Legitimizing Marijuana
JANE WELLS of CNBC keeps a blog called Funny Business, but her recent reports on California’s medical marijuana industry are about a business that is increasingly being taken seriously. They amount to a short primer on how the business works and how the operators of the state’s estimated 500 dispensaries deal with the high risks and high costs of working in a legal gray area (cnbc.com).
Medical marijuana is legal in California, but federal law still bans sales. Amid the uncertainty that this creates — including the occasional raid by federal agents — a full-fledged industry has blossomed, taking in about $2 billion a year and generating $100 million in state sales taxes, CNBC reported.
Setting up a clinic “can cost as much as a hundred grand,” Ms. Wells reports. The equipment, the cuttings from which plants are grown and office space all tend to be expensive. And from there, the costs only grow, mostly in the form of legal fees. Many clinics keep lawyers on retainer.
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Rx for marijuana
Scott Ward uses marijuana, but he is a far cry from the stereotypical image of a “pothead.”
Instead, the clean-cut Rob binsville resident who suffers from multiple sclerosis represents those who have turned to marijuana to ease the pain and symptoms associated with such conditions as MS, cancer, AIDS, chronic pain, migraines, glaucoma and epilepsy.
Ward testified earlier this month in support of a bill that would make New Jersey the 13th state to allow the medical use of marijuana. The bill, A804, sponsored by Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, D-Princeton Borough, appears to be stalled in committee, with no vote scheduled on the measure. A state Senate panel heard testimony on a similar bill two years ago but never took action on it.
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Marijuana clinic owner is arrested
The owner of six Los Angeles-area medical-marijuana dispensaries was arrested by federal agents Tuesday after an investigation sparked by a traffic accident in which a motorist allegedly high on the dispensaries’ products plowed into a parked sport-utility vehicle, killing the driver and paralyzing a California Highway Patrol officer.After the Dec. 19, 2007, accident, investigators found “a large amount of marijuana and marijuana edibles” in the pickup driven by the suspect, Jeremy White, 20, according to federal authorities.
Investigators traced the marijuana to the Holistic Caregivers facility in Compton, one of six dispensaries owned and operated by Virgil Grant, 41.
Bill Would Legalize Marijuana for Medical Use in Ohio
COLUMBUS — Ohioans who use marijuana for medical reasons would not face arrest or prosecution, under legislation to be introduced by one state lawmaker this week.
Sen. Tom Roberts, a Democrat from Dayton, announced his intentions to offer the Ohio Medical Compassion Act, creating a regulated system for the medicinal use of cannabis.
A dozen other states already have adopted comparable protections for their citizens, Roberts told reporters during a press conference Wednesday.
“It is time for Ohio to join these states on the forefront of emerging medical breakthroughs and scientific advances,” he said.
The legislation would establish a card-holder system, through which eligible residents could register, then legally grow and use medicinal marijuana for specified medical issues, including treating pain, nausea and other symptoms of different diseases.
New Mexico’s Medical Marijuana Law Is Working, But Still Has Some Kinks
After an exhausting seven-year struggle, New Mexico joined the ranks of the medical marijuana states last year. As of July 1, the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program will be a year old, but while parts of the program are well underway — patients are registering and obtaining ID cards — the state law’s innovative system of state-licensed production and distribution of medical marijuana is stalled in the regulatory process, with no end in sight anytime soon.
Under the New Mexico law, the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use Act, patients suffering from a narrowly circumscribed set of illnesses — cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, spinal cord damage with intractable plasticity, and HIV/AIDS — can, with a doctor’s recommendation and upon registration with the program, legally possess and use up to six ounces of marijuana, four mature plants, and three seedlings. The law also calls for a medical advisory board to determine whether other conditions should be added to the list.
It’s time to wake up and see that cannabis can help others
It is very unfortunate that a prominent senator from such a prominent political family should be stricken with such a life-threatening brain tumor. It is more unfortunate, however, that a real cure has not been found for these types of cancers by now with all of the technology at our disposal. Fifty percent of patients with this type of tumor die within a year and most are dead within three years. It is also very unfortunate that we have suppressed research into the one plant which may be that cure.Research on cannabis (marijuana) has been suppressed in this country for more than 35 years. The only research that was allowed after the Shafer Commission report told President Nixon that marijuana possession should not justify criminalizing the American public, was research to prove it was harmful. Since they couldn’t find anything harmful, they didn’t allow any at all.
Medical marijuana bills moving forward
California’s ongoing revolt against the federal ban on medical marijuana is moving forward with a pair of bills from Assembly Democrats.
AB 2743 from Lori Saldana, D-San Diego, now sits in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. It would instruct local governments and law enforcement agencies to “not assist in federal raids, arrests, investigations, or prosecutions” of medical marijuana patients or providers.
Meanwhile, Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, pulled his AB 2279 from a floor vote on Monday due to absence of a pair of key Democratic supporters. This bill would bar employers from firing workers for valid use of medical marijuana under state law. Leno said he would bring the bill back to the floor in the next few days.
Medical marijuana: How much is enough?
A state Health Department proposal that medical-marijuana patients be allowed more than 2 pounds of pot every two months took law enforcement by surprise and prompted the governor to tell health officials to start over.
Faced with a legislative mandate to spell out what constitutes a “60-day supply” by July 1, the department in February briefed Gov. Christine Gregoire’s office on its recommendation: Patients or caregivers could possess up to 35 ounces of cultivated marijuana and be allowed a plant-growing area of 100 square feet.
Gregoire promptly directed Department of Health Secretary Mary Selecky to solicit more comment from law enforcement and medical providers. “I wouldn’t say she was upset” by the amount, said Gregoire’s spokesman, Pearse Edwards, but she believed input had been one-sided.
Support Medical Marijuana in NJ Before Thursday’s Hearing
Drug Policy Alliance New Jersey is gearing up for the first ever legislative hearing on medical marijuana in the Assembly! This Thursday, May 22, the Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee will hold an informational hearing on Assembly Bill 804, the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act.Much is riding on the success of the hearing—if this initial informational hearing goes well, it will help us advocate for hearings in the fall that will lead to votes in committee and then in the full legislature. You can help to ensure that the committee holding Thursday’s hearing understands how much support this legislation has among New Jerseyans. Please take a moment to contact the members of the committee telling them you support Assembly Bill 804!
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Medical groups back legal marijuana
Jim Miller’s letter on medical marijuana and his late wife, Cheryl, highlights the need for New Jersey elected officials to support bills S-119 and A-804. (”Medical marijuana needs new focus,” April 25.)
Each year, thousands of New Jerseyans are diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses such as cancer, HIV/AIDS and multiple sclerosis. The symptoms and suffering caused by these illnesses can be devastating, especially when currently available medicines do not offer relief for some patients. For these patients, medical marijuana may offer hope for relief from terrible symptoms such as pain, nausea, loss of appetite and wasting, as found in the congressionally-chartered 1999 Institute of Medicine study.
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