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  Medical Marijuana Backers Make Case To Regulators

Posted by CN Staff on August 19, 2009 at 12:40:08 PT
By Tony Leys 
Source: Des Moines Register  

Iowa -- Medical-marijuana advocates urged state regulators today to let patients use the drug to treat pain and nausea.“I know what it’s like to crawl around on the bathroom floor like an animal every morning, vomiting with my head in the sink,” said Robert Manke of Des Moines, who said he uses marijuana to deal with pain and nausea caused by three traffic accidents. “I need your help. I’m not here because I want to get high. I’m here because I want to stop being sick. And I want to stop being persecuted.”
Manke was part of a string of witnesses at a medical-marijuana hearing held by the Iowa Board of Pharmacy. The board plans to hold four such hearings around the state, then make a recommendation to legislators about whether Iowa should join 13 other states in legalizing marijuana for medical purposes.The audience of several dozen people clearly tilted toward legalization. Several physicians joined patients in supporting the idea. One of them was Dr. Edward Hertko, a retired Des Moines physician, who said it could help a wide range of patients, including people suffering from AIDS, epilepsy, Lou Gehrig’s disease and cancer.He said marijuana is less dangerous and addictive than many prescription drugs.Hertko said the discussion has nothing to do with drug users who simply want to get high. “The people who want recreational marijuana already know how to use it.”Gary Young, a retired Polk County environmental-health official, was in the minority when he spoke against medical marijuana. Young was representing the Order of the Elks, which is concerned that legalization of marijuana for medical uses could make it easier for people, including minors, to obtain it for recreational uses.Young countered proponents’ studies with references to studies that found no medical benefit. He said prescription medications are purer and easier to control than smoked marijuana, which he said has hundreds of chemicals that vary in strength. “I urge the board to make its decision on scientific evidence and not on anecdotal evidence,” he said.The hearing, being held at the State Historical Building, is scheduled to last until 7 p.m. The board plans to hold three more hearings around the state.The federal government still outlaws almost all uses of marijuana, but the Obama administration has signaled that it would ease up on enforcement against medical marijuana arrangements in states that allow them. The board will consider how it would regulate medical use of marijuana. One way would be to allow sales only through licensed pharmacies. A vice president of the Iowa Pharmacy Association told the board that the group would support experiments in which pharmacies would sell the drug to people who had doctors’ prescriptions for it.Source: Des Moines Register (IA)Author: Tony LeysPublished: August 19, 2009Copyright: 2009 The Des Moines RegisterContact: cdavis dmreg.comWebsite: http://desmoinesregister.comURL: http://drugsense.org/url/63BR6dr0Related Articles:IA Board To Hear From Public on Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24980.shtmlDebating Medical Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread24972.shtml

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Comment #7 posted by Paint with light on August 19, 2009 at 21:48:19 PT

Elks Clubs
When I was in high school I was in several bands that played Elks Clubs gigs.There was always a lot of alcohol flowing.Mr. Young(who thinks so old).......legal like alcohol is all I ask.
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Comment #6 posted by FoM on August 19, 2009 at 20:12:48 PT

 RevRayGreen 
I'm glad you had a good day. Keep up the good work.
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Comment #5 posted by Hope on August 19, 2009 at 20:00:19 PT

RevRayGreen 
Sounds like you had a good day. If that ACLU petition is answered... it might be the beginning of some good and vital changes.Good job and thanks.
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Comment #4 posted by RevRayGreen on August 19, 2009 at 19:58:18 PT

Young was representing the Order of the Elks
The Elks are a bunch of drunks..he was the only one to stand up against, we had three doctors and two on conference call from Washington......question from the
Death Panel for those in Washinton state was always about distribution.
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Comment #3 posted by RevRayGreen on August 19, 2009 at 19:53:29 PT

The only lawmaker to show up against today left 
as I went into my presentation as I called out lawmakers and “the one in the room who endorsed Oxyconton over medical marijuana recently in a radio interview”…he got up and left…I call him Chicken Baudler now…....bawk!!!bawk!!!!we had over 50+, George was in the house, got to meet some very good people, heard some sad stories..........then this :)Marijuana rescheduling case heads back to court FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - Wednesday, August 19, 2009 9:55:20 AM CT DES MOINES - The ACLU Foundation of Iowa [ACLU], announces that it has filed an petition with the Polk County Iowa District Court seeking to overturn the most recent decision of the Iowa Board of Pharmacy not to recommend removal of marijuana from Schedule I of the Iowa Controlled Substances Act. Schedule I is reserved for substances and drugs that have no recognized medical use in the United States. The ACLU is arguing that marijuana no longer meets the criteria for listing in schedule I because 13 states representing 1/4 of the United States Population, now allow marijuana to be used for medical purposes under the supervision of a physician.
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Comment #2 posted by Hope on August 19, 2009 at 15:21:02 PT

That's different.
"A vice president of the Iowa Pharmacy Association told the board that the group would support experiments in which pharmacies would sell the drug to people who had doctors’ prescriptions for it."
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Comment #1 posted by HempWorld on August 19, 2009 at 13:09:34 PT

Here we go again ... 
There is a Federal Compassionate Use program since 1978, in which the US Federal Gov't sends marijuana cigarettes to a select group of sick people.Thus, using marijuana is not against Federal law and it is used as a medicine, which means it does not belong in Class 1 of the CSA.How much longer is this idiocy going to last?
Legalize All Drugs!
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