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Medical Marijuana

Help put medical marijuana on the ballot in Arizona

Dear friends:

We’re getting close.

In Arizona, an MPP-sponsored signature drive to place a medical marijuana initiative on the ballot in November 2010 is moving into the home stretch. If the campaign collects more than 250,000 signatures before the end of February, the Arizona Medical Marijuana Policy Project could qualify for the ballot earlier in the election year than any other initiative in Arizona’s history.

As of now, the campaign has collected more than 175,000 signatures, almost three-quarters of the way towards our goal. But it costs about $2 to collect each signature, so we need help to get the rest of the way there.

Can you help us finish the job by making a contribution to the campaign today? Every $20 contribution gets us 10 signatures closer to our goal.

A recent poll showed that 65% of Arizonans support the proposed initiative, so once the measure qualifies for the ballot, it will very likely pass. This means that by supporting this signature drive, you can directly help protect seriously and terminally ill patients in Arizona from arrest and jail. The initiative, which would allow for a system of state-licensed medical marijuana dispensaries in the state, could also serve as a model for other states considering medical marijuana laws.

I know you agree that patients should never be sent to jail just for following their doctors’ advice. With a contribution today, you can help make sure medical marijuana patients in Arizona don’t have to fear this fate.

Thanks in advance for your support. And whether or not you are able to make a contribution today, please forward this e-mail to anyone who might be interested in this campaign.

Thank you,

Rob's signature

Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.

P.S. As I've mentioned in previous alerts, a major philanthropist has committed to match the first $2.35 million that MPP can raise from the rest of the planet in 2009. This means that your donation today will be doubled.

BREAKING: A Legal Victory for Patients


BREAKING:  Legal Victory for Patients and Providers

 

This morning, Sensible Colorado attorneys delivered a victory in overturning the Board of Health's 10/19/9 decision which limited patients rights.   See coverage of this story HERE

As background, late on Monday Nov. 2, Sensible Colorado received word that the state was holding a stealth meeting to narrow the definition of who could provide medical marijuana.  Our staff immediately sent out an alert and over 200 of our supporters responded by either calling-in or attending the Board's 11/3 meeting.  At that meeting, after refusing to hear from any affected patients or caregivers, the Board voted to require caregivers to provide supplementary-- and often unnecessary services-- beyond supplying medical marijuana to sick patients.

Today, Sensible Colorado Board member Robert Corry, along with staff member Brian Vicente, and attorney Lauren Davis, successfully argued that the 11/3 "stealth" meeting was a violation of the Colorado Open Meetings Law.  After hearing about the state's complete disregard for public testimony and their lack of notice to affected parties, Chief Denver District Chief Larry Naves ruled in favor of patients and invalidated the Board's recent finding.

Sensible Colorado wants to thank the two patients involved in this lawsuit, as well as the hundreds of patients and supporters who attended-- or tried to attend-- these hearings. 

What does this mean for patients and providers?  Judge Naves ruling means that, under Colorado law, medical marijuana caregivers can continue to simply provide medical marijuana for patients and are not required to provide supplementary services.  Please stay tuned for further alerts, as this area of the law is dynamic.

We can't do this without your help!!  Please support the work of Sensible Colorado by becoming a monthly donor today.  Click HERE to help.

Press Release: AMA Report Recognizes Medical Benefits of Marijuana, Urges Further Research

PRESS RELEASE Americans for Safe Access For Immediate Release: November 10, 2009 AMA Report Recognizes Medical Benefits of Marijuana, Urges Further Research Largest and oldest U.S. physician-based group reverses long-held position on medical marijuana Houston, TX -- The American Medical Association (AMA) voted today to reverse its long-held position that marijuana be retained as a Schedule I substance with no medical value. The AMA adopted a report drafted by the AMA Council on Science and Public Health (CSAPH) entitled, "Use of Cannabis for Medicinal Purposes," which affirmed the therapeutic benefits of marijuana and called for further research. The CSAPH report concluded that, "short term controlled trials indicate that smoked cannabis reduces neuropathic pain, improves appetite and caloric intake especially in patients with reduced muscle mass, and may relieve spasticity and pain in patients with multiple sclerosis." Furthermore, the report urges that "the Schedule I status of marijuana be reviewed with the goal of facilitating clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines, and alternate delivery methods." The change of position by the largest physician-based group in the country was precipitated in part by a resolution adopted in June of 2008 by the Medical Student Section (MSS) of the AMA in support of the reclassification of marijuana's status as a Schedule I substance. In the past year, the AMA has considered three resolutions dealing with medical marijuana, which also helped to influence the report and its recommendations. The AMA vote on the report took place in Houston, Texas during the organization's annual Interim Meeting of the House of Delegates. The last AMA position, adopted 8 years ago, called for maintaining marijuana as a Schedule I substance, with no medical value. "It's been 72 years since the AMA has officially recognized that marijuana has both already-demonstrated and future-promising medical utility," said Sunil Aggarwal, Ph.D., the medical student who spearheaded both the passage of the June 2008 resolution by the MSS and one of the CSAPH report's designated expert reviewers. "The AMA has written an extensive, well-documented, evidence-based report that they are seeking to publish in a peer-reviewed journal that will help to educate the medical community about the scientific basis of botanical cannabis-based medicines." Aggarwal is also on the Medical & Scientific Advisory Board of Americans for Safe Access (ASA), the largest medical marijuana advocacy organization in the U.S. The AMA's about face on medical marijuana follows an announcement by the Obama Administration in October discouraging U.S. Attorneys from taking enforcement actions in medical marijuana states. In February 2008, a resolution was adopted by the American College of Physicians (ACP), the country's second largest physician group and the largest organization of doctors of internal medicine. The ACP resolution called for an "evidence-based review of marijuana's status as a Schedule I controlled substance to determine whether it should be reclassified to a different schedule. "The two largest physician groups in the U.S. have established medical marijuana as a health care issue that must be addressed," said ASA Government Affairs Director Caren Woodson. "Both organizations have underscored the need for change by placing patients above politics." Though the CSAPH report has not been officially released to the public, AMA documentation indicates that it: "(1) provides a brief historical perspective on the use of cannabis as medicine; (2) examines the current federal and state-based legal envelope relevant to the medical use of cannabis; (3) provides a brief overview of our current understanding of the pharmacology and physiology of the endocannabinoid system; (4) reviews clinical trials on the relative safety and efficacy of smoked cannabis and botanical-based products; and (5) places this information in perspective with respect to the current drug regulatory framework." Further information: Executive Summary of AMA Report: http://AmericansForSafeAccess.org/downloads/AMA_Report_Executive_Summary.pdf Recommendations of AMA Report: http://AmericansForSafeAccess.org/downloads/AMA_Report_Recommendations.pdf American College of Physicians resolution: http://www.acponline.org/advocacy/where_we_stand/other_issues/medmarijuana.p df # # # With over 30,000 active members in more than 40 states, Americans for Safe Access (ASA) is the largest national member-based organization of patients, medical professionals, scientists and concerned citizens promoting safe and legal access to cannabis for therapeutic use and research. ASA works to overcome political and legal barriers by creating policies that improve access to medical cannabis for patients and researchers through legislation, education, litigation, grassroots actions, advocacy and services for patients and the caregivers.

AMA Calls for Review of Medical Marijuana’s Legal Status

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                           
NOVEMBER 10, 2009

AMA Calls for Review of Medical Marijuana’s Legal Status

New Policy Marks Historic Shift From Prior Stance

CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications …………… 415-585-6404 or 202-215-4205

HOUSTON, TEXAS — In a move considered historic by supporters of medical marijuana, the American Medical Association’s House of Delegates today adopted a new policy position calling for the review of marijuana’s status as a Schedule I drug in the federal Controlled Substances Act. The old language in Policy H-95.952 had previously recommended that “marijuana be retained in Schedule I,” which groups marijuana with drugs such as heroin, LSD and PCP that are deemed to have no accepted medical uses and to be unsafe for use even under medical supervision.

         The revised policy, adopted today, states, “Our AMA urges that marijuana’s status as a federal Schedule I controlled substance be reviewed with the goal of facilitating the conduct of clinical research and development of cannabinoid-based medicines, and alternate delivery methods.” It goes on to explain that this position should not be construed as an endorsement of state medical marijuana programs.

         “This shift, coming from what has historically been America’s most cautious and conservative major medical organization, is historic,” said Aaron Houston, director of government relations for the Marijuana Policy Project, who attended the AMA meeting. “Marijuana’s Schedule I status is not just scientifically untenable, given the wealth of recent data showing it to be both safe and effective for chronic pain and other conditions, but it’s been a major obstacle to needed research.”

         Drugs listed in Schedule II, for which medical use is permitted with strict controls, include cocaine, morphine and methamphetamine. A pill containing THC, the component responsible for marijuana’s “high,” is classed in Schedule III, whose looser requirements allow phoned-in prescriptions.

         With more than 29,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.

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Maine Votes “Yes” on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                             
NOVEMBER 3, 2009

Maine Votes “Yes” on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries,

Becomes 3rd State to License Medical Marijuana Providers; Vote Seen as Latest Advance Spurred by Obama Policy

CONTACT: Bruce Mirken, MPP director of communications …………… 415-585-6404 or 202-215-4205

AUGUSTA, MAINE — In a landmark vote, Maine voters today approved Question 5, making the state the third in the country to license nonprofit organizations to provide medical marijuana to qualified patients and the first ever to do so by a vote of the people. With 49 percent of the vote tallied, the measure was cruising to an easy win with 60.2 percent voting “yes” and 39.8 percent voting “no.”

         Under the measure, the state will license nonprofit organizations to provide medical marijuana to qualified patients and set rules for their operation. While 13 states permit medical use of marijuana, only Rhode Island and New Mexico have similar dispensary provisions, both of which were adopted by the states’ legislatures. Maine’s original medical marijuana law was passed in 1999.

         “This is a dramatic step forward, the first time that any state’s voters have authorized the state government to license medical marijuana dispensaries,” said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C., which drafted the initiative and provided start-up funding for the campaign. “Coming a decade after passage of Maine’s original marijuana law, this is a huge sign that voters are comfortable with these laws, and also a sign that the recent change of policy from the Obama administration is having a major impact.”  

         In October, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a formal policy indicating that federal prosecutors should not prosecute medical marijuana activities authorized by state law.

         Question 5 also expands the list of medical conditions qualifying for protection under Maine’s law to include several conditions that are included in most other medical marijuana states, including intractable pain, agitation of Alzheimer’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (“Lou Gehrig’s disease”).

         With more than 29,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit http://MarijuanaPolicy.org.

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Medical marijuana override falls short in New Hampshire

Marijuana Policy Project

Marijuana Policy Project Alert

October 28, 2009

Drop Shadow

Dear friends:

Today, the New Hampshire legislature came just shy of voting to override Gov. John Lynch (D)'s veto of the state's proposed medical marijuana law. Two-thirds of the votes were needed. Although we cleared the House with 67.6% of the vote (240-115), it lost in the Senate, 14-10.

The bill had passed the legislature in June, by 232-108 in the House and 14-10 in the Senate. But on July 10, Gov. Lynch vetoed the bill, after refusing to meet with 15 patients and after failing to give input to the legislative conference committee, which amended the bill to address each of the eight concerns he had voiced in April.

To override the veto and pass the bill into law, we needed supportive votes from two-thirds of voting members of the House and 16 votes in the Senate.

Coming so close to victory makes losing more painful. Yet the support of MPP’s 29,000 dues-paying members allowed us to wage a fierce fight: We retained a top lobbying firm in the state and funded an outstanding organizer, Matt Simon, who leads the New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy. We also ran tens of thousands of dollars of TV, radio, and print ads featuring patients who were counting on the governor and legislature to do the right thing and generated hundreds of e-mails, calls, and faxes and postcards to the governor and key legislators.

But the bill faced strong opposition from the state's attorney general and chiefs of police.

However, we’re determined to see New Hampshire medical marijuana patients protected from arrest and jail. 71% of New Hampshire voters support allowing seriously and terminally ill patients to use and grow medical marijuana for personal use if their doctors recommend it, according to a 2008 Mason-Dixon poll.

Would you help us come back even stronger? Please don’t let the New Hampshire patients who spoke out publicly in support of this bill be ignored. Donate what you can today.

Need one more reason? Do it for the memory of Scott Turner, a New Hampshire medical marijuana patient and activist who died August 4 after a long and painful battle with degenerative joint disease and degenerative disc disease.

Together, we're going to win this fight.

Thank you,

Rob Signature

Rob Kampia
Executive Director
Marijuana Policy Project
Washington, D.C.

P.S. As I've mentioned in previous alerts, a major philanthropist has committed to match the first $2.35 million that MPP can raise from the rest of the planet in 2009. This means that your donation today will be doubled.

 

MPP will be able to tackle all of the projects in our 2009 strategic plan if you and other allies are able to fund our work.

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Medical Marijuana: A New Bill in Congress!

 

Dear friends:

We are excited to announce new legislation in Congress that would protect many medical marijuana patients and providers from federal prosecution.

One in four Americans now lives in a state with laws governing medical marijuana.  Unfortunately, law-abiding citizens can still be prosecuted on federal marijuana-related charges.

Today, Congressman Sam Farr introduced the "Truth in Trials" Act, H.R. 3939.  This bill would enable law-abiding citizens facing federal marijuana related charges to introduce evidence at trial showing that they were in compliance with state law.

"Truth in Trials" needs a lot of support in the U.S. House of Representatives if it is to succeed.

Please e-mail your member of Congress right now.  Ask him or her to cosponsor this important legislation.

Click here:  http://www.americansforsafeaccess.org/house

Thanks!

Sanjeev Bery
National Field Director
Americans for Safe Access

Americans for Safe Access

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Exploring the Role of the Medical Community in Shaping Drug Policy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                Contact: Tony Newman 646-335-5384

October 26, 2009                                                                                  Gabriel Sayegh 646-335-2264

Town Hall Forum Tuesday at Columbia Medical School: Exploring the Role of the Medical Community in Shaping Drug Policy

Topics to be Discussed: Marijuana Policy, Heroin Maintenance Programs and Other Health Strategies to Reduce the Death, Disease and Suffering Associated with both Drug Use and Drug Policies

Nationally and locally, a shift in the 40-year-old drug war is underway. President Obama has stated he wants to advance a public health approach to drug policy, and Gil Kerlikowske, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, has called for an end to the term “war on drugs” because it signifies a war on people. Congress is close to removing the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine and ending the federal ban on funding syringe exchanges, which reduce the spread of blood-borne diseases. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder instructed federal agencies not to target patients who comply with state medical marijuana laws, raising new questions about federal marijuana policies. In New York, Governor Paterson enacted reform of the Rockefeller Drug Laws, signifying a shift away from a criminal justice-oriented approach to drug policy in favor of a health-oriented approach.

What is the role of the medical community in shaping health-oriented approaches to drug policy? This town hall-style seminar will explore the role of the medical and research community in shaping a more evidenced-based drug policy. Drs. H. Westley Clark and Ethan Nadelmann will give presentations on what components an evidenced-based drug policy should include, and discuss the role the medical community can play in their development.

Speakers:

H. Westley Clark, M.D., J.D., M.P.H.

Director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Ethan Nadelmann, Ph.D., J.D.

Founder and Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance, the nation's leading organization promoting policy alternatives to the drug war that are grounded in science, compassion, health and human rights.

Moderated by Dr. Carl Hart, Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology of Columbia University

Time:              Tuesday, October 27th 2009 from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm

Place:              First Floor Hellman Auditorium

                        New York State Psychiatric Institute

1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032

This event is free and open to the public.

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Press Release: N.H. Patients Make Final Plea for Medical Marijuana Law in Tuesday Press Conference

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                                                 

OCTOBER 26, 2009

N.H. Patients Make Final Plea for Medical Marijuana Law in Tuesday Press Conference

CONTACT: Matt Simon, New Hampshire Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy… (603) 391-7450

CONCORD— One day prior to the final vote on HB 648, patients and advocates will hold a Tuesday morning press conference urging legislators to end the uncertainty and pass this bill into law when they vote Oct. 28.

Additionally, half-page newspaper ads have been slated to run Tuesday in the Concord Monitor and the New Hampshire Union-Leader urging support for the override.

HB 648 passed the House and Senate June 24, but was subsequently vetoed by Gov. John Lynch.  If it becomes law, New Hampshire would become the 14th state to protect seriously ill patients from arrest for using medical marijuana if their doctor recommends it.

WHAT: Press conference urging legislators to pass the medical marijuana bill into law

WHO: Advocates scheduled to participate include: ?                              

Rep. Evalyn Merrick, prime sponsor of HB 648

Barbara Filleul, a cancer survivor from Concord

Dennis Acton, a cancer survivor from Fremont

Former state Sen. Burt Cohen, a survivor of Hepatitis-C

Matt Simon, executive director for the N.H. Coalition for Common Sense Marijuana Policy

WHEN: Tuesday, October 27, 10 a.m.

WHERE: Legislative Office Building lobby, Concord, N.H.

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