Are the days after chemo, after the steroids wear off, when my cell counts drop, when my body is in so much pain. These are the days that I cry and I can't control the tears. My skin, bones and even my hair hurts inside and out. These are the days that I get the sores inside my mouth that hurt more when I throw up. I'm never sure if I can eat solid foods. Nothing taste good, everything taste like metal and just the effort of eating hurts. These are the days that marijuana helps me hold on. These days I smoke more marijuana, I drink tea, ginger ale, nap and pray that tomorrow is a better day so I can get back to a routine and bring myself out of this chemo funk. I know about these days, I've been going through this for four years. Each time is as painful as the last.
After my Ct scan last week, I learned that after this series of chemo, I am still as Cancery as before, some small shrinkage here and there but some new growth there and here. I will stay focused, positive and push myself through the pain.
I'm going to do two more chemo treatments and then I am taking off for the summer so that I can focus my energies on my health, family, and work.
This year I will remain vocal about Delaware Medical Marijuana, Medical Marijuana Cards and our need for Delaware Compassion Care Centers. I believe without a voice, it will just die. Controversy just brings unwanted attention at times. I could just give up, smoke my illegal marijuana and let someone else fight this fight. It would just be easier.. I never chose the easy way...
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Monday, April 23, 2012
ARTICLE: N.J. patients, doctors weary of wait for medical marijuana
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Last updated: Monday April 23, 2012, 9:59 AM
BY BARBARA WILLIAMS
NorthJersey.com
staff writer
She’s a grandmother who volunteers at her church and runs a support group for people who are sick. She also smokes marijuana.
It is the only thing that alleviates the muscle spasms caused by multiple sclerosis that fold up Irvina Booker like a tent, she says, leaving her in the fetal position in excruciating pain. So when she needs it, people from her neighborhood in Englewood bring her marijuana. She doesn’t know where or how they get it — and won’t ask.
“Marijuana opens me up like a flower,” Booker said. “The medicines don’t work — my system is so messed up from taking so many that none of them work. Marijuana is the only thing that stops the pain.”
Booker and other patients with debilitating and terminal illnesses are now one step closer to obtaining marijuana legally after state health officials granted a Montclair center permission to start growing cannabis last week. But the multi-tiered process of legalizing the sale of medical marijuana in New Jersey is still about six months, maybe more, from being complete. Doctors, patients and their advocates are weary of waiting.
“There are 35,000 patients in hospice with less than six months to live who would have a lot less pain if they could get medical marijuana, and not one has gotten it,” said Ken Wolski, chief executive officer of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana — New Jersey.
When Gov. Jon Corzine signed New Jersey’s Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act on his last day in office in early 2010, many expected marijuana dispensaries to be in operation by the end of the year. But Governor Christie opposed the program, and it stalled as layers of regulations were added.
State officials say regulations were needed to avoid problems like those in California, where hundreds of marijuana dispensaries are being investigated as fronts for drug dealers. New Jersey’s law now specifies which diseases can be treated, the physicians able to prescribe marijuana and the patients who can obtain it, and it caps the amount each patient may obtain at 2 ounces a month. The regulations allow for only six dispensaries in the state, each needing multiple permits and inspections before opening.
The precautions will leave little room for abuse, state officials said.
“We’re thrilled,” said Roseanne Scotti, state director of the Drug Policy Alliance. “Patients are incredibly excited about this because it’s something tangible and they won’t have to get it illegally or suffer without the drug.”
Opponents of the law say marijuana is still classified as a highly addictive drug and allowing it to be dispensed legally will only put more of it on the street. They point to the lack of a substantial number of clinical trials showing its medicinal powers and disregard the myriad of anecdotal cases where marijuana has provided relief from pain, nausea or muscle spasms that pharmaceuticals could not.
The Greenleaf Compassion Center in Montclair is the first dispensary to obtain approval to start planting, but it will need more permits before it can dispense marijuana. The CEO of Greenleaf said last week that he was frustrated by the process — and said the company could hold off on planning until they receive more guarantees from the Christie administration about the program’s future.
“It’s great, and it’s a show of good faith on the department’s side,” said the CEO, Joe Stevens, who has publicly criticized delays with the program. “But what it comes down to is the patients. They still don’t have access and they don’t know when they will have access.”
Lamar Baker, a 24-year-old multiple sclerosis patient, has the gait of a man nearing the end of his life. He needs a cane for every step yet gets his marijuana on the streets while he waits for it to be available legally in New Jersey.
The Teaneck man was a high school basketball standout on his way to play at a small college in South Carolina when he woke up one day in pain. He felt like “there was a tennis ball on the bottom of my right foot,” he said.
A round of steroids helped for a time, but he soon began vomiting every time he ate. That’s when he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. His searing pain continues to worsen and, he said, it has forced him to put on hold his plans to complete college and get a job.
“The medical marijuana law has been a long time in coming for New Jersey, but good things come to those who wait,” Baker said. “I’ve used medical marijuana — a friend brings it back sometimes from California — and I use the stuff off the streets. I can taste the difference, and the medical marijuana works better.
“When I smoke it, I can work out, go to therapy and really focus,” Baker said. “Sometimes I smoke two or three times a day and other days I don’t smoke at all. It really depends on the day.”
Patients who rely on street marijuana say they are concerned that it might be laced with something harmful.
“That’s all I worry about — if there’s going to be something in it,” said Booker, the Englewood grandmother. “Everyone in the neighborhood knows I’m in pain and will bring me marijuana if I ask. Sometimes it works for me and sometimes it doesn’t, depending on the strain. So it will be nice to be able to find what strain works and get that all the time.”
Booker never thought she would know so much about weed. Growing up in the age of Woodstock, surrounded by drugs, she didn’t partake — she had no interest.
“I didn’t even know how to smoke it, how to roll it, nothing,” Booker said. “But I learned and now I use it every day.”
Booker said she is allergic to many of the drugs that physicians normally give patients with her symptoms, “from taking so many. They really messed up my system.”
Doctors like Robert Silverman, director of pain management at The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, say they are particularly frustrated that patients can be prescribed potent, often addictive narcotics but can’t get medicinal marijuana more than two years after it was legalized.
“Some patients take amazing doses of narcotics — sometimes 1,000 milligrams of morphine an hour — and build up a tolerance to it and yet they can’t get an ounce of marijuana,” Silverman said. He is one of the 109 physicians statewide who registered to prescribe marijuana.
“Many of my patients are in constant, severe pain and if there’s anything I can do to help alleviate that, I’m going to do it,” he said. “Many have diseases with no cure, so why not try to give them a better quality of life?”
But less than 0.5 percent of the state’s 28,000 doctors are registered with the state to prescribe marijuana. Silverman said he’s unsure why his colleagues didn’t register. “Maybe apathy. I really don’t understand it,” he said. “Why wouldn’t you do everything you can to help your patients feel better?”
It is unclear why more doctors haven’t registered in New Jersey, but it may be that they’re waiting for a nod from the American Medical Association. The organization does not endorse state-based medical marijuana programs but rather is pushing for a review of its classification as a highly addictive drug. The organization is also urging significant clinical research be done on cannabinoid-based medicine and alternative delivery methods.
Wolski, of the Coalition for Medical Marijuana, blames the state’s newly added stipulation that doctors must certify that they have completed medical education in addiction and pain management within the past two years. Physicians who prescribe morphine and other addictive narcotics do not have to provide such documentation.
In Wyckoff, a man who cares for his ailing wife, a woman in her 70s with severe scoliosis, pulmonary problems and osteoporosis, calls the state’s requirements” ridiculous.” He asked that their names not be used because his wife smokes marijuana daily and he’s afraid of being arrested for illegal activity.
“This whole law is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard of — they’re comparing marijuana to cocaine and crack,” he said. “The first time she had marijuana was like a miracle. She’s been in pain for 20 years and all of her symptoms went away within minutes.”
He said he pays about $125 for a quarter of an ounce of medical marijuana brought in from Colorado. A friend of his, a retired police officer, helped him connect with his supplier, he said.
“We’ve always been law-abiding citizens but when we talk about this, we have to ask, ‘What fool is keeping this from patients who need it?’ I can’t tell you what a difference it makes,” he said.
Dr. Steven Gronowitz, a Clifton gastroenterologist and the only physician in Passaic County to register with the state, believes medical marijuana will make a huge difference in the lives of some of his patients.
“It’s clearly accepted to help cancer patients with nausea and I have many patients who could benefit from it,” Gronowitz said. “It settles down nausea and increases appetite. We don’t know all the mechanics of how it works but I have some patients with functioning vomiting — they vomit frequently with no known cause — and it absolutely would help them.”
Physicians cannot start writing prescriptions yet. The marijuana takes three to four months to grow and the state must inspect Greenleaf once it is tending the plants at an undisclosed location. Permits are also needed for Greenleaf to operate as an alternative treatment center and to dispense the marijuana. The state must also create a patient registry.
It can’t come soon enough for Booker.
“I have lesions in my brain and on my spine and with medical marijuana, the pain is completely gone,” Booker said. “When Montel [Williams] talks about the pain, it’s that pain. It’s unbearable.”
This article contains material from The Star-Ledger. E-mail: williamsb@northjersey.com
ARTICLE: Ohio & Medical Marijuana
The November election may be months away, but Ohioans are already preparing to cast their votes on many issues -- including whether to legalize a form of medical treatment that's used in more than a dozen states and Washington D.C.
"I couldn't sleep. I couldn't stand. I couldn't sit. There's no position you can place yourself in where you're comfortable," said Cynthia Wynia, who has used marijuana for pain management.
Wynia says her pain as a result of spine problems was unbearable.
After undergoing three rounds of physical therapy, several Cortizone injections, and surgery, nothing seemed to be working.
Then, she was given a different kind of treatment.
"A friend of mine offered me some marijuana," said Wynia. The results, she says, were unlike anything she had ever tried.
"It took me a while to realize it. I was getting up and down. I was going up stairs. I was moving around -- dancing. It didn't hurt. I said 'I do not hurt'," said Wynia.
She only used the drug once, but was pain-free for the first time in years and feels marijuana should be legalized for medical reasons. Not everyone agrees.
"It's an ever-changing drug, and it's not really a benign drug. It's a drug that we need to look at very carefully that causes a lot of harm to our society," said Marcie Seidel, executive director of Drug-Free Action Alliance.
Seidel says the uncertainty of marijuana's side effects make it difficult to be used as legitimate medicine.
"I don't know of any other drug in our repertoire of medications where you take it and you know only what it might do, but you have no idea what the side effects are," said Seidel.
She's says alarmed by marijuana's integration into mainstream society. "In a prevention world, we know that whenever you take away the perception that something is harmful, use will go up."
For Wynia, the benefits of using marijuana for those suffering from extreme pain far outweigh any negatives.
"It has its uses, it has its misuses, just like any other substance. If this can relieve pain from people who cannot find relief in any other way, there is no reason not to legalize it for medical use," said Wynia.
Signatures are still being gathered to put medical marijuana on the Ohio ballot.
The deadline is July 4.
Sixteen states currently classify marijuana as legal for medical treatment.
"I couldn't sleep. I couldn't stand. I couldn't sit. There's no position you can place yourself in where you're comfortable," said Cynthia Wynia, who has used marijuana for pain management.
Wynia says her pain as a result of spine problems was unbearable.
After undergoing three rounds of physical therapy, several Cortizone injections, and surgery, nothing seemed to be working.
Then, she was given a different kind of treatment.
"A friend of mine offered me some marijuana," said Wynia. The results, she says, were unlike anything she had ever tried.
"It took me a while to realize it. I was getting up and down. I was going up stairs. I was moving around -- dancing. It didn't hurt. I said 'I do not hurt'," said Wynia.
She only used the drug once, but was pain-free for the first time in years and feels marijuana should be legalized for medical reasons. Not everyone agrees.
"It's an ever-changing drug, and it's not really a benign drug. It's a drug that we need to look at very carefully that causes a lot of harm to our society," said Marcie Seidel, executive director of Drug-Free Action Alliance.
Seidel says the uncertainty of marijuana's side effects make it difficult to be used as legitimate medicine.
"I don't know of any other drug in our repertoire of medications where you take it and you know only what it might do, but you have no idea what the side effects are," said Seidel.
She's says alarmed by marijuana's integration into mainstream society. "In a prevention world, we know that whenever you take away the perception that something is harmful, use will go up."
For Wynia, the benefits of using marijuana for those suffering from extreme pain far outweigh any negatives.
"It has its uses, it has its misuses, just like any other substance. If this can relieve pain from people who cannot find relief in any other way, there is no reason not to legalize it for medical use," said Wynia.
Signatures are still being gathered to put medical marijuana on the Ohio ballot.
The deadline is July 4.
Sixteen states currently classify marijuana as legal for medical treatment.
ARTICLE: New Jersey Medical Marijuana
More than two years after the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act became law, patients in the state are still waiting for relief as cities and towns whine about where dispensaries are going to be placed.
Towns like Maple Shade and Camden have balked at the placing of cultivation and/or distribution centers in their area, and while local control is best when it comes to government, this type of discrimination would not be tolerated with any other medicinal substance.
Imagine if a town wouldn’t allow any pharmacies to operate. Pharmacies dispense some of the deadliest drugs known to man, yet they are allowed to operate anywhere.
But those who wish to grow and distribute a non-toxic plant are treated like they want to build a whorehouse next to an elementary school.
Two things account for this: 1) the stigma that has been built around cannabis due to 75 years of propaganda and 2) the general stupidity of the average person who believes everything they see and hear on TV.
For instance, the cable news channel MSNBC is watched by a fraction of 1% of the population, yet I know people who will hear someone say something on MSNBC and will act like it’s the Lord’s gospel even though there are no facts to back up what they said.
The sad fact is that most people are too intellectually lazy to look into things for themselves. They’d rather watch the Daily Show and act like they know something about current events and the history of this country when all they really know for sure is that Jon Stewart’s career has peaked and it’s all downhill from here.
But in the end we cannot blame stupid people for being stupid; we can only blame ourselves – those who know better – for not educating others more effectively.
Spread the information you find on sites like the420times.com with everyone on all your social networks. Only information will stop the blatant discrimination that affects medical cannabis patients across the country, and only we can make sure that information gets out to where the brainwashed masses reside.
Truth is power. Spread the truth.
- Joe Klare
And be sure to check out our Open Letter on Behalf of 30 Million Cannabis Users and join us in our fight!
Towns like Maple Shade and Camden have balked at the placing of cultivation and/or distribution centers in their area, and while local control is best when it comes to government, this type of discrimination would not be tolerated with any other medicinal substance.
Imagine if a town wouldn’t allow any pharmacies to operate. Pharmacies dispense some of the deadliest drugs known to man, yet they are allowed to operate anywhere.
But those who wish to grow and distribute a non-toxic plant are treated like they want to build a whorehouse next to an elementary school.
Two things account for this: 1) the stigma that has been built around cannabis due to 75 years of propaganda and 2) the general stupidity of the average person who believes everything they see and hear on TV.
For instance, the cable news channel MSNBC is watched by a fraction of 1% of the population, yet I know people who will hear someone say something on MSNBC and will act like it’s the Lord’s gospel even though there are no facts to back up what they said.
The sad fact is that most people are too intellectually lazy to look into things for themselves. They’d rather watch the Daily Show and act like they know something about current events and the history of this country when all they really know for sure is that Jon Stewart’s career has peaked and it’s all downhill from here.
But in the end we cannot blame stupid people for being stupid; we can only blame ourselves – those who know better – for not educating others more effectively.
Spread the information you find on sites like the420times.com with everyone on all your social networks. Only information will stop the blatant discrimination that affects medical cannabis patients across the country, and only we can make sure that information gets out to where the brainwashed masses reside.
Truth is power. Spread the truth.
- Joe Klare
And be sure to check out our Open Letter on Behalf of 30 Million Cannabis Users and join us in our fight!
Sunday, April 22, 2012
ARTICLE: New Jersey moving forward on medicinal marijuana
Phillip Tomlinson/The News of Cumberland County 04/22/2012 4:00 AM
After years of preparation, New Jersey’s medicinal marijuana program will soon be bearing fruit, and buds, for chronically ill residents.
The Department of Health and Senior Services announced last week that Greenleaf Compassion Center has become the first of six approved dispensaries to be issued a permit to grow medicinal marijuana.
Further, a permit to operate as an Alternative Treatment Center, which includes the authority to dispense the drug, will be issued to Greenleaf once its Montclair dispensary is operational and passes inspection by the state.
According to official projections, the drug should be available to patients within three to four months.
“The Department is committed to ensuring that medicinal marijuana is safely and securely available to patients as quickly as possible,” said Department Commissioner Mary E. O’Dowd.
Greenleaf is the first of the approved dispensaries to commence growing operations, but other such operations are not far behind.
“Other organizations are working on the process,” said Donna Leusner, director of communications for the department. “One of the problems facing them is finding municipalities that are willing to host the operation; once the first center opens, however, and the public sees the secure measures and the regulatory process the state has in place, people will be assured about the safety and security of the program.”
Of all states with a medicinal marijuana program, New Jersey’s is among the most restricted and highly regulated.
The list of chronic ailments that qualify patients for a medicinal marijuana recommendation is short, and includes cancer, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, seizure disorders and Crohn’s disease. A recommendation can only be issued by a doctor who has registered with the state’s physician database.
Registered physicians must have an on-going relationship with patients before issuing recommendations, and must enter patients’ names, addresses, dates of birth and qualifying conditions into a secure online database.
As a part of the registration process, patients will also be required to submit a photo and obtain an identification card which lists the dispensary where they will procure their medicine.
“New Jersey’s medicinal marijuana program is based on a medical-model,” asserted Dr. Arturo Brito, Deputy Commissioner for Public Health Services. “Physicians will have to monitor patients on medicinal marijuana as part of managing their medical condition.”
A list of participating physicians, which so far includes three from Cumberland County, has also been made available on the department’s website.
Participating local physicians include Dr. Robert Patitucci of Bridgeton, Dr. Steven Rodis of Millville, and Dr. Raghuraj Tomar of Vineland.
Registered physicians from Gloucester County are Dr. Peter Corda, Dr. Vannette Perkins, Dr. Jeffrey Polcer and Dr. Joseph Ranieri.
Currently, the patient registry is under construction, and recommendations cannot be issued until it is completed.
For more information about New Jersey’s medicinal marijuana program, or for a list of participating physicians, visit the Department of Health and Senior Services website at www.state.nj.us/health.
Contact Phillip Tomlinson at (856) 451-1000, ext. 445 or ptomlinson@southjerseymedia.com.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
BLOG: Another Letter to DHSS
Pre chemo yesterday. Doctor appointment today to discuss the CT scan I had on Monday, tomorrow I start chemo again, the days are running into each other and I am so sick as I try to manage my disease, my job, my life.
What helps me get through each day is marijuana. It takes the edge off.. It lessens the pain, eases the stress, it allows movement when everything else restricts me. When I smoke marijuana as part of my medication routine, it takes away the nausea... I smoke in the early morning, so i can take the pile of prescribed pills without throwing them up. I smoke and it allows me to eat a healthy breakfast, otherwise, I'm not hungry and I go without eating. Marijuana has so many therapeutic benefits, without the debilitating side effects of cancer, chemo and prescribed medications.
The prescribed medications help, and they hurt, their side effects (diarrhea, nausea, constipation, migraines and so many others) and the pain at times is unbearable. Then include the side effects of the chemotherapy and its just a another nightmare.
Marijuana is medication for so many of us and we know the therapeutic and healing value of it. We are asking for Safe Access to it. Many of us are at risk and are put in harms way when we purchase marijuana. And, we are never sure of the quality of our medication.
The only way to provide quality medical marijuana is through a compassion care center. Delaware has the ability to provide our sick who choose medical marijuana safe access to a quality product. We need to move forward with compassion care centers in each county.
Very truly yours,
Diane Jump
notwith0utafight@aol.com
CANCERVIXXEN
FocusOnHope
What helps me get through each day is marijuana. It takes the edge off.. It lessens the pain, eases the stress, it allows movement when everything else restricts me. When I smoke marijuana as part of my medication routine, it takes away the nausea... I smoke in the early morning, so i can take the pile of prescribed pills without throwing them up. I smoke and it allows me to eat a healthy breakfast, otherwise, I'm not hungry and I go without eating. Marijuana has so many therapeutic benefits, without the debilitating side effects of cancer, chemo and prescribed medications.
The prescribed medications help, and they hurt, their side effects (diarrhea, nausea, constipation, migraines and so many others) and the pain at times is unbearable. Then include the side effects of the chemotherapy and its just a another nightmare.
Marijuana is medication for so many of us and we know the therapeutic and healing value of it. We are asking for Safe Access to it. Many of us are at risk and are put in harms way when we purchase marijuana. And, we are never sure of the quality of our medication.
The only way to provide quality medical marijuana is through a compassion care center. Delaware has the ability to provide our sick who choose medical marijuana safe access to a quality product. We need to move forward with compassion care centers in each county.
Very truly yours,
Diane Jump
notwith0utafight@aol.com
CANCERVIXXEN
FocusOnHope
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
ARTICLE: Medical Marijuana in Focus at University of Maryland
If you're looking for reasons to keep the status quo regarding the use of marijuana as a medical remedy, don't look at the University of Maryland.
Over two days in mid-April, researchers from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law and the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, along with other invited experts from across the country, explored the legal, medical, and policy implications of expanding the use of the substance in the course of medical treatment. The symposium on April 12 explored the use of marijuana to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), while a day-long conference on April 13 covered the patchwork of medical marijuana laws across the country and the push for such a law in Maryland.
Researchers, clinicians, regulators and activists agreed on the need to expand studies of the medical use of marijuana. They also called for easing the prescription, production, distribution, and use of the plant in medically advisable situations.
"I prescribe drugs that are far more dangerous than marijuana every day that I practice," said Dan Morhaim, MD, a physician, University of Maryland School of Medicine faculty member, and Maryland state delegate who spoke on both days.
The April 12 event on marijuana as a PTSD treatment had a review of the science of cannabis by Lynn McPherson, PharmD, BCPS, a professor in the School of Pharmacy whose specialties include pain management. Among other things, she said the stress and fear cycles of PTSD patients can be wound down with the drugs in marijuana. And while it can be addictive in some patients, she added, addiction is generally far less of a problem than with other strong narcotic drugs that are legally prescribed.
The event was sponsored by the law school's clinical law program, its Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class, and the Students for a Sensible Drug Policy group.
The April 13 event - sponsored by the schools of Law and Pharmacy, along with the Network for Public Health Law - included a talk by a Rhode Island doctor who has prescribed marijuana as part of his pain management practice. Todd Handel, MD said doctors not only must lead the push to legalize use of the product in each state, but then struggle to answer emerging issues of "Who do we say no to, who do we say yes to, and then how do we manage it?" There is essentially no control over the amount of marijuana a patient is supposed to take, he said, and no way to control the quality of the drug.
Near the end of the session, a panel of attorneys from states where the medical use of marijuana is legal advised Maryland and other states to use the existing laws as a template when drafting and implementing new laws. Among the most controversial decisions states and communities will face, they said, are where to locate the dispensaries where patients can pick up their marijuana.
"Do whatever you can to get stakeholder buy-in," urged Bruce McIntyre, JD, counsel for Rhode Island's Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline. "Do as much up-front work as humanly possible."
Posting Date: 04/18/2012
Contact Name: Jeffrey Raymond
Contact Phone: 410-706-3803
Contact Email: jraymond@umaryland.edu
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
ARTICLE: The garden state is about to get a whole lot greener!
. New Jersey has issued its first permit to grow medical marijuana legally. The permit was issued to nonprofit Montclair-based Greenleaf Compassion Center on Monday.
A second permit would still need to be granted before the center can begin selling medical pot to patients. A crop is expected to take three to four months to grow, and the state says a permit to sell would come once the first crop is ready. Greenleaf is one of six centers chosen last year by the state to grow and sell cannabis. But it's one of just two that have announced locations with local approvals. The Montclair group says it has a cultivation site but has not disclosed the location.
Currently there are 16 states plus Washington D.C. that have medical marijuana laws on the books, CBS News reported. Laws vary throughout each state, but in New Jersey patients will be allowed to be dispensed two ounces of marijuana every 30 days with a doctor's note.
According to ProCon.org, in New Jersey medical marijuana is approved for treating seizure disorder, including epilepsy, intractable skeletal muscular spasticity, glaucoma; severe or chronic pain, severe nausea or vomiting, cachexia, or wasting syndrome resulting from HIV/AIDS or cancer; amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's Disease), multiple sclerosis, terminal cancer, muscular dystrophy, or inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn's disease; and terminal illness.
- Article originally from Health Pop.
A second permit would still need to be granted before the center can begin selling medical pot to patients. A crop is expected to take three to four months to grow, and the state says a permit to sell would come once the first crop is ready. Greenleaf is one of six centers chosen last year by the state to grow and sell cannabis. But it's one of just two that have announced locations with local approvals. The Montclair group says it has a cultivation site but has not disclosed the location.
Currently there are 16 states plus Washington D.C. that have medical marijuana laws on the books, CBS News reported. Laws vary throughout each state, but in New Jersey patients will be allowed to be dispensed two ounces of marijuana every 30 days with a doctor's note.
According to ProCon.org, in New Jersey medical marijuana is approved for treating seizure disorder, including epilepsy, intractable skeletal muscular spasticity, glaucoma; severe or chronic pain, severe nausea or vomiting, cachexia, or wasting syndrome resulting from HIV/AIDS or cancer; amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's Disease), multiple sclerosis, terminal cancer, muscular dystrophy, or inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn's disease; and terminal illness.
- Article originally from Health Pop.
Monday, April 16, 2012
ARTICLE: ( Delaware News Zap) Proposed medical marijuana regulations in Delaware allow for patient and caregiver ID cards.
DOVER - Patient and caregiver identification cards are among the new proposed medical marijuana regulations the state hopes will continue a path toward fully implementing the Delaware Medical Marijuana Act that was signed into law in May 2011.
The new proposed guidelines unveiled in the April edition of the Delaware Register of Regulations stated that the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) shall issue a registry card to applicant patients upon written certification of a physician. Required information by the State of Delaware Medical Marijuana Code includes medical justification from a physician of the patients debilitating condition and length of time the patient has been under the physician's care.
Also, the DHSS will give identification cards to primary caregivers for the purpose of managing the well-being of one to five qualified patients. The agency will contact the Delaware Division of Professional Regulation to verify to involved physician's good standing to practice medicine in the state; the designated caregivers must also pass a criminal background check.
The DHSS will issue a 10-digit identification card within 30 days of an approved application of the patient or primary caregiver.
"The ID cards are for individuals who have legitimate medical needs," said the state's Chief Legal Counsel Michael Barlow. "We hope this will give them more comfort and security knowing they are less likely to face prosecution for violating state marijuana laws."
Guidelines for registration and operation of compassion centers and testing facility centers were labeled as "RESERVED" in the DHSS's regulations and no further information was included.
Categories for both centers included general requirements for operation, security requirements, operations manual, required training, personnel records, application for operation of center, complete application required, center application review criteria, issuance of a registration certificate authorizing operation, registry cards for principal officers, board members, agents, volunteers or employees of a center, expiration date, expiration, termination or renewal of a registration certificate authorizing operation of a center, non-transferrable registration certificate authorizing operation of a center, maximum amount of usable marijuana to be dispensed and inspection.
"Before we proceed with the compassion care centers we want to get more of a clarification of what federal guidelines will be enforced," Mr. Barlow said. "The aim of the General Assembly when passing Senate Bill 17 was to established a well-regulated system that has a tightly controlled distribution method."
In mid-February, Gov. Jack Markell halted the state's medical marijuana program after his office received a letter from Delaware District Attorney Charles M. Oberly III confirming that state employees could be arrested under federal law for taking part in "unlawful cultivation and distribution of marijuana." Thus, the governor was concerned that compassion centers where medical marijuana was to be distributed could jeopardize the legal status of the employees.
The state remains committed to enacting the program, and the $481,100 budgeted for implementation remained in the fiscal year 2013 budget as legislators and state health officials worked on alternatives.
According to the DHSS, any person can submit written suggestions, testimony, briefs or other written materials concerning the proposed regulations to Deborah Harvey at the Division of Public Health by April 30. Correspondence can be sent to Ms. Harvey at 417 Federal Street, Dover, De. 19901, by emailing Deborah.Harvey@state.de.us, phoning 744-4700 or faxing 739-6659.
Copies of the proposed regulations are available online at regulations.delaware.gov or by calling the Health Systems Protection Section at 744-4705.
The new proposed guidelines unveiled in the April edition of the Delaware Register of Regulations stated that the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) shall issue a registry card to applicant patients upon written certification of a physician. Required information by the State of Delaware Medical Marijuana Code includes medical justification from a physician of the patients debilitating condition and length of time the patient has been under the physician's care.
Also, the DHSS will give identification cards to primary caregivers for the purpose of managing the well-being of one to five qualified patients. The agency will contact the Delaware Division of Professional Regulation to verify to involved physician's good standing to practice medicine in the state; the designated caregivers must also pass a criminal background check.
The DHSS will issue a 10-digit identification card within 30 days of an approved application of the patient or primary caregiver.
"The ID cards are for individuals who have legitimate medical needs," said the state's Chief Legal Counsel Michael Barlow. "We hope this will give them more comfort and security knowing they are less likely to face prosecution for violating state marijuana laws."
Guidelines for registration and operation of compassion centers and testing facility centers were labeled as "RESERVED" in the DHSS's regulations and no further information was included.
Categories for both centers included general requirements for operation, security requirements, operations manual, required training, personnel records, application for operation of center, complete application required, center application review criteria, issuance of a registration certificate authorizing operation, registry cards for principal officers, board members, agents, volunteers or employees of a center, expiration date, expiration, termination or renewal of a registration certificate authorizing operation of a center, non-transferrable registration certificate authorizing operation of a center, maximum amount of usable marijuana to be dispensed and inspection.
"Before we proceed with the compassion care centers we want to get more of a clarification of what federal guidelines will be enforced," Mr. Barlow said. "The aim of the General Assembly when passing Senate Bill 17 was to established a well-regulated system that has a tightly controlled distribution method."
In mid-February, Gov. Jack Markell halted the state's medical marijuana program after his office received a letter from Delaware District Attorney Charles M. Oberly III confirming that state employees could be arrested under federal law for taking part in "unlawful cultivation and distribution of marijuana." Thus, the governor was concerned that compassion centers where medical marijuana was to be distributed could jeopardize the legal status of the employees.
The state remains committed to enacting the program, and the $481,100 budgeted for implementation remained in the fiscal year 2013 budget as legislators and state health officials worked on alternatives.
According to the DHSS, any person can submit written suggestions, testimony, briefs or other written materials concerning the proposed regulations to Deborah Harvey at the Division of Public Health by April 30. Correspondence can be sent to Ms. Harvey at 417 Federal Street, Dover, De. 19901, by emailing Deborah.Harvey@state.de.us, phoning 744-4700 or faxing 739-6659.
Copies of the proposed regulations are available online at regulations.delaware.gov or by calling the Health Systems Protection Section at 744-4705.
ARTICLE: MONTCLAIR NJ OK'D TO GROWING CROP:
Montclair medical marijuana center OK'd to start growing crop immediately Amy Brittain/The Star-Ledger 04/16/2012 4:54 PM
MONTCLAIR — A Montclair medical marijuana center has been granted permission to immediately start growing its cannabis crop, a process that will take about three to four months, according to an announcement today by the Department of Health and Senior Services.
But Greenleaf Compassion Center, which becomes the first of six state alternative treatment centers to receive a preliminary permit, will not have permission to dispense marijuana to patients until a final permit is issued, said Donna Leusner, health department spokeswoman.
Additionally, health department officials today published a long-awaited list of more than 100 physicians now authorized to prescribe the drug. A list of the physicians can be viewed here.
The new movement in the medical marijuana program comes after a series of recent complaints, including a heated letter sent from Greenleaf CEO Joe Stevens to Gov. Christie in late March, alleging state officials had tried to sabotage the program.
Two weeks ago, a patient and a doctor filed a lawsuit in Superior Court in Trenton claiming the health department has caused undue suffering to patients across the state by failing to get the program up and running.
New Jersey’s Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act, signed by Gov. Jon Corzine on his last day in office, became state law more than two years ago.
Related coverage:
• 2 years after being approved, N.J. medical marijuana program still at seedling stage
• Gov. Christie: I won't force N.J. towns to allow medical marijuana facilities
• Monmouth County Assemblyman looks to block local anti-medical marijuana efforts
• Another N.J. town votes against allowing medical marijuana facility
• Proposed medical marijuana treatment center in Maple Shade to seek approval for site this week
MONTCLAIR — A Montclair medical marijuana center has been granted permission to immediately start growing its cannabis crop, a process that will take about three to four months, according to an announcement today by the Department of Health and Senior Services.
But Greenleaf Compassion Center, which becomes the first of six state alternative treatment centers to receive a preliminary permit, will not have permission to dispense marijuana to patients until a final permit is issued, said Donna Leusner, health department spokeswoman.
Additionally, health department officials today published a long-awaited list of more than 100 physicians now authorized to prescribe the drug. A list of the physicians can be viewed here.
The new movement in the medical marijuana program comes after a series of recent complaints, including a heated letter sent from Greenleaf CEO Joe Stevens to Gov. Christie in late March, alleging state officials had tried to sabotage the program.
Two weeks ago, a patient and a doctor filed a lawsuit in Superior Court in Trenton claiming the health department has caused undue suffering to patients across the state by failing to get the program up and running.
New Jersey’s Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act, signed by Gov. Jon Corzine on his last day in office, became state law more than two years ago.
Related coverage:
• 2 years after being approved, N.J. medical marijuana program still at seedling stage
• Gov. Christie: I won't force N.J. towns to allow medical marijuana facilities
• Monmouth County Assemblyman looks to block local anti-medical marijuana efforts
• Another N.J. town votes against allowing medical marijuana facility
• Proposed medical marijuana treatment center in Maple Shade to seek approval for site this week
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
ARTICLE: Maryland Medical Marijuana
The clock ran out on Maryland legislators last night. A bill to give medical marijuana caregivers an affirmative defense against charges of possession was collateral damage as legislators spent the evening trying and failing to reach a budget compromise. It wasn’t a total loss though — two good bills did pass. Here’s MPP’s summary of marijuana policy reform developments in the 2012 session of Maryland’s General Assembly.
The two bills that passed are SB 422 and SB 350. The former requires charging certain minor offenses, including marijuana possession, by citation, meaning marijuana users can be arrested (though it’s not required) but won’t be spending the night or the weekend in jail. The latter reduces the maximum penalty for possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana from one year in jail to 90 days and the maximum fine from $1,000 to $500. Here again is the full summary.
It is unfortunate that Gov. O’Malley essentially put a stop to the original medical marijuana bill we were working toward this year, which would have protected patients and caregivers from arrest and established a system to ensure safe access. Still, this is certainly a step in the right direction, and it is only a matter of time before we pass a truly effective medical marijuana bill in Maryland.
The two bills that passed are SB 422 and SB 350. The former requires charging certain minor offenses, including marijuana possession, by citation, meaning marijuana users can be arrested (though it’s not required) but won’t be spending the night or the weekend in jail. The latter reduces the maximum penalty for possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana from one year in jail to 90 days and the maximum fine from $1,000 to $500. Here again is the full summary.
It is unfortunate that Gov. O’Malley essentially put a stop to the original medical marijuana bill we were working toward this year, which would have protected patients and caregivers from arrest and established a system to ensure safe access. Still, this is certainly a step in the right direction, and it is only a matter of time before we pass a truly effective medical marijuana bill in Maryland.
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