cannabisnews.com: Group Wants State To Help Distribute M. Marijuana










  Group Wants State To Help Distribute M. Marijuana

Posted by FoM on November 27, 2001 at 12:20:26 PT
By K.C. Crain, Contributing Writer 
Source: Daily Californian 

Tired of the haze of legal issues surrounding the distribution of medical marijuana, a medical rights advocacy group wants states to be directly involved in the distribution of medical marijuana. Americans for Medical Rights, the organization that sponsored Proposition 215—the medical marijuana initiative—is proposing a ballot measure to set up a state-controlled network of medical marijuana distributors. 
The proposal has drawn wide support from Berkeley marijuana users who are likewise frustrated by legal complications resulting from the federal law that bans the drug. Although eight states have legalized medical marijuana, the cultivation, sale and use of the drug remains illegal under federal law. "We don't have a choice," said Gina Palencar, head of the initiative drive. "Medical marijuana patients are not going to stop using marijuana for medical purposes just because the federal government is trying to criminalize them." Widespread support is growing in Berkeley and on the UC Berkeley campus for the initiative, which will likely be placed on the 2002 ballots in Oregon and Washington, two states that allow marijuana use for medical reasons. The group's ultimate goal is to put the initiative before California voters, but it is using the other states as testing grounds. The Berkeley City Council last spring completed the arduous task of devising an ordinance for the use of medical marijuana to comply with Proposition 215. The ordinance, deemed too conservative by medical marijuana proponents in the amount of marijuana patients can possess, is generous compared to ordinances adopted by other California cities. "Medical marijuana and legal access to medical marijuana is one of the most agreed upon of sensible drug policies—it's a common ground," said Scarlett Swerdlow of Students for Sensible Drug Policy at UC Berkeley. Swerdlow added that it would only be a first step in a more open discussion on drug policy. "Ultimately, the federal government needs to change its policy," she said. "It doesn't make sense to send anyone, sick or healthy, to jail for using marijuana." By having cannabis distribution facilities that are operated and run by the state, a showdown between the states and the federal government is almost certain. The Oakland Cannabis Buyer's Cooperative, a large marijuana distribution group popular with some Berkeley residents, went head-to-head with the Supreme Court earlier this year and lost. The club stopped distributing marijuana in May, after a two-year court battle. Americans for Medical Rights, a Santa Monica-based group, is not pushing the ballot measure in California because it would be too expensive to conduct a campaign here, Palencar said. As proposed, the measure would allow the state to distribute marijuana in one of two ways. One proposal calls for the state to cultivate cannabis on private farms. That cannabis would then be distributed by state-operated distribution facilities. The other proposal would have the state acquire the cannabis from Mississippi, where the federal government grows it for research purposes. There has been a long and involved effort on the part of the California legislature to finalize a legitimate system of distribution. State lawmakers recently passed a bill that would have recognized the distribution centers under California law and established an oversight framework. But Gov. Davis did not sign the bill into law, Palencar said. Note: Federal Law Complicates Issue.Complete Title: Group Wants State To Help Distribute Medical MarijuanaSource: The Daily Californian (CA)Author: K.C. Crain, Contributing WriterPublished: Tuesday, November 27, 2001 Copyright: 2001 The Daily CalifornianContact: opinion dailycal.orgWebsite: http://www.dailycal.org/Related Articles & Web Sites:Science of Medical Marijuanahttp://medmjscience.org/Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmA New Tack on Medical Pot Usehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11421.shtmlBerkeley Marijuana Ordinance Jeered http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9225.shtml

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Comment #18 posted by E_Johnson on November 28, 2001 at 22:57:40 PT
Good old Berkeley, center of the Universe as usual
Widespread support is growing in Berkeley and on the UC Berkeley campus for the initiative, which will likely be placed on the 2002 ballots in Oregon and Washington, two states that allow marijuana use for medical reasons. Has Berkeley withdrawn US troops from Afghanistan yet?I remember when they voted to end the Vietnam War.There's something about states' rights they aren't getting. 
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Comment #17 posted by mayan on November 28, 2001 at 16:40:08 PT
Thanks!
Thanks for the updates FoM & Puff!!!
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on November 28, 2001 at 12:42:29 PT
Turmel Trial Update
Wednesday, November 28, 2001 
Green Thumb Points to Red Tape
By Nathalie Trepanier, Ottawa Sun
 Raymond Turmel continued to question a Health Canada official in court yesterday, hoping to demonstrate the frustration involved in qualifying for a medical marijuana exemption. 
Turmel, who is representing himself, is on trial accused of possession and cultivation of marijuana with the intent to traffic. 
Witnesses have testified the Hull resident provided marijuana to sick individuals to ease their pain and better allow them to digest their medicine. 
Cindy Cripps-Prawak, director of the office of cannabis medical access with Health Canada, was back on the stand yesterday to explain the intricacies of applying for an exemption to possess and cultivate marijuana for medical purposes. 
Since the beginning of 1998 leading to July 2000, when Turmel was arrested, Cripps-Prawak said the department received 279 applications. Of those, 58 were granted, one was refused and 220 were still being processed. But Cripps-Prawak explained most of the applications came at the end of 2000. 
More people applied for the exemption as they became aware of it, she explained. 
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Comment #15 posted by E_Johnson on November 28, 2001 at 00:20:34 PT
Clean water and less alcohol
There was an article on Scientific American a few years back on how drinking plain pure water was considered unhealthy until the 20th century. Before that it was entirely common to mix alcohol like beer or wine into water and that would kill off some of the microbial population in the water.So throughout most of European history, almost everyone was alcohol-dependent and had a light buzz going on a daily basis.
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Comment #14 posted by puff_tuff on November 27, 2001 at 21:51:43 PT
Your Smile of the Day
TICONDEROGA, N.Y. (AP) - A company is trying to erase an embarrassing mistake it made on pencils bearing an anti-drug message. The pencils carry the slogan: "Too Cool to Do Drugs." But a sharp-eyed fourth-grader in northern New York noticed when the pencils are sharpened, the message turns into
"Cool to Do Drugs" then simply "Do Drugs..." 
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Comment #13 posted by puff_tuff on November 27, 2001 at 21:45:28 PT
Re, Ray Turmel Trial
Tuesday, November 27, 2001Legit pot not easy to get: ExpertNathalie Trepanier
Ottawa SunA Health Canada official was in Hull court yesterday to explain the often long and complicated process for obtaining an exemption to possess and cultivate marijuana. Cindy Cripps-Prawak, director of the office of cannabis medical access with Health Canada, was called to testify by Raymond Turmel. He is accused of possession of marijuana and cultivating marijuana with the intention to traffic. Turmel, who is representing himself, led Cripps-Prawak through the exhaustive requirements to obtain the exemption under Section 56. The department must first review the nature and seriousness of the medical condition, said Cripps-Prawak. The benefits of using marijuana must also outweigh the risks. "All the therapies currently available must have been tried and failed or seriously considered and failed to be appropriate," she told the court. All other means of lawful access, such as clinical trials, must also have been considered and failed, she explained. Finally, she said, the patient's treating practitioner must be of the opinion that the marijuana is necessary for treatment. Under further questioning by Turmel, Cripps-Prawak said a patient who becomes too sick to cultivate marijuana can phone Health Canada and designate a specific "care grower." The trial continues today. 
Ottawa Sun
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Comment #12 posted by QcStrt on November 27, 2001 at 21:25:24 PT
>> TEXAS
Texas senate voted to outlaw all things to do with anyting like PRO. 215 in cal.
can not get a stste law in texas like cal. they cannot vote for it.
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on November 27, 2001 at 19:20:29 PT
mayan 
I haven't seen anything but will pay more attention since you brought it up.
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Comment #10 posted by mayan on November 27, 2001 at 19:02:29 PT
Any Word?
Anyone heard anything about the Raymond Turmel trial? 
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Comment #9 posted by mayan on November 27, 2001 at 18:54:54 PT
State by State
I totally agree with Sam Adams. This movement does not need to create more beaurocracy. State by State we will trump the Fed's ludicrous laws against mmj!Don't forget Dec.4th Nationwide rallies to protest the DEA's absurd ban on hemp foods!http://www.drcnet.org/wol/212.html#dayofaction
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on November 27, 2001 at 18:48:21 PT
Pills
The quick solution in modern times. No muss, no fuss just swallow this little pill and life will be better. The drug commercials on tv upset me. They are encouraging people to do drugs and no one seems to notice or complain about it. A pill for all ills. Pills are new in modern times and people used other herbs for medicine and did fine. If people didn't live as long it probably was because life was harder and modern sanitary conditions weren't available and disease spread more easily. 
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Comment #7 posted by E_Johnson on November 27, 2001 at 17:57:08 PT
But then there's modernism to contend with
I agree with FoM that people should be free to grow their own,and ideally for any use. Why not, if you can? Why depend on others when you can do it better?The whole idea underlying the modern philisophy of delivering medicine is to deliver it from a huge factory through a wide distribution network in the form of a sterile uniformized universalized pill or capsule.Grow your own medicine? How could modern medicine allow that?One problem with marijuana is that it threatens certain sets of beliefs and ideas that form the foundation of modern society itself.That fact that modern American society attribues an unclear fuzzy state of mental engagement to marijuana users is indicative of that situation by itself.Hard little pill, hard little mind, hard little heart.That's part of the bundle of wonder we called modernism.
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Comment #6 posted by Gary Storck on November 27, 2001 at 17:16:56 PT
good points
Sam Adams, I agree that going for more states is better strategy right now. This plan could bog things down, and as you say, there are millions of patients who need legal access now, even if the distribution angle is not yet fully settled. Over 20% of the U.S. population now has legal mmj at the state level. The more, the better, and it will reach a critical mass that the feds cannot ignore.And E, you are right about the quality of NIDA weed. The new bipartisan HR 2592 got the support of Rep. Ron Paul after the language from HR 1344 about federal supply was stricken. The government cannot do it better. Cannabis is a complex plant of many strains and NIDA ditchweed is not medicinal quality.I agree with FoM that people should be free to grow their own,and ideally for any use. Why not, if you can? Why depend on others when you can do it better?
Is My Medicine Legal YET?
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on November 27, 2001 at 15:39:02 PT

Just a Thought
The reason the government is worried is because of money they might not get. If a person could pay a license fee upfront to get a medical license to grow then that should make it easier for them to digest. They also need to realize that if people don't have to pay large sums of money to buy marijuana on the black market think of the money that people would have to spend to boost the economy. If we could figure out how to show the government that they wouldn't lose then maybe we could get them to understand.
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Comment #4 posted by SirReal on November 27, 2001 at 14:38:31 PT

States Rights
Bottom line,....it'll be a states rights issue that the feds can not winI can't wait.....if they wiggle out of it after a states rights battle, our constitution is sunk,...Might as well move to Canada where rights are still held close and tell your friends in the military they're fighting for a defunct rag no longer with any reverence
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on November 27, 2001 at 13:02:16 PT

Let people grow their own
Why is that such a difficult concept? It would then become just another medicinal herb like it is. So far you can still grow your own medicinal herbs all but Cannabis. How can a plant be illegal at all? I'm always baffled.
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Comment #2 posted by Sam Adams on November 27, 2001 at 12:45:25 PT

Hmmmm.....
IMO, AMR is going in the wrong direction here. For the same money, they could run medical referendums in New York and New Jersey, or Massachusetts, or Texas, that would legalize medical marijuana for millions more people. How long can the federal government hold out - till 10 states legalize medical? 20? 30?Instead, they're going down a path that will lead to 1 of 2 possibilities. If the referendums succeed, medical patients may be forced to smoke government schwag, with no other legal source of the herb. If the referendum-induced state vs. fed showdown ends up in the Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas & co. could go further this time and wipe out the state laws entirely. Why would they want to go back to court, when they just got asses kicked royally there?What's the best strategy in Monopoly? Buy as many properties as you can, as fast as you can, then build 'em up with hotels later. Don't waste resources dallying with the distribution issue while thousands of patients in 41 states cower in fear of arrest.
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Comment #1 posted by E_Johnson on November 27, 2001 at 12:40:55 PT

A potential disaster!
The federal government is completely incompetent at growing medical-grade marijuana. That's why that medical research patient had to quit the clinical trial a few months back -- the noxious dirt weed produced in the federal governent's marijuana garden was too harsh to be tolerated by the patient for the length of the study.What makes us think that a state government would be able to do any better?Our government has huge numbers of skilled marijuana growers locked up in prison right now. But I doubt their skills will be taken advantage of. Instead the poor patients could very well end up being subjected to marijuana grown by some politically-determined committee made up of clueless bureaucrats, paranoid drug warriors, and scientists who are too scared of controversy to be useful.And if that happens, the marijuana produced will come out just like the godawful crap they grow at NIDA, too horrible and impotent to be tolerated by any sick person for very long.
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