cannabisnews.com: Federal Marijuana Monopoly Challenged





Federal Marijuana Monopoly Challenged
Posted by CN Staff on December 11, 2005 at 17:16:17 PT
By Marc Kaufman, Washington Post Staff Writer
Source: Washington Post 
Washington, D.C. -- For decades, the federal government has been the nation's only legal producer of marijuana for medical research. Working with growers at the University of Mississippi, the National Institute on Drug Abuse has controlled both the quality and distribution of the drug for the past 36 years.But for the first time the government's monopoly on research marijuana is under serious legal challenge. The effort is being spearheaded by a group that wants to produce medicines from currently illegal psychedelic drugs and by a professor at the University of Massachusetts who has agreed to grow marijuana for it if the government lets him.
In a hearing due to start today before an administrative law judge at the Drug Enforcement Administration, professor Lyle Craker and his supporters will argue for a DEA license to grow the research drugs. It is the climax of a decades-long effort to expand research into marijuana and controlled drugs and of Craker's almost five-year effort to become a competing marijuana grower."Our work is focused on finding medicinal uses of plants, and marijuana is one with clear potential," said Craker, director of the medicinal plant program of the university's Department of Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences in Amherst, Mass., and editor of the Journal of Herbs, Spices and Medicinal Plants. "There's only one government-approved source of marijuana for scientific research in this country, and that just isn't adequate."The DEA, which has to license anyone who wants to grow marijuana, disagrees.The agency, as well as the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which formally runs the marijuana research program, argues that it is not in the public interest to have more than one source of marijuana, in part because it could lead to greater illicit use. What's more, they said in legal briefs, the Mississippi program supplies all the marijuana that researchers need. Agency officials declined to comment further.In his suit against the DEA for a license to grow marijuana, Craker has backing from 38 members of Congress, the two senators from Massachusetts, numerous medical societies and even Grover Norquist, the president of the conservative Americans for Tax Reform.The effort has been organized by Richard Doblin, president of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) and a longtime advocate of medical research into controlled drugs. It was Doblin who recruited Craker after the association concluded it would never get a dependable supply of government marijuana."Dr. Craker has no goal here except to advance scientific research into marijuana, and our goals are the same," said Doblin, whose group is also sponsoring research into other controlled drugs including MDMA (better known as "ecstasy") and the psychedelic mushroom psilocybin."By controlling who can research marijuana and how they can do it, the DEA has greatly limited promising research that could lead to [government] approved medications," Doblin said.The problems, he said, are not limited to winning approval to buy the Mississippi marijuana. Doblin and other researchers contend that the government marijuana is low in quality and potency and could never be a stable source of basic ingredients if the Food and Drug Administration ever did approve a marijuana-based medication.Marijuana, or cannabis, is now listed as a Schedule I drug -- with no medicinal use -- under the Controlled Substances Act. Its use was initially restricted in 1937 and eliminated from medicinal practice in 1942. On its Web site, the DEA lists marijuana as the most frequently abused illicit drug in America.Since the 1970s, however, researchers have found potential uses for marijuana, or its active ingredient THC, in relieving nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy and to help with appetite loss in AIDS patients. A synthetic form of marijuana's active ingredient has been made into a prescription drug, Marinol.Doblin said there are potentially many other medicinal uses of marijuana, including the treatment of multiple sclerosis and AIDS-related neuropathy. He also said researchers believe that if they can perfect a method of "vaporizing" marijuana -- allowing it to be inhaled rather than smoked -- it would be easier to administer as medicine.But because of fears of illicit use, he said, the agency has essentially blocked the research. "I believe the DEA policy is one of delay, and they've succeeded in essentially blocking marijuana development for 30 years," Doblin said.In its filings with Administrative Law Judge Mary Ellen Bittner, the DEA disputes the charge that it is standing in the way of marijuana research.It says that medical marijuana research is underway in California using its Mississippi supply, and that the drug maker Mallinckrodt Inc. has a contract with the Mississippi supplier to produce extracts of cannabis for its drug development program. In addition, DEA lawyer Brian Bayly told the law judge in August, when the first five days of testimony were heard, that the quality and potency of the government's marijuana was acceptable to the researchers his agency surveyed.The hearing is expected to continue through the week, with a decision several months later. If Craker and his team prevail, however, the DEA is not obliged to give him a license or change its policies. And as a result, they plan to continue lining up political support, such as the Nov. 22 letter sent by Norquist to the DEA."The use of controlled substances for legitimate research purposes is well-established, and has yielded a number of miracle medicines widely available to patients and doctors," Norquist wrote. "This case should be no different. It's in the public interest to end the government monopoly on marijuana legal for research."Note: Researchers Want to Grow More Plants and Find More Medicinal Uses.Source: Washington Post (DC)Author:   Marc Kaufman, Washington Post Staff WriterPublished: Monday, December 12, 2005; Page A02Copyright: 2005 Washington Post Contact: letterstoed washpost.comWebsite: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ Related Articles & Web Site:MAPShttp://www.maps.org/ DEA To Argue Against Growing of Cannabishttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21355.shtmlMedical Marijuana Research Should Be Legalizedhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21098.shtmlClash Over Pot Research Gets Personalhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread21061.shtml
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on December 12, 2005 at 06:58:33 PT
News Brief from The Star Bulletin
Medical Marijuana Center To Open in Hilo***Vol. 10, Issue 346 - Monday, Dec. 12, 2005 The Hawaii Cannabis (THC) Ministry will open the Medical Marijuana Center of Hilo at noon Wednesday in the Moses Building, 94 Kamehameha Ave., Suite 2, announced Roger Christie. The center will be open from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday.It will provide up-to-date information about medical marijuana, help to screen patients for the state medical marijuana program, refer patients to qualified doctors, provide services and products to help in the growing and processing of medical marijuana and provide for spiritual needs toward recovery and healing of patients. For more information, call 961-0488 or see: http://www.thc-ministry.org/Link: http://starbulletin.com/2005/12/12/news/briefs.html
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Comment #8 posted by FoM on December 12, 2005 at 06:48:06 PT
Mayan
You're welcome. Maybe we will hear more soon.
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on December 12, 2005 at 06:47:15 PT
Related News Brief from MAPS & MPP
MAPS and MPP file an amicus curiae brief in the on-going Raich v. Gonzales case. On June 6, 2005, the US Supreme Court rejected the decision of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that there was no interstate commerce, and thus affirmed federal jurisdiction over state medical marijuana laws. However, a new lawsuit making other legal arguments has been filed. The amicus curiae brief describes the federal obstruction of MAPS' efforts to conduct federally-approved medical marijuana research. http://www.maps.org/sys/nq.pl?id=709&fmt=stdhttp://www.maps.org/mmj/mpp_amicus_11.30.05.pdf
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Comment #6 posted by mayan on December 12, 2005 at 01:21:20 PT
FoM
From the article you posted in comment #5...Rep. Thomas C. Slater , D-Providence, who sponsored the House legislation, said last week, "I have been assured by the leadership that it will be overridden before the start of the session."Sounds like good news! It's great that MPP is holding the R.I. House's feet to the fire. If I remember right, their next House session starts pretty soon! Thanks for the update on this "dead issue"!!!
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on December 11, 2005 at 23:01:35 PT
Pro-Medical Marijuana Effort Ramps Up
By Katherine Gregg and Scott Mayerowitz, Journal State House BureauMonday, December 12, 2005Rhode Island -- The Marijuana Policy Project is stepping up its efforts to get the General Assembly to enact a law allowing the use of marijuana to ease the pain of people with serious illnesses.The General Assembly passed such a measure this past session, but it was vetoed by Governor Carcieri . The Senate voted to override Carcieri's veto in June, but the House never dealt with the issue.Today, the Marijuana Policy Project will unveil a billboard at the corner of Orms and State street in Providence, urging the House to override the veto.The billboard will read: "Protect medical marijuana patients . . .Don't leave us out in the cold . . . Override the governor's veto."The advertisement will be up for a month, according to Bruce Mirken, director of communications for the Marijuana Policy Project, which is working with the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition on the billboard.Rep. Thomas C. Slater , D-Providence, who sponsored the House legislation, said last week, "I have been assured by the leadership that it will be overridden before the start of the session."House Speaker William J. Murphy , D-West Warwick, was not as definitive, saying through his spokesman, "The leadership is committed to making all efforts to pass Representative Slater's legislation."Copyright: 2005 The Providence Journal CompanySnipped:Complete Article: http://www.projo.com/news/politicalscene/projo_20051212_polsc12.864dda7.html
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Comment #4 posted by runruff on December 11, 2005 at 19:05:05 PT:
Typos
My keys stick or don't respond somtimes. My key board is very old. Or maybe I'm brain damaged from too much government?The Gestapo was declared.......ect. 
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Comment #3 posted by runruff on December 11, 2005 at 18:59:50 PT:
Who is the DEA?
Answer: The Geheime Statspolizei of Amerika. [The Amerikan
Gestapo] Identical inevery way. The Gestapo was decared a criminal organization at the Nuremberg Trials.A police organization directing medicine and medical research. Sound familure? Rousting people out of their beds in the middle of night for their political beliefs. Sound familure? Shooting and killing unarmed nonviolent people in their homes. Sound familure? Hauling people off to be tried in a kangaroo court and sent to prison. Sound familure? The DEA is as American as vinershnitzel.This is not my America.
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Comment #2 posted by mayan on December 11, 2005 at 18:32:23 PT
Eternal Delay
But because of fears of illicit use, he said, the agency has essentially blocked the research. "I believe the DEA policy is one of delay, and they've succeeded in essentially blocking marijuana development for 30 years," Doblin said.Illicit use, which may lead to a serious case of the munchies? Oh, no! It obviously goes much deeper than that. Every day that the government delays the inevitable acceptance of cannabis as medicine is another day the pharmaceutical companies make billions off of their killer drugs. The DEA has no problem with killer drugs.In its filings with Administrative Law Judge Mary Ellen Bittner, the DEA disputes the charge that it is standing in the way of marijuana research.BWAAHAAAHAAAHAAAAAA!!! If the DEA isn't hindering research then why don't they just give professor Craker a license so he can do some HONEST research? To hell with the government's twigs and beans and their biased studies!SHADOW OF THE SWASTIKA: The Real Reason the Government Won't Debate Medical Cannabis and Industrial Hemp Re-legalization:
http://www.sumeria.net/politics/shadv3.htmlTHE WAY OUT...Flight77.info FOIA Request Denied Again:
http://www.flight77.info/Why does the world trade center no longer exist?
http://nightbirdsfountain.blogspot.com/2005/12/i-wonder-how-many-of-enemy-out-there.html9/11 Truth Emergence:
http://911truthemergence.com/index.php?title=Main_PageUnplug the War Machine By Facing the Truth of 9/11:
http://www.911sharethetruth.com/Save The Constitution...URGENT!!! PATRIOT Act Update: Calls needed now!
PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY:
http://www.bordc.org/newsletter/bordc-act-alert49.php
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Comment #1 posted by FoM on December 11, 2005 at 17:23:49 PT
Washington Post
Sometimes when I think we won't have any articles from any big newspaper one happens just like this!
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