cannabisnews.com: The Ongoing Battle To Legalize Medical Marijuana 





The Ongoing Battle To Legalize Medical Marijuana 
Posted by CN Staff on March 23, 2006 at 11:25:05 PT
By Timothy Bolger 
Source: LongIslandPress.com 
New York -- At first glance, it would appear as if there is nothing that could get in the way of Jesse, an intimidating, 6-foot-plus, longhaired Nassau County man one could easily picture on a Harley or using a jackhammer. But since the 41-year-old salesman was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in 1999, he has been injecting himself with some powerful drugs to slow the degeneration the incurable disease causes.
The pain and side effects of those drugs can wear him down, so, to ease the discomfort while leading an otherwise normal family life with his wife and two kids, he smokes marijuana.Jesse, who asked that we not use his real name, knows that he is breaking the law, but his doctors have endorsed the practice, and the results are irrefutable—so he takes the risk.“For some of us, the answer seems so simple,” Jesse says from behind light-blue tinted sunglasses. “Over the years it has cured what ails me.”He’s not alone. There are an estimated 2,500 diagnosed AIDS patients in Nassau and Suffolk counties, according to the Long Island Association for AIDS Care. There are about 7,000 MS patients for the region, according to the Long Island chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Cancer statistics are difficult to track, but about 1 in 3 women and about 1 in 2 men will be diagnosed with cancer before reaching age 85, according to Hewlett-based 1 in 9: The Long Island Breast Cancer Action Coalition.Many patients suffering from these diseases, other conditions, or the side effects of their treatments, have touted marijuana’s medicinal benefits. Medical marijuana speakeasies have surfaced in cities across the country—although sometimes they clash with authorities.More than 75 percent of New York voters support legalizing weed to help the seriously ill, provided it’s under the supervision of a physician who prescribes it, according to a study conducted last year by the Siena Research Institute at Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y. Statewide organizations, such as the New York State Nurses Association, Hospice and Palliative Care Association of New York State and the New York State Association of County Health Officials, have publicly stated their support for a medical marijuana law. Even local groups like 1 in 9 hope for a day when patients in need can toke up.“If this is something that will ease their pain, then I’m all for it,” says Geri Barish, president of 1 in 9. “We need to come out of the dark ages. If there are things out there that can help, we need to be able to take advantage of them.”Two bills currently before the New York State Legislature address the issue. But the ease of lumping the medical marijuana movement in with those who want Dutch-style legalization—in the Netherlands, adult possession and purchase of small amounts of marijuana is allowed—makes the issue difficult for politicians. The Assembly has been fighting over medical marijuana bills for eight years now, without passing a single one. But stories like Jesse’s are hard to ignore, and even prostate cancer survivor and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Brunswick) said last year he would allow the legislation to come before the Senate. Then again, he hasn’t pushed it through. In the Senate, the bill has languished.Currently 11 states allow marijuana for medical use: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington. Arizona, which has a similar law, has no set program in place to administer marijuana that is prescribed. But last summer, the Supreme Court ruled that the federal right to prosecute marijuana users—even medicinal users in states that permit such use—trumps the states’ right to help terminally ill constituents. The clash between federal and states’ rights flared up again March 14, when federal agents raided the home of a 53-year-old California man and seized his small marijuana farm. Reports of excessive force prompted small protests in front of federal buildings in 20 cities in 11 Western states, and in Washington, according to the medical marijuana advocacy group Safe Access Now.The issue is tough to get a consensus on federally. A proposal in the House of Representatives has failed to pass for five years in row. The Hinchey-Rohrabacher Amendment, named for Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-Kingston), would prohibit the Department of Justice from prosecuting patients who use medical marijuana.“The federal government should not intrude upon, let alone prosecute, patients who are using the substance in compliance with state law,” Hinchey said in a statement. Smoking in the BathroomIn the 1980s, when the government first started taking seriously the idea of using pot to help patients, the National Institute on Drug Abuse provided marijuana to the New York State Department of Health for a study. One of the researchers, Dr. Vincent Vinciguerra, is now chief of medical oncology at North Shore University Hospital. His 1988 pilot study found that 78 percent of 56 patients who smoked the state-sponsored marijuana demonstrated control of chemotherapy-induced nausea and appetite loss.“It gave them the munchies, and they were actually eating better,” Vinciguerra says. One patient that Vinciguerra has been seeing for about four years recently opted for cannabis, after all the other anti-nausea medications were no longer effective. This is a scenario Vinciguerra witnesses with a small percentage of the 80 to 90 patients he sees weekly. “Most don’t need it,” he says, “but when it’s helpful, it would be nice to be able to provide it.”The silver-haired physician, who has closely followed the progression of relevant legislation, is confounded by his lack of access to this tool, saying, “we owe it to the patients” to be able to provide medical marijuana. “You would think that since the study had positive results that people would right away pick up on it and try to make it available to their patients,” he says. “It was an important finding.”But he also acknowledges the deeply rooted fears about the social implications. Vinciguerra notes with a laugh that during the study, the only place to have the patients smoke their medicine was in a hospital bathroom, where the odors wafting under the door made visitors wonder what the doctors were up to.Ironically, Jesse, who says that Rebif, his MS medicine, feels like “battery acid” in his veins, worries what would happen if the government did regulate the steady supply of marijuana he’s found for himself. “It’s easy enough to get it as it is,” Jesse says, adding that politicians would just create more red tape for him than it’s worth. BuzzkillThe issue of whether marijuana should be legalized for medicinal purposes is, according to some groups, being exploited by pro-pot organizations as a means of getting cannabis legalized. “I am not saying ‘no’ to cannabis medicine,” says Steven Steiner, president of Dads and Mad Moms Against Drug Dealers (DAMMADD). “I want to see safe cannabis medicine.”Steiner, who spends his time lobbying for strict drug laws and lecturing young people about the dangers of drugs, is a polarizing personality in the war on drugs. The organization was formed after Steiner’s son, Stevie, died from an overdose of OxyContin, a powerful pain medication the 19- year-old had obtained illegally. Steiner subsequently obtained funding for DAMMADD from major pharmaceutical companies, including Purdue Pharma, the makers of OxyContin.Steiner’s biggest problem with the movement to legalize medicinal marijuana is groups such as the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), which calls itself the leading organization in the United States promoting alternatives to the war on drugs. Steiner says that groups like the DPA unfairly use the possible benefits of medical pot to get the drug legalized.“These groups just want to make it OK to smoke marijuana, so they use people that are sick and use marijuana to make their case,” says Steiner. “But they go dark when other alternatives are proposed.”One of the issues Steiner raises, should marijuana be legalized, is quality control. “Who is going to grow this marijuana? Who is responsible?” says Steiner, pointing to the death of well-known medical marijuana advocate Jane Weirick, who died in 2005, possibly from an allergic reaction to a pesticide she used while growing her pot.“I smoked pot and drank when I was a teenager. So did my friends and brothers,” says Steiner. “I am a hypocrite. But, we all learn as we get older. If my parents were privy to what I am privy to, maybe it would have made a difference.”To Steiner, the fact that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other governmental agencies have not given the green light to medical marijuana is a telltale sign that smoking pot if you are ill is just not a good idea. “Put it this way,” he says, “if you ould smoke pot and cure cancer, it would have been approved by now.” Rolling Legislation Finding government-sponsored marijuana isn’t impossible, it’s just a zigzag road. For Assemb. Richard Gottfried (D-Manhattan), this is one of his main issues. His proposal to legalize marijuana for medical purposes drew assemblymen as sponsors, including Thomas Alfano (R-Franklin Square), Bob Sweeny (D-Lindenhurst) and Harvey Weisenberg (D-Long Beach).After the Supreme Court ruled last June that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) was within its rights to seize marijuana plants grown for medical use in California, there was a chilling effect on states dabbling with prescription pot. Gottfried is now redrafting his legislation.New York State Sen. Vincent Liebell (R-Brewster), who sponsored what he calls a “very, very limited and closely controlled” medical marijuana bill in the Senate last year, is waiting to see how Rhode Island—the first state to pass a medical marijuana law since the Supreme Court ruling in June—handles the issue. Liebell feels it’s up to Congress to take the lead now.“Our amendment helps ensure that the humane approach is taken to help people relieve severe pain,” Hinchey says. “Medical marijuana users are not criminals, but rather they are patients who are suffering from chronic pain or nausea and have exhausted all other medicines to treat their condition.” There was a small glimmer of hope for Hinchey shortly following the Supreme Court decision last year, even though the bill didn’t pass. The final count was 161 for and 264 against, which is so far the closest the proposal has come to passage, but still only 10 votes more than two years ago. “Progress on Capitol Hill is often incremental, and we’ll continue to push for this amendment each year until it passes,” he says.Some experts fault political shortsightedness. “People don’t want to pass this because they don’t want to appear soft on crime,” says Ruth Liebesman, legal aid director for the New York State chapter of the National Organization for the Reformation of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and a privately practicing criminal defense attorney. She points out that doctors can prescribe variations of cocaine and heroin, describing the inconsistency as “intellectual dishonesty.”So, until any further action is taken on these proposals, medicinal users are forced to maintain a low profile.Pot ProhibitionAs in the bootlegging days of Al Capone, when alcohol was illegal because of prohibition, clashes between DEA agents and medical marijuana advocates have created a culture of speakeasies. In New York City, there are patients who organize and meet to share their medicine, but finding them isn’t easy, unless you’re a card-carrying member.For the past decade, Dana Beal, an advocate with Cures Not Wars, which helps organize the annual Marijuana March early each May, has been providing ID cards to suffering patients who are helped by marijuana. The cards aren’t sanctioned by any government agency, but are intended to help prevent patients from staying overnight in jail if they’re caught with marijuana. The cards give police an option to issue an appearance ticket rather than make an arrest, Beal says.He adds that “there are patients and they organize themselves and they meet, but we don’t want them to end up like the paraplegic in California,” referring to a DEA raid in 2002 on a woman paralyzed from the waist down. While Beal’s organization works on the front lines of the medical marijuana issue, the group’s stance that marijuana should be fully decriminalized—for recreational as well as medicinal use—is where the line is drawn between groups like theirs and NORML. For this legislation, the advocates maintain it is purely medical marijuana they seek, with organizers from the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), who support repealing penalties for marijuana possession, but limit their argument for the survival of the bill.Local MMP lobbyist Vince Marone described significant political progress last year in New York State. He says that there are discussions to reintroduce the legislation, after the budget is passed on April 1 and policy issues can once again be debated. It is not an impossibility: New Jersey has similar pending legislation and Connecticut has come close to passing a bill. although persistence seems key. As of 2004, 13 states had laws allowing therapeutic research programs with federal cooperation, and 10 states, including New York, have symbolic laws, which would allow patients to possess prescription pot if federal law were ever to be changed, according to MMP.But despite all of the progress, none of the users will be free of the paranoia that they will be charged as common criminals for simply trying to feel better. Complete Title: Reefer Relief: The Ongoing Battle To Legalize Medical Marijuana Source: LongIslandPress.com (NY)Author: Timothy Bolger Published: March 23, 2006Contact: tbolger longislandpress.com Website: http://www.longislandpress.com/CannabisNews Medical Marijuana Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/medical.shtml
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Comment #46 posted by Toker00 on March 25, 2006 at 10:22:28 PT
Funny you should suggest that, Jose.
I already decided to do that since my last post. I wanted to hear what I heard from whig. I agree Whig. So, Jerry gets 42.00 instead! IN THE MAIL! But Jose, I am always ready to help.Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!
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Comment #45 posted by Hope on March 25, 2006 at 09:23:34 PT
  42
*chuckle*
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Comment #44 posted by jose melendez on March 25, 2006 at 09:23:17 PT
why they call it dope
Somehow I thought it was the elder potus' library, and totally missed the Crawford and coloring references. Cough.
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Comment #43 posted by jose melendez on March 25, 2006 at 09:18:45 PT
buy there works
Surprise, surprise. Poppy, indeed.Drug war is crime. We have proof.http://CCCCP.org
By their works . . .
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Comment #42 posted by whig on March 25, 2006 at 09:15:32 PT
OT: Seen elsewhere
CRAWFORD, TEXAS -- A tragic fire on Sunday destroyed the personal library of President George W. Bush. Both of his books have been lost.A presidential spokesman said the president was devastated, as he had not finished coloring the second one.
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Comment #41 posted by jose melendez on March 25, 2006 at 08:58:55 PT
oh, and . . .
Did I mention I need help wording the petition and suggestions as to who to contact at the various organizations to get approvals for the logos?
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Comment #40 posted by jose melendez on March 25, 2006 at 08:52:59 PT
ekim
I'm right there with you, my friend.Right now International Hydrocarbon commands a fleet, a four door el camino, a camaro, two vans and an RV, plus four sign trailers.Yes, I've been busy. :)The plan is to have the winners agree to either drive the car as is for a year or one of our volunteers will.You've had your grin, Smokey. Now bear it. Drug war is crime. We have proof.http://CCCCP.org
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Comment #39 posted by jose melendez on March 25, 2006 at 08:45:19 PT
whig in
Excellent, glad we hashed that out, all puns intended.I'll just start raffling the cars and donating to those who can expose the courts, and I personally will use and offer hidden and blatantly visible video cameras, microphone recorders, and petition packets along with the free DVD court kits, which may be found free online as soon as they are ready.I always wanted a battery of attorneys, now there will be a cash incentive available for them to file those amici . . .Speaking of which, I seek a printer if anyone knows who would be ideal for this, like a Grateful Dead mail order ticket quality would be very cool.We all win, because prohibitionists themselves know technology proves our arguments correct.Antimicrobial, stress relieving, neuroprotective anticarcinogenic and excellent nutritional and renewable natural resource product content (Cannabis):Free.Arbitrary, capricious and an unconstitutional system of violations of the most basic human rights and common law that keeps poison, weapons and prison peddlers exorbitantly wealthy and kills hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of Americans each and every single year (Cannabis Prohibition):Trillions. Question this:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/24/AR2006032402012_pf.html
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Comment #38 posted by ekim on March 25, 2006 at 08:36:52 PT
sub blem anal shots for Tucks movie
Jose the car sounds neat. Are you in contact with Mr. Tuck.
Maybe a section of the movie could insert the car like one of the Nas cars with all the great web sites many are use to and sell space on the car like they do --- might get some interest, and you never know who might pay to have there name on this ride.
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Comment #37 posted by jose melendez on March 25, 2006 at 08:13:42 PT
toker00
Please save or send the cash to Jerry Sisson for now, let's move on this raffle ticket project, a cannabis wrappped Camaro would probably sell well at $5 donations or less.Also we can establish a trust fund to disburse some of the excess to those of us in the trenches and in need.Ed Forchion and Paul Peterson come first to mind.Drug war is crime. We have proof. PS, runruff's wife left the sweetest message on my answering machine, let's get the guy some lawyers willing to file more aggressively.
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Comment #36 posted by whig on March 25, 2006 at 07:37:50 PT
Jose / Toke
Here's my take, guys. The courts are not our friends. They aren't going to bend over backwards to give us the benefit of the doubt. If you have a really strong cause of action personally, like Angel Raich, it's still no guarantee of victory. Bringing class actions and suits in the nature of qui tam are really disfavored to begin with, and a strong showing of necessity is required before you'll even get past the preliminary dismissal stage.Asking people for money for a "claimant kit" doesn't help your case, either. If you're going to try doing this and invite people to participate, there's no particular reason you can't put your information online and make it freely available. When you are selling the same information and perceived as making a profit on your legal arguments, it isn't going to look good.But that's just my take. I'm not an attorney, and this isn't legal advice.
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Comment #35 posted by Toker00 on March 25, 2006 at 07:05:45 PT
You've soooo got my forty bucks!
I will be calling your number, Jose. You know I am not legal minded, so I would probably do better at something behind the scenes. MOBILIZE, MOBILIZE, MOBILIZE!Let's end it, folks. Let's END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!
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Comment #34 posted by Toker00 on March 25, 2006 at 06:57:51 PT
Please define
"CLASS action" and how it would apply to a "CULTURE" of Cannabists, being a "MINORITY" group. Where is our protection from the CRUEL MAJORITY? Don't you think it's cruel to persecute (prosecute) Cannabists? Cannabis is the foundation of our culture, is it not? How can they continue to deny that we are a "legitimate" "CLASS" or "CULTURE", that needs protection? What constitutes a "CLASS"?I'll try not to ask too many dumb questions if you can just explain this one.Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!
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Comment #33 posted by jose melendez on March 25, 2006 at 03:57:22 PT
fair enough
OK, whig, thanks for taking the reins. What about qui tam? Also, surely individuals may sue one at a time? I'm imagining several thousand people lining up for small claims court if they've ever been arrested for any amount of marijuana where the courts excluded exculpatory evidence. - - -Were you ever arrested for marijuana where exculpatory evidence was suppressed? You may qualify for restitution . . .
 . . . so join the club! Call the Concerned Citizens Coalition to Criminalize Prohibition at 888 247-8183 and donate $40, we will send a civil court claimant kit, with a dvd, forms, petitions, signs and bumper stickers, the DVD includes high quality graphics you may print out at the local Staples, Office Depot or Quick Print . . . - - -I also see opportunities for an internet show with cars set up in and out with video cameras and streaming to other vehicles. "No officer, I decline the unreasonable and unwarranted search. Oh, gee, did you find the vaccuum sealed dog food supplement under the seat?""Too bad you missed the video camera when you tossed that planted baggie of coke . . . FBI got to see the footage live, because we had them on conference call with our battery of attorneys, watching online . . ."I've already seen two cops, a boss and a temporarily unreasonable friend all back down when they noticed video cameras were pointed their way and on. DeLand building inspector Charlie Taylor was all hopped up to play tough guy until I took his picture and audio taped him as he ran off, denying he had a ticket or an apology for me: http://pipepeace.com/zI bought reversesting.com just for this purpose, where I will wrap cars in close up photos of crippy (hydroponically grown, manicured high THC cannabis flowers) with advertising for cannabisculture, high times, norml, leap and mpp along with my drug war is crime and marijuanamission propaganda.Cell phones will play a role also, as the audio is instantly captured as an internet ready stream with my onebox system.I'm not waiting any longer, so if anyone wants to help, advertise, sell raffle tickets for the cannabis cars, or anything you are good at, call me:8882 247-8183 . . . or just watch while I decimate prohibitionists' arguments by exposing their own fraud.
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Comment #32 posted by whig on March 24, 2006 at 18:29:04 PT
Jose, Toke
Class actions are a little tricky to initiate, as I understand it. First you have to identify the specific characteristics of the class (which cannot be too general, like "the American people") and a lawyer (and it must be a lawyer, class actions cannot be prosecuted by individuals) must go to court and have a judge certify the class.Then...Well, you have to get beyond this step before there's a "then".I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade, believe me, but if you're going to engage with the "legal system" you should know the roadblocks they're going to put in your way.
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Comment #31 posted by jose melendez on March 24, 2006 at 18:02:45 PT
toker00
I guess I need someone to research how other class actions are implemented and set up a trust fund or other entity to go after these prohibitionist profiteers.
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Comment #30 posted by Toker00 on March 24, 2006 at 17:31:03 PT
Jose, my brotherman,
I would love to assist in this, but I'm not sure what message you mean? You have my attention, now with just a bit more direction...This class action law suit is so RIGHT! I'm going to the link you left now...I'll be right back.Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!
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Comment #29 posted by afterburner on March 24, 2006 at 13:30:55 PT
The Height of Hypocrisy
"Steiner subsequently obtained funding for DAMMADD from major pharmaceutical companies, including Purdue Pharma, the makers of OxyContin.""The organization was formed after Steiner’s son, Stevie, died from an overdose of OxyContin, a powerful pain medication the 19- year-old had obtained illegally."Son dies of OxyContin abuse. Father gets funding for DAMMADD from OxyContin manufacturer, and then he attacks cannabis. Non-sequitur? You betcha!Instead of attacking the manufacturers of his son's poison, Steiner allies himself with their corporate interests!
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Comment #28 posted by runderwo on March 24, 2006 at 13:23:46 PT
Toker00
I see that "logic" so much and it baffles me how anyone can fall for it. Cannabis is dangerous because it is a drug and drugs are dangerous because OxyContin kills. Riiight.
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Comment #27 posted by jose melendez on March 24, 2006 at 04:51:57 PT
Toker00, all
I am seeking web savvy workers to implement and manage the class action and donation sign-up pages.Please call 888 247-8183 and leave a message to help.
Arrest the Drug Czar
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Comment #26 posted by Toker00 on March 24, 2006 at 03:57:53 PT
runderwo
Cannabis is a dangerous drug. Want proof? Heroin kills. ...Pharmeceutical money, paying for Farm-a-ceutical LIES.Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!
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Comment #25 posted by Toker00 on March 24, 2006 at 03:52:04 PT
Jose
Man, that is excellent! I voted it so, too! I will sign that lawsuit! Hit 'em where it hurts. In the COURTHOUSE!Wage peace on war. END CANNABIS PROHIBITION NOW!
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Comment #24 posted by runderwo on March 23, 2006 at 23:14:24 PT
DAMMADD
What a jackass. Can he even complete a sentence without a distortion or half-truth?"The issue of whether marijuana should be legalized for medicinal purposes is, according to some groups, being exploited by pro-pot organizations as a means of getting cannabis legalized."Well if it's good medicine, it can't really kill babies and rot your brain can it now? The point is using medical cannabis as a vehicle for exposing LIES. What is wrong with exposing lies, please tell me? Even if some sick people get relief on your watch... I know it's a terrible thing."Steiner, who spends his time lobbying for strict drug laws and lecturing young people about the dangers of drugs, is a polarizing personality in the war on drugs. The organization was formed after Steiner’s son, Stevie, died from an overdose of OxyContin, a powerful pain medication the 19- year-old had obtained illegally."Yes, strict marijuana laws would have prevented his son from obtaining a painkiller illegally. Huh? And wait, wasn't this discussion about cannabis just a moment ago? Why are we dragging in harmful drugs now, unless this is just an attempt to conflate the two?"Steiner subsequently obtained funding for DAMMADD from major pharmaceutical companies, including Purdue Pharma, the makers of OxyContin."Gee, imagine that. Funny how major pharma companies want to see illegal drugs stay illegal. Especially ones that might compete with their major money makers."Steiner’s biggest problem with the movement to legalize medicinal marijuana is groups such as the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), which calls itself the leading organization in the United States promoting alternatives to the war on drugs. Steiner says that groups like the DPA unfairly use the possible benefits of medical pot to get the drug legalized."Unfairly? If shrewd politicking is the most damning accusation he can make...“These groups just want to make it OK to smoke marijuana, so they use people that are sick and use marijuana to make their case,” says Steiner. “But they go dark when other alternatives are proposed.”Such as? I presume he's referring to expensive synthetic pills and extract sprays? I think the burden is rather on him to show why he considers Sativex a legitimate treatment, but not whole cannabis."One of the issues Steiner raises, should marijuana be legalized, is quality control."Funny, the same issue pro-cannabis activists raise.“Who is going to grow this marijuana? Who is responsible?” Individuals or companies, just like any other organic material?"says Steiner, pointing to the death of well-known medical marijuana advocate Jane Weirick, who died in 2005, possibly from an allergic reaction to a pesticide she used while growing her pot."Idiot. You can grow plenty of things out in your garden that'll kill you if you don't wash off the pesticides. Are you proposing that we ban all private vegetable cultivation?
Or are you just trying to make a lame demonstration here that cannabis is dangerous in some way?“I smoked pot and drank when I was a teenager. So did my friends and brothers,” says Steiner. “I am a hypocrite. But, we all learn as we get older. If my parents were privy to what I am privy to, maybe it would have made a difference.”Sure, nobody's a bigger crusader than the convert. It doesn't make you right. It means you're both wrong and a hypocrite."To Steiner, the fact that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other governmental agencies have not given the green light to medical marijuana is a telltale sign that smoking pot if you are ill is just not a good idea."Apparently he hasn't studied the history of research and approval obstruction by the DEA, nor the IOM 1999 report, nor the ruling by the DEA's own administrative judge. Politics is all that is in the way, yet this character would put on a blindfold and allow himself to be led around blindly by the same out-of-touch bureaucracy that approved Vioxx, Celebrex, Thalidomide, AZT, and any number of ineffective and/or deadly drugs - whose legal status just happens to make a particular set of shareholders very happy.“Put it this way,” he says, “if you ould smoke pot and cure cancer, it would have been approved by now.”False dichotomy, why does pot have to cure cancer in order to be recognized as legitimate medicine? That is an unreasonable standard.
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Comment #23 posted by Sukoi on March 23, 2006 at 17:31:25 PT
Excellent LTE Jose...
And yes, indeed they should be liable...
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Comment #22 posted by jose melendez on March 23, 2006 at 17:21:50 PT
Re: comment #16
PUB LTE: War On Drugs Harms SocietyURL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n797/a04.htmlNewshawk: KirkPubdate: Tue, 17 May 2005Source: Knoxville News-Sentinel (TN)Copyright: 2005 The Knoxville News-Sentinel Co.Contact: letters knews.comWebsite: http://www.knoxnews.com/Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/226Author: Jose MelendezReferenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n742/a03.htmlWAR ON DRUGS HARMS SOCIETYWith respect to the editorial, "Biggest fights in drug war lie ahead" on May 5, why should there be any praise heaped on the multibillion-dollar drug prohibition industry?Are historically high rates of children removed from their homes and the latest surge in meth use or, say, huffing deaths not enough evidence that the drug war harms society?Why is it that, although 15 of the top donors listed on the Partnership for a Drug-Free America site are pharmaceutical interests, this fact consistently remains undisclosed in newspaper editorials and public service announcements?Finally, Congress, the Food and Drug Administration and the Drug Enforcement Administration all seem to agree with repeated Office of National Drug Control Policy claims that Ritalin, Prozac, crack and cigarette smoke are safer and healthier to ingest than marijuana in any form. Should the federal government be liable for damages resulting from such fraud and willful ignorance?JOSE MELENDEZDeLand, Fl
liable for damages
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Comment #21 posted by Genthirdday on March 23, 2006 at 16:42:40 PT
g_w   ............this is the time.........
 for them to quit the job. It is NOT GOOD NEWS for the proteges of those in authority who make the "legal evil" drug policies. The WORD is not good for the proud, arrogant, contemptuous one who taunts the citizenry.Who is it that acts haughtily? [Ps.31.23]
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Comment #20 posted by global_warming on March 23, 2006 at 16:18:54 PT
may I say 'goodnight?
and, may you 'all have good dreams',for are 'we not closer at the 'table
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Comment #19 posted by global_warming on March 23, 2006 at 16:02:19 PT
this is the time
to place that stake square in the middleof the heart of that diseased and angry beastlike David, who understood how to place that little rock,
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Comment #18 posted by global_warming on March 23, 2006 at 15:47:55 PT
somewhere I read about Angel
I have a feeling, that this frail little sick women, who will stand before that judge, is going to prevail, for what judge can look this women in the eye, and deny her some comfort in her last pain filled days (Angel Raich!).I am praying for Loretta Nall, down there in Alabama, and those 'good folks, who can bring this women and great comforts to the rest of these United States, it is a time when that restless soul, has been bitten by those hounds of truth, liberty and justice for 'all mankind.
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Comment #17 posted by global_warming on March 23, 2006 at 15:09:45 PT
old man Steiner
"One of the issues Steiner raises, should marijuana be legalized, is quality control. “Who is going to grow this marijuana? Who is responsible?” says Steiner, pointing to the death of well-known medical marijuana advocate Jane Weirick, who died in 2005, possibly from an allergic reaction to a pesticide she used while growing her pot...“I smoked pot and drank when I was a teenager. So did my friends and brothers,” says Steiner. “I am a hypocrite. But, we all learn as we get older. If my parents were privy to what I am privy to, maybe it would have made a difference.”"This guy Steiner may have smoked pot when he was younger, maybe it was some of that government sprayed paraquet pot, cause he sure sounds like he did not have a good experience, it even has dulled his senses in his older and wiser years, for was it not that oxycontin that killed his son? It sure was not Cannabis, and yet this tired old fool who would make a great tag team partner in some senior wrestling team with that other old bag, imagine joyce and stevie, to the mat,..old pitiful fools, thumping on those prison bars, yes a grudge match, a caged to the death event..Who is going to grow this Cannabis? One of the effects of this tarnished prohibition on Cannabis has been, that a large group of dedicated plant husbandry folk have been born, tending the garden' that was a gift from God, maybe old man Steiner and theat tired old bag called Joyce do not believe in God, maybe they have bought hook line and sinker, that lie, that sends good people to prisons, that lie that allows human beings to be forcefully held in cages, for tasting the benefits of that "natural" plant that will be around long after these two fools are mulching in the earth.
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Comment #16 posted by Sukoi on March 23, 2006 at 15:03:03 PT
Whig
Perhaps there should be a class action lawsuit against the government for not allowing the use of a substance that could possibly cure cancer as well as preventing research on said substance.
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Comment #15 posted by whig on March 23, 2006 at 14:36:08 PT
Murder
Clinical research touted by the journal of the American Association for Cancer Research that shows marijuana's components can inhibit the growth of cancerous brain tumors is the latest in a long line of studies demonstrating the drug's potential as an anti-cancer agent. Not familiar with it? You're not alone.Let's call this what it is. Concealing evidence of the medical benefits of cannabis, not merely for palliative relief of pain and anti-emesis for chemotherapy recipients, but actual, anti-tumor, properties of cannabis, for political reasons, to deny people the medicine that can not only treat but possibly cure an otherwise fatal cancer, it is murder.
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Comment #14 posted by dongenero on March 23, 2006 at 14:08:17 PT
more of the Alternet article
Clinical research touted by the journal of the American Association for Cancer Research that shows marijuana's components can inhibit the growth of cancerous brain tumors is the latest in a long line of studies demonstrating the drug's potential as an anti-cancer agent. Not familiar with it? You're not alone.Despite the value of these studies, both in terms of the treatment of life-threatening illnesses and as items of news – the latest being that performed by researchers at Madrid's Complutense University that found cannabis restricts the blood supply to glioblastoma multiforme tumors, an aggressive brain tumor that kills some 7,000 people in the United States per year – U.S. media coverage of them has been almost non-existent.Why the blackout? For starters, all of these medical cannabis studies were conducted overseas. Secondly, not one of them has been acknowledged by the U.S. government.This wasn't always the case. In fact, the first experiment documenting pot's anti-tumor effects took place in 1974 at the Medical College of Virginia at the behest of the U.S. government. The results of that study, reported in an Aug. 18, 1974, Washington Post newspaper feature, were that marijuana's psychoactive component, THC, "slowed the growth of lung cancers, breast cancers and a virus-induced leukemia in laboratory mice, and prolonged their lives by as much as 36 percent."Despite these favorable preliminary findings, U.S. government officials banished the study, and refused to fund any follow-up research until conducting a similar – though secret – clinical trial in the mid-1990s. That study, conducted by the U.S. National Toxicology Program to the tune of $2 million concluded that mice and rats administered high doses of THC over long periods had greater protection against malignant tumors than untreated controls.However, rather than publicize their findings, government researchers shelved the results, which only became public after a draft copy of its findings were leaked in 1997 to a medical journal which in turn forwarded the story to the national media.
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Comment #13 posted by dongenero on March 23, 2006 at 14:04:51 PT
Steiner is full of it
“Put it this way,” he says, “if you ould smoke pot and cure cancer, it would have been approved by now.”Oh yeah????...........................This wasn't always the case. In fact, the first experiment documenting pot's anti-tumor effects took place in 1974 at the Medical College of Virginia at the behest of the U.S. government. The results of that study, reported in an Aug. 18, 1974, Washington Post newspaper feature, were that marijuana's psychoactive component, THC, "slowed the growth of lung cancers, breast cancers and a virus-induced leukemia in laboratory mice, and prolonged their lives by as much as 36 percent."Despite these favorable preliminary findings, U.S. government officials banished the study, and refused to fund any follow-up research until conducting a similar – though secret – clinical trial in the mid-1990s. That study, conducted by the U.S. National Toxicology Program to the tune of $2 million concluded that mice and rats administered high doses of THC over long periods had greater protection against malignant tumors than untreated controls.However, rather than publicize their findings, government researchers shelved the results, which only became public after a draft copy of its findings were leaked in 1997 to a medical journal which in turn forwarded the story to the national media.
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Comment #12 posted by Hope on March 23, 2006 at 14:00:57 PT
"Jesse" in this article made me think of that
“For some of us, the answer seems so simple,” Jesse says from behind light-blue tinted sunglasses. “Over the years it has cured what ails me.”
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Comment #11 posted by Hope on March 23, 2006 at 13:53:56 PT
Jesse
"The Father of David."
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Comment #10 posted by Hope on March 23, 2006 at 13:52:52 PT
"slow the progression."
A good course of vitamins and a strong, well designed health and exercise program could do that, too. And it would likely be much easier on one's liver.Do any of you remember hearing something about cannabinoids being good for the liver instead of bad. It actually nourishes and replenishes and heals it somehow?Did I dream that?
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Comment #9 posted by whig on March 23, 2006 at 13:44:00 PT
Hope
The pharma drugs don't even do anything to help remediate the symptoms. They are claimed, at best, to slow the progression. At best. And meantime, they make life unbearable. What kind of a choice is that? Another friend of ours has MS as well and had to go on disability because she could not work, not because of the MS, but because of the medication. Terrible.Certainly from my wife's perspective, the drugs are worse than the condition.
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Comment #8 posted by Hope on March 23, 2006 at 13:28:09 PT
comment6
One of those days?
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Comment #7 posted by Hope on March 23, 2006 at 13:26:48 PT
   MS
is terrifying stuff.Truly terrifying.I think of our Cheryl.
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Comment #6 posted by Had Enough on March 23, 2006 at 12:52:50 PT
Proofreading
As you can see my proofreading leaves a lot to be desired. :) Even the correction is wrong. I’ll just leave it as it is. 
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Comment #5 posted by Had Enough on March 23, 2006 at 12:46:52 PT
Opps too!
"They try to sucker you into another thing they got going, but it is not required you to participate."Should read, "They try to sucker you into another thing they got going, but it is not required “that” you to participate."
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Comment #4 posted by whig on March 23, 2006 at 12:42:15 PT
MS drugs are bad stuff
My wife was completely unable to function when they had her on the interferons. Really awful.
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Comment #3 posted by Had Enough on March 23, 2006 at 12:41:18 PT
Poll
Should We Legalize Marijuana?YesNoThey try to sucker you into another thing they got going, but it is not required you to participate.http://ads.peel.com/peelMedia/sectionServer.php?ws=12233&cre=20603
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Comment #2 posted by Truth on March 23, 2006 at 12:34:50 PT
oops
let's go with "invisible"
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Comment #1 posted by Truth on March 23, 2006 at 12:33:39 PT
the invisable drug culture
http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/Stories/0,1413,91~3089~3274484,00.html
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