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Medical
Cannabis Bills Introduced in U.S. Congress; Contact Your
Rep Today! |
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Washington, DC, USA -- Three
medical cannabis (marijuana) bills were introduced in Congress with support
from patient advocates. The most significant of the three bills is one introduced
by Congressman Frank (D-MA), which reclassifies marijuana from its current
status as a dangerous drug with no medical value. Another bill, introduced by
Congressman Polis (D-CO), will allow banks and other financial institutions
to provide services to medical marijuana businesses without being subject to
"suspicious activity" reporting requirements. The third bill,
introduced by Congressman Stark (D-CA), changes the federal tax code "to
allow a deduction for expenses in connection with the trade or business of
selling marijuana intended for patients for medical purposes pursuant to
State law." "All of these bills will
have a positive effect on hundreds of thousands of Americans and only a
negligible impact to the rest of the country," said Steph Sherer,
Executive Director of Americans for Safe Access (ASA), <continued
on page 3 > |
Delaware Becomes 16th State
To Legalize Limited
Medical Use Of Marijuana
Dover, DE, USA: Democrat Gov. Jack
Markell signed legislation – Senate Bill 17, The Delaware Medical
Marijuana Act – allowing registered patients to obtain marijuana from
state-licensed facilities. Under this act,
patients with a qualifying illness may legally possess up to six ounces of
cannabis, provided the cannabis is obtained from a state-licensed,
not-for-profit 'compassion center.' State regulators have up to one year to
draft rules governing the licensing and regulation of the centers. The
measure provides for the establishment of at least one facility per county. The act also provides medical marijuana patients
who are not registered with the state to raise an 'affirmative defense'
motion to dismiss at trial. Full
details of the law is available from NORML's 'Active State Medical Programs'
page here. <continued
on page 4 > |
Inhaled Cannabis Beneficial For Fibromyalgia Patients,
Study Says
Barcelona, Spain: The use of cannabis is associated with beneficial
effects on various symptoms Investigators at the Institut de Recerca Hospital
del Mar in Barcelona, Spain, assessed <continued
on last page > |
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* Volume 8, Issue 6 * June * 2011
* www.MercyCenters.org *
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* The MERCY News * |
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_____________________ The MERCY News Report is an
all-volunteer, not-for-profit project to record and broadcast news,
announcements and information about medical cannabis in Oregon, across
America and around the World. For more information about the MERCY News, contact us. Via
Snail Mail: The MERCY
News 1469 Capital
St. NE, Suite 100, Salem, Ore.,
97301 503.363-4588 E-mail: Mercy_Salem@hotmail.com Or
our WWW page: www.MercyCenters.org Check it
out! ___________________________ MERCY On The Tube!
in Salem, Oregon area thru Capital Community
Television, Channel 23. See
us on Wednesdays at 06:30pm, Thursdays at 07:00pm, Fridays at 10:30pm and
Saturdays at 06:00pm. Visit – http://mercycenters.org/tv/ |
About
MERCY – The Medical Cannabis Resource Center MERCY is a non-profit, grass roots organization
founded by patients, their friends and family and other compassionate and
concerned citizens in the area and is dedicated to helping and advocating for
those involved with the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP). MERCY is based in the
Salem, Oregon area and staffed on a volunteer basis. The
purpose is to get medicine to patients in the short-term while working with
them to establish their own independent sources. To
this end we provide, among other things, ongoing education to people and groups
organizing clinics and other Patient Resources, individual physicians and
other healthcare providers about the OMMP, cannabis as medicine and doctor
rights in general. The mission of the organization
is to help people and change the laws. We advocate reasonable, fair and effective
marijuana laws and policies, and strive to educate, register and empower
voters to implement such policies. Our philosophy is one of teaching
people to fish, rather than being dependent upon others. Want to get your Card? Need Medicine Now? Welcome to The Club! MERCY – the Medical Cannabis Resource Center
hosts Mercy Club Meetings every Wednesday at - 1469 Capital
Street NE, Suite #130, Salem, 97301 – from 7pm to 9pm to
help folks get their card, network patients to medicine, assist in finding a
grower or getting to grow themselves, or ways and means to medicate along
other info and resources depending on the issue. visit – www.MercyCenters.org
- or Call 503.363-4588 for more. The Doctor is In ... Salem! * MERCY is Educating Doctors on signing for their
Patients; Referring people to Medical Cannabis Consultations when their
regular care physician won't sign for them; and listing all Clinics around
the state in order to help folks Qualify for the OMMP and otherwise Get their
Cards. For our Referral Doc in Salem,
get your records to – 1469 Capital Street NE, Suite
#100, Salem, 97301 - or, in the Salem-area, fax them to 503-581-1937, NOTE: There is a $25 non-refundable
deposit required. Transportation and
Delivery Services available for those in need. For our Physician Packet to educate your Doctor, or a List of
Clinics around the state, visit – www.MercyCenters.org
- or Call 503.363-4588 for more. Other Medical Cannabis Resource NetWork
Opportunities for Patients as well as CardHolders-to-be. * whether Social meeting, Open to public
–or- Cardholders Only * visit:
http://mercycenters.org/events/Meets.html ! Also Forums - a means to
communicate and network on medical cannabis in Portland across Oregon and
around the world. A list of
Forums, Chat Rooms, Bulletin Boards and other Online Resources for the
Medical Cannabis Patient, CareGiver, Family Member, Patient-to-Be and Other
Interested Parties. * Resources > Patients (plus) > Online
> Forums * Know any? Let everybody else know!
Visit: http://mercycenters.org/orgs/Forums.html and Post It! |
2 mercycenter@hotmail.com * |
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<continued
from CANNA-BILLS
IN US CONGRESS, page 1 > the country's largest medical
marijuana advocacy group. "This kind of policy shift is a no-brainer and
should garner the bipartisan support of Congress." To shore up support
for these and other local and state medical marijuana bills, ASA is launching
a new advocacy program. The introduction of
Congressional legislation today comes as ASA is equipping patient advocates
with new tools to lobby local, state and federal governments. ASA unveiled a
new program today that establishes a "Medical Cannabis Think Tank" to
provide activists the support they need to analyze pending or proposed
legislation and to lobby for the best laws possible. To support the lobbying
effort, ASA also unveiled its new "Online Training Center," with
more than 4 hours of educational streaming video and over 400 pages of
instruction manuals and worksheets. ASA's program also includes an improved
"Raid Response Center" to better prepare for aggressive federal
interference. As part of its "Sick and
Tired" campaign, ASA and others filed a writ Monday in the DC Circuit to
compel the federal government to answer a 9-year-old petition to reclassify
cannabis. The Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis (CRC) argued in the writ
that the government has unreasonably delayed an answer to the petition in violation
of the Administrative Procedures Act. "The Drug Enforcement
Administration has the opportunity right now to address the needs of patients
across the country by reclassifying cannabis," continued Sherer.
"However, since Congress can also reclassify cannabis, we are urging
passage of the Frank bill in order to take advantage of all points of
leverage." If
passed, the Frank bill would not only recognize marijuana's medical value,
but also provide a medical necessity defense in federal court, a right not
currently afforded to patients and caregivers who are in compliance with
their local and state laws. The Frank bill would also usher forth greater
research into the therapeutic properties of cannabis and create incentives
for the development of new cannabis-based medication. Advocates hope |
the Polis bill, if passed, will end the current
ban on services for Contacting Officials.
You can also visit NORMLs page
to find your rep as well as other Resources. Go to - http://capwiz.com/norml2/home/.
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United
States House of Representatives | Information on the lower body of the
federal legislature:
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Advocates File Lawsuit Demanding Federal Government Assess Medical
Value Of Cannabis
Washington, DC, USA: A coalition of public
interest advocacy groups filed suit this week in the US Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia to compel the Obama administration to respond to a
nine-year-old petition to reclassify marijuana under federal law. The suit was filed by attorneys Joe Elford of Americans for Safe
Access (ASA) and Michael Kennedy of the NORML Legal Committee
on behalf of the Coalition for Rescheduling Cannabis (CRC). The Coalition,
which includes NORML and California NORML, filed a
comprehensive rescheduling petition with the Drug Enforcement Administration
(DEA) on October 9, 2002, challenging marijuana's Schedule I federal classification as a controlled
substance with "no currently accepted medical use" and a "high
potential for abuse." The agency formally
accepted the petition for filing on April 3, 2003, and per the provisions
of the United States Controlled Substances Act (CSA) referred the petition to
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in July 2004 for a
full scientific and medical evaluation. To date, the federal government has not publicly
responded to the petition. The lawsuit petitions the Court for a writ of mandamus
"directing the DEA and the Attorney General to issue a full and final
determination on petitioners' Petition to reschedule marijuana, or,
alternatively, state whether it will initiate rulemaking proceedings, within
60 days." It states: "The DEA's delay here of more
than eight years since the rescheduling Petition was filed -- and
more than four years since it received HHS' binding evaluation and
recommendations -- is inexcusable. ... [T]his agency delay
in acting on the rescheduling Petition is unreasonable, requiring this Court
to intervene." Under the CSA, the Attorney General has the
authority to reschedule a drug if he finds that it does not meet the criteria
for the schedule to which it has been assigned. The Attorney |
General has delegated this authority to the
Administrator of the DEA, presently Michelle
Leonhart. The 2002 CRC petition seeks to reschedule
cannabis from its Schedule I designation to a less restrictive class under
the CSA "on the grounds that: (1) marijuana does have accepted medical
uses in the United States; (2) it is safe for use under medical supervision
and has an abuse potential lower than Schedule I and II drugs; and (3) it has
a dependence liability that is also lower than Schedule I NORML filed a similar rescheduling petition with
the DEA in 1972, but was not granted a federal hearing on the issue until
1986. In 1988, DEA Administrative Law Judge Francis Young ruled that marijuana did not meet the legal criteria of a
Schedule I prohibited drug and should be reclassified. Then-DEA Administrator
John Lawn rejected Young's determination, a decision the D.C. Court of Appeals
eventually affirmed in 1994. A subsequent petition was filed by former NORML Director
Jon Gettman in 1995, but was rejected by the DEA in 2001. For more information, please contact Keith
Stroup, NORML Legal Counsel, at (202) 483-5500. _____________________________________________________________ <continued from DELAWARE, page 1 > Delaware
is the sixteenth state since 1996 to
exempt qualified medical marijuana patients and providers from criminal
penalties. For more information, please see: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3391 Lawmakers Approve Measure
Dover, DE, USA: Lawmakers have approved legislation, Senate Bill 17, allowing for the
state-authorized use and distribution of medical cannabis. <continued on next page> |
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<continued from previous page> Senate Bill 17, The Delaware Medical Marijuana Act amends
state law so that patients with an authorized "debilitating medical
condition" can possess and consume cannabis obtained from state-licensed
facilities. The measure provides for the establishment of at least one
non-profit 'compassion center' per county that would be licensed by the state
to produce and dispense medical cannabis. Recommending physicians must have "bona fide
physician-patient relationship" with a person before recommending the
use of medical cannabis. Medical conditions that may qualify for cannabis
under the proposal include: cancer, HIV/AIDS, amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, and post-traumatic stress disorder,
as well as cachexia, chronic pain (if the condition has not responded to
previously prescribed medications), severe nausea, seizures or severe and
persistent muscle spasms, including but not limited to those characteristic
of multiple sclerosis. Senate Bill 17 also provides medical marijuana
patients who are not registered with the state to raise an 'affirmative
defense' motion to dismiss at trial. The measure now goes before Gov. Jack Markell, a
Democrat, who is expected to sign it. If SB 17 becomes law, Delaware will become
the sixteenth state since 1996 to allow for the physician-supervised use of
marijuana. Health regulators have up
to one year following the law's passage to draft regulations and issue
licenses for state-authorized 'compassion centers.' For more information, please visit NORML's 'Take Action
Center' at: http://www.capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=24183531.
_____________________________________________________________ Vermont: House And Senate Lawmakers Approve Marijuana Dispensaries
Measure
Montpelier, VT, USA: House and Senate
lawmakers last week gave final approval to Senate Bill 17, which allows
state-licensed facilities to dispense marijuana to medically authorized
patients. |
On Thursday, House lawmakers decided 99 to 44 in
favor of the measure, which permits the establishment of four state-licensed
medical cannabis dispensaries. Senators had previously approved the measure
in April. House lawmakers overwhelmingly backed the
proposal despite last-minute warnings from the U.S. Justice Department alleging that
SB 17 would conflict with federal antidrug laws. As approved, each dispensary would be licensed by
the state Department of Public Safety and would be permitted to serve up to
1,000 registered patients. Senate Bill 17 now goes to the desk of Governor
Peter Shumlin, a Democrat, who is on record in support of the measure. To date, only the states of Colorado, Maine, and New Mexico have
state-licensed medical marijuana facilities up and running. Regulators in New Jersey and Rhode
Island have selected applicants to operate similar state-licensed
dispensaries, but neither state has allowed those applicants to
open their planned facilities. Additionally, permits for licensed medical
marijuana businesses are expected to be issued soon in the District of
Columbia. Vermont
lawmakers initially
approved the physician-supervised use of marijuana in 2004, but failed to
provide a state-regulated supply source.
_____________________________________________________________ Maryland: Governor Signs Measure Expanding Limited Legal Protections
For Medical Cannabis Patients
Annapolis,
MD, USA: Maryland
Gov. Martin O'Malley this week signed
legislation, Senate Bill 308, that expands the state's eight-year-old
'affirmative defense' law. Senate
Bill 308 removes fines and criminal penalties for citizens who, at trial,
successfully raise an <continued on next page> |
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<continued from previous page> 'affirmative defense' establishing that they
possessed limited amounts of marijuana for medical purposes. Under present law, patients who successfully
raise an 'affirmative defense' of medical necessity at trial still face a
misdemeanor conviction (but no jail time) and a $100 fine.
Citizens who cultivate cannabis or who possess
quantities of marijuana above one ounce may still raise an 'affirmative
defense' at trial and, if successful, will have their sentence mitigated. As initially introduced, SB 308 and its House
companion bill sought to establish a government-regulated program to provide
qualified patients with legal access to state-licensed producers and
distributors of medical cannabis. However, the measure was rewritten in March after Maryland's Department of Health
secretary publicly testified against it. State lawmakers are expected to revisit the
possibility of regulating the production and distribution of medical
marijuana next year, after the issue is further examined by a legislative
'work group' of medical, legal, and law enforcement professionals. Additional information regarding Maryland's
medical marijuana affirmative defense law is available at: http://www.norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=3391#Maryland. _____________________________________________________________ Montana: Restrictive Medical Marijuana Revisions Become Law
Helena, MT, USA: Legislation amending
the state's six-year-old, voter-approved medical marijuana program
became law on Saturday without the signature of Democrat Gov. Brian Schweitzer. Senate Bill 423 intends to reduce total number of state-qualified medical
cannabis patients from an estimated 30,000 to fewer than 2,000. Senate Bill 423 requires that advising physicians
be reported to the state Board of |
Examiners if they recommend cannabis to more than
25 patients per year. The measure also enacts stricter qualifying requirement
for chronic pain patients and prohibits licensed caregivers from receiving
any financial compensation for providing cannabis to qualified persons. Most of the provisions in SB 423 will
become effective on July 1, 2011. A summary of SB 423's provisions is available online from Montana NORML. Full
text of the measure is available online here.
The Montana Cannabis Industry Association and various
plaintiffs are challenging the legality of several provisions of SB 423. On
Friday, a state district judge in Helena temporarily ordered the state not to enforce SB 423's ban
on all advertising of medical marijuana products. For more information, please visit: http://www.montananorml.org/ or http://www.mtcia.org/. _____________________________________________________________ Montana: Governor Allows
Medical Marijuana Amendments
Helena, MT, USA: Democrat Gov. Brian
Schweitzer announced Friday that he intends to allow Senate Bill 423
to become law absent his signature. The measure repeals the state's six-year-old,
voter-approved marijuana law on July
1, 2011 and replaces it with new provisions created by the legislature. The
stated intent of SB 423 is to reduce the total number of
state-qualified medical cannabis patients from an estimated 30,000 to less
than 2,000.
Senate Bill 423 mandates that advising physicians be reported to the
state Board of Examiners if they recommend cannabis to more than 25 patients
per year. The measure would also enact stricter qualifying requirement for
chronic pain patients and prohibit licensed caregivers from receiving any
financial compensation for providing cannabis to qualified persons. <continued on next page> |
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<continued from previous page> A summary of SB 423's provisions is available online from Montana NORML. Governor
Schweitzer had previously vetoed a measure that sought to repeal the state's medical
cannabis law outright. For more
information, please visit: http://www.montananorml.org or NORML's 'Take
Action Center' at: http://www.capwiz.com/norml2/issues/alert/?alertid=44395501. _____________________________________________________________ <continued from FIBROMYALGIA, page 1 >
the associated benefits of
cannabis in patients with fibromyalgia (FM) compared with FM patients who did
not use the substance. Twenty-eight users and non-users participated in the
study. Authors reported: "Patients used cannabis not only to alleviate pain but for almost all symptoms associated to FM, and no one reported worsening of symptoms following cannabis use. ... Significant relief of pain, stiffness, relaxation, somnolence, and perception of well-being, evaluated by VAS (visual analogue scales) before and two hours after cannabis self-administration was observed." Cannabis users in the study also reported higher
overall mental health summary scores than did non-users. Investigators concluded: "The present
results together with previous evidence seem to confirm the beneficial
effects of cannabinoids on FM symptoms. Further studies regarding efficacy of
cannabinoids in FM as well as cannabinoid and stress response system
involvement in their pathophysiology are warranted." For more information, please contact Paul
Armentano, NORML Deputy Director, at: paul@norml.org. Full text of
the study, "Cannabis use in patients with fibromyalgia: effect on
symptoms relief and health-related quality of life," is available online
free of charge at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3080871/?tool=pubmed. |
Washington: Governor Vetoes Medical
Marijuana Licensing Measure
Olympia, WA, USA: Democrat Gov. Chris
Gregoire on Friday vetoed sections of Senate Bill 5073, which sought to license and regulate
the dispensing of medical cannabis to qualified persons, and would have
enacted additional legal protections for patients who voluntarily
participated in a statewide registry.
In her veto
statement, Gov. Gregoire alleged that the licensing and registry
provisions "would open public employees to federal prosecution." In recent weeks, United States Attorneys have
sent letters to public officials in several states -- including Arizona, Colorado, Washington, Rhode Island, and Vermont -- indicating that the Department of Justice may
take criminal or civil action against individuals, including state employees,
who assist with or engage in the production or distribution of medical
cannabis, even if such activities were in compliance with state law.
Governor Gregoire did sign into law provisions in
SB 5073 reaffirming that qualified patients and their caregivers possess an
'affirmative defense' against state prosecution (Section 402 and 406). She
also codified provisions of the measure that extend legal protections to
patients or caregivers who participate in a 'collective garden.' Washington
voters initially approved the state's
medical cannabis law by initiative in 1998. The measure provided limited
legal protections for patients who possessed cannabis under a doctor's
supervision, but failed to address how much marijuana patients could legally
possess or how they could obtain it. In 2008, lawmakers enacted Senate Bill 6032
specifying that patients could cultivate up to 15 cannabis plants and/or
possess up to 24 ounces of usable marijuana for medical purposes. However,
that law also failed to enact a regulated system governing marijuana
distribution. For more information, please contact Allen St.
Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500. |
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NORML Acknowledges Centennial Anniversary Of Pot
Prohibition
Washington, DC, USA: NORML acknowledges
the 100-year-anniversary of marijuana prohibition, which began on April 29, 1911 in Massachusetts. On that date, Massachusetts lawmakers enacted the
first statewide law criminally prohibiting the possession and sale of
cannabis by adults. Following Massachusetts' lead, lawmakers in over
30 additional states -- including California, Maine, Indiana, and Wyoming in
1913 -- implemented similar statewide prohibitions. Federal lawmakers in California NORML Director Dale Gieringer states: "The evidence is overwhelming that the
100-year war on cannabis has failed.[P]rohibition has served as a
crime-creation program, criminalizing otherwise innocent Americans, promoting
a criminal market, and generating disrespect for the law. ... As in 1911, so
today it is government officials, drug cops and bureaucrats, now entrenched
in a multibillion-dollar complex of anti-drug agencies and programs, who are
the staunchest supporters of the failed system that keeps them on the public
payroll. Americans would be well advised to reject their bankrupt paternalism
and reclaim their historical freedom to use cannabis." For more information, please contact either Allen
St. Pierre, NORML Executive Director, at (202) 483-5500, or Dale Gieringer,
California NORML Coordinator, at: dale@canorml.org. |
The
Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2011 is In The House! Texas
Republican Ron Paul and a coalition of 25 co-sponsors are once again seeking
to allow for the commercial farming of industrial hemp. House Bill 1831,
would exclude low potency varieties of marijuana from federal prohibition. If
approved, this measure will grant state legislatures the authority to license
and regulate the commercial production of hemp as an industrial and
agricultural commodity. Several states -- including Oregon, North Dakota,
Montana, and Vermont -- have enacted regulations to allow for the cultivation
of hemp under state law. However, none of these laws can be implemented
without federal approval. Passage of HR 1831 would remove existing federal
barriers and allow states that wish to regulate commercial hemp production
the authority to do so. "We are pleased to see the
re-introduction of the Industrial Hemp Farming Act in Congress." says
Vote Hemp President, Eric Steenstra. "With the U.S. hemp industry Previous versions of The
Industrial Hemp Farming Act were introduced, but failed to receive a public
hearing or a committee vote. Please write your members of Congress today and
tell them to end the federal prohibition of industrial hemp production. For tools to do so, other actions
you can take or for more information about industrial hemp in general, please
visit: - |
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* The MERCY News
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mercycenter@hotmail.com > (503)
363-4588 <
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