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JOIN the CAMPAIGN! Medical Cannabis for PTSD for Veterans, Police, Firefighters and Other American Citizens ALERT! Effort to Add PTSD to the OMMP is in Denial and Needs Your Help. Contact DHS department officials with your Testimony / Discussion Points as to How The Process was Biased and How Cannabis (Marijuana) is, indeed, safe and effective medicine. Also! The DEA is preventing doctors at veteran’s hospitals from recommending medical marijuana to patients -- even in the 14 states where medical marijuana is legal. The Veterans Administration is taking advice from the DEA based on the federal government’s assertion that marijuana has no medicinal value. This especially tragic because of the widespread evidence that marijuana is a safe and effective treatment for post traumatic stress disorder which is all too common among our veterans. Start a Petition » Also! Documentary on PTSD Needs Help to Reach Completion. The hour-long program could help hundreds of thousands; they are looking for Americans who care to lend a hand. Because! Are Veterans Being Given Deadly Cocktails to Treat PTSD?   A potentially deadly drug manufactured by pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has been linked to the deaths of soldiers returning from war. Yet the FDA continues to approve it. Sgt. Eric Layne's death was not pretty. A few months after starting a drug regimen combining the antidepressant Paxil, the mood stabilizer Klonopin and a controversial anti-psychotic drug manufactured by pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, Seroquel, the Iraq war veteran was "suffering from incontinence, severe depression [and] continuous headaches," according to his widow, Janette Layne. Soon he had tremors. " … [H]is breathing was labored [and] he had developed sleep apnea," Layne said. Janette Layne, who served in the National Guard during Operation Iraqi Freedom along with her husband, told the story of his decline last year, at official FDA hearings on new approvals for Seroquel. On the last day of his life, she testified, Eric stayed in the bathroom nearly all night battling acute urinary retention (an inability to urinate). He died while his family slept. Sgt. Layne had just returned from a seven-week inpatient program at the VA Medical Center in Cincinnati where he was being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A video shot during that time, played by his wife at the FDA hearings, shows a dangerously sedated figure barely able to talk. Learn more >>>   About this page ... Welcome to MERCYs web pages dedicated to information on Action for the Campaign to Add PTSD and related items of interest.  The latest effort to add PTSD to the List of Qualifying Conditions to Register with the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program is in Denial. We are sad to report that a new petition to add a series of mental health conditions - including PTSD - to the list of debilitating medical conditions is going to be denied. Edward Glick, activist, petitioned the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program to add Clinical Depression, Depressive Symptoms, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Severe Anxiety, Agitation and Insomnia to Those Diseases and Conditions Which Qualify as ‘Debilitating Medical Conditions’ under the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act. Written patient testimony was allowed, gathered and submitted - apparently all to no avail. Below is the final report of the expert panel. Of note, 4 members voted to oppose all conditions, including Dr. Higginson, OMMP Director. Some wonder if it was even looked at before rejection. Writes Attorney Lee Berger - "I wasn't at the ACMM meeting (I had court in Oregon City at 1:30), but write to clarify that DHS has taken no action, as of yet, on Ed's petition. Jana submitted the panel report and Ed's rebuttal on November 24. The protocol, as I understand it, is for Dr. Mel Kohn, the state health officer, to review the report and rebuttal and to make a recommendation to Dr.Bruce Goldberg, the head of DHS for his decision." The panel report was the anticipated mixed bag. Stormy, who served as patient advocate, recommended approving all proposed conditions, as did Nurse Teresa Keane. Dr. Cohn recommended approving all except for depressive symptoms. Drs. Fireman and Dodson; the two psychiatrist prohibitionists, rejected adding any condition without comment as did Addictions specialist and prohibitionist Lia. Dr. Higginson, who drafted the administrative rule so there would always be this sort of a split, with his vote being the deciding vote, recommended against adding any conditions, but in true bureaucratic fashion, suggested a legislative concept for further study on PTSD. For these reasons, Ed and I are concerned that DHS will likely not add any condition. But, again, no final decision has yet been made." Leland R. Berger, Portland, OSB #830201, Attorney for Petitioner Ed Glick What To Do? At this point we are writing to the State Health Officer and DHS Director in an effort to get them to over-ride the OMMP Directors recommendation to deny. Go > here < for contact info. Below is a sample letter by Petitioner Ed Glick.   Action! What to do for this Alert  Get your testimony / talking-points to DHS officials. Click > here < for Contact info, here for sample letter. Tell everybody you know. Click here for > Flyer with info front and back (2 pages, 8.5x11). Here for > PDF version. <, here for > Quarter sheet front < (or PDF version) and > Quarter sheet back < (or PDF version). If you're not able to contact DHS officials yourself, PLEASE feel free to contact us and we'll help get it down and to them.   DHS Officials Contact Info  Mel Kohn, MD, State Health Officer: 800 NE Oregon St, Ste 930 Portland OR 97232 Phone: 971-673-1300 Melvin.a.kohn@state.or.us Dr. Bruce Goldberg, MD Director Oregon Department of Human Services 500 Summer St. NE 4th floor Salem, OR 97301 Voice: 503-947-5110 TTY: 503-947-5080 Fax: 503-378-2897 Bruce.goldberg@dhs.state.or.us   Act Now!  Your voice is important! Oregon DHS decision pending on inclusion of mood symptoms and diseases onto OMMP’s list of qualifying conditions. The Director of the Oregon Dept. of Human Services, Bruce Goldberg MD, and the State Health Officer, Mel Kohn, MD will be deciding soon about whether or not to include Depression, Depressive symptoms, agitation, insomnia anxietyand PTSD onto the list of qualifying conditions covered under the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act. The “expert” panel convened by the DHS voted 4 to 3 against allowing any of the conditions onto the list. The opposing members were: Chemical Dependency counselor Diane Lia, Dr. Tom Dodson of the Oregon Medical Association, Marian Fireman of the Oregon Psychiatric Association and Dr. Grant Higginson, OMMP Director. The process of evaluation and the panel member selection was marred by significant issues which have virtually guaranteed rejection of conditions, in spite of a hundred patient comments, numerous expert testimonies and a thousand pages of supporting documentation submitted by the petitioner. (Please see Petitioner’s rebuttal for a description of the panel process.) Without patient feedback it is virtually certain that all conditions will be rejected. This will mean that thousands of Oregonians who use cannabis to combat mood symptoms, diseases or the intolerable effects of pharmaceuticals, will remain in danger of arrest, prosecution, civil asset forfeiture, child protective service investigations, employment discrimination, medical discrimination, jail and forced drug treatment. PLEASE call, write or e-mail the State Health Officer and the Director of DHS today! It is urgent that patients speak up, and tell Drs. Goldberg and Kohn that you use cannabis to safely and effectively treat your conditions, know someone who does, and that all patients deserve to use any medication that benefits them free of fear of prosecution. The DHS should not reject patients. Ask them to approve all conditions! Then, tell everybody you know. And, then, tell everybody you don't know. Yet.

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( skip to End )  |   ( next )  |   the Info ...    |     ( prev )  |   ( go to Top )    Info on Action Alert  Stand Up, Speak Out! Your voice is important! Sample letter to DHS Officials - Ed Glick Corvallis, OR Dr. Kohn, State health Officer Dear Dr. Kohn, Thank you for your words of openmindedness and consideration of this matter. In my 25 years as a nurse and patient advocate I have nearly always seen cannabis patients lose whenever governmental or medical agencies attempt to evaluate their unique medical or legal issues. The OMMA was passed by voters, not legislators, because of the unwillingness of legislators to protect vulnerable Oregonians. Oregonians expressed the desire that anyone who suffers from a debilitating condition deserves the protections of lawful use. I believe I demonstrated in my submissions that patients are using cannabis as an effective and relatively safe remedy for the conditions I proposed adding. With no disrespect to you, the liklihood is that DHS is heading towards a complete rejection of all proposed conditions. Nearly the same justifications in 2000 will be used this time as well in spite of a vast increase in paient experience and clinical research. Thus, I have little faith that your decision will reflect the needs of patients, rather, I suspect that you are pressured by physician groups, legislators and law enforcement officials who have consistently remained hostile to the needs of cannabis patients. Outright rejection of mental health conditions will cause direct harm to patients and push them further out of a medical system that has been distant and judgemental towards them. I wish my perception was misplaced, and I truely hope to be proven wrong. Thank you, ED Glick, Petitioner NOTEs, How Its Done: If you have a proposed condition addition, this letter from Lee Berger, Portland-area attorney, to AAG Marc Abrams confirming the rules for the hearings may be of help - 1)  The process was be as set forth in OAR 333-080-0090;   2)  Petitioner will be provided the opportunity to suggest panel members and object to panel members selected by the Department.  The Department will consider his/her suggestions.  Ultimate appointing authority rests with the Department;   3)  Petitioner shall have the opportunity to address the panel if he/she so chooses.   4)   The panel will hear evidence and Petitioner may suggest a list of patients to testify. He/she may also submit as much written patient testimony as he/she would like.  The panel does not waive its authority to conduct the hearing or its right appropriately to limit the hearing to avoid delay or redundancy;   5)  All evidence-gathering meetings of the panel shall be open to the public, except that the panel shall reserve the right to close such portions of the hearing, if any, in which testimony is taken from someone who is concerned about confidentiality; and   6)  Evidence will be limited to scientific evidence, and he/she will have an opportunity, once the panel receives all the evidence, to make a final submission to the panel if he would like to rebut any of the evidence.   PTSD and Cannabis  What is PTSD? How does cannabis help? Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric illness that can occur following a traumatic event in which there was threat of injury or death to you or someone else. (PTSD) may occur soon after a major trauma, or can be delayed for more than six months after the event. When it occurs soon after the trauma it usually resolves after three months, but some people experience a longer-term form of the condition, which can last for many years. PTSD can occur at any age and can follow a natural disaster such as flood or fire, or events such as war or imprisonment, assault, domestic abuse, or rape. The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, in the U.S. may have caused PTSD in some people who were involved, in people who witnessed the disaster, and in people who lost relatives and friends. These kinds of events produce stress in anyone, but not everyone develops PTSD. “One often intractable problem for which cannabis provides relief is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). I have more than 100 patients with PTSD. Among those reporting that cannabis alleviates their PTSD symptoms are veterans of the war in Vietnam, the first Gulf War, and the current occupation of Iraq. Similar benefit is reported by victims of family violence, rape and other traumatic events, and children raised in dysfunctional families.” -- David Bearman, MD; from PTSD and Cannabis: A Clinician Ponders Mechanism of Action. For more information, Visit our page of info on PTSD and Cannabis, and tell everybody you know about it. And get them to write and spread the word, etc.   Library of Documentation for this Alert   Title / Description Text version Adobe-PDF version original version (MS-WORD, MS-Works, PPT) EDWARD GLICK’S PETITION PURSUANT TO ORS §475.334 | In the Matter of the Petition of Edward Glick, to add Clinical Depression, Depressive Symptoms, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Severe Anxiety, Agitation and Insomnia, to Those Diseases and Conditions Which Qualify as ‘Debilitating Medical Conditions’ under the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act here here here for DOC and here for WPS Panel Meeting Report, July 27, 2009. | The consideration of the evidence and the structure of what constituted evidence was drawn so narrowly at this meeting that nothing could be considered except the narrowly focused and small evidence that was provided to panel members in folders marked “risk” and “benefit”. The evidence grading criteria determined by Dr. Austin include only research conducted on humans. Since there has been a systematic policy by the U.S. Government for 50 years to disallow research into cannabis, the existing research is miniscule in comparison to the patient experience. Therefore, the panel members are forced to conclude that evidence is weak or insufficient to justify inclusion of any condition. here here here Panel Report, cover letter 2. | here here here Panel Report, cover letter (1). | here here here Action Notice. | -URGENT NOTICE – Your voice is important! Oregon DHS decision pending on inclusion of mood symptoms and diseases onto OMMP’s list of qualifying conditions. The Director of the Oregon Dept. of Human Services, Bruce Goldberg MD, and the State Health Officer, Mel Kohn, MD will be deciding in November about whether or not to include Depression, Depressive symptoms, agitation, insomnia anxietyand PTSD onto the list of qualifying conditions covered under the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act. The “expert” panel convened by the DHS voted 4 to 3 against allowing any of the conditions onto the list. The opposing members were: Chemical Dependency counselor Diane Lia, Dr. Tom Dodson of the Oregon Medical Association, Marian Fireman of the Oregon Psychiatric Association and Dr. Grant Higginson of DHS. The process of evaluation and the panel member selection was marred by significant issues which have virtually guaranteed rejection of conditions, in spite of a hundred patient comments, numerous expert testimonies and a thousand pages of supporting documentation submitted by the petitioner. (Please see Petitioner’s rebuttal for a description of the panel process.) here here here Panel Report. | here here here New Research. | Petitioner Edward Glick, petitions the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program to add Clinical Depression, Depressive Symptoms, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Severe Anxiety, Agitation and Insomnia to Those Diseases and Conditions Which Qualify as ‘Debilitating Medical Conditions’ under the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act, as follows: This petition is subject to OAR 333-008-0090, and for that reason, petitioner submits the following new scientific research in support of adding each of these conditions. This additional research submission is in addition to research submitted in January, 2009. here here here Anxiety Depression Petition Final. | Petition to Include Anxiety and Depression On Amendment 20 To: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Submitted By: Dr. David J Muller, PhD Psychiatrist Larissa Lawrence, Colorado Compassion Club Matthew Schnur, University of Northern Colorado, School of Cell & Molecular Biology, Employee of Cannabis Therapeutics | I. Introduction In recent years the medical community has identified new molecular mechanisms of anxiety and depression, as well as the neuroanatomical structures associated with these phenomena. In addition, since the discovery of the cannabinoid receptor over 15 years ago, both human studies and animal models have found cannabinoids to be effective in the treatment of anxiety and depression. here here here Detailed Explanation, final. | Detailed Explanation Justifying the Inclusion of Additional Conditions Detailed Explanation Justifying Inclusion of “Psychiatric” Conditions onto the List of “Qualifying Conditions” in the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program A Petition to the Oregon Department of Human Services was submitted through the Advisory Committee on Medical Marijuana on January 26, 2009. The objective of this Petition is to request the Oregon DHS to conduct an expert advisory panel. This process which is described in ORS 475.334 previously met in 2000. The end result of that deliberation was the inclusion of “Agitation Related to Alzheimers Disease” to the list of qualifying conditions of the Oregon Medical Marijuana Act. On February 9, 2009, DHS accepted the recent petition and requested “a detailed explanation for why these conditions should be included…” This document attempts to supply that explanation. here here here Diabetes & The Endocannabinoid System: Prospects For Therapeutic Control By: Matthew Schnur | Quick Outline This will be a very detailed discussion, so lets put it in perspective First we’ll discuss causes of diabetes Then move on to insulin receptor signaling and defects in this mechanism Next we will focus on the PPARã and cannabinoid CB1 & CB2 receptors Finally, it will all be tied together; how cannabinoid therapy treats the symptoms of Type 1 & Type 2 Diabetes. Diabetes Background Over 28 million Americans have diabetes (Type 1 or 2) 80% of cases are diagnosed as Type 2 The leading cause of blindness and amputations Diagnosed cases are rising exponentially-directly related to diet For every kg bodyweight over healthy BMI, a 7% increase in getting Type 2 is found here here here Diabetes is debilitating. | Petition to Add Types 1 and 2 Diabetes Mellitus to List of Debilitating Medical Conditions Pursuant to Colorado Constitution, Article XVIII § 14 and 6 CCR 1006-2 ... I. Introduction: In the following discussion we intend to prove that diabetes mellitus is a clearly diagnosable disease with specific, easily utilized tests that demonstrate exact parameters for categorization into one of two subtypes. These diagnostic criteria have been developed by the world’s leading experts in diabetes research; the World Health Organization (WHO) and American Diabetes Association (ADA). Second, we shall identify symptoms and complications resulting from the chronic progression of this disease. In this section we will also address the evidence demonstrating Types 1 and 2 diabetes mellitus as chronic. here here here Petition part one. | here here here (back to top)

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