cannabisnews.com: Activists Demand Legal Marijuana Activists Demand Legal Marijuana Posted by FoM on October 23, 2000 at 07:41:40 PT By Jennifer Micale, Staff Writer Source: Home News Tribune Elvy Musikka had her medication on hand as she protested in front of Al Gore's George Street campaign office Sunday. The plastic orange prescription bottle held a dozen marijuana cigarettes. But Musikka wasn't worried when she lit a joint, even though two New Brunswick police officers calmly watched the rally supporting the legalization of marijuana from across the street. The California resident is one of only eight patients in the country authorized to smoke marijuana for medical reasons. Every month, she receives 300 joints of freeze-dried marijuana from the federal government to treat her glaucoma.She has already lost all vision in one eye with traditional treatment and faced the prospect of going blind until her doctor suggested she try marijuana.Jacki Rickert wasn't as fortunate. Neither were Cheryl Miller or Edward Smith. At yesterday's rally, organized by the Cheryl-Heart Project and The Legalize Marijuana Party, they and other activists shared both their stories and their rage over the government's long-standing designation of cannabis as a controlled dangerous substance.According to Chuck Thomas of the Marijuana Policy Project, based in Washington, D.C., Gore is a particular focus because of his uncompromising stance on the issue.Fellow presidential candidate George W. Bush, on the other hand, said the issue should be left up to particular states, while the Libertarian and Green parties support the legalization of cannabis. Even reform party candidate Pat Buchanan, known for his right-wing leanings, feels that the issue should lay between doctor and patient, Thomas said.For several of yesterday's activists, the nation's drug policy has become a matter of life or death. They include the wheelchair-bound Rickert, who suffers from Ehers-Danios Syndrome and was originally included in the federal government's limited roster of patients authorized to receive marijuana.But the Madison, Wis., resident no longer qualified for the program when the federal government closed out new applicants in 1992. Since then, she has self-medicated herself with marijuana to relive her chronic condition, only to have her home searched in March."I felt like Al Capone for a month," she joked sadly.Smith, who comes from Kentucky, suffers from both terminal cancer and AIDS. Marinol, a prescription medication that contains the active ingredient of marijuana in pill form, didn't help because he was too nauseated to keep the pills down. He's made it a mission to push for the legalization of marijuana, going so far as to smoke a joint in Gore's Austin, Texas campaign office."I'm dying of two terminal illnesses," he pointed out. "What the hell can they do to me to make it any worse?"In front of the dozen activists, Jim and Cheryl Miller of Toms River engaged in "civil disobedience" as Jim fed his wife marijuana-laced chocolate to ease her multiple sclerosis. Cheryl has had multiple sclerosis for the past 30 years, and can only move her head."Did anyone get hurt?" Jim Miller implored.Dr. Steven Fenischel, a physician with a practice in Absecon, said he has urged New Jersey doctors to support the legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes, but to no avail."I think a lot of physicians today are more interested in investing in pharmaceutical houses," he said.Unlike Musikka, college professor Julian Heicklen wasn't authorized to light the "torch of freedom," as he called it. He wasn't even sick. Heicklen, who is the Libertarian candidate for attorney general in Pennsylvania, started smoking a joint every Thursday afternoon 2 1/2 years ago to protest the war on drugs, which he considers antithetical to a free society."I've been arrested 15 times and imprisoned five times," said the elderly man, holding a brightly colored protest sign. "Based on my arrest record, I'm the most dangerous man in America."Jennifer Micale: (732) 246-5500, Ext. 7217. E-mail: jmicale thnt.com NewsHawk: G. StorckSource: Home News Tribune (NJ)Author: Jennifer MicalePublished: October 23, 2000 Address 35 Kennedy Blvd.East Brunswick, NJ 08816 Copyright 2000 Home News Tribune Contact: letters thnt.com Website http://www.thnt.com/hnt/ Related Articles & Web Sites:I.M.M.L.Y.http://www.immly.org/Marijuana Policy Projecthttp://www.mpp.org/Legalize Marijuana Partyhttp://www.tlmp.org/Mondovi Woman, 48, Won't Face Drug Chargeshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/5/thread5388.shtmlMultiple Sclerosis Caregiver Goes On Trial in DC http://cannabisnews.com/news/4/thread4915.shtmlPot Users Invade Barr Office http://cannabisnews.com/news/3/thread3387.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archives:http://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #7 posted by Later, Tater on February 09, 2001 at 10:53:16 PT Colin, turn the question around Instead of wondering why weed should be legal, try asking why it is illegal. Make the prohib's state their argument, they will say "gateway drug", "amotivation syndrome" and these are easy arguments to refute. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by Colin on February 09, 2001 at 10:42:15 PT: Help me I am a college student and I need good facts on why marijuana should be legalized. Any input would be dreat. thanks.--COLIN [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by Leslie Miller on October 29, 2000 at 20:25:26 PT: Oct 22 Protest I was there and it was wonderful to see so many patients able to come together and stand their ground and speak in such a powerful way was inspiring. To be in the presence of people with such good character and high intergrity is humbling. Thanx to all I feel it was a success.Let's do it again real soon. [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by FoM on October 24, 2000 at 16:45:26 PT: Gore Lies About Medical Benefits of Marijuana Source: Capital Times, The (WI)Author: Gary Storck, MadisonPublished: October 23, 2000Copyright: 2000 The Capital TimesContact: tctvoice madison.comWebsite: http://www.thecapitaltimes.com/Drug Policy Forum of Wisconsinhttp://www.drugsense.org/dpfwi/I.M.M.L.Y.http://www.immly.org/Regarding your October 12, 2000 editorial, “The ‘Gore's a liar' lie”, in which you dismissed Gore’s reputation for fabrications and embellishments as a political tactic by the Bush campaign.That may be mostly true, but no one can deny that Gore was lying when, in an MTV appearance a few weeks back, he stated his opposition to the medicinal use of marijuana to a woman who told him a member of her family was in jail for giving the drug to a cancer patient. Gore said, "I don't agree that it's medically effective. Doctors have studied this question pretty extensively, and so far there is absolutely no evidence that it has the effect that some people say."This directly contradicts the Clinton-Gore administration¹s own Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, released March 17, 1999, that said, "There is no clear alternative for people suffering from chronic conditions that might be relieved by smoking marijuana, such as pain or AIDS wasting." It also disregards a vast collection of both medical evidence and expert opinion.Gore had it right, when during a forum in New Hampshire last December, he said, "where you have sufficient controls, I think that doctors ought to have that option".Apparently, with the election looming, Gore decided to abandon that sensible position and let politics trump science. For a man who touts patients’ rights, this turnabout is a major slap in the face to the many patients across the U.S. who find marijuana the best therapeutic option. Gore should follow the recommendations of the IOM report and end the suppression of medical marijuana, instead of fanning the fires of ignorance and intolerance that leads to needless suffering and criminalization of some of our most vulnerable citizens. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by mungojelly on October 24, 2000 at 01:22:00 PT: Is it Al Gore's position Is it Al Gore's position that is "uncompromising," or just that of his handlers? I seem to remember that when he was first asked about the issue, Al Gore's "position" was that he believed that medical marijuana was ALREADY legal... but maybe that little gaff has been edited out of my memory by the barrage of prewritten denials that followed it, eh? mungojelly [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by FoM on October 23, 2000 at 17:58:46 PT Way To Go! Hi Gary! I only now had time to view the video! Good job! Way to go you guys! Keep up the good work!Peace, FoM! [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by Gary Storck on October 23, 2000 at 07:58:49 PT Real Audio video of Ch 12 news report You can view a Real Audio video of protest coverage at http://www.news12.com/newjersey/stories/new_story_102200_gorerally.shtmlIt's fairly short, with a few views of the protest including Jacki being interviewed with me standing next to her, and then a part of an interview with Cherylheat.org's Jim Miller. Is My Medicine Legal Yet? [ Post Comment ] Post Comment Name: Optional Password: E-Mail: Subject: Comment: [Please refrain from using profanity in your message] Link URL: Link Title: