cannabisnews.com: Advocates For The Ill Ask Lawmakers to Legalize MJ





Advocates For The Ill Ask Lawmakers to Legalize MJ
Posted by CN Staff on January 22, 2003 at 16:55:11 PT
By The Associated Press
Source: Associated Press
Albany, N.Y. -- Doctors, nurses and patients urged a state Assembly hearing Wednesday to make medical use of marijuana legal for the terminally ill as an option for relieving severe nausea, spasms and pain. ''Sick patients lack interest in abusing marijuana,'' Ann Purchase of the state Nurses Association told six lawmakers during a public hearing. ''Patients want to take just enough medicine to provide relief from symptoms and side effects to lead a quality daily life.'' 
It was the second of two hearings on the issue organized by Manhattan Democrat Richard Gottfried, chairman of the Assembly Health Committee and sponsor of a bill that would make medical marijuana legal in New York state. All but one of the 13 people testifying Wednesday supported the bill. Proponents claim marijuana relieves pain, reduces nausea and revives the decreased appetite of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and suffering from other diseases such as AIDS. ''I don't believe I should have to be a criminal for doing the best I can for my health,'' said Oneonta resident Bruce Dunn, 55, who suffers from muscle spasms in his neck due to a 1988 car accident. The Army veteran, who acknowledged he began smoking marijuana in 1969 in Vietnam, said he smokes small amounts throughout the day to stop the spasms. The hearings ''made it crystal clear this legislation is necessary ... for thousands of New Yorkers whose lives can be made better and longer by using medical marijuana,'' Gottfried said. Whether patients should take marijuana to relieve suffering is a medical decision, not a law enforcement issue, he said. He noted that other drugs illegal for recreational use are regulated for medical purposes. ''It's true for morphine. It's true for steroids. It should be true for marijuana,'' he said. The bill, which he first introduced in 1997, has no sponsor in the state Senate. But Gottfried hopes increased public interest in the legislation, due to the hearings and last year's gubernatorial race in which legalized marijuana became an issue, prompts the Senate to take it up. A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno did not immediately return a request for comment. Assemblyman Daniel Burling, a western New York Republican sitting on the hearing panel, questioned the need for legalizing smoking marijuana, when other forms of taking the drug exist. ''I don't disagree there are some benefits to marijuana,'' said Burling, a pharmacist. ''But why do we have to light something up?'' Purchase said Marinol, a synthetic version of THC found naturally in marijuana, doesn't work for all patients. She said patients can better control the dosage through smoking it, and the pill form takes longer to take effect. But even if the state legalizes medical marijuana, the federal government still considers it illegal, Burling noted. Gottfried said he believes the federal government would be forced to change its policy if more and more states adopt similar legislation. Eight states now allow patients to use marijuana medically. New York made it legal in 1980, the first state nationwide to do so. But the state discontinued its program in the late 1980s, following federal approval of Marinol in June 1985. The program required patients to sign up and gain approval as if in a clinical trial, Purchase said. ''Patients don't want to go through an application period and wait and wait. They want immediate relief,'' she said. Independence Party candidate for governor B. Thomas Golisano said last October he wanted to legalize marijuana for medicinal use, angering Marijuana Reform Party candidate Thomas Leighton. He accused the billionaire candidate of stealing his issue three weeks before the election. Gov. George Pataki, a Republican who won a third term, said he does not support medical marijuana because patients have other, legal, options to manage pain and counter treatment side effects. Complete Title: Advocates For The Ill Ask Lawmakers to Legalize Medical Marijuana Source: Associated Press Published: Wednesday, January 22, 2003 Copyright: 2003 Associated Press Related Articles & Web Site:Marijuana Reform Party of NYhttp://www.marijuanareform.org/Golisano Proposes Medicinal Use of Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread14472.shtmlSeriously Ill Join Marijuana Buyers' Clubs http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9420.shtml State Passed the Law, but Never Used It http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9419.shtml
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Comment #5 posted by p4me on January 23, 2003 at 07:49:16 PT
Eat Mary Jane
"I don't disagree there are some benefits to marijuana," said Burling, a pharmacist. "But why do we have to light something up?"There is a stigma about smoking anything. I often wondered what it would look like in court if cannabis were in soup with the buds removed. How would they weigh that- 64 ounces of cannabis soup.Maybe it would get us some attention if bumperstickers started appearing saying- Eat Mary Jane 
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Comment #4 posted by The GCW on January 22, 2003 at 20:23:35 PT
Cannabis help with cancer related issues.
& here is some new cancer risks... that further require cannabis use.Elsewhere in the News http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n104/a01.html?397The European Consumers' Organization --a multinational equivalent of our Consumers Union-- has scolded government regulators for their 'very slow' response to a warning that regular use of permanent hair dye by women doubles the risk of bladder cancer. The study that triggered the warning was conducted by University of Southern California researchers and published in the International Journal of Cancer early in 2001. The USC team tracked 1,514 women and found a more-than-double incidence of bladder cancer in those who used permament dye at least once a month for a year or more. A heightened incidence of bladder cancer also was observed in barbers and hairdressers exposed to hair dyes at the workplace. No increased risk was found among women who used temporary or semi-permanent dyes. Predictably, the companies that make the toxic substances have been downplaying the bad news and citing studies of their own to sow confusion. The Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association responds to inquiries with data from Harvard and American Cancer Society studies showing 'no elevated health risks for women using hair dyes.' Only her pathologist knows for sureS And while we're in the neighborhood, how come nobody ever mentions that Martha Stewart first made it as a Breck girl?S PLUS>>VERY IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ AND PASS ON.
>
>As a seventh grade student, Claire Nelson learned that di(ethylhexyl)adepate>(DEHA), considered a carcinogen, is found in plastic wrap. She also learned>that the FDA had never studied the effect of microwave cooking on 
>plastic-wrapped food. Claire began to wonder "Can cancer-causing particles>seep into food covered with household plastic wrap while it is being micro>waved?"
>
>Three years later, with encouragement from her high school science teacher,>Claire set out to test what the FDA had not. Although she had an idea for >studying the effect of microwave radiation on plastic-wrapped food, she did>not have the equipment.
>
>Eventually, Jon Wilkes at the National Center for Toxicological Research in>Jefferson, Arkansas, agreed to help her. The research center, which is 
>affiliated with the FDA, let her use its facilities to perform her 
>experiments, which involved microwaving plastic wrap in virgin olive oil.
>
>Claire tested four different plastic wraps and "found not just the 
>carcinogens but also xenoestrogen was migrating into the oil...."
>Xenoestrogens are linked to low sperm counts in men and to breast cancer in>women.
>
>Throughout her junior and senior years, Claire made a couple of trips each>week to the research center, which was 25 miles from her home, to work on her>experiment. An article in Options reported that "her analysis found that >DEHA was migrating into the oil at between 200 parts and 500 parts per 
>million. The FDA standard is 0.05 parts per billion."
>
>Her summarized results have been published in science journals. Claire Nelson>received the American Chemical Society's top science prize for students 
>during her junior year and fourth place
> at the International Science and Engineering Fair (Fort Worth, Texas) as a>senior.
>"Carcinogens: At 10,000,000 Times FDA Limits" Options May 2000.
>Published by People Against Cancer, 515-972-4444.
>
>On Channel 2 (Huntsville, AL) this morning they had a Dr. Edward Ujimoto from>Castle Hospital on the program. He is the manager of the Wellness Program
at 
>the hospital. He was talking about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He>said that we should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic>containers. This applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the 
>combination of fat, high heat and plastics releases dioxins into the food and>ultimately into the cells of the body. Dioxins are carcinogens and highly>toxic to the cells of our bodies.
>
>Instead, he recommends using glass, Corning Ware, or ceramic containers for>heating food. You get the same results without the dioxins. So such things>as TV dinners, instant ramin and soups, etc., should be removed from the 
>container and heated in something else. Paper isn't bad but you don't know>what is in the paper. Just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc.>
>He said we might remember when some of the fast food restaurants moved away>from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons.> To add to this: Saran wrap placed over foods as they are nuked, with the >high heat, actually drips poisonous toxins into the food. Use a paper towel>instead.
>
>Pass this on to your friends....
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Comment #3 posted by mayan on January 22, 2003 at 18:34:31 PT
Sick Joke
"All but one of the 13 people testifying Wednesday supported the bill."The stance of the Federal government is now widely recognized as a very sick joke. It is time to show these free-loaders the door. Does anyone else get the feeling that all hell is about to break loose?Impeachment Resolution Against President George W. Bush:
http://www.rise4news.net/Impeachment_Resolution.html9/11 Truth Alliance: http://unansweredquestions.org/alliance/index.html9/11 Exposed: http://www.911exposed.com/The 9/11 Investigative Community:
http://www.falloutshelternews.com/911Community.htmThe 9/11 Truth Movement - Selected Resources for Researchers and Activists: http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/LEV212A.htmlThe People's Investigation of 9/11: http://www.911pi.com/More 9/11 Links: http://www.keystonereport.com/911.htm
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Comment #2 posted by freedom fighter on January 22, 2003 at 17:51:30 PT
Some benefits?
''I don't disagree there are some benefits to marijuana,'' said Burling, a pharmacist. ''But why do we have to light something up?'' Oh really, I don't have to defend myself for lighting something up as long it is not an explosive device. So, Mr. Burling does'nt disagree there are some benefits to marijuana, would Mr. Burling care to explain why people have to go to "JAIL" for lighting up a certain substance?It is quite amazing to see people feeling so-ever civilized debating about a certain substance for the people who are sick. Let me be blunt about this. This debate is not civilized! Just so SICK! If Mr. Burling got sick, would he cared what I think what should goes in his throat? Of course not!ff
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Comment #1 posted by delariand on January 22, 2003 at 17:14:50 PT
Marinol..
Of course this is supported, it's produced by good old American industry, at a cost of roughly too much. It's a weed, for god's sake! You don't even have to put any work into it, chuck some seeds at some dirt, add water, then when the plant is grown chop it all up and make some brownies! You don't have to light up anything, and you don't have to pay some pharmecutical company to duplicate what nature already can provide.
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