cannabisnews.com: Maine Follows Connecticuts Lead On Med. Marijuana





Maine Follows Connecticuts Lead On Med. Marijuana
Posted by FoM on November 04, 1999 at 07:01:59 PT
By Associated Press
Source: Boston Globe
A law allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana for medical purposes has been on the books in Connecticut for 18 years and it has never been used. 
This week voters in Maine passed a similar referendum, and doctors say though different from Connecticut's law, it may also go unused. In Connecticut, doctors not only have no way to legally obtain marijuana but they also face the loss of their licenses to prescribe narcotics as a result of their possession and distribution of marijuana, which remain federal crimes. In addition, says Dr. Peter D. Byeff, an oncologist who heads the George Bray Cancer Center at New Britain General Hospital, medications have been developed and approved in recent years that prevent nausea and stimulate the appetite without psychological and legal risks of marijuana. While marijuana typically produces euphoria in younger users, it can have the opposite effect, creating reactions such as anxiety and sadness, in older patients, he said. Connecticut's law permitting physicians to dispense marijuana to patients requires that the doctors first obtain a license from the state Department of Consumer Protection's drug control and enforcement unit. Byeff, who has been an oncologist for 18 years, said he hasn't had a patient request marijuana in ''many, many years.'' ''I don't know where you would get it in Connecticut, either,'' Byeff told The Hartford Courant. ''If there's no mechanism for dispensing it, that doesn't help many of my patients. They're not going to go out and grow it in their backyards.'' In Maine, the first Eastern state to approve the medicinal use of marijuana by referendum, patients can do just that. Legislation already set up to take effect with the proposal's passage, permits a patient with AIDS, glaucoma, cancer, neurological seizures or severe muscle spasms to possess up to 1.2 ounces of marijuana for personal use and to cultivate up to six marijuana plants (but only three mature plants at a given time). But patients must first obtain written permission from their doctors, something that could jeopardize a doctor's federal license to prescribe narcotics. Another issue is whether Maine's ballot results and state law can insulate its citizens from prosecution on federal drug charges. By Associated Press, 11/04/99 Related Articles:Ketterer Says Impact of Marijuana Vote 'Overrated'- 11/04/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3551.shtmlMainers Strongly Support Allowing Marijuana - 11/03/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3542.shtml
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Comment #7 posted by pothead on August 29, 2000 at 16:10:41 PT
pot is good
pot is very good and helps you see better
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Comment #6 posted by Robert Puterman on November 08, 1999 at 06:12:57 PT:
Medical Marijuana usage
I have had severe back pain and muscle spasms due to an accident which required removal of discs and two subsequent procedures related to my accident. I am in constant pain and am currently being treated for severe depression and anxiety as a result of the pain by a Psychiatrist who dispenses my medication. I have found that smoking marijuana relaxes me, and, frankly helps the muscle spasms in my back. I had been suicidal, because of the ongoing pain, and the Insurance M.D. releasing me back to work, pressured by the insurance company to do so. I am taking 100mg. Doxepin, 50 mg. Paxil,and Valiun 5mg. 4X per day. The most helpful substance has been marijuana, which does supress the pain, and helps relax me, making my quality of life more bearable. I have 3 years of documentation which will validate what I say. Are there any medical marijuana resource centers in the NJ/NY area, and, doctors who will write prescriptions for the appropriate use of medical marijuana. This information would help me a great deal. Thank you, and, please e-mail me at Bruse125 aol.com. Thank you very much.
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Comment #5 posted by Robert Puterman on November 08, 1999 at 06:12:16 PT:
Medical Marijuana usage
I have had severe back pain and muscle spasms due to an accident which required removal of discs and two subsequent procedures related to my accident. I am in constant pain and am currently being treated for severe depression and anxiety as a result of the pain by a Psychiatrist who dispenses my medication. I have found that smoking marijuana relaxes me, and, frankly helps the muscle spasms in my back. I had been suicidal, because of the ongoing pain, and the Insurance M.D. releasing me back to work, pressured by the insurance company to do so. I am taking 100mg. Doxepin, 50 mg. Paxil,and Valiun 5mg. 4X per day. The most helpful substance has been marijuana, which does supress the pain, and helps relax me, making my quality of life more bearable. I have 3 years of documentation which will validate what I say. Are there any medical marijuana resource centers in the NJ/NY area, and, doctors who will write prescriptions for the appropriate use of medical marijuana. This information would help me a great deal. Thank you, and, please e-mail me at Bruse125 aol.com. Thank you very much.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #4 posted by Robert Puterman on November 08, 1999 at 06:12:06 PT:
Medical Marijuana usage
I have had severe back pain and muscle spasms due to an accident which required removal of discs and two subsequent procedures related to my accident. I am in constant pain and am currently being treated for severe depression and anxiety as a result of the pain by a Psychiatrist who dispenses my medication. I have found that smoking marijuana relaxes me, and, frankly helps the muscle spasms in my back. I had been suicidal, because of the ongoing pain, and the Insurance M.D. releasing me back to work, pressured by the insurance company to do so. I am taking 100mg. Doxepin, 50 mg. Paxil,and Valiun 5mg. 4X per day. The most helpful substance has been marijuana, which does supress the pain, and helps relax me, making my quality of life more bearable. I have 3 years of documentation which will validate what I say. Are there any medical marijuana resource centers in the NJ/NY area, and, doctors who will write prescriptions for the appropriate use of medical marijuana. This information would help me a great deal. Thank you, and, please e-mail me at Bruse125 aol.com. Thank you very much.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #3 posted by Robert Puterman on November 08, 1999 at 06:11:56 PT:
Medical Marijuana usage
I have had severe back pain and muscle spasms due to an accident which required removal of discs and two subsequent procedures related to my accident. I am in constant pain and am currently being treated for severe depression and anxiety as a result of the pain by a Psychiatrist who dispenses my medication. I have found that smoking marijuana relaxes me, and, frankly helps the muscle spasms in my back. I had been suicidal, because of the ongoing pain, and the Insurance M.D. releasing me back to work, pressured by the insurance company to do so. I am taking 100mg. Doxepin, 50 mg. Paxil,and Valiun 5mg. 4X per day. The most helpful substance has been marijuana, which does supress the pain, and helps relax me, making my quality of life more bearable. I have 3 years of documentation which will validate what I say. Are there any medical marijuana resource centers in the NJ/NY area, and, doctors who will write prescriptions for the appropriate use of medical marijuana. This information would help me a great deal. Thank you, and, please e-mail me at Bruse125 aol.com. Thank you very much.
[ Post Comment ]

Comment #2 posted by rainbow on November 04, 1999 at 07:37:21 PT:
and what about those side effects.
Yes and they never sem to tell you about the side effects of the drug company dollar drugs. Zocor can ruin your liver but hey your choleserol will be down.Prosaic causes inumerable number of side effects inclusing aggressive behavior but hey it is ok to take.Remember that it was the American Medical Association that endorse and back the tobacco companies. In my humble opinion medical doctors have no right to talk.They need to understand that people in glass houses should not throw stones or is that stow thrones.CheersRainbow 
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Comment #1 posted by Chris Knestrick on November 04, 1999 at 07:24:05 PT:
Interesting...
Interesting, before the referendum was passed, the Attorney General and the police were crying about how it was going to make their jobs so much harder, and now it's no big deal.And the Lie lives on,Chris
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