy and time for you to show good sense,” Gregoire told reporters throughout a business call.

The 3 governors’ states, and 13 others, have passed medicinal marijuana laws and regulations, casting doubt on the concept that cannabis doesn't have medical value. Plus some studies claim that the analgesic results of marijuana are similar to individuals more addictive pain relievers.

The governors’ papers are the most recent within an ongoing battle to reclassify cannabis that goes back to some legal challenge in 1972.

“Each of those areas is battling with controlling safe use of medical cannabis for patients with serious health conditions,” they authored. “Our use the government agencies hasn't resolved the problem.”

The DEA has in the past overlooked applications for deleting marijuana, stating a scientific consensus it adds no value in dealing with patients of any sort. But that consensus seems to become fracturing when confronted with new research and concerns concerning the ongoing costs from the drug war.

Drug Policy Alliance Leader Ethan Nadelmann authored inside a statement the Governors’ petition would be a useful step, but that federal rules shouldn’t stop them motionless forward with therapeutic pot programs in their own individual states.

As the Fed's Step it Up, So Can You!

It looks like WeedMaps is stepping up their game. As the Fed's start their crack down on your local medical cannabis collectives, WeedMaps has started their Medical Marijuana political action alert page. We should all know about it and share it. If you have a medical cannabis event that you want your fellow Prop 215 patients to be aware of contact them at
TeamWeedMaps

Here are the current events on the TeamWeedMaps political action alert page for November 25th - December 13:

NorCal ASA Action Meeting
When
Thu, December 1, 5pm – 7pm
Where
625 5th Street Santa Rosa, CA 95401 (map)
Description
Update on recent/current Cannabis patient events and discussion. Cool stuff to hear, and usually some refreshments.

Contact:
Chet
chetajenkins@yahoo.com
707-721-5420

==========================================

OC NORML South County Meeting
When
Fri, December 2, 7pm – 9pm
Where
Fuddruckers in Lake Forest (map)
Description
26221 El Toro Road Lake Forest, CA 92630

Contact Kandice Hawes for questions
Executive Director of Orange County NORML
1-877-OC NORML

===========================================

CPR-ASA meeting
When
Tue, December 6, 7pm – 9pm
Where
Crusaders Hall is one block off I80 and Norwood 320 Harris Ave suite H Sacramento, CA 95838 (map)
Description
Please join our medical cannabis activist meeting! We are involved in patient and professional education, legislation, court support and participate in community events! Refreshments are served and we welcome non-patients also!

Contact:
Lanette Davies
cpr4mercy@yahoo.com
916-502-7677
===========================================

ASA chapter meeting
When
Tue, December 13, 7:30pm – 9:00pm
Where
847 Howard Street (Between 4th and 5th Street), San Francisco CA, 94103 (map)
Description
Come join medical cannabis activists and friends for delicious pizza and soft drinks as we educate on all issues related to medical cannabis. Normally 50 to 70 people attend meetings.
We also do court support and actively participate in San Francisco's Medical Cannabis Task Force. Expect fun and surprises while supporting medical cannabis activism.

Contact:
David Goldman
dcgoldman@yahoo.com
415-728-7631

==============================================

Don't have a NORML chapter in your area? Start One! Contact them at

The Fifth Annual Medical Cannabis Competition

The winner for Best cannabis from seed Strain was Humboldt Royal Kush grown by EarthGreenCali Farms. The strawberry dread-headed gentleman that came to the stage to claim the trophy first thanked everyone in attendance for being there and a special shout-out to Kevin Reed for putting on the event.

The second and third place was won by the dispensary, The Green Door for the strains Platinum Cookies and Candy Jack. With all the good work that The Green Door does for the city, it was a fitting tribute to the political and spiritually minded pot shop that they were recognized.

The Patients' Choice includes both indoor and sungrown cannabis; the winner reminded everyone why he thought that outdoor, organic was the way to go. In summation, he professed his love for the herb and seeds would be available soon.

Carrying the heavy-duty trophy off the stage to heartfelt congratulations of high-fives and THC infused hugs, the winner held the award high and also up in the air.

When the night ended, I followed the winning group out. With the trophy in hand the gentleman grower and entourage enter one of the more swankier hotels in SF. I watched as the doormen, bellstaff and hotel employees read the gold plaque on the crystal cup stating 'Best Cannabis Strain of 2011."

My favorite quote of the evening: After the winners were announced, hash brownies were being distributed by a sponsoring company. There was a big Santa Claus like satchel left to the right of the door with a couple of hundred wrapped brownies still in the bag. A very medicated person turned to me when passing the sack of brownies and said, "That looks like a very comfortable chair."
(Source)

45 Days are up... Were the Fed's faking?

California's four US Attorneys set a 45-day deadline for MMJ dispensaries and their landlords to make themselves scarce or face the consequences, and that deadline expired on Saturday. Whether the federal authorities have the nerve to carry out the threat remains to be seen, since their belligerence has provoked an extraordinary backlash in the media, in Congress and in the courts.

The federal authorities like to paint a picture of a free-for-all marijuana market, in which bogus dispensaries effectively hand out drugs to all-comers. But that does not account for the rapidly evolving regulatory framework imposed by states and local municipalities.

Steve DeAngelo doesn't have the luxury of worrying about a threatened US government crackdown on medical marijuana dispensaries like the one he runs in Oakland, California. For him, the crackdown is already in full swing.

As the head of the largest pot dispensary in the country, with more than 80,000 customers and annual revenues of more than $20m, DeAngelo always knew he would have a big target on his back if the federal authorities chose to challenge the state laws that allow him and thousands of other operators across the United States to sell marijuana on the open market.

At the end of September – even before California's top federal prosecutors announced their intention to start filing criminal charges against medical marijuana purveyors, their landlords and the newspapers and television stations where they advertise their services – the feds fired their first shot. The Internal Revenue Service, America's tax collecting agency, sent a letter demanding an initial $2.5 million in back taxes and characterised DeAngelo's dispensary, the Harborside Health Center, as a drug trafficking organisation.

Using a provision of the tax code originally written to help seize the assets of gangsters and organised criminals, the IRS said Harborside was disqualified from claiming its ordinary business expenses – payroll, insurance, rent and so on – as deductions and needed to pay taxes on them instead.

Seeing himself not as a drug pusher but as an advocate and carer for the sick, DeAngelo is fighting with everything he has, and so is the rest of the medical marijuana movement. He has helped establish a nationwide publicity campaign to push back against the IRS and its characterization of regulated dispensaries as traffickers.

His dispensary is about to be featured in a television reality show called "Weed Wars" in which his battles with the feds will be front and centre. He and other advocacy groups have organised protest marches up and down California.

(Source)

NORML throws down on the Fed's

The NORML attorneys allege the federal government has engaged in entrapment of California marijuana patients and their caregivers. They point to the courts’ dismissal of County of Santa Cruz, WAMM et al. v. Eric Holder et al.where the Department of Justice (DOJ) “promised a federal judge that it had changed its policy toward the enforcement of its federal drug laws relative to California medical cannabis patients.” So after 2009, California providers had reason to believe that the federal government had changed its policy. The legal argument is called ‘judicial estoppel’, which basically means that courts can’t hold true to a fact in one case and then disregard it in another.

Kumin, Michael, and Silber also argue the government has engaged in ‘equitable estoppel’, which most people commonly think of as ‘entrapment’. That is to say, you can’t bust a person for committing a crime when the authorities told him it wasn’t a crime to do it!

(Source)

Medical marijuana? Montel Williams impressed by Israeli approach

Montel Williams says the U.S. could learn a thing or two from Israel's liberal stance on medical marijuana. The Emmy Award-winning TV personality was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999 and he has been an outspoken advocate of medical marijuana to relieve pain caused by the disease since then.

Medical marijuana: Which 16 states permit pot

Williams, 55, is in Israel on a fact-finding mission to learn about its approach to medical weed. He's meeting with legislators, scientists and doctors.

In Israel, certain doctors can approve cannabis prescriptions and disperse them to patients, said Itay Goor-Aryeh, the head of the pain management unit at the Sheba Medical Center in central Israel. He said that while marijuana use is carefully regulated, many doctors prefer prescribing it to patients who qualify because it is "the lesser of evils."

Those patients, if they do not get cannabis, they will get morphine-like drugs and other harmful drugs," said Goor-Aryeh. "I think that in many ways, cannabis is tolerated and is less addictive that morphine-based drugs.

Sixteen U.S. states have decriminalized the use of medical marijuana. Critics claim dispensaries are often no more than drug trafficking fronts.

"For me, there is nothing else that can do what it does," he said. "It helps me suppress my pain... When I am not using cannabis, I am thinking about my pain every 45 seconds."

He said the drug had been "vilified to substantiate the false reason why it was banned in the first place," and that he hoped it would one day become a regular prescription drug.

"There are chemicals within that plant," he said, "and some of the leading science on where and how those chemicals work is being done right here in this country," referring to Israel.

(Source)

Support for legalizing Marijuana hits all-time high

50 percent of Americans favor the legalization of marijuana, up from 46 percent last year, according to a new Gallup poll.

It was the first time in the survey that the number of people favoring legalization was higher than those opposed.

The support for legalized marijuana use has continued to climb since Gallup first began asking questions about it in 1969. Then, only 12 percent of Americans supported legalization, with 84 percent opposed.

Throughout the late 1970s into the 1990s support for legalization of marijuana remained in the mid 20-percent range, with it passing 30 percent in 2000 and 40 percent in 2009.
The latest poll shows that support for legalized pot is highest in the West (55 percent), among liberals (69 percent), younger Americans (62 percent), and men (55 percent).

Dr. Christopher Glenn Fichtner, author of "Cannibanomics,'" appeared Monday on The Dylan Ratigan show, where he spoke about the potential benefits of legalizing marijuana. He endorsed the California Medical Association’s decision last week to call for legalization of the drug, but with regulations similar to alcohol and tobacco.

"There are numerous products on the market that have risk," Fichtner said, citing alcohol as one example.

"It’s very hard to argue on a medical basis that herbal cannabis or marijuana is more dangerous than alcohol," he said. "The idea is that regulation offers the opportunity to improve the safety and reliability of access to specific products."

He also blames marijuana prohibition for "playing a major role in the initial criminalization, the initiation into the criminal justice system for a very large number of ordinary American citizens."

The Gallup survey was based on telephone interviews conducted Oct. 6-9, 2011, with a random sample of 1,005 adults.

Marijuana is the most commonly abused illegal drug in the United States, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. A 2009 federal survey on drug use found that 16.7 million Americans aged 12 or older had used marijuana at least once in the month prior to being surveyed, an increase over the rates reported in all years between 2002 and 2008.

Pot is legal for people with doctors’ recommendations in 16 states, though it remains illegal under federal law. Last week, the federal government vowed to crack down on dispensaries selling marijuana in California, where thousands of outlets have sprung up.

A Gallup survey last year showed that 70 percent of Americans favored making it legal for doctors to prescribe marijuana in order to reduce pain and suffering.

(Source)

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Supreme Court OKs medical marijuana company... In Chile

Chile's Supreme Court ruled Friday that the government unconstitutionally revoked a company's permit to grow medical marijuana.

But a lawyer for the government said Chile remains a long way from allowing the production and sale of marijuana for therapeutic purposes.

The court ruled unanimously that Chile's agriculture service unfairly canceled the permit it granted Agrofuturo in 2009 to cultivate marijuana for therapeutic products. The service based its cancellation last year on a health service prohibition against including marijuana in pharmaceutical products.

"We find ourselves very happy" with the ruling, Agrofuturo owner Alvaro Gomez told The Associated Press in a phone interview from the city of Los Angeles in Chile's southern Bio region, where the marijuana would be grown.

Gomez declined to comment further.

The judges focused their decision on due process requirements, and didn't make broader statements inviting a medical marijuana boom in Chile. It is legal in Chile to consume marijuana alone on private property, but against the law to consume it in groups or grow it without a government permit.

When the company applied for its permit, it laid out plans to sell the marijuana to be drunk as infusions, in bags similar to tea, and said that whether its sale would require a doctor's prescription would be determined by Chile's Public Health Institute.

The institute, however, clarified this year that producing, transporting and distributing marijuana remains prohibited in Chile and that legal use would be permitted only as part of scientific research. Jorge Correa, a lawyer for the agricultural service, says the health institute still has the last word on marijuana production.

The Chilean courts in 2005 absolved a woman who grew and consumed marijuana inside her home to ease pain from arthritis and rheumatism, but that ruling also failed to set a precedent for a medicinal marijuana industry.

Fed's Say Medical Marijuana Patients Can't Own Guns!

According to a recent memo from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, it is illegal for any of Montana's 26,492 registered medical marijuana patients — to own or possess firearms or ammunition.

That information was included in a letter written last week by ATF Assistant Director for Enforcement Programs and Services Arthur Herbert to all federal firearms licensees, giving them guidance on what to do if a firearm customer reveals that he or she is a medical marijuana patient.

According to the letter, "any person who uses or is addicted to marijuana, regardless of whether his or her state has passed legislation authorizing marijuana use for medicinal purposes, is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance, and is prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition."

The letter goes on to state that federal firearms licensees may not transfer firearms or ammunition to such a customer.

Jon Svaren is a 15-year Navy veteran who was honorably discharged in 2009. Svaren also is a medical marijuana patient who said he still is recovering from surgery last November to repair a severe back injury. Svaren, who lives and works on a farm north of Hardin, also is a gun owner who hunts birds and uses firearms to control varmints on the farm.

Svaren said he was "blown away" but the language of the memo.

"To take away my Second Amendment rights is contrary to everything I've ever fought for, and contrary to every oath of enlistment I've taken," Svaren said.

Pro-gun rights and medical marijuana advocates also were outraged by the letter, which they say singles out a specific group of citizens and attempts to strip them of their Second Amendment rights.

"The cannabis issue has become representative of nation-wide concerns," said Kate Cholewa, a board member of the Montana Cannabis Industry Association. "Citizens are increasingly concerned that the government, rather than expressing the will of the citizens, now sees itself as separate from the citizens and is imposing their will upon the people."

(Source)

Federal Medical Marijuana Program Going to "Pot"

For the past three decades, Uncle Sam has been providing a handful of patients with some of the highest grade medical marijuana around. The program grew out of a 1976 court settlement that created the country's first legal pot smoker.

Advocates for legalizing marijuana or treating it as a medicine say the program is a glaring contradiction in the nation's 40-year war on drugs — maintaining the federal ban on pot while at the same time supplying it.

Government officials say there is no contradiction. The program is no longer accepting new patients, and public health authorities have concluded that there was no scientific value to medical marijuana, Steven Gust of the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse told The Associated Press.

At one point, 14 people were getting government grow medical cannabis. Now, there are four left.

The government has only continued to supply the marijuana "for compassionate reasons," Gust said.

One of the recipients is Elvy Musikka, the chatty Oregon woman. A vocal marijuana advocate, Musikka relies on the pot to keep her glaucoma under control. She entered the program in 1988, and said that her experience with marijuana is proof that it works as a medicine.

They "won't acknowledge the fact that I do not have even one aspirin in this house," she said, leaning back on her couch, glass bong cradled in her hand. "I have no pain."

Marijuana is getting a look from states around the country considering calls to repeal decades-old marijuana prohibition laws. There are 16 states that have medical marijuana programs. In the three West Coast states, advocates are readying tax-and-sell or other legalization programs.

Marijuana was legal for much of U.S. history and was recognized as a medicine in 1850. Opposition to it began to gather and, by 1936, 48 states had passed laws regulating pot, fearing it could lead to addiction.

Anti-marijuana literature and films, like the infamous "Reefer Madness," helped fan those fears. Eventually, pot was classified among the most harmful of drugs, meaning it had no usefulness and a high potential for addiction.

In 1976, a federal judge ruled that the Food and Drug Administration must provide Robert Randall of Washington, D.C. with marijuana because of his glaucoma — no other drug could effectively combat his condition. Randall became the nation's first legal pot smoker since the drug's prohibition.

Eventually, the government created its program as part of a compromise over Randall's care in 1978, long before a single state passed a medical marijuana law. What followed were a series of petitions from people like Musikka (seen at left) to join the program.

President George H.W. Bush's administration, getting tough on crime and drugs, stopped accepting new patients in 1992. Many of the patients who had qualified had AIDS, and they were dying.

The AP asked the agency that administers the program, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, for documents showing how much marijuana has been sent to patients since the first patient in 1976.

The agency supplied full data for 2005-2011, which showed that during that period the federal government distributed more than 100 pounds of high-grade marijuana to patients.

Agency officials said records related to the program before 2005 had been destroyed, but were able to provide scattered records for a couple of years in the early 2000s.

The four patients remaining in the program estimate they have received a total of 584 pounds from the federal government over the years. On the street, that would be worth more than $500,000.

All of the marijuana comes from the University of Mississippi, where it is grown, harvested and stored.

Dr. Mahmoud ElSohly, who directs the operation, said the marijuana was a small part of the crop the university has been growing since 1968 for all cannabis research in the U.S. Among the studies are the pharmaceutical uses for synthetic mimics of pot's psychoactive ingredient, THC.

ElSohly said the four patients are getting pot with about 3 percent THC. He said 3 percent is about the range patients have preferred in blind tests.

The marijuana is then sent from Mississippi to a tightly controlled North Carolina lab, where they are rolled into cigarettes. And every month, steel tins with white labels are sent to Florida and Iowa. Packed inside each is a half-pound of marijuana rolled into 300 perfectly-wrapped joints.

With Musikka living in Oregon, she is entitled to more legal pot than anyone in the nation because she's also enrolled in the state's medical marijuana program. Neither Iowa nor Florida has approved marijuana as a medicine, so the federal pot is the only legal access to the drug for the other three patients.

The three other people in the program range in ages and doses of marijuana provided to them, but all consider themselves an endangered species that, once extinct, can be brushed aside by a federal government that pretends they don't exist.

All four have become crusaders for the marijuana-legalization movement. They're rock stars at pro-marijuana conferences, sought-after speakers and recognizable celebrities in the movement.

Irv Rosenfeld, a financial adviser in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has been in the program since November 1982. His condition produces painful bone tumors, but he said marijuana has replaced prescription painkillers.

Rosenfeld likes to tell this story: In the mid-1980s, the federal government asked his doctor for an update on how Rosenfeld was doing. It was an update the doctor didn't believe the government was truly interested in. He had earlier tried to get a copy of the previous update, and was told the government couldn't find it, Rosenfeld said.

New Jersey O.K. -- N.Y. 50,000 + Aressted in 2010

In 2010, more than 50,000 people were arrested for possession of marijuana; a vast majority of them were racial minorities and male. Civil rights lawyers say that many of them were stopped as part of the Police Department’s broad stop-and-frisk practice and were arrested after officers told them to empty their pockets, which brought the drugs into open view.

Commissioner Kelly’s memo now makes clear that displaying the drug must be an “activity undertaken of the subject’s own volition” and that individuals may not be charged with violating the law if the marijuana “was disclosed to public view at an officer’s direction.”

While the memo, reported by WNYC last week, is an important step, it does not by itself end the problem. The United States Justice Department and New York lawmakers should investigate the legality of practices that led to the arrests of hundreds of thousands of people since the mid-1990s.

Under New York law, possession of 25 grams or less of marijuana is a violation subject to a $100 fine for the first offense. Possession of any amount that is in public view, however, is a misdemeanor punishable by up to three months in jail and a $500 fine.

This statute was supported by district attorneys in the 1970s because they believed it would free the police to fight serious crimes. That changed in the mid-1990s when the city began emphasizing street stops as an important part of its policing approach. Since 1996, the city has taken more than 536,000 people into custody for the lowest-level marijuana charge, according to Harry Levine, a sociologist at Queens College who has tracked the data closely. From 1981 through 1995, that number was 33,700.

Police have characterized marijuana arrests as important for keeping criminals off the street. But, in testimony submitted to the Legislature this summer, Professor Levine estimated that a significant majority of those arrested in 2010 had never been convicted of any crime, based on an analysis of data reported to the state.

Young African-Americans and Hispanics, who are disproportionately singled-out in street stops, make up a high percentage of people arrested for marijuana possession — despite federal data showing that whites are more likely to consume marijuana. This policing practice has damaged young lives and deserves deeper scrutiny by federal and state monitors.

(Source)

Congressman Pleads with Federal Government to Reschedule Marijuana

A member of Congress is urging the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy to reschedule marijuana's status as a Controlled Substance Schedule I drug.

Congressman Steve Cohen from Tennessee states in his letter to Drug Czar Gil Kerlikowske that, "There is no evidence that marijuana has the same addictive qualities or damaging consequences as these harder drugs and it should not be treated as such." He goes on to explain how drug convictions for non-violent possession "crimes" have high costs - almost $7.6 billion per year is estimated to be spent on marijuana arrests and prosecutions. He also states that the damage to ruining someone's life with an unnecessary conviction is an unreasonable cost to our society, dooming these people to "second-class citizenship". He mentions the "disastrous racial disparities" in the criminal justice system, reporting that African-Americans and Latinos are much more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites.

Congressman Cohen also addresses states' rights to make their own medical marijuana laws, stating, "We should not deny the thousands of Americans who rely on the benefits that marijuana provides. I strongly recommend that this administration allow states that have chosen to legalize medical marijuana to enact strong regulations without fear of prosecution.

You can read the Congressman's letter here

Sacramento's Delta Allied Growers ... Is D.O.A.

Sacramento District Attorney Jan Scully announced Thursday that she will not file charges in Isleton's aborted plans for a large medical marijuana farm, but she made it clear that she believes the whole matter was bungled from the start.

"Had the marijuana cultivation farm project become operational it would have been illegal under state and federal laws and not in compliance with attorney general guidelines," Scully's office wrote in a scathing 21-page report.

The report is the latest swipe at the Delta town's failed efforts to generate revenues by approving a 15,000-square-foot medical marijuana farm on the northern edge of town.

Michael Brubeck, the would-be medical cannabis impresario who offered the city up to $25,000 a month from medical marijuana revenues, will not face charges, Scully said, and neither will any city officials.

However, she left no doubt that she believes City Manager Bruce Pope and City Attorney Dave Larsen acted improperly as they pursued a way to get the project under way.

She singled out Larsen as having a conflict of interest, saying the matter would be sent to the California State Bar Association for review.

At issue was the fact that Larsen, who is paid $150 an hour by the city for his services, also was being paid $250 an hour by the developer of the medical marijuana farm to help draft documents for the project, Scully's office said.

That issue was previously raised by a critical grand jury report, and Larsen on Thursday once again defended his conduct and said everything had been done properly and in the open.

He added that Isleton officials knew dealing with marijuana was "tricky business" but that they were rebuffed in their efforts to get advice from Scully's office on how best to proceed.

"We never got to first base," Larsen said. "There was just no willingness to talk to us in any fashion along those lines."

Scully's report said the city was uncooperative, delayed providing documents and provided misleading information as she investigated what was going on in the community of 840 residents.

"Rather than choose to cooperate, the city manager and the city attorney chose to fight the investigation by withholding some public records, disclosing some uncompleted and unsigned documents, and keeping the city council in the dark about letters from the DA and the United States attorney," her report concluded.

The medical marijuana farm idea never got far. After initial construction of frames for some grow houses, Brubeck and his Delta Allied Growers operation pulled out of the plan when threatened with prosecution by U.S. Attorney Ben Wagner.

A grand jury report issued in June indicated that 1,000 marijuana plants that had been brought onto the site were buried using a bulldozer and the plan was abandoned.

(Source)

San Jose Council Votes to Limit Medical Marijuana Dispensaries to 10

San Jose City Council voted Tuesday to approve rules allowing medical marijuana dispensaries, San Jose Mercury News reports.

The council voted 8-3 to allow only 10 clubs out of the nearly 12 dozen pot dispensaries that spread across the city over the last two years to survive.

Pot club activists, however, were not happy about the decision and called the new regulations unworkable and threatened to fight them in court or at the voting booth. "If we don't get our due process, we'll find somewhere else to get it, whether it's the court or the ballot box," Lauren Vasquez, an attorney and medical marijuana patient, told Mercury News.In April, the council moved toward limiting the number of dispensaries to 10, but marijuana activists lobbied against the decision, arguing that the cap would result in Costco-sized marijuana superstores that would invite federal drug raids.

The clubs, which city officials say have all been operating illegally, will also be restricted to certain commercial and industrial areas and required to grow all their medical marijuana on site. "We'll have something in place that will make it impossible for us to operate," Dave Hodges, founder of the All American Cannabis Club, one of the first marijuana dispensaries in the city, told Mercury News.

(Source)

NIXON Charged with Marijuana Possession!

According to the television station, 21-year-old Willson (aka "Will") Nixon was at the Brookside Apartments on South 10th Street when police responded to complaints of a loud party around 1:23 a.m. September 10.

When arriving at the scene, the officers noted an "overwhelming smell of in the hallway." Through an open door, the officers say they saw Nixon seated at a table with marijuana. When Nixon saw the officers, he attempted to conceal the drug, and the police stepped into the apartment and made an arrest under the "plain view doctrine" that allows law authority to enter a residence when a visible crime is taking place.

Nixon was cited for possession of less than 35 grams of marijuana, which in Columbia is a municipal violation that could result in community service and a fine. Nixon reportedly did not tell officers of his relationship to the governor, though one of his friends on the scene did.

Yesterday the governor released a statement saying: "This is a private matter that will be handled through the municipal process. My son is a fine young man, and we will be working through this issue as a family."

(Source)



Get your Medical Marijuana Recommendation Today... be protected tomorrow

Depraved Reporter + Fake Medical Issues = Sensationalism

State health-care regulators have opened a preliminary investigation into two medical professionals who were issuing medical-marijuana authorizations at Hempfest.

The investigation was initiated by the Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday based on an Aug. 21 story in The Seattle Times, which described a reporter's ability to get a medical-marijuana authorization based on complaints of back pain.

Tim Church, a DOH spokesman, declined to name the two health-care professionals but said the state's naturopathic-advisory committee had opened a complaint. "It was opened as a result of media reports," he said.

After an initial investigation into the two individuals, DOH will decide whether to close the case or proceed with a fuller probe and possibly to a disciplinary hearing, Church said. "Anytime we see something that could be outside the scope of a medical professional's license, we take a look at it," he said.

(Source)

How Can Medical Marijuana Improve My Quality Of Life

Demographic Study of People Seeking Cannabis Treatment
Information from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML):
Thursday August 4th, 2011
This is a copy from NORML News, issued today, 8/4/11. Santa Cruz, CA: Patients in California with a physician's recommendation are predominantly using cannabis to treat symptoms of pain, insomnia, and anxiety, according to population data published in the present issue of the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs...

Medical Marijuana and Alzheimer’s disease
Published Studies Show Promising Results
Tuesday August 2nd, 2011
Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with no known cause. It is characterized by a progressive deterioration of memory and overall cognitive functioning. Many patients have aggressive behavior, agitation, appetite loss, depression and difficulty walking...

Compound in Marijuana Prevents Chemotherapy Side Effect
Yet another study shows the tremendous medicinal benefits of Cannabidiol (CBD)
Tuesday July 26th, 2011
Researchers at the Temple University School of Pharmacy reported that nerve pain that results as a side effect of the chemotherapeutic agent paclitaxel can be prevented by cannabidiol, a compound in the marijuana plant...

New Study Explains Marijuana Tolerance
Reversible decrease in receptors explains tolerance and dependence
Monday July 18th, 2011
A new study from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) explains the mechanism of action for tolerance and dependence with marijuana use. In order to understand this, you must first understand that the medicines in marijuana, called cannabinoids, attach to the body's cells through a receptor, similar to how a key fits to a lock...

Migraine Headaches and Opioid Medication
Short-acting Opioids Not Appropriate for Chronic Long-term Use
Friday July 8th, 2011
Many migraine sufferers are often prescribed short-acting opioids. such as hydrocodone, for their pain. A headache expert reports that this may not be a good long-term solution and that these types of medications may cause side effects that promote more unfavorable outcomes...

Chronic Pain affects 116 million Americans
Institute of Medicine reports on pain as a public health problem
Wednesday July 6th, 2011
The Institute of Medicine reported this week that an estimated 116 million Americans suffer with chronic pain and are dealing with a health care system that is poorly prepared to treat them. Chronic pain patients are often treated, "with some prejudice, a lot of judgment and unfortunately not a lot of informed fact," according to Dr...

The Endocannabinoid System
Understanding the Science behind Cannabis
Thursday May 26th, 2011
Cannabis has been used for thousands of years, both recreationally and medically. People all over the world know the effects of cannabis, yet until 20 years ago, no one knew how it worked within our bodies...

Fibromyalgia Pain responds to Medical Cannabis treatment
Recent study shows reduction in pain and stiffness and increased relaxation and sense of well-being
Monday May 16th, 2011
A clinical study was conducted at the Institut de Recerca Hospital del Mar in Barcelona, Spain, to investigate effects of cannabis on symptoms and quality of life for 56 fibromyalgia patients. Half of the patients were cannabis users and 28 were non-users...

Vaporizer Studies - Take a look at the Science
No One should be smoking, Vaporizers save your lungs
Friday April 22nd, 2011
Here is a summary of three scientific studies that show that vaporization is the healthiest way to inhale your medication. Everything about vaporizing is better than smoking. If you find no effect from a vaporizer, it is possible that you have developed high tolerance and it would serve you well to take some time off (7-14 days)...

Venice Beach Medical Marijuana Doctors Raided
Why quality and price do matter
Wednesday April 20th, 2011
On Wednesday 4/20/11, three medical marijuana doctors' offices in Venice Beach were raided and closed. (Link below) The LA Times reported that the warrant was sealed so information on why the offices were raided is unknown at this time...

National Cancer Institute Acknowledges Benefits of Medical Cannabis for Cancer Patients
Tuesday April 12th, 2011
The National Cancer Institute for the first time gives information on its website on cannabis and cannabinoids (the active medicines in the cannabis plant). They report: "The potential benefits of medicinal Cannabis for people living with cancer include antiemetic effects, appetite stimulation, pain relief, and improved sleep...

Marijuana and Your Lungs – What is the real deal?
Saturday January 22nd, 2011
Is marijuana smoke really bad for the lungs? What about lung cancer? You can find out the answer to these questions by going to the link below. Dr. Donald Tashkin, Professor of Pulmonology at UCLA’s Geffen School of Medicine, gives an excellent summary of what he has found over many years of researching the effects of marijuana smoke on the lungs...

What is the California State or County Card?
Wednesday November 10th, 2010
Proposition 215, passed in 1996, allows a physician to recommend cannabis to a patient with a serious and chronic medical condition. This law only provides patients with a legal defense for possession and cultivation...

Medical Marijuana and Lung Disease
Monday April 12th, 2010
A recent study was done to determine the combined and independent effects of tobacco and marijuana smoking on respiratory symptoms and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the general population...

Medical Marijuana and Multiple Sclerosis
Tuesday April 6th, 2010
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic progressive neuro-degenerative disease where the brain and spinal cord are damaged by the gradual destruction of myelin, which is the tissue that covers and protects the brain and spinal cord...

Can I get addicted to Marijuana?
Sunday January 17th, 2010
Marijuana is not physically addictive. Marijuana users can use it regularly, even multiple times daily, without any problem giving it up. However some people do experience withdrawal, similar to caffeine withdrawal...

Medical Marijuana and Depression
Sunday January 10th, 2010
Clinical depression is a very serious illness. People with this condition have long-term, often debilitating feelings of sadness and low self-esteem. There can be suicidal thoughts. Depression makes ordinary tasks such as going to work, cooking, cleaning, even personal hygiene, very difficult...

Medical Marijuana and Spinal Cord Injuries
Sunday January 10th, 2010
Patients with spinal cord injuries with paralysis of their legs and/or arms, often have severe chronic pain and muscle spasms. The conventional treatment for these symptoms is synthetic medications, including high dose opiates, tranquilizers, and sedatives...

Medical Marijuana: First Time Use
Sunday January 10th, 2010
The first time use of cannabis is unique. Although no one yet understands why, many people don’t feel anything the first time they use cannabis. They do feel it the second or third time. At times the first time users are noted by the people around them to be acting differently but they themselves don’t notice it...

Medical Marijuana and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Thursday December 17th, 2009
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a type of anxiety disorder that’s triggered by a traumatic event that involved the threat of injury or death. Post-traumatic stress disorder can develop after someone experiences or witnesses an event that causes intense fear, helplessness or horror...

Medical Marijuana and Tourette’s Syndrome
Tuesday December 15th, 2009
Tourette’s Syndrome (TS) is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder that is characterized by involuntary tics. The cause of this disorder is unknown. Some patients with TS have small tics and others have debilitating tics...

Medical Marijuana and Sleep Apnea
Sunday December 13th, 2009
Sleep apnea is a medical condition characterized by frequent interruptions in breathing of up to 10 second or more during sleep. There are three types of sleep apnea: obstructive, central and mixed...

Medical Marijuana and Lung Cancer
Thursday November 19th, 2009
The big question about marijuana smoke has always been, “Will it cause cancer?” A review of the scientific literature still does not give a definitive answer but it appears that a leading and well known pulmonologist (lung specialist) from UCLA has found that marijuana is unlikely to cause cancer...

The Cost of Alcohol, Tobacco and Cannabis
Tuesday November 17th, 2009
A report published in the British Columbia Mental Health and Addictions Journal (Canada) stated that tobacco-related health costs are over $800 per user, alcohol-related costs are about $165 per user and cannabis-related health costs are about $20 per user...

Medical Marijuana and Fibromyalgia
Monday November 9th, 2009
Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterized by diffuse pain in the muscles, ligaments and tendons, with associated fatigue and multiple tender points (places on the body where slight touch causes pain)...

How do I choose which kind of medical marijuana to use?
Monday November 9th, 2009
Many medical marijuana patients are finding natural relief of a variety of medical conditions with this amazing plant. But there are so many strains that it can be overwhelming to find which strain or plant will be helpful for certain conditions...

Medical Marijuana and ADHD
Sunday November 1st, 2009
Many people diagnosed with ADD/ADHD have turned to medical marijuana for treatment of their symptoms with positive results and minimal side effects. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is also known as hyperactivity or attention deficit disorder (ADD)...

Medical Marijuana and IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome)
Wednesday October 28th, 2009
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a common syndrome that affects the large intestine. The most common symptoms are cramping, abdominal pain, bloating gas, constipation and diarrhea. Although the symptoms can be severe, there appears to be no long term permanent damage to the bowel...

Medical Marijuana and Migraine Headaches
Monday August 3rd, 2009
Migraine headaches can be extremely severe and debilitating. Scientists and doctors are not sure exactly why some people get migraines but it appears that genetics and environmental factors both play a role...

Medical Marijuana: Safer than Prescription and OTC Drugs
Sunday July 12th, 2009
With the recent death of Michael Jackson, and last year’s death of Heath Ledger, both due to prescription drugs, more and more patients are examining their pill bottles and wondering what their future holds...

Medical Marijuana and Arthritis
Monday July 6th, 2009
Over 30 million Americans suffer from arthritis. There are many different kinds of arthritis – osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, infectious arthritis, gouty arthritis are just a few. In general arthritis occurs when there is swelling and pain in the joints with subsequent limitation of movement...

Medical Marijuana And Chronic Back Pain
Tuesday June 30th, 2009
Chronic Back Pain is one of the most common illnesses seen by physicians. Almost everyone has back pain at some time in their adult life. Back pain occurs most commonly between the ages of 30 and 50 due to the aging process and due to a more sedentary lifestyle that begins in this age group...

Medical Marijuana Tinctures
Tuesday June 23rd, 2009
Many medical marijuana patients are happy to learn about tinctures of cannabis. A tincture is an alcohol-based liquid mixture. It is like a concentrated extract. Currently there are tinctures of cannabis made with alcohol, oil or glycerin...

Medical Marijuana and Insomnia
Tuesday June 23rd, 2009
Are you one of the millions of Americans that is suffering from sleeplessness or insomnia? It is estimated that one-third of all adults have insomnia. Some people have difficulty falling asleep, some have difficulty staying asleep, and some have both...

Medical Marijuana: Inhalation vs. Edibles – Why is it so different?
Monday June 22nd, 2009
You have a choice as to how you want to take medical marijuana. You can inhale marijuana either through smoking it or through a vaporizer. Of course the healthier option is the vaporizer as there is no irritating smoke...

Anxiety, Panic Attacks, and Medical Marijuana
Saturday June 20th, 2009
Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Panic Attacks are common illnesses affecting many people. How do you know if you have anxiety disorder? Symptoms include excessive and persistent worrying that interferes with everyday functioning...

Fibromyalgia and Medical Marijuana
Saturday June 20th, 2009
Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain syndrome that is difficult to diagnose and whose cause is unknown. Patients have symptoms of musculoskeletal pain, chronic fatigue, and tender spots in the neck, spine, shoulders and hips...

Sacramento Bee enjoy's "Elevated" Ad Sales; Thanks Medical Marijuana!

Now that the Sacramento Bee has begun publishing medical marijuana collective advertisements the weekly paper has reported much "higher" profits... as I understand it the Sac Bee could charge a medical cannabis dispensary as much as $3,000 for a full page, color ad in the Ticket section.


Just three months ago, the Sacramento News and Review began printing 30 pages of ads in a special medical marijuana 420 section.

According to Jeff vonKaenel, the CEO and President of the free alternative weekly newspaper, the section includes ads from nearly 50 dispensaries. A full page ad goes for about $2,000.

"It has been very lucrative," vonKaenel said. "We've been making tens of thousands of dollars a week on that. At a time when many newspapers are scaling back staff, The Sacramento News and Review said it was able to hire more reporters and expand its distribution largely because of medical marijuana ad sales.

(Source)

Hempfest Hoax! Seattle Times Reporter MMJ Curious?

King douche Seattle Times reporter Jonathan Martin fools WA state mmj doctor! Get's medical authorization to possess cannabis for medical purposes in Washington state.

WA State law limits medical-marijuana use to patients with such debilitating conditions as AIDS-related wasting syndrome and multiple sclerosis. Intractable pain is defined as not easily managed, relieved or cured by other treatments.

He states that he did not embellish, although, with no medical records on hand, nothing would have prevented it. He went on to describe a four-year problem, "treated by physical therapy, prescription and over-the-counter pain remedies, with weekly flare-ups ranging from slight to severe. Most of my male friends and family have similar complaints."

Although Department of Health's (DOH) professional boards can discipline doctors and others for violating the medical-marijuana law, none has been cited, according to DOH records.

Nursing regulators recently looked into a complaint involving two Spokane nurses for allegedly improperly signing medical-marijuana authorizations, but did not take action. In March, the Medical Quality Assurance Commission, which regulates doctors, open and quickly closed an ethics complaint against a Seattle-area physician involving an advertisement promising authorizations that would "stand up in court."

Moyer, the DOH spokesman, said the department has not had a test case from a patient claiming to be inappropriately authorized for medical marijuana. Without such a complaint, regulators have treated authorizations akin to a second opinion, giving wide latitude for professional judgment.

"It's very hard to involve the regulatory authority in the patient-physician relationship," he said.

At the 4Evergreen tent, prospective patients began to queue up in the late afternoon. A 54-year-old woman, who gave her name only as Sharon, said she suffered from diverticulitis, a painful swelling of the colon. She hoped cannabis would halt her weight loss. "I'm past the point of trying anything," she said, but added that she was nervous about the process.

(source)

Genome of Marijuana Sequenced and Published

A Netherlands-based company called Medicinal Genomics has just announced the successful genetic sequencing of Cannabis sativa, the highly regulated annual plant that has been widely consumed for centuries as an intoxicant and a medicine. The plant, known in the vernacular as grass, tea, or marijuana, has been legalized in 16 U.S. states for use as a medical treatment for various disorders over the last decade, and according to Medicinal Genomics' Kevin McKernan, the legal market for the substance is currently growing by 50 percent every year.

The genetic sequence has been published only in its raw state, not yet assembled into a more usable form. When the process is completed, though, it should be possible to isolate the genes responsible for the creation of the pharmaceutically active compounds by the plant, including THC, CBD, and some 60 other cannabinoids. Understanding these genes and their expression will make possible a fine degree of control over the production of these compounds, with significant implications for both the medical and recreational users of the drug. Particular drug-producing genes could be isolated and concentrated in particular strains of the plant, or even inserted in other species.

WeedMaps To Attened Seattle Hempfest This Weekend!

WeedMaps will be in attendance at the Seattle Hempfest held this weekend. The next Seattle Hempfest is almost here... August 19-20-21, 2011. It's open to the public on Friday from 12 noon to 8 pm, and on Saturday and Sunday from 10 am to 8 pm. mission to Seattle Hempfest is free.

The event spans three Seattle waterfront parks: Centennial Park, formerly Elliott Bay Park (North Entrance), Myrtle Edwards Park, and Olympic Sculpture Park (South Entrance).



Hey Medical Marijuana Community come check out the Weedmaps both and register to win one of the two free iPads WeedMaps.com is giving away. (Details at Booth)

Stay Legal, Stay Safe, Keep Your MMJ Recommendation On You At All Times!

Will it be bigger than 4/20/2011 in CO?

This One May Be Hard To Defend! 58 Pounds and a suspended license!

Another case of ... Dude what were you thinking? An L.A. based man was arrested early this morning after Tehama County sheriff’s deputies pulled over his car for not having a front license plate, as if the cops could actually see the license plate, and found 58 bags each containing approximately one pound of cannabis.

Mr Dixon, 23, stated to the sheriff’s deputies that the marijuana was for his "personal use".

Dixon was arrested on suspicion of possession and transportation of marijuana for sale and driving on a suspended license. He was booked into Tehama County jail in lieu of $101,140 bail.

Stay safe, legal, and free by getting your medical marijuana recommendation today

(source)

Elevated 8,200 feet "high" in the Rockies ...most heavily regulated marijuana industry in America

Elevated to more than 8,200 feet in the Rockies, state regulation arrived in this famously mellow, pot-friendly town after Colorado passed landmark legislation over the past two years to tax, license and govern the state's wild, for-profit medical marijuana trade.

Colorado now has the most heavily regulated medical cannabis industry in America. Even Nederland's Board of Trustees imposed a $5,000 local fee on new cannabis stores, hoping to cash in on pot prosperity.

But it has meant heartache for this hamlet of 1,400 people.

In 2010, Nederland voters passed a symbolic measure, declaring all marijuana legal in the hippie haven and former silver town renowned for its high-grade cannabis. In practice, the town already had permitted seven medical marijuana stores. As many as 14 were said to be operating – one for every 100 residents.

Now Nederland has three marijuana stores left. A bonanza in local sales taxes is drying up, and the town's marijuana growers are fed up.

Rather than pay state licensing fees and hefty costs for video security and other state mandates for selling medical marijuana, Chippi closed the doors of her Nederland store last year.

(Source)

Kern County "High" On Hope!

Professional signature collectors are on their way to Kern County to drum up more than 17,000 names needed before the ordinance to ban medical marijuana collectives goes into effect September 9th.!

Why? ... Well On Tuesday, the Kern County Board of Clowns... I mean Supervisors had its say, passing an ordinance that bans medical marijuana cooperatives in Kern County. It was a controversial vote that created quite a buzz about town, now advocates of medical marijuana are launching a referendum to stop the ordinance.

"We want to see an ordinance that works for everybody," Craig Beresh, Pres. California Cannabis Coalition, said. "That regulates it, gets taxed and is beneficial for Kern County as well as the collectives."

Don't miss the opportunity to have your voice heard. All registered voters in the county are eligible to sign the referendum.


(Source)
Stay Safe and Legal Get your Medical Marijuana Recommendation, follow state laws, live without fear of consuming God's medicine!

DEA denies request: Marijuana stuck at schedule 1

The Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis submitted its request to the Drug Enforcement Administration to reschedule marijuana nine years ago.

"They felt as though there was some sort of evidence, there was some sort of scientific evidence, that suggested that marijuana could be used as medicine," says Dawn Dearden, DEA Spokesperson.

At the end of last month, the DEA denied this request-leaving marijuana in the same drug category as heroin. DEA listed marijuana as a Schedule I drug, meaning it's not considered legitimate for medical use and has high potential for abuse.

"There's like eight factors that we look at, when we look at scheduling a drug. Its potential for abuse, the scientific evidence of any sort of pharmacological affects that it might have, any sort of scientific knowledge regarding whether the drug can be used safely for any sort of medicine or anything like that. The history and pattern of abuse-I mean there's a whole litany of [the factors DEA looks at]," Dearden said.

So in this case, DEA studied marijuana and found it didn't have any medicinal use. The Food and Drug Administration also studied it and determined the same thing.

"There is a high potential for abuse for marijuana. We know that the science isn't there to back it up-that marijuana can be used as medicine. We know that, the FDA has said that and as far as we're concerned, nothing really has changed regarding marijuana's potential for abuse-either before this petition was filed or after it. It's still a Schedule I drug, it's still illegal under federal law," Dearden said.

The Buckeye State Is Going To "Pot"....

And yet another group that wants to legalize medical marijuana… this time in the middle of America, in Ohio of all places. Ohio-n’s have turned over of a petition “loaded” with signatures from good solid U.S citizens (such as yourself) for what they say is their initial assault on ignorance by putting the issue before the voters in Nov. ‘12.

A quick preview of the sanity to come with the proposed "Ohio Alternative Treatment Amendment" and how it would modify the state constitution to allow caregivers to give patients with qualifying ailments up to 3.5 ounces in pot .

“Backers of the measure last week submitted a petition that summarized that amendment with 2,143 signatures to Attorney General Mike DeWine.

Secretary of State Jon Husted, Ohio's top elections official, said the next step in the process is validating 1,000 signatures and passing the language of the petition in a review process. If the proposal makes it through the review process, its supporters will need to collect at least another 385,245 valid signatures to win the amendment a spot on the ballot next year.”

Researchers at the Temple University School of Pharmacy reported that nerve pain that results as a side effect of the chemotherapeutic agent paclitaxel can be prevented by cannabidiol, a compound in the marijuana plant.

Cannabidiol (CBD) is the second most commonly occurring compound in the cannabinoid family (the group of medicinal compounds in the cannabis plant). Cannabidiol has many proven medical benefits, including anti-inflammatory, anti-anxiety, anti-convulsant, and anti-psychotic properties. It also has been shown to reduce muscle spasms, promotes sleep and helps to relieve pain. It is non-psychoactive, that is, it does not contribute to the "high" that one experiences with the use of cannabis that is due to the compound THC.

In a recent study published in the July issue of the journal Anesthesia and Analgesia, investigators studied the effect that CBD had on a particularly difficult side effect of the chemotherapeutic agent paclitaxel (brand name Taxol or Abraxane). Paclitaxel is used to treat patients with lung cancer, ovarian cancer, breast cancer, head and neck cancer and advanced forms of Kaposi's sarcoma. A common side effect of paclitaxel (in up to two-thirds of patients receiving it) is peripheral neuropathy, damage to the nerves in the body that causes pain, numbness, tingling, sensitivity to touch and/or muscle weakness. Often when this side effect occurs, paclitaxel doses must be lowered or it must be stopped altogether, interfering with the cancer treatment.

In this study, it was shown that female mice (who appeared to be more sensitive to this side effect than male mice) who received treatment with cannabidiol did not develop paclitaxel-induced nerve pain. Let's hope that this research continues and that CBD can be tested in humans. It is amazing that a well-known side effect can be PREVENTED (not just treated after it happens!) with a natural medicine in marijuana. All of those opposed to marijuana and marijuana research need to open their eyes to the SCIENCE of cannabis!

CBD is currently studied in labs all over the world, as it is recognized as a medicinal compound with tremendous potential. Unfortunately, much of the cannabis that is available for medical marijuana patients in legal states is low in its content of CBD. As more people become aware of the medicinal properties of CBD, plants with higher CBD content will hopefully be more available.

Study citation: Ward SJ, Ramirez MD, Neelakantan H, et al. Cannabidiol Prevents the Development of Cold and Mechanical Allodynia in Paclitaxel-Treated Female C57Bl6 Mice. Anesth Analg 2011 Jul 7.

Washington D.C. the capital of the United States, as well as 16 additional states have at present legalized medical cannabis: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

Therapeutic Action of Cannabinoids on Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic progressive neuro-degenerative disease where the brain and spinal cord are damaged by the gradual destruction of myelin, which is the tissue that covers and protects the brain and spinal cord. Patients who have MS suffer with painful muscle spasms, numbness, impaired vision, loss of balance and coordination, tremors, and weakness. There is currently no known cure for MS.

That being said... DELTA..sup.9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (.DELTA..sup.9-THC), the major psychoactive constituent of marijuana, exerts a broad range of therapeutic effects through its interactions with two cannabinoid (CB) receptor subtypes, CB.sub.1 and CB.sub.2. CB.sub.1 receptors are highly expressed in the central nervous system and to a lesser degree in the periphery in a variety of tissues of the cardiovascular and gastrointestinal systems. By contrast, CB.sub.2 receptors are most abundantly expressed in multiple lymphoid organs and cells of the immune system, including spleen, thymus, tonsils, bone marrow, pancreas and mast cells. (See Link for source)

Many MS patients are using medical marijuana as they have found that it relieves the spasticity, calms tremors, and helps with the depression and anxiety of being ill. There are a number of scientific studies that show that marijuana helps to reduce MS symptoms. One study looked at 167 patients who reported less pain, less muscle spasms, and less bladder incontinence with use of cannabis. These patients reported that they were able to control symptoms with the same dose of cannabis for a mean duration of 434 days without having to increase their dose. (Wade, Multiple Sclerosis 10:425-33, 2004) Researchers suggest that this study demonstrates that marijuana does not lead to increased tolerance requiring increased doses of medication, unlike the conventional medications used to treat MS

Managing the spectrum of pain etiologies remains a major public health problem and both patients and clinicians are seeking improved strategies to effectively manage pain. No currently available therapies or drugs effectively treat all types of nociceptive and neuropathic pain states. The compounds of the present invention are novel CB.sub.2 receptor modulators that have utility in treating pain, including nociceptive and neuropathic pain.

Montana: New Montana Medical Marijuana Guidelines

The odious smelling and overtly threatening letters that were sent by the U.S. Attorney in recent weeks to many of the medical marijuana states have left the governor of Montana wringing his hands when he announced he would allow senate bill SB 423 to become law minus his “John Hancock”. Senate bill 423 will majorly inhibit Montana’s blooming medical cannabis industry, closing down approximately 4800 medicinal marijuana collectives and providers, throwing potentially thousands of legally employed people into the dark abyss of unemployment.

In Montana starting July 1 2011, SB 423 will go into effect compelling medical cannabis patients to provide more substantive evidence of qualifying ailment in order to receive a medical cannabis recommendation from a Physician. Once a qualifying patient has been approved and has received a medical cannabis recommendation a patient can cultivate their own medicine or recruit the caregiver who can cultivate for up to three medical marijuana patients and in return must then supply the medicinal cannabis back to the patients at no cost.

New Things to Know and Consider!

Patients:

Your existing card is still valid until it expires; you’ll renew under the new rules. The same medical conditions will continue to qualify you, but if your diagnosis is “severe chronic pain”, the new law is much more strict. The pain must be persistent and of severe intensity, and objectively proven by an X-ray or MRI, or a second physician must confirm the diagnosis after a physical exam.

You must be a Montana resident.

Once you have your card, if you do not choose a provider, you’ll be able to possess 12 seedlings, 4 mature flowering plants, and 1 ounce of usable marijuana.

By choosing a provider, you give up your right to grow for yourself.

Failure to notify the state of a change of address within 10 days voids your card.

You must carry your medical marijuana card with you at all times.

Parents wishing to register their minor children need a second doctor’s recommendation, must submit fingerprints for an FBI background check, and agree that the minor will never smoke marijuana, only use infused products.

People under department of corrections supervision are not eligible.

Gardens may not be combined and shared, unless you are relatives by blood or marriage.

Drivers may be compelled via search warrant to provide a blood sample. 5ng/ml is cause for a DUI charge.
If your drivers license is revoked for DUI, your medical marijuana card must be surrendered.

Caregivers:

A new “provider” registration process is supposed to be available by June 1st, 2011. Anyone who wishes to grow marijuana for someone else will be subject to a fingerprint background check by the FBI, as well as a financial background check (unpaid taxes, student loans, child support).

If you do not get one of the new cards in June, you must bring in all your plants and product to local law enforcement for destruction before July 1st.

You may choose to register as a “marijuana-infused products manufacturer” instead of, or in addition to, registering as a “provider” (grower).

If approved, providers will be allowed to grow 4 mature plants and 12 seedlings each for up to 3 patients.
Nobody can sell anything to anyone. No money, nothing of value may be exchanged for marijuana, except that the patient may reimburse the provider for the state application fee.

Infused product manufacturers must use separate cookware from that which they prepare “normal” food, and are subject to local health department food preparation rules.

You must carry your provider card with you at all times.

Law enforcement will be automatically notified of the location of your garden. You may have only one. Law enforcement can conduct unannounced inspections during business hours.

Gardens cannot be combined or shared.

Must keep a complete set of records showing all transactions with cardholders (by name and ID number), open for inspection by law enforcement at any time during business hours.

Advertising of any kind is prohibited, including via electronic media (websites, email). This provision is effective upon passage — mid-May.

Doctors:
Must describe in writing the medical condition, why it is debilitating, and the extent to which it is debilitating.

Must confirm that they have assumed primary responsibility for caring for the patient.

Must describe the range of other medications and treatments used to treat the condition.

Must confirm that they have reviewed all other medications and supplements and considered their possible interaction with marijuana.

Must confirm they have explained the potential risks of marijuana.

May not affiliate in any way with providers or infused products manufacturers.

May not examine patients where marijuana is being grown.

May not offer a discount or incentive to a patient for choosing a particular provider.

Will be reported to the Board of Medical Examiners if they recommend for more than 25 patients in a year. This will trigger a formal review of the physician’s practices, for which the physician will be responsible for the costs.

Telemedicine recommendations will constitute “unprofessional conduct” under 37-1-316.

Finally, there will be a “hotline” for people to report suspected abuses of the medical marijuana law by anyone, and local governments may ban providers and infused products manufacturers from operating within their boundaries.

If the governor doesn’t veto SB 423, that’s what we have to look forward to.

Don’t Like It?

Contact the governor before May 10th and urge him to veto SB 423:

Click here: www.montanadrugpolicy.org/alert/46
Click here: http://governor.mt.gov/contact/commentsform.asp
Call: (406) 444-3111 and urge the governor to veto SB 423 and regulate medical marijuana via administrative rules.

Marijuana News And Review "Pious Hypocrite" Of The Month!

Morning in Newport Beach CA. I was in the middle of my morning routine, scanning the day’s depression summaries of medical cannabis related stories, when I stumbled upon this month’s candidate for “pious hypocrite of the month” award.

It would seem that we have met the enemy and his name is ROBERT WATSON! Mr. Watson a “high”-ranking legislator from the state of Rhode Island was charged for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia on April 26, 2011. While ordinarily I would feel only pity for someone about to do battle with any type of governmental agency, this charlatan of the first order is overdue to be exposed.

Here are a few insights into Mr. Watson’s thought process:
“… Minority leader of the Rhode Island House, dismissed debate over the decriminalization of marijuana as not worthy of legislators' time”, I wonder if it’s worth his time now?

Watson created a firestorm in February when he gave a speech to the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce. During it, he criticized the state General Assembly by declaring, "I suppose if you're a gay man from Guatemala who gambles and smokes pot, you probably think that we're onto some good ideas here."

Reasonably, or not? Rather than just act contrite and move on, Watson -- while a guest on a radio show soon after that despicable case of foot-in-mouth, and in response to the understandable outcry over his comments -- said, "I reject the suggestion that it's insulting." He then went on to explain,"I apologize when appropriate and/or necessary," to the Providence Journal in February. "I identify this situation as representing neither circumstance."

“Dr. Feel-Good” Watson was pulled over at a police checkpoint on Friday, according to East Haven police. That’s when officers noted a "strong odor of marijuana" coming from the nervy Republican's car, and cited him with possession and driving under the influence.

The ordinarily blustering and intolerant representative seems to have precipitously acquired a love of privacy. (I think I hear a bong). His office manufactured…I mean released a statement on Monday. In this justification…I mean statement, he repudiated the fact he was driving under the influence. He stated he was in Connecticut to help a “friend” move (must have been 4.20), and was driving home from “dinner” (is that what they call it now) when he was stopped.

Why should I care what a legislator from Rhode Island says or does? I wouldn't, if not for the fact that its anal-retentive ass wipes like Watson that stand in the way of cannabis being viewed as something more than political fodder. He claims the "low" road with ridiculous statement’s like “…marijuana as not worthy of legislators' time” as budgets soar, and coffers are drained.

It’s time that “We” the people that elect these weak minded, fat wallet-ed and politically corrupt politicians take a good hard look at the candidates before we have that beer, and smoke that cig going into the voting booth next time. If you want a 420 friendly community, vote for a 420 friendly city council member in your local municipality. That’s where it all starts.



Monterey Bud.


"The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this."

- Albert Einstein quote on Hemp

San Jose's Big Middle Finger To Medical Marijuana Tax Revenue

April 20, 2011 - It seems that San Jose’s City Council, in their infinite wisdom, has decided to close down 100 Medical Cannabis Dispensaries. Apparently the 10 medical marijuana collectives that the City Council will allow to remain operational will be split up into 5 separate districts. In each of these five districts they will allow two collectives. In addition to the restriction in numbers of medical marijuana collectives that will be allowed, the new MMJ collectives will also be required to grow all of their medicine on-site at the dispensaries.

While a lot of the MMJ collective owners queued up to speak before the City Council, of the 100 medical marijuana collectives to be closed in San Jose “Medmar” feels that it fulfills one of the biggest requirements of the new Medical marijuana regulations and that is that the marijuana is to be grown on the premises. While Medmar medical marijuana dispensary has only been in existence for 13 months they claim 3000 members and no doubt a nice little slice of tax revenue as well.

Does it seem strange to anyone else that the city of San Jose is trying to restrict the number of MMJ collectives from 110 to just 10, this with the looming state and city tax deficits? Steve DeAngelo executive director of Harborside health center which runs MMJ dispensaries in both the east bay and the south bay displayed a copy of a check for $35,416 to the San Jose city council, which represented one month’s worth of marijuana sales tax that goes to the city of San Jose. To which the San Jose city manager’s office quickly confirmed it was cashing harborside health center’s check to be quickly added to the general fund. So if one was to extrapolate the $35,416 number by 12 months, you could figure that the city of San Jose is now going to be flushing down the toilet approximately $420,000 from one medical marijuana collective in tax revenue for the city of San Jose.

Assuming that harborside health center does twice as much business as other medical marijuana collectives; let’s say the average collective pays $15,000 a month in taxes to the city of San Jose. Again, multiplying that by 12 months we come up with $180,000 per collective that could be added to the general fund for S. J. Take that same $180,000 and multiply it by the same 100 collectives that they are about to put out of business and we come up with a smooth $18,000,000 for the general fund of the city of San Jose. This during a time in which the city projects a $115,000,000 deficit.

In any event I’m done whining, I think. I’m off to celebrate our communities most important and media saturated day of the year. Stay safe and legal...HAPPY 4.20 people!

Monterey Bud.