Medical Marijuana

The Oregon Supreme Court heard an hour of arguments in the case of Sheriff Mike Winters v. Cynthia Willis. In 2008, Willis was denied a concealed handgun license because she is a medical marijuana cardholder.

Washington senators moved forward with establishing more regulation on the state's medical marijuana system, approving a bill with changes that would give patients greater protection from arrest and bring the supply chain out of a legal gray area. After lengthy debate, senators approved the bill on a 29-20 vote. The measure now moves to the House.

A new poll shows that 57 percent of Floridians support legalization of medical marijuana as buzz grows that the issue could be placed on the ballot as soon as 2012. The poll was conducted by Fabrizio, McLaughlin & Associates, a Republican firm that worked with Rick Scott's gubernatorial campaign.

Barry Considine, a writer and polio survivor who advocates for (and uses) medical marijuana, opines that it is time to allow patients in Maryland to use marijuana for medicinal purposes without fear of arrest and prosecution under Maryland law. He says we must move forward based on the best anecdotal evidence that is available as the DEA and National Institute on Drug Abuse have consistently blocked the efforts of researchers and scientists to study medical marijuana and provide empirical evidence of its efficacy.

Timothy Garon, a musician who was denied a liver transplant because he used marijuana with medical approval under Washington state law to ease the symptoms of advanced hepatitis C, died. Dr. Brad Roter, the physician who authorized Garon to use medical marijuana to alleviate for nausea and abdominal pain and to stimulate his appetite, said he did not know it would be such a hurdle if Garon were to need a transplant.

A panel of New Hampshire lawmakers is considering a bill to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes. Under the bill, possessing two ounces or less of medical marijuana would not be a crime. New Hampshire's legislature passed a medical marijuana bill two years ago, but Gov. John Lynch vetoed it.

There was little publicity for Seattle's first medical marijuana farmers market, but word of mouth alone packed the hall as hundreds of people lined up to go in. Under the current law, certain health care providers like doctors or nurse practitioners can issue recommendations for medical marijuana for a variety of ailments including cancer, HIV and anorexia. But unlike in California or Colorado where medical marijuana initiatives led to dispensaries that provide the drug, in Washington the medical marijuana community has remained, for the most part, underground.

Ken Wolski, RN, MPA, executive director of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana-New Jersey Inc., opines that Gov. Christie is solely to blame for the unconscionable delay in access to medical marijuana in New Jersey. The governor has insisted on unworkable and unconstitutional restrictions to the medical marijuana program. These restrictions have outraged patients, advocates and the entire New Jersey Legislature.