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Press Release: ACLU Sues Wal-Mart on Behalf of Cancer Patient Fired for Legally Using Medical Marijuana

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 29, 2010 CONTACT: (212) 549-2666, [email protected] ACLU Sues Wal-Mart On Behalf Of Cancer Patient Fired For Legally Using Medical Marijuana Michigan State Law Passed In 2008 Protects Employees Who Use Marijuana To Treat Debilitating Diseases BATTLE CREEK, MI - The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Michigan, in partnership with the law firm of Daniel W. Grow, PLLC, filed a lawsuit today against Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and the manager of its Battle Creek store for wrongfully firing an employee for using medicinal marijuana in accordance with state law to treat the painful symptoms of an inoperable brain tumor and cancer. The lawsuit charges that Joseph Casias, 30, the Battle Creek Wal-Mart's 2008 Associate of the Year, was fired from his job at the store after testing positive for marijuana, despite being legally registered to use the drug under Michigan's medical marijuana law. In accordance with state law, Casias never ingested marijuana while at work and never worked while under the influence of marijuana. "Medical marijuana has had a life-changing positive effect for Joseph, but Wal-Mart made him pay a stiff and unfair price for his medicine," said Scott Michelman, staff attorney with the ACLU. "No patient should be forced to choose between adequate pain relief and gainful employment, and no employer should be allowed to intrude upon private medical choices made by employees in consultation with their doctors." Casias has suffered for more than a decade from sinus cancer and a brain tumor in the back of his head and neck that was the size of a softball when it was first diagnosed. His condition has forced him to endure extensive treatment and chemotherapy, interferes with his ability to speak and is a source of severe and constant pain. Nonetheless, he had been successfully employed for more than five years by Wal-Mart in Battle Creek, where he began as an entry-level grocery stocker in 2004 and worked his way up to inventory control manager. "For some people, working at Wal-Mart is just a job, but for me, it was a way of life," said Joseph. "I came to Wal-Mart for a better opportunity for my family and I worked hard and proved myself. I just want the opportunity to continue my work." In 2008, Michigan voters enacted the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, which provides protection for the medical use of the drug under state law. The pain medication Casias' oncologist had previously prescribed for him provided only minimal relief and as a side effect caused Casias to suffer from severe nausea. After the law was enacted, Joseph's oncologist recommended that he try marijuana as permitted by state law, and so Casias obtained the appropriate registry card from the Michigan Department of Community Health. The results were immediate and profound: his pain decreased dramatically, the new medicine did not induce nausea and Casias was able to gain back some of the weight he had lost during treatment. "Joseph is exactly the kind of person whom Michigan voters had in mind when they passed the state's medical marijuana law," said Daniel W. Grow, a St. Joseph, Michigan-based attorney. "Medical marijuana is legal in this state because voters recognized its ability to alleviate the pain, nausea and other symptoms associated with debilitating medical conditions, and no corporation doing business in Michigan should be permitted to flout state law." Michigan's medical marijuana law protects patients registered with the state of Michigan from "arrest, prosecution, or penalty in any manner" for the use of medicinal marijuana as prescribed by a doctor and also protects employees from being disciplined for their use of medical marijuana in accordance with the law. The law does not require employers to accommodate the ingestion of marijuana in the workplace and does not protect employees who work under the influence of the drug. The outcome of today's lawsuit, filed in Calhoun County Circuit Court, could have ramifications beyond Michigan. "Today, 14 states and the District of Columbia provide protections for patients who use marijuana as recommended by a doctor," said Kary L. Moss, Executive Director of the ACLU of Michigan. "This case will be closely watched by patients across the country who rely on this medicine for pain relief and on their state laws for protection against unscrupulous employers." Lawyers on the case include Grow, Michelman, Moss and Dan Korobkin and Michael J. Steinberg of the ACLU of Michigan. A copy of the today's complaint is available online at: www.aclu.org/drug-law-reform/casias-v-wal-mart-complaint Additional information about the ACLU's work to reform drug laws is available online at: www.aclu.org/drug-law-reform Additional information about the ACLU of Michigan is available online at: www.aclumich.org.

Press Release -- Montel Williams to NY Legislators: Pass Medical Marijuana Now

PUBLIC STRATEGIES, LLC

www.publicstrategiesllc.net

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE           

JUNE 29, 2010

Montel Williams to NY Legislators: Pass Medical Marijuana Now

Former Talk Show Host, MS Patient Urges Albany Lawmakers to Act Without Delay

CONTACT: Vince Marrone ……… 914-912-0526 or [email protected]

ALBANY, NEW YORK — At a press conference in Albany on Tuesday, former talk show host, U.S. Navy officer and New York City resident Montel Williams urged New York Governor David Paterson and members of the Legislature to act quickly in order to pass New York’s medical marijuana bill. 

            The New York bill would create one of the best-regulated systems in the country for providing seriously ill patients with safe and effective access to medical marijuana. Mr. Williams suffers from multiple sclerosis, and uses medical marijuana to help ease the effects of his condition.

            “New York needs to act now to make marijuana legally available for medical use. Every day that we delay is another day of needless suffering for patients like me all across the state,” Williams said.

            “Thousands of New Yorkers suffer from serious medical conditions that could benefit from the medical use of marijuana,” said Assembly Member Richard N. Gottfried, Chair of the Assembly Health Committee and sponsor of the Assembly medical marijuana bill. “If the patient and the doctor agree that the most effective medicine is marijuana, the government should not stand in the way.  It is cruel to turn suffering patients into criminals when they are following what their doctor recommends.”

            “Medical use of marijuana for patients with acute conditions like HIV/AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and glaucoma relieves chronic pain and nausea and increases appetite,” said Sen. Eric Adams (D-Brooklyn), a former New York City police captain. “When our fellow humans are burdened by the dire effects of life-threatening illnesses, we must not allow insubstantial ideological arguments to increase their suffering. The proposed medical marijuana legislation contains the critical safeguards needed to guard against diversion or abuse and establish access for patients in need.  It is our moral and ethical duty to alleviate misery in our fellow human beings. Any other substance shown to have such beneficial effect would already be in the arsenal of medical practitioners. I wholeheartedly urge passage of this legislation.”

            Also joining Mr. Williams was Craig Burridge, executive director of the Pharmacists Society of the State of New York (PSSNY). PSSNY recently came out in support of New York’s medical marijuana bill.

            “New York has the opportunity to provide a model on how to mainstream medical marijuana to those patients who so desperately need it,” Burridge said. “For those of us who have seen the suffering of a loved one, passage is long overdue.”

The New York bill would:

 * Allow patients facing serious, life-threatening or debilitating illnesses to get marijuana upon the recommendation of their physician.

 * Limit patient possession to no more than 2.5 ounces.

 * Grant the Department of Health the authority to license medical marijuana producers and dispensers, consistent with rules mirroring the state Controlled Substances Act.

 * Allow the Department of Health to establish fees sufficient to cover the cost of administering the program.

 * Allow state-licensed organizations, including pharmacies, to dispense medical marijuana to qualified patients.

 * Allow state-licensed organizations to produce marijuana for sale to dispensers only.

            Since 1996, 14 states and the District of Columbia have passed medical marijuana laws. More than a dozen state legislatures considered the issue this year, and in November, citizens of Arizona and South Dakota will vote on medical marijuana ballot initiatives. Under New York’s bill, the state department of health would play an active role in regulating pharmacies and dispensaries that would be licensed to provide medical marijuana to qualified patients.

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Federal Drug Agency Bans Pro-Legalization Police Group From Conference (Press Release)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 22, 2010 CONTACT: Tom Angell - (202) 557-4979 or [email protected] Federal Drug Agency Bans Pro-Legalization Police Group From Conference SAMHSA Doesn't Want Views Expressed at Treatment Event in Chicago CHICAGO, IL -- A group of police officers, judges and prosecutors who support legalizing and regulating drugs is crying foul after a federal agency reneged on a contract that gave the law enforcers a booth to share their anti-prohibition views at a government-sponsored treatment conference in Chicago next week. After accepting registration payment from Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration initially told the police group that it was canceling its booth at the National Conference on Women, Addiction and Recovery because of overbooking and space concerns. However, Sharon Amatetti of SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Treatment later informed LEAP that, in a decision rising all the way to SAMHSA Administrator Pamela Hyde's office, the group was actually being disinvited for its viewpoint. "It's alarming that the federal government is trying to silence the voices of front-line police officers who just want to network and collaborate with treatment professionals to achieve our shared goal of preventing substance abuse through effective public policy," said Neill Franklin, a former narcotics cop with the Maryland State Police and Baltimore Police Department who is now executive director of LEAP. "Perhaps the administration was most concerned that LEAP's law enforcers planned to shine a spotlight on the fact that under President Obama, the White House's drug control budget maintains the same two-to-one funding ratio in favor of harsh enforcement tactics over effective public health approaches." On a phone call with LEAP, Pamela Rodriguez of conference co-host TASC, Inc. of Illinois said that the police group wasn't welcome at the event because "our policy perspective and our policy objectives are different from you guys." She added, "It is the emphasis on prohibition vs. legalization that, for me at least, is the glaring dissonance with regard to our agenda." SAMHSA has since refunded LEAP's money. The conference takes place July 26-28 at Chicago's Downtown Magnificent Mile Marriott Hotel. Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) and its 30,000 supporters represent police, prosecutors, judges, FBI/DEA agents and others who want to legalize and regulate drugs after fighting on the front lines of the "war on drugs" and learning firsthand that prohibition only serves to worsen addiction and violence. Info at www.CopsSayLegalizeDrugs.com. # # #

Press Release: 3 Georgian leaders sign Vienna Declaration, strengthen call for science-based drug policy

Public release date: 22-Jul-2010 Contact: Michael Kessler [email protected] 34-655-792-699 International AIDS Society 3 Georgian leaders sign Vienna Declaration, strengthen call for science-based drug policy First Lady Sandra Roelofs, Deputy Chairman of Parliament George Tsereteli and Vice Minister of Labor, Health and Social Affairs Irakli Giorgobiani show support for evidence-based drug policy 22 July 2010 [Vienna, Austria] – Sandra Roelofs, First Lady of Georgia; George Tsereteli, Georgia's Deputy Chairman of Parliament; and Irakli Giorgobiani, Georgia's Vice Minister of Labour, Health and Social Affairs, today signed the Vienna Declaration, the official declaration of the XVIII International AIDS conference (AIDS 2010) in Vienna, Austria. The Vienna Declaration (www.viennadeclaration.com) is a scientific statement seeking to improve community health and safety by calling for the incorporation of scientific evidence into illicit drug policies. More than 12,580 people – including Nobel laureates and leaders in science, medicine and public policy – have signed the declaration since it was launched three weeks ago. The Declaration was published in the Lancet medical journal to coincide with AIDS 2010. "Georgia supports evidence- based policy in our efforts to protect community health and safety," said Roelofs, the wife of Mikheil Saakashvili, President of Georgia. "Our signatures on the Vienna Declaration reinforce our recognition that harm reduction can provide numerous benefits and highlights the need to design policies that align with emerging science." Georgia is moving forward with activities that are intended to ensure safer and healthier communities across the country by taking action in three priority areas: prevention, treatment and enforcement. "The health of Georgians is paramount and therefore we are looking at many ways to improve the well-being of all of our citizens, including those facing challenges such as substance use and HIV," said Giorgobiani. Added Tsereteli: "We believe a scientific approach to drug policy is the way forward. We will move in support of evidence-based research and policy to optimize investments in public health, improve existing policies, and adopt much more effective and relevant legislation." In some areas of rapid HIV spread, such as Eastern Europe and Central Asia, injecting drug use is the primary cause of new HIV infections. In some countries, people who use drugs are threatened with arrest, incarceration and worse, and therefore are reluctant to access the necessary public health services. "Misguided drug policies fuel the AIDS epidemic and result in violence, increased crime rates and destabilization of entire states – yet there is no evidence that they have reduced rates of drug use or drug supply," said AIDS 2010 Chair Dr. Julio Montaner, President of the IAS and Director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. "I welcome the endorsement of the Vienna Declaration from these Georgian leaders; it provides great hope for the future in an area of the world being devastated by the HIV and AIDS epidemic." In much of the world, the current approach to drug policy is ineffective because it neglects proven and evidence-based interventions, while pouring a massive amount of public funds and human resources into expensive and futile enforcement measures. Legal barriers to scientifically proven prevention services such as needle programmes and opioid substitution therapy (OST) mean hundreds of thousands of people become infected with HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV) every year. In some areas of the world, the criminalization of people who inject drugs has also resulted in record incarceration rates placing a massive burden on taxpayers. An emphasis on criminalization produces a cycle of disease transmission, breaking homes and destroying livelihoods. "Georgia is at risk of rising HIV rates due to epidemics in neighboring countries and a high rate of injection drug use, so it is gratifying to see this type of leadership and deep support for evidence-based policy-making in this area," said Dr. Evan Wood, the chair of the Vienna Declaration writing committee and founder of the International Centre for Science in Drug Policy (ICSDP). The Vienna Declaration calls on governments and international organizations to take a number of steps, including: * undertake a transparent review the effectiveness of current drug policies; * implement and evaluate a science-based public health approach to address the harms stemming from illicit drug use; * scale up evidence-based drug dependence treatment options; * abolish ineffective compulsory drug treatment centres that violate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; and * unequivocally endorse and scale up funding for the drug treatment and harm reduction measures endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations. The declaration also calls for the meaningful involvement of people who use drugs in developing, monitoring and implementing services and policies that affect their lives. The Vienna Declaration is one step in pushing for support of science-based approaches to dealing with illicit drugs. The signature-gathering process aims to galvanise scientists and others working in illicit drug policy and place real and sustained pressure on policymakers to meaningfully consider the scientific evidence regarding the limited beneficial impact and negative unintended consequences of conventional illicit drug policies. The impact of the Vienna Declaration will be measured over the coming years, and progress reports on the adoption of evidence-based policies will be presented at subsequent International AIDS Conferences. The adoption of the Vienna Declaration's recommendations among high-level policymakers at the local, national, and international levels will also be tracked by the International Centre for Science in Drug Policy. The Vienna Declaration was drafted by an international team of scientists and other experts. It was initiated by the IAS, the International Centre for Science in Drug Policy (ICSDP), and the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Those wishing to sign on may visit www.viennadeclaration.com, where the full text of the declaration, along with a list of authors, is available. The two-page declaration references 28 reports, describing the scientific evidence documenting the effectiveness of public health approaches to drug policy and the negative consequences of approaches that criminalize drug users. ### BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS The BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) is Canada's largest HIV/AIDS research, treatment and education facility. The BC-CfE is based at St Paul's Hospital, Providence Health Care, a teaching hospital of the University of British Columbia. The BC-CfE is dedicated to improving the health of British Columbians with HIV through developing, monitoring and disseminating comprehensive research and treatment programs for HIV and related diseases. International Centre for Science in Drug Policy ICSDP aims to be a primary source for rigorous scientific evidence on illicit drug policy in order to benefit policymakers, law enforcement, and affected communities. To this end, the ICSDP conducts original scientific research in the form of systematic reviews, evidence-based drug policy guidelines, and research collaborations with leading scientists and institutions across diverse continents and disciplines. MEDIA CONTACTS: Michael Kessler Media Consultant, AIDS 2010 Email: [email protected] Tel: +34 655 792 699 Mahafrine Petigara Edelman Email: [email protected] Tel: +1 604 623 3007, ext. 297

Press Release: Medical Marijuana Advocacy Groups Call on Pres. Obama to Withdraw Nomination of Michele Leonhart

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                 

JULY 21, 2010

Following Recent Raids, Medical Marijuana Advocacy Groups Call on Pres. Obama to Withdraw Nomination of Michele Leonhart to be DEA Administrator

Obama’s DEA Head Must Follow Stated Medical Marijuana Policy, End Obstruction of Marijuana Research, and Base Marijuana Rescheduling on Science Rather Than Ideology

CONTACT: Steve Fox: 202-905-2042 or [email protected]; or Mike Meno: 202-905-2030 or [email protected]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, a coalition of organizations supportive of medical marijuana patients and providers (see list of organizations below) is calling on President Obama to withdraw his nomination of Michele Leonhart to serve as administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Ms. Leonhart, who is currently the DEA’s acting-administrator, has not demonstrated that she is capable of leading the agency in a thoughtful manner at a time when 14 states have enacted medical marijuana laws and science is increasingly confirming the therapeutic benefits of the substance.

            Under Leonhart's leadership, the DEA has staged medical marijuana raids in apparent disregard of Attorney General Eric Holder's directive to respect state medical marijuana laws. Most recently, DEA agents flouted a pioneering Mendocino County (CA) ordinance to regulate medical marijuana cultivation by raiding the very first grower to register with the sheriff. Joy Greenfield, 69, had paid more than $1,000 for a permit to cultivate 99 plants in a collective garden that had been inspected and approved by the local sheriff.

            Informed that Ms. Greenfield had the support of the sheriff, the DEA agent in charge responded by saying, “I don’t care what the sheriff says.” The DEA's conduct is inconsistent with an October 2009 Department of Justice memo directing officials not to arrest individuals “whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana.”

            Ms. Leonhart has also demonstrated that she is unable to be objective in carrying out the duties of the administrator as it relates to medical marijuana research. In January 2009, she refused to issue a license to the University of Massachusetts to cultivate marijuana for FDA-approved research, despite a DEA administrative law judge’s ruling that it would be “in the public interest” to issue the license. This single act has blocked privately funded medical marijuana research in this country. The next DEA administrator will likely influence the outcome of a marijuana-rescheduling petition currently before the agency. It is critical that an administrator with an open mind toward science and research is at the helm.

            “With Leonhart’s nomination pending, one would expect her to be more — not less — respectful of the Department of Justice and the rights of individuals in medical marijuana states,” said Steve Fox, director of government relations at the Marijuana Policy Project. “Such behavior is an ominous sign for the future of the DEA under her leadership. Moreover, she has continually demonstrated her desire to block privately funded medical marijuana research in this country. The Obama administration has reversed many Bush administration policies over the past 18 months. It is time to transform the culture at the DEA by either withdrawing Leonhart’s nomination or directing her to change her attitude toward medical marijuana.”

#   #   #   #   #

The following organizations are calling on President Obama to withdraw the nomination of Ms. Leonhart if she does not end the attacks on individuals acting in compliance with state medical marijuana laws and commit to making decisions related to medical marijuana based on science, not a personal anti-marijuana bias:

 

California NORML

Drug Policy Alliance (DPA)

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP)

Marijuana Policy Project (MPP)

National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)

Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP)

 

With more than 124,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. For more information, please visit www.mpp.org.

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Press Release: Hearing to Assess Alternatives to Incarceration For Drug-Involved Offenders

For Immediate Release Contact: Nathan White, (202) 225-5871 Oversight Hearing to Assess Alternatives to Incarceration For Drug-Involved Offenders Washington D.C. – Chairman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today announced a Domestic Policy Subcommittee hearing entitled “Quitting Hard Habits: Efforts to Expand and Improve Alternatives to Incarceration for Drug-Involved Offenders.” The hearing will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 22, 2010 in room 2154 Rayburn House Office Building. The purpose of the hearing is to focus on front-end alternatives to incarceration for drug-involved offenders and abusers of illegal drugs. It will examine the extent to which and why (or why not) these efforts have been effective in reducing the levels and associated harms of incarceration, reducing recidivism, effectively treating drug abuse, and improving other social outcomes and which approaches (or mix approaches) are best suited to accomplishing these goals. This hearing is held as part of the Domestic Policy Subcommittee’s mandate as the authorizing committee for the Office of National Drug Control Policy in the House of Representatives. http://oversight.house.gov/index.php?option=com_jcalpro&Itemid=1&extmode=view&extid=192 ###

Press Release: CMMNJ meeting will feature cannabis scientist and discussion of law

MEDIA ADVISORY - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 7/13/2010 The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey - CMMNJ www.cmmnj.org Contact: Ken Wolski [email protected] 609 394 2137 or Chris Goldstein [email protected] CMMNJ meeting will feature cannabis scientist and discussion of law On Tuesday July 13th The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey (CMMNJ) holds our monthly public meeting. The group will discuss the recent amendment to the medical marijuana law and the future of the state's program. Jahan Marcu is performing cutting edge research at Temple University into the unique chemical components of the marijuana plant called cannabinoids. Marcu will be a featured speaker. Researchers know that many of the cannabinoids in marijuana have powerful medical properties. Because of federal prohibition, intensive research into the clinical uses of these substances is difficult. Marcu is one of the few cannabinoid scientists in the country. This year he published a landmark paper on how cannabis can inhibit brain cancers. LINK http://cannabination.com/2010/01/12/published-study-shows-how-cannabis-inhibits-brain-cancer-asa-blog/ Previously, Jahan investigated cannabinoid synergy at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute. He also lectured on the subject of cannabinoids at Cannabis Cooperatives and at New College of California. At San Francisco State University, he investigated the therapeutic applicability of whole plant cannabinoid ratios, correlating these ratios to effects reported by medical cannabis patients and in clinical trials. Marcu’s information and experience are a wealth of knowledge for New Jersey residents who are potential patients or medical professionals. His blog can be found at www.cannabination.com CMMNJ hosts information seminars, monthly meetings and other events to educate the public about medical marijuana. The 7/13 meeting takes place at the Lawrence Township Public Library starting at 7:00PM. More about medical marijuana in New Jersey at www.cmmnj.org NJ residents are contacting their legislators about medical cannabis - http://cmmnj.blogspot.com/2010/06/supporters-contact-your-legislators.html Read the full text of NJ's medical marijuana law http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2008/Bills/PL09/307_.HTM For comment or more information contact: Ken Wolski [email protected] 609 394 2137 or Chris Goldstein [email protected]

Press Release: 3 former Latin American presidents sign Vienna Declaration, join global call to action for science-based drug policy reform

Contact: Michael Kessler [email protected] 34-655-792-699 International AIDS Society 3 former Latin American presidents sign Vienna Declaration, join global call to action for science-based drug policy reform Former leaders urge alternatives to 'war on drugs' in lead up to XVIII International AIDS Conference 13 July 2010 [Vienna, Austria] – Former presidents Fernando Henrique Cardoso (Brazil), Ernesto Zedillo (México) and César Gaviria (Colombia) today announced their endorsement of the Vienna Declaration, the official declaration of the XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010, www.aids2010.org) taking place from 18 to 23 July 2010. The Vienna Declaration (www.viennadeclaration.com) seeks to improve community health and safety by calling for the incorporation of scientific evidence into illicit drug policies. The declaration was opened for endorsement by academics and members of the public on 28 June 2010. "The war on drugs has failed," said Fernando Henrique Cardoso. "In Latin America, the only outcome of prohibition is to shift areas of cultivation and drug cartels from one country to another, with no reduction in the violence and corruption generated by the drug trade." Authored by an international group of distinguished scientists and experts, the Vienna Declaration highlights the ways that over reliance on drug law enforcement results in a range of health and social harms including growing HIV rates among people who use drugs. The three former heads of state are the co-presidents of the influential Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy, which strives to inform drug policy in the region and to contribute towards more effective, safe and humane drug policies. Joining them in supporting the Vienna Declaration are three other influential Latin American figures – Peruvian writer, journalist and essayist Mario Vargas Llosa, Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho and Sergio Ramírez Mercado, writer and former vice-president of Nicaragua. "The war on drugs has had such an incredibly negative impact on Latin America, and the fact that the Vienna Declaration is receiving this level of endorsement from former heads of state should serve as an example to those currently in power," said AIDS 2010 Chair Dr. Julio Montaner, President of the International AIDS Society (IAS) and Director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE). "I hope that the Vienna Declaration will inspire many more political leaders to cast aside the drug war rhetoric and embrace evidence-based policies that can meaningfully improve community health and safety." The Vienna Declaration calls on governments and international organizations, including the United Nations, to take a number of steps, including: * undertaking a transparent review of the effectiveness of current drug policies * implementing and evaluating a science-based public health approach to address the harms stemming from illicit drug use * scaling up evidence-based drug dependence treatment options * abolishing ineffective compulsory drug treatment centres that violate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights * endorsing and scaling up funding for the drug treatment and harm reduction measures endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations The Vienna Declaration lists a range of harms stemming from the war on drugs, and notes that the criminalization of people who use drugs has resulted in record high incarceration rates, thereby placing a massive burden on taxpayers. "Instead of sticking to failed policies with disastrous consequences, we must direct our efforts to the reduction of consumption and the reduction of the harm caused by drugs to people and society," said Cardoso. "Repressive policies are firmly rooted in prejudices, fears and ideological visions. The way forward to safeguard human rights, security and health is a strategy of peace not war." Outside of sub-Saharan Africa, injecting drug use accounts for approximately one in three new cases of HIV. In some areas of rapid HIV spread, such as in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, injecting drug use is the primary cause of new HIV infections. Legal barriers to scientifically proven prevention services such as needle and syringe programs and opioid substitution therapy (OST) mean hundreds of thousands of people become infected with HIV and Hepatitis C every year. The effectiveness of these programs is well-documented, though access to such interventions is often limited in those locations where HIV is spreading most rapidly. According to various scientific reviews conducted by the World Health Organization, the Institute of Medicine (U.S.) and others, these programs reduce HIV rates without increasing drug use. "We welcome the support of Presidents Cardoso, Zedillo and Gaviria, as well as the many doctors, scientists, researchers and public figures who have already put their support and endorsement behind the Vienna Declaration," said Dr. Evan Wood, founder of the International Centre for Science in Drug Policy (ICSDP) and the Chair of the Vienna Declaration Writing Committee. "This level of support, especially before the conference has started, demonstrates the urgency that global leaders in many disciplines believe we must move towards reforming drug policies." As an estimated 20,000 conference participants travel to Vienna this week, conference organizers are encouraging them to join the growing call for evidence-based drug policies. "The approach to drug policy proposed in the Vienna Declaration will prevent new HIV infections and ensure that people who struggle with addiction have access to the medical and support services they need," said Dr. Brigitte Schmied, AIDS 2010 Local Co-Chair and President of the Austrian AIDS Society. "Access to proven interventions and to the highest standard of health are rights that each of us values, including those living with addiction." The Vienna Declaration was initiated by the IAS, the International Centre for Science in Drug Policy, and the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. ### Those wishing to sign on may visit www.viennadeclaration.com, where the full text of the declaration, along with the list of authors, is available. The two-page declaration references 28 reports, describing the scientific evidence documenting the effectiveness of public health approaches to drug policy and the negative consequences of approaches that criminalize drug users.

Press Release: Plan for medical marijuana at hospitals called "pie in the sky"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey (CMMNJ)
www.cmmnj.org

CONTACT: Ken Wolski RN 609 391 2137 [email protected] or Chris Goldstein [email protected]

Plan for medical marijuana at hospitals called "pie in the sky"

Last month the New Jersey Legislature delayed medical marijuana access and floated a new concept for the program: Rutgers University could be named as the sole source for all medical cannabis cultivation and the marijuana would be distributed only by hospitals.

The full presentation from the New Jersey Council of Teaching Hospitals (NJCTH) was reported in the Newark Star-Ledger today.  CMMNJ’s Chris Goldstein spoke via phone Friday with NJCTH President J. Richard Goldstein (no relation). He said that NJCTH was invited for what were described as informational discussions in Trenton and not to draft language for the law, calling the medical marijuana proposal “pie in the sky.” 
NJCTH’s Goldstein explained, “This is not a full plan. This was just an initial conversation with some key players. The Christie Administration just ran with it.”

Governor Chris Christie’s staff and some legislators have been speaking frequently with the media about the proposals. Patients could access marijuana at hospitals, to be sure, and Rutgers University certainly has the capability of farming medical cannabis. But their Boards of Directors and retained attorneys would be hard pressed to take on the one thing that private businesses already do: Risk.

New Jersey hospitals and Rutgers University have not fully examined their federal liabilities.  None of those entities have committed themselves to putting their assets on the line for sick and dying patients. They are not alone; not a single hospital or university in the US currently engages in the production or distribution of state regulated medical marijuana.*  Thirteen states have medical marijuana programs running where private non-profit or for-profit business owners take on the tremendous risk presented by ongoing federal prohibition. Any one of several authorities could seize their properties and assets at any given moment. The owners and employees of medical cannabis businesses also take on the risk of personally losing their freedom through federal arrest.

There do exist groups of private citizens ready to get New Jersey ’s program running.  New Jersey’s medical cannabis patient advocacy groups and others groups interested in offering information about the medical marijuana program have not been afforded the same opportunities to meet with “key players” that Rutgers the NJCTH have enjoyed.  Form letters sent from the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services claimed that state officials were considering no proposals from any group.

The New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act currently calls for the initial licensing of six, private Alternative Treatment Centers (ATCs) around the state.  Patients can only gain legal protections by purchasing marijuana from an authorized ATC.  The NJ Department of Health and Senior Services is currently scheduled to begin the regulatory process in October and bring the medical cannabis program online starting in January 2011.
 
The Coalition for Medical Marijuana New Jersey is intensifying efforts to educate the public and legislators about the ways to best serve the patients who qualify under the law.  Ken Wolski RN, executive director of CMMNJ, said, "The proposal to monopolize New Jersey's medical marijuana program to provide a funding source for training new doctors in the state represents a betrayal of the very patients that the law was designed to protect and serve."

A cannabinoid researcher from Temple University will address the CMMNJ monthly public meeting which will be held on July 13, 2010 at the Lawrence Township (Mercer Co.) Public Library from 7 - 9 pm.

* The University of Mississippi hosts the only DEA licensed marijuana cultivation facility. The single strain of cannabis is distributed to four federal medical marijuana patients. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) also oversees the federal marijuana. It is used for research on a very limited basis.

 

Ken Wolski, RN, MPA
Executive Director
Coalition for Medical Marijuana--New Jersey, Inc.  www.cmmnj.org
219 Woodside Ave.
Trenton, NJ 08618
609.394.2137
[email protected]

CONTACT: Ken Wolski RN 609 391 2137 [email protected] or Chris Goldstein [email protected]

Press Release: The Vienna Declaration: A Global Call to Action for Science-based Drug Policy

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE: JUNE 28, 2010 The Vienna Declaration: A Global Call to Action for Science-based Drug Policy In Lead Up to XVIII International AIDS Conference, Scientists and Other Leaders Call for Reform of International Drug Policy and Urge Others to Sign-on June 28, 2010 [Vienna, Austria] – Three leading scientific and health policy organizations today launched a global drive for signatories to the Vienna Declaration (www.viennadeclaration.com), a statement seeking to improve community health and safety by calling for the incorporation of scientific evidence into illicit drug policies. Among those supporting the declaration and urging others to sign is 2008 Nobel Laureate and International AIDS Society (IAS) Governing Council member Prof. Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, co-discoverer of HIV. The Vienna Declaration is the official declaration of the XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010), the biennial meeting of more than 20,000 HIV professionals, taking place in Vienna, Austria from 18 to 23 July 2010 (www.aids2010.org). “Many of us in AIDS research and care confront the devastating impacts of misguided drug policies every day,” said AIDS 2010 Chair Dr. Julio Montaner, President of the IAS and Director of the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS. “These policies fuel the AIDS epidemic and result in violence, increased crime rates and destabilization of entire states – yet there is no evidence they have reduced rates of drug use or drug supply. As scientists, we are committed to raising our collective voice to promote evidence-based approaches to illicit drug policy that start by recognizing that addiction is a medical condition, not a crime.” The Vienna Declaration describes the known harms of conventional “war on drugs” approaches and states: “The criminalisation of illicit drug users is fuelling the HIV epidemic and has resulted in overwhelmingly negative health and social consequences. A full policy reorientation is needed…Reorienting drug policies towards evidence-based approaches that respect, protect and fulfill human rights has the potential to reduce harms deriving from current policies and would allow for the redirection of the vast financial resources towards where they are needed most: implementing and evaluating evidence-based prevention, regulatory, treatment and harm reduction interventions.” Outside of sub-Saharan Africa, injecting drug use accounts for approximately one in three new cases of HIV. In some areas of rapid HIV spread, such as Eastern Europe and Central Asia, injecting drug use is the primary cause of new HIV infections. Legal barriers to scientifically proven prevention services such as needle programmes and opioid substitution therapy (OST) mean hundreds of thousands of people become infected with HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV) every year. The criminalization of people who inject drugs has also resulted in record incarceration rates placing a massive burden on the taxpayer. HIV outbreaks have also been reported in prisons in various settings internationally. This emphasis on criminalization produces a cycle of disease transmission, along with broken homes and livelihoods destroyed. Yet these costs, along with the more direct costs of the ‘war on drugs’, produce no measurable benefits. “The current approach to drug policy is ineffective because it neglects proven and evidence-based interventions, while pouring a massive amount of public funds and human resources into expensive and futile enforcement measures,” said Dr. Evan Wood, founder of the International Centre for Science in Drug Policy (ICSDP) and Clinical Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia. “It’s time to accept the war on drugs has failed and create drug policies that can meaningfully protect community health and safety using evidence, not ideology.” The Vienna Declaration calls on governments and international organizations, including the United Nations, to take a number of steps, including: • undertake a transparent review the effectiveness of current drug policies; • implement and evaluate a science-based public health approach to address the harms stemming from illicit drug use; • scale up evidence-based drug dependence treatment options; • abolish ineffective compulsory drug treatment centres that violate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; and • unequivocally endorse and scale up funding for the drug treatment and harm reduction measures endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations. The declaration also calls for the meaningful involvement of people who use drugs in developing, monitoring and implementing services and policies that affect their lives. “As a scientist, I strongly support drug policies that are based on evidence of what actually works,” said Prof. Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Director of the Regulation of Retroviral Infections Unit at the Institute Pasteur, IAS Governing Council member and recipient of the 2008 Nobel Prize for Medicine. “I join with my colleagues around the world today to sign the Vienna Declaration in support of science-driven policies and human rights.” The effectiveness of opioid substitution therapy (OST) and needles and syringe programmes is well-documented, though access to such interventions is often limited where HIV is spreading most rapidly. According to various scientific reviews conducted by WHO, the US Institutes of Medicine and others, these programmes reduce HIV rates without increasing rates of drug use. These cost-effective interventions also produce significant savings in future health care costs, and help people who use drugs access health care and drug treatment. No evidence exists demonstrating negative consequences of use of these programmes. “Reflecting the AIDS 2010 theme of Rights Here, Right Now, the Vienna Declaration is rooted in the belief that global drug policy must respect the human rights of people who use drugs if it is to be at all effective,” said AIDS 2010 Local Co-Chair Dr. Brigitte Schmied, President of the Austrian AIDS Society. “No one who is familiar with addiction would deny the negative impacts it has on individuals, families and entire communities, but those harms do not justify human rights violations. People addicted to illicit drugs have the right to evidence-based drug treatment, to interventions to prevent infection, and, if they are living with HIV, to antiretroviral treatment.” The Vienna Declaration was drafted by an international team of scientists and other experts, many of whom will participate in AIDS 2010 next month. It was initiated by the IAS, the International Centre for Science in Drug Policy (ICSDP), and the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Those wishing to sign on may visit www.viennadeclaration.com, where the full text of the declaration, along with a list of authors, is available. The two-page declaration references 28 reports, describing the scientific evidence documenting the effectiveness of public health approaches to drug policy and the negative consequences of approaches that criminalize drug users. About AIDS 2010 The XVIII International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010) is the biennial meeting of researchers, implementers and diverse leaders involved in the global response to HIV. It is convened by the IAS in partnership with international, regional and local partners. Visit www.aids2010.org for more information and to register for the conference, which is taking place from 18 to 23 July 2010 in Vienna, Austria. International AIDS Society The International AIDS Society is the world's leading independent association of HIV professionals, with 14,000 members from 190 countries working at all levels of the global response to AIDS. Our members include researchers from all disciplines, clinicians, public health and community practitioners on the frontlines of the epidemic, as well as policy and programme planners. International Centre for Science in Drug Policy ICSDP aims to be a primary source for rigorous scientific evidence on illicit drug policy in order to benefit policymakers, law enforcement, and affected communities. To this end, the ICSDP conducts original scientific research in the form of systematic reviews, evidence-based drug policy guidelines, and research collaborations with leading scientists and institutions across diverse continents and disciplines. BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS The BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) is Canada’s largest HIV/AIDS research, treatment and education facility. The BC-CfE is based at St Paul’s Hospital, Providence Health Care, a teaching hospital of the University of British Columbia. The BC-CfE is dedicated to improving the health of British Columbians with HIV through developing, monitoring and disseminating comprehensive research and treatment programs for HIV and related diseases. MEDIA CONTACTS: Mahafrine Petigara Michael Kessler Edelman Media Consultant, AIDS 2010 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Tel: +1 604 623 3007, ext. 297 Tel: +34 655 792 699
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