MetaFilter posts tagged with MedicalMarijuana and drugs

Progress Stalled

furiousxgeorge — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 00:07:02 -0800

In the summer of 2007 on the campaign trail Barack Obama took a clear stance on the controversial subject of medical marijuana. “I would not have the Justice Department prosecuting and raiding medical marijuana users. It’s not a good use of our resources.” As President in 2009 he took action to follow through on this promise by instructing federal prosecutors to “not focus federal resources in [their] States on individuals whose actions are in clear and unambiguous compliance with existing state laws providing for the medical use of marijuana.” The memo cited the “efficient and rational use” of the U.S. Department of Justice’s “limited investigative and prosecutorial resources,” as a motivating factor in the decision." In the winter of 2012 Rolling Stone magazine takes a look back on this subject and the record is surprising. "With more than 100 raids on pot dispensaries during his first three years, Obama is now on pace to exceed Bush's record for medical-marijuana busts. "There's no question that Obama's the worst president on medical marijuana," says Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project. "He's gone from first to worst." Medical marijuana activists are continuing to fight for what they believe to be a safe and useful medicine. "A group of medical-marijuana activists held a news conference Thursday to announce the creation of the Patient Voter Project, a campaign to mobilize medical-marijuana supporters to raise the profile of the issue during an election year." Some national polls have shown a majority of Americans support medical use of marijuana under the care of a doctor. For now, patients all over the country remain caught in the middle of an ongoing debate. "My wife is disabled. She is 58 years old, as am I. At one time, she was a wonderful teacher, sales associate for a large telecom and later a vibrant pharmacy technician and caregiver for her disabled father and mother-in-law. She has fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. She has seizures. They don't know why, but they are documented in a hospital study as not caused by epilepsy. She can no longer drive nor would I want her to. She wears a morphine patch to get through the day, along with various other drugs. Many days are spent in bed, not because she wants it that way. Sometimes, the pain cannot be fought through, and the best way is not to resist, but other days it is the nausea that forces her to lie down. The way Maryland law is now written she would have to go on the street to buy marijuana to help with the nausea and pain, and if caught, she could spend time in jail. Imagine if she had a seizure. And then basically defend herself with a doctors note! Does this sound like a reasonable course of action for anyone? Especially for someone married in a stable relationship for 20 years, owns a house, disabled and is 58 years old." The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy notes, "The FDA process for approving medicine remains the only scientific and legally recognized procedure for bringing safe and effective medications to the American public. To date, the FDA has not found smoked marijuana to be either safe or effective medicine for any condition." and that "The American Medical Association has called for more research on the subject." The AMA Council on Science and Public Health has also suggested that removing marijuana from the Schedule I classification may benefit such research efforts.

Don't you let that deal go down.

clarknova — Mon, 09 May 2011 02:48:11 -0800

Contrary to the liberalism many read in a highly-publicized DOJ memo in 2009, federal authorities are cracking down on medical marijuana establishments that exist in the gray area between state and national statutes.

All Cannabis Use Is Medical

gman — Tue, 03 May 2011 18:28:59 -0800

A 35 minute conversation on medical marijuana with Michael Backes.

RIP Robin Prosser

homunculus — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 12:03:14 -0800

Robin Prosser was a former concert pianist and systems analyst who suffered from an autoimmune disease similar to lupus for over 20 years. The disease left her in constant pain and made her allergic to most pharmaceutical painkillers. Only medical marijuana brought her relief, but last spring the DEA seized her medicine. Unable to cope with the chronic pain any longer, she committed suicide on October 18th. [Via Andrew Sullivan.]

Liquid cannabis

mrgrimm — Fri, 22 Apr 2005 09:27:50 -0800

The Lesson of Sativex - By approving liquid marijuana, the Canadian government has just certified that virtually everything our own (American) government has been telling us about marijuana is wrong. A little more on Sativex from GW Pharm. (via The Media Awareness Project ... and the MPP)

The AARP says, toke up!

enrevanche — Sat, 18 Dec 2004 09:30:44 -0800

AARP poll finds older Americans favor medical marijuana. With a medical marijuana case in front of the Supremes, and with a dozen states now with medical marijuana laws on the books, AARP decided to take a poll. Here's what they found: "Nearly three-fourths of older Americans support legalizing marijuana for medical use." My father (a senior citizen) takes prescribed Marinol (synthetic THC) as an appetite stimulant; my wife, a cancer survivor, got through chemotherapy largely on the strength of the weed I was able to buy on the street in New York. [MI]

Heroin, PCP, ketamine, marijuana?

mrgrimm — Thu, 02 Dec 2004 10:34:32 -0800

Rescheduling marijuana: third time's the charm? Rather than hoping activist judges use the outdated notion of state's rights to allow Angel Raich to use marijuana medicinally (she claims she'd die without it), why not reclassify it as Schedule II? Or more appropriately, Schedule III? Don't hold your breath. They've been trying since 1972.

DEA nominee leaves the door open for medical marijuana

snakey — Wed, 18 Jul 2001 12:56:03 -0800

DEA nominee leaves the door open for medical marijuana
He's probably just getting my hopes up.

supreme court rejects medical use of marijuana

bliss322 — Mon, 14 May 2001 09:07:59 -0800

supreme court rejects medical use of marijuana oh, goody.