cannabisnews.com: Tangle of Laws Muddy Medical Pot Use










  Tangle of Laws Muddy Medical Pot Use

Posted by CN Staff on September 22, 2003 at 08:00:32 PT
By The Associated Press 
Source: Casper Star-Tribune  

Denver -- Contradictory laws have left Coloradans who qualify to use medical marijuana struggling to get the drug, three years after voters approved its use. While state law allows certified users to buy, own, transport and grow limited amounts of marijuana, federal law forbids it. Also, many doctors are hesitant to authorize the treatment. Today, 320 Colorado residents ranging in age from 18 to 76 have the certification to use medical marijuana. Those patients come from 39 of Colorado's 64 counties.
Oregon, which has a similar law, has more than 4,000 certified users.Those who may apply for certification include critically ill people suffering from severe pain and nausea, seizures, muscle spasms, HIV/AIDS, glaucoma, cancer or cachexia.However state law does not allow the state to help certified users acquire it, said Gail Kelsey, administrator of Colorado's Medical Marijuana Registry.Chuck Stout, director of the Boulder County Health Department, said the state could fix that by selling confiscated marijuana, which would ordinarily get burned, to certified users.Federal officials said they won't be implementing Stout's idea any time soon.''We are not about to turn our seizures over to research labs for redistribution, but if he can convince state officials, that is fine,'' said John Suthers, U.S. attorney for the District of Colorado.Miles Madorin, staff attorney for the District Attorney's Council, said the state legislature would have to make an exception to existing laws to permit the distribution of marijuana.Meanwhile, Gov. Bill Owens and Colorado Attorney General Ken Salazar have warned doctors that they risk federal prosecution if they sign marijuana certificates.''I don't want to be a test case,'' said Dr. Dean Beasley of Boulder, even though 191 of his colleagues have signed medical marijuana consent forms.Dr. Patty Ammon, who has been practicing medicine in Ouray County for a decade, said she won't risk her medical license by recommending medical marijuana.But, Ammon said, ''It is incredibly shortsighted and misguided to make it illegal when it can be so beneficial.''The pharmaceutical industry is making so much money on ''ridiculously expensive drugs'' for nausea and vomiting, both of which can be alleviated by marijuana, she said.Nine other states also have approved medical pot: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.There have been no marijuana-related convictions of patients or doctors on Colorado's registry, Kelsey said.Source: Casper Star-Tribune (WY)Published:  September 22, 2003Copyright: 2003 Casper Star-TribuneContact: letters trib.comWebsite: http://www.trib.com/Related Articles & Web Site:Medicinal Cannabis Research Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/research.htmColorado's Marijuana Program Starts Slowlyhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11674.shtmlMedical Marijuana Rules Get Hearings http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread11364.shtmlKaiser Lawyers Back Medical Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread10245.shtml 

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Comment #6 posted by FoM on September 22, 2003 at 22:59:45 PT

ASA ACTION ALERT: Call Congress Today! 
Tuesday, September 23, 2003National Medical Marijuana Phone Slam!!
 Join ASA, NORML, MPP, DRCNet, DPA, IMMLY, Cherylheart, and others in a Phone Slam to Congress to support 2 medical marijuana bills, HR 1717 and HR 2233. In memory of Cheryl Miller and all who have passed on or are incarcerated who strived to provide safe and legal access to their medicine, we act together today.For details on bills, visit http://www.safeaccessnow.orgCall your Congressperson TODAY and ask them to please support this medical marijuana legislation. (If they already have, please call your senator and ask them to support upcoming medical marijuana legislation!)Toll-free to US Capitol switchboard (often busy)(877) 762-8762 or (800) 648-3516. On your own dime, call (202) 224-312. If that fails, (or you're not sure who your congress critter is) visit: http://www.house.gov to get their direct line.If you're not sure what your rep's record is on med mj, visit: http://http://www.safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=676 
Simply put, if they voted for the Hinchey amendment defunding DEA attacks on patients, they need to be encouraged to be consistent and co-sponsor both bills. If they haven't done any of the above, they need serious education from their constituents! Keep it respectful and powerful, give them the room to change, and you make it a little more likely.
 
Hilary McQuiePolitical DirectorAmericans for Safe Access1678 Shattuck Ave. #317Berkeley, CA 94709Phone: 510-486-8083Fax: 510-486-8090http://www.safeaccessnow.org 

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Comment #5 posted by FoM on September 22, 2003 at 20:55:13 PT

News Brief from NBC5.com
State Medical Marijuana LawsPublished: September 22, 2003The issue of legalizing medical marijuana has pitted individual states against the federal government. Although federal law prohibits any use or possession of marijuana, more than half of the U.S. states have enacted favorable medical marijuana laws since 1978. However, most of the laws are ineffective because of their contradiction to the federal prohibition. Currently, 30 states and the District of Columbia have laws on the books that recognize the drug's medical value, according to a Marijuana Policy Project report released by the Drug Policy Alliance in February 2001. Eight states have enacted effective laws allowing marijuana for medical purposes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Another 12 states have Therapeutic Research Program laws. These laws allow patients to legally use medical marijuana through a state-run research program. However, none of these programs have been in operation since 1985 because of an increasingly cumbersome federal approvals process. Ten states and the District of Columbia have laws that recognize marijuana's medical value, but don't protect users from arrest. Several allow patients to possess marijuana if obtained directly from a valid prescription -- but there isn't a legal supply of the drug to fill a prescription. Doctors are not allowed to prescribe marijuana, and pharmacies can't dispense it. The federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970 established five "schedules" into which all illicit and prescription drugs are placed. Marijuana is currently in Schedule 1, which defines it as having a high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical use in treatment. The U.S. government doesn't allow Schedule 1 substances to be prescribed by doctors or sold in pharmacies. However, states have their own controlled substance schedules, which typically mirror the federal government's. But the states are free to place the substances in whatever schedules they see fit. However, the only significance for a state placing marijuana in a less restrictive schedule is that it simply recognizes the drug's supposed therapeutic use. Click on the states in the map below to see their medical marijuana policies, based on information from NORML and the Marijuana Policy Project. http://www.nbc5.com/health/2255025/detail.html
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Comment #4 posted by The GCW on September 22, 2003 at 13:40:17 PT

It is much worst than:
Gov. Bill Owens and Colorado Attorney General Ken Salazar WARNING doctors that they risk federal prosecution if they sign marijuana certificates."Those 2 wrote a joint letter right after Amendment 20 was passed, requesting the Feds, come and attack Colorado citizens who followed Colorado law! Salazar is a Democrat and is the only statewide Democrat in office!http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1385/a06.html?1420(The question in the letter below was presented to Salazar at this meeting, but was not answered. I suggest others ask this very question.  Pubdate: Sun, 14 Sep 2003
Source: Summit County Independent (CO)BURNING ISSUE Dear Editor: ( This letter was originally sent to Colorado Attorney General Ken Salazar ) When visiting Summit County, Sept. 15, 2003, asking support for your upcoming reelection bid, I request that you address an issue our citizens support and that you stumbled with a few years back. While the clear majority of Colorado citizens voted for Amendment 20, allowing medical use of cannabis ( marijuana ) on Nov. 7, 2000, you chose to reach to the Federal Government to interfere with the will of the people by joining Governor Bill Owens, sending a joint letter to acting Federal Attorney Richard Spriggs, calling on him to enforce federal law and asking his office to prosecute anyone that prescribes, uses or cultivates any marijuana for medicinal use, thus effectively bypassing Colorado law. It is regrettable, on the one hand to ask for our vote and accept our money for that purpose, then on the other hand, show disrespect for our will. As the current overzealous Federal Government attacks citizens using cannabis for medicinal use, on the increase in California, it may become increasingly important for Colorado's Attorney General to protect Colorado citizens regard-ing this issue. Will you work hard to do that? Summit County Democrats do not support Governor Owens or the war on drugs; and we certainly don't support our Attorney General, caging humans for using a plant - and that goes double when it comes to sick citizens using cannabis to relieve pain and discomfort, within the law. For the record, Summit County citizens, indeed the majority of Colorado voters, would welcome credible drug law reform and controlling current overuse of the incarceration system. 420 The letter was also run in Summit Counties other news paper, The Summit Daily, although edited.SALAZAR TOOK WRONG SIDE ON MEDICINAL MARIJUANA ISSUE 
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v03/n1412/a09.html?1420To Colorado Attorney General Ken Salazar: When visiting Summit County, asking support for your upcoming re-election bid, I request that you address an issue our citizens support and that you stumbled with a few years back. While the clear majority of Colorado citizens voted for Amendment 20, allowing medical use of cannabis ( marijuana ) on Nov. 7, 2000, you chose to reach to the federal government to interfere with the will of the people. You joined Gov. Bill Owens and sent a joint letter to acting federal attorney Richard Spriggs calling on him to enforce federal law and asking his office to prosecute anyone who prescribes, uses or cultivates any marijuana for medicinal use, thus effectively bypassing Colorado law. It is regrettable on the one hand to ask for our vote and accept our money for that purpose, then on the other hand, to show disrespect for our will. As the current, overzealous federal government attacks citizens using cannabis for medicinal use in California, it may become increasingly important for Colorado's attorney general to protect Colorado citizens regarding this issue. Will you work hard to do that? 420Ken Salazar's E-mail & address:
attorney.general state.co.us  
1525 Sherman St. 7th floor Denver CO 80203 http://www.ago.state.co.us/(note: both of these newspapers will print Your LTE's!)
 
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Comment #3 posted by BigDawg on September 22, 2003 at 12:19:36 PT

My thoughts exactly
The last thing I want is confiscated "who knows what" from the evidence locker.
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Comment #2 posted by E_Johnson on September 22, 2003 at 11:17:58 PT

Hopefully eventually someone will understand THIS
Medpot patients do NOT -- repeat -- do NOT -- want marijuana that's been handled by God only knows who and stored in the police evidence locker with other drugs.That's why the Arizona initiative failed. Hopefully eventually this point will get through.
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Comment #1 posted by John Markes on September 22, 2003 at 08:31:41 PT

Fraud
"Meanwhile, Gov. Bill Owens and Colorado Attorney General Ken Salazar have warned doctors that they risk federal prosecution if they sign marijuana certificates." Seems they don't keep up with the 9th Circuit Court rulings...
ARDPArk
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