Medical

Browsing: Medical

Obama Medical Marijuana Policies Now Worse Than Bush: DPA

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

Obama Administration Escalates War On Medical Marijuana Patients

Despite the Obama Administration’s promise to respect state law and leave medical marijuana patients alone, its attack on patients and providers operating legally under state law is rapidly escalating.

At least 16 landlords in California this week received letters saying they are in violation of federal drug laws, and that state law will not protect them.

The four U.S. Attorneys in California are holding a press conference in Sacramento today (Friday), in which they are expected to announce a broad crackdown on medical marijuana.

DPA Blasts Gun Discrimination Against Marijuana Patients

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 6, 2011 Medical, News

The Narco News Bulletin

Ethan Nadelmann, DPA: “ATF’s blatant discrimination against Americans who use marijuana legally under state law is outrageous”

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Says Medical Marijuana Patients Are Prohibited From Owning Guns

Last month the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives sent a letter to gun sellers saying it is illegal for medical marijuana patients to own firearms.

“Any person who uses or is addicted to marijuana, regardless of whether his or her state has passed legislation authorizing marijuana use for medicinal purposes, is prohibited by Federal law from possessing firearms or ammunition,” says the letter from Assistant Director Arthur Herbert.

“ATF’s blatant discrimination against Americans who use marijuana legally under state law is outrageous,” said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA).

Too High: Oregon Marijuana Cardholders Hit With New Fees

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 5, 2011 Legislation, Medical

The Portland Mercury

When the state’s looking for “additional revenue,” keep an eye on your money. Oregon residents applying for medical marijuana cards will have lighter pocketbooks this month. State fees for the card applications took a dramatic jump on October 1 — and as usual, low-income patients who rely on food stamps and the Oregon Health Plan will be hit the hardest.

Annual application and renewal fees for the cards were $100, with a discounted low-income rate of $20. Now the annual fee is $200 and the discounted rate is $100, reports Peter Korn at Pamplin Media Group.

Worth Repeating: DEA Faces Suit For Blocking Marijuana Research

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 4, 2011 Medical

Montana Biotech

U.S. federal government-issued cannabis

Welcome to Room 420, where your instructor is Mr. Ron Marczyk and your subjects are wellness, disease prevention, self actualization, and chillin’.

Worth Repeating

By Ron Marczyk, R.N.

Health Education Teacher (Retired)

DEA policy is a violation of the fundamental principles of the scientific method. Seventy-five years of bias must come to an end.

First, the backstory.

Jan 12, 2009:

“With one foot out the door, the Bush administration has once again found time to undermine scientific freedom,” said Allen Hopper, litigation director of the American Civil Liberties Union Drug Law Reform Project. “In stubbornly retaining the unique government monopoly over the supply of research marijuana over the objections of DEA’s own administrative law judge, the Bush administration has effectively blocked the proper regulatory channels that would allow the drug to become a wholly legitimate prescription medication.”

Source

“The federal government’s official policy is that marijuana has no medical benefit.”

Source

The American Civil Liberties Union said in a legal brief that the DEA’s politics are keeping

cannabis-based medicines off shelves.

Source

Brown To Intro Medical Marijuana Bill In Alabama Legislature

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on October 3, 2011 Medical, News

The Weed Blog

An Alabama lawmaker said on Friday that he will sponsor a bill during the 2012 session of the Legislature to legalize medical marijuana in the state.

Rep. K.L. Brown (R-Jacksonville) said his sister used medicinal cannabis 25 years ago to ease the suffering of her breast cancer, reports Patrick McCreless at The Anniston Star. According to Brown, the aim of his legislation is to provide similar relief to other chronically ill Alabama patients.

“My sister used it very successfully to control her nausea and pain,” Brown said. “I think the time has come for the state to consider medical marijuana.”

Brown, who said he had already met with state health department officials to consider their potential role if the bill is passed, said he plans to pre-file the bill by November. He will soon meet with other lawmakers to discuss the legislation.

Arizona Nurse Says She Was Fired Over Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 30, 2011 Medical, News

Verde Independent

Esther Shapiro says she was fired after revealing she is a legal medical marijuana patient.

A registered nurse, formerly employed by a private hospice, has filed a letter of demand over her alleged firing after she revealed she is a card-carrying medical marijuana patient. Her attorney said the matter could be the first-ever Arizona case challenging discrimination against a medicinal cannabis patient, if it goes to trial.

Esther Shapiro said she was a medical marijuana patient where she previously lived in Colorado, reports Jon Hutchinson at the Verde Independent. She moved to Arizona in June, and qualified for a medical marijuana card there after a doctor’s examination. Shapiro suffered a compressed disc after being the victim of a hit and run accident in 1988, and also suffers from fibromyalgia and neuropathy.

She was hired by the Verde Valley Community Hospice in Cottonwood as a registered nurse to visit and care for end-of-life patients in their homes. The RN, during her orientation, was asked to provide a preemployment drug screen, and at that point told her employers that she would test positive for marijuana, but that she’s a legal medical cannabis patient.

Shapiro said she was told at that point that “they would have to investigate.” She said she was threatened with ring reported to the Arizona Nursing Board on suspicion of “substance abuse.”

Rhode Island ACLU Considering Medical Marijuana Lawsuit

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 30, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Medical Marijuana Blog

The Rhode Island chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union says it is considering legal action over Gov. Lincoln Chafee’s decision not to license three medical marijuana dispensaries, as provided for in the state’s medicinal cannabis law.

State ACLU Executive Director Steve Brown said on Friday that he’s trying to put a lawsuit together on behalf of patients to force the governor to comply with the “compassion center” statute, which provides for state-licensed dispensaries, reports The Associated Press.

Brown said he’s been in touch with the Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition (RIPAC) about possible legal action.

Governor Chafee on Thursday said he wouldn’t implement the state’s compassion center law because it could cause Rhode Island to become a target of federal law enforcement.

Reactionary Idaho Groups Fighting Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 29, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Kathy Plonka/Spokesman-Review

Anita Kronvall of the Kootenai County Substance Abuse Council doesn’t smoke cannabis, and she doesn’t want anybody else to use it, either — even medical marijuana patients.

Expecting both a November 2012 ballot initiative to legalize medical marijuana in Idaho, and state legislation to do the same, reactionary elements in Coeur d’Alene are mobilizing to “educate” the public about what they claim are the “dangers” of cannabis legalization.

“Our whole goal is we want our people educated so we can put pressure on the legislators not to pass it,” said Anita Kronvall, director of the Kootenai County Substance Abuse Council, reports Alison Boggs of the Spokane Spokesman-Review. The council is supporting the Kootenai Alliance for Children and Families in hosting two mid-October anti-marijuana events.

The keynote speaker will be anti-pot wing nut Monte Stiles, a real asshole’s asshole who retired early from his job as assistant U.S. Attorney for Idaho — so that, you guessed it, he could spend full time battling the “Marijuana Menace.” Stiles, a Brigham Young University graduate who just can’t let go of the Drug War, may be living proof that marijuana really does make you crazy — if you oppose it.

Medical Marijuana Grower Dazed After Big Federal Raid

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 29, 2011 Growing, Medical

KDRV

Here’s what the marijuana grow operation looked like before the DEA raided it on Tuesday

An Oregon medical marijuana grower is dazed and confused after federal agents searched his home, took his cannabis, and hauled it away in dump trucks.

James Anderson, 25, is part of a group of marijuana growers in Gold Hill who share a plot of land to collectively grow for their respective patients, reports Chris Conrad at the Medford Mail Tribune. “We are growing within our limits,” Anderson said. “Some of us are under.”

Drug Enforcement Administration agents, U.S. Marshals and a motley crew of local police officers pulled into his property at 9 a.m. on Tuesday to serve a search warrant, according to Anderson.

Marijuana Extract Helps Prevent Pain From Chemotherapy

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on September 29, 2011 Medical, News

420 Magazine

Cannabidiol, a medically useful extract from marijuana, is showing potential as a treatment to help prevent pain in patients getting the chemotherapy drug paclitaxel, according to researchers in Philadelphia.

According to UPI, Sara Jane Ward and her colleagues at the Temple University School of Pharmacy said cannabidiol (CBD) reduces pain and inflammation, while avoiding the psychoactive side effects of marijuana’s other cannabinoids — that is to say, the “high.”

CBD reduces paclitaxel-induced neuropathy in female mice, according to the study. Neuropathy is a potentially serious complication that can prevent patients from getting their full course of chemotherapy.

Previous 1 … 124 125 126 127 128 … 203 Next