cannabisnews.com: Will Lawmakers Swallow a Medical-Marijuana Pill? 





Will Lawmakers Swallow a Medical-Marijuana Pill? 
Posted by CN Staff on September 05, 2003 at 21:04:39 PT
By Aaron Marshall
Source: The Other Paper 
Ken Carano is a 58-year-old state representative who takes a dim view of pot-smoking stoners. So, naturally, he's about to introduce a bill legalizing the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes in Ohio.Carano, a Democrat from the Youngstown area, said he knows the odds of getting the bill through Ohio's famously conservative legislature are long, but he's convinced that marijuana helps some people with their medical problems.
"I'm not going to close my eyes to things that people need," he said.It's been seven years since the members of the Ohio General Assembly had their eyes opened to a stunning oversight: Tucked into a 1,000-page "truth in sentencing" bill they had passed was a provision allowing people to defend themselves against a pot possession charge by showing they needed the weed for medicinal purposes.Within a few months of the discovery, the provision was snuffed out by lawmakers.Carano won't try to sneak anything by his colleagues, but he thinks he can make it easier to swallow. Specifically, he's pushing pot in the form of a pill."A pill is more acceptable to the run-of-the-mill senator or state rep," he said.One of the smokers behind Carano's push is Deirdre Zoretic, director of patient advocacy for the Ohio Patient Network.Zoretic, who has an incurable degenerative condition called reflex sympathetic dystrophy, approached Carano about sponsoring the bill. She said she regained the use of her right arm thanks to marijuana: "It helps me manage the pain so that I can use my muscles." Zoretic said she realizes it's sheer reefer madness to think that the Republican-controlled legislature would consider passing the bill."I'm not going to fool myself; I know that this bill probably isn't going to pass on the first try," she said. "We're in for a long fight…but I won't die before this law is passed. It's the right thing and the moral thing."While medical-marijuana laws exist in 14 states, Carano acknowledged that many legislators remain "apprehensive.""The negative name has created a situation where a lot of people won't touch it because they are worried that their opponent will use it against them," he said. "At my age, I don't worry about stuff like that."Zoretic said the bill's language will be tight enough that only those suffering from serious medical problems would be covered."This isn't something that we want to have in everyone's medicine cabinet for when they get a headache," she said.Carano, who is "tweaking" the bill and probably won't introduce it until next year, said he is primarily interested in spurring debate on the issue.Meanwhile, he acknowledged that some proponents of medical marijuana are their own worst enemies."I've literally had people representing different pro-marijuana groups in my office, and it became pretty obvious after a few minutes that they were stoned," he said. "I don't want to be associated with that type of group."Note: Rep. Ken Carano acknowledged that some proponents of medical marijuana are their own worst enemies: "I've literally had people representing different pro-marijuana groups in my office, and it became pretty obvious after a few minutes that they were stoned." Source: The Other Paper (OH)Author: Aaron MarshallPublished: September 4, 2003Copyright: 2003 The Other Paper and CM Media Inc.Website: http://www.theotherpaper.com/Contact: http://www.theotherpaper.com/topletter_submit.htmlOhio Patient Networkhttp://www.ohiopatient.net/CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #7 posted by Kegan on September 06, 2003 at 03:22:47 PT
From Ottawa Citizen
http://www.mapinc.org/cancom/CD8C6A2D-8CF0-4DA1-AFC8-7A6C06EE3948Dave Rogers
The Ottawa CitizenThe Federal Court of Canada has reserved its decision on whether to
allow a Hawkesbury hepatitis C patient to grow 50 marijuana plants he
says he needs to control nausea, pain and muscle spasms.Marc Paquette, 47, argued that Health Canada's medicinal marijuana
regulations prevent him from getting the drugs he needs. He said the
25 plants he is allowed to cultivate take two months to grow and
provide only one month of pain relief.When Mr. Paquette runs short of marijuana, he says he must buy the
drug on the street or from the federal government.Alain Préfontaine, the lawyer representing the Attorney General of
Canada, argued that the appeal against a Health Canada decision
allowing him to grow seven plants was moot because the department
already allows him go cultivate 25 plants."The court challenge was related to quantity of marijuana," he said.
"The trial judge found that he was receiving what his doctor thought
he should receive. "He was granted an exemption to possess seven plants and this was
increased three months later to 11 plants. Later, the exemption was
further increased to 25 plants. That increase makes the challenge of
the exemption for seven plants even more moot."Mr. Paquette caught hepatitis C from a blood transfusion he received
during a 1995 gall bladder operation. He worked 21 years at Le
Carillon, his father's newspaper in Hawkesbury, but quit his job as
circulation supervisor because of constant pain.His liver condition prevents him from taking pain relievers, so he
smokes five grams of marijuana a day to control his symptoms. He
asked the court for a permanent exemption that would allow him to
grow as much marijuana as he needs so he would not be required to
apply to the government periodically for new growing permits."Permanent exemptions are needed for permanently ill people," said
Mr. Paquette. He said Health Canada has been exerting horrific stress on 584
Canadians who must renew their medical marijuana exemptions all the
time."Since November 2001, the Ontario Medical Association has advised
doctors not to sign orders for medical marijuana any more. I am up to
my 11th exemption since March 24, 2000 and I want the stress to end."Mr. Paquette said specialists won't sign prescriptions for medical
marijuana because there hasn't been enough research on the safety of
the drug. He said 15 of 94 Canadians who were denied medical
marijuana permits died without anything to ease their pain."My doctor refuses to sign a permit for more than five grams of
marijuana a day even though I need seven grams," he said. "I have
grown six different strains of marijuana because each strain is like
a different medication. Some are good against depression and others
are effective for pain. I am permitted to grow less than half of what
I need."Mr. Paquette said he spends $1,200 to $1,400 a month for marijuana on
the street on a $1,600-a-month disability pension. These expenses
force him to rely on his family for most of his food and shelter, he
said.
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Comment #6 posted by JSM on September 06, 2003 at 02:01:07 PT
GCW
Ah, the magic of prohibition....the more they destroy the more valuable it becomes and guess what happens then...the more that will be grown. So, personally, I never fret about the local paper's news of "BIGGEST GROW EVER FOUND" as it simply highlights prohibition's continuing and utter failure.Face it, as long as there is demand (and demand is increasing not decreasing!) someone will have it to sell.
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on September 05, 2003 at 22:27:33 PT
Richard You're Welcome
I love posting good news but when an article shows up like this it needs to be seen. I actually don't understand it at all. It went right over the top of my head!
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Comment #4 posted by Petard on September 05, 2003 at 22:22:00 PT
My first reaction to Pot Pills
Was that if they get pills approved it might increase sales of Mortar and Pestle, a long ago dead sales item/industry. For those who can't tolerate swallowing a pill they could grind it up (or have someone do it for them) in order to smoke the ground up pot, using a mortar and pestle then a pipe. Or, perhaps they could soak the pills in water (since THC and other cannabinoids are not water soluble anyway) to soften them up in order to crumble them? Again, a more compact, thus more cannabinoid dense product, like the supposed "crack of pot" coming from BC.Didn't someone post a while back regarding the Flin-Flon product not being consistent and that grinding and mixing would produce a standardized product that could then be pilled solving the "problem"?Would make for a commercial similar to that fiber pill product with the guy stuffing a huge capsule with whole flax. I'd definitely be interested in watching a guy stuffing whole sticky buds into a huge capsule and ordering that product.
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Comment #3 posted by Richard Lake on September 05, 2003 at 22:03:10 PT:
Thank You, FoM, for posting this!
Mary Jane Borden sent the following note to the Ohio Patient Network discussion list. I hope folks will take her advice. For those who may not know who Mary Jane is, she is the lady that writes all of the grant requests for MAP/DrugSense, without which we would have long ago been broke, gone, history, and who knows where all the hosted websites and lists, including CNEWS, would be?Richard-------------Friends,This may be one of the worst examples of lazy journalism concerning medical marijuana seen in any Columbus paper, particularly one that supposedly projects a progressive image. It deserves numerous Letters to the Editor to not only correct factual misstatements, but also dispel the negative image of medical marijuana consumers that journalists with little time or ethics fall into repeatedly. Unfortunately, it may be true that Representative Carano mistakenly believes that a whole-cannabis "pill" may be on the horizon. We need to make sure that the debate in which we engage covers all forms of cannabis, not just the prohibitionist-acceptable form. Besides, what about nausea, vomiting, and attempting to swallow a pill -- an obvious disconnect.Please respond firmly, but politely and accurately, to this article. We obviously need to educate both the media and the legislature. Thank you in advance for your help.mjP.S. If you would like to educate Mr. Marshall personally, you can fill you a form with your comments at http://www.otherpaper.com/topwriter_submit.html. Select his name from the drop down menu, "Writer/Editor".
Mary Jane Borden
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Comment #2 posted by The GCW on September 05, 2003 at 21:22:02 PT
As they say in Cannada,
"It's a different world now," he says, citing the pending decriminalization of pot possession, a marijuana-positive senate report and a number of recent court decisions. "Now the things I do and say are more often being accepted and embraced by everyone not in a uniform." http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1335/a02.html?397Camosun Clips Cannabis Concert
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Comment #1 posted by The GCW on September 05, 2003 at 21:13:25 PT
Tennessee’s most valuable cash crop...
Cannabis prohibition is supported by many of the alcohol folks, in part because it threatens profits.Here is one that may help expose that."Other agency partners on the task force include the Tennessee Highway Patrol and the state Alcoholic Beverage Commission." 
From: MARIJUANA GROWERS ESCALATING ILLEGAL FARMING http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1334/a08.html?397http://tennessean.com/local/archives/03/09/38804930.shtml?Element_ID=38804930
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