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  Talk Show Host Fined For Drug Paraphernalia
Posted by CN Staff on November 04, 2003 at 19:06:33 PT
Williams Reportedly Authorized To Use Pot  
Source: ClickOnDetroit.com 

medical Talk show host Montel Wiliams was reportedly fined Monday night for carrying drug paraphernalia into Metro Airport. Williams has apparently been prescribed medical marijuana to control his pain from multiple sclerosis.

He was detained briefly after screeners allegedly found him carrying a small amount of the drug. Authorities decided to ticket him just for the paraphernalia, Local 4 reported.

Williams reportedly paid a $100 fine and continued on his flight to New York.

Medical marijuana expert Dr. Charles Schuster of Wayne State University says MS patients like Williams are among the main users of the drug.

"If he is achieving symptomatic relief with this, then his physician may very well see fit to prescribe it," said Schuster.

Airport officials, cautious about releasing specific details, told Local 4, "We don't want to damage his reputation. Montel Williams may or may not have broken any law."

"This is one of the complications because certain states have allowed physicians to do this, but the federal government still does not," said Schuster.

A spokesperson for Williams released a statement in response to Monday night's incident:

"Montel Williams has been very open about his battle with MS in the hope of raising awareness and helping others. He has prescriptions for many different medications for ms, some of which manage his pain, which is constant. One of the medications he has been prescribed to alleviate his chronic pain is medical marijuana.

While leaving the Detroit airport last evening, Mr. Williams was stopped and issued a citation for paraphernalia related to his prescription, paid a $100 fine, and boarded his flight home. The fight for compassionate care and medical marijuana is one that Mr. Williams is very passionate about and one that he continues to advocate."

Williams went public with his disease in 1999.

Note: Williams Reportedly Authorized To Use Pot As Treatment For MS.

Complete Title: Report: Talk Show Host Fined For Drug Paraphernalia

Source: ClickOnDetroit.com
Published: November 4, 2003
Copyright: 2003 by ClickOnDetroit.com
Website: http://www.clickondetroit.com
Contact: http://www.clickondetroit.com/contact/

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Comment #40 posted by FoM on November 13, 2003 at 21:50:18 PT
Letter To The Editor - Washington Post
An Entertainer's Medical Marijuana Liability

Friday, November 14, 2003; Page A28

The Nov. 6 "Names and Faces" Style column incorrectly suggested that carrying marijuana paraphernalia in Michgian is legal for entertainer Montel Williams because he has been prescribed to take "medical marijuana."

Not true. Michigan does not have a medical marijuana law, and federal marijuana laws also make no exception for medical use. Under both state and federal law, Mr. Williams could have faced up to a year in prison.

Perhaps Detroit officials realize what the White House and Congress don't: To jail a person fighting a terrible illness for using a medicine his doctor believes will help him is insane.

BRUCE MIRKEN

Director of Communications

Marijuana Policy Project

Washington

Copyright: 2003 The Washington Post Company

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38545-2003Nov13.html

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #39 posted by jose melendez on November 06, 2003 at 02:20:46 PT
relevance
from:

http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1719/a10.html?397

Under traditional notions of relevance, if a fact does not make an element of the crime ( i.e., growing marijuana ) more or less likely, it is irrelevant.  How that marijuana is to be used is not a "legal" factor. 

from:

http://capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=1731641

Senate Bill 197, a bill to decriminalize marijuana, has been introduced in the Michigan Legislature. Now is the time to contact your state legislators and strongly urge them to support this important piece of legislation. Otherwise law-abiding citizens who smoke marijuana responsibly are not part of the crime problem, and we must stop treating them like criminals. In 2001, the last year for which we have data, law enforcement arrested an estimated 723,627 persons for marijuana violations. This total far exceeds the total number of arrests for all violent crime combined, including murder, manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Today, it is estimated that taxpayers spend between $7.5 and $10 billion dollars annually arresting and prosecuting individuals for marijuana violations monies that would be far better served targeting violent crime, including terrorism. Since 1992, approximately six million Americans have been arrested on marijuana charges, a greater number than the entire populations of Alaska, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming combined. Nearly 90 percent of these total arrests were for simple possession, not cultivation or sale. This bill recommends that minor marijuana offenders in Michigan will face a maximum penalty of a ticket and a small fine in lieu of criminal arrest and prosecution. This is a step in the right direction, but it will only receive serious consideration if the elected officials in Michigan hear an unmistakable message of support from their constituents.

from:

http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?wtm_view=&Group_ID=4544

The penalty for the use of marijuana is up to 90 days in jail and a fine of up to $100.

Possession of marijuana in any amount is punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000, unless the possession occurred in a public or private park, which increases the penalty to a possible 2 years in prison.

Conditional discharge is available in all use and possession cases.

Distribution of marijuana without remuneration is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. For cultivation of less than 20 plants or sale of less than 5 kilograms, the punishment is up to four years in jail and a fine of up to $20,000. For cultivation of 20 or more plants or sale of 5 kilograms or more, the punishment is up to seven years in prison and a fine up to $500,000. Cultivation of 200 or more plants or sale of 45 kilograms or more is punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000,000.

The sale of paraphernalia is punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a fine of up to $5,000. The arrest for sale of paraphernalia is preceded by a cease and desist order, and if the order is complied with, it is a complete defense to the charges.

Conditional release: The state allows conditional release or alternative or diversion sentencing for people facing their first prosecutions. Usually, conditional release lets a person opt for probation rather than trial. After successfully completing probation, the individual's criminal record does not reflect the charge.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #38 posted by FoM on November 05, 2003 at 17:41:56 PT
The GCW , Top Story in NORML's Weekly News
If they don't know they sure will soon!

http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread17739.shtml

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #37 posted by The GCW on November 05, 2003 at 17:20:39 PT
Kaptinemo, - my thoughts exactly.
1. he was caught in a State which has no MMJ laws.

2. I expect the Feds to pounce with almost lightning speed on this, as soon as they become aware of it. (It is like the fedfarce, to appeal the action...)

The dam may hit the pro's in the head, on its way down.

Count on the pro's to continue being lowlifes using off the wall b.s. to perpetuate this farce, treating this issue as though it threatens their profits and everything they stand for... because it does.

They better come out screamming that THC, will do more and more, already discredited harms, and then pipe it on their radio & TV stations etc. and then ignore any opposition, since they have thier hand on the switches.

Ignore Us! But when I see You on the street or I bring up the conversation, You will notice that I give the look, one gives to the worst of shitty people.

Cannabis prohibitionists are pissing off Christ God Our Father.

It is hard to not consider the pro's, lowlife scum. It is only through Christ God Our Father, that I can come to terms more accurately, with who they are.

They are Our stupid, selfish brothers, that don't get it.

420X100000000000Oo0Ooo0O0Oo

You, cannabis prohibitionists, You are litting the Your brothers and Our Father, down.

It is time to get a clue, and quit screwing Our Father.

In the mean time, We have to dink with YOu.



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #36 posted by FoM on November 05, 2003 at 16:54:00 PT
E Online: Montel's Marijuana Mishap
Montel's Marijuana Mishap

By Marcus Errico

November 5, 2003

Montel Williams got in a bit trouble thanks to his traveling companion, name of Mary Jane.

The Emmy-winning talk-show host was briefly corralled by screeners at Detroit Metropolitan Airport after being caught going through airport security Monday with a small amount of marijuana and pot paraphernalia.

Williams, 47, has a prescription for the pot to help him battle multiple sclerosis, according to his rep.

"Montel Williams has been very open about his battle with MS in the hope of raising awareness and helping others," Williams' publicist said in a statement. "He has prescriptions for many different medications for MS, some of which manage his pain, which is constant. One of the medications he has been prescribed to alleviate his chronic pain is medical marijuana."

Williams paid a $100 fine and was allowed to board his flight.

Airport officials declined comment Wednesday.

Although medical marijuana laws have been enacted in eight states, federal law bans the use of the drug.

Williams announced in 1999 that he had been diagnosed with MS, the incurable degenerative neurological disorder that has afflicted the likes of comic Richard Pryor, Mouseketeer great Annette Funicello, actress Teri Garr and David Lander, aka Squiggy on Lavene & Shirley.

http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,12860,00.html

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #35 posted by kaptinemo on November 05, 2003 at 13:22:04 PT:

"Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence"
But...three times? Four? I doubt very seriously that either Mr. Williams or his spokespersons are oblivious of the legal status of cannabis in this country...and he was caught in a State which has no MMJ laws.

Yes, this issue needs to be addressed, and soon. Because if I am right, and he has indeed received a prescription from a foreign nation, and has been allowed to keep his medicine, then a precedent has been set without even the Feds here being aware of it. A precedent that either must be allowed to stand, or must be challenged, and quickly. I expect the Feds to pounce with almost lightning speed on this, as soon as they become aware of it.

Mr. Williams may not know it, but he has thrust himself in the middle of one very big s***storm. And, being Black, he has an opportunity to dredge up the fact that the anti-cannabis laws were aimed directly at minorities.

This could be a major loss for the antis...if Mr. Williams stands his ground.



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #34 posted by BigDawg on November 05, 2003 at 12:29:14 PT
Yup
The more I think about it, the more I think it was a simple semantic goof. Once the goof happened everyone ran with prescription because it was Montel.

He is famous with a good reputation and has publicly announced his affliction. It paints a prettier picture to continue using the word prescription.

Unfortunately, the non-famous don't get that pretty picture....

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #33 posted by Max Flowers on November 05, 2003 at 12:18:15 PT
the question
So the pointed question that needs to be asked of the relevant US authority is:

ISSUE: A medicine or drug is legally prescribed to a US citizen by a physician in a G7 country, and is legal in the physician's country but prohibited under US federal law. Does legal status of the drug and prescription in the physician's foreign country somehow override the US prohibition on the possession and use of the medicine by the patient?

I would be shocked as hell if the answer were anything other than to confirm that US policy is that US laws are in force when the patient is on US soil. But in light of the Montel Williams incident and other similar ones, the question bears asking. Especially since there is a policy of allowing a 3-month supply, I think it is, of medicines which are accepted and prescribed by other countries but banned by FDA here. However, I suspect that this applies to pharmaceutical drugs and not Schedule 1 drugs. As an example, if I went to Pakistan or whatever country is left where you can still get Mandrax (methaqualone) legally, and even had a 3-month prescription for it, the feds would still confiscate it (and likely bust me) if I tried to bring it into the US. If it were classified as a Schedule 2 or 3 or 4 type drug instead, it (and I) would be treated differently.

We need to force an answer on this immediately to go on the record. Who is the agency to ask? Customs? DEA? FDA? All of them?

MF

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #32 posted by FoM on November 05, 2003 at 12:02:01 PT
Michael This Might Help You!
Here's is a link EJ posted that could help. Keep up the good work!

http://www.montelshow.com/show/tell.htm

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #31 posted by Max Flowers on November 05, 2003 at 11:56:18 PT
Could just be mass misuse of the term
I think it's great that you guys are pursuing this question and digging deeper, keep it up, but honestly I think it could easily be that Williams himself simply used the word "prescription" in error and everybody from the airport officals to the journalists are doing it too. I have hardly *ever* heard people use the word "recommendation" outside of the cannabis dispensaries; I constantly have to correct people who say "prescription" and tell them the real word is recommendation (here in the US).

If you are actually on to something here though, naturally it needs to be uncovered because it will set a huge precedent. But I would be real surprised if this incident contributed to any policy change because as we have seen, Customs and DEA and their ilk see things their own way and will confiscate medicines whenever they want to.

MF

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #30 posted by FoM on November 05, 2003 at 11:53:11 PT
DeVoHawk
I never thought about what you said but you could be right and that would make a very interesting twist in this story. Montel Williams has achieved success and is respected by many people I believe. Honesty in a time when it seems the whole world is confused would be a breath of fresh air in these very trying times. I just want truth and fairness. Nothing much just truth and fairness.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #29 posted by Michael Segesta on November 05, 2003 at 11:51:13 PT:

Reaching Montel
Here in Detroit, The Detroit Coalition for Compassionate Care (DCCC) recently turned in over 9,000 signatures to put a medical marijuana initiative on the ballot next August unless the Detroit City Council decides to enact the matter into law first (within 30 days or so). Needless to say, if enacted, this measure could spare patients like Montel considerable hassle. Montel could be HUGE in helping us bring awareness to the Council and/or the voters. If anyone know how to reach Montel, please contact me at msegesta@comcast.net or Tim Beck, Chairman of DCCC, at Timmichben@oal.com.

Thank you.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #28 posted by DeVoHawk on November 05, 2003 at 11:42:20 PT
Flood Gates
I have always been under the impression that prescriptions from G7 countries and most others are valid in the US.

Perhaps that is why he was only fined for the paraphernalia and not the medical marijuana. Our laws have a lot of loop holes that open flood gates.



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #27 posted by FoM on November 05, 2003 at 09:13:55 PT
Why No News?
I've been looking and can't find an article with more detail and that is very annoying. This is a very important issue because how did he get a prescription. I'll keep looking. I guess we'll have to hope that the National Inquirer finds out something. Montel Williams can be a great help or just be a celebrity who lives above all the other folks who are suffering from MS and use Cannabis to help them feel better. That really upsets me.

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #26 posted by kaptinemo on November 05, 2003 at 09:08:02 PT:

Basic Journalism 101
HOW did he get a prescription for cannabis honored in this country when you or I would be hauled away to jail for trying?

WHO gave him the prescription?

WHAT is the legal basis for his having it, when antis are continually denying even sicker people than him access to one?

WHERE did he get the prescription and WHERE does he get it (re)filled?

WHEN did he get it?

WHY was he not arrested when you or I would be in a New York minute?

I don't mean Mr. Williams any ill will; I've taken care of plenty of people with debilitating diseases and know from personal experience how useful cannabis is in ameliorating or eliminating painful symptoms of them.

But I still want to know: why is he treated any differently than you or me?



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #25 posted by FoM on November 05, 2003 at 07:56:24 PT
News Brief: New York Post
Montel Tried To Fly High: Cops

By Kate Sheehy

November 5, 2003 -- TV talk-show host Montel Williams landed in a joint custody battle with security at a Detroit airport Monday night - over his personal pot stash. The ex-Marine-turned-TV-host was fined $100 for carrying enough marijuana to roll about a half a joint, which he claimed was to be used for "medicinal purposes" to help ease pain he suffers from multiple sclerosis, his rep said yesterday.

"Williams has prescriptions for many different medications for MS, some of which manage his pain, which is constant," a statement from the star's camp said. "One of the medications he has been prescribed to alleviate his chronic pain is medical marijuana.

http://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/10025.htm



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #24 posted by FoM on November 05, 2003 at 07:48:22 PT
News Brief from Detroit News
Metro Cops Fine Talk Show Host

Wednesday, November 5, 2003

By Ronald J. Hansen, The Detroit News

Montel Williams caught with drug paraphernalia.

ROMULUS -- Syndicated television talk show host Montel Williams was fined after airport authorities found him with marijuana paraphernalia, which he says he uses to help treat the disease multiple sclerosis.

"He has prescriptions for many different medications for MS," a Williams spokeswoman said in a prepared statement. "One of the medications he has been prescribed to alleviate his chronic pain is medical marijuana."

Williams paid a $100 fine in the incident Monday night at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, boarded his flight and left, she said.

In 1999, Williams was diagnosed with the disease, which affects the central nervous system.

Police referred calls to airport spokesman Mike Conway, who declined to comment.

Despite federal laws that ban the use of medical marijuana, eight states have enacted laws that allow its use in certain cases, according to the Marijuana Policy Project.

http://www.detnews.com/2003/metro/0311/05/b01-317084.htm

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #23 posted by jose melendez on November 05, 2003 at 07:13:59 PT
Got fraud?
from:

http://www.bright.net/~fixit/why.htm

Marijuana wasn't necessarily 'singled out', at least in the beginning. It wasn't even the first to be to be made illegal. That distinction belongs to smoked opium, used by Chinese immigrants in the late 1800s. The law made it illegal for Chinese to smoke opium.

It wasn't long after that marijuana became a target. The following is quoted without permission from "Marijuana in America: A Scientific Confrontation" by Dr. William D. Drake Jr.: Harry Anslinger was placed in charge of the Treasury Department's finger-in-the-dike operation to halt liquor smuggling in 1926. Also, in 1926, not by coincidence, the first anti-marijuana stories began to appear in mass-circulation newspapers, and the yellow press had a lot of fun trying out marijuana's front-page possibilities.

Mr. Anslinger, with the help of a few of his powerful friends, had started a smear campaign against cannabis that rivals the Nazi smear campaigns against the Jews in post-WWII Germany. The very name marijuana (or marihuana) was introduced at this time to make it sound Mexican--some interests didn't even realize that marijuana and hemp were the same plant. His campaign resulted in stories like this: "...under marijuana, Mexicans became "very violent, especially when they become angry and will attack an officer even if a gun is drawn on him. They seem to have no fear. I have also noted that under the influence of this weed they have enormous strength and that it will take several men to handle one man while under ordinary circumstances one man could handle him with ease." Quoted in Ernest L. Abel, Marihuana: The First 12,000 Years, p. 207

see also:

http://www.onlinepot.org/reefermadness/anslinger.htm

"How many murders, suicides, robberies, criminal assaults, holdups, burglaries, and deeds of maniacal insanity it (marijuana) causes each year, especially among the young, can only be conjectured."

http://www.electricemperor.com/eecdrom/HTML/EMP/04/ECH04_10.HTM

 “We cannot understand yet, Mr. Chairman” Woodward protested, “why this bill should have been prepared in secret for two years without any intimation, even to the profession, that it was being prepared.”

Reefer Madness Propaganda Through the Ages

http://www.electricemperor.com/eecdrom/HTML/EMP/AA/ECH23.HTM

Harry Anslinger's congressional testimony

http://www.hilsabeckproductions.com/cdpage2.html

History of the Marijuana Gateway Myth

http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/media/schaffer1.htm

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #22 posted by jose melendez on November 05, 2003 at 07:03:49 PT
read on . . .
from:

http://www.bestofneworleans.com/dispatch/2002-11-12/commentary.html

Louisiana is one of many states to recognize what the federal government refuses to admit: marijuana has therapeutic value for some patients. Anecdotal evidence strongly suggests that using marijuana has helped some people cope with -- if not survive -- debilitating illnesses; and that the drug is far less addictive, less powerful and less dangerous than many legally prescribed medications such as morphine, hydrocodone and other opiates.

No one disputes the fact that marijuana had been used as medicine in numerous cultures for centuries before the United States made it illegal 65 years ago. The driving force behind that legislation was Harry Anslinger, a Prohibition agent-turned-U.S. Commissioner of Narcotics. Anslinger's Congressional testimony against marijuana included such questionable "evidence" as: "Most [marijuana users] are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their Satanic music -- jazz and swing -- result [sic] from marijuana usage. This marijuana causes white women to seek relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others." (Anslinger relied in part on testimony from then-New Orleans district attorney Eugene Stanley.)

The American Medical Association (AMA) at the time challenged the bill, objecting to its authors preparing it in secret without consulting the AMA. "There are evidently potentialities in the drug that should not be shut off by adverse legislation," AMA legislative counsel Dr. William Woodward testified. "The medical profession and pharmacologists should be left to develop the use of this drug as they see fit." In an additional letter to Congress, Woodward wrote on behalf of the AMA that "the prevention of the use of the drug for medicinal purposes can accomplish no good end whatsoever." Despite the AMA's objections, Congress accepted Anslinger's insistence that marijuana caused "violence, insanity and death," and outlawed the herb in 1937.

The federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) continues to classify marijuana as a Schedule I drug -- one that has no therapeutic value and is subject to the strictest degree of controls. As part of its refusal to reclassify marijuana, the DEA maintains that not enough research exists to support its therapeutic benefits. This stipulation creates a catch-22 for medical marijuana -- because the federal government simultaneously places far stricter guidelines on marijuana research than it does on other types of pharmaceutical studies. Any researcher wishing to conduct marijuana studies must obtain approval from the Food and Drug Administration, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which controls the only legally grown supply of marijuana in the United States. By comparison, researchers developing new pharmaceuticals are required by law only to have their protocols approved by the FDA and an institutional review board.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #21 posted by jose melendez on November 05, 2003 at 06:49:36 PT
common, indeed.
What they DO have in common is that the laws in question were enacted and continue to be maintained via a fraudulent, unconstitutional campaign by those with a vested financial interest.

A pattern of deception, perjury and intimidation is clear in the Congressional testimony leading to the criminalization of marijuana.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #20 posted by Treeanna on November 05, 2003 at 06:37:57 PT
Ummmmm....
Tommy Chong was busted in a set-up by the feds for MAKING and DISTRIBUTING "drug paraphenelia", not for posessing it.

The two cases have nothing at all in common from a legal perspective.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #19 posted by kaptinemo on November 05, 2003 at 06:13:19 PT:

Gooiemiddag, Rv. Ferre
Unfortunately, the government of the United States has long been run by corporate puppet masters from behind the scenes whose profits are directly threatened by freely available cannabis.

Since there are no rational explanations for the maintenence of prohibition besides this, these puppet masters have sought to couch all arguments in a purely emotional frame to deflect criticism and prevent debate by casting aspersions upon those who seek drug law reform as being closet perverts out to despoil America's children.

As to Tommy Chong, he pled guilty to avoid causing his family further Federal drug law grief on the Fed's word that they would not. They, of course, lied.

Be glad you live where you do, Meneer.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #18 posted by Ferre on November 05, 2003 at 05:26:56 PT
America is getting crazy!
Hehe, so if I understand this correctly "They found a small amount of the drug" but that was ok, he got fined for "the paraphernalia". Does Asscroft really doesn't understand this kind of laws make a joke out of that country? How can anybody take a country with this kind of laws for serious? I also believe Monty Williams can thank Tommy Chong for this. If Tommy Chong didn't have pleaded guilthy this whole law would have been placed under discussion and probably been deleted from the books (NO other country got this stupid law). By pleading guilthy for something that was NO CRIME AT ALL and completely legal he did a lot of harm to the cannabis using community all over the world. I don't think he realises this.

Have a happy day,

Reverend Ferre van Beveren

Amsterdam Cannabis Ministry

[ Post Comment ]
 
Comment #17 posted by BigDawg on November 05, 2003 at 04:57:03 PT
Kaptinemo said it for me.
My first thought was how did the word PRESCRIBED get in the artical. This is not a mistake that would normally be made considering all out prohibition. My next thought was that maybe it is from over seas. And obviously my third thought was that it is just ANOTHER case of those with money/fame/power getting treated differently.

I like Montel and the public image he has offered. And I truly am glad to see he was not placed in harms way over cannabis. But I REALLY would like to see him make a stand for those who wouldn't have gotten the same treatment.

Of course he is in the right to consider his own safety, but he could do the world some good by speaking out.

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #16 posted by kaptinemo on November 05, 2003 at 04:45:53 PT:

I stand corrected: FOUR times
The last two times at the bottom of the article:

*"Montel Williams has been very open about his battle with MS in the hope of raising awareness and helping others. He has prescriptions for many different medications for ms, some of which manage his pain, which is constant. One of the medications he has been prescribed to alleviate his chronic pain is medical marijuana.

While leaving the Detroit airport last evening, Mr. Williams was stopped and issued a citation for paraphernalia related to his prescription, paid a $100 fine, and boarded his flight home. The fight for compassionate care and medical marijuana is one that Mr. Williams is very passionate about and one that he continues to advocate."*

So, I ask again: WHERE did he get the prescription? And WHY is it being honored in the US, when any such defense you or I would make in that regard would be laughed out of the courthouse as the chains get slapped on you and you're hauled away?



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #15 posted by kaptinemo on November 05, 2003 at 04:40:42 PT:

Folks, take another look: PRESCRIBED, he says
That's right. Read it again. The word was used TWICE.

*Talk show host Montel Wiliams was reportedly fined Monday night for carrying drug paraphernalia into Metro Airport. Williams has apparently been prescribed medical marijuana to control his pain from multiple sclerosis.*

and

*"If he is achieving symptomatic relief with this, then his physician may very well see fit to prescribe it," said Schuster.*

See? P-R-E-S-C-R-I-B-E-D.

Doctors in California are only allowed to 'recommend' cannabis, NOT 'prescribe' it. So where did the prescription come from? The implication from E_J's comment is that he received a prescription for cannabis from Europe (most likely Holland).

Are foreign prescriptions for cannabis from Europe now being accepted in the United States? Or is this a case of media royalty getting a free pass while you or I would see time in the GrayBar Hotel?

[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #13 posted by Kegan on November 05, 2003 at 03:59:29 PT
News From Canada
Forbes hails B.C.'s marijuana economy But U.S. magazine's cover story got it all wrong, officials say Chris Nuttall-Smith The Ottawa Citizen

November 5, 2003

http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=f797feb8-ef3c-4f14-8c63-ef37e4cdf4ba

Forbes, the U.S. business magazine, has chosen to celebrate Canada's economy on its latest cover, but it's a segment of the economy that chamber of commerce officials and Canadian law aren't as happy to extol. The marijuana industry "has emerged as Canada's most valuable agricultural product -- bigger than wheat, cattle or timber," Forbes' Silicon Valley bureau chief writes in a cover feature called Inside Dope: Canada's dirty, well-lit marijuana trade is rich, expanding ... and unstoppable. "With prices reaching $2,700 a pound wholesale, the trade takes in somewhere between $4 billion (in U.S. dollars) nationwide and $7 billion just in the province of British Columbia, depending on which side of the law you believe." John Winter, president of B.C.'s chamber of commerce, said yesterday he hadn't seen the Forbes article, but he wondered how the publicity might affect B.C.'s investment climate. "If you're a potential investor in British Columbia, you're going to look at many factors and, presumably, that is now one of the factors you might look at. Whether it's considered to be negative or whether it's indicative of entrepreneurship -- I'm not sure -- whether it's considered negative or positive." B.C.'s economy is worth $140 billion Cdn annually; farm produce and livestock sales total just $2.2 billion. According to Statistics Canada, forestry and logging were worth a national total of $5.7 billion in 2002, while crops totalled $8.66 billion and livestock brought in $3.98 billion. The Forbes story didn't impress RCMP drug specialists. "I was flabbergasted when I heard about it," said Sgt. Paul Laviolette, a project co-ordinator with the Criminal Intelligence Service of Canada. Comparing Canadian laws and attitudes toward marijuana with those of Americans, the article says, "The Canadians are even more cannabis-tolerant. Although they have not legalized the drug, they are loath to stomp out the growers." The facts, however, just don't bear that out. There has been little research on ordinary Canadians' attitudes toward marijuana growers, but what has been done suggests that while Canadians may overlook marijuana possession and consumption, growing is another matter. The federal Liberals' response to growers has not been lackadaisical. The proposed legislation to ease penalties for possession of marijuana actually increases penalties for growers. And police forces' response to marijuana growers has grown tougher. In Ontario last year police made 1,340 grow-operation busts, up from just 129 in 1999. "There's more than twice as many busts in just the past few years," said Sgt. Laviolette. The story's arithmetic is also somewhat suspect. Forbes says wholesale prices for marijuana reach about $3,600 Canadian a pound. Growers in B.C., at least, say they can only get $1,800 Canadian per pound for AAA-grade marijuana. _______________________



[ Post Comment ]

 
Comment #12 posted by jose melendez on November 05, 2003 at 03:01:49 PT
my story, already sent to Montel
I've neen a cannabis activist since before I injured my back and neck. Now I use marijuana for pain, still forced to break the law to obtain the herb.

Pills don't work for me. When I use legal drugs, they make my skin itch and my back hurts worse around the area of my liver.

Alcohol ALWAYS makes me sick. How can I mount a constitutional challenge to the fraud known as War on Drugs, which as we all know is disproportionately waged on pot users with my skin color or darker.

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Comment #11 posted by E_Johnson on November 04, 2003 at 22:19:05 PT
After all these years... the truth!
It's ironic that Friday's Montel show is about telling the truth:

http://www.montelshow.com/

Here's the TELL US YOUR STORY form:

http://www.montelshow.com/show/tell.htm

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Comment #10 posted by Rev Jonathan Adler on November 04, 2003 at 22:06:38 PT:

A Compassionate Guy Who Helps Others!
Aloha to Montell Williams. We are praying for his relief and healing and thank him for allowing cannabis to be his "sacramedicine"(TM) of choice. We applaud the work he has done for his community and the world thru his show about many topics. I suggest he invite me to do a show about the religious protections available to spiritual cannabis users in our church and the genetics that work best on his MS symptoms. We have the best medicine and can share our knowledge and service to the rest of the world under our healing ministry. Montell; Please look at our site www.medijuana.com and soon www.sacramedicine.com also devoted to the legal usage of cannabis for healing. Blessings on you. Rev. Jonathan Adler / Peace. 808-982-7640

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Comment #9 posted by FoM on November 04, 2003 at 21:33:02 PT
News Brief: Associated Press
Montel Williams Fined After Being Found With Drug Paraphernalia

The Associated Press

November 04, 2003

ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) -- Television talk show host Montel Williams was fined $100 after authorities at Detroit Metropolitan Airport found him with marijuana paraphernalia.

Williams, who has multiple sclerosis, has been prescribed medicinal marijuana to treat the disease, The Detroit News reported. He paid the fine following the Monday night incident, boarded a flight and left Michigan.

"He has prescriptions for many different medications for MS," a statement on his behalf read. "One of the medications he has been prescribed to alleviate his chronic pain is medical marijuana."

Messages were left by The Associated Press seeking comment from producers of Williams' talk show.

Airport police referred calls to airport spokesman Mike Conway, who declined to comment on the matter.



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Comment #8 posted by FoM on November 04, 2003 at 19:52:29 PT
The GCW
I just posted this link for you on the National Geographic article. I'm sorry I'm jumping around but this is very interesting news for those who believe in medical marijuana. I have seen Montel Williams a couple of times but it was a few years ago and I liked his style back then.

http://www.montelshow.com/about/index.htm

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Comment #7 posted by The GCW on November 04, 2003 at 19:47:38 PT
FoM
FoM, says: Maybe Montel Williams could be the celebrity that MPP is looking for!

That is what I thought when I read this (after reading Your comment and ?, this morning), FoM. I don’t have TV, and haven’t got a clue who He is, but He must be the guy.

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Comment #6 posted by Virgil on November 04, 2003 at 19:34:55 PT
MMJ climate change in UK
From Dibbz at he HempCity messageboard to show the change to the hard line for MMJ- http://www.hempcity.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=270&highlight=

, 53, of Tony's holistic Centre, the renowned cannabis dispensary in Caledonian Road remains free today after receiving a suspended sentence in respect of charges pertaining to the importation of some 25kg of cannabis through Luton airport on two dates early this year.

On February 9th, Mr Taylor was stopped while going through the green Customs channel at Luton airport and found to have packages of cannabis in his luggage, to a total weight of 20.5kg (which the prosecution estimated to have a 'street value' of £38,000). He was arrested, charged and his travel documents confiscated.

A month later, on March 9, an employee of Tony's, Mary Po Lee, was intercepted by Customs Officers at Luton airport with 5.03kg of cannabis (which the prosecution said was worth £15,000). Upon arrest, Mary immediately produced a letter from Tony, stating that Mary was working for him and the cannabis she was carrying was his, intended for distribution to his patients (who now number over 700; some say as many as 800).

At the trial on October 13th, Tony's defence team tried to argue that his actions were due to 'circumstantial duress', i.e.: that the cannabis available locally, in Kings Cross, is of inferior and/or unverifiable quality and may contain harmful impurities. Whereas this stuff from Switzerland is organically grown. This might have worked before a jury, but jurisdiction was denied and the judge ruled that a defence of necessity was inadmissable in this case. So Tony and Mary changed their pleas to guilty.

If Tony was disappointed by the turn out for his sentencing on November 3rd, there were still enough people to pack the public seats and more had to be brought in, which Tony's barrister assured us will have impressed hizzoner. The brief reminded the judge that his defence counsel had been advised by eminent QCs that Tony did have a defence and that he had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, when his honour ruled that he didn't.

The judge said a custodial sentence was inevitable, but it might be suspended in consideration of the evidence that (1) Tony is not a drug dealer in the conventional mould, i.e.: he's not in it for the money; (2) this his clinic exists and he's demonstrably helping some people - "he's provides a wholly unique service, your honour", interjected Tony's brief; (3) and he's got no relevant previous convictions. Nevertheless, Tony had gone into the enterprise with his eyes open, so he's hardly innocent.

The Queen wanted £13,000 costs and Tony said he could pay £100 per week from the income from the health food shop downstairs. The judge awarded £7,500 at the rate Mr Taylor offered, then sentenced him to eighteen months for the first charge and six for the second, the two to run concurrently, both suspended for two years. He sentenced Mary to 100 hours community punishment.

'Community punishment', eh? Presumably the old fashioned 'community service' didn't sound sufficiently vengeful. 'Service' lacks that rancorous ring. As the judge tacitly acknowledged by recognising the legitimacy of Tony's 'clinic', Mr Taylor is already performing an invaluable service for the community and he's free to continue, so long as he doesn't get caught smuggling weed over the next couple of years. Which begs the question of where he's going to get his cannabis from?

Thanks to Russell Cronin for this report

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Comment #5 posted by FoM on November 04, 2003 at 19:33:12 PT
Smoking Cannabis
The fastest delivery system is smoking Cannabis. People don't smoke Cannabis like they do cigarettes. I wish everyone understood.

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Comment #4 posted by E_Johnson on November 04, 2003 at 19:25:56 PT
But aspirin is acceptable?
"The point of this is that it would be tragic to try to combat a common symptom of MS such as spasticity with marijuana and then have produced severe damage to your lungs by smoking marijuana for long periods of time and then end up with another serious illness as a result of this route of administration."

The two most commonly used over the counter pain relievers in America cause permanent damage to the livers and kidneys of chronic pain sufferers.

But that's not so tragic that we have to yank them off the supermarket shelves.



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Comment #3 posted by FoM on November 04, 2003 at 19:18:57 PT
I Posted This On Another Thread
Maybe Montel Williams could be the celebrity that MPP is looking for!

Celebrity Buzz For Marijuana: http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/buzz.htm

QUESTION:

Everyday I read more and more and the effects of medical marijuana and MS. I know Montel, that you are an advocate for anti-drug campaigns. I am curious where you stand on the medical use of marijuana?

Montel Williams:

I have [never?] been an advocate for the "illegal use" of drugs, especially when marketed to children. I've been a visual and vocal force when dealing with illegal drugs. But I also understand that there has been a fair amount of research done by lots of doctors who have clearly identified for MS, various forms of cancer and AIDS a clear benefit to medicinal marijuana which is not always smoked. I am 100% behind anyone who is ill having the right to select their own form of medical care. Just recently British Colombia has just legalized for prescription use only marijuana for a) primary illness as MS, secondary is Cancer. The government of Canada is growing marijuana themselves to dispense to patients. There are clear benefits, I've talked to countless numbers of MS sufferers who feel that they have in one way, shape or form gained a benefit from using marijuana medicinally. At the end of the day for those of us who suffer that extreme, neuralgia pain your options for pain relief are morphine, perkoset and a number of other extremely addictive medications. I feel very strongly that other options should be made available, including medical marijuana.

Dr. Kenneth P. Johnson:

there has been a long oftentimes confused discussion about the use of marijuana for MS especially for control of spasticity. There is some evidence that it is helpful. For this type of MS symptom however, there are other medications which are effective and do not have the long term side effects of smoked marijuana. Montel is correct that there are studies underway using other than smoked forms of marijuana to combat MS symptoms. The point of this is that it would be tragic to try to combat a common symptom of MS such as spasticity with marijuana and then have produced severe damage to your lungs by smoking marijuana for long periods of time and then end up with another serious illness as a result of this route of administration. At the present time there is a fairly large study underway in England using tablet forms of the active ingredients of marijuana. I in fact have a proposal on my desk at this moment asking us to participate in a similar study in the U.S.

Spotlight Health Medical Director note:

An excellent discussion of the use of marijuana in MS can be found at: http://www.ms-cam.org/

http://www.spotlighthealth.com/common/chat/ChatTransDetail.asp?m=2&cid=35

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Comment #2 posted by E_Johnson on November 04, 2003 at 19:10:14 PT
I've suspected Montel for a while
Montel went on The View two years ago and said there was a promising natural MS treatment that had become available in Europe and he was using it but he couldn't say what it was for legal reasons.



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Comment #1 posted by FoM on November 04, 2003 at 19:09:00 PT
This Is News To Me!
Did anyone else know that Montel Williams was a Medical Marijuana Patient?

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