cannabisnews.com: Clear The Fumes at The DEA Clear The Fumes at The DEA Posted by CN Staff on August 05, 2003 at 10:00:05 PT Editorial Source: Los Angeles Times Suzanne Pfeil suffers severe pain and muscle spasms from post-polio syndrome. One fall day last year, Pfeil, now 44, awoke to find federal agents pointing automatic weapons. They were raiding her Santa Cruz assisted-living facility, which is a provider of medical marijuana under a measure that the state's voters passed in 1996. It's the sort of armed raid that California could soon see more of, with the confirmation of Karen P. Tandy, a federal associate deputy attorney general, as head of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Tandy did not order the raid against marijuana activist Pfeil in particular, but for the last two years she has coordinated the nation's overall national drug enforcement strategy, including an aggressive crackdown on California and eight other states that authorize medicinal marijuana. Last month, Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) gave Tandy a chance to distance herself from DEA policy, asking whether she would support a "moratorium on the raids of medical marijuana providers until Congress could hold hearings on this matter." Tandy emphatically said no, adding that "marijuana itself has not been shown to have medicinal benefits." When Durbin countered with a federal Institute of Medicine report concluding otherwise, Tandy said she was "not personally familiar" with the landmark 1999 report. Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-ed-dea5aug05,1,6845944.storySource: Los Angeles Times (CA)Published: August 5, 2003 Copyright: 2003 Los Angeles TimesContact: letters latimes.comWebsite: http://www.latimes.com/Related Articles & Web Site:IOM Reporthttp://www.nap.edu/html/marimed/Senate Confirms Prosecutor as DEA Chief http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16990.shtmlThe Chill Is On - Jacob Sullumhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16889.shtmlTandy Won't Be Dandy for Medical Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16876.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #3 posted by FoM on August 05, 2003 at 14:31:04 PT Thank You Richard I hope you all have a great time! I know you will! [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by Richard Lake on August 05, 2003 at 14:27:22 PT: Ethan Russo, MD, to Speak at Online Patient Forum ETHAN RUSSO, MD, TO SPEAK AT ONLINE PATIENT FORUM Marijuana and MigrainesDr. Ethan Russo, noted expert in headaches and the clinical use of cannabis, will be OPN's guest at the August Patient Forum on Thursday, August 7, 2003 starting at 7:30 p.m. EDT.Dr. Russo is editor of the Journal of Cannabis Therapeutics (see http://www.haworthpressinc.com/store/product.asp?sku=J175 ). He also conducted the "Chronic Cannabis Use in the Compassionate Investigational New Drug Program: An Examination of Benefits and Adverse Effects of Legal Clinical Cannabis," which examined the overall health status of four of the seven remaining patients in the Compassionate Investigational New Drug (IND) program of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).One of Dr. Russo's principle areas of interest lies in headaches, particularly migraine headaches. He has submitted several protocols to the FDA to study the effectiveness of cannabis-based treatments in migraine headaches and was finally approved to conduct a clinical study in 1999. He has also authored a historical review of cannabis therapy in obstetrics and gynecology.While this discussion is aimed at patients and their concerns, other interested parties are welcome to attend. It may be of particular interest to medical professionals, activists, and caregivers. Because this event will be conducted online, anyone, regardless of geographic location, can participate.Dr. Russo will be sharing his insights and taking questions from the audience. This represents a unique opportunity to interact with a renowned medical professional about a subject that is important and timely.OPN Patient Forums are held on the FREE Internet voice/text chat software and "rooms" provided by Paltalk. For instructions on how to join this meeting, please see http://www.ohiopatient.net/Paltalk_instructions.htm. For more details, see http://www.ohiopatient.net/Events.htm or contact Rob Ryan RRyan OhioPatient.netThe Ohio Patient Network is a non-profit coalition of patients, caregivers, medical professionals, concerned citizens, and organizations who support the compassionate use of cannabis for various medicinal purposes. Information about OPN can be found at http://www.ohiopatient.net.Who: Dr. Ethan Russo, MD, neurologist What: Interactive discussion entitled, "Marijuana and Migraines," at the monthly Ohio Patient Network Patient Forum. Where: Online. Please visit http://www.ohiopatient.net/Paltalk_Instructions for information on how to set up Paltalk on your computer. When: Thursday, August 7, 2003, 7:30 pm EDT More details here [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by E_Johnson on August 05, 2003 at 10:50:44 PT Remember the old days? Remember back when the LA Times was against Prop 215?Now they're saying the DEA stinks. [ Post Comment ] Post Comment