Monday, May 28, 2012
ARTICLE: White House Statement on Medical Marijuana: Another Step Back for Veterans
Salem-News.com
'Use marijuana and go to prison' - Gil Kerlikowske's message to Veterans on Memorial Day
Serving in the military brings little credibility when waging logical arguments with the federal government.
(WASHINGTON DC) - The group Veterans For Medical Cannabis Access [VMCA] issued the following news release after receiving word that their long hours spent presenting scientific and medical evidence of the benefits of medical marijuana, was simply rejected yet again.
Relying on the wisdom of Gil Kerlikowske, the nation's 'drug czar', veterans are reminded on Memorial Day that their sacrifices only gain them a small amount of credibility, certainly not enough to allow them to use a plant that grows naturally out of the ground that is a miracle treatment for the survivors of war and military violence for their nation, who suffer PTSD, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
(White House replies to Veterans petition: http://wh.gov/4xd)
Thousands of Veterans requested the Obama Administration to look into the reliable science now available showing exactly how cannabis works to alleviate suffering of Veterans pain and save the lives of Veterans with brain injuries such as PTSD and therefore make appropriate changes in policy.
According to Dr. Julie Holland, Editor of The Pot Book and a medical doctor, there have been more suicides than combat fatalities by a ratio of 25:1. This, given how effectively cannabis works to save lives, is an unacceptable loss.
Recent research has revealed two things of great importance - one is that suicide rates drop around the implementation of medical marijuana laws and the other is that new research indicates similar brain changes from athletic head injuries, military head trauma and brain changes from Alzheimer's and multiple sclerosis. New research available shows how a human body-wide set of control functions called the Endogenous Cannabinoid Receptor System may be activated by the ingestion of cannabis to cause both neural protection and neural regenerative properties to help relieve these difficult to treat medical conditions.
We Veterans petitioned the Obama Administration to: "Allow United States Disabled Military Veterans access to medical marijuana to treat their PTSD."
The White House response to our petition was very disappointing. We asked for a change in policy. To have our petition answered by the drug czar,an ex policeman, is most inappropriate given the drug czar is bound by law to ONLY discuss current law and has no power to discuss policy change with the public. Even the lowest ranking staffer at the White House or anyone from the Veterans Health Authority would have been more appropriate.
Al Byrne, retired Naval Officer and co-founder of VMCA, was blunt in his assessment of the White House concern for injured Veterans:
"Vets have used cannabis for PTS since the Revolutionary War. We know what we need and to be told by our President, the Commander in Chief, that he does not care about those he has sent to war by denying medicine to the wounded is unconscionable."
The Department of Veterans Affairs is also now in direct conflict with the White House.
According to the Veterans Affairs, Undersecretary of Health in correspondence with our Executive Director, Michael Krawitz: "The provider (VA) will take the use of medical marijuana into account in all prescribing decisions, just as the provider would for any other medication.Â" [1.]
The president, when asked why he doesn't do something positive about medical marijuana, is quoted in Rolling Stone magazine as saying "I can't nullify congressional law. I can't ask the Justice Department to say, 'Ignore completely a federal law that's on the books." [2.]
If that is truly the president's position it is either based upon ignorance of his power or he is playing politics. The president can do many things - the DEA was created by an executive order! The president could ask NIDA to stop blocking research or he could ask HHS to finally follow the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine [IOM] or he could ask Congress to move forward on the issue or he could even properly reschedule cannabis as a medicine by executive order. The president could do so many things but instead seems to be sacrificing our nations Veterans.[3.]
One irony of the drug czar's response to our petition is that his words seem to be lifted right from the IOM report of 1999 that was actually commissioned by the drug czar of that day, General McCaffrey. The IOM report did indeed say that cannabis holds great promise in the future as a pharmaceutical but it then went on to say that we know enough about the plant material [in 1999] to give the whole plant material to those patients most in need right now [in 1999!]. Don't Veterans suffering and dying classify as patients in extreme need?
Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access thought you should know of this shameful mendacious policy of ignorance.
First President Obama's administration ejected medical marijuana patients from the workplace then he threw them out of public housing then took away their ability to buy a gun then closed down their dispensaries and now he has apparently set his sites on Veterans.
ARTICLE: Michigan sick children & medical marijuana
LANSING -- Rebecca Brown says she tried every prescription drug she could find to control the frequent seizures her son suffered because of a severe form of epilepsy.
When nothing worked consistently, and the drugs and special diet caused kidney stones and pancreas problems as side effects, the Oakland County woman turned to medical marijuana.
Now, Cooper Brown, 14, is one of 44 Michigan residents younger than 18 with a medical marijuana card. His mom says his seizures have dropped off dramatically since he started using it early this year.
But the treatment is controversial. Marijuana -- medical or otherwise -- is illegal at the federal level and some doctors say it shouldn't be used by adults, let alone children. A lack of clinical studies means there is uncertainty about its effects on developing brains and nervous systems.
Though still in middle school, Cooper is not the youngest child on the state's medical marijuana registry. A 7-year-old, two 9-year-olds, an 11-year-old, and a 13-year-old can also legally possess and consume medical pot in Michigan.
State officials won't disclose the children's medical conditions. They say they don't know whether the kids smoke the drug or take it some other way, such as in a baked good, a liquid extract called a tincture, or by using a vaporizer.
Parents say they've successfully used medical cannabis to treat their kids for Dravet Syndrome, which Cooper has, as well as autism, attention deficit disorder, muscular dystrophy, and the pain and nausea of cancer, among other ailments.
Brown said she would never let Cooper smoke marijuana. Instead, he eats it in food she prepares for him.
Brown would not identify her supplier but said she searches out cannabis that laboratory tests show is low in THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the compound which provides the marijuana high, but with elevated levels of a lesser-known compound, CBD (cannabidiol), which has antiseizure properties.
Brown said in an interview with the Free Press that she might face criticism for going public but hopes she can help even one family lessen the stress and suffering that she and her family have endured.
"This isn't something we entered into lightly," Brown said. "I've done a lot of reading and a lot of research. I have everything tested.
"I am not a pot smoker and never in a million years thought of trying this," she said. "But when your child is suffering and you feel desperate, you consider things you may not have before.
"Parents, when their kids are healthy, they take it for granted."
Doctors' permission
Brown first had to convince her skeptical husband. Because Cooper is younger than 18, Michigan law required her to get not one, but two doctors -- Cooper's pediatrician and his neurologist -- to sign off on him using it.
Like Michigan, most states that have legalized medical marijuana don't require users to be at least 18. Only Delaware, and now Connecticut, which this month became the 17th state to legalize it, have such a requirement, said Morgan Fox, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Tom George, a practicing physician and former Republican state senator from Kalamazoo who voted against Michigan legalizing medical marijuana in 2008, said there are no absolutes in medicine but an effective prescription treatment is almost always preferable to herbal marijuana.
Michigan, which has more than 130,000 adults on its medical marijuana registry, should amend its law so the drug can be used only for a limited number of specific conditions -- not any time a doctor gives the OK -- he said.
George, who unsuccessfully sought the GOP nomination for governor in 2010, said his concerns are heightened when it comes to use by children, though he's not sure that should be banned.
"I don't think we know in growing nervous systems what effects it might have," George said.
In the case of the Brown family, "I like the fact that he's not smoking it," and "it sounds like she's done her homework," George said.
"It's hard to know what to say based on anecdotal cases."
The American Academy of Pediatrics doesn't have a policy on medical cannabis, though it's working on developing one, officials said.
Nearly three-quarters of Michigan medical marijuana users who are minors are either 16 or 17 years old. Similar high school-age concentrations of underage users in other states have prompted concerns about students using medical marijuana cards to supply the drug not just to themselves, but to their friends.
It's a worry even for some proponents of medical pot, such as the Eugene, Ore., man who writes the Weed Blog under the pen name Johnny Green.
"I think it's kind of unusual that in a part of the country where there's a high prevalence of abuse of the program, there's also a high prevalence of teenagers getting their medical marijuana cards," Green said, in reference to Oregon.
Green, 31, who would not give his real name and said he uses medical cannabis to treat his tendinitis, said minors should face stricter controls than adults in getting medical marijuana cards. He said he likes the fact that Michigan, unlike Oregon and most other states, requires not one, but two doctors' signatures.
Farmington Hills attorney Robert Mullen, spokesman for the Michigan chapter of the National Patients Rights Association, which favors testing requirements and improved controls over medical marijuana, said he also favors Michigan's two-doctor requirement.
Long-term effects
As for concerns about the long-term effects of medical cannabis on young patients, "there's a cost-benefit analysis to any form of treatment," Mullen said.
Prescription drugs also can have long-term adverse effects, and "here's someone who's run the full gamut of Western medicine and it's not working, so she's trying something that's an organic treatment," he said.
Though Cooper is small for his age and is in a special education class when he attends school, he is at the high end of the spectrum for youngsters with Dravet Syndrome. He likes to play video games, cook and hang out with friends, and he has verbal skills that many with the same condition lack.
Rebecca Brown said she decided to try medical cannabis for her son after she saw a YouTube video about Jason David of Modesto, Calif., who said he believes the drug saved the life of his son Jayden, 5, who also has Dravet Syndrome and only recently began speaking a few words.
"My son had a seizure every day of his life," David said in a telephone interview. "He was crying in pain every day." Since he started giving the boy an oral tincture of high-CBD cannabis, "he's been doing amazing," and "now he can go a week without having one and when he does, it's not nearly as severe."
Brown said she takes Cooper's medical cannabis to Iron Labs LLC in Walled Lake where it's tested not just for CBD content but for herbicides and other harmful impurities.
She said she's concerned about continuity of supply because high-CBD cannabis was hard to find in Michigan and it would be illegal for her to import it from another state.
"One day a few weeks ago I didn't give him any medicine and that day he had five seizures," said Brown, who uses Facebook to reach out to other moms with sick kids.
"To me, it's not a drug issue, it's a compassion issue," Brown said.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com
More Details: Medical cannabis cards for kids
Patients younger than 18 can get medical marijuana cards in Michigan, but they face special requirements in addition to the $100 application fee.
• The minor's legal guardian must sign off on the application.
• Adults require a doctor's certification; minors must have certifications from two doctors.
When nothing worked consistently, and the drugs and special diet caused kidney stones and pancreas problems as side effects, the Oakland County woman turned to medical marijuana.
Now, Cooper Brown, 14, is one of 44 Michigan residents younger than 18 with a medical marijuana card. His mom says his seizures have dropped off dramatically since he started using it early this year.
But the treatment is controversial. Marijuana -- medical or otherwise -- is illegal at the federal level and some doctors say it shouldn't be used by adults, let alone children. A lack of clinical studies means there is uncertainty about its effects on developing brains and nervous systems.
Though still in middle school, Cooper is not the youngest child on the state's medical marijuana registry. A 7-year-old, two 9-year-olds, an 11-year-old, and a 13-year-old can also legally possess and consume medical pot in Michigan.
State officials won't disclose the children's medical conditions. They say they don't know whether the kids smoke the drug or take it some other way, such as in a baked good, a liquid extract called a tincture, or by using a vaporizer.
Parents say they've successfully used medical cannabis to treat their kids for Dravet Syndrome, which Cooper has, as well as autism, attention deficit disorder, muscular dystrophy, and the pain and nausea of cancer, among other ailments.
Brown said she would never let Cooper smoke marijuana. Instead, he eats it in food she prepares for him.
Brown would not identify her supplier but said she searches out cannabis that laboratory tests show is low in THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the compound which provides the marijuana high, but with elevated levels of a lesser-known compound, CBD (cannabidiol), which has antiseizure properties.
Brown said in an interview with the Free Press that she might face criticism for going public but hopes she can help even one family lessen the stress and suffering that she and her family have endured.
"This isn't something we entered into lightly," Brown said. "I've done a lot of reading and a lot of research. I have everything tested.
"I am not a pot smoker and never in a million years thought of trying this," she said. "But when your child is suffering and you feel desperate, you consider things you may not have before.
"Parents, when their kids are healthy, they take it for granted."
Doctors' permission
Brown first had to convince her skeptical husband. Because Cooper is younger than 18, Michigan law required her to get not one, but two doctors -- Cooper's pediatrician and his neurologist -- to sign off on him using it.
Like Michigan, most states that have legalized medical marijuana don't require users to be at least 18. Only Delaware, and now Connecticut, which this month became the 17th state to legalize it, have such a requirement, said Morgan Fox, a spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Tom George, a practicing physician and former Republican state senator from Kalamazoo who voted against Michigan legalizing medical marijuana in 2008, said there are no absolutes in medicine but an effective prescription treatment is almost always preferable to herbal marijuana.
Michigan, which has more than 130,000 adults on its medical marijuana registry, should amend its law so the drug can be used only for a limited number of specific conditions -- not any time a doctor gives the OK -- he said.
George, who unsuccessfully sought the GOP nomination for governor in 2010, said his concerns are heightened when it comes to use by children, though he's not sure that should be banned.
"I don't think we know in growing nervous systems what effects it might have," George said.
In the case of the Brown family, "I like the fact that he's not smoking it," and "it sounds like she's done her homework," George said.
"It's hard to know what to say based on anecdotal cases."
The American Academy of Pediatrics doesn't have a policy on medical cannabis, though it's working on developing one, officials said.
Nearly three-quarters of Michigan medical marijuana users who are minors are either 16 or 17 years old. Similar high school-age concentrations of underage users in other states have prompted concerns about students using medical marijuana cards to supply the drug not just to themselves, but to their friends.
It's a worry even for some proponents of medical pot, such as the Eugene, Ore., man who writes the Weed Blog under the pen name Johnny Green.
"I think it's kind of unusual that in a part of the country where there's a high prevalence of abuse of the program, there's also a high prevalence of teenagers getting their medical marijuana cards," Green said, in reference to Oregon.
Green, 31, who would not give his real name and said he uses medical cannabis to treat his tendinitis, said minors should face stricter controls than adults in getting medical marijuana cards. He said he likes the fact that Michigan, unlike Oregon and most other states, requires not one, but two doctors' signatures.
Farmington Hills attorney Robert Mullen, spokesman for the Michigan chapter of the National Patients Rights Association, which favors testing requirements and improved controls over medical marijuana, said he also favors Michigan's two-doctor requirement.
Long-term effects
As for concerns about the long-term effects of medical cannabis on young patients, "there's a cost-benefit analysis to any form of treatment," Mullen said.
Prescription drugs also can have long-term adverse effects, and "here's someone who's run the full gamut of Western medicine and it's not working, so she's trying something that's an organic treatment," he said.
Though Cooper is small for his age and is in a special education class when he attends school, he is at the high end of the spectrum for youngsters with Dravet Syndrome. He likes to play video games, cook and hang out with friends, and he has verbal skills that many with the same condition lack.
Rebecca Brown said she decided to try medical cannabis for her son after she saw a YouTube video about Jason David of Modesto, Calif., who said he believes the drug saved the life of his son Jayden, 5, who also has Dravet Syndrome and only recently began speaking a few words.
"My son had a seizure every day of his life," David said in a telephone interview. "He was crying in pain every day." Since he started giving the boy an oral tincture of high-CBD cannabis, "he's been doing amazing," and "now he can go a week without having one and when he does, it's not nearly as severe."
Brown said she takes Cooper's medical cannabis to Iron Labs LLC in Walled Lake where it's tested not just for CBD content but for herbicides and other harmful impurities.
She said she's concerned about continuity of supply because high-CBD cannabis was hard to find in Michigan and it would be illegal for her to import it from another state.
"One day a few weeks ago I didn't give him any medicine and that day he had five seizures," said Brown, who uses Facebook to reach out to other moms with sick kids.
"To me, it's not a drug issue, it's a compassion issue," Brown said.
Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com
More Details: Medical cannabis cards for kids
Patients younger than 18 can get medical marijuana cards in Michigan, but they face special requirements in addition to the $100 application fee.
• The minor's legal guardian must sign off on the application.
• Adults require a doctor's certification; minors must have certifications from two doctors.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
ARTICLE: IS ADA BEING VIOLATED BY MEDICAL MARIJUANA CRACKDOWN!
California cities are not violating the Americans with Disabilities Act when they crack down on marijuana dispensers, said a federal appellate court in a case brought by disabled California residents.
The lawsuit in Marla James vs. the City of Costa Mesa was brought by severely disabled plaintiffs who said conventional medications had not alleviated the pain caused by their impairments, according to the May 21 ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
The plaintiffs obtain medical marijuana, which is permitted under state law, through collectives in Costa Mesa, California, and Lake Forest, Calif., but these cities have taken steps to close marijuana dispensing facilities that operate within their boundaries, according to the ruling.
Plaintiffs charge the cities' actions violate Title II of the ADA, which prohibits discrimination in providing public services.
"We recognize that the plaintiffs are gravely ill, and that their request for ADA relief implicates not only their right to live comfortably, but also their basic human dignity," said the appellate panel's 2-1 ruling, in affirming a lower court decision.
"We also acknowledge that Californians embraced marijuana as an effective treatment for individuals like the plaintiffs who face debilitating pain. Congress has made clear, however, that the ADA defines 'illegal drug use' by reference to federal, rather than state, law, and federal law does not authorize the plaintiffs' medical marijuana use. We therefore necessarily conclude that the plaintiffs' medical marijuana use is not protected by the ADA."
The court disagreed with the plaintiffs that their marijuana use falls within the ADA's exception for drug use that is supervised by a licensed health care professional. In "light of the text, the legislative history, including related congressional activity, and the relationship between the ADA and the (federal Controlled Substances Act), we agree with both the district courts that have considered the question, as well as the United States as amicus curiae, in concluding that doctor-supervised marijuana use is an illegal use of drugs not covered by the ADA's supervised use exception," said the ruling.
Commenting on the ruling, D. Gregory Valenza, a partner with law firm Shaw Valenza L.L.P. in San Francisco, who is not involved in the case, said had the court ruled otherwise "it would not be a big jump" to apply it to Title I of the ADA, which is the employment section.
"The case doesn't change things for employers," but "it does strike a blow against the expansion of medical marijuana rights" for employees as more states pass laws permitting medical marijuana's use, said Mr. Valenza.
Seventeen states plus the District of Columbia have laws that permit medical marijuana use, according to the Washington-based NORML, an advocacy organization for the legalization of marijuana.
Court rulings involving medical marijuana have generally held that employers are under no obligation to accommodate medical marijuana users, despite the state laws that permit doctors to prescribe it.
Judy Greenwald writes for Business Insurance, a sister publication of Workforce Management. To comment, email editors@workforce.com.
Stay informed and connected. Get human resources news and HR features via Workforce Management's Twitter feed or RSS feeds for mobile devices and news readers.
The lawsuit in Marla James vs. the City of Costa Mesa was brought by severely disabled plaintiffs who said conventional medications had not alleviated the pain caused by their impairments, according to the May 21 ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
The plaintiffs obtain medical marijuana, which is permitted under state law, through collectives in Costa Mesa, California, and Lake Forest, Calif., but these cities have taken steps to close marijuana dispensing facilities that operate within their boundaries, according to the ruling.
Plaintiffs charge the cities' actions violate Title II of the ADA, which prohibits discrimination in providing public services.
"We recognize that the plaintiffs are gravely ill, and that their request for ADA relief implicates not only their right to live comfortably, but also their basic human dignity," said the appellate panel's 2-1 ruling, in affirming a lower court decision.
"We also acknowledge that Californians embraced marijuana as an effective treatment for individuals like the plaintiffs who face debilitating pain. Congress has made clear, however, that the ADA defines 'illegal drug use' by reference to federal, rather than state, law, and federal law does not authorize the plaintiffs' medical marijuana use. We therefore necessarily conclude that the plaintiffs' medical marijuana use is not protected by the ADA."
The court disagreed with the plaintiffs that their marijuana use falls within the ADA's exception for drug use that is supervised by a licensed health care professional. In "light of the text, the legislative history, including related congressional activity, and the relationship between the ADA and the (federal Controlled Substances Act), we agree with both the district courts that have considered the question, as well as the United States as amicus curiae, in concluding that doctor-supervised marijuana use is an illegal use of drugs not covered by the ADA's supervised use exception," said the ruling.
Commenting on the ruling, D. Gregory Valenza, a partner with law firm Shaw Valenza L.L.P. in San Francisco, who is not involved in the case, said had the court ruled otherwise "it would not be a big jump" to apply it to Title I of the ADA, which is the employment section.
"The case doesn't change things for employers," but "it does strike a blow against the expansion of medical marijuana rights" for employees as more states pass laws permitting medical marijuana's use, said Mr. Valenza.
Seventeen states plus the District of Columbia have laws that permit medical marijuana use, according to the Washington-based NORML, an advocacy organization for the legalization of marijuana.
Court rulings involving medical marijuana have generally held that employers are under no obligation to accommodate medical marijuana users, despite the state laws that permit doctors to prescribe it.
Judy Greenwald writes for Business Insurance, a sister publication of Workforce Management. To comment, email editors@workforce.com.
Stay informed and connected. Get human resources news and HR features via Workforce Management's Twitter feed or RSS feeds for mobile devices and news readers.
ARTICLE: NH to Legalize the medical use of marijuana
MONITOR EDITORIAL
By Monitor staff
May 23, 2012
Writing in The New York Times last week, Gustin Reichbach, 62, made a passionate plea to legalize the medical use of the marijuana that allows him to sleep and combat the nausea caused by chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer. Reichbach's story was similar to those heard by New Hampshire lawmakers, who will soon vote on Senate Bill 409, legislation that would make New Hampshire the 17th state to legalize medical marijuana. The difference is, Reichbach is a sitting justice on the New York state Supreme Court.
Earlier this year, by a veto- proof margin, the New Hampshire House passed a bill that under tightly controlled conditions would decriminalize the production, possession and use of small quantities of marijuana by patients with physician approval and qualifying illnesses like cancer, glaucoma and AIDS. The bill passed the Senate as well, but by a margin three votes short of the ability to override a promised veto by Gov. John Lynch.
Lynch vetoed a medical marijuana bill in 2009 over fears that its passage would provoke widespread illegal use of the drug. SB 409, however, contains more than ample protections against that occurring. We urge him to let compassion triumph over fear and allow the bill to become law.
Failing that, we urge Sens. Andy Sanborn, Bob Odell, Jeb Bradley, Peter Bragdon, Chuck Morse and others who voted against the bill to change their vote. Plenty of evidence exists, albeit much of it anecdotal, to prove that a significant number of people unable to achieve relief by any other means have benefited from smoking small amounts of marijuana.
Many of those opposed to the bill cite opposition by members of law enforcement, but the case they make is weak. The bill allows a patient registered with the state to grow no more than four plants in a locked room whose location is known by the police. That person's caregiver would also be protected from prosecution but would be charged with a felony if he or she sold or gave marijuana to anyone other than the registered patient. Legalizing medical marijuana would have little or no impact on the supply of the drug on the street. The legal use of marijuana by someone who is terminally ill neither promotes or glamorizes drug use. It recognizes that marijuana is a drug that like many infinitely more dangerous drugs can in some cases be justified.
Patients now being helped by the drug must purchase it illegally or get it through friends who are committing criminal acts by helping. Law enforcement at the highest level - U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder - has said the federal government won't prosecute medical marijuana cases. The same goes for local law enforcement.
Enfield Police Chief Richard Crate, though a fervent opponent of the bill, publicly stated that "law enforcement isn't going to the people who are dying and suffering and arresting people because they're using marijuana." Good. They shouldn't and don't because it would be cruel to do so.
Recently in these pages, Concord Dr. Seddon Savage, president of the American Pain Society, argued against the bill on medical grounds. Her arguments, too, were unpersuasive. Medical marijuana dosages aren't precise, at least yet, but they are controlled by how much the sufferer needs to take to achieve relief and overdosing is virtually impossible. Smoking marijuana would increase the risk of lung cancer and other maladies, but the people who would use are already either dying or living in misery.
Savage called a patient's ability to "manage the complex condition of chronic pain" themselves the most troubling aspect of the bill. But that is actually one of its attributes, for who better to know when relief has been achieved than the patient herself? Nor is it likely that permission to use marijuana medically means that a patient would stop receiving regular care by a physician. Allowing people whose suffering qualifies them to try achieve relief with marijuana is humane and the right thing to do.
By Monitor staff
May 23, 2012
Writing in The New York Times last week, Gustin Reichbach, 62, made a passionate plea to legalize the medical use of the marijuana that allows him to sleep and combat the nausea caused by chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer. Reichbach's story was similar to those heard by New Hampshire lawmakers, who will soon vote on Senate Bill 409, legislation that would make New Hampshire the 17th state to legalize medical marijuana. The difference is, Reichbach is a sitting justice on the New York state Supreme Court.
Earlier this year, by a veto- proof margin, the New Hampshire House passed a bill that under tightly controlled conditions would decriminalize the production, possession and use of small quantities of marijuana by patients with physician approval and qualifying illnesses like cancer, glaucoma and AIDS. The bill passed the Senate as well, but by a margin three votes short of the ability to override a promised veto by Gov. John Lynch.
Lynch vetoed a medical marijuana bill in 2009 over fears that its passage would provoke widespread illegal use of the drug. SB 409, however, contains more than ample protections against that occurring. We urge him to let compassion triumph over fear and allow the bill to become law.
Failing that, we urge Sens. Andy Sanborn, Bob Odell, Jeb Bradley, Peter Bragdon, Chuck Morse and others who voted against the bill to change their vote. Plenty of evidence exists, albeit much of it anecdotal, to prove that a significant number of people unable to achieve relief by any other means have benefited from smoking small amounts of marijuana.
Many of those opposed to the bill cite opposition by members of law enforcement, but the case they make is weak. The bill allows a patient registered with the state to grow no more than four plants in a locked room whose location is known by the police. That person's caregiver would also be protected from prosecution but would be charged with a felony if he or she sold or gave marijuana to anyone other than the registered patient. Legalizing medical marijuana would have little or no impact on the supply of the drug on the street. The legal use of marijuana by someone who is terminally ill neither promotes or glamorizes drug use. It recognizes that marijuana is a drug that like many infinitely more dangerous drugs can in some cases be justified.
Patients now being helped by the drug must purchase it illegally or get it through friends who are committing criminal acts by helping. Law enforcement at the highest level - U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder - has said the federal government won't prosecute medical marijuana cases. The same goes for local law enforcement.
Enfield Police Chief Richard Crate, though a fervent opponent of the bill, publicly stated that "law enforcement isn't going to the people who are dying and suffering and arresting people because they're using marijuana." Good. They shouldn't and don't because it would be cruel to do so.
Recently in these pages, Concord Dr. Seddon Savage, president of the American Pain Society, argued against the bill on medical grounds. Her arguments, too, were unpersuasive. Medical marijuana dosages aren't precise, at least yet, but they are controlled by how much the sufferer needs to take to achieve relief and overdosing is virtually impossible. Smoking marijuana would increase the risk of lung cancer and other maladies, but the people who would use are already either dying or living in misery.
Savage called a patient's ability to "manage the complex condition of chronic pain" themselves the most troubling aspect of the bill. But that is actually one of its attributes, for who better to know when relief has been achieved than the patient herself? Nor is it likely that permission to use marijuana medically means that a patient would stop receiving regular care by a physician. Allowing people whose suffering qualifies them to try achieve relief with marijuana is humane and the right thing to do.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Cannabis is medicine.
Cannabinoids have been found to have antioxidant properties, unrelated to NMDA receptor antagonism. This new found property makes cannabinoids useful in the treatment and prophylaxis of wide variety of oxidation associated diseases, such as ischemic, age-related, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The cannabinoids are found to have particular application as neuroprotectants, for example in limiting neurological damage following ischemic insults, such as stroke and trauma, or in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and HIV dementia. Nonpsychoactive cannabinoids, such as cannabidoil, are particularly advantageous to use because they avoid toxicity that is encountered with psychoactive cannabinoids at high doses useful in the method of the present invention. A particular disclosed class of cannabinoids useful as neuroprotective antioxidants is formula (I) wherein the R group is independently selected from the group consisting...
Inventors: Aidan J. Hampson, Julius Axelrod, Maurizio Grimaldi
Original Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services
Primary Examiner: Kevin E. Weddington
Attorney: Klarquist Sparkman, LLP
Current U.S. Classification: 514/454
International Classification: A61K/3135
View patent at USPTO
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Yissum Research Development Company of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem
Pharmos Corp. NMDA-blocking pharmaceuticals
US5538993 Feb 7, 1994 Jul 23, 1996 Yissum Research Development Company Certain tetrahydrocannabinol-7-oic acid derivatives
US5635530 May 24, 1994 Jun 3, 1997 Yissum Research Development Company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (3S,4S)-delta-6-tetrahydrocannabinol-7-oic acids and derivatives thereof, processors for their preparation and pharmaceutical compositions containing them
US5696109 Jun 7, 1995 Dec 9, 1997 Eukarion, Inc. Synthetic catalytic free radical scavengers useful as antioxidants for prevention and therapy of disease
US6410588 Mar 6, 2001 Jun 25, 2002 The Mathilda and Terence Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology
Yissum Research and Development Company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Use of cannabinoids as anti-inflammatory agents
Referenced by
Citing Patent Filing date Issue date Original Assignee Title
US7179800 Apr 15, 2003 Feb 20, 2007 Virginia Commonwealth University Cannabinoids
US7184198 Mar 8, 2005 Feb 27, 2007 Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc. Display element
US7285687 Jun 20, 2002 Oct 23, 2007 Virginia Commonwealth University
Organix Inc. Cannabinoids
US7597910 Aug 20, 2005 Oct 6, 2009 SLGM Medical Research Institute Compositions and methods for treating prostate disorders
US7674922 Sep 28, 2006 Mar 9, 2010 Albany Molecular Research, Inc. Process for production of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol
US7884133 Sep 8, 2004 Feb 8, 2011 Yissum Research Development Company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Ariel Ltd. Pharmaceutical compositions containing (+) cannabidioil and derivatives thereof and some such novel derivatives
US8106244 May 16, 2011 Jan 31, 2012 Albany Molecular Research, Inc. Process for production of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol
Claims
1. A method of treating diseases caused by oxidative stress, comprising administering a therapeutically effective amount of a cannabinoid that has substantially no binding to the NMDA receptor to a subject who has a disease caused by oxidative stress.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the cannabinoid is nonpsychoactive.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the cannabinoid has a volume of distribution of 10 L/kg or more.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the cannabinoid is not an antagonist at the NMDA receptor.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the cannabinoid is:
where R is H, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, carboxyl, alkoxy, aryl, aryloxy, arylalkyl, halo or amino.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein R is H, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, carboxyl or alkoxy.
7. The method of claim 2, wherein the cannabinoid is:
where
A is cyclohexyl, substituted or unsubstituted aryl, or
but not a pinene;
R1 is H, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, or substituted or unsubstituted carboxyl;
R2 is H, lower substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, or alkoxy;
R3 is of H, lower substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, or substituted or unsubstituted carboxyl;
R4 is H, hydroxyl, or lower substituted or unsubstituted alkyl; and
R5 is H, hydroxyl, or lower substituted or unsubstituted alkyl.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein
R1 is lower alkyl, COOH or COCH3;
R2 is unsubstituted C1-C5 alkyl, hydroxyl, methoxy or ethoxy;
R3 is H, unsubstituted C1-C3 alkyl, or COCH3;
R4 is hydroxyl, pentyl, heptyl, or diemthylheptyl; and
R5 is hydroxyl or methyl.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the cannabinoid is:
where R1, R2 and R3 are independently H, CH3, or COCH3.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the cannabinoid is:
where:
a) R1R2R3H;
b) R1R3H, R2CH3;
c) R1R2CH3, R3H;
d) R1R2COCH3, R3H; or
e) R1H, R2R3COCH3.
11. The method of claim 2, wherein the cannabinoid is:
where R19 is H, lower alkyl, lower alcohol, or carboxyl; R20 is H or OH; and R21-R25 are independently H or OH.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein R19 is H, CH3, CH2OH, or COOH, and R20-R24 are independently H or OH.
13. The method of claim 2, wherein the cannabinoid is:
where R19 and R20 are H, and R26 is alkyl.
14. The method of claim 10, wherein the cannabinoid is cannabidiol.
15. A method of treating an ischemic or neurodegenerative disease in the central nervous system of a subject, comprising administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of a cannabinoid, where the cannabinoid is
where R is H, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, carboxyl, alkoxy, aryl, aryloxy, arylalkyl, halo or amino.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the cannabinoid is not a psychoactive cannabinoid.
17. The method of claim 15 where the ischemic or neurodegenerative disease is an ischemic infarct, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and human immunodeficiency virus dementia, Down's syndrome, or heart disease.
18. A method of treating a disease with a cannabinoid that has substantially no binding to the NMDA receptor, comprising determining whether the disease is caused by oxidative stress, and if the disease is caused by oxidative stress, administering the cannabinoid in a therapeutically effective antioxidant amount.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the cannabinoid has a volume of distribution of at least 1.5 L/kg and substantially no activity at the cannabinoid receptor.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the cannabinoid has a volume of distribution of at least 10 L/kg.
21. The method of claim 1, wherein the cannabinoid selectively inhibits an enzyme activity of 5- and 15-lipoxygenase more than an enzyme activity of 12-lipoxygenase.
22. A method of treating a neurodegenerative or ischemic disease in the central nervous system of a subject, comprising administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of a compound selected from any of the compounds of claims 9 through 13.
23. The method of claim 22 where the compound is cannabidiol.
24. The method of claim 22, wherein the ischemic or neurodegenerative disease is an ischemic infarct, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and human immunodeficiency virus dementia, Down's syndrome, or heart disease.
25. The method of claim 24 wherein the disease is an ischemic infarct.
26. The method of claim 1, wherein the cannabinoid is not an antagonist at the AMPA receptor.
Inventors: Aidan J. Hampson, Julius Axelrod, Maurizio Grimaldi
Original Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services
Primary Examiner: Kevin E. Weddington
Attorney: Klarquist Sparkman, LLP
Current U.S. Classification: 514/454
International Classification: A61K/3135
View patent at USPTO
Search USPTO Assignment Database
Search in this patent
Citations
Cited Patent Filing date Issue date Original Assignee Title
US2304669 Aug 16, 1940 Dec 8, 1942 ISOLATION OF CANNABIDIOL
US4876276 Oct 26, 1987 Oct 24, 1989 Yissum Research Development Co. of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (3S-4S)-7-hydroxy-.DELTA..sup.6 -tetrahydrocannabinols
US5227537 Jan 8, 1992 Jul 13, 1993 Heinrich Mack Nachf. Method for the production of 6,12-dihydro-6-hydroxy-cannabidiol and the use thereof for the production of trans-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol
US5284867 Apr 8, 1992 Feb 8, 1994 Yissum Research Development Company of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem
Ramot University, Authority for Applied Research and Industrial Development Ltd. NMDA-blocking pharmaceutical compositions
US5434295 Feb 7, 1994 Jul 18, 1995 Yissum Research Development Company
Pharmos Corp. Neuroprotective pharmaceutical compositions of 4-phenylpinene derivatives and certain novel 4-phenylpinene compounds
US5462946 Mar 20, 1992 Oct 31, 1995 The United States of America as represented by the Department of Health and Human Services Nitroxides as protectors against oxidative stress
US5512270 Aug 31, 1994 Apr 30, 1996 Duke University Method of inhibiting oxidants using alkylaryl polyether alcohol polymers
US5521215 Feb 7, 1994 May 28, 1996 Ramot University Authority for Applied Research and Industrial Development Ltd.
Yissum Research Development Company of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem
Pharmos Corp. NMDA-blocking pharmaceuticals
US5538993 Feb 7, 1994 Jul 23, 1996 Yissum Research Development Company Certain tetrahydrocannabinol-7-oic acid derivatives
US5635530 May 24, 1994 Jun 3, 1997 Yissum Research Development Company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (3S,4S)-delta-6-tetrahydrocannabinol-7-oic acids and derivatives thereof, processors for their preparation and pharmaceutical compositions containing them
US5696109 Jun 7, 1995 Dec 9, 1997 Eukarion, Inc. Synthetic catalytic free radical scavengers useful as antioxidants for prevention and therapy of disease
US6410588 Mar 6, 2001 Jun 25, 2002 The Mathilda and Terence Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology
Yissum Research and Development Company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Use of cannabinoids as anti-inflammatory agents
Referenced by
Citing Patent Filing date Issue date Original Assignee Title
US7179800 Apr 15, 2003 Feb 20, 2007 Virginia Commonwealth University Cannabinoids
US7184198 Mar 8, 2005 Feb 27, 2007 Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc. Display element
US7285687 Jun 20, 2002 Oct 23, 2007 Virginia Commonwealth University
Organix Inc. Cannabinoids
US7597910 Aug 20, 2005 Oct 6, 2009 SLGM Medical Research Institute Compositions and methods for treating prostate disorders
US7674922 Sep 28, 2006 Mar 9, 2010 Albany Molecular Research, Inc. Process for production of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol
US7884133 Sep 8, 2004 Feb 8, 2011 Yissum Research Development Company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Ariel Ltd. Pharmaceutical compositions containing (+) cannabidioil and derivatives thereof and some such novel derivatives
US8106244 May 16, 2011 Jan 31, 2012 Albany Molecular Research, Inc. Process for production of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol
Claims
1. A method of treating diseases caused by oxidative stress, comprising administering a therapeutically effective amount of a cannabinoid that has substantially no binding to the NMDA receptor to a subject who has a disease caused by oxidative stress.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the cannabinoid is nonpsychoactive.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the cannabinoid has a volume of distribution of 10 L/kg or more.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the cannabinoid is not an antagonist at the NMDA receptor.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the cannabinoid is:
where R is H, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, carboxyl, alkoxy, aryl, aryloxy, arylalkyl, halo or amino.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein R is H, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, carboxyl or alkoxy.
7. The method of claim 2, wherein the cannabinoid is:
where
A is cyclohexyl, substituted or unsubstituted aryl, or
but not a pinene;
R1 is H, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, or substituted or unsubstituted carboxyl;
R2 is H, lower substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, or alkoxy;
R3 is of H, lower substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, or substituted or unsubstituted carboxyl;
R4 is H, hydroxyl, or lower substituted or unsubstituted alkyl; and
R5 is H, hydroxyl, or lower substituted or unsubstituted alkyl.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein
R1 is lower alkyl, COOH or COCH3;
R2 is unsubstituted C1-C5 alkyl, hydroxyl, methoxy or ethoxy;
R3 is H, unsubstituted C1-C3 alkyl, or COCH3;
R4 is hydroxyl, pentyl, heptyl, or diemthylheptyl; and
R5 is hydroxyl or methyl.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the cannabinoid is:
where R1, R2 and R3 are independently H, CH3, or COCH3.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the cannabinoid is:
where:
a) R1R2R3H;
b) R1R3H, R2CH3;
c) R1R2CH3, R3H;
d) R1R2COCH3, R3H; or
e) R1H, R2R3COCH3.
11. The method of claim 2, wherein the cannabinoid is:
where R19 is H, lower alkyl, lower alcohol, or carboxyl; R20 is H or OH; and R21-R25 are independently H or OH.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein R19 is H, CH3, CH2OH, or COOH, and R20-R24 are independently H or OH.
13. The method of claim 2, wherein the cannabinoid is:
where R19 and R20 are H, and R26 is alkyl.
14. The method of claim 10, wherein the cannabinoid is cannabidiol.
15. A method of treating an ischemic or neurodegenerative disease in the central nervous system of a subject, comprising administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of a cannabinoid, where the cannabinoid is
where R is H, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, carboxyl, alkoxy, aryl, aryloxy, arylalkyl, halo or amino.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the cannabinoid is not a psychoactive cannabinoid.
17. The method of claim 15 where the ischemic or neurodegenerative disease is an ischemic infarct, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and human immunodeficiency virus dementia, Down's syndrome, or heart disease.
18. A method of treating a disease with a cannabinoid that has substantially no binding to the NMDA receptor, comprising determining whether the disease is caused by oxidative stress, and if the disease is caused by oxidative stress, administering the cannabinoid in a therapeutically effective antioxidant amount.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the cannabinoid has a volume of distribution of at least 1.5 L/kg and substantially no activity at the cannabinoid receptor.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein the cannabinoid has a volume of distribution of at least 10 L/kg.
21. The method of claim 1, wherein the cannabinoid selectively inhibits an enzyme activity of 5- and 15-lipoxygenase more than an enzyme activity of 12-lipoxygenase.
22. A method of treating a neurodegenerative or ischemic disease in the central nervous system of a subject, comprising administering to the subject a therapeutically effective amount of a compound selected from any of the compounds of claims 9 through 13.
23. The method of claim 22 where the compound is cannabidiol.
24. The method of claim 22, wherein the ischemic or neurodegenerative disease is an ischemic infarct, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and human immunodeficiency virus dementia, Down's syndrome, or heart disease.
25. The method of claim 24 wherein the disease is an ischemic infarct.
26. The method of claim 1, wherein the cannabinoid is not an antagonist at the AMPA receptor.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
ARTICLE: Mothers and marijuana in Colorado
By Kirtley Ceballos
With the birth of my first child 10 months ago, this is a very special Mother's Day for me. It is a time for me to pause and think about the mother I want to be to my little boy as he continues to grow. I plan to take some quiet time to imagine both the joys and challenges that lie ahead.
Looking down the road, I know, like every other parent, that one of the greatest challenges my husband and I will face is the possibility of teen drug, tobacco and alcohol use. Fortunately, as a parent, I have more than a decade before that really becomes an issue. But as a Colorado citizen, I have the opportunity this year to address the subject on a societal level.
In November, the voters in our state will consider Amendment 64, an initiative that would regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. It would allow adults 21 years of age or older to use and possess a limited amount of marijuana. And it would direct the legislature to impose on excise tax on marijuana, with the proceeds going toward public school construction.
Most importantly, from my perspective as a future parent, the initiative would establish a regulated system for the cultivation and sale of marijuana. This means that marijuana would be sold in stores in which employees would be required to check IDs before conducting any transaction.
Taking the sale of marijuana out of the criminal market and putting it in the hands of state-regulated stores would be a dramatic improvement over the existing system. In fact, if your concern is the health and well-being of teens, it can be argued that we currently have the worst possible marijuana policies.
By keeping marijuana illegal, we are ensuring that the only market for marijuana, aside from the controlled sale of medical marijuana in the state, is the criminal market. One that is easily accessible in any Colorado neighborhood. Therefore, when teens inevitably decide to acquire marijuana, they enter a market where dealers have a financial incentive to turn them on to harder drugs.
In addition, marijuana obtained in the criminal market is completely unregulated and untested. A purchaser, especially a young, novice purchaser, has no idea whether there are any impurities or additives. For those concerned about the potency of marijuana, it is also relevant that underground marijuana is not professionally packaged or labeled.
Most of all, there is the simple fact that drug dealers don't card.
Consider the results of a recently released national survey, the Partnership Attitude Tracking Study, which found that teen marijuana use is on the rise. Our state's attorney general, John Suthers, decried the results of this survey, saying, "I would encourage Colorado policymakers to consider the trajectory we are on as they consider future marijuana laws and policies."
Mr. Suthers is right about one thing. We do need to consider the trajectory we are on. But Mr. Suthers ignored a highly relevant result in the survey in that regard. While teen marijuana use is on the rise, teen cigarette use is falling. In fact, the number of teens admitting to smoking a cigarette in the past month dropped 19 percent between 2010 and 2011. Among teens, there are now more current marijuana users than cigarette users!
What this tells us is that regulating the sale of a product and restricting the ability of teens to purchase that product is an effective means of reducing use. What is working for cigarettes should be done for marijuana.
As a mother, I will do everything I can to make sure that my child is educated about the potential harms of drugs and alcohol. I will also convey my feelings about the importance of steering clear of intoxicating substances at a young age. And I hope to instill in my child the knowledge and confidence to make healthy choices.
But I know that at some point parents lose control. Teens make choices that we hoped they would never make. It's simply part of becoming an adult. When that time comes, whether it is my child or someone else's child, I hope that we do not have policies that drive teens looking for a little marijuana into the dangerous criminal market.
For the sake of our children, it is time to regulate marijuana like alcohol.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
ARTICLE: 1938 Popular Mechanics Hemp Crops
New Billion-Dollar Crop
VOL. 69 February, 1938 NO. 2
American farmers are promised a new cash crop with an annual value of several hundred million dollars, all because a machine has been invented which solves a problem more than 6,000 years old. It is hemp, a crop that will not compete with other American products. Instead, it will displace imports of raw material and manufactured products produced by underpaid coolie and peasant labor and it will provide thousands of jobs for American workers throughout the land.
The machine which makes this possible is designed for removing the fiber-bearing cortex from the rest of the stalk, making hemp fiber available for use without prohibitive amounts of human labor.
Hemp is the standard fiber of the world. It has great tensile strength and durability. It is used to produce more than 5,000 textile products, ranging from rope to fine laces, and the woody "hurds" remaining after the fiber has been removed contain more than seventy-seven per cent cellulose, and can be used to produce more than 25,000 products, ranging from dynamite to Cellophane.
Machines now in service in Texas, Illinois, Minnesota and other states are producing fiber at a manufacturing cost of half a cent a pound, and are finding a profitable market for the rest of the stalk. Machine operators are making a good profit in competition with coolie-produced foreign fiber while paying farmers fifteen dollars a ton for hemp as it comes from the field.
From the farmers' point of view, hemp is an easy crop to grow and will yield from three to six tons per acre on any land that will grow corn, wheat, or oats. It can be grown in any state of the union. It has a short growing season, so that it can be planted after other crops are in. The long roots penetrate and break the soil to leave it in perfect condition for the next year's crop. The dense shock of leaves, eight to twelve feet above the ground, chokes out weeds. Two successive crops are enough to reclaim land that has been abandoned because of Canadian thistles or quack grass.
Under old methods, hemp was cut and allowed to lie in the fields for weeks until it "retted" enough so that the fibers could be pulled off by hand. Retting is simply rotting as a result of dew, rain and bacterial action. Machines were developed to separate the fibers mechanically after retting was complete, but the cost was high, the loss of fiber great, and the quality of fiber comparatively low. With the new machine, known as a decorticator, hemp is cut with a slightly modified grain binder. It is delivered to the machine where an automatic chain conveyor feeds it to the breaking arms at a rate of two or three tons per hour. The hurds are broken into fine pieces that drop into the hopper, from where they are delivered by blower to a baler or to a truck or freight car for loose shipment. The fiber comes from the other end of the machine, ready for baling.
From this point on, almost anything can happen. The raw fiber can be used to produce strong twine or rope, woven into burlap, used for carpet warp or linoleum backing or it may be bleached and refined, with resinous by-products of high commercial value. It can, in fact, be used to replace foreign fibers which now flood our markets.
Thousands of tons of hemp hurds are used every year by one large powder company for the manufacture of dynamite and TNT. A large paper company, which has been paying more than a million dollars a year in duties on foreign-made cigarette papers, now is manufacturing these papers from American hemp grown in Minnesota. A new factory in Illinois is producing bond paper from hemp. The natural materials in hemp make is an economical source of pulp for any grade of paper manufactured, and the high percentage of alpha cellulose promises an unlimited supply of raw material for the thousands of cellulose products our chemists have developed.
It is generally believed that all linen is produced from flax. Actually, the majority comes from hemp—authorities estimate that more than half of our imported linen fabrics are manufactured from hemp fiber. Another misconception is that burlap is made from hemp. Actually, its source is usually jute, and practically all of the burlap we use is woven from laborers in India who receive only four cents a day. Binder twine is usually made from sisal which comes from the Yucatan and East Africa.
All of these products, now imported, can be produced from home-grown hemp. Fish nets, bow strings, canvas, strong rope, overalls, damask tablecloths, fine linen garments, towels, bed linen and thousands of other everyday items can be grown on American farms. Our imports of foriegn fabrics and fibers average about $200,000,000 per year; in raw fibers alone we imported over $50,000,000 in the first six months of 1937. All of this income can be made available for Americans.
The paper industry offers even greater possibilities. As an industry it amounts to over $1,000,000,000 a year, and of that, eighty per cent is imported. But hemp will produce every grade of paper and government figures estimate that 10,000 acres devoted to hemp will produce as much paper as 40,000 acres of average pulp land.
One obstacle in the onward march of hemp is the reluctance of farmers to try new crops. The problem is complicated by the need for proper equipment a reasonable distance from the farm. The machine cannot be operated profitably unless there is enough acreage within driving range and farmers cannot find a profitable market unless there is machinery to handle the crop. Another obstacle is that the blossom of the female hemp plant contains marijuana, a narcotic, and it is impossible to grow hemp without producing the blossom. Federal regulations now being drawn up require registration of hemp growers, and tentative proposals for preventing narcotic production are rather stringent.
However, the connection of hemp as a crop and marijuana seems to be exaggerated. The drug is usually produced from wild hemp or locoweed, which can be found on vacant lots and along railroad tracks in every state. If federal regulations can be drawn to protect the public without preventing the legitimate culture of hemp, this new crop can add immeasurably to American agriculture and industry.
VOL. 69 February, 1938 NO. 2
American farmers are promised a new cash crop with an annual value of several hundred million dollars, all because a machine has been invented which solves a problem more than 6,000 years old. It is hemp, a crop that will not compete with other American products. Instead, it will displace imports of raw material and manufactured products produced by underpaid coolie and peasant labor and it will provide thousands of jobs for American workers throughout the land.
The machine which makes this possible is designed for removing the fiber-bearing cortex from the rest of the stalk, making hemp fiber available for use without prohibitive amounts of human labor.
Hemp is the standard fiber of the world. It has great tensile strength and durability. It is used to produce more than 5,000 textile products, ranging from rope to fine laces, and the woody "hurds" remaining after the fiber has been removed contain more than seventy-seven per cent cellulose, and can be used to produce more than 25,000 products, ranging from dynamite to Cellophane.
Machines now in service in Texas, Illinois, Minnesota and other states are producing fiber at a manufacturing cost of half a cent a pound, and are finding a profitable market for the rest of the stalk. Machine operators are making a good profit in competition with coolie-produced foreign fiber while paying farmers fifteen dollars a ton for hemp as it comes from the field.
From the farmers' point of view, hemp is an easy crop to grow and will yield from three to six tons per acre on any land that will grow corn, wheat, or oats. It can be grown in any state of the union. It has a short growing season, so that it can be planted after other crops are in. The long roots penetrate and break the soil to leave it in perfect condition for the next year's crop. The dense shock of leaves, eight to twelve feet above the ground, chokes out weeds. Two successive crops are enough to reclaim land that has been abandoned because of Canadian thistles or quack grass.
Under old methods, hemp was cut and allowed to lie in the fields for weeks until it "retted" enough so that the fibers could be pulled off by hand. Retting is simply rotting as a result of dew, rain and bacterial action. Machines were developed to separate the fibers mechanically after retting was complete, but the cost was high, the loss of fiber great, and the quality of fiber comparatively low. With the new machine, known as a decorticator, hemp is cut with a slightly modified grain binder. It is delivered to the machine where an automatic chain conveyor feeds it to the breaking arms at a rate of two or three tons per hour. The hurds are broken into fine pieces that drop into the hopper, from where they are delivered by blower to a baler or to a truck or freight car for loose shipment. The fiber comes from the other end of the machine, ready for baling.
From this point on, almost anything can happen. The raw fiber can be used to produce strong twine or rope, woven into burlap, used for carpet warp or linoleum backing or it may be bleached and refined, with resinous by-products of high commercial value. It can, in fact, be used to replace foreign fibers which now flood our markets.
Thousands of tons of hemp hurds are used every year by one large powder company for the manufacture of dynamite and TNT. A large paper company, which has been paying more than a million dollars a year in duties on foreign-made cigarette papers, now is manufacturing these papers from American hemp grown in Minnesota. A new factory in Illinois is producing bond paper from hemp. The natural materials in hemp make is an economical source of pulp for any grade of paper manufactured, and the high percentage of alpha cellulose promises an unlimited supply of raw material for the thousands of cellulose products our chemists have developed.
It is generally believed that all linen is produced from flax. Actually, the majority comes from hemp—authorities estimate that more than half of our imported linen fabrics are manufactured from hemp fiber. Another misconception is that burlap is made from hemp. Actually, its source is usually jute, and practically all of the burlap we use is woven from laborers in India who receive only four cents a day. Binder twine is usually made from sisal which comes from the Yucatan and East Africa.
All of these products, now imported, can be produced from home-grown hemp. Fish nets, bow strings, canvas, strong rope, overalls, damask tablecloths, fine linen garments, towels, bed linen and thousands of other everyday items can be grown on American farms. Our imports of foriegn fabrics and fibers average about $200,000,000 per year; in raw fibers alone we imported over $50,000,000 in the first six months of 1937. All of this income can be made available for Americans.
The paper industry offers even greater possibilities. As an industry it amounts to over $1,000,000,000 a year, and of that, eighty per cent is imported. But hemp will produce every grade of paper and government figures estimate that 10,000 acres devoted to hemp will produce as much paper as 40,000 acres of average pulp land.
One obstacle in the onward march of hemp is the reluctance of farmers to try new crops. The problem is complicated by the need for proper equipment a reasonable distance from the farm. The machine cannot be operated profitably unless there is enough acreage within driving range and farmers cannot find a profitable market unless there is machinery to handle the crop. Another obstacle is that the blossom of the female hemp plant contains marijuana, a narcotic, and it is impossible to grow hemp without producing the blossom. Federal regulations now being drawn up require registration of hemp growers, and tentative proposals for preventing narcotic production are rather stringent.
However, the connection of hemp as a crop and marijuana seems to be exaggerated. The drug is usually produced from wild hemp or locoweed, which can be found on vacant lots and along railroad tracks in every state. If federal regulations can be drawn to protect the public without preventing the legitimate culture of hemp, this new crop can add immeasurably to American agriculture and industry.
Monday, May 7, 2012
ARTICLE: Senate passes medical marijuana, elections bills
CITY | 3:12 p.m. | May. 06, 2012 | By Nick Defiesta
Two landmark pieces of legislation passed Connecticut's Senate on Saturday, sending the legalization of medical marijuana and a package to reform the state's voting system to the desk of Gov. Dannel Malloy.
After 10 hours of debate, the Senate passed by a 21-13 margin a bill allowing patients with certain chronic illnesses to obtain small amounts of marijuana. Later, the Senate also voted 19-16 for a voting reform package that provides for voter registration online and on Election Day.
Malloy has pledged to sign both of the bills once they reach his desk. While he acknowledged that legalizing medical marijuana has posed problems for states in the past, he stressed in a statement following the bill's passage that provisions built into Connecticut's legislation will protect the state from the federal government.
"This legislation is about accomplishing one objective: providing relief to those with severe medical illnesses," Malloy said in the statement. "Under this proposal, the Department of Consumer Protection will be able to carefully regulate and monitor the medicinal use of this drug in order to avoid the problems encountered in some other states."
The bill, written by the Judiciary Committee, is more restrictive than similar legislation in other states, requiring a doctor to recommend marijuana to a patient and a pharmacist to sell it. While opponents read a letter from U.S. Attorney David Fein that called the bill a violation of federal law, and argued that the bill's passage would lead to crimes like the 2007 Cheshire home invasion, none of the 48 amendments filed against the bill were passed.
Both Malloy and Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman — who introduced the elections reform bill on Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year — hailed its passage as a victory for voter access.
"These reforms allow more people to have their voices to be heard in a places where it truly matters — the voting," Wyman said in a statement. "More of our residents will have the power to decide who they want to represent them in government, how they want their tax dollars spent, what kind of health care system they want and how they want their children to be educated."
Supports of the bill have pointed to evidence that these measures, particularly Election Day voter registration, have boosted turnout in other states. The top four states for voter turnout in the last two presidential elections offer Election Day voter registration.
Opponents argue that looser voter registration rules will make it easier to commit voter fraud and create chaos at the ballot box. But supporters pointed out that registration requirements are no different than they are for earlier registration, and all names will be checked against a statewide voter database.
Two landmark pieces of legislation passed Connecticut's Senate on Saturday, sending the legalization of medical marijuana and a package to reform the state's voting system to the desk of Gov. Dannel Malloy.
After 10 hours of debate, the Senate passed by a 21-13 margin a bill allowing patients with certain chronic illnesses to obtain small amounts of marijuana. Later, the Senate also voted 19-16 for a voting reform package that provides for voter registration online and on Election Day.
Malloy has pledged to sign both of the bills once they reach his desk. While he acknowledged that legalizing medical marijuana has posed problems for states in the past, he stressed in a statement following the bill's passage that provisions built into Connecticut's legislation will protect the state from the federal government.
"This legislation is about accomplishing one objective: providing relief to those with severe medical illnesses," Malloy said in the statement. "Under this proposal, the Department of Consumer Protection will be able to carefully regulate and monitor the medicinal use of this drug in order to avoid the problems encountered in some other states."
The bill, written by the Judiciary Committee, is more restrictive than similar legislation in other states, requiring a doctor to recommend marijuana to a patient and a pharmacist to sell it. While opponents read a letter from U.S. Attorney David Fein that called the bill a violation of federal law, and argued that the bill's passage would lead to crimes like the 2007 Cheshire home invasion, none of the 48 amendments filed against the bill were passed.
Both Malloy and Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman — who introduced the elections reform bill on Martin Luther King Jr. Day this year — hailed its passage as a victory for voter access.
"These reforms allow more people to have their voices to be heard in a places where it truly matters — the voting," Wyman said in a statement. "More of our residents will have the power to decide who they want to represent them in government, how they want their tax dollars spent, what kind of health care system they want and how they want their children to be educated."
Supports of the bill have pointed to evidence that these measures, particularly Election Day voter registration, have boosted turnout in other states. The top four states for voter turnout in the last two presidential elections offer Election Day voter registration.
Opponents argue that looser voter registration rules will make it easier to commit voter fraud and create chaos at the ballot box. But supporters pointed out that registration requirements are no different than they are for earlier registration, and all names will be checked against a statewide voter database.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Nancy Pelosi Statement:
Access to medicinal marijuana for individuals who are ill or enduring difficult and painful therapies is both a medical and a states' rights issue. Sixteen states, including our home state of California, and the District of Columbia have adopted medicinal marijuana laws -- most by a vote of the people.
I have strong concerns about the recent actions by the federal government that threaten the safe access of medicinal marijuana to alleviate the suffering of patients in California, and undermine a policy that has been in place under which the federal government did not pursue individuals whose actions complied with state laws providing for medicinal marijuana.
Proven medicinal uses of marijuana include improving the quality of life for patients with cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and other severe medical conditions.
I am pleased to join organizations that support legal access to medicinal marijuana, including the American Nurses Association, the Lymphoma Foundation of America, and the AIDS Action Council.
Medicinal marijuana alleviates some of the most debilitating symptoms of AIDS, including pain, wasting, and nausea. The opportunity to ease the suffering of people who are seriously ill or enduring difficult and painful therapies is an opportunity we must not ignore.
For these reasons, I have long supported efforts in Congress to advocate federal policies that recognize the scientific evidence and clinical research demonstrating the medical benefits of medicinal marijuana, that respects the wishes of the states in providing relief to ill individuals, and that prevents the federal government from acting to harm the safe access of medicinal marijuana provided under state law. I will continue to strongly support those efforts.
I have strong concerns about the recent actions by the federal government that threaten the safe access of medicinal marijuana to alleviate the suffering of patients in California, and undermine a policy that has been in place under which the federal government did not pursue individuals whose actions complied with state laws providing for medicinal marijuana.
Proven medicinal uses of marijuana include improving the quality of life for patients with cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and other severe medical conditions.
I am pleased to join organizations that support legal access to medicinal marijuana, including the American Nurses Association, the Lymphoma Foundation of America, and the AIDS Action Council.
Medicinal marijuana alleviates some of the most debilitating symptoms of AIDS, including pain, wasting, and nausea. The opportunity to ease the suffering of people who are seriously ill or enduring difficult and painful therapies is an opportunity we must not ignore.
For these reasons, I have long supported efforts in Congress to advocate federal policies that recognize the scientific evidence and clinical research demonstrating the medical benefits of medicinal marijuana, that respects the wishes of the states in providing relief to ill individuals, and that prevents the federal government from acting to harm the safe access of medicinal marijuana provided under state law. I will continue to strongly support those efforts.
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