Reschedule Cannabis

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The idea that the cancer patient behind California Proposition 215 would spend a single day in jail suffering from a rare form of adrenal cancer for over 25 years, is so absurd frankly - I find it hard to even believe.

VANCOUVER — An American medical marijuana advocate who tried to claim refugee status in Canada is out of jail in California and says he wants to come back here - at least for a visit.

Steve Kubby served a total of 40 days of a 120-day sentence for possessing drugs found in a police raid almost a decade ago.

Last week, California Superior Court essentially erased the conviction under legislation that allows the move when defendants have fulfilled the terms of their probation.

“This was such a tempest in a teapot,” Kubby, a 61-year-old former ski magazine publisher and pot activist, said in an interview from his home in Mendocino, Calif. “This whole thing was so absurd. It’s finally gotten straightened out.”

He is not just a “medical marijuana advocate” - he deserves a bit more recognition than that…

Steven “Steve” Wynn Kubby (born December 28, 1946) is a Libertarian Party activist who played a key role in the drafting and passage of California Proposition 215. The proposition was a ballot initiative to legalize medical marijuana which was approved by voters in 1996. Kubby himself is well-known as a cancer patient who relies on medical cannabis.

I’d like to thank him personally should he ever read this.

Kubby suffers from a rare form of adrenal cancer that he says can only be kept in check by using marijuana. Without it, he says his body over-produces adrenaline, which can spike blood pressure, causing heart attacks and strokes.

Not only has the medical marijuana kept his cancer in check - as his doctor has claimed it has stopped its growth!

All other patients with this diagnosis have had a 100% mortality rate within five years. His physician, Dr. Vincent DeQuattro, a specialist from the USC School of Medicine, monitored his condition and treated him with conventional therapies, including chemotherapy, until referring him to the Mayo Clinic in 1981 for yet another surgery and radiation.

For the next 25 years, Kubby claimed to control the symptoms of his disease solely by smoking medical marijuana and by maintaining a healthy diet. His original doctor, an expert on this condition shocked to learn he was still alive, said, “In some amazing fashion, this medication has not only controlled the symptoms of the pheochromocytoma, but in my view, has arrested its growth.”

Wow, a 100% mortality rate in under 5 years thwarted by the natural medical marijuana use. (more…)

More and more politicians, whether it be Senators or Representatives, are changing their mind after meeting with patients who live with daily pain. Many politicians are caught up in the “drug war” mind-frame and have never sat down with patients and really examined the issue from a compassion point of view. As time moves on though, we see compassion and understanding regarding medical marijuana and those who need it daily.

Rep. Jerry McNerney is now willing to vote for an amendment he’d opposed last year that would bar the federal government from spending money to arrest or prosecute medical-marijuana patients in the states — including California — where medical marijuana is legal.

“In the past year, the congressman has met several patients with debilitating illnesses that use doctor-prescribed medical marijuana,” McNerney spokesman Andy Stone said Friday. “Hearing their stories, he feels that he cannot in good conscience deny doctor-prescribed treatment to a person that experiences excruciating pain on a daily basis.”

Asked whether this means McNerney, D-Pleasanton, will vote for the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment when it’s brought forward again in the next few weeks, Stone replied, “That’s a fair assumption.”

This is a sign of compassion and we applaud McNerney for taking this stance on this highly controversial topic. Once you get past the propaganda and cops vs drug dealers rhetoric, you will find medical cannabis is a very simple and easily discussed topic, that clearly has pros and cons - but when someone’s daily pain is in question, you have to be willing to look past your own prejudices and consider others. Again, a round of applause for Rep. Jerry McNerney.

“The support for medical marijuana and for the idea that states ought to be able to make these decisions for themselves … has grown every year” since 2004, Bernath said Friday. “So it’s very encouraging that Congressman McNerney has decided to support patients in his area, but I wouldn’t say it’s surprising.”

Public support as well as congress support seems to be growing and we hope it continues. Many people think the Civil War was fought over slavery, but it was actually “state rights” and there are Republicans as well as Democrats and Libertarians who regard state rights as Holy. This debate regarding state rights strikes at the heart of how laws are formed in this country. States have the right to make their own laws, despite Federal Law - it has been that way for a very long time.

A series of judicial defeats — including the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2005 ruling in a case brought by Oakland activist Angel Raich — has had medical-marijuana advocates pinning most of their hopes on Congress. The bipartisan amendment to the Science-State-Justice-Commerce Appropriations bill has been introduced in each year since 2003, and takes its name from sponsors Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., and Dana Rohrabacher, R-Huntington Beach. The amendment was defeated in 2007 on a 165-262 vote; it got 163 votes in 2006, 161 votes in 2005, 148 in 2004 and 152 in 2003.

Half of the House’s freshmen Democrats, including McNerney, opposed it last year. But with polls showing Democratic strength in this November’s House elections, it’s possible some now feel they have a bit more cover if they choose to displease a few conservative constituents this year.

Encourage and support those who vote for this.

McNerney last year had issued a statement saying his vote against the amendment was based on his conversations with law enforcement officials about the effect of drug use on his district’s communities, particularly in San Joaquin County. “We are facing a drug crisis with meth and other drug use on the rise. Until we get a handle on the crippling drug use in our society, I cannot support the relaxation of current drug policy,” he said at that time.

Glad to see McNerney has changed his position and has willfully came over to the compassion side of this debate instead of remaining on the side of the irrational. Medical marijuana is gaining support in the government and in the public.

Keep the topic on the minds of our leaders, and never stop pushing for legal and safe access to cannabis in America.

All I can say right now is I am so glad mankind has pushed for the technology we have today, because this news story shows exactly how someone can be completely innocent but proven guilty by the media and police - even though you did NOTHING.

I will leave out the guys name and picture because he is innocent, but this is very popular in the news at this moment.

An 18 year old male was delivering cookies for MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) - the cops claimed the cookies were “laced with LSD” and “smelled of marijuana.” So they arrested the kid, and threw him in jail.

One small problem, the lab tests indicate no drugs at all in the cookies. So now we throw people in jail because a cop “thinks” he smells marijuana on a cookie?

The major flag in all this is where did they pull out the “laced with LSD” accusation? Their “field test” consists of taking a piece of the cookies, putting it in a bag and dripping some liquid on it, if the liquid turns blue - bingo its drugs. But nowhere does it indicate “LSD or marijuana.” And if a cop “smelled” marijuana why would they tack on “laced with LSD” to the charge?

“Our officers took a good whiff and thought they smelled like marijuana,” McGuire said, adding that preliminary tests instead detected traces of LSD.

A cop’s nose is no reason to lock someone up in jail under false accusations… keyword in the above quote “thought” as in “they thought wrong.”

No cops became ill and no officer was sick from eating the cookies. They rushed to judgment on something without any real evidence and ended up locking up an innocent kid trying to do community service… which by the way, how is delivering cookies to cops considered community service? People really need to look into exactly how MADD gets its funding and how it works in regards to things like this - getting tax dollars to deliver cookies to cops? I mean come on - this money can be spent elsewhere. The last thing cops need is cookies. Especially this group of cops… (more…)

Cannabis is and will forever be medicine. No law can change that fact. It was medicine before this country (America) and it will be around long after you and I are dead. Man cannot change this plants reason for existence and no legislation can strip away its magical medicinal properties and natural healing abilities.

What is medical cannabis?

Medical cannabis refers to the use of the Cannabis sativa plant as a physician-recommended herbal therapy as well as synthetic THC and cannabinoids. So far, the medical use of cannabis is legal only in a limited number of territories, including Canada, Belgium, Australia, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Spain, and some U.S. states. This usage generally requires a prescription, and distribution is usually done within a framework defined by local laws.

Personally my interest in medical cannabis started with suffering from Migraine. And of course, living in california - which provoked me to get this web site going.

So I started digging around and educating myself about cannabis used as medicine… (more…)

California voters have mandated public approval and citizen support for medical marijuana, and city officials are bound by state laws. The state of California has approved medical marijuana and it is required now for counties and cities to set up dispensary regulations and allow local patients safe access to doctor-approved medical cannabis.

Fresno County Supervisors tackled the controversial topic of medical marijuana this week.

On Tuesday, supervisors voted that medical marijuana patients will have to go elsewhere for i.d. cards.

The issues caused a major debate amongst the supervisors, “I’m not gonna vote for it until I get the appellate court, I’m gonna say that right up front. Until I have the information that clarifies it, I’m not gonna support it,” said Fresno County Supervisor Judith Case.

“Right now the law says that we’re supposed to do this, I mean it mandates that we do this,” countered Supervisor Susan Anderson.

In 1996 California voters passed Proposition 215, requiring counties to issue the medical marijuana cards to legitimate patients.

Since then, 40 of the 58 state counties have started the i.d. Program, including Merced, Tulare and Kern Counties. Fresno County though, has yet to get on board.

Dr. Terry Brown, a local doctor who attended the meeting and supports the use of medical marijuana, says the i.d. cards would make it easier for local law-enforcement to identify legitimate users.

“I’m incredibly anti-drug, I’m boarded in preventive medicine. It’s time as a society that we really look into marijuana more effectively and I think that’s gonna happen because the numbers of patients are becoming overwhelming.”

Fresno Counties’ Board of Supervisors is not the first set of lawmakers to take issue with the i.d. program; two years ago San Diego Supervisors sued to overturn Prop. 215. A superior court judge later ruled against that lawsuit.

First off, yes - these people are bound by law and the voters to supply medical marijuana cards to those patients who qualify. Demanding sick people to “go elsewhere” is wrong. Imagine telling cancer patients who can barely make it to the department of health or the doctors office, that they need to “go to another city” because local officials do not want to provide adequate and safe access for patients to get medical marijuana through an ID card system that protects both law enforcement and the patients?

The medical marijuana cards help officers know who is legally using cannabis and those who are distributing and selling it illegally. By denying this card system to be in place is no different than side-stepping state law, and continuing to fuel the fire under the black market marijuana on the streets of our cities. It is mandated this program be set forward, the longer these city official postpone the effort more patients will suffer.

What a shame that in a state like California patients are still having to fight for something as simple as the card system when it was approved so long ago and is working in so many counties already across California.

At least doctors are acknowledging the amount of patients coming forward, because the numbers of medical marijuana patients is growing. If we do not come out of the shadows now, when will we? Do your part, speak the truth and help others understand the importance of medical marijuana. Patient numbers are growing and more and more law enforcement agencies are siding with the patients - the time is now.

I think 71 ounces for a two month supply is the perfect amount that should be allowed for those who need medical marijuana. Using the cannabis in its “cooked” form is the best way - safe, and works perfect for nausea when its hard to keep food down in the first place. A good snack made from your favorite medicine aids many patients day in and day out. So in Seattle we are glad to see this amount being brought up - you can easily use this amount when cooking your medicine.

SEATTLE — Many using medical marijuana said the Health Department’s current amount of how much can be possessed legally is too little.

Currently, patients can possess 24 ounces in a 60-day period to relieve pain or nausea, but some users say the rule is too restrictive.

“The 24 ounces is low for the most sick in our society. Those that are eating Cannabis for cancer remission, for example, or for the pain associated with it,” said medical marijuana user Muraco Kyashna-Tocha.

Patients said 71 ounces is how much someone who is in severe pain would have to eat to get as much active ingredients from the plants as they would from a prescription substitute called Marinol.

The state said the final rules won’t be set on medical marijuana until after a public hearing on August 25.

Any medical marijuana patient who uses their medicine daily and throughout the day can easily consume this same amount - it need not be limited to those in “severe pain” - however it is agreed that this is a good amount to allow patients to possess. Many patients choose to use cannabis in its cooked form and stay away from smoking pipes, bongs, or even the doctor recommended vaporizers, especially cancer victims or those suffering from nausea who would like to eat something. There have been numerous reports regarding how effective marijuana brownies are with giving cancer patients not only an appetite, but the desire to lead a more joyful daily existence.

These patients need not just our support, but compassion and our fight should always be for those who need to use this plant daily as medicine. Whether smoking it through a bong, using a vaporizer, or eating “pot brownies” one can easily use 1/2 to 1 ounce of marijuana in a day so this amount of 71 ounces for a two month supply is a perfect place to start on negotiating patient marijuana allowance.

We need to see more action like this across America, but I applaud Oregon for pushing ahead.

(SALEM, Ore.) - A proposed law for Oregon would radically alter the availability of marijuana for adults, by allowing the herb to be purchased in liquor stores. The Oregonians For Cannabis Reform 2010, say the Oregonian Cannabis Tax Act would make cannabis products legal and available in a retail environment. Proponents say it will mean millions and millions of dollars for Oregon’s state coffers and many predict that the move would literally salvage the state’s unstable economy.

Backers of this Initiative say their plan would send 90 percent of the proceeds from the state’s sale of marijuana to Oregon’s General Fund, which could lower the state tax burden significantly. Portions of the revenue would be used to fund drug abuse education and treatment programs.

But right now, the people bringing this opportunity for Oregon voters forward, says their effort needs money, equipment, and, most of all, volunteers.

But they say the payoff will be enormous, as the Cannabis Tax Act (CTA) will take the lucrative marijuana market out of the black market, where children and substance abusers often control it today, and place it in state liquor stores, where the age limit of 21 and older is strictly enforced.

Advocates also say it will be like a rebirth of the Oregon farmer. Farmers will be licensed to cultivate cannabis for both medicinal and adult private use. Farmers will be able to grow industrial hemp without a license, for paper, fabric, protein and oil, under the new proposed law.

Forcing patients to turn to the black market for medicine is not good, by removing the marijuana from the criminals and allowing patients to grow their own or buy their own legally, will help make this country a better place. Right now our streets are controlled by drugs - marijuana should never be sold on the street as a drug, it is a natural plant and should be allowed to be grown for free. America is making criminals rich and rewarding the black market by keeping marijuana illegal.

We need America to give this powerful plant back to farmers. At one time American farmers were not only allowed to grow cannabis, but encouraged to do so. The US government even made a film about it called “Hemp For Victory” where farmers were encouraged to grow hemp to help the US win the war! Then the drug war started and marijuana became illegal.

More than marijuana, the CTA will restore industrial hemp, the most productive agricultural source of fiber protein and oil, and a huge aspect of American heritage. Hemp seed oil is diesel fuel. The first cordage, cloth and paper were invented from hemp fiber.

Advocates say the laws would virtually wipe out the black-market. “The CTA allows police and the courts to concentrate on real criminals that hurt others, not arrest, prosecute and jail harmless, productive adult cannabis users. Stop our government from tearing families apart. Let’s show real family values and end cannabis prohibition.”

The OCTA will wage its campaign to help stop the War on Cannabis by challenging the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act- it’s credibility and effectiveness. This is the law that was precededd by mass hype and hysteria fed to the American public by Harry Anslinger, a dubious U.S. politician who worked with Dow Chemicals and Dupont in the 1920’s and 30’s, to demonize marijuana and place it in an illegal category, in order to get their new “synthetic rope” on the market. In truth, the natural hemp fiber is to this day, superior in strength, quality and durability.

It would appear that Anslinger was a conservative who truly believed marijuana to be a threat to the future of American civilization, yet his biographer maintained that he was an astute government bureaucrat who viewed the marijuana issue as a means for elevating himself to national prominence.

Paul Stanford of the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act, told KATU that the measure would also put a dent in illegal dealing of the weed.

“We want to take marijuana out of the hands of children and substance abusers, who control the market today, and put it in the hands of the state’s liquor control commission and the age limit of 21 will be strictly enforced,” Stanford said.

We have waged a war on marijuana for decades now with no positive results, just billions of dollars spent prosecuting citizens for possessing a joint of marijuana. It is time to start thinking on a different level and push for legislation like the Cannabis Tax Act and do what was already intended to be done in the 1970’s. Marijuana was to be taxed in many states in the 70’s and even states like Louisiana have a Marijuana Taxation Stamp that was introduced well over 30 years ago, however the politicians have swept the program under the rug in most states and continually fight against medical marijuana despite states having voted for the taxation of marijuana in the 70’s.

While I do not promote the use of marijuana as if it were alcohol, and do not really support the idea of it being sold at liquor stores (so more people get rich off of it) this is medicine and people need access to it, this does not mean I want it sold at liquor stores. I prefer medical marijuana dispensaries, but this is a good start and any legislation is better than none. As long as patients have safe access I guess it doesn’t really matter where they get it or who profits from it. I am just a firm believer in allowing patients to grow their own not have to go to a liquor store to buy it. Those who can grow, grow, those who cannot will have to buy…

One thing is for certain regarding the medicinal use of marijuana, and that is the plant is both effective and 100% safe and natural. Migraine patients need safe access to cannabis for use as medicine…

The federal government is waging war on some of our most vulnerable citizens, who Washington voters have acted to protect. Soon, our congressional representatives will have the chance to stand up for those people — seriously ill patients who need medical marijuana.

This is an issue we both know personally. One of us is a physician and researcher specializing in rehabilitation medicine and neuromuscular diseases such as ALS (”Lou Gehrig’s disease”). The other is a cancer survivor who got through the nausea and vomiting caused by chemotherapy with the help of marijuana, and who has again found relief with marijuana from the chronic pain caused by injuries in a car accident.

We have seen that medical marijuana safely helps some patients who get no relief from conventional medications. Washington voters did the right thing when we passed our medical marijuana law a decade ago. A dozen states now have similar laws, and none have been repealed.

Meanwhile, medical community support continues to solidify. New studies have documented marijuana’s ability to relieve nerve pain caused by HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis and other conditions. In February, the American College of Physicians — representing 124,000 oncologists, neurologists and other doctors of internal medicine — released a position paper declaring that the scientific evidence “supports the use of medical marijuana in certain conditions.”

The ACP specifically called on the federal government to reclassify marijuana to permit medical use, but our government simply refuses. Federal officials have arrested patients and caregivers who were following state medical marijuana laws, and could make more such arrests any time.

Migraine is a neurological disorder and causes nerve pain (the inflammation of blood vessels in the head) and I can’t help but point out that we need more info out there in the public regarding migraines or even “tension headaches” and the use of medicinal marijuana to help live a better life. While we have compassion for HIV/AIDS patients and those affected by chemotherapy - migraine sufferers experience a similar daily (chronic) nausea and pain brought on by their condition.

This is why we need more education and info passed on regarding the safe and effective ways to use marijuana as medicine. Those who can grow and process the cannabis should be able to do so without interference from law enforcement, and patients who cannot grow for themselves will obtain their medicine through safe & regulated dispensaries.

In its 2005 case, Gonzales v. Raich, the U.S. Supreme Court punted the issue to Congress. The court declined to change the status quo, under which patients protected by state law can still face federal prosecution. But Justice John Paul Stevens, writing for the majority, went out of his way to note that patients Angel Raich and Diane Monson had made “strong arguments that they will suffer irreparable harm, because, despite a congressional finding to the contrary, marijuana does have valid therapeutic purposes.” He pointedly expressing hope that Raich, Monson and their supporters “may one day be heard in the halls of Congress.”

That chance will come this month.

When the appropriations bill that funds the Justice Department reaches the House floor, an amendment will be offered that seeks to bar the department from using any of its money to attack medical marijuana patients in states where medical use is legal. Called the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment after sponsors Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y., and Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., the amendment has been proposed in each of the past several sessions and has steadily gained support.

Washington’s representatives have been oddly inconsistent. Reps. Jay Inslee and Jim McDermott have been supporters every year, while Dave Reichert has voted no since he joined Congress in 2005. Reps. Rick Larsen, Norm Dicks and Adam Smith have all voted yes at least twice, but Larsen switched to no in 2005 and Smith voted no last year.

Perhaps they remember how well “I voted for it before I voted against it” worked for Sen. John Kerry in 2004.

But the tide is turning. The medical community is increasingly united, and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama says it’s time to end the federal war on state medical marijuana laws.

That’s encouraging, but we don’t need to wait for a new president. Washington’s congressional representatives should stand up for Washington patients and support the Hinchey-Rohrabacher amendment.

There needs to be more info put out regarding medical marijuana use for patients who need it. Support medical marijuana in your area.

The nausea alone from migraine headaches is enough to warrant the use of cannabis as medicine. One thing I notice that is absent in these articles is the mention of migraine as a covered illness. It affects so many Americans, it is one of the most misunderstood of illnesses, and the public should know more about migraine and how marijuana can help you manage your attacks, nausea, and live a more productive life instead of spending two or three days of any week laying in the dark trying to not to vomit from photophobia (light sensitivity) and the throbbing pain of a migraine.

Migraine afflicts 28 million Americans, with females suffering more frequently (17%) than males (6%). Missed work and lost productivity from migraine create a significant public burden. Nevertheless, migraine still remains largely undertreated and underdiagnosed. Less than half the sufferers are diagnosed by their doctors.

Understanding medical marijuana is the key, to anyone out there suffering with migraine’s - ask your doctor about medical marijuana! If they avoid the topic, do your own research - you will find that info is out there regarding medical marijuana and migraine’s. Your doctor may have a negative opinion of medical cannabis, that does not mean you cannot educate yourself and see what medicine works the best for you.

Cannabis was a standard treatment for migraines from the mid-19th century until it was outlawed in the early 20th century in the USA. It has been reported to help people through an attack by relieving the nausea and dulling the head pain, as well as possibly preventing the headache completely when used as soon as possible after the onset of pre-migraine symptoms, such as aura. There is some indication that semi-regular use may reduce the frequency of attacks. Further studies are being conducted. Some migraine sufferers report that cannabis decreases throbbing and pain, especially if smoked.

While I promote the use of vaporizers over “smoking” marijuana in any way - if you choose to smoke it, then so be it. By using a vaporizer, a patient can administer the perfect amount of THC (the active chemical in cannabis) for his/her preference in amount, without the negative side effects of “smoking.” A vaporizer heats the plant matter up just before the point of combustion, so you don’t actually “burn” the marijuana, you heat it up and inhale the pleasant vapor - in comparison to smoke that makes many cough.

When I have a migraine the last thing I want to do is “smoke” (I don’t smoke cigarettes) so by using a vaporizer it is a much more pleasant and fast way to obtain the natural and medicinal THC.

One of the most recommended and reliable is the Vapor Brothers Vaporizer.

There is a big misunderstanding among the general public regarding medical marijuana, although most American support the idea of medical marijuana - there is always room for improvement in public relations regarding understanding medical marijuana.

OAKLAND, Calif. — Like other universities, Oaksterdam offers wide-eyed students an enlightening classroom experience to spark their curiosity.

In this case, though, they learn how to greet DEA agents after a residence is forcibly entered and how to make the perfect pot brownie for a homework assignment.

And the diploma confers the status of certified “budtender.”

Marijuana devotees pack classes at a unique trade school that teaches how to grow and process marijuana, use the drug in baked goods and manage medical-marijuana dispensaries.

Ilia Gvozdenovic, chancellor of the school, describes the non-accredited institution as a much-needed source of knowledge about marijuana in an age of misunderstanding.

“It’s kind of like the wild West,” said Gvozdenovic, alluding to the conflict and confusion surrounding the California law allowing the sale of medical marijuana, and the refusal of the federal government to acknowledge it.

“To me, the issue is we need better training for folks.”

The school, founded in November, already boasts about 500 graduates. It stands in a part of downtown Oakland nicknamed “Oaksterdam,” where pot clubs and cafes line the streets as in Amsterdam, Netherlands, where smoking marijuana and hashish is tolerated.

Just teaching people how to grow and use marijuana isn’t enough to draw the wrath of the federal government, said Sarah Pullen, a Los Angeles spokeswoman for the Drug Enforcement Administration.

“If they’re not distributing, selling or cultivating marijuana, I would imagine they’re not violating any federal laws,” she said.

There should also be more info out there regarding the use of vaporizers instead of “smoke” related methods of consuming medical cannabis.

The bottom line is Americans believe doctor’s should be able to prescribe medical marijuana to patients and we should all help do our part in helping the general public understand medical marijuana and why it not only should be allowed, but supported.