cannabisnews.com: Medical Marijuana Keeps on Rolling
Medical Marijuana Keeps on Rolling
Posted by CN Staff on December 07, 2004 at 11:16:11 PT
By Jennifer Gonnerman
Source: Village Voice
When Assemblyman Richard Gottfried proposed a bill legalizing marijuana for sick people in 1997, his odds of success seemed slim. State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, a Republican, vowed to defeat Gottfried's bill. And even Gottfried, a Democrat from Chelsea, admitted that turning his bill into law would be "an uphill battle." Back then, only two states permitted sick people to smoke pot legally.
Fast-forward seven years and the cause of medical marijuana has become a full-fledged political movement, with two national organizations running campaigns across the country. Medical marijuana is now legal in 11 states. And in New York, the cause has grown in popularity. Now even Bruno, who battled prostate cancer last year, has begun to sound much more receptive. The battle over medical marijuana was back in the news again last week, when the U.S. Supreme Court heard the appeal of two sick women from California. Their case seeks to stop federal law enforcement agents from arresting pot-smoking patients who are obeying the laws of their own state. A ruling is not expected for months. Even if the court decides against the two women, the medical-marijuana laws in states like California would not change; they would still permit patients to smoke pot (though these patients would be vulnerable to arrest by federal agents). "Nobody ever expected this case to get this far," says Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance, which helped finance this lawsuit as well as medical-marijuana campaigns in eight states. "If we win this, it would be a very significant step forward. If we lose, it's just a tiny step backward." Whatever the court's final decision, it will certainly affect the movement's momentum, and may determine the fate of Gottfried's bill in Albany next year. For New Yorkers with long memories, the debate over medical marijuana may feel like old news. During the 1980s, New York was one of seven states in the country that distributed marijuana cigarettes. The pot came from a federal farm down South. Through a research program, it was dispensed at hospitals around the state to people with glaucoma or cancer. (According to doctors and patients, marijuana relieves eye pressure in glaucoma sufferers and fights nausea induced by chemotherapy.) New Yorkers had former assemblyman Antonio Olivieri to thank for this program. In 1979, Olivieri discovered he had a brain tumor. He underwent chemotherapy, and smoked marijuana to battle the side effects. Along the way, he became an outspoken crusader for legalizing medical marijuana. From his hospital bed, he lobbied the chair of the senate health committee by phone. The bill passed in 1980, and Olivieri died shortly afterward. Between 1982 and 1989, the New York State Department of Health handed out almost 6,000 joints, to more than 200 people. Eventually the availability of Marinol capsules—which contain THC, the active ingredient in marijuana—decreased the demand for the cigarettes. (Many people do prefer marijuana, however, which they say is more effective.) At any rate, by the end of the decade, New York's medical-marijuana program had shut down, as had all the programs in other states. California kicked off the recent wave of medical-marijuana victories in 1996, when Proposition 215 prevailed, with 56 percent of the vote. Now, with a doctor's recommendation, people in California who suffer from AIDS, cancer, or glaucoma can legally grow and smoke marijuana. Over the next four years, several states followed California's lead: Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Maine, Colorado, Nevada. Each state put the issue on the ballot, and every time voters approved it. Last month, voters in Montana approved yet another medical-marijuana ballot initiative, this time by 62 percent. Meanwhile, in 2000, Hawaii became the first state to remove criminal penalties for medical marijuana by using a different method: passing state legislation instead of putting an initiative on the ballot. Campaigns for ballot initiatives can be incredibly costly; given a choice, medical-marijuana activists usually prefer to achieve their goals through legislation. While it can be much more difficult to win over state legislators than regular voters, this strategy has begun to work. The Maryland state legislature passed a medical-marijuana bill in 2003, and Vermont did the same earlier this year. A legislative victory in New York State—getting Gottfried's bill through the assembly and the senate, and then signed by Governor Pataki—would represent yet another substantial victory for the pro-pot movement. The Marijuana Policy Project, a national organization that spent $3 million on campaigns this year, will be targeting New York in 2005, as well as Rhode Island, Illinois, and a few other states. Already, the group has a lobbyist working in Albany. Gottfried's bill would permit people to smoke marijuana legally with a doctor's certification if they have a "life-threatening condition." These include cancer, HIV, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Lou Gehrig's disease, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and hepatitis C. Doctors who certify patients to obtain pot would be required to send a copy of their certification to the state health department. Patients would be allowed to receive a month's supply of marijuana at a time. The bill has 45 sponsors in the assembly; seven are Republicans. One of the first Republicans to join the cause was Patrick Manning, who represents Dutchess County. A close friend of his has cancer, and has been smoking marijuana to battle the effects of chemotherapy. "If this could help someone make their life a little bit better, a little more pleasant, while they're going through such a horrible disease, then it would be wrong for me not to stand up," Manning says. "I started talking to my colleagues and asked them to join me, so we can really make it a bipartisan bill." The talk show host Montel Williams traveled to Albany to lobby legislators in May. Williams, who uses pot to combat the pain caused by multiple sclerosis, met with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Bruno, and others. In June, Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau met with Williams, then announced his support for legalizing medical marijuana. A few weeks later, the New York City Council passed a resolution supporting Gottfried's bill. And in September, Williams returned to Albany to have a meeting about the issue with Governor Pataki. For any state that does legalize medical marijuana, the crucial question is always: Where does the pot come from? The federal government grows marijuana on a farm in Mississippi, and supplies joints to seven patients across the country through a research program run by the University of Mississippi. But this farm does not supply pot to new patients in states where medical marijuana has been legalized. These patients must either grow their own weed, or else buy it on the black market. One idea that has been floating around for years is to redistribute marijuana that has been confiscated by the police. In past years, in New York State, this pot has been handed over to the state health department. Workers placed it on a conveyor belt, which delivered it to an incinerator. (The process wasn't always seamless; in 1986, workers took 63 pounds of marijuana for themselves, lifting it off the conveyer belt.) Gottfried's bill suggests a few possible sources of medical marijuana, including the state's confiscated stash. While some legislators will likely want to wait to make a decision about Gottfried's bill until the Supreme Court makes its decision, Gottfried is pushing for faster action. "I think the fact that the Supreme Court decision is pending creates one argument for passing a bill at this very moment, because state action helps send a message . . . to the Supreme Court," he says. That message, of course, would be that the public wants to permit sick people to smoke pot without having to worry about a phalanx of police officers bursting through their front door. Note: Pot for patients may run into trouble with the Supreme Court, but the issue is gaining here at home.Source: Village Voice (NY)Author: Jennifer GonnermanPublished: December 7th, 2004Copyright: 2004 VV Publishing CorporationContact: editor villagevoice.comWebsite: http://www.villagevoice.com/Related Articles & Web Sites:Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/Drug Policy Alliancehttp://www.drugpolicy.org/Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmMontel Speaks for Medical Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18831.shtmlNY Rethinking Its Ban on Medical Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18803.shtmlMontel Williams Pushes Pot -- for Medical Reliefhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18797.shtml
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Comment #18 posted by FoM on December 10, 2004 at 09:39:46 PT
Made Me Think of This
Now, hey you Mister! can't you read, you got to have a shirt and tie to get a seat You can't even watch, no you can't eat, you ain't suppose to be here Sign said you got to have a membership card to get inside Uh! http://www.fivemanelectricalband.ca/signslyrics.html
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Comment #17 posted by Hope on December 10, 2004 at 09:34:58 PT
aaarrrghhh
"Do not taste. Do not smell. Do not touch."Humanity as a whole is anything but.
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Comment #16 posted by afterburner on December 10, 2004 at 08:47:54 PT
Hope, RE Comment #15, Prohibition Is a Mindset
I have previously commented on parking meters and signs (no parking, no stopping, no standing) as manifestations of prohibitionist thinking, which undermine the health of city businesses and the tax base. Last night, I experienced another example: I went to get a bagel for dinner at the supermarket. Since none of the bagels were identified as to type (I was looking for multigrain or whole wheat) and no price was posted, I took a basket of likely-looking bagels to the pastry counter to ask what kind they were and the price. Their response: "You're not supposed to move that!" and as an afterthought, "59 cents each." As long as people continue to think and react in prohibitionist ways, it will continue to be difficult to get sensible cannabis law reform.
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Comment #15 posted by Hope on December 10, 2004 at 07:53:28 PT
Afterburner....The Dark Ages
“Often, "magical" writings were planted by Christian magistrates for the sake of the financial rewards they received when they caught and executed heretics - a system the Inquisition also used to advantage in later centuries.” We know there have been cases that would allow for a history of recent years to be so similar to these old histories. Like the above, it could be said that, “Often, drugs were planted by Christian magistrates for the sake of the financial rewards they received when they caught and persecuted suspected drug users or dealers - a system the Inquisition also used to advantage in earlier centuries.” "Gregory of Nazianzus wrote to St. Jerome thus: "A little jargon is all that is necessary to impose upon the people. The less they comprehend, the more they admire.”" How many times has something similar been said and thought down through the years? I know the answer...'plenty of times'.History just keeps repeating itself over and over again. Stupidity and cruelty seem to be the most prevalent human trait that just goes on and on. I wonder why we can't learn, as a people, from the past.
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Comment #14 posted by afterburner on December 09, 2004 at 21:59:16 PT
Hope, You Think Hitler Was Bad...
check out the Dark Ages, the root of Hitler's persecutions:The Dark Ages http://home.att.net/~gentletouch/darkages.htmlBTW, I drive past Hope Street almost every night at work. Sometimes, I even drive down Hope Street.
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Comment #13 posted by afterburner on December 07, 2004 at 23:51:20 PT
CyberVillage and Liberty
FoM Cool PictureFoM I have it in my slideshow.
Village Voice is now in my Media Favorites.Hope He Does Now!"I'm still stunned that Justice Scalia does not know that Hitler cloaked himself in religious appearing wrappings and rhetoric."It's not about dirt per se, it's about Justice WE THE PEOPLE style. If the dirt sticks, wash it. Freedom of Mind. Psychology is Attitude Warfare: it assumes a political position: cannabis expands your mind v. cannabis poisons your mind. Both-And, it's your choice. "Choose Life" said my Father.{An Interesting Career in Psychology:
Federal Drug Science Specialist
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Christine Sannerud, PhD, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration http://www.apa.org/science/ic-sannerud.html
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"As a Drug Science Specialist at the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), I am the sole psychologist within a group of a dozen pharmacologists and chemist. My professional activities focus on evaluating the abuse potential and actual abuse of drugs and the subsequent extrapolation to drug scheduling (determining how stringently a drug should be controlled) and drug policy. For each drug project, I write a scientific review and an abuse liability assessment. I evaluate the scientific, medical, industrial, and epidemiological data regarding medical use, diversion, and trafficking of drugs. These documents also include the methods and procedures for illicit drug manufacture and control and the federal and international laws and regulations applicable to drug control. The results of my research, evaluations, and reports directly influence the recommendations for drug scheduling under the federal law and drug control policy within the United States."}Are the Supreme Court Justices blind, deaf, and dumb, three little monkeys? Or is Justice blind, deaf, and dumb?Basic security is kind of an important requirement for a healing environment. {Gottfried is pushing for faster action. "I think the fact that the Supreme Court decision is pending creates one argument for passing a bill at this very moment, because state action helps send a message . . . to the Supreme Court," he says. That message, of course, would be that the public wants to permit sick people to smoke pot without having to worry about a phalanx of police officers bursting through their front door.}
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Comment #12 posted by Hope on December 07, 2004 at 21:22:40 PT
Afterburner
That Maureen Farrell column ought to be required reading for the so called, "religious right".I'm still stunned that Justice Scalia does not know that Hitler cloaked himself in religious appearing wrappings and rhetoric.
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Comment #11 posted by dr slider on December 07, 2004 at 20:54:08 PT:
How could I be so stupid?
Of course! Another official, multi-generational, blue ribbon, 'effin gold plated, STUDY (in quapriplicate), to tell us something man has known since he figured out fire. That's exactly what we need.
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Comment #10 posted by Hope on December 07, 2004 at 20:38:51 PT
Cool!
Thanks, FoM.
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Comment #9 posted by Hope on December 07, 2004 at 20:37:18 PT
Global warming, an unlady-like observation, but...
If he doesn't “see the light“, I fear Mr. Souder and his cohorts ought to "pre-plan" a urine shield for their grave sites, or they might wind up as stinky as I've heard Harry Anslinger's is.
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on December 07, 2004 at 20:33:49 PT
Hope Try This
It didn't work for me either so I uploaded it. This should work.http://www.freedomtoexhale.com/nyork.jpg
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Comment #7 posted by Hope on December 07, 2004 at 20:20:57 PT
FoM
When I tried to access that picture...I got a FORBIDDEN page.
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Comment #6 posted by Hope on December 07, 2004 at 20:19:40 PT
Afterburner
That article by Maureen Farrell.It's disheartening and...well terrifying, that Scalia is that ignorant and uninformed.
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on December 07, 2004 at 18:47:09 PT
Check Out The Pic From The Village Voice Article
http://images.villagevoice.com/issues/0449/gonnerman.jpg
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Comment #4 posted by afterburner on December 07, 2004 at 17:14:58 PT
RE Comment #3 global_warming's link
{In his book, They Thought They Were Free, Milton Mayer interviewed Germans who discussed how their society changed right before their eyes, and how, despite Hitler's rhetoric, God was nowhere to be found. As one interviewee put it:{"The world you live in -- "your nation, your people" -- is not the world you were in at all. The forms are all there, all untouched, all reassuring, the houses, the shops, the jobs, the mealtimes, the visits, the concerts, the cinema, the holidays. But the spirit, which you never noticed because you made the lifelong mistake of identifying it with the forms, is changed. Now you live in a world of hate and fear, and the people who hate and fear do not even know it themselves; when everyone is transformed, no one is transformed. Now you live in a system which rules without responsibility even to God. The system itself could not have intended this in the beginning, but in order to sustain itself it was compelled to go all the way."}
--December 7, 2004
"God Is With Us": Hitler's Rhetoric and the Lure of "Moral Values"
by Maureen Farrell http://www.buzzflash.com/farrell/04/12/far04041.htmlMany have commented here at CNews during and just after the recent presidential election about the palpable and suffocating atmosphere of fear pervading the USA.
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Comment #3 posted by global_warming on December 07, 2004 at 15:37:50 PT
re:The Death of Souder
There was a memorial today to honor the recent demise of the Honorable Rep. Mark Souder.No body came to this memorial, and this lonely soul died and will be quickly forgotten.One person (who wished to remain anonymous) had this to say, "The misery he caused will not be quickly forgotten, but that his demise heralds a new dawn, where truth and justice might be allowed to find fertile ground".Todays weather will be warm and humid... ...http://www.buzzflash.com/farrell/04/12/far04041.html
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on December 07, 2004 at 14:01:16 PT
Press Release from MPP
MPP Applauds Rep. Souder's Search for Truth About Medical Marijuana Proposal's Fine Print Raises Questions About Objectivity
WASHINGTON -- December 7 -- The Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) today reaffirmed its longstanding support for dissemination of accurate scientific information about marijuana's medical benefits and expressed the hope that the "Safe and Effective Drug Act" introduced yesterday by U.S. Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) can be a part of that process. Souder's bill calls upon the National Institute on Drug Abuse "to examine the available scientific data regarding the safety and effectiveness of smoking marijuana" and requires the Food and Drug Administration to distribute this information."We have no doubt that an honest, objective evaluation of medical marijuana will show what every prior impartial evaluation has shown, that marijuana has great benefits for some patients and is safer than many commonly used prescription and over-the-counter drugs," said Steve Fox, MPP director of government relations. "Marijuana has never caused a fatal overdose, while acetaminophen -- the active ingredient in Tylenol-is estimated to kill 458 Americans per year from acute liver failure."In 1988, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Administrative Law Judge Francis L. Young wrote, after a two-year study, "Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known." Eleven years later, the Institute of Medicine reported, "Nausea, appetite loss, pain and anxiety... all can be mitigated by
marijuana.""There are two red flags in Souder's bill suggesting he doesn't really want a fair study," Fox added. "First, he wants it done by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, whose main role in medical marijuana research has been to obstruct it. Second, he is asking them to focus only on smoked marijuana, while growing numbers of medical users use vaporizers -- devices that allow them to inhale marijuana's therapeutically active components without the harmful irritants in smoke. For 17 months now, NIDA has been blocking researchers from obtaining 10 grams of marijuana for a vaporizer study. Sadly, NIDA's record does not indicate that it is capable of dealing with medical
marijuana in an unbiased, impartial way."With more than 17,000 members and 150,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP works to minimize the harm associated with marijuana -- both the consumption of marijuana and the laws that are intended to prohibit such use. MPP
believes that the greatest harm associated with marijuana is imprisonment. For more information, please visit: http://www.MarijuanaPolicy.org/ CONTACT: Marijuana Policy Project
Bruce Mirken, 202-543-7972
or 415-668-6403 http://www.commondreams.org/news2004/1207-15.htm
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on December 07, 2004 at 12:11:33 PT
Press Release from The Drug Policy Alliance
Medical Marijuana Supporters Must Now Play the Waiting GameDecember 7, 2004The U.S. Supreme Court last week heard the case of Ashcroft v. Raich, pitting an overzealous federal government against a sick woman trying to live as best she can while suffering from an inoperable brain tumor, a seizure disorder, life-threatening wasting syndrome, severe chronic pain and other documented medical conditions.In 2002, medical-marijuana patient Angel Raich was launched into the spotlight when she and Diane Monson, both seriously ill medical marijuana patients, sued Attorney General John Ashcroft and the federal government. The goal in launching the case was to put an end to the government's cruel and illegal raids on sick people who use medical marijuana in accordance with state law. Though the Supreme Court heard the case last week, the outcome of the case will not be clear for at least a few months."But win or lose," as Raich wrote in a letter to Alliance supporters mailed on the day her case came before the court, "I can assure you that -- with the generous help of supporters like you -- the Alliance will be working on behalf of me and thousands of other medical cannabis patients.""Nobody ever expected this case to get this far," says Alliance executive director Ethan Nadelmann in today's Village Voice. "If we win this, it would be a very significant step forward. If we lose, it's just a tiny step backward."You can read the complete letter from Raich to Alliance supporters here, an overview of the Alliance's role in the Raich case here, and the Alliance's brief to the Supreme Court on Raich's behalf here.URL:
http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/12_07_04raich.cfm
Angel Raich Vs. John Ashcroft News
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