Dying Woman Loses Appeal on Marijuana as Medication
 

This is sick, this administration and the AMA wants people like this woman and myself to die and suffer.
It is the truth and it IS that simple.

There are many stories like this.
There are no drugs that help with muscle spasms, certain types of nerve damage and especially nausea and loss of appetite from illness and chemotherapy as well as, and in some cases at all, like marijuana.
The AMA's attempts at synthesizing it, Marinol and others make most people more ill. I am one of those. They do not care.
It is no more a gateway drug than cigarettes or coffee... I've never met an alcoholic or junkie that did not drink coffee or smoke, why not blame their addictions on those drugs? It is the same logic. Idiots.
Only the deluded would believe that religion has nothing to do with this.

And yet genesis makes it pretty clear that god had no problem with magic brownies...

Perhaps I'm deluded then, but my belief is that it has nothing to do with religion, and everything to do with the inability to tax it.

If they could tax it (ie make it legal, by prescription, etc), it would be okay - since they can't...well, it's not.

IMO, it's not all about religion. Money's rumored to be the root of a lot of evil too.

What does taxing it have to do with anything?
You have no right to tax everything someone does in their home.
I can grow my own tobacco and smoke it and it is no one's damn business if I do.
I can make up to 50 gallons of booze and as much beer a year as I like as long as I do not sell it and you have no right to tax it.
Who the hell are you?
Evil is a myth.

You may like this then.

marijuana & religion
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/potbible.htm
http://www.equalrights4all.org/religious/bible.htm

"Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so." And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (Gen. 1:29-31)

" Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things." (Gen 9:3).

" In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." Rev 22:2:

"The Lord said unto me, 'I will take my rest and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs.' " -- Isaiah 18:4-5

And the earth brought forth grass and herb yielding seed after its kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:12)

God said, "Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so." And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. (Gen. 1:29-31)

(No prohibition of cannabis or any other drug is made in the Ten Commandments: See Ex. 20:1-17)

(Cannabis is mentioned in Ex. 30:23 but King James mistranslated it as 'sweet calamus') :
Moreover, the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 23 Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even 250 shekels, and of qaneh-bosm [cannabis] 250 shekels, 24 And of cassia 500 shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin: 25 And thou shalt make it an oil of holy anointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil. 26 And thous shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony, 27 And the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick ahd his vessels, and the altar of incense, 28 And the altar of burnt offerings with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot. 29 And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy. (Exodus 30:22-29)

* As one shekel equals approximately 16.37 grams, this means that the THC from over 9 pounds of flowering cannabis tops were extracted into a hind, about 6.5 litres of oil. The entheogenic effects of such a solution -- even when applied topically -would undoubtedly have been intense.
He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth; And wine that maketh glad the heart of man and oil to make his face to shineth. (Psalm 104:14-15)

The Lord said unto me, "I will take my rest and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks and take away and cut down the branches. (Is. 18:4-5)

And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more. (Ezekiel 34:29)

(Jesus:) "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man." (Matt. 15:11)

One believeth that he may eat all things. Another…eateth herbs. … Let us not, therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way. I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. (Epistle of St. Paul: Romans 14: 2,3,13,14,17)

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times, some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused if it be received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereupon thou hast attained. (Paul: 1 Timothy 4:1-6)

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielding her fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (Rev. 22:1-2)

"It is recorded that the Chinese Taoist recommended the addition of cannabis to their incense burners in the 1st century as a means of achieving immortality."

400 years. For most of our nation's history, farmers grew marijuana -- then known exclusively as hemp -- for its fiber content. Colonialists planted the first American hemp crop in 1611 near Jamestown, Virginia. Soon after, King James I of Britain ordered settlers to engage in wide scale farming of the plant.1 Most of the sails and ropes on colonial ships were made from hemp as were many of the colonists' bibles, clothing, and maps.2

According to some historians, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson cultivated marijuana and advocated a hemp-based economy.3 Some colonies even made hemp cultivation compulsory, calling its production necessary for the "wealth and protection of the country."4 Marijuana cultivation continued as an agricultural staple in America through the turn of the 20th century.

During both wars laws against growing hemp were lifted and farmers had to grow it for the war effort. George Bush's parachute lines were made of hemp.

So, yeah, I don't think it's about religion. I think Dagney is right about it being about money, although I don't think it's the taxes.

The textile, tobacco, pharmaceutical (no patents on herbal) and distilleries stand to lose a lot... textiles the most. They were who lobbied to outlaw it to begin with, using race as a fear tactic.
Not about religion, huh, so the religious right have nothing to do with this? Ok, tell me another one.
The only people who would be ok with people suffering while they stand by and watch, and making sure they drum-up enough propaganda so others think it is ok would be the religious right.

I'm still waiting to hear why taxing this is more important than people's lives and suffering... that slays me.

Not the only ones- you mentioned another group earlier: corporatists.

I'm not going to get baited into an argument...but this is my opinion on matters.

If it was legal...it could be regulated and sold either via prescription or otc. Either way, people can make money off of it, and yes, taxes would be paid on it in states where sales taxes apply to prescription and otc meds.

It is not legal. Hence, no one can reap the benefits legally - and those who are greedy and evil (money=root of most evil if you look for it) - want that money, can't have it, and therefore, don't want anyone else to have it. Or benefit from it. (I believe that article stated she was also charged with money laundering (ohh, that's money) and tax evasion (ohh, that's money there too). )

Which agrees with Happy Monkey's statement regarding corporatists.

IMO, you're beating the religious horse a little too much. It's not ALL the fault of the religious right. (A lot of it, perhaps, but not everything).

D

This is pathetic. Why the fuck do other people feel the right to say what people can take or not for their own comfort and survival. What is the argument against medicinal marijuana? It can be treated the same way as morphine or oxycotin.

I wish all those who oppose, drug company execs & their lobbyists, politicians, far-right, religious zealots suffer three times over for denying the ill this aid. And "gateway drug" is the most pathetic excuse/reason of them all.

Does she live in an apartment where the smoke wafts through the ventilation system infiltrating the neighbors living space? What restrictions should exist in this situation?

Neither of those drugs do what marijuana does for any of the things it works for.

Second hand smoke is irrelevant to this discussion.

Pain reliever?

Can you explain further rkzenrage?

Basically opiates work by changing the way your mind perceives pain. Marijuana is more complex. It's not just THC but a lot of psychoactives in with it. Since our beloved government bans research on it the exact benefits and workings of it aren't known. Perhaps some other government has done studies but I don't know. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Anyway this is fucked up. I'm sure a number of local dealers will step up to help Miss Raich but it shouldn't come to that by any means.

It helps with muscle spasms, nerve damage issues, nausea, loss of appetite, sleep problems and other issues.
Honestly I don't use it very often, I have a young son and try not to have it in the house. Because of the law, I suffer far more than I should.
My pain medication works better than marijuana for pain management, but I eat less than I could, sleep less than I could, have more nerve damage and nausea... the list is long.

Ok, that makes more sense now. Thanks.

Like Dagney, I think it is mostly about pharmaceutical companies, after all the Feds like marinol even though it is less effective. The same thing drives the world-wide shortage of opiates while we're spraying opium fields in Afghanistan. Hmmm... business and government working together to bar competition in the marketplace, mixing in a dose of nationalism and a heavily militarized economy, sounds familiar...

Despite the inflammatory nature of the story including the pic I just can't get upset over it.

If she needs herb then she should go get some. End of story.

It's just ridiculous. Why does our society put such stigma on some damn pot. The therapeutic effects for certain conditions are real. For the love of Pete...:headshake

It is her intention to continue to use the illegal substance in question. I say good for her.

The Feds are standing on existing Federal law, because they can't have the individual States going around doing what the hell they want. That'd be States Rights, and that would violate the Constitution.

What? You say that States Rights are implicit in the Constitution?

Damn it. Well, the States just should do what the Feds say or they won't give you back your share of your citizen's tax money. So there.

Marinol makes 60% of the people that take it more nauseous and does not impact lack of appetite.
There are no drugs that are as effective as it for all the other benefits, for some of these benefits there are no drugs that help like it does.
The AMA did some studies thirty years ago, there are three that still get government marijuana from that study. The effects were so positive that the study was halted and the AMA will not discuss it because of outside political pressure.
AMA representatives were on the Montel show, he uses due to his MS, he brought two of these three test subjects on... the reps refused to speak on the medical benefits of marijuana and the myths for the rest of the show.

Does Marinol have just THC as the active ingredient or something more?

It is a synthetic.

The website has a nice brief on the case, which is going back to the appellate court.

Another constitutional argument is our right to use the land as we wish.

I've a feeling that when the whole 60s, hippies, sex, drugs and rock&roll vs John Wayne citizens, clash developed...to the JWCs, pot symbolized everything they didn't like.

Even though it had been illegal since it was chosen to provide busy work for agents displaced by the end of prohibition, being the poster child of the turbulent 60s gave it a stigma a generation or two will never get over.
As those generations make way for the ones that accept it or are ambivalent, there will only be the politicians bought by the pharmaceutical, alcohol, tobacco, MAPD lobbies, without a constituency to blame. Then there will be change. Religion has nothing to do with it.

If the tobacco companies were smart, they'd see their market shrinking and lobby to legalize pot and let them handle it. They have a huge network already in place, to package, distribute and collect the taxes. :idea:

The problem is that it is not just tobacco that stands to lose, who stands to lose the most are the textile companies. It was they who lobbied to get it outlawed to begin with in the thirties after Popular Mechanics announced a machine that was going to help make paper with a fifth of the chemicals as the new paper bleaching process.
Kimberly Clark and Dow freaked and the next thing you know "Jazz blacks were going to smoke pot and rape your innocent white daughter"!!!
Before that jeans, rope, paper... hell the American Flags, bibles and all military canvas was made of hemp. Up through WWII if you were a farmer during a war and had X acers of land you HAD to grow textile grade hemp (which you can't get high off of but is still illegal... huh?).
Pharmaceuticals and Distilleries also, they all stand to lose billions.
It can be grown at home easily, it is indigenous, cannot be patented, you cannot OD on it and it does not kill brain cells or make you violent like alcohol, despite the urban myths.
The last thing these people want is for the common Joe and Jane to find this stuff out.

Marinol just has THC but, as rkz pointed out, it is synthetic and pretty much ineffective. It is not a substitute for mj.

The war against mj started long before the 60s. Although I agree with your statement, the anti-mj movement started back in the late 30s or early 40s as I recall.

In a related story, Bill Richardson is expected to sign legislation making NM the 12th state to permit the use of mj for medical use.

Ahh, thanks. Never even seen Marinol. Talked to one person who took it and got ill, but everybody here gets the real greens.

It is a myth that THC is the only active ingredient in the weed. There is actually a whole signature collection of cannabinoids, and different strains of the weed will carry different collections, which will settle into a brain's receptors differently. That's why different varieties will have different effects; and research should be done into which are best for medical purposes. Marinol isolates one particular chemical -- which is why it doesn't really work.

/read a lot about the topic
//for no particular reason

Exactly, which is why if you need them you do not get "stoned", your body uses them where they are needed instead of storing them in the brain.
There are cannaboinoids in mother's milk to help babies deal with growing so fast and we naturally produce them during our teen growth spurts and during times of high stress and pain.

http://lists.csociety.org/pipermail/...il/000118.html

http://www.november.org/thewall/case...cormick-t.html

http://www.cannabisreport.com/blog/a...p_investig.php

This is what the cops & AMA are about... increasing the suffering and harm of those who are sick and have found something that relieves some of that suffering. Even to the point of reducing the life expectancy of those individuals, this is what those pigs want.
They deserve nothing but our basest contempt.

http://www.alternet.org/rights/49597/

It's Been an 'All Out War' on Pot Smokers for 35 Years

By Paul Armentano, AlterNet. Posted March 22, 2007.



Since 1972, U.S. taxpayers have spent well over $20 billion enforcing criminal marijuana laws and 16.5 million people have been arrested. It's time to put an end to this waste.
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Thirty-five years ago this month, a congressionally mandated commission on U.S. drug policy did something extraordinary: They told the truth about marijuana.

On March 22, 1972, the National Commission on Marihuana (sic) and Drug Abuse -- chaired by former Pennsylvania Gov. Raymond P. Shafer -- recommended Congress amend federal law so that the use and possession of pot would no longer be a criminal offense. State legislatures, the commission added, should do likewise.

"[T]he criminal law is too harsh a tool to apply to personal possession even in the effort to discourage use," concluded the commission, which included several conservative appointees of then-President Richard Nixon. "It implies an overwhelming indictment of the behavior, which we believe is not appropriate. The actual and potential harm of use of the drug is not great enough to justify intrusion by the criminal law into private behavior, a step which our society takes only with the greatest reluctance.

"... Therefore, the commission recommends ... [that the] possession of marihuana for personal use no longer be an offense, [and that the] casual distribution of small amounts of marihuana for no remuneration, or insignificant remuneration, no longer be an offense."

Nixon, true to his "law-and-order" roots, shelved the report -- announcing instead that when it came to weed, "We need, and I use the word 'all out war' on all fronts." For the last 35 years, that's what we've had.

Consider this: Since the Shafer Commission issued its recommendations:




Approximately 16.5 million Americans have been arrested for marijuana violations -- more than 80 percent of them on minor possession charges.


U.S. taxpayers have spent well over $20 billion enforcing criminal marijuana laws, yet marijuana availability and use among the public remains virtually unchanged.


Nearly one-quarter of a million Americans have been denied federal financial aid for secondary education because of anti-drug provisions to the Higher Education Act. Most of these applicants were convicted of minor marijuana possession offenses.


Total U.S. marijuana arrests increased 165 percent during the 1990s, from 287,850 in 1991 to well over 700,000 in 2000, before reaching an all-time high of nearly 800,000 in 2005. However, according to the government's own data, this dramatic increase in the number of persons arrested for pot was not associated with any reduction in the number of new users, any reduction in marijuana potency, or any increases in the black market price of marijuana.


Currently, one in eight inmates incarcerated for drug crimes is behind bars for pot, at a cost to taxpayers of more than $1 billion per year.



Perhaps most troubling, the factor most likely to determine whether or not these citizens serve jail time or not isn't the severity of their "crime," but rather where they live. Today there are growing regional disparities in marijuana penalties and marijuana law enforcement -- ranging from no penalty in Alaska to potential life in prison in Oklahoma. In fact, if one were to drive from Portland, Maine, to Portland, Ore., he or she would traverse more than a dozen jurisdictions, all with varying degrees of penalties and/or tolerance toward the possession and use of pot.

Does this sound like a successful national policy?

There is another approach, of course. The Shafer Commission showed the way more than three decades ago.

Marijuana isn't a harmless substance, and those who argue for a change in the drug's legal status do not claim it to be. However, as noted by the commission, pot's relative risks to the user and society are arguably fewer than those of alcohol and tobacco, and they do not warrant the expenses associated with targeting, arresting and prosecuting hundreds of thousands of Americans every year.

According to federal statistics, about 94 million Americans -- that's 40 percent of the U.S. population age 12 or older -- self-identify as having used cannabis at some point in their lives, and relatively few acknowledge having suffered significant deleterious health effects due to their use. America's public policies should reflect this reality, not deny it. It makes no sense to continue to treat nearly half of all Americans as criminals.



Tagged as: pot, shafer commission

Paul Armentano is the senior policy analyst for NORML and the NORML Foundation in Washington, D.C.

I tend to agree with Bruce, seeing this issue in the light of a culture war. I'd guess that anybody who stands to actually lose from the legalization of marijuana and actively opposes it probably has convinced themselves that it's not a money issue.

I agree that this isn't a federal matter. For a long time now the federal government has done everything it can to have its fingers in as many pies as possible. Witness the "federal" drinking age, et all. Unfortunately we're long past respecting the Constitution. Anybody who tries to excise only federal drug laws will find little precedence.

If federal laws do not make allowances for medical conditions than these judges made the right choice. It's either this or throw it up for constitutional review.

I say, smoke 'em if you got 'em. I'm confused, the story doesn't say that she was convicted of anything, just that she brought suit against the federal government. Aside from the shadow of the federal government, is there anything to keep her from continuing to use medicinal marijuana under the laws of her state?

--Joe

Edit: I'm guessing we'll see, at the least, federal decriminalization of personal use of marijuana in the next 20-30 years.

Legalize it and tax the hell out of it to give money to the people for healthcare.