cannabisnews.com: Californians Get Pot in Medical Marijuana Protest





Californians Get Pot in Medical Marijuana Protest
Posted by CN Staff on September 17, 2002 at 20:47:59 PT
By Andrea Orr, Reuters
Source: Reuters
Hundreds of cancer and AIDS patients along with other sick wheelchair-bound people lined up outside Santa Cruz's City Hall on Tuesday to receive medical marijuana and protest a recent U.S. government raid on local pot growing cooperative that distributes it.Several patients, including a 70-year-old man suffering from post-polio syndrome received small bags of marijuana or tinctures containing its active ingredient.
The group distributing it said there was not enough to go around and warned that many patients could lose their most effective means of pain relief, or be forced to buy it on the street, if the federal government continued to fight California's practice of allowing pot to be grown and handed out for medicinal use.Local cooperatives have been providing pot to patients since 1996, when voters approved a medical marijuana initiative. But federal drug enforcement agents last week raided one such cooperative here, run by the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana, and destroyed all the group's plants.The California law allowing the use of marijuana to treat illnesses such as AIDS, cancer and glaucoma, has always been in conflict with federal law, and last year the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld the federal ban on marijuana.Among those protesting the raid were Harry Boyle, a 24- year-old brain cancer patient who said pot had helped offset nausea brought on by chemotherapy, and helped him maintain his weight."I was devastated when all our plants were torn up," said Boyle, who also volunteers at the Wo/Men's Alliance and said the group had always followed a strict procedure of checking with doctors to make sure patients' health claims were legitimate, before they distributed the pot.Several city council members and local doctors also came to the demonstration to voice their support of the medical marijuana program, and local residents waved signs like "DEA: Take My Cancer, Not My Medication" to protest last week's raid by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency.All those who spoke at the event stressed they were not supporting recreational drug use, and said marijuana was less mind-altering than many legal prescription drugs used to treat pain and nausea.Among the supporters of the medical marijuana program are Tal Pomeroy, director of the Cancer Prevention and Treatment Center of the Central Coast of California. "It's outrageous we waste resources on harassing people who are dying," said Pomeroy, who treats some 2,000 cancer patients and said many of them smoke pot.But some critics said the program was blurring the line between medical and recreational drug use and that the protest looked a lot like many other pro-drug rallies in Santa Cruz, a city famous for its liberal politics where pot plants can sometimes be seen growing in residents' yards."Marijuana hurts a lot more people than it helps," said Phil Baer, one of the few people who showed up to protest the distribution of medical marijuana. "I would like to think there are more people out there who agree, but I'm like a lone wolf today."Source: ReutersAuthor: Andrea Orr, ReutersPublished: September 17, 2002Copyright: 2002 Reuters UnlimitedRelated Articles & Web Sites:WAMMhttp://www.wamm.org/Americans For Safe Accesshttp://www.safeaccessnow.org/News Articles on WAMM Raidhttp://freedomtoexhale.com/valc.htmPictures From WAMM Protesthttp://freedomtoexhale.com/eventpics.htmCity Leaders Help Marijuana Giveaway at City Hallhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14148.shtmlMarijuana Activists Give It Away at City Hallhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14144.shtml
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Comment #1 posted by Aaron Bollinger on September 20, 2002 at 08:20:37 PT:
with you 100%
Marijuana is very much less mind altering than many medical prscriptions! I am a student at Texas Tech University, with a major in Pre-Pharmacy education. I also know that many people taking perscription drugs become more dependent on them than many marijuana users. All perscription drugs come with side-effct because every body is chemically different. Marijuana, however has the same studyable side-effects because it is a natural herb. Medical scientists should work more with things COMPLETELY from nature. Not that what they do isn't apreciated; but why ban nature,and not science? This is what I don't understand. It isn't like Marijuana is like Crack or Heroin! It shouldn't even be classed in such harsh drug categories like these. If it is helping, study it! We study everything else. I am sure that the American public can come up with someting.
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