Archive for the ‘Medicine’ Category

Patients Can Board Airplanes With Marijuana

Thursday, October 22nd, 2009

When I mentioned this to a friend the other day he looked very puzzled. I asked him, “Did you know now you can fly on some airplanes with ounces of pot legally?” He replied, “No, are you serious?” I said “yep, isn’t life great in California?”

I don’t think he believed me, but I DO have the news articles to back me up.

Bay Area news reports that Considering the haziness surrounding medical marijuana laws, it may be surprising that some of the most uptight places in the Bay Area — local airports — are also some of the most laid back when it comes to medical pot patients.

San Francisco police, who patrol San Francisco International Airport, say they allow card-holding medical marijuana patients to carry up to 8 ounces of dried cannabis when traveling. The SFO policy follows the guidelines police use within the city of San Francisco, said Sgt. Wilfred Williams.

Isn’t that nice? You can actually board and travel on airplanes in California with your medicinal pot now without fear of arrest.

Then-San Francisco police Chief Heather Fong enacted the policy in November 2008 through a three-page bulletin to officers. It instructs officers to leave medical marijuana patients and their drugs alone if they are using the marijuana for medical purposes and not for criminal activity.

And when it comes to air travel, local police — not airport officials or federal authorities — determine which passengers can fly with medical pot.

The reason it is allowed is because local police, not federal police determine who is allowed onto planes.

Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Suzanne Trevino said airport security officers are trained to check for dangerous items such as explosives when screening departing passengers, their carry-on bags and checked luggage.

If the local police force allows the passenger to keep their medical marijuana, the TSA would not stop them from traveling with the drug, she said. Likewise, SFO spokesman Mike McCarron said officials at the transportation hub have nothing to do with enforcement of medical marijuana laws at the airport.

Isn’t informing yourself great? I bet most Americans would fail this question for a $1 million dollar prize. ”

“Are Americans allowed to board planes carrying marijuana?” The answer is now, YES! And it is NOT just in the Bay Area…

At Mineta San Jose International Airport, enforcement of medical marijuana laws is left to San Jose police, said airport spokesman David Vossbrink.

San Jose police Sgt. Ronnie Lopez said they also do not arrest or cite passengers with medical marijuana at the airport or seize their drugs. They do, however, write a report and send it to federal authorities, who determine whether to file charges, he said.

Although filing any kind of report for a person carrying their medicine legally is a bit fascist, at least this policy is continuing at other airports in the state.

However, although we can fly in California with pot, this does not extend to other states where the drug remains illegal.

In the East Bay, the Alameda County Sherriff’s Office enacted a specific policy last year that allows medical marijuana users to travel from Oakland International Airport with the drug. As at SFO, a qualified patient or primary caregiver as defined by California law can carry up to 8 ounces during travel out of Oakland.

Of course, just because passengers are allowed to take their marijuana out of the Bay Area does not give them full immunity from prosecution, as more than 30 states ban medical marijuana. If a Bay Area traveler lands in a place where the drug is illegal, they could be prosecuted by state authorities.

The fight continues. Keep toking your medicine and never give up fighting for our right to use natural and effective medical marijuana, as well as, our right to fly anywhere in the U.S. with our cannabis. Our day is coming, the time is now!

Time to legalize?

Saturday, July 25th, 2009

How come in one state a man is locked in prison, has his car taken away, his house taken away and loses his job because he is placed in prison for marijuana, while in another state men and women openly smoke marijuana in the street without fear of prosecution? How is this America? How is this fair to patients trying to relieve their symptoms using a safe and natural and most effective medicine for their ailment?? Answer that!

OAKLAND, California (CNN) — Richard Lee greets students, shopkeepers and tourists as he rolls his wheelchair down Broadway at the speed of a brisk jog, hailing them with, “Hi. How ya doin’?”

In this nine-block district of Oakland, California, called Oaksterdam, Lee is a celebrity.

Oaksterdam is Lee’s brainchild, a small pocket of urban renewal built on a thriving trade in medical marijuana. The district’s name comes from a marriage of Oakland and Amsterdam, a city in the Netherlands renowned for its easy attitude toward sex and drugs.

Lee is the founder of Oaksterdam University, which he describes as a trade school that specializes in all things marijuana: how to grow it, how to market it, how to consume it. The school, which has a curriculum, classes and teachers, claims 3,500 graduates.

Lee also owns a medical marijuana dispensary, a coffee house, a large indoor marijuana plantation, and a museum/store devoted to the cause of legalizing marijuana.

Marijuana is safer than alcohol, and they sell alcohol across the street from schools and churches and on all commercial streets that have liquor stores. Think of how many stores in your area sell alcohol, which is not even a drug, its a toxin!

“I really see this as following the history of alcohol. The way prohibition was repealed there,” Lee says, adding that he believes he is close to achieving his mission.

Lee is organizing a petition drive to place a marijuana legalization measure on the ballot in 2010, and he thinks the measure stands a good chance of being approved by voters.

It is far past time for Americans to stand up to the government regarding this incendieary topic. It is TIME TO LEGALIZE marijuana in the United States.

A recent California Field Poll showed that more than half the people in the state, where marijuana for medical use was approved more than a decade ago, would approve of decriminalizing pot.

The state’s faltering economy is one reason why. If legalized, marijuana could become California’s No. 1 cash crop. It could bring in an estimated $1 billion a year in state taxes.

Democratic State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano is spearheading a cannabis legalization bill in the California Assembly. He believes the state’s need to increase tax revenues will work in his bill’s favor.

“I think it’s a seductive part of the equation,” he says.

Ammiano says there are a number of ways legalized pot could be marketed, “It could be a Walgreens, it could be a hospital, a medical marijuana facility, whatever could be convenient. Adequate enforcement of the rules. Nobody under 21. No driving under the influence.”

Even California’s Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, says legalizing marijuana deserves serious consideration.

“I think we ought to study very carefully what other countries are doing that have legalized marijuana,” Schwarzenegger says.

But Ammiano says selling a legalized marijuana bill to his fellow legislators remains a delicate matter.

Delicate matter yes, but should it be allowed to those who do not feel pain everyday to decide? Should people who think “pot is bad” be able to dictate whether it has medicinal qualities or not? Fact is, marijuana has been a medicine for thousands of years, and for anyone to state otherwise is insane.

Nonviolent medical marijuana users are being arrested and thrown in jail, costing states and cities millions and millions of dollars, while drunks walk the streets free and able to get their alcohol on every street in America. Not only is this unjust, it says something about the compassion of American’s towards the ill in this land.

There are 24-hour bars, and 24 hour liquor stores in this country, but somehow police and politicians feel threatened about a medical facility that forces patients to produce a doctor’s recommendation for a medicine that helps them? Absurd! Patients must pay to see a doctor, pay to have the state issued medical marijuana card before getting access to their medicine… however, underage teens need look no further than next to the milk in the fridge to get ahold of dad’s beer.

Children drink alcohol taken from liquor cabinets and fridges every single day in America. Marijuana is much more regulated and in states like California, teen marijuana use has DECLINED since medical marijuana has become so popular and less of it is being sold illegally on the street considering so many patients have now become legal, law abiding pot smokers. Unlike liquor stores that sell alcohol to underage kids every day in America, medical marijuana dispensaries are ran like pharmacies and have security guards and one does not get their medicine until ID and doctor recommendation, or state issued card is shown!

See through their smoke screen, yes, it is time to legalize. Not tomorrow, TODAY!

Medical Marijuana Dispensary Boom in Los Angeles

Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009

It is a good thing that the number of medical marijuana dispensaries are increasing, this will help drive the price down and create a good market for those looking for safe access to cannabis.

So, it is with a smile, I relay this latest news to you.

From L.A.’s medical pot dispensary moratorium led to a boom instead

A ban meant to prevent new dispensaries from opening included a loophole that entrepreneurs have exploited. Where four years ago there were only a handful, now there may be 600 dispensaries.

With the amount of drug and alcohol (liquor) stores near schools and churches and parks, why should people be worried about actual medical facilities that serve sick patients with medicine? The demand for medical marijuana is great enough to support the amount of dispensaries opening and this shows the public support of medical marijuana!

Four years ago, when the Los Angeles City Council started to wrestle with how to control medical marijuana, there were just four known storefront dispensaries, one each in Hancock Park, Van Nuys, Rancho Park and Cheviot Hills.

Now, police say there are as many as 600. There may be more. No one really knows.

That exponential rise came despite a moratorium passed in 2007 that was supposed to prohibit new dispensaries from opening. An exception was made for 186 that were already in business and registered with the city.

“The city of L.A. has failed us on this issue,” said Michael Larsen, public safety director with the Eagle Rock Neighborhood Council. “There’s a huge loophole. L.A. city’s not watching. L.A. city’s not enforcing.”

No other city in California has seen such uncontrolled growth in dispensaries. As signs featuring the easily recognized saw-toothed cannabis leaf multiplied on commercial strips, neighborhood activists like Larsen began to ask their council members why the city was not shutting down dispensaries that opened after the moratorium.

I wonder how many liquor stores L.A. has?

The moratorium includes a standard provision that allows dispensaries to appeal to the City Council for a hardship exemption to be allowed to operate. Some time last year, medical marijuana entrepreneurs discovered that the city attorney’s office was not prosecuting dispensaries that had filed hardship applications, saying the City Council needed to rule on them first. The council has not acted on any of the applications.

So far, 508 dispensaries have applied for exemptions.

It was months before anyone at City Hall realized what was happening.

Dispensaries have spread across the city. In some places, they are clustered two or three to a block, sometimes near schools, libraries and parks. When the council passed the moratorium, it did not include LAPD Chief William J. Bratton’s recommendation to keep dispensaries at least 1,000 feet from places that children frequent.

I can understand the concern for children being around medical marijuana facilities, but this is medicine folks. People are not sitting around smoking joints at these places, strict “no smoking” rules are in effect, and the idea that there are many cities and states with liquor stores and drug stores near schools is ironic, don’t you think? One serves a drunken public, the other serves sick patients seeking legal access to their medicine.

We can all agree regulation of medical marijuana dispensaries will most likely be necessary, however, we must remain logical and proceed with reason and compassion for the patients who need these dispensaries for safe access to their medicine. Many patients are too sick to even grow their own marijuana, much less drive across three hour traffic in Los Angeles to get to a dispensary. These are sick people and just like drug stores are in our neighborhoods offering our elderly their meds, we must accept that medical marijuana grow ops and dispensaries will undoubtedly become part of the American landscape.

Until we do, we can advance no further… it is time to look past “pot” and refer only to this plant, as “medicine.” Maybe then, and only then, will some stop and consider the pain and anguish many of us go through daily trying to self medicate with a natural and effective medicine, but risk being labeled and prosecuted as a criminal by doing so under current law.

If you can grow, you should be allow to. If you cannot, you should be allowed to drive to a nearest medical marijuana dispensary and purchase your “medicine.” laws already protect California drivers from prosecution of possession while driving. All patients should have access to their medicine, even if that medicine is marijuana.

Woman Fired For Giving Dying Aunt Medical Marijuana

Tuesday, March 17th, 2009

If this does not prove to you that we need change in America, nothing will. Here is a woman trying to help her sick and dying aunt just to be able to eat a little bit of food so she doesn’t die hungry, and what does she get? Fired from her job as police dispatcher, this shows how desperate Americans are becoming to get safe access to medical marijuana.

Laura Llanes does not regret buying her aunt marijuana, even though it has cost her a job as police dispatcher.

She was stunned, nevertheless, when she was fired last week after admitting she bought the marijuana to help relieve her aunt’s suffering through breast cancer and chemotherapy.

Marijuana for medicinal purposes is legal with a prescription in 13 states; Illinois is not one of them.

This is happening all across the country and it needs to stop! Sick and dying people in states that do not have protection for medical marijuana users are being persecuted, and punished when all they are trying to do is use a natural, safe, and effective medicine to combat chemotherapy loss of appetite and nausea.

Llanes, 28, of Lake Villa remains adamant she did the right thing, saying her biggest mistake was telling a few co-workers what she had done: “They ratted me out.”

It seems her co-workers did not agree with her actions, which she did not do while on employers time, and told her boss. Should people be fired because co-workers rat them out for off-duty things? This is ridiculous, I smell a lawsuit!

Her aunt, who lives in Aurora, was “sick constantly, not eating, not having an appetite. She is diabetic. She has to eat. She was whittling away to nothing,” said Llanes.

“I thought I will get her some marijuana so it would get her to eat. It worked. She did get the munchies.”

Llanes has not been charged with a crime, but when confronted by her supervisor at CenCom E-9-11, she admitted she had bought marijuana and was promptly fired Wednesday.

“All that mattered was that I admitted to committing an illegal act,” she said.

It should not be illegal to purchase marijuana in America, especially for medical reasons. This is absurd and the employees who ratted her out should be ashamed, she is only trying to help her sick aunt. And now, she has declined to buy her more, and now this woman will suffer pain while the co-workers get a pat on the back for ratting out a compassionate family member.

I hope these people sleep well tonight knowing a woman will be laying in pain dying slow because of their actions.

We need to protect patients like this and shield them from persecution like this. We need change in America regarding marijuana laws, and now is the time!!!!

A prescription drug in pill form called Marinol contains synthetic THC, the main ingredient in marijuana. But it doesn’t work for everyone, and its results are slow-arriving and unpredictable, Mirken said.

“If you talk to cancer patients, they don’t want to get high,” he said. “They just don’t want to feel sick.”

meanwhile a woman lay dying, vomiting, cannot eat in her bed… while we fight over laws regarding her smoking three (yes count them) three marijuana joints.

Drug Companies Can Be Sued

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

Patients have the right to sue drug companies.

The Supreme Court today upheld the right of patients who are hurt by a prescription or over-the-counter drug to sue the drug maker for damages.

The 6-3 decision rejected a strong move by the Bush administration and the pharmaceutical industry to shield drug makers from lawsuits if their products were approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

At issue were suits involving the more than 11,000 drugs on the market in the United States. The outgoing Bush administration told the court last fall that federal approval of a drug “preempts,” or bars, juries from deciding whether it is unduly dangerous.

But the high court, led by Justice John Paul Stevens, disagreed and said Congress had not taken away the consumer’s right to sue. He said the view of the Bush administration “does not merit deference,” particularly considering that the FDA prior to the Bush era had favored lawsuits as a means of protecting consumers from dangerous drugs.

Instead of using deadly, and potentially harmful (amputation) medication, why not use some of that natural, safe, and effective medical marijuana for nausea?

Well, if you are like most Americans, you are forced to use medicine that carries some fairly risky warnings. But this latest news shows why it is important for Americans to be informed and also have access to safe and natural forms of mediciation and not just harmful chemical compounds made and trademarked by drug companies.

Here is what happened to a patient who was suffering from nausea,…

Today’s ruling upholds a nearly $7 million jury verdict in favor of a Vermont musician whose right arm was amputated after she was injected with an anti-nausea drug made by Wyeth.

The injection struck an artery and caused gangrene, a rare but occasional complication from directly administering Phenergan, the anti-nausea drug.

Diana Levine, the Vermont woman, settled a suit against the clinic that gave her the injection and then sued Wyeth. She contended that the drug maker had not properly warned her and other consumers of the danger.

In its defense, Wyeth said the federally approved warning label told doctors and nurses to use extreme caution when injecting the drug. Levine and her lawyers said that was not sufficient. Who would take an injection to relieve nausea, she asked, if a patient knew she could lose her arm as a result?

The jury agreed with her and awarded her $6.7 million in damages.

The FDA has been under scrutiny for a very long time regarding its labeling of medication and also has been sued for its published lies regarding medical marijuana.

Considering the quote “the FDA prior to the Bush era had favored lawsuits as a means of protecting consumers from dangerous drugs” you can clearly see, the FDA has never stated its warning should protect from lawsuits.

Why does this matter?

Because nausea medicine like above are prescribed to cancer patients suffering from nausea, and medical marijuana should be more available as a safe and effective means for controlling nausea, rather than injecting yourself with chemicals than can result in you having limbs amputated, can’t you see this is exactly why we need medical marijuana in our communities. Because the medicine the drug companies want to sell us, is killing us, and the medicine that would help us, they are keeping illegal and out of our reach.

Well, not in all states. In California, you can have your medical marijuana and a police officer cannot take it away from you. Hurray for those free Cali folk.

Medical marijuana cooperatives now legal in Palm Springs

Saturday, February 21st, 2009

More progress being made in Palm Springs, California. Bravo.

Medical marijuana collectives and cooperatives will now be allowed in Palm Springs, following a vote Wednesday by City Council.

How many are allowed?

The approval means Palm Springs is the first city in Riverside County to allow these facilities.

The ordinance is expected to go into effect in 30 days following its second reading, officials said.

“This is an incredible first step,” Councilwoman Ginny Foat said.

The Palm Springs City Council voted 3-1, with Councilman Lee Weigel voting no and Mayor Pro Tem Chris Mills absent, in favor of the ordinance, which allows two collectives and/or cooperatives to operate within city limits.

However, seven already are in operation… why set the limit so low if there are already more existing medical marijuana cooperatives than would be allowed? The Mayor voted “absent” no doubt he is not a medical marijuana supporter, which is why he tries to portray the co-ops as illegal…

This means several of the estimated seven dispensaries now operating in the city Palm Springs illegally will have to close.

City Attorney Doug Holland said the city is close to filing lawsuits against two of the existing dispensaries and is still gathering evidence against five more.

“If they are illegal, they ought to be shut down as soon as possible,” Mayor Steve Pougnet said.

Patients need to be able to have safe access to their medication. Why are they trying to portray legal medical marijuana co-ops as “illegal?” Just because they changed the amount of allowed co-ops to two within city limits? That does not mean they are doing anything “illegal!”

Patients and medical marijuana advocates need to voice their support here.

State law allows medical marijuana its time for these city council members to stop trying to delay the process and portray legal medical marijuana co-ops as “illegal.”

Vietnam Veteran Promotes Medical Marijuana in Minnesota

Friday, February 13th, 2009

Minnesota is moving closer to securing protection for medical marijuana patients.

“Medical Cannabis Bill Passes Senate Committee in Bipartisan Vote, 8-3″

One of those testifying was Joni Whiting of Jordan, a disabled Vietnam veteran who had strongly disapproved of marijuana use until her daughter was diagnosed with melanoma and began suffering unbearable nausea and pain from the treatments. “I was opposed to marijuana,” Whiting said, “but the nausea my daughter suffered from the chemotherapy was so bad she lost a lot of weight, and the pills the doctor prescribed didn’t help — including Marinol, the THC pill. Marijuana allowed her to eat and also helped ease her pain, and she looked better than I’d seen her in months. I would have rather spent the rest of my life in prison than have denied her the medicine that kept her pain at bay and allowed her to live 89 more days.”

This is exactly why medical marijuana needs to be approved. Even marinol pill does not work as effectively, and safely as the natural cannabis.

Minnesota’s medical marijuana bill, S.F. 97, cleared its first major hurdle this afternoon, passing the Senate Health, Housing and Family Security Committee in a bipartisan vote of 8 to 3. The committee received spoken and written testimony from a number of patients and family members describing the relief provided by medical marijuana when conventional treatments had failed.

“I believe this will be the year medical marijuana becomes law in Minnesota,” said Sen. Steve Murphy (DFL-Red Wing), a sponsor of the bill. “We’ve seen now from the experiences of 13 states — one-quarter of the country — that these laws work well, and that the dire warnings of opponents simply don’t come true. The voters understand that there is no reason to subject suffering patients to arrest and jail for using a doctor-recommended medicine.”

More and more law makers are choosing the side of compassion and reason…

“I’m pleased to co-author this important legislation that will empower doctors and patients while protecting sick and dying Minnesotans from the threat of criminal prosecution,” said Sen. Debbie Johnson (R-Ham Lake). “Most FDA-approved drugs assist in managing short-term pain. Chronically ill and terminal patients need alternatives. Medical marijuana is one of those alternatives.”

Even Republicans are behind the effort to legalize medical marijuana.

Thirteen states, including one-quarter of the U.S. population, now permit medical use of marijuana under state law. The newest such law was enacted by Michigan voters last November, passing with a record-setting 63 percent “yes” vote. Medical organizations which have recognized marijuana’s medical uses include the American Public Health Association, American Nurses Association, American Academy of HIV Medicine, and American College of Physicians, which noted “marijuana’s proven efficacy at treating certain symptoms and its relatively low toxicity,” in a statement issued last year.

Lawmakers considering decreasing marijuana penalty

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009

The Assocaited Press reports today:

Civil liberties groups, medical marijuana supporters and a smattering of music festival-goers may have reason to rejoice: The Legislature is considering a proposal that would effectively decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana.

A bill proposed by Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, would reduce the penalty for possessing marijuana in quantities of 1.4 ounces or less to a civil infraction carrying a $100 fine.

“Marijuana has been demonized and has been demonized in such an overboard manner,” Kohl-Welles said Tuesday.

Currently, possession of small amounts of the leafy drug is a misdemeanor offense, warranting arrest and carrying the possibility of punishment with fines and jail time.

If Kohl-Welles’ bill is approved, possession of marijuana would no longer be an offense subject to arrest. However, teenagers younger than 18 would still be subject to current law.

Civil liberties groups support the measure, saying law enforcement officers should focus on more serious crimes.

Possession of marijuana should not be subject to arrest, and law enforcement should focus on more serious crimes taking place in our cities.

Kohl-Welles said she has friends and family who have been seriously ill that have used the marijuana to ease suffering and rekindle appetites.

Washington has a medical marijuana law on the books, but Kohl-Welles said she thinks her bill could give medical marijuana users more protection from possible arrest.

Lawmakers at a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee seemed confused over how great of a quantity 1.4 ounces of marijuana is.

“We’re talking dried stuff?” questioned Sen. Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood.

A man at the back of the hearing room used his hands to demonstrate the size of the quantity — about the size of a can of soda.

Americans should be allowed to possess at least 71 ounces of medical grade marijuana. This is equivalent to a three month supply of medicine, which is quite normal for people who need certain and specific types of medicine for their specific medical needs.

Most people who use medical marijuana do so not by “smoking the plant,” which can be bad for cancer patients, but by either using a vaporizer or by eating the plant in cooked form. Using a vaporizer or cooked form, a patient can use an ounce or more per day if daily dose is needed.

The law makers went on to joke about marijuana:

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Adam Kline, D-Seattle, joked that marijuana was in fact a gateway drug:

“My own experience shows that marijuana is. I used to grow my own dope and now I brew my own beer.”

The room erupted into laughter and clapping before Kline added: “Just kidding.”

Its good to see senators pushing forward with bills like this. And it is up to us to support those who have the courage to do it!

The pot possession bill is Senate Bill 5615.

These law makers need to be more informed about how much medical marijuana is needed for patients. We encourage their effort, but the amount you are allowed to possess should be much larger.

Small Missouri village legalizes medical marijuana

Tuesday, February 10th, 2009

To show you medical marijuana can and should be accepted even in the smallest towns across America. When it comes to pain and medicine, it is time to look past these abolitionist ideas and promote a healthy and safe life style even for those who choose to use cannabis.

A small southwest Missouri village has passed an ordinance to allow the use of medical marijuana.

Mayor Joe Blundell said Cliff Village, with a population of about four dozen, wanted to show grass-roots support for Missouri to legalize medical marijuana as 13 other states have.

“This is symbolism, pure and simple,” Blundell told The Kansas City Star for a story published Tuesday. “I would like to be the brave one who grows the first plant, but they’ve built a lot of cages for the people who stick their necks out.”

It takes courage to fight for medical marijuana.

Cliff Village’s ordinance allows someone with a doctor’s approval to possess a few ounces of marijuana and grow a few plants.

Cliff Village passed the ordinance on Feb. 1 by a 3-2 vote. The mayor’s father was one of the council members to back him.

Columbia passed a similar ordinance in 2004.

All Americans should be able to have safe access to medical marijuana for whatever they need to alleviate.

The 30-year-old mayor said his interest medical marijuana comes from a painful past injury from a train accident that left him in a wheelchair.

“When I got introduced to this flower, it not only alleviated my pain, it got me out gardening,” Blundell said. “I’m not just stoning myself out. It allowed me to function.”

More and more people report what medical marijuana users have known for years, the plant can help those who have health problems or issues, to live a better, more productive and pain free life.

Medical Cannabis & Migraine Nausea

Monday, November 3rd, 2008

As someone who is plagued by Migraine and the nausea surrounding them, I cannot help but get upset at this type of story.

Here is a musician, who instead of using a safe and effective medication to control nausea, was injected with a drug and had to have her arm amputated because of it.

How long will patients continue to suffer at the hands of the drug companies who want to not use natural substances to combat nausea?

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Vermont musician who lost her arm because of a botched drug injection is squaring off against a drug maker and the Bush administration in one of the most closely watched business cases of the Supreme Court’s term.

At issue is whether the federal government can limit lawsuits by consumers like Diana Levine who have been harmed by prescription medications.

The justices are hearing arguments in Levine’s case Monday, shortly after the court announces whether it will accept other cases for argument sometime next year.

The issue of limiting lawsuits arises in the heart-rending story of Levine, a guitarist and pianist who lost her right arm after an injection of the anti-nausea drug Phenergan, made by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.

A Vermont jury awarded Levine $6.7 million, agreeing that Wyeth should have been clearer in its warning label about the risks of improperly administering the drug.

Wyeth and the administration, however, are asking the court to rule that drug makers may not make changes to labels without the approval of the Food and Drug Administration and that people cannot sue under state law for harm caused by an FDA-approved drug.

In recent years, the administration and business groups have aggressively pushed limits on lawsuits through the doctrine of pre-emption — asserting the primacy of federal regulation over rules that might differ from state to state.

Obviously, if you notice, the article does not even discusss the topic I am reaching into. Instead the article talks only of limiting her capacity to actually sue the doctor who did this to her!

Imagine if you went to the doctor for a shot, and then had to have your arm cut off after it, would you want to sue them?

Well, President Bush and the hospitals, not only want you to stay away from safe medical marijuana, they want to inject you with toxic chemicals and when your body reacts to it, they don’t want you to be able to sue for compensation.

This is a terrible policy towards sick people, and until more people open their eyes it will continue.

Educate yourself about medical cannabis and how the drug makers are keeping it out of your reach.


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