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Resolution Introduced To Legalize Medical Marijuana In Florida

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 19, 2011 Legislation, Medical, News

Voters in the Sunshine State could get a chance to decide for themselves about medical marijuana — if the Republican-controlled Legislature will let them

A state lawmaker in Florida filed a joint resolution this week that would allow Floridians to decide for themselves in the 2012 election whether they want to legalize medical marijuana with a constitutional amendment. At this point, the Republican-controlled Legislature is all that stands in the way.

The resolution, HJR 353, “Medical Use of Cannabis,” filed by state Rep. Jeff Clemens (D-Lake Worth), would create an article in the state constitution that would “allow medical use of cannabis by citizens and allow Legislature to implement these provisions by general law,” reports Ashley Lopez at The Florida Independent.

“That’s a compassion issue,” Clemens said, reports Whitney Ray at Capitol News Service. “It’s an issue of people in this state that are going through tough times and a lot of physical pain and if they want to use this particular drug as opposed to a more heavy prescription narcotic I don’t think there’s any reason why we shouldn’t let them.”

“With 81 percent of Americans supporting allowing medical marijuana, it’s time Florida stops jailing its most vulnerable citizens for possessing and using a relatively harmless substance recommended to them by their physicians,” the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) said in an August statement about the proposed constitutional amendment.

CBD: Marijuana Compound Has No High, But Relieves Pain

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 17, 2011 Medical, News

Philly.com

Scientists at Temple University in Philadelphia who are exploring the medical benefits of cannabidiol (CBD), a marijuana compound that does not produce the high associated with THC, have found that it’s effective in helping prevent neuropathic pain.

CBD, the second major cannabinoid in pot after THC, has anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties, but no psychoactive effects, according to the scientists, reports Tom Avril at Philly.com.

In a study using lab mice, CBD showed promise in preventing the kind of neuropathic pain that can result from the chemotherapy drug paclitaxel (sold as the brand-name Taxol, among others).

Mice that were given paclitaxel and also received CBD were much less sensitive to pain than mice that receive only chemo.

Protesters At Federal Courthouse Decry Medical Marijuana Raid

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 15, 2011 Growing, Medical, News

Jack Rikess

By Jack Rikess

Toke of the Town

Northern California Correspondent

The ripples of the DEA’s early morning assault in Ukiah reached the Bay Area on Friday. Medical marijuana activists gathered in front of the San Francisco Federal Building to bring awareness to the crack-of-dawn raid Thursday on Mathew Cohen’s collective, Northstone Organics.

A faithful throng of about 40 showed up to show solidarity with the Northern Californian Collective. Shona Gochenaur of Axis of Love, bullhorn in hand, wondered where were the powerful politicians like Nancy Pelosi and Attorney General Kamala Harris who took medical marijuana campaign contributions but are nowhere to be found now. She continually pumped up the protesters while being interviewed by the local media stations.

The chants by the hearty few assembled of “Our Medicine, Our State” and “DEA, Go AWAY,” reverberated around the entrance of the building causing the suits and onlookers to pause as they saunter out for their lunches.

Rally Tuesday In San Diego To Defend Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 13, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

California Cannabis Coalition

Members of the California Cannabis Coalition invite you to join them in San Diego on Tuesday, October 18 from noon to 2 p.m., for a rally to defend medical marijuana coops and collectives

Attorney General Eric Holder has said he will no longer respect the rights of patients or the laws of California and is prosecuting medical marijuana collectives and cooperatives.

Activists with the California Cannabis Coalition are responding this Tuesday, October 18, with a rally to defend medicinal cannabis, from 12 noon until 2 p.m., in San Diego. The rally will begin at the Civic Center, 1200 Third Avenue, at noon and go from there to the Federal Building, 880 Front Street.

In San Diego, the local U.S. Attorney, Laura Duffy, has issued letters to every medical marijuana collective and their landlords ordering that they cease operation within 45 days, or federal officials will confiscate the buildings in which they reside.

Feds To Go After Newspapers, Radio For Medical Marijuana Ads

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 12, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Veterans Today

Raising worrisome First Amendment issues, U.S. Attorneys are getting ready to go after newspapers, radio stations and other outlets which accept advertising for California’s medical marijuana dispensaries, as the Obama Administration opens up another front in its ongoing war against medicinal cannabis.

After announcing earlier this month that landlords could have their property seized if they rent to dispensaries, the Administration seems to be including media outlets in its threats, as well, reports Michael Montgomery at California Watch.

Marijuana advertising is the next area U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy is “going to be moving onto as part of the enforcement efforts in Southern California,” she said. Duffy, whose district includes San Diego and Imperial counties, said she couldn’t speak for the other three federal prosecutors in the state, but noted they have coordinated their efforts thus far.

Medical Cannabis Is Great For Sports Injuries & Active Lifestyles

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 12, 2011 Medical

SportsxInjury

When you injure yourself playing a sport, why cover up the injury when you can actually start the healing process?

Treatment Trends

By Ben Reagan

Co-Founder, The C.P.C

Weekend warriors, serious athletes, obsessive golfers, all ye with active lifestyles, if you’re reading this article you probably have first-hand experience with the side effects associated with opiate narcotics, analgesics, muscle relaxants, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications (NSAIDs) typically prescribed for sports injuries or the wear and tear from a lifetime of “staying fit” or “playing hard.”

Take opiates (please), which interrupt pain signaling to the brain by flooding pain receptors with damping effects. The long term effect is a down regulation of endogenous opiate production.

Technically speaking, “this down regulation appears to have cross over effects across the pituitary gland and hypothalamus, triggering something called panhypopituitarism, with symptoms of fatigue, obesity, diabetes, insomnia, depression, GI inhibition and decreased libido often resulting,” according to Dr. Zach Sparer of Green Wellness.

Obama Called ‘From First To Worst’ On Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 11, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

MPP

After presidential candidate Barack Obama pledged to stop interfering with state medical marijuana laws in states where the medicinal use of cannabis has been legalized, advocates were hopeful that they could at last concentrate on getting medicine safely to patients, rather than worry about federal raids.

That hope was nice while it lasted, but is quickly evaporating now that the Administration is pursuing a multi-front war on medicinal cannabis providers and, by extension, the patients who count on dispensaries for safe access.

Marijuana Policy Project Executive Director Rob Kampia in a Sunday editorial in the Huffington Post noted the turnaround, saying “over the past eight months [Obama] has become arguably the worst president in U.S. history regarding medical marijuana.”

Marijuana Crackdown By Obama: Yes, It’s Big Pharma

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 11, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Federal prosecutors in the Obama Administration are going after medical marijuana dispensaries. How are pharmaceutical companies involved? Some leaders in this movement will actually tell you they aren’t; be very careful in whom you believe.

As pointed out on The Young Turks, this crackdown is nothing more than a process of eliminating the competition for Big Pharma. GW Pharmaceutical and other manufacturers want to take over the marijuana market with products like Sativex, a liquid extract of cannabis that contains both THC and CBD.

The Silver Tour: Teaching Seniors About Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 10, 2011 Legislation, Medical, News

Freedom Is Green

The legendary Robert Platshorn served more prison time for a nonviolent marijuana offense than anyone else in U.S. history. Now he’s teaching other seniors about medical marijuana on The Silver Tour.

Almost every time a poll is taken on public levels of support for medical marijuana, one of the groups most resistant to the idea is one that stands to gain the most from it: senior citizens. If we, as a community, can find a way to educate seniors on the health benefits and palliative qualities of medicinal cannabis, it will be a huge step towards achieving the numbers it will take to legalize medical marijuana on the federal level. Seniors are known as the most powerful voting bloc in the nation, and they always show up at the polls.

That’s where the legendary Robert Platshorn, the Black Tuna himself, comes in. Platshorn — who started as a pitchman, became one of the biggest marijuana smugglers of the 1970s, and then spent almost 30 years in federal prison — has taken on the job of informing his fellow senior citizens about the health benefits of cannabis.

The Silver Tour is the only organization reaching out to seniors about medical marijuana, according to Platshorn, and its work consists of informing them on ways to organize, petition and contact their local politicians to demand legal, safe access to medicinal cannabis.

Advocates Accuse Obama Of Hypocritical Policy On Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 7, 2011 Medical, News

Fox News

Millions of Taxpayer Dollars Spent Undermining State and Local Medical Marijuana Laws

The Obama Justice Department (DOJ) held a press conference in Sacramento Friday announcing an array of enforcement actions against medical marijuana producers and distributors as well as landlords throughout California.

Patient advocates are calling President Obama’s enforcement effort harmful and unnecessary, representing a stark contradiction to his pledge of disengagement in medical marijuana states. The DOJ claimed it was carrying out civil and criminal enforcement actions against medical marijuana providers and sending “warning” letters to property owners leasing to dispensary operators.

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