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  Pot, Pain and Politics 

Posted by CN Staff on April 07, 2004 at 12:19:25 PT
By Joanna Galuszka 
Source: Detroit Metro Times  

Tim Beck challenges anyone to explain “how, exactly, a cancer patient using marijuana is a danger to the republic, a danger to civilization in the City of Detroit.” Beck chairs the Detroit Coalition for Compassionate Care (DCCC), the organization sponsoring the Detroit Medical Marijuana Initiative. Detroit voters will decide the initiative’s fate in August.If passed, the initiative would amend the City Code to allow residents with letters from their doctors to possess and use marijuana. The initiative does not address the issues of marijuana production, distribution or methods of ingestion.
It took fewer than five weeks in 2003 for paid workers and volunteers to collect 9,489 signatures, according to Beck. The city clerk validated 7,779 of the signatures in November; 6,141 valid signatures were required. The DCCC collected enough signatures in 2001 to put the initiative on the ballot, but that petition was thrown out due to technicalities.The Detroit Medical Marijuana Proposal Web site -- http://www.mmdetroit.org/ -- states that marijuana has a history of safe use around the world, with no cases of fatal overdose. It purports that marijuana is useful in the treatment of conditions such as chemotherapy-related nausea, migraine headaches and intraocular pressure associated with glaucoma.The nonpartisan, nonprofit A-Mark Foundation runs -- http://www.medicalmarijuanaprocon.org/ -- a Web site devoted to discussion of medical marijuana. The site lists several methods of medical marijuana ingestion: smoking; vaporization, extraction of the plant’s oil for consumption; creation of an alcohol-based tincture; simmering in butter or vegetable oil to create a THC-rich base suitable for cooking.Opponents of the Detroit initiative address no method of ingestion besides smoking. They focus on the negative aspects of inhalation and say the FDA-approved drug Marinol is the only viable method of medical marijuana ingestion.Marinol, the pill containing a synthetic form of marijuana’s active ingredient, THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), is on the market, but its side effect “high” isn’t as easy to control as with conventional marijuana, according to mmdetroit.org. Patients with nausea have also had trouble swallowing the pill as opposed to smoking marijuana, the site claims, adding that Marinol is expensive: about $17.25 per 10 mg capsule. With at least 200,000 uninsured city residents, Beck argues that pot is a better option.The mmdetroit.org site also says supporters of the initiative include such prominent Democrats as U.S. Reps. Carolyn Cheeks-Kilpatrick and John Conyers, former U.S. Rep. David Bonior, and Detroit City Councilwomen Maryann Mahaffey and JoAnn Watson. Watson also serves on the DCCC steering committee along with state Sen. Hansen Clarke. Jocelyn Elders, former U.S. Surgeon General, also recently endorsed the initiative and will join the steering committee, Beck says.The Partnership for a Drug-Free Detroit (PDFD) has produced a flyer titled Medical Marijuana is Bad for Detroit. Its authors list the American Medical Association, American Cancer Society and Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick (the son of initiative backer Cheeks-Kilpatrick) as foes of the initiative.The authors describe the initiative as an “attempt by drug legalizers to deceive and exploit the suffering of sick people,” ignoring “substantial evidence that smoked marijuana is harmful and offers no medical benefit to suffering patients.”While touting the virtues of Marinol, the literature also describes the medical marijuana initiative as deceptive: “Marijuana is an intoxicant; therefore it is not surprising that sincere people will report relief of their symptoms when they smoke it. Heroin also makes people feel better, but no one should suggest using heroin to treat a sick person. There are effective methods of pain relief, which are not dangerous to the patient.”Dr. Calvin Trent, co-chair of PDFD and director of Substance Abuse, Prevention, Treatment and Recovery for the Detroit Health Department, surprisingly acknowledged the benefits of medical marijuana on the local television show “City Highlights” on March 17. Trent said his organization recognized that there are people who would benefit medically from marijuana but that PDFD prefers marijuana in the form of a pill, instead of being smoked, “because we’re against smoking.”Trent added that people already have medical marijuana access in Detroit through clinical trials. “It’s not an issue of medical marijuana, because medical marijuana is already available,” he said.Beck, who appeared on the same program, but did not debate Trent, questioned Trent’s claims about the existence of clinical trials in Detroit and called his comments “pure, unadulterated bullshit.”In a phone interview, Trent reiterates his statements and says PDFD is concerned about “massive abuse” of the law if the initiative were to pass. Trent fears that forged doctor’s notes would be difficult to control and that the growth of marijuana for purported medical use would be hard to regulate. Asked for specific information about the clinical trials in Detroit, Trent referred Metro Times to James G. Tillman, diversion program manager for the Detroit office of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, who says, “I am not aware of any studies that are ongoing, at least in the City of Detroit at this time, using smoked marijuana. The marijuana that is available is the THC that is in the Marinol capsules, and that’s the only one that is approved.” An officer and an advocate Dan Solano is a former Marine and a retired Detroit police officer. While on duty in 1991, he was crushed between two cars. The accident left him with nerve damage, herniated disks in his back and neck, and severe stomach problems. He took drugs such as Demerol to manage the pain, but switched to marijuana.“Marijuana does not leave me with a drug hangover like the pharmaceuticals,” says Solano.He says marijuana lets him function normally, and that people who use marijuana medically are not looking to get high.“Because we are using it to relieve a medical condition, the high is not our goal, we only ingest what we need,” Solano says.Solano says marijuana arrests are diverting police resources that could be better used.“It takes three to five hours of two officers being off the street for a marijuana arrest,” he says. “Who’s watching for the rapist, armed robber, murderer — folks we truly want off the streets?”He and a fellow retired officer started Police Officers for Drug Law Reform in 1999, with the goal of keeping medical marijuana patients out of jail and court.Solano says he’s talked to Detroit officers and found that most had no problem allowing “sick people access to their medication.” Solano says officers dislike the “idea of taking a sick and disabled person to jail for a marijuana violation.”But Detroit police officials say officer sentiments are moot. Officer Derek Jones of the department’s Public Information Office says, “Marijuana is illegal in the State of Michigan, and we are here to enforce the law. If there’s a change in the law, then at that point it will have to be evaluated.”Even if the initiative becomes law, residents who possess marijuana for medical purposes would not be protected from arrest by county, state or federal officials. Sergeant Matt Bolger, government liaison for the Michigan State Police, says, “The department of state police is not going to take a position on the voter initiative per se. However, troopers in the City of Detroit would enforce the state law, not the ordinance.” Representatives of the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office were contacted for comment, but phone calls were not returned before press time.The DEA’s Tillman says the DEA would determine its course of action should the initiative pass.Beck notes that it is likewise illegal to possess a hypodermic needle without a prescription under state and federal law, but not under Detroit city ordinance, which exempts participants in city-sponsored needle exchange programs. Beck sees his initiative as creating a similar exemption for medical marijuana users.Madison, Wis., has had a medical marijuana ordinance on its books since 1977. A person may possess up to 112 grams of marijuana in a private place with impunity. A person possessing it in public may be fined, unless he or she has proof of medical need. Gary Storck, director of the Drug Policy Forum of Wisconsin, says patients with letters from doctors have historically purchased their marijuana off the streets.“It’s a shame that patients have to go out and buy it on the black market,” he says, citing price, quality and safety issues.He says Madison police use discretion when arresting marijuana buyers. “We count on the city authorities to keep in mind that it could be medical,” he says. “Generally, the city has been pretty good at sticking to that.”In Ann Arbor, where marijuana possession is punishable by civil, not criminal, penalties, activists are circulating a petition to reduce penalties even further. Rich Birkett co-authored the Ann Arbor Medical Marijuana Initiative, which proposes a new amendment to the city charter that would waive all punishment for medical marijuana users who have a valid doctor recommendation. Birkett says the petitioners must collect about 4,200 signatures by May to get the initiative on the November general election ballot.Note: Advocates, foes gird for Detroit voice on medical marijuana. Marijuana has a history of safe use around the world, with no cases of fatal overdose.Joanna Galuszka is a Metro Times editorial intern. Source: Detroit Metro Times (MI)Author: Joanna GaluszkaPublished: April 7, 2004Copyright: 2004 Metro Times, Inc.Contact: letters metrotimes.comWebsite: http://www.metrotimes.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Medical Marijuana Detroithttp://www.mmdetroit.org/Medical Marijuana Pro & Con http://www.medicalmarijuanaprocon.org/Sides Prepare Fight Over Medical Marijuana Bill http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18408.shtmlMedical Pot: Detroit has Important Vote Ahead http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18088.shtmlMedicinal Pot Headed To '04 Detroit Ballot http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread17843.shtml

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Comment #13 posted by ekim on April 08, 2004 at 20:58:04 PT
one step ahead two steps back in Kal MI
http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/columns-1/1081437808122340.xmlAlso expected to come before the canvasser board is yet another attempt
to liberalize Michigan's marijuana laws. Free Marijuana, the
organization behind the proposal, wants to amend the Constitution to
allow the growing and possession of pot, as well as permit liquor stores
to sell it. We expect this awful proposal to suffer the same fate as did
its predecessors, and never make it onto the ballot for lack of
signatures.Comment #1 posted by FoM on April 06, 2004 at 23:35:13 PT 
Breaking News DPFMI 
DPFMI: BREAKING NEWS-- Montel Williams Headed to Motown to Endorse Medical Marijuana
Date: Tuesday, April 06, 2004 Friends, it is with great pleasure I can finally announce that Montel Williams is coming to Detroit on either May 3rd or May 7th, to do a formal press conference/media event to endorse the Detroit Medical Marijuana Initiative and formally kick off the introduction of State Senator Hansen Clarke's statewide medical mj bill in the Michigan Legislature.There is the distinct possibility that this story will go "national" (thats the plan anyway), and could be a key factor in nailing down a win in Detroit in August.Again, a rousing cheer for our friends at MPP in Washington is in order, as they are the primary movers and shakers in this major new development. Will keep you posted as things evolve.Best Regards,Tim Beck, Chairman, Detroit Coalition for Compassionate CareFirst National Building660 Woodward Ave, Ste 1141Detroit MI, 48226(313) 964-0249Timmichben aol.comhttp://www.mmdetroit.org 
http://www.leap.cc
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Comment #12 posted by kaptinemo on April 08, 2004 at 06:10:00 PT:
SAR = Search and Rescue
Sorry for the acronymism.
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Comment #11 posted by FoM on April 07, 2004 at 20:10:23 PT
Thanks Patrick
I think of SARS when I saw SAR and it didn't register. That makes perfect sense!
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Comment #10 posted by Patrick on April 07, 2004 at 20:07:19 PT
FoM
In case kapt isn't hanging around it stands for search and rescue. :) Some of us just born into the military :)
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on April 07, 2004 at 20:05:29 PT
kaptinemo
What is a SAR Unit?ekim that would be wonderful if it would happen.
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Comment #8 posted by ekim on April 07, 2004 at 20:01:49 PT
Please take Don Nord to see Dennis for Healing
Don Nord
http://www.donnord.org/ Colorado Cannabis
http://www.coloradocannabis.com/Thursday, April 8
 http://www.kucinich.us/schedule.php
Colorado
 
Denver, Colorado
9:15 a.m.
Arrive at Denver International Airport
Contact: Vicki Rottman
 
Greeley, Colorado
11:00 a.m.
Summit and Rally on Race and Diversity
In front of University Center, University of Northern Colorado
10th Ave & 20th St.
Contact: Tina HeckertDr. Norberto Valdez will be introducing Dennis Kucinich.
 
Greeley, Colorado
12:00 p.m.
Luncheon with Dennis Kucinich
University Center, Columbine Room "B"
10th Ave & 20th St.
Contact: Tina HeckertJeri Shepard will introduce Dennis Kucinich.
 
Fort Collins, Colorado
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 a.m.
Call-in interview on KRFC Radio, 88.9
 
Fort Collins, Colorado
3:00 p.m. - 4:00 a.m.
Campus Rally
CSU campus, Shepardson Building, Room 118
East Drive at University Ave.
Contact: Cheryl Beckett
 
Fort Collins, Colorado
4:00 p.m. - 5:00 a.m.
Forum
Public Library
201 Peterson Street
Contact: Cheryl Beckett
 
Longmont, Colorado
6:45 p.m. - 8:00 a.m.
Speech and Q & A
Longmont Senior Center
910 Longs Peak Avenue
Contact: James Snyder, Daria Fuchsman, (720) 298-7370
 
Fort Collins, Colorado
9:00 p.m.
Speech
The Starlight
167 North College Avenue
Contact: Patrick West, (303) 885-0705Dennis Kucinich will speak prior to The Motet concert. Tickets for the show are $8 in advance and $10 day of show.
 All items subject to change. More details will be posted as soon as available.
 
Friday, April 9
 
Boulder, Colorado
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Rally - Get Out The Vote
Naropa University Performing Arts Center
2130 Arapahoe Ave.
Contact: Yuri Koslen, (303) 638-8818
 
Boulder, Colorado
12:10 p.m. - 1:10 p.m.
Presentation and vegan lunch
Boulder Cooperative Market, Café Prasad
1940 Pearl Street
Contact: Bonnie Mandell-Rice, (303) 666-5131
 
Boulder, Colorado
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
"Nuclear Weapons - Their Terrible Past and Frightening Future"
West Gate of Rocky Flats Weapons Plant
Route 93, 8 miles south of Boulder
Contact: Tom Moore, (303) 444-8565
 
Boulder, Colorado
7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Presentation and interview
Vox Feminista performance, Dairy Arts Center
2590 Walnut Street
Contact: Patrick West, (303) 885-0705
 
Boulder, Colorado
9:00 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Presentation at The Motet Concert
Fox Theater
1135 13th Street, on the Hill
Contact: Patrick West, (303) 885-0705
 All items subject to change. More details will be posted as soon as available.
 
Saturday, April 10
 
Colorado
 
Manitou Springs, Colorado
8:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Breakfast Fundraiser
Organic Café
1124 Manitou Ave.
Contact: Janet Swierkosz, (719) 330-4404
 
Colorado Springs, Colorado
9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Presentation
IBEW Hall
2150 Naegele Road
Contact: Thomas Mc, (719) 250-8547
Contact: Theresa Kreger, (719) 390-8122
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Comment #7 posted by kaptinemo on April 07, 2004 at 16:54:27 PT:

Could an anti have survived the 19th Century?
I've served in SAR units where we had to literally dig out flood-blasted towns. No electricity, no clean water, no functional plumbing, etc. Nasty. If you didn't bring it to base camp, you didn't have it. We lived like a bunch of dogs out in the sticks...but even so, we lived well enough, using woodscraft skills we had been taught. Skills our forefathers used long ago to aid them. Just like our ancestors of previous Centuries. It gave you a better appreciation of what their lives must have been like that no book could convey.Our ancestors were a hardy lot, or WE wouldn't be here. They were no less intelligent than we are today, only lacking the high technology we have grown accustomed to.But they DID have THEIR technology, and that, of course, included knowledge of medicinal plants passed down the long generations. Which was good enough to build upon into the modern pharmacpeia we have today.They knew what they were doing. With cannabis, we know what *we're* doing. It's the antis who suffer from ignorance and intransigence. Just because it grew from the ground doesn't mean it's inherently inferior, but that's the song-and-dance most people have been inculcated with. After all, that's where food comes from. If it didn't come from a white plastic bottle, it isn't medicine.And that's just what antis and their Big Phrama sugar-daddies want you to think...
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Comment #6 posted by kaptinemo on April 07, 2004 at 16:28:33 PT:

You can just hear some anti, somewhere,
gasping, stammering and forlornly wailing at the blasphemy of home-made extracts:"But, but, but...it didn't come out of a BOTTLE!"Many antis' *brains* seem to reside in bottles...and the cap seal has never been broken.
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Comment #5 posted by global_warming on April 07, 2004 at 16:23:34 PT

Your Kidding
Hi All..."In a phone interview, Trent reiterates his statements and says PDFD is concerned about “massive abuse” of the law if the initiative were to pass. Trent fears that forged doctor’s notes would be difficult to control and that the growth of marijuana for purported medical use would be hard to regulate"...Here in rests the problem,.. the bloated health care system, all those nice people that wear these soothing teddy bears overgarments, have exploded the health care system, it is not their fault, the problem rests more in our overpopulation..If we could control our sexual desire, we might be able to bring this problem into some managebal context.....The old dog just isn't fast enough, with his aged arthritis, he just cannot shake those ticks off,..Why, are we trying to kill off so much life?
The bear hunts, the geese, the mice, the rats?I have a mouse problem in my house, should I kill them, setup these cheap 4/$1 mouse traps, hell, they are crapping all over my counter and stove..I guess they don't speak inglay..I did have a talk to the walls and counters, saying that we can all co-exist, I would even take them with me to Florida, where I plan to retire, they could be my beloved pets, along with my four dogs, and some kitties, oh, before I forget, my chickens, goats, muscovy ducks, and yeah, I would love to be able to have a horse.Slightly deceased, from a judao-christian upbringing, I often wonder what GOD wants from us little people, while these mighty stellar worlds are whirling in the eternity of time, I barely have time to contemplate my navel, let alone my neighbor..my brother or sister.The last thing I want is to raise my hand against my brother, my sister or some stranger, yet this world hurriadly rushes to take sides against our living children our ancestors, our birthrights, our victories against oppressions, our battles against the unforgiving NIGHT,..Soon DEATH will knock on our doors, and with shaking hand, we will answer the darkness,..What have we learned?gw
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Comment #4 posted by FoM on April 07, 2004 at 14:24:01 PT

Who Can Afford Marinol?
I know I can't. I can't afford medicine at all even if I could get a Doctor to write a script for it. Trying to get by is the best most of us can do. If we had insurance for scripts for everyone in the USA that would be different but we don't. If you have any vices like cigarettes or alcohol they tax you to death. You can't get ahead and I think it's planned that way to make it so average folks can't get more money then they need to scrimp by. That keeps a person down and spinning in circles. That really upsets me. We all are paying a tax for this and another tax for that and if we didn't have these tax bills most of us would be doing ok. 
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Comment #3 posted by Virgil on April 07, 2004 at 14:16:06 PT

Marinol is no medical value. Bring on the extracts
Marinol is expensive: about $17.25 per 10 mg capsule.Marinol is no medical value. It cost $1725 for one gram of THC and cannot rival the natural extract for services rendered. In an era where the politicians preach free trade, we have no free trade in pharmaceuticals for the exact same reason people/Medicaid/Medicare are paying $1725 a gram for something inferior when the better alternative is still overpriced at $5 gram. We see the hand of fascism very clearly in all of this and that the overthrow of the People's government rules us with treason to represent their corporate masters. 
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on April 07, 2004 at 14:07:28 PT

ekim
Thanks!
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Comment #1 posted by ekim on April 07, 2004 at 14:05:25 PT

Bush Agency Pushes Ruthless Speech Restrictions
Bush Agency Pushes Ruthless Speech RestrictionsMore than 4,200 Drug Policy Alliance members and fellow reformers responded to our February 6th Action Alert demanding that the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reject a proposal to restrict the free speech of nonprofits. Though the thousands of faxes that flooded Congress helped stall the government's plans, a new proposal, much broader and harsher than the earlier one, is now under consideration by the FEC.Send a free email message by April 9 to the FEC telling them you oppose their assault on free speech!!The Alliance thanks the thousands of you who wrote to Congress criticizing previous FEC and IRS attempts to abolish our free-speech rights. But we need your help now more than ever!!Under the FEC's Political Committee Status Rule, the Drug Policy Alliance and other advocacy groups could be barred from communicating with you and other fellow reformers about the political actions of federal officials up for re-election. This is one of the worst proposed assaults on the freedom of speech and association ever considered in the United States! Communications just like this one could be banned!Public comments are due by April 9!!!The FEC rule would prevent the Drug Policy Alliance and other advocacy groups from contacting our supporters about the political actions of federal officials who are up for re-election. It could provide members of Congress with a green light to introduce and pass harmful drug policies while they are up for re-election and make it against the law for the Alliance to run advertisements in a newspaper or send out email alerts like this one.The chilling effect of the FEC proposal on free speech cannot be overstated. It is an unacceptable and unconstitutional intrusion upon the free-speech rights of nonprofits and the general public.1) Email the Federal Election Commission. Use our pre-written form to tell them that you oppose to the Federal Election Commission's ("FEC") Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ("NPRM") with regard to Political Committee Status. DO IT TODAY!! If you do not respond to this urgent alert, the controversial proposals will likely be adopted, endangering the future of the Alliance and all other nonprofit organizations working for freedom in America.2) Forward this alert to friends and family.3) Read comments submitted to the FEC on April 5 by the Drug Policy Alliance.http://http://actioncenter.drugpolicy.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=17047&ms=
 

http://http://actioncenter.drugpolicy.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=17047&ms=
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