cannabisnews.com: MMJ on Maui - How’s The Program Working?





MMJ on Maui - How’s The Program Working?
Posted by CN Staff on November 09, 2003 at 21:14:10 PT
By Rob Lafferty 
Source: Haleakala Times 
Last month the US Supreme Court chose not to accept a legal appeal filed by the Bush administration. By doing so, they confirmed that the First Amendment right to free speech still exists inside a doctor’s office.At issue was a Justice Department appeal of a Circuit Court ruling that allows doctors to talk about cannabis as a medicine with their patients without losing their federal license to write prescriptions. Only doctors In the western states, including Hawai‘i, may feel a bit less threatened as a result, because the ruling doesn’t change anything for most of the country.
The lower court ruling was a decision regarding the constitutional right of individuals to speak freely in private. Federal and state laws remain unchanged; the court noted that doctors who prescribe cannabis “would be guilty of aiding and abetting in violation of federal law.”The ruling reaffirms an earlier one by the Supreme Court that cannabis is not legally a medicine, which simplifies the case for federal prosecutors who bring felony charges against a user. Medical need is now a matter solely between doctor and patient, and could be ruled inadmissible as part of any legal defense.Because the Supreme Court chose not to hear or even comment on the issue, the lower court ruling is valid only for states in the Ninth Circuit Court district. Federal officials remain free to intimidate doctors in other states with medical marijuana laws, currently Colorado, Maine and Maryland.Alaska, California, Hawai‘i, Nevada, Oregon and Washington all have existing laws that allow some form of official recommendation by physicians and possession of defined amounts by patients. All are within the 9th Circuit Court jurisdiction, so doctors in those states are now protected from federal harassment.That harassment can get very personal, as it did for California physician Molly Fry. In addition to being a public advocate for cannabis as a medicine, Dr. Fry is also a cancer patient who uses cannabis to manage her own pain and nausea.Under that now-banned administrative policy, her home was raided by the DEA in September, 2001. During a recent online interview she recalled the raid:“I was going to bed with a migraine headache and they came running up my driveway in their riot uniforms with their guns. I opened my arms and said, ‘I entirely submit. You are welcome in my home.’ And they still forced me to the ground and handcuffed me for two hours.”“I was so cold my hands turned white, so they moved me into the trailer.Then I had to change our granddaughter’s diaper while in handcuffs, and I couldn’t quite wipe. I said to the agent, ‘It’s so hard having five children and a baby to take care of, and cancer, too.’ She looked at me and said, ‘You have cancer?’ And I said, ‘Of course I have cancer, why the hell do you think I’m doing this?”Two months later Dr. Fry had her prescription-writing privileges revoked. Despite her troubles, her attitude hasn’t changed. “When I became a doctor, I took an oath to do what was best for my patients – not an oath of allegiance to the government or politics,” she said.A recent Los Angeles Times editorial expressed the opinion that “…it is hard to imagine how Congress or the executive branch could have any constitutional right to dictate the advice that physicians give their patients.” Yet earlier this year, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft proposed that Congress stop giving federal drug enforcement money to states with medical cannabis laws.His request goes against the Bush administration’s claim to support states’ rights, and it uses sick people as scapegoats for the end of federal assistance. Ashcroft’s proposal is unlikely to succeed, as it is probably unconstitutional and discriminatory under the law – but it does show how the administration is willing to punish the entire citizenry of any state that goes against federal policy on this issue alone.Supporters of the medicinal use of cannabis are generally pleased with the inaction of the Supreme Court. Rob Kampia of the Marijuana Policy Project said on a recent radio show, “It’s good news for medical marijuana patients, and it’s good news for 80 percent of the American people who believe that marijuana should be medically available. The Supreme Court has essentially said that doctors have the right to recommend marijuana to patients.”Dr. Andrea Barthwell of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy was a guest on the same program. She offered her opinion about the proper use of the plant as a medicine:“The constituent part of marijuana, which is useful in the treating of HIV wasting, nausea associated with chemotherapy, and potentially pain, is available to physicians to prescribe in the form of Marinol. And it shows tremendous promise, and science is on the verge of a tremendous number of breakthroughs, of manipulating the system where this medication works to solve a number of medical problems.”“What we’re saying is that 21st century medicine dictates that we develop the medications that would be useful in these disorders rather than turning our medical care system back to the 19th century, where plant products were in fact distributed by snake oil salesmen for the treating of a number of symptoms and disease.”Kampia took exception to that analogy. “That’s like saying that Vitamin C is good for you, but an orange is not,” was his response.Barthwell’s comments confirm that under federal law, doctors can, in fact, prescribe the chemical THC that is found in cannabis – but patients must buy it in pill form from a pharmaceutical company under the trade name “Marinol”. If they choose to get THC from cannabis plants grown in someone’s garden, they could end up in federal prison.Hawai‘i state law allows a patient to possess seven plants – three mature, four immature – and three ounces of dried marijuana. California law limits a patient or caregiver to eight ounces of dried cannabis plus six mature or 12 immature plants.Tom Mountain of the Honolulu Medical Marijuana Patients Co-op told Helen Altonn of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin that even with Hawai‘i’s lower limits of possession, the law has been good for patients. Mountain recommends that the registration program be shifted from the Public Safety Department’s Narcotics Enforcement Division to the Department of Health to make the program less intimidating.Under the current system, doctors certify that a patient has a qualifying medical condition. The Narcotics Enforcement Division issues registration cards based on the doctor’s certificate. Patients and physicians following the law are protected from state arrest, and no physicians have gotten into trouble because of the program, according to Pam Lichty of the Hawai‘i Drug Policy Forum.The latest registration numbers shows 513 patients on the Big Island; 259 on Kaua‘i; 139 on O‘ahu and 121 on Maui. Lana‘i has one while Moloka‘i and Ni‘ihau each have three; the statewide total is 1,039 registered medical cannabis users.Seventy-nine physicians across the state have written recommendations for cannabis use to a patient – 32 on O‘ahu, 19 on Hawai‘i, 15 on Maui and 13 on Kaua‘i.In 2001, the Hawai‘i County Council passed a resolution authorizing Mayor Harry Kim to accept federal money for Green Harvest eradication programs. Police Chief Lawrence Mahuna said that officers were concentrating their efforts on eradicating commercial marijuana – patches of thousands of plants – and not on small patches in residential areas. A condition was added to the resolution that county police would work with the state on a plan to set aside a portion of the confiscated plants for medical use, but that condition hasn’t been fulfilled.Hawai‘i resident and advocate of medical cannabis, Dennis Shield, describes a 1980 conversation with a child oncologist at Kapiolani Hospital. The doctor advised Shield to find some cannabis for his 8-year old stepson, who was battling severe nausea caused by cancer chemotherapy. “We’re losing him,” is what he remembers being told.Shield quickly found what was needed; the cannabis eased the boy’s pain right away, and he was able to live longer – and better – than anyone expected. Shield has been deeply involved in the quest for decriminalization of cannabis ever since those days.He believes that the attitude of island residents is part of the reason why over half of the registered users in the state live there. “It is a big island, with a thirty year history of extensive cannabis growing.Maybe that familiarity helps people accept use of the plant easier here than elsewhere. We also have many people with a long-standing, first-hand experience of the medical benefits – plus we have a few enlightened physicians on the island, too.”One of those physicians would be Dr. William Wenner, a surgeon with a background in chemical addiction treatment who has been certifying patients since the state law was first passed three years ago. Dr. Wenner says he has never been threatened by officials or had problems with any peers because of his willingness to recommend cannabis when appropriate.“I get referrals from doctors in pain clinics who see a lot of patients and just don’t have time to do more paperwork,” he says. “About 65 percent of my patients use cannabis for pain relief. Many of them were still suffering after a failed back or neck surgery, and cannabis has been very effective for them.”For Dr. Wenner, the most gratifying thing about his work is not only the comfort he is able to provide his patients, but the high level of gratitude they offer for his help. “Most of my patients would have tried cannabis long ago if it had been legal. Others had been using it for some time, but were uncomfortable with being outside the law.”“I can’t tell you how many times a patient has said, ‘Thank you for making an honest man out of me,’ when all I did was care for them as a doctor should.”Complete Title: Medical Marijuana on Maui - How’s The Program Working? Newshawk: VirgilSource: Haleakala Times (HI)Author: Rob Lafferty Published: Sunday, November 09, 2003Copyright: 2003 Haleakala TimesContact: editor mauisfreepress.comWebsite: http://www.mauisfreepress.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/Hawai‘i Drug Policy Forumhttp://www.dpfhi.org/Transcripts: Online News Hour with Jim Lehrer http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17576.shtmlFederal Court Hears Pot Cases http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17500.shtmlDeputy Drug Czar's Tough Medicinehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread16374.shtml
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on November 12, 2003 at 08:05:55 PT
New Article from Snipped Source
Big Island Pays $5,000 in Marijuana Settlement By Kevin Dayton, Advertiser Big Island BureauWednesday, November 12, 2003 HILO, Hawai'i — County officials paid $5,000 to settle a lawsuit by a man who uses cannabis under the state's medical marijuana law after Big Island police seized some of the man's plants in a raid.Guy Shepard, 61, sued the county after the July 18, 2002, raid last year, saying police had no right to take the plants.Shepard said Monday that police rappelled from a helicopter into his yard at Leilani Estates in Puna and cut down three of his seven marijuana plants. When Shepard showed an officer proof he is registered with the state to use marijuana, she put one of the plants back, but took two with her."The woman cop said, 'We're taking these two, because it's against the law to have them, and against the law to give them back to you,' " Shepard said. "I freaked out. I called the police to report a theft."Jack Schweigert, Shepard's lawyer, said state rules allowed Shepard to have seven plants, including no more than three mature plants.Police said Shepard had five mature plants, and therefore took two. Schweigert contends that police erred, that none of the plants was actually mature.Snipped:Complete Article: http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2003/Nov/12/ln/ln31a.html
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Comment #3 posted by Rev Jonathan Adler on November 11, 2003 at 18:08:23 PT:
Funny how they ignore the expert.
It's funny how the Hawaii Newspapers ignore the expert.
We have operated freely in Hawaii for over 7 years as Hawaii Medical Marijuana Institute and we were instrumental in the creation of the legal program and administrative rules at our legislature. We have had www.medijuana.com online since 1996 and help educate any patients who need assistance about the program and the religious use allowed by law. I ran for Mayor of Hawaii Island twice and Council once. I even ran for Governor last election. We have our proposals on the desks of the Dean of UH Medical School and the Governor currently and previously.We have DEA's bulk manufacture permit application and we have court stipulated agreement regarding our religous use being legal. The state of MMJ in Hawaii is under-reported and the legal opprtunity is clear.
Once they wake up to the beneficial possibilities of moving ahead with my proposals on research and medical supply; the ball will be rolling and we will be too. Peace. Rev. Jonathan Adler / Hawaii Medical Marijuana Institute
Hawaii Medical Marijuana Istitute
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Comment #2 posted by delariand on November 09, 2003 at 21:46:24 PT
Well, that certainly sums the problem up!
"Barthwell’s comments confirm that under federal law, doctors can, in fact, prescribe the chemical THC that is found in cannabis – but patients must buy it in pill form from a pharmaceutical company under the trade name “Marinol”. If they choose to get THC from cannabis plants grown in someone’s garden, they could end up in federal prison."
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Comment #1 posted by Virgil on November 09, 2003 at 21:35:19 PT
Senator Robert Byrd speech of Friday
This was another fine speech by Robert Byrd on the Senate floor on Friday. His previous speech where he denounced the $87 billion for Iraq occupation was great. The only reason I mention it is because the transcript I read included his use of the interjection word, "fie." I had never heard it before and of course once reading the definition it made me think of interjecting it anytime Walters and AssKKKroft open there mouth. Unfortunately this came at the end of his speech and is not presented in the draft version on his website. He does have "fie" on his website in the speech where he denounced the Senate for even thinking about handing the power to declare war to Bu$h last year in defiance of the Constitutional responsibity of Congress. The only reason I want to put up these two first paragraphs he used in his speech concerning the stupid legislation the Naziz are going to pass for their masters is because it sounds like it could just as easily apply to the cannabis policy/attitude. From http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0311/S00070.htmThe GOP Energy Bill: An Infinite Mirage and a Boundless FacadeU.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd
t r u t h o u t | Statement
Friday 07 November 2003Senator Byrd delivered the following remarks in anticipation of the upcoming debate on the energy bill. Republican members of the House and Senate are finalizing a piece of legislation to be considered before the Congress adjourns for the year; that legislation reportedly is eliminating virtually every key provision of the initial bill that passed the Senate in July, including climate change initiatives first authored by Senator Byrd and Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska.
Through its short-sighted actions, this Bush Administration perpetuates an infinite mirage and a boundless facade. This Administration hopes to fool the American people into swallowing its wrong-headed policies with no questions asked. These policies have a superficial appearance of reality, but they are beyond comprehension -- beyond grasp. They hover like a mirage on the horizon. We are lulled into believing that, if we just stay the course, we will eventually reach some sweet, glorious watering hole. However, the truth is that there is nothing tangible, nothing solid, nothing with form or substance on the horizon. 
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