cannabisnews.com: Medicinal Marijuana! 





Medicinal Marijuana! 
Posted by FoM on March 19, 1999 at 07:29:09 PT

The rights and medical needs of patients have been sacrificed to the government's failing war on drugs. Currently, only eight patients in the U.S. receive legal medical marijuana from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), as part of a defunct federal program. 
Patients suffering from AIDS, cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis and other serious conditions often find that marijuana is the most, sometimes only effective treatment; yet those who do use marijuana as medicine are subject to arrest, incarceration, seizure of assets and other criminal sanctions. Many more never find out that marijuana could have helped them, and suffer needlessly as a result. Currently, only eight patients in the U.S. receive legal medical marijuana from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), as part of a defunct federal program. NIDA holds a monopoly on legally available research marijuana, but has refused to dispense it for medical research, except when the research itself is federally funded -- and only one such study has been approved during the past two decades. Meanwhile, government officials point to a lack of research as justification for continuing medical marijuana prohibition and the criminalization of patients. The same officials ignore, even deny the existence of substantial medical marijuana research conducted during the 70's and early 80's, much of which yielded positive results. Based on the research and on strong anecdotal evidence, the Drug Enforcement Administration's top administrative law judge, Francis Young, ruled in 1988 that the DEA's ban on medical marijuana was "arbitrary and capricious" and that marijuana should be moved to schedule II of the Controlled Substances Act, prescription availability. Judge Young described marijuana as "the safest therapeutically active substance known to man." Federal legislation doesn't make DEA judges' rulings binding, however, and DEA administrator Robert Bonner overruled Judge Young for political reasons. In response to the federal government's intransigence, voters in California, Arizona, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Colorado* and the District of Columbia** have approved medical marijuana by doctor's recommendation, through ballot intiatives, and more than 20 state legislatures have enacted some form of medical marijuana legislation.  *Colorado's initiative was disqualified by Colorado Secretary of State Vicky Buckley just before the election, though it remained on the printed ballots. In the 15% of polls that did report votes, the initiative appeared to be passing by a comfortable margin. Meanwhile, the decision is being challenged in court by the initiative's sponsors, who say it is likely the initiative will re-appear on the ballot in the next election. **In the weeks before the November 5, 1998 elections, Congressman Robert Barr (R-Georgia) added an amendment to the District of Columbia appropriations bill which forbids using District funds for any initiative that lessens the current criminal penalties for marijuana. However, the ballots had already been printed, and exit polls showed the District's medical marijuana Initiative 59 is likely to have passed by at least a 60% margin. But the District Board of Elections has refused to release or certify the results of the vote, claiming the Barr amendment prevents them from spending the estimated $1.64 it would cost to announce and certify the vote. Initiative 59's sponsors and the ACLU are now fighting to have the results made public and are challenging the Constitutionality of Barr's amendment. http://www.stopthedrugwar.org/medmj.html
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Comment #1 posted by aahpat on November 25, 1999 at 20:20:58 PT:
INIT. 59 IS VETOED AND SUPPRESSED..11/18/99
INITIATIVE 59 IS VETOED, NULLIFIED AND SUPPRESSEDPeople;In case you are not aware of it, the house passed H.R. 3194 on Nov. 18,1999. It is the latest versionj of the D.C. appropriation bill. It passed296-135.The margin is large enough margin to overcome a veto. And enough of the hardliners who voted for 3064 actually voted against 3194 that if a veto override vote happens they can return to their original positions and reallyover ride.I will be posting a Roll Call Vote page of H.R. 3194 with some markers forthose who supported all forms of the appropriation bill and those whoopposed all forms of the bill. It is at:http://www.user1.netcarrier.com/~aahpat/vote.htmI intend pushing the suppression of democracy issue into the election cycle.Pataahpat netcarrier.com
Democracy Suppressed
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