cannabisnews.com: Boca Pot-Use Activist To Attend Hearing





Boca Pot-Use Activist To Attend Hearing
Posted by FoM on March 27, 2001 at 15:29:09 PT
By Merle Augustin, Staff Writer 
Source: Sun-Sentinel 
A dozen times per day, Mizner Park stockbroker Irvin Rosenfeld retrieves a clear, sealed plastic bag from his suit, pulls out a fat marijuana joint and openly lights up in his car or on the stair landing outside of his office. No one has called the police yet and no one is going to.That's because Rosenfeld, 48, is one of eight people in the country legally allowed to smoke pot -- supplied by the federal government under a program begun in 1982 -- for their medical conditions.
And now Rosenfeld, who has fought for the medical use of marijuana for decades, will be present Wednesday when the U.S. Supreme Court hears the petition of Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative to supply the drug to 14 other sick people in California.A June verdict is expected.Rosenfeld's hope is to give a face to a thorny issue that has sparked a nationwide debate, until the drug is legally distributed to patients who need it."I think it's important for me to be there," said Rosenfeld. "To put a face on the situation so that the people and government officials understand that this is an average individual getting spectacular results using this substance for 30 years that the people against us said shouldn't happen. It shouldn't be that way."Rosenfeld suffers from Multiple Congenital Cartilogenous Exostosis, an illness causing the continuous growth of bone tumors and subsequent tears in the muscles. To dull the pain, his physicians have prescribed morphine since he was 10.In 1971 as a freshman in college, Rosenfeld began smoking pot to fit in. Soon he realized smoking pot dulled his pain better than morphine.Since then, Rosenfeld has battled for the legal use of the drug. But despite nine states passing laws allowing the medicinal use of marijuana, federal government agencies -- such as the Drug Enforcement Agency and the National Institute on Drug Abuse -- have balked at the idea.In the crossfire is the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative, which opened in 1996 to provide the medical distribution of marijuana. Although the cooperative had the support of local government officials, it struck out with the federal government.For Jeff Jones, the executive director of the cooperative, having Rosenfeld's example is an asset."He proves our point that you can have medical necessity patients."Complete Title: Boca Pot-Use Activist To Attend Supreme Court HearingMerle Augustin can be reached at: maugustin sun-sentinel.com Source: Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel (FL) Author: Merle Augustin, Staff Writer Published: March 27 2001 Copyright: 2001 Sun-Sentinel Company Contact: letters sun-sentinel.com Website: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/ Feedback: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/services/letters_editor.htm Related Articles & Web Sites:Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperativehttp://www.rxcbc.org/Broward Man Plays Role in Medicinal Pot Battlehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread9167.shtmlCannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml 
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Comment #4 posted by dddd on March 28, 2001 at 05:40:45 PT
New Film
This idea for a film is DYNAMITE Kap!....The non-fictional account of thesleazeball lawmakers....The exposure of the ghastly consequences graftand influence has had on the public.It would be an almost sure blockbusterat the box office....maybe Oliver Stone would be interested? I'll bet CharletonHeston would be on board.He would love playing the part of some crooked Senator.Like you said,,,it's all there.You wouldnt even have to make anything up;"the wildest and craziest things have already happened and are matters of public record."I'll bet there's even people whose job it is to make sure such films are discouraged,and impeded......dddd
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Comment #3 posted by kaptinemo on March 28, 2001 at 05:01:40 PT:
Movies
For the longest time I've felt that one of the main reasons why the DrugWar has gone on for so long is that it simply hasn't had the kind of exposure it truly deserves.The movie TRAFFIC has gone a long way towards bringing the debate out into the open. But, to really shake things up, a movie should be made about the dangers of lamebrain, posturing pols making policy. A movie about how all the high moralizing engaged in by grandstanding pols at the top of the political food chain leads to the Drugwar policies. Policies which spin out of control so much that 11 year old kids like Alberto Sepulveda get killed by adrenaline-tripping DrugWarriors. Or how the same policies have led to the immolation of the children at Waco (it all started when the BATF accused the religious nuts there of having a meth lab) or the Marine snipers killing Esequiel Hernandez.These are really hot stories; so hot that they glow in the dark.Pulitzer Prizes and Oscars await the writers and producers who have the moxie (and the cojones) to go and interview those who have survived the predations of DrugWarriors and to tell their stories. Because like any such story, there are heros and villains, triumph and tragedy, hilarity and pathos, galore. And the 'best' part about it all? (From the producer's standpoint, not ours; we're the ones rotting in jail, suffering, bleeding and dying.) It really is real. Nothing is made up; the wildest and craziest things have already happened and are matters of public record. From the New York Time's 1914 hand-wringing about 'cocainized niggers' to Harry Anslingers' 1937 railing about 'degenerate races' and 'negro Jaz musicians' to today's incessant 'biggest bust ever!' every week. It's all been done for the producers. It's all there, out front. There's nothing to really uncover; all anyone has to do, as we already have, is to just 'connect the dots'.And as Mr. Soderburgh can attest, there's a lot of profit and 'glory' to be made in doing so. Hint, Hint, Hint!
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Comment #2 posted by Imprint on March 27, 2001 at 22:08:26 PT:
Seems clear to me
Gee, and he hasn’t become a crazed killer, he hasn’t harmed anyone and he keeps a good job. If the Supreme Court can’t see the benefit he receives from Cannabis there is no near term hope. Also, I like the move idea. Maybe a documentary?  
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Comment #1 posted by ekim on March 27, 2001 at 18:26:17 PT:
Who will make a movie of Irvin Rosenfeld life?
The story of these Eight people using Federal Cannabis is begging to be told. Please film makers take up the call and make the best kept secret in the United States open to the public. Please Mr.Redford at the Sundance Film festeval make this film and TEAR DOWN THIS WALL.
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