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U.S. Government Says Abuse Of Prescription Drugs Up 400%

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on July 16, 2010 Culture, News

A new U.S. government study finds a 400 percent increase in the number of people admitted to hospital emergency rooms for abusing prescription pain medication such as hydrodocone, oxycodone, and morphine.

Even with the wide popularity of prescription medication, pain pills remained the second most common type of illicit drug use in the United States in 2008, according to the study. While more than six million Americans admitted to abusing prescription painkillers in the month before the survey, more than double that amount — 15.2 million people — said they had used good old marijuana.

The increase in pill abuse among those 12 and older was recorded during the decade from 1998 to 2008. It crosses every gender, race, ethnicity, education and employment level, and all regions of the country, according to The Associated Press.

According to the study, seven of the top ten drugs reported abused by 12th graders are prescription drugs, reports the Dakota Voice.

CA Bill Urging New Federal Marijuana Policy Close To Adoption

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on June 15, 2010 Legislation, News

Photo: My Life, My Muse

Californians protest a DEA medical marijuana dispensary raid

California may soon urge the federal government to end medicinal cannabis raids and to “create a comprehensive federal medical marijuana policy that ensures safe and legal access to any patient that would benefit from it.”

The California State Assembly Committee on Health voted 10-3 Tuesday to pass the resolution, which urges the federal government to change its pot policy. The full state Senate already passed the measure in August 2009 by a vote of 23-15.

Feds Won’t Study Pot’s Benefits, Only ‘Negative Consequences’

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on January 28, 2010 Medical, News

Photo: NIDA Marijuana Project at The University of Mississippi

The entire supply of marijuana for research in the United States is grown by the NIDA in Mississippi.

One federal agency controls all the marijuana research done in the United States. And that agency has just admitted that it won’t fund research into the benefits of marijuana — only the supposed “negative consequences.”

A spokesperson for the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) told the New York Times last week that the agency “does not fund research focused on the potential medical benefits of marijuana.”

“As the National Institute on Drug Abuse, our focus is primarily on the negative consequences of marijuana use,” NIDA spokeswoman Shirley Simson told the Times.

Cancer Patient Who Smokes Pot Can Stay For Now

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 25, 2009 Medical, News

photobucket.com

A northern Michigan woman who was in the process of being evicted by Jan. 1 for legally growing and using medical marijuana has been given a holiday reprieve.

Lori Montroy, 49, of Elk Rapids had been told she must be out of her apartment by the end of the year, or face eviction proceedings in Antrim County court.

The Gardner Group, which manages the building, said the process has been suspended and Montroy’s case will be reviewed after Jan. 4, according to the Associated Press.

Montroy has terminal brain cancer of the type that killed U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.

Medical marijuana is legal in Michigan, but the Gardner Group says the federal government considers it illegal.

Terminally Ill Cancer Patient Being Evicted For Medical Pot

By Steve Elliott ~alapoet~ on December 24, 2009 Culture, Medical

Graphic: Reality Catcher

A terminally ill woman in Michigan is being evicted from her apartment for legally using medical marijuana to treat the painful symptoms of her advanced brain cancer.

Lori Montroy, 49, of Elk Rapids, Mich., is facing eviction by the Gardner Group of Michigan, the company that manages her apartment complex.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan is coming to the aid of the woman. The ACLU wrote a letter Tuesday on behalf of Montroy.

“No one deserves to be put out in the cold for legally treating the crippling pain, nausea and weakness caused by brain cancer,” said Dan Korobkin, staff attorney for ACLU of Michigan. “We believe that the landlord’s decision was not motivated by malice but rather a misconception of the law.”

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