cannabisnews.com: Patients Lobby To Ease Laws on Medical Marijuana





Patients Lobby To Ease Laws on Medical Marijuana
Posted by CN Staff on September 23, 2003 at 16:19:31 PT
By Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press Writer
Source: Associated Press 
Washington -- Brian Fitzgerald has been growing a marijuana plant in the window of his Massachusetts home for years, using it to treat his multiple sclerosis. On Tuesday, he and others lobbied Congress to make that treatment legal. More than 20 seriously ill patients urged lawmakers to pass legislation sponsored by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., that would allow states to pass laws sanctioning the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. 
But Frank acknowledged Tuesday that "with the Republicans in power, there is virtually no chance" of the bill becoming law. But, he said that the public's attention to the issue could put pressure on lawmakers to give it more consideration. Fitzgerald, 57, of Springfield, said the marijuana helps ease his MS spasms. "When you have MS, your whole body is doing weird things and I hate it," he said. "Marijuana does the job." For Marcy Duda of Ware, Mass., the headaches caused by her brain surgery feel like someone is stabbing an ice pick into her temple "and twisting it." Marijuana, she said, is the only thing that eases the pain. "I smoke marijuana," she said, adding that she used to grow it herself but now has "some really good activist friends who supply it for me." Duda and Fitzgerald were among the group that has been lobbying lawmakers on Capitol Hill this week, along with the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Paul Armentano, policy analyst for NORML, said scientific evidence in favor of marijuana use is mounting. "It's time for Congress and others to acknowledge cannabis' emerging role as a therapeutic agent and stand up for the rights of patients who ease their pain and suffering through the use of marijuana, he said Under current law, federal authorities can step in and enforce marijuana laws in states that allow doctors to recommend it to their patients. The Bush administration has been stepping up its efforts to crack down on doctors who prescribe marijuana. Doctors are allowed to recommend marijuana in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Last week, the Bush administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to let federal authorities punish doctors who recommend pot to their patients. The move came in response to a ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, which ruled in October that physicians have a constitutional right to speak candidly with their patients about marijuana without fear of government sanctions. Source: Associated Press Author: Lolita C. Baldor, Associated Press WriterPublished: September 23, 2003Copyright: 2003 Associated Press Related Articles & Web Sites:NORMLhttp://www.norml.org/Is My Medicine Legal YET?http://immly.org/Cheryl Miller Memorial Projecthttp://www.cheryldcmemorial.org/Outside View: Arrest MS, Not Patients http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17382.shtmlFight For Medical Marijuana Goes Onhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16617.shtml States Should Rule on Medical Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread15466.shtml
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on September 24, 2003 at 13:33:17 PT
This is What I Love About Doing CNews
Darn the pictures make me cry but it makes me so very proud too. 
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on September 24, 2003 at 13:17:30 PT
Pictures from Vigil
http://pak01.pictures.aol.com/NASApp/ygp/GuestLogin?event=DirectView&shareInfo=esv4e%2b9w77n9axjzkO0GShanK9nPC166e2SYV0wW4VC%2fjFCnkV3ciA%3d%3dhttp://pak01.pictures.aol.com/NASApp/ygp/GuestLogin?event=DirectView&shareInfo=esv4e%2b9w77m2DORvzAxZvSayyZ3q2DHzp2F4zJ%2fKDYK%2fjFCnkV3ciA%3d%3d&pageName=AlbumViewFromEmails
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Comment #4 posted by The GCW on September 23, 2003 at 19:01:53 PT
Barney Frank usde the "cage" word?
Progress.The feds are being made out to be uncivilized dogs.Ruff Ruff.Down Fido.Down.420 is not a dog.
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on September 23, 2003 at 18:46:16 PT
mayan
You're welcome and yes he did say it all.
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Comment #2 posted by mayan on September 23, 2003 at 18:16:02 PT
Thanks FoM...
for the info in your comment! Barney Frank said it all..."The notion that [the federal government] would prosecute people who are trying to alleviate pain is truly appalling. .. If people and their doctors agree, then federal regulators should not stand in the way."We are not the criminals! Those who would cage others for using a plant are the criminals!The way out is the way in...Update From 911 CitizensWatch:
http://www.911citizenswatch.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=25&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0Cheney's Role In 9/11 Put On Center Stage By British MP:
http://www.rense.com/general41/role.htm9/11 Second-Anniversary Events in Germany and New York City Reveal Growing Strength, Credibility of Movement http://www.fromthewilderness.com/free/ww3/091703_not_one_night.htmlIs the "Surprise Attack" on Pearl Harbor relevant to understanding 9/11?
http://www1.iraqwar.ru/iraq-read_article.php?articleId=20243&lang=en October 25th Mass March on the White House & Pentagon: 
http://www.internationalanswer.org/
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on September 23, 2003 at 17:51:15 PT
DPFCA: Medical MJ Patients Take The Hill! 
    
 * Patients Rally On Capitol Hill In Support Of Medicinal Marijuana!September 23, 2003Patients Rally On Capitol Hill In Support Of Medicinal Marijuana Members Of Congress Join Patients, Doctors And Health Care Providers To Lobby For H.R. 2233, "The States' Rights To Medical Marijuana Act" And H.R. 1717, "The Truth In Trials Act"Washington, DC: Representatives Barney Frank (D-MA) and Sam Farr (D-CA) joined more than 20 seriously ill patients today at a emotional press conference on Capitol Hill calling on Congress to allow the state-sanctioned use of marijuana as a medicine. Patients, many stricken with multiple sclerosis (MS), flew in from around the nation to testify that marijuana is the only medicine that safely and adequately alleviates their suffering."I would not be here today were it not for medical cannabis," explained patient Jackie Rickert from Wisconsin, who uses marijuana medicinally to treat debilitating symptoms of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. Rickert noted that she had previously received permission from the federal government to legally obtain marijuana in the early 1990s as part of the Compassionate Investigational New Drug (IND) program. However, government officials abruptly closed the program to new applicants following her approval - a decision that has forced Rickert to obtain her medicine illicitly on the black market ever since.MS patient Jeanelle Bluhm of Oregon echoed Rickert's thoughts, saying that smoked marijuana alleviates her muscle spasms more effectively than other legal medications. "People should be able to choose with the help of their doctor the medicines that best help them," she said, noting that her physician supports her marijuana therapy. "Disabled people just want to feel better and don't want to be criminals."Several other patients, including Jay Howell of Washington, Joan Legospi of Washington, Beckie Nikkel of California, Darrell Paulson of Minnesota, John Precup of Ohio, Lisa Rasmussen of California, and Gary Storck of Wisconsin told similar stories. "How many more people must suffer and die before Congress does the right thing?" asked Storck, referring to a pair of bills in Congress that would minimize criminal penalties for medical marijuana patients.The first, H.R. 2233, "the States' Rights to Medical Marijuana Act," would reschedule marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule II under federal law so that physicians may prescribe it in states that have legalized the medical use of marijuana under state law. Representative Frank, who introduced the bill along with Reps. Paul (R-TX), Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Schakowski (D-IL) said, "The notion that [the federal government] would prosecute people who are trying to alleviate pain is truly appalling. .. If people and their doctors agree, then federal regulators should not stand in the way." Frank's bill presently has 37 co-sponsors.The second bill, H.R. 1717, "the Truth in Trials Act" would amend federal law to provide an affirmative defense for patients who use marijuana in compliance with the laws of their state, but are facing federal drug charges. Representative Farr, who sponsored the bill along with Reps. Rohrabacher (R-CA) and Woolsey (D-CA) said, "The right of a state to determine its own laws is an integral part of the Constitution and our laws today."To date nine states - Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington - have enacted laws protecting patients who use medical marijuana from state criminal prosecution.Jim Miller of New Jersey, who helped to organize the press conference and patient lobby day on behalf of his wife Cheryl - a longtime medical marijuana activist who died in June of MS-related complications, demanded Congress hold hearings and schedule votes on the Frank and Farr bills."Throughout much of her life, Cheryl risked arrest and jail to use the only medication that alleviated her suffering," he said. "I hope that by bringing attention to the plight of my late wife Cheryl, I can hasten the day when marijuana will be made available so that others are no longer needlessly forced to suffer with pain or risk arrest."Also speaking at today's conference were MS specialist Dr. Denis J. Petro, nurse Mary Lynn Mathre of Patients Out of Time, and NORML Senior Policy Analyst Paul Armentano, who concluded, "These are patients, not criminals, and it's about time Congress learned the difference."For more information, please contact Keith Stroup, Executive Director of NORML, at (202) 483-5500 or visit: http://www.cheryldcmemorial.org
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