cannabisnews.com: D.C. Council Speeding Towards Law to Prescribe MMJ
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D.C. Council Speeding Towards Law to Prescribe MMJ
Posted by CN Staff on June 12, 2014 at 13:51:07 PT
By Aaron C. Davis
Source: Washington Post
Washington, D.C. -- D.C. Council members pressed forward with plans to broadly expand access to medical marijuana in the nation’s capital Thursday, drawing praise from residents who said they suffer from an array of conditions that might benefit from use of the plant.Under legislation that all 13 council members have pledged to support, the bill would strike from District law a narrow list of four conditions, including AIDS and spasms, which allow residents to apply for legal purchase of marijuana. New guidelines would simply leave it up to District physicians to decide whether any patient condition might benefit from prescribed marijuana.
The push to loosen the city’s medical marijuana program follows the council’s decision in March to eliminate all criminal penalties for possession of marijuana for personal use, replacing a potential one-year jail term with a fine of just $25. (Smoking it in public could still draw a jail term of 60 days, similar to the penalty for public consumption of alcohol).On paper, the proposed guidelines for marijuana prescription-writing would make the District’s program among the most liberal nationwide. However, several restrictions, such as automatic audits of doctors who prescribe to more than 250 people, and District licensing of each plant used for legal cultivation, would keep the program far more regulated than in states such as California.The District’s medical marijuana program launched slowly last year after being tied up by Congress for nearly a decade. With bipartisan support there now for looser medical marijuana laws, council members said they were confident that a broader law would pass muster with congressional overseers. Congress also shows no sign of stopping the District law to decriminalize marijuana. Without an act of Congress and the president, that should take effect next month.To expedite passage of the proposed medical marijuana legislation, the council’s committee on health and its committee on judiciary and public safety held a joint hearing Thursday to hear testimony and move toward a full council vote, perhaps before its summer recess in July.Health committee Chair Yvette Alexander (D-Ward 7) said that with just 400 patients Districtwide, or a few dozen a month, approved so far for use of medical marijuana, the city’s year-old program has yet to become the benefit to the District’s 645,000 city residents that lawmakers envisioned.The committee also took testimony on a companion bill by council member David Grosso (I-At Large) that would allow the city’s three current dispensaries, as well as those allowed to open in the future, to increase cultivation from a maximum of less than 100 plants to 500 each.Grosso said the increased production would be key to creating enough marijuana that it could be manufactured into pills and liquids, which among other uses, is the method of ingestion preferred for children with debilitating epilepsy.“If you push one button over here, you’re going to have an effect over there: We need to consider all of these issues together at once,” Grosso said.Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s health director, Joxel Garcia, said he supported giving doctors more flexibility, and that the department had begun allowing patients to apply online for permission to purchase medical marijuana to try to allow more to benefit.But he urged the council to move cautiously, both in ramping up production and raising expectations that marijuana can be a cure-all.“The problem is people come in thinking it is a panacea, and when it fails, they are angered,” Garcia said. He said the drug should be thought of as an experimental one, since it still lacks any FDA guidance for effective uses.Judiciary committee Chairman Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) said he did not think it was Garcia’s role or expertise to decide how many plants each cultivator should grow. Wells said supply and demand would dictate production.Thursday’s debate took place as proponents of a measure to legalize possession of marijuana, including home cultivation, continued to gather signatures to place a measure on the District ballot Nov. 4. According to a recent Post poll, District residents support legalizing the drug for personal use by a margin of 2 to 1.Source: Washington Post (DC) Author: Aaron C. DavisPublished: June 12, 2014Copyright: 2014 Washington Post CompanyContact: letters washpost.com Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ URL: http://drugsense.org/url/7AG3JZHJCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #14 posted by Hope on June 18, 2014 at 18:50:29 PT
All this time ... all this truth...
We've said it. All of us. Over and over. At least three times... times ten thousand. But sometimes it needs saying again, until we get there.Christie is a reminder of the old time prohibitionists, the old time deadly, life destroying government machine. Full of himself and behind the times. Way behind.
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Comment #13 posted by Hope on June 18, 2014 at 18:30:09 PT
herbdoc215 Comment 10
We're counting on it!"As I get feeling better I will try my best to stop by more often to check in and say hello to all my friends and brothers in truth here."
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #12 posted by FoM on June 15, 2014 at 09:50:46 PT
herbdoc215
Thank you! It's great to see you and hope to see you more often!
[ Post Comment ]
Comment #11 posted by herbdoc215 on June 15, 2014 at 08:15:43 PT
FoM,
Very Happy aniversery and many more! Hope you both have a great day!
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Comment #10 posted by herbdoc215 on June 15, 2014 at 08:13:17 PT
Happy Fathers Day!
I hope everybody here is doing well and having a Happy Fathers Day and condolences to those whom have lost theirs. As I get feeling better I will try my best to stop by more often to check in and say hello to all my friends and brothers in truth here. Peace, Steve
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Comment #9 posted by FoM on June 15, 2014 at 06:14:28 PT
Afterburner
Sounds like a great day and thank you!
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Comment #8 posted by afterburner on June 15, 2014 at 05:54:27 PT
FoM & Stick
Happy Anniversary & Happy Father's Day. Happy Father's Day to all the dads that post or lurk at Cannabis News. Have a wonderful day. After church, my son and I are watching Gravity.Later, I have to work for a few hours.
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Comment #7 posted by FoM on June 15, 2014 at 05:08:40 PT
Afterburner and all Dads, Happy Father's Day!
Have a wonderful day! Today is our 41st Wedding Anniversary and we are going to take it easy and enjoy the day.
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Comment #6 posted by afterburner on June 14, 2014 at 22:32:40 PT
museman - a parting gift
You may find this interesting:Boycott Canada's Medical Marijuana Profiteers.
By David Malmo-Levine - Thursday, June 12 2014
http://www.cannabisculture.com/blogs/2014/06/12/Boycott-Canada-Medical-Marijuana-Profiteers David has integrity and determination. Maybe, some day, you'll get a chance to meet him. I enjoyed reading your challenging posts and debating. Best wishes in your musical endeavors and your writing. Come back and visit any time.
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Comment #5 posted by FoM on June 13, 2014 at 18:41:20 PT
Afterburner
I am happy Jamaica will decriminalize. It's hard to believe it is still illegal at all there.
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Comment #4 posted by Hope on June 13, 2014 at 17:48:36 PT
Me, too, Museman.
I'm sorry I've offended you. You probably know I didn't mean to. I have a pretty bad case of foot in mouth disease.
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on June 13, 2014 at 11:42:37 PT
museman
I can't post any more of the thread you posted on since we have reached the comment limit. This is what I wrote to you but can't post.It is good to see you and I wish you the very best and always have. I have tried to stay focused on CNews since everyone has a mission and should follow it. I respect you and your journey even though it is different then mine. We need to do what we can with the talent we have and you are doing that.
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Comment #2 posted by afterburner on June 13, 2014 at 10:35:51 PT
Jamaica to Decriminalize - Another Link
| 06/13/2014PRESS RELEASEJamaica Poised to Decriminalize Marijuana Possession, Approve Medical and Religious Use, and Expunge Past OffensesMarijuana Reform Gaining Unprecedented Global MomentumOn Friday, Jamaican Minister of Justice Mark Golding released a statement announcing government support for a proposal to decriminalize the possession of up to two ounces of marijuana and the decriminalization of marijuana use for religious, scientific and medical purposes.
http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/2014/06/jamaica-poised-decriminalize-marijuana-possession-approve-medical-and-religious-use-and
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Comment #1 posted by afterburner on June 12, 2014 at 20:55:54 PT
'Rasta Don't Work for No CIA'
Jamaica Will Decriminalize Marijuana Possession.
by Phillip Smith, June 12, 2014, 07:10pm
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2014/jun/12/jamaica_will_decriminalize_marij
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