Cannabinophobia: The Timing Makes You Wonder

Proposition 215 (or the Compassionate Use Act of 1996) is a California law concerning the use of medical cannabis. It was enacted, by means of the initiative process, and passed with 55.6% of votes in favor.

President Barack Obama delivered a message on medical marijuana in February 2009. It couldn’t have been clearer and simpler: The federal government was getting out of the business of busting medical marijuana patients and providers who were following state laws in California and other states where voters had approved medicinal application of the plant.

National Cancer Institute scrubs “anti-tumoral effect” of cannabinoids after stating for about five minutes that cannabis did have some medical value in the General Information section. The wording was revised to make clearer that cannabis is not approved by the FDA for any medical use.

San Jose limits the number of medical marijuana dispensaries from more than 100 to roughly 10.

Washington’s top federal prosecutors have threatened to crack down if the state goes forward with a proposal to legalize medical marijuana dispensaries and growers, putting in jeopardy a bill that has already passed both chambers of the Legislature. Governor Christine Gregoire vetoes most of the bill, citing fears of state employees being federally prosecuted.

GW Pharmaceuticals announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a Notice of Allowance for a patent which protects the use of Sativex® as a treatment for cancer pain.

The patent, entitled “Pharmaceutical Compositions for the Treatment of Pain”, provides an exclusivity period until April 2025. The patent specifically covers a method of treating cancer related pain by administering a combination of the cannabinoids cannabidiol (CBD) and delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the two principal cannabinoids in Sativex®. In addition to this newly granted patent, Sativex® is protected by a number of other patents related to different aspects of the product.

Early in Sativex’s development, GW hired Dr. Andrea Barthwell as a consultant to sing the drug’s praises. Here’s the crazy part of the woman who has assisted in getting Sativex approved in the States. Barthwell was a deputy drug czar under George W. Bush and is the former president of the American Society for Addiction Medicine (ASAM). In a recent ASAM press release, Barthwell denounces medical marijuana because…wait for it… because it was unregulated by the federal government.

And there’s more…

Meanwhile, Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Congress’s top recipient of campaign funds from the pharmaceutical industry, has (what a surp
rise!) come out against state medical marijuana laws, despite being an advocate of states’ rights on issues like allowing offshore drilling.

It’s easy to see why medical marijuana activists bemoaned the double-punch of people like Barthwell and Burr who represent the pharmaceutical industry’s goal for medical marijuana: demonize it, prosecute it, shut it down, then work with Big Pharma to get their piece of the pie. How it works…

​So how do pharmaceutical companies get into the Pot Biz while legitimate medical marijuana dispensaries are being closed and under harassment? 

The answer: Money.

The pharmaceutical industry is far and away the biggest spender on federal lobbying. Between 1998 and 2010, Big Pharma spent more than $2 billion sending lobbyists to the capital to fight for industry-friendly legislation and regulations. This is more than half a billion greater than the amount spent in the same period by pharmaceuticals’ closest competitor, the insurance industry, and nearly twice what oil and gas companies spent. 

The U.S. attorney for Colorado warned state lawmakers that pending legislation adjusting rules for medical marijuana would conflict with federal law and could lead to federal prosecutions.

U.S. Attorney John Walsh’s letter was sent to Colorado Attorney General John Suthers in response to his request for clarification on how federal treatment of medical marijuana use may conflict with pending legislation now under consideration in House Bill 1043.

16 states have medical marijuana.

1,000 people a year die from aspirin.