Medical Marijuana

NEW MEXICO: Medical Marijuana Measure Passes Senate MINNESOTA: Patient-Protection Bills in Both Chambers OREGON: Right to Fire Patients Sought CALIFORNIA: Caregiver Status Before Supreme Court CALIFORNIA: Dispensaries OKed, Opening, Studied and Stopped

Join the National Movement to Protect Safe Access! To celebrate ten years of safe access to medical cannabis in California and growing access throughout the country, Americans for Safe Access (ASA) has organized Medical Marijuana Week 2007. This will be the fifth annual Medical Marijuana Week, held during the week of 2/15 to commemorate the passage of Proposition 215, California's medical cannabis law.

News Release Israel's Ministry of Health Medical Cannabis Conference Israeli and European doctors called Cannabis "a medicine" and asked to expand the list of indications and to expedite commercial growing for patients.

Press Release Source: City of West Hollywood City of West Hollywood Officials Decry DEA Raids on Five Marijuana Dispensaries Wednesday January 17, 9:52 pm ET WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--City of West Hollywood officials reacted swiftly today to news that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had raided and shut down five medicinal marijuana dispensaries located in West Hollywood. "The City of West Hollywood has had a long-standing commitment to the compassionate use of medical marijuana for those persons who are facing catastrophic illnesses," said City Manager Paul Arevalo. The DEA's enforcement of federal drug laws against the dispensaries conflicts with Proposition 215, a ballot measure approved by the California voters in 1996 decriminalizing the use of medical marijuana.

[Courtesy of our friends at the International Association for Cannabis as Medicine] CALL FOR PAPERS: The program committee would like to invite you to present your research at the International Association for Cannabis as Medicine (IACM) 4th Conference on Cannabinoids in Medicine in Cologne, Germany, on 5-6 October. You may submit your abstract electronically until April 15, 2007 for oral presentations and until June 15, 2007 for poster presentations to [email protected]. If your abstract is accepted you will have free access to the meeting. In addition, speakers will have one night of free accommodation at the conference hotel Holiday Inn. Speakers may ask the IACM for a subsidy of their travel expenses.

[A press release from our friends at Drug Policy Alliance] Democratic Majority Has Opportunity to Find Exit Strategy for Failed War on Drugs Access to Treatment, Reduction of HIV and Drug Overdoses and Tackling Inhumane Mandatory Minimums Now Possible with “New Direction” Dems

ASA's Summary of Medical Marijuana Media - Week of 1/12/07 VERMONT: Law’s Revision to Help More Patients COLORADO: Caregiver Couple Challenge Law IMPLEMENTATION: States Face Challenges Providing Access

[This post comes courtesy of Ken Wolski, RN, MPA. He is the executive director of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana -- New Jersey, www.cmmnj.org, [email protected]] "Unacceptable Losses" opened Friday, 1/12/07, at the Woodrow Wilson School's Bernstein Gallery on the Princeton University Campus. This photo-documentary by photgrapher and med student Arthur Robinson Williams examines U.S. drug policy and victims of it. At the exhibit, there are large color and black and white prints that accompany text of interviews that Mr. Williams conducted. The photos Mr. Williams took seemed designed to capture the essential humanity of the subject. (Some of this photographic detail is missing in the web site.) The web site is divided into sections on Treatment on Demand, Sentencing Reform, Syringe Access, Harm Reduction and Medical Marijuana. The stories are very compelling. Though the web site is still a work-in-progess, I highly recommend a look. I was reminded of CMM-NJ member Roberta M., when I read the story of the man with RSD whose pain was so severe he contemplated suicide until he tried marijuana.

Start Date and Duration: The position begins in early 2007 (no later than April) and will terminate after the January 2008 primary in New Hampshire. Location: This position is based in New Hampshire.

ASA's Summary of Medical Marijuana Media MICHIGAN: Legislature Considers Bill; Initiative Likely WASHINGTON: Out-of-State Recommendation Disqualified CALIFORNIA: Court Clarifies Medical Cannabis Law