cannabisnews.com: Is Compassionate Cannabis Use on Horizon in Ohio?





Is Compassionate Cannabis Use on Horizon in Ohio?
Posted by CN Staff on December 02, 2002 at 07:31:51 PT
By Christina Xenos, Athens News Contributor 
Source: Athens News
A month ago California took one step for cannabis, and in the view of Proposition 215 supporters, a step for mankind. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the federal government may not revoke the licenses of doctors who recommend marijuana to their patients, reported the New York Times. The court said that dispensing information is not synonymous with dispensing drugs, and by ruling that dispensing information was illegal, the government would be violating the First Amendment.
The 1996 California law, Proposition 215, allows patients to grow and possess marijuana if they have a doctor's written or oral recommendation.Ohio is not among the group of states -- Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington -- that have similar laws that permit the medical use and cultivation of marijuana.But a recent bill drafted by the Ohio Patients Network, a non-profit coalition of patients, caregivers, activists and medical professionals who support the compassionate use of cannabis for various medicinal purposes, could pave the way for Ohioans to have the same rights that Californians received at the end of October. Through analysis of 66 different public opinion studies since the passage of Proposition 215, the OPN says it has found that an estimated 9 million people in the United States use cannabis medicinally. Their bill, "The Ohio Medical Marijuana Act 2002," would provide for and permit the use of marijuana for medical purposes within Ohio and encourage the federal government to reclassify marijuana so it can be a prescribed controlled substance.The OPN defines "medical use" as the acquisition, possession, cultivation, use, transfer, or transportation of marijuana or paraphernalia relating to the administration of it to alleviate the symptoms or effects of a patient's debilitating medical condition.Their plan is to have registry identification cards issued by the state Department of Health that would exempt the cards' holders from criminal and civil penalties for the medical use of, or recommendation of, medical marijuana.Their act also states that insurance companies, HMOs and state-funded Medicare/Medicaid programs shall not be required to cover the medical use of, or acquisition of marijuana for medical purposes.Many supporters of medical marijuana argue that it does not cause health problems like cancer.But a Dec. 17, 2000 report in a journal, "Cancer Epidemiology Biomarker and Prevention," reported provocative findings. Dr. Zuo-Feng Zhang, a professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of California Los Angeles Jonsson Cancer Research Center, reported that smoking marijuana may increase cancer risks in the neck, mouth, larynx and pharynx."The chance is 2.6 times higher for people who smoke marijuana than those who never used it," Zhang said.Zhang gathered his information during a two-year study that ended in 1994. He monitored 173 people who had head and neck cancer and compared them to 176 cancer-free patients. He eliminated other cancer-causing variables, like cigarettes and alcohol, from the study."The carcinogens in marijuana are much stronger than those in tobacco," he said. Yet those who use marijuana for medical reasons claim that the herb is not as toxic as pharmaceutical drugs prescribed by their doctors, The New York Times reported. Patients undergoing chemotherapy say it helps with nausea. Some who have wasting syndrome, a metabolic change associated with HIV infection, have found that marijuana helps their appetites.The British House of Lords found in a study that medical uses of the drug include controlling pain and nausea, and stimulating the appetite.Complete Title: Is Compassionate Use of Cannabis on The Horizon in Ohio? Source: Athens News, The (OH)Author: Christina Xenos, Athens News Contributor Published: December 02, 2002 Copyright: 2002 Athens NewsContact: news athensnews.comWebsite: http://www.athensnews.com/Ohio Patient Networkhttp://www.ohiopatient.net/CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on December 03, 2002 at 15:34:44 PT
Richard
Does The Ohio Patient Network stay basically with issues about medical cannabis or are they into treatment initiatives too? I personally only want to be involved in cannabis related organizations and avoid treatment issues. I can't put my heart into treatment initiatives because you can't help a person until they want to help themselves to get off hard drugs in my opinion. I call it forced treatment. I'm sure others would call it something like that too.
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Comment #5 posted by Richard Lake on December 03, 2002 at 15:25:30 PT:
Yes, they are.
It is not always easy for them. Ohio Patient Network must build a different kind of image to reach out than many of the groups do that believe they already have state laws on their side.Sometimes some think that reaching out means reaching all the folks who are stoners on our side. But the Network has avoided having any kind of stoner image, because they are in fact supporting patients and those who believe patients should have access to the medicine they need.Perhaps the best hope is finding the funds to run a real medical cannabis initiative in Ohio, a sure win.But that does not happen easily. The Network has good relations with potential sources of funding for such an effort, but Ohio is a large and costly state to do initiatives in, so who knows if that will really happen.It is just not possible to do a real citizen's initiative in Ohio any more. You got to have the funds to pay folks to gather signatures.Oh, well. All they can do is the best they can. The folks at the Network are experienced at this, have backgrounds to do it, and will just keep at it until they win, one way or another.A real action oriented group, for sure.Richard
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on December 03, 2002 at 14:01:58 PT
Richard
I'm sure they are doing a good job. I hope in the future when things at home become more normal we will be able to get involved but for now I read their newsgroup. I hope that's what it is called. I'm not smart in that area.
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Comment #3 posted by Richard Lake on December 03, 2002 at 13:55:10 PT:
Hmmmmm.
The Ohio Patient Network has a sponsor for the bill, and is building support in the legislature.While I suspect that a bill may not pass this year, the effort of this group, the largest medical cannabis state organization in a state with no medical cannabis law, will continue until they succeed.The organization is growing rapidly, reaching out to a wide variety of interested communities, and already has shown (see the website) that the issue has support of a large majority of the voters in Ohio.They are doing what needs to be done to win very well, IMHO.Richard
The Ohio Patient Network
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Comment #2 posted by Sam Adams on December 02, 2002 at 20:02:08 PT
Study?
"Zhang gathered his information during a two-year study that ended in 1994. He monitored 173 people who had head and neck cancer and compared them to 176 cancer-free patients. He eliminated other cancer-causing variables, like cigarettes and alcohol, from the study."Eliminated the other variables? What about obesity? Nutrition? Diet and exercise? Environmental factors?
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Comment #1 posted by mrherbalwarrior on December 02, 2002 at 12:08:45 PT:
not anytime soon, in ohio at least
i have to live with the unfortunate fact that i am an ohioan, it doesn't please me.. but i am so.
Anyways, ohio is a very conservative state, the idea of rehabilitation over jail time was struck down on novemeber 5, with some miniscual amount of votes, while i would love for medical marijuana to be legal in ohio(even though i wouldn't apply, just the prinicpal of the idea rocks) i doubt it will happen anytime soon.
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