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Medical Marijuana Bill Introduced In Delaware; Montel Supports

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 25, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Delaware, ”The First State,” could become the 16th to legalize medical marijuana.

State Senator Margaret Rose Henry and three Senate co-sponsors on Tuesday introduced SB 17 in the Delaware State Senate, calling for a common sense approach to providing compassionate care for seriously ill patients seeking relief with medical marijuana. Rep. Helene Keeley is the prime sponsor in the House, with eight co-sponsoring House members on the bill.

Montel Williams, a popular former talk show host and multiple sclerosis patient, attended Tuesday’s legislative session to meet with lawmakers and the Governor to urge them to support SB 17. Neuropathic pain associated with MS is one of the ailments for which marijuana has been shown to provide relief.

Passage of the bill would allow Delaware patients suffering from several devastating illnesses to receive medical marijuana with a doctor’s recommendation.

Confidential Patient Registry Out; Law Enforcement Database In

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 24, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Graphic: CTI

The Colorado Department of Revenue has released 99 pages of new regulations governing medical marijuana in the state. The most concerning aspect of these new rules, according to the Boulder-based Cannabis Therapy Institute (CTI), is the invasion of patient privacy they allow.

In order to buy cannabis at a Medical Marijuana Center (the legal name for dispensaries in Colorado), patients will be forced to give up their constitutional right to confidentiality and become participants in the Colorado Medical Marijuana Patient and Medicine Tracking Database and Surveillance System, according to CTI.

Wyoming Supreme Court Rejects Man’s Medical Pot Defense

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

Graphic: KJCT8

People who legally obtain medical marijuana in other states are not exempt from criminal prosecution for possessing it in Wyoming, the state Supreme Court has ruled.

The court unanimously ruled last week in the case of Daniel J. Burns of Boulder, Colorado, who was arrested in March 2009 in Laramie County, Wyoming on a felony drug possession charge after he was caught with more than a pound of marijuana in his vehicle, reports Bob Moen of The Associated Press.

Burns, who has a Colorado medical marijuana card and doctor’s certification to use cannabis for medicinal purposes, argued that Wyoming drug laws exempt people who are prescribed drugs by a doctor.

Idaho Lawmaker Introduces Medical Marijuana Bill

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

Photo: Idaho Moms 4 Marijuana

Idaho patients have already fought long and hard to legally use the medicine which works best for them.

A northern Idaho lawmaker has once again introduced a bill which would legalize medical marijuana in the state.

Rep. Tom Trail (R-Moscow) earlier this week sponsored the Idaho Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act to establish a system for patients to legally obtain and use marijuana with a doctor’s approval, reports The Associated Press.

The bill would allow patients with illnesses like cancer, AIDS, Lou Gehrig’s disease, muscular dystrophy, glaucoma and multiple sclerosis to have access to legal marijuana grown and distributed through state-monitored dispensaries.

It’s time for legislators to help reduce the suffering of seriously ill citizens, according to Trail.

If the bill passes, patients would need authorization from a doctor to get medical marijuana. Patients or their caregivers would also have to register with the state.

Montel Williams Supports Medical Marijuana Bill In Maryland

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

Photo: Marijuana Policy Project

Montel Williams: “Every day that they delay is another one of needless suffering for patients like me all across the state”

Multiple sclerosis patient and media celebrity Montel Williams will speak at a press conference Monday in Annapolis in support of legislation that would make Maryland the nation’s 16th state allowing physician-approved use of medical marijuana.

Williams grew up in Baltimore, where his father was the city’s first African-American fire chief, Montel graduated from the Naval Academy in Annapolis and retired from the U.S. Navy as a decorated Naval Intelligence officer after more than two decades of service before starting his second career as a TV talk show host.

In 1999, he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Following his diagnosis, he created the Montel Williams MS Foundation, which is committed to raising awareness of the disease and providing inspiration to those who live with MS.

Williams has advocated for the compassionate use of medical marijuana in a number of states that have approved or are considering new laws.

Montel will be joined at the Maryland press conference Monday by the chief sponsors of the state’s medical marijuana legislation: physician and Delegate Dan Morhaim, and Senators Jamie Raskin and David Brinkley, both cancer survivors.

N.J. Medical Marijuana Advocates Blast Proposed Regulations

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 20, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Photo: NY Post

N.J. Gov. Chris Christie has been accused of needlessly delaying safe access to medical marijuana by proposing unworkable regulations

Medical marijuana advocates on Thursday said the regulations New Jersey has proposed for medicinal cannabis make no sense for businesses, patients or doctors.

A state Senate hearing consisted mostly of advocates criticizing the proposed regulations, which had few defenders there, reports The Associated Press.

The hearing was one step in a rarely used constitutional maneuver the Legislature is using in an attempt to force Gov. Chris Christie’s health department to come up with more workable regulations.

Some lawmakers contend that the rules drafted by the Christie Administration don’t follow the intent of the legislation through with the Legislature authorized medical marijuana. Activists have also accused Christie of dragging his feet and needlessly delaying safe access for the state’s seriously ill patients.

Cannabis Association Supports Medical Marijuana Reform In WA

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 20, 2011 Dispensaries, Legislation, Medical

Graphic: OC NORML

The Washington Cannabis Association has announced its support for a historic and sweeping medical cannabis reform bill — S. 5073 — which is set to have its first legislative committee hearing Thursday in the State Senate’s Health and Long-Term Care Committee.

According to a January 20 press release from the group, the WCA “supports the bill with some modifications and recognizes that it could clean up our state’s medical cannabis law for the good of medical cannabis patients, their providers and law enforcement.”

Sponsored by State Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles (D-Queen Anne), S. 5073 [PDF] would for the first time offer Washington medical marijuana patients true arrest protection and would offer legal protection to dispensaries and producers, while also regulating them under the authority of state agencies.

WA Supreme Court Hears Case: Woman Fired For Med Pot Use

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 19, 2011 Legislation, Medical

Photo: Stoel Rives World of Employment

Can medical marijuana patients be fired from their jobs for legally using cannabis with a doctor’s authorization? That’s the question before the Washington Supreme Court, which heard arguments Tuesday from attorneys in the case of a medical marijuana patient fired by a telemarketing firm for failing a drug test in 2006.

Voters in 1998 would be “flabbergasted” to hear someone could be fired for legally using medical marijuana away from work, in this case to alleviate migraine headaches, argued Michael Subit, attorney for the woman called “Jane Roe” in court proceedings to protect her identity, reports Josh Farley at the Kitsap Sun.

“The Legislature understood (voters) were giving broad permission” to use marijuana medicinally, argued Subit, “…and that’s why they [legal medical marijuana patients]can’t be fired.”

But James Shore, attorney representing Teletech, claimed the law passed by voters provides only a defense in court to patients who have a doctor’s recommendation to use marijuana. Shore said Washington’s medical cannabis law does not offer employment protection.

“An employer could permit it in the workplace if they want to,” Shore said of medical marijuana. “But they don’t have to.”

Attorney: Michigan Task Force ‘Overly Aggressive’ On Marijuana

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 19, 2011 Medical, News

Photo: Pennington County Sheriff

The defense attorney in a dismissed medical marijuana case in Michigan said drug enforcement task force officers raiding medical marijuana patients are being “overly aggressive.”

“The way police are doing investigations needs to change,” said Michael Komorn of Southfield, Mich., attorney for Gregory Pointer of Clarkston, reports Carol Hopkins of The Oakland Press.

Pointer was charged with “unlawful manufacture of marijuana” contrary to the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, but his case was dismissed last week in Genesee Circuit Court.

Israel Says Wait 6 Hours After Smoking Marijuana To Drive

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 18, 2011 Global, Medical

Photo: Limor Edrey

Bags and joints of Israeli medical cannabis

Patients who use marijuana for medical purposes must wait six hours after smoking it to drive a car, the Israeli Health Ministry is set to announce soon.

Until now, the issue of driving and medical marijuana had not been clarified formally in Israel, causing several police-related incidents, reports Dan Even at Haaretz.com.

In one incident in November 2010, scriptwriter Ran Sarig, a medical marijuana patient, was investigated after he was seen on a TV program driving with a joint in his mouth.

Drivers of public or commercial vehicles will be completely barred from using medical marijuana under the new regulations.

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