cannabisnews.com: Arrest Suffering, Not Medical Marijuana Patients





Arrest Suffering, Not Medical Marijuana Patients
Posted by FoM on October 29, 2001 at 14:16:51 PT
By Byron Demmer
Source: Humanist
A country that prides itself on freedom and justice should not arrest the seriously ill for using marijuana as a medicine. Common sense and compassion for the suffering of one's fellows dictate that they shouldn't be arrested for seeking relief from their suffering. But they are being arrested in the United States. The federal government continues to enforce federal marijuana laws against medical marijuana users even in states which have enacted legislation specifically allowing such use. We need to end this injustice by changing the federal law to allow medicinal use of marijuana when recommended by a doctor. 
Marijuana was improperly classified by the Federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970 as a schedule I substance-the most restrictive of five categories. A schedule I substance is defined as having a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use in treatment in the United States. Schedule I substances may not be prescribed by physicians. Opponents of medical marijuana often support their opposition by claiming a lack of scientific evidence proving its medicinal value. But the nonprofit Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project -- http://www.mpp.org -- reports there are more than seventy modern studies published in peer-- reviewed journals or by government agencies verifying that marijuana does have medicinal value. Moreover, in 1988 the Drug Enforcement Administration's own chief administrative law judge, Francis Young, ruled, "Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known.... It would be unreasonable, arbitrary, and capricious for DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance. Marijuana's known therapeutic uses include treatment for relieving chronic pain, relieving nausea, reducing muscle spasms and spasticity, reducing intraocular eye pressure, and increasing appetite. Marijuana can be beneficial to people who suffer from cancer, AIDS, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, and other ailments. Recognizing these legitimate medical uses, voters in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon, and the state of Washington have already passed legislation allowing its medicinal use. This legislation allows patients to grow, possess, and use medical marijuana when approved by a physician. It permits the assistance of a caregiver who is authorized to help the patient grow, acquire, or consume medical marijuana. And it immunizes physicians from liability for discussing or recommending medical use of marijuana. The New Mexico governor's office has produced a fact sheet listing organizations which endorse medical access to marijuana. Among them are the Institute of Medicine, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Bar Association, the American Public Health Association; the AIDS Action Council, the British Medical Association, the California Medical Association, the California Nurses Association, the California Pharmacists Association, Kaiser Permanente, the National Association of Attorneys General, the New York State Nurses Association, and the New England Journal of Medicine. Support for the medical use of marijuana continues to grow. In Maryland, Donald Murphy (Republican-Catonsville), who is attempting to get a medical marijuana bill passed there, has remarked, "As a state, we have a right and a responsibility to act on behalf of the welfare of our citizens. This only strengthens my resolve to continue fighting for a patient's right to use medical marijuana if it is approved by his or her doctor." There is also an important constitutional issue embedded in the current medical marijuana debate: namely, where does the federal government get the authority to impose a national policy on the people in the states in question-- people who have already elected a contrary policy? Roger Pilon, Ph.D., J.D., a senior fellow and director of the Center for Constitutional Studies of the Cato Institute, raised this point on October 1, 1997, in a statement before the Crime Subcommittee of the Committee on the Judiciary of the U.S. House of Representatives. Pilon further observed: The Constitution does not establish a national government of general power; rather, it establishes a government of enumerated powers only... There is no federal police power ... The police power resides in the individual states-the general governments under our system of dual sovereignty. Thus, regulations to secure rights in the areas of health, safety, and medical practice are the doctrinal and historic province of the states, not the federal government. However, as a practical matter, as long as the federal laws prohibiting medical marijuana use remain, patients in the states which have legislatively approved its use will be at risk for arrest and imprisonment from federal law enforcement officials. By enforcing a federal law prohibiting possession or use of medical marijuana, the federal government is thwarting the will of the people. Efforts must therefore be made to bring the federal law back in compliance with states' rights and the demonstrated will of the people and to remove the criminal penalties for medical marijuana use. Canada has already done just that. On July 31, 2001, the Marijuana Medical Access Regulations took effect throughout Canada, making it the first country to federally recognize marijuana as a medicine. The Canadian government's Office of Cannabis Medical Access states: The regulations establish a compassionate framework to allow the use of marijuana by people who are suffering from serious illnesses, where conventional treatments are inappropriate or are not providing adequate relief of the symptoms related to the medical condition or its treatment, and where the use of marijuana is expected to have some medical benefit that outweighs the risk of its use. These regulations identify three categories of people who are eligible to possess marijuana for medical purposes: * those who have a terminal illness and a life expectancy of less than twelve months * those who suffer from severe pain and/or persistent muscle spasms, cancer, AIDS, severe arthritis, or epilepsy * those with some other serious medical condition where conventional treatments have failed to provide relief. To be approved as a participant in this program, an applicant must submit a medical declaration, signed by a physician, that describes the symptom for which marijuana is being prescribed, as well as a specific recommended dosage. Once approved, patients are issued photo identification cards entitling them to grow their own marijuana supply, designate someone else to grow it for them, and obtain it from a Canadian government licensed supplier. A key part of Canada's medical marijuana program is the use of a government-licensed grower. Prairie Plant Systems, Inc., of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan has been selected as the licensed grower for the Canadian government. According to Health Canada, "The grower will be able to provide a reliable source of affordable, quality, standardized marijuana to meet medical and research needs in Canada." In the United States, however, seriously ill people, for whom marijuana is an efficacious and necessary treatment, are faced with a dilemma. Should they obey federal law and suffer unnecessarily, or should they disobey federal law ( but not state law in many cases ) and use marijuana to ease their suffering? Obviously, placing them in such a position of choice is unfair, and U.S. citizens should do everything in their power to convince their federal representatives to correct this situation and approve the medical use of marijuana. U.S. Representatives Barney Frank ( Democrat-Massachusetts ) and Ron Paul ( Republican-Texas ) have introduced a bill into the House of Representatives that would resolve this problem if enacted into law. Bill H.R. 2592-- entitled the States' Rights to Medical Marijuana Act-would move marijuana from schedule I to schedule II of the Controlled Substance Act, thus enabling physicians to legally prescribe marijuana to seriously ill patients where allowed by state law. As longtime supporters of every human being's right to choose and to live with dignity, humanists can support this effort by encouraging their congressional representatives to pass H.R. 2592. Note: Demmer is a freelance writer from Middleport, New York. He holds a B.A. in economics from the University of New Mexico. News article courtesy of Mapinc. http://mapinc.org/drugnews/v01/n1830/a01.htmlNewshawk: p4meSource: Humanist, The (US)Author: Byron DemmerPublished: Oct 27, 2001 Issue: Nov/Dec 2001, Vol 61, Issue 6 Page: 35Copyright: 2001 The American Humanist AssociationContact: AHA erols.comWebsite: http://humanist.net/publications/humanist-contents.htmlMedical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #5 posted by Normllaw on October 31, 2001 at 06:34:34 PT:
just to clear the air
A huge part of NORML's original and continuing mission is to be a voice for marijuana consumers themselves. NORML is not beholden to any corporate cash -- Playboy supported NORML in its formative days, and occasionally prints an ad against prohibition, but in the last 2 decades Playboy's contribution to this member-supported, nonprofit organization was less than $5,000. As for Phillip Morris, if one had read more closely, one would see that Phillip Morris, like hundreds of other large corporations, has a matching program for employees. That means that, if any employee elects to contribute to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Phillip Morris will match the contribution without censorship or comment. NORML neither solicits nor receives financial support from such corporations, it just happens and we're glad of it. Same goes for the federal government's CFC campaign, and others...
It's so easy to criticize, harder to mobilize. We have to make marijuana law changes an election issue, out in the trenches, not just in words on the internet. Call your "congresscritters", make an appointment, show your face, engage each in a debate, uncover their drug law reform position during the campaigns and publicize it. 
I strongly urge folks who want to find out what NORML is currently about to check out the website (www.norml.org), give a call, or come to the annual NORML conference which, in 2002, will be 4/18-4/20.
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Comment #4 posted by freedom fighter on October 30, 2001 at 17:16:40 PT
Well, it is all about politics..
and money...Check who are supporting NORML, you will find Playboy Foundation which have been giving out money to NORML for years and Phillps Morris.. among few others.If Keith knew back in 70's-80's how hard it is to get an ad in Reader's Digest informing the readers about the virtue of the herb, it is a small wonder how many folks with narrow-minded thinking of what cannabis is all about today.NORML did alot for the smokers. They did stopped paraquat spraying which probably have killed some americans. But that is not the point..The point is the election issue..In my book, our last election with the highest office is an slap to any true blooded american's face. We got a false PREZ sittin down in white house right now. This false prez was not elected but selected.Not a peep from the sinators and congresscritters. This is serious breach of Consitution.ff
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Comment #3 posted by p4me on October 30, 2001 at 14:59:49 PT:
NORML
I do not expect NORML to be able to change things by themselves and cannot blame the destuction or possible destruction of the medical marijuana laws if nine states to fall on their shoulders. I do know that I have never seen an official of NORML carrying the appeal and the need for change on Oprah. If you cannot get someone like Oprah just how much clout does NORML carry? Maybe I should not be so restrictive as to mean only Oprah because her corporate world has its own self interest and may not want to talk about medical marijuana or anything MJ related. It does seem to me that a person that is concerned with making the world a better place would want to bring the case of medical marijuana to the attention of the American public. Of course there is that bad journalism thing that applies to television also.The efforts of nine states to bring medical marijuana to their citizens is in jeopardy because of this classification. If NORML thinks that the situation had already been settled in court, then I think it should have done more to bring the need of new legislation to the attention of the American public. Maybe this is hard to do since the powerful control the media and the messages. It is a very hard nut to crack-this Schedule 1 classification. I am not a lawyer and really only go by things like this article and simple things like what it says at Marijuana.com.On the left hand side of the homepage at MJ.com it has a section called "Med. Marijuana" about half way down with a listing for "U. S. Drug Schedule." It says the two guidelines are:A: Drug has no current acceptable use
B: Drug has a high potential for abuseWhy does someone from NORML not elaborate on the situation. Why didn't someone from NORML at least have someone contribute to this site all along. The Schedule 1 issue is raised at MJ.com also and NORML had a chance to contribute there also. MJ.com is not like CBS and ABC. They are part of the reform community and I do not see NORML taking advantage of an audience wanting direction. I mean go to the NORML homepage and what does it say about the urgency to contact your legislatures about the bills before Congress. Yes, they send out email if you subscribe and I received it and sent it on to my Congressmen. So I will not say that they do nothing. Of course I am not a member and have no right to expect anything from NORML. I cannot help but be disappointed in the visibility of NORML in the media and especially at the MJ friendly websites. I still hold to the belief that NORML has failed us. In a thirty year war to reform marijuana laws it has not only failed to change the Schedule 1 classification that is at the heart of the problem, it has not even raised the awareness in the Reform community of the absolute need to change this classification. That is the key battle especially concerning medical marijuana and how many in the Reform Movement would even know this. It sure is not prominent on the NORML homepage and that is a failure in itself. Of course that is just a humble opinion from a person that is not a member and never will be.I will be my own one man army and do what I can and let everyone else do theirs. Vote against all incumbents down to dog catcher. Out with the old and in with the new.
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Comment #2 posted by Normllaw on October 30, 2001 at 11:44:46 PT:
pending legislation
Lying in relative obscurity is Barney Frank's "States' Rights to Medical Marijuana Act", now known as HR 2592, reintroduced on July 23, 2001. The bill is languishing in a subcommittee of the Commerce Committee, and we need to urge our members of congress to support the bill, get it out of committee, engage the members in debate, and have a vote. This is an important bill which has received very little publicity.
I would also like to remind "p4me" and others that NORML petitioned the DEA back in the early 1980s to have marijuana rescheduled. After about 14 frustrating years, oft-quoted Administrative Law Judge Francis Young issued an opinion which recommended that marijuana be rescheduled. The DEA flatly rejected that recommendation, and the DC federal court upheld that decision. NORML has not let anyone down -- state and federal legislators have ceased listening to public opinion in favor of medical marijuana, and against incarceration for marijuana possession. We must make this an election issue or it will not change.
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Comment #1 posted by p4me on October 30, 2001 at 07:44:18 PT:
Bill in Congress
I was glad to see FoM put this up for everybody to read. I am suprised that there are no comments at this time. It is important to note that the classification of marijuana as a Schedule 1 Narcotic is at the heart of the DEA's authority to raid marijuana medical clinics in California and anywhere else they want to add to sick people's pain and suffering. I think it was NORML trying to get people to write their Congressman about H.R.1344. This is a bill in Congress that would reclassify MJ to a Schedule 2 Narcotic and put an end to the raids on medical patients in California as we have recently seen. There is a website, http://thomas.loc.gov/ , that informs the public of bills before Congress and their text. You can go to this website and enter HR 1344 to read the text of the bill or you can do a topic search by entering "marijuana" and pull up 32 bills before Congress on marijuana legislation.Yesterday I said that the political and legal system along with NORML had failed us by not getting marijuana reclassified from a Schedule 1 Narcotic. I left out the media. Richard Cowan who once was president of NORML in the 80's and now does work for pot-tv made the statement again yesterday that the main reason for the continuation of MJ prohibition in two words is "bad journalism." He blasted the LA Times that had an article about Rodney King returning to rehab along with the ususual trivialities they want you to think is news, while not even mentioning the raid by 30 or more armed DEA agents on the L A Cannabis Resource Center in West Hollywood. His remarks reflected that the LA Times had demonstrated that they have abandoned anything that real journalism is about and neglected their responsibility to serve the community and to cover the news.If I may continue briefly on the subject of the Dutch Experience that was started yesterday, I post this link:
http://212.129.240.114/upload/showthread.php?s=&threadid=428This is a thread at the DE forum titled "Picture Report of the Dutch Experience." There are 23 replies with many pictures and it may take a little time to download. It is worth it if you need cheer about the tyrannical treatment of marijuana imposed by our government on us and the other countries of the world with its NarcoImperialism. Maybe it is relevant to insert that the US was kicked off the UN Human Rights Commission and the UN Drug Commission.If you go to the DE link above it will put to rest with pictures the misrepresentation the BBC made about their not being MJ consumed on the premises in a recent article. It will show a picture of a man in a wheelchair that Colin transported from Holland(?) to smoke the joint with him that was to have taken place on opening day and did not occur because of Colin's arrest. It talks about how the community has accepted the place and its poularity with the citizens. It talks of the plans to expand the DE because of all the customers. You will find that they do not serve alcohol. You will find out that Colin had carryied the fight to the UK to relieve the suffering of people that could be helped by medical marijuana while suffering from a spinal injury himself and that even MJ was not strong enough at times for his injuries and that he had to have morphine lately for his pain. It shows pictures of two worker in Dutch Coffeehouses that came help clean the DE on their own time to further the cause of medical marijuana and marijuana reform. It talks of coffeehouses yet to come and the positive outlook for their spread across the UK. It is just one link and if you go there it may give you a new perspective and hope that we can change things here.Vote against all incumbents down to dog catcher. Out with the old and in with the new.
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