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Worth Repeating: Medical Cannabis May Treat PTSD

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 24, 2011 Medical

Graphic: Four Twenty Studios

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)

An Israeli study finds that the cannabinoids in cannabis provide relief from anxiety due to stress. This study suggests that a treatment to heal a hyper-alert “fear memory” in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) patients may exist.

Medical cannabis may also enhance PTSD behavior therapy treatments as an anti-anxiety agent that resets a damaged amygdala and may act as a superior psychiatric medicine to present-day antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs.

Society of Addiction Medicine Blasts Medical Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 24, 2011 Medical, News

Graphic: ASAM

Never mind what all those silly patients and physicians say. The American Society of Addiction Medicine says marijuana isn’t “medical,” and that’s apparently supposed to settle it.

If you enjoy bullshit, you can certainly have a hell of a time with the American Society of Addiction Medicine’s white paper on medicinal cannabis. That becomes clear from the moment you see those quote marks on the cover: The Role of the Physician in “Medical” Marijuana.

Touting the supposed dangers of marijuana, the reputed lack of clinical research “on a controlled substance with a high potential for abuse,” and the physician’s oath to “first, do no harm,” ASAM on Wednesday released a white paper [PDF] prepared last fall which recommends a halt to using cannabis as medicine, even in states where it has been declared legal.

The organization — for what it’s worth, considered the nation’s leading professional society of physicians involved in addiction prevention and treatment — supported federal regulatory standards for drug approval and distribution, and discouraged what it called “state interference” in the “federal medication-approval process,” reports Yahoo! News.

Woman Arrested During Medical Marijuana Raid Speaks Out

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 23, 2011 Medical, News

Photo: 8 News Now

Rhonda Shade’s garage in Las Vegas used to be packed with dozens of marijuana plants. Now all the cannabis is gone, along with the lights used to grow it, since everything was seized in a drug raid.

“They’ve taken our finished medicine, which was ready for use, and they took all of our equipment,” Shade said, reports 8 News Now. “Law enforcement is taught to look for these lights and these plants growing, and maybe it looks crazy to them, but it was beautiful to us. That was our medicine, and we took pride in it. There’s nothing wrong with that, and I’m not going to be ashamed of that.”

Maryland Senate On Verge Of Approving Medical Marijuana Bill

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 23, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: Cannabis Fantastic

The Maryland Senate is expected to take up final approval of a medical marijuana bill this week, after giving it a preliminary OK on Tuesday. Although the bill has been drastically amended since being introduced, its sponsor said he still feels it represents progress.

The bill, proposed by state Sen. David Brinkley of Frederick County, will now allow people charged with use or possession of marijuana to argue before a judge that they did so out of medical necessity, reports Meg Tully of the Frederick News-Post. If a judge agrees, the person would be found not guilty of the charge, known as an “affirmative defense.”

Montana Bill Would Let Voters Repeal Or Keep Medical Pot Law

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 22, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Graphic: KTVQ

Letting the voters decide? What a concept.

If you’re a resident of Montana, you may believe you already sent a pretty clear signal to the state’s politicians in 2004, when voters overwhelmingly approved the legalization of medical marijuana in a 62 percent to 38 percent rout. Let’s just assume some politicians are slow learners.

As legislators talk over repealing or amending the state’s medical marijuana law — effectively thwarting the will of the voters — one lawmaker from Kalispell wants to give Montanans another chance to vote on the issue, reports Charles S. Johnson at the Billings Gazette.

N.J. Announces 6 Licensed Medical Marijuana Growers, Sellers

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 21, 2011 Dispensaries, Medical, News

Graphic: Medical Marijuana Blog

The six state-licensed growers and sellers for New Jersey medical marijuana patients have just been announced by the state health department.

The list of dispensaries, known as “alternative treatment centers,” or ATCs, in New Jersey, as reported by Susan K. Livio at NJ.com, is as follows:

• Breakwater Alternative Treatment Center Corp., Manalapan, Monmouth County

• Compassionate Care Centers of America Foundation Inc., New Brunswick, Middlesex County

• Compassionate Care Foundation Inc., Bellmawr, Camden County

• Compassionate Sciences, INc., either Burlington or Camden County

• Foundation Harmony, Secaucus, Hudson County

• Greenleaf Compassion Center, Montclair, Essex County

The state health department released the list of winning applicants on Monday, despite the Legislature’s intent to repeal the medical marijuana program rules draft by the Christie Administration.

MT: Crackdown On Medical Marijuana Is Coming In ‘Next 30 Days’

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 21, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Photo: Erik Peterson/Bozeman Daily Chronicle

A federal agent looks over marijuana plants and equipment following a raid in Montana on March 14.

Expect the Montana Legislature to crack down on medical marijuana, State Rep. Jon Sesso (D-Butte) told the Montana Bar Association on Friday.

Sesso, the House minority leader, said he expects “significant reform,” but not outright repeal of the 2004 Medical Marijuana Act, approved by an overwhelming 62 percent of Montana voters. He spoke to the lawyers’ group in Butte, reports Tim Trainor at the Montana Standard.

“The abusers will be on notice, probably in the next 30 days,” Sesso said. “If you aren’t legitimately sick, you are not going to be able to use.”

“Other” Compound In Marijuana Shows Promise Fighting Cancer

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 21, 2011 Medical

Photo: Medical Marijuana Oil

Dr. Sean McAllister’s research has shown that CBD, a compound from cannabis, shows great promise in fighting cancer

Two of the major compounds in marijuana — THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol) have cancer-fighting properties, according to scientists researching them. But while the biological mechanisms THC uses are well documented, there are still mysteries surrounding the lesser-known CBD.

Clinical trials prove that CBD eases pain and inflammation, reports Dana M. Nichols at the Stockton Record. Sean McAllister, a scientist at California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute in San Francisco, has, along with his research associates, used CBD to shrink cancerous tumors.

Washington Medical Marijuana Dispensary Owner Convicted

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 18, 2011 Dispensaries, Medical, News

Photo: Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review

Scott Shupe is shown sitting in Change, the Spokane marijuana dispensary that he co-owned, in this 2009 file photo. Shupe was convicted on March 17, 2011, on felony drug charges after a jury rejected his argument that Washington’s medical marijuana law allows dispensaries to operate.

How long now until more raids?

In a case closely watched by both the medical marijuana community and law enforcement, a Spokane, Washington jury rejected arguments Thursday that the state’s medical marijuana law should be interpreted broadly to allow for commercial dispensaries, convicting a provider of multiple drug trafficking charges.

Scott Q. Shupe, who co-owned one of the first medical marijuana dispensaries in Spokane, argued that a broad interpretation of the state’s medical marijuana law means that dispensaries can supply authorized patients, provided they serve just one patient at a time, reports Thomas Clouse at The Spokane Spokesman-Review.

Michigan Medical Marijuana Patients: State Has Us In Catch 22

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on March 18, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Photo: mlive.com

Michigan Atty. Gen. Bill Schuette: “The zero tolerance standard should be followed”

If you’re a Michigan medical marijuana patient, you don’t get to drive, according to your Attorney General.

Medical marijuana advocates are unhappy about Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette’s reaction to a case concerning a medical marijuana cardholder who was arrested for “driving under the influence of drugs,” reports Carol Hopkins at the Oakland County Daily Tribune.

Atty. Gen. Schuette filed a brief in support of the Grand Traverse County prosecutor’s appeal to the Michigan Court of Appeals in People v. Koon, a case in which Koon, a medical marijuana patient, was charged with driving with cannabis in his system.

Michigan’s motor vehicle code prohibits drivers from operating motor vehicles with “any amount” of a Schedule I substance in the body.

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