cannabisnews.com: Pioneer 'Pot' Program Should Be Reinstated 





Pioneer 'Pot' Program Should Be Reinstated 
Posted by FoM on October 13, 1999 at 10:06:34 PT
Opinion
Source: ABQ Journal
State Department of Health secretary Alex Valdez is encouraged to continue taking steps toward reinstating the medical marijuana program established by the New Mexico Legislature in 1978, but which hasn't been funded since 1986. 
Last summer, Valdez asked the Drug Enforcement Administration what federal requirements the state needed to fulfill to reinstate the program, and says he received a reply this past week. It appears his request was prompted by threat of a class-action lawsuit demanding that the program be reinstated, spearheaded by University of New Mexico nurse and potential plaintiff Bryan Krumm. Krumm said advocates delayed filing a suit because Valdez told them he would move to restore the program. But it appears Valdez is still extremely cautious. Spending for the Lynn Pierson therapeutic research program, he said, would not be a priority in his budget request for the next fiscal year. "I have to think about how to proceed with this," Valdez said. According to Krumm, Valdez also said he would like to see interest from more than one person before proceeding. Krumm claims about 30 people were willing to serve as plaintiffs in the potential lawsuit. But numbers should not decide whether the program merits reinstatment. New Mexico showed compassion and foresight when in 1978 it became the first state to initiate a program in which patients could use marijuana to ease eye pressure in glaucoma cases and the nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy. Results of the program's brief tenure, involving more than 200 New Mexico patients, provided pioneering research into marijuana's medical benefits, much of which was corroborated by a federal study earlier this year. In some of the New Mexico cases, the drug's use extended the lives of patients by enabling them to endure chemotherapy's devastating side effects. And New Mexico's law leaves the door open for a review board to broaden use to other medical conditions. Reinstatement of New Mexico's program -- named for a 26-year-old business student and cancer patient who successfully lobbied for the medical option -- could result in further pioneering research into use of the drug, including benefits of alternative delivery systems for Marinol, the synthetic derivative. The program could provide immediate benefits for patients who, in consultation with their physicians, view this too-tightly controlled medical resource as a source of relief. Pubdate: October 13, 1999Copyright © 1997, 1998, 1999 Albuquerque JournalMed. Marijuana Research Program Could Be Revived - 10/10/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3227.shtmlMarijuana-Like Substance in Brain Relieves Pain - 10/11/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3243.shtml
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