Americans For Safe Access Michigan

Medical Marijuana Bills Pass Michigan House, Separate House Bill Would Regulate Dispensaries

On May 5, 2012, in News, by Admin

Medical Marijuana

A package of four contentious bills defining medical marijuana use passed the Michigan House Thursday and will go to the Senate.

The bills, which were written to clarify the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act passed by voters in 2008, have drawn the ire of some medical marijuana advocates, butreceived the necessary three-fourths majority House vote with bipartisan support, according to the Detroit Free Press.

HB 4834 would require Michigan Marijuana patients to have photo ID on their registry identification card, make the card valid for two years and privatize parts of the registration process. It would also allow law enforcement access to information about patients on the registry.

HB 4851 would offer stricter guidelines for the “bona fide physician-patient relationship” as it relates to medical marijuana use, including requiring an in-person physical examination of patients.

HB 4853 would put the penalty for selling marijuana without a proper registry identification card within the sentencing guidelines for a two-year felony.

And HB 4856 would criminalize the transportation of medical marijuana in a motor vehicle under certain conditions.

“It’s about protecting a sick patient,” Rep. Ken Horn (R-Frankenmuth), a co-sponsor of the package, said of the reforms back in March. “They have the right [to medical marijuana use] under the law, so we’re going to make sure they feel safe in their own state.”

Attorney Matt Abel specializes in marijuana law and is the campaign director for Committee for a Safer Michigan, a group working to legalize marijuana in Michigan. He is troubled by the access to patient’s personal information that HB 4834 gives police officers using the Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN).

“The access to the LEIN system by name and address is going to cause all kinds of problems,” he said. “There were people who were assured their information was confidential.”

Although he believes HB 4853 is fair because it applies a consistent standard for two year offenses, he thinks HB 4851 and HB 4856 single out the medical marijuana community for targeted regulation.

“It would prevent a medical marijuana patient from carrying it on their person, but they can carry their Vicodin on their person,” he said of HB 4856.

Earlier this week, Rep. Mike Callton (R-Nashville) introduced a different bill addressing medical marijuana to the House. HB 5580 would regulate medical marijuana dispensaries and provisioning centers to ensure they are safe and clean.

“Since medical marijuana became legal in Michigan, dispensaries are popping up left and right and we need to make sure these places pass the grandma test,” Callton said in a release. “If you wouldn’t feel safe having your grandma go to one of these places to pick up her medical marijuana, as if she went to a pharmacy, then it needs to be cleaned up or closed down.”

The bill would also mandate that marijuana could not be consumed at dispensaries or provisioning centers, only sold; provide for local control; and allow caregivers to sell excess products to dispensaries. It would also prohibit centers from setting up shop within 1,000 feet of schools. HB 5580 must now be considered by the House Judiciary Committee to go forward.

Abel said there’s a lot to like about Callton’s bill, but added that he had some concerns about its 90-day record-keeping requirements for transactions. He thinks it may open the door for raids by federal agents. A memo released by the U.S. Department of Justice last year that said that state laws do not protect patients from federal prosecution.

Even in pot-friendly states, selling is risky business

On April 25, 2012, in News, by Admin

By Chris Morris, cnbc.com

Whether the grower is licensed or not, pot is still a risky business in states that have approved its use for medicinal purposes.

Take California. While the state has had medical marijuana dispensaries for more than 15 years, it remains a target for federal law enforcement officials, where the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration arrested nearly 8,500 people for marijuana-related offenses between 2004 and 2010.

California’s hardly alone. Several other states with dispensaries have seen an increase in both arrests and the confiscation of marijuana plants. However, a look at DEA records shows what appears to be an uneven enforcement policy among pot-friendly states over the past several years.

For example, while arrests and eradication in California climbed fairly steadily in the seven-year time frame, they remained essentially flat in Maine. Colorado, meanwhile, saw a reversal in both trends halfway through the time period.

Americans for Safe Access, which advocates the legalization of medical marijuana, says the Justice Department has conducted nearly 200 raids on dispensaries and growers since President Barack Obama took office.

“The assault on medical marijuana patients currently under way by the Obama administration is unprecedented in this country’s history,” said Steph Sherer, the organization’s founder and executive director. “The intensity and breadth of the attacks has far surpassed anything we saw under the Bush administration and has resulted in the roll-back of numerous local and state laws, not just in California.”

The government’s focus on the industry has taken many lawmakers and medical marijuana activists by surprise. During his presidential campaign four years ago, Obama vowed to maintain a hands-off approach toward pot clinics and dispensaries that adhere to state law.

Perhaps not surprisingly, California, which legalized marijuana in 1996 and has long been considered a hub for the pot community, has been the state most targeted by federal officials. In 2004, the DEA made 869 marijuana-related arrests, seizing 1.2 million plants that were cultivated to produce marijuana buds. Both numbers climbed steadily through 2009, according to statistics provided by the DEA, peaking at 1,738 arrests and 7.5 million plants. (In 2010, the numbers slipped slightly to 1,591 arrests and 7.4 million plants.)

California and federal officials have been at odds for years over medical marijuana, since the Controlled Substances Act still classifies the drug as illegal. Federal prosecutors have frequently targeted dispensaries that make profits, noting California law requires those facilities to run as not-for-profit collectives. Those dispensaries, though, are often significant sources of tax income.

Michigan may not boast the hard arrest and confiscation numbers that California does, but federal officials have been even more active there since medical marijuana was legalized in 2008. Arrests have climbed 223 percent since legalization (from 290 in 2007 to 647 in 2010). Plant seizures have increased by 68 percent in that time, according to the DEA.

Similarly, Montana, which legalized medical usage in 2004, saw a slight increase in arrests (with the biggest spike coming the year dispensaries opened) between 2004 and 2010. Last year, though, federal officials executed a series of raids that largely shut down pot providers in the state.

Since New Mexico legalized medicinal marijuana in 2007, however, arrests (which were never noteworthy to begin with) have dropped — from 16 in 2006 to just 4 in 2010 — while confiscations have generally fallen over the years, but spiked in 2010, with more than 8,400 plants destroyed.

It’s worth noting that these DEA statistics, while interesting, do not paint a complete picture. The agency focuses on big targets and distributors (including growers who work within the boundaries of the state law as well as those who do not). Its numbers do not include individuals who are arrested on possession charges, something that’s largely done on a city and county basis.

DEA officials play down the numbers, noting there are intangible factors that cause them to fluctuate each year.

“It’s difficult to draw conclusions based on the superficial data you’re looking at,” says Todd Scott, an agent who has worked with the DEA for 17 years. “What prompts a raid on [a dispensary] is a whole host of factors. I think there’s a misconception that a particular raid is a medical marijuana raid. If you find a grow, you don’t often know prior to that that it’s a ‘medical marijuana grow’.”

The reasons for the raids vary, as they do with any criminal investigation. There are some red flags, though. For instance, if a dispensary is suspected of illegally trafficking pot to people without prescriptions, that could attract federal attention. If a grow operation is of a substantial size (with tens of thousands of plants), that too can turn heads (since it’s such a flagrant violation of the Controlled Substances Act). Growers and dispensaries, though, say there has not been an obvious pattern to recent raids.

Nowhere is the fluctuation more in evidence than Colorado, where medicinal pot has been legal since 2000. From 2004 to 2007, arrests and eradications varied somewhat, but not wildly. They peaked at 341 in that period, while the DEA destroyed between 5,000 and 7,500 plants per year. In 2008, though, things changed considerably.

Plant eradications skyrocketed to over 30,000, while arrests fell to just 36. The numbers ebbed and flowed a bit more in the following two years, but arrests remained low, while more plants were destroyed.

Meanwhile, in Rhode Island (which legalized the drug for medicinal purposes in 2006), the threat of raids and employee prosecution from the U.S. Attorney’s office has kept dispensaries from opening. But looking at the DEA’s arrest record, no one seems to be taking much notice of the pot trade in the state. Through 2010, federal officials had only made nine arrests — and destroyed just 16 plants.

The DEA notes that cases tend to roll from one to another. An arrest in one incident can lead to tips about other illegal activity, which can explain the discrepancies. And since federal officials focus their efforts on larger busts, some operations might be too small to capture their attention.

“We are a proactive agency,” says Scott. “We don’t have to wait for a bank to get robbed or a car to get stolen to launch an investigation. As a federal agent, is it a productive use of my time to investigate a guy with five plants? Probably not. Is it worth my time for a guy who’s growing 500 plants? Well, probably so. But is there a number [that constitutes a cut-off point]? No.”

This article, “Risky business, even in pot-friendly states,” first appeared on CNBC.com.

Company Looking to Grow Marijuana in Old Michigan Mine

On April 23, 2012, in News, by Admin

Deep in an old copper mine in upstate Michigan, a company has been contemplating the possibility of growing medical marijuana in such a controlled environment that theft, contamination and bad weather would be complete non-factors. underground mine

The Detroit Free Press reports that in 2010, rumors had “got so bad, the State Police contacted the owners and asked to inspect the White Pine Mine sometime in the next couple of days.”

A trooper inspected the mine – one mile below the surface – and found plenty of plants growing, but no marijuana.

The rumors still persist, but are not unfounded. Prairie Plant Systems (PPS) and its Michigan subsidiary SubTerra would like to grow marijuana in that copper mine. The White Pine copper mine is currently being used for other plant-based medical research, but if employed by the state of Michigan, could serve 131,000 citizens.

Currently, PPS handles medical marijuana production for Health Canada. The company was founded in 1988 to research and produce disease-free berry trees for farmers.

Brent Zettl, PPS

“There’s a need to bring this under the proper reins of appropriate manufacturing for patient safety and for public safety,” CEO of PPS Brent Zettl told the Detroit Free Press.

PPS touts underground growing as the preferred method. One mile below the surface of Michigan, climate-control, humidity and contamination can be controlled. As well, no pesticides are needed, and molds are virtually nonexistent. As well, PPS would test their marijuana for active levels of THC, as well as molds, bacterias and metals.

Despite a promising system, the task of getting into the industry in is daunting. PPS and SubTerra would have to get through the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the Food and Drug Administration, Michigan’s Legislature, and Governor Rick Snyder.

Is the legitimate future of marijuana farming under ground? SubTerra would say so.

Michigan’s medical marijuana law is no protection for drivers, appellate court says

On April 18, 2012, in News, by Admin

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Users of medical marijuana cannot legally drive if they have any amount of the drug in their systems, the state Court of Appeals said in a ruling issued this morning.

The appellate court said the state’s “zero tolerance” law, which prevents motorists from operating a vehicle with any amount of a Schedule 1 controlled substance in their body, still applies for drivers who legally use medical marijuana.

The ruling came in a Grand Traverse County case in which Prosecutor Alan Schneider charged Rodney Koon with driving under the influence.

A circuit judge upheld a district judge’s ruling that jurors in Koon’s trial would not be told that any presence of marijuana in Koon’s system would be enough to convict.

The circuit judge ruled that the medical marijuana law superseded the zero-tolerance law.

Schneider also disagreed with the judges’ rulings that, under the medical marijuana law, he had to prove the driver was under the influence of the drug. State law prohibits any amount of marijuana in a motorist’s body.

According to the ruling, police stopped Koon for driving 83 mph in a 55-mph zone. Koon admitted to drinking one beer after an officer detected intoxicants, and admitted he used marijuana five or six hours earlier. He told the officer he had a medical marijuana card.

A blood test showed he had active THC in his system.

The appeals panel – David Sawyer, Peter O’Connell and Amy Ronayne Krause – said the medical marijuana law recognized circumstances where medical marijuana use would be not permitted.

“One of those exceptions specifically states that the protections will not apply to operating a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana. … This is certainly not an irrational provision. For example, it is not uncommon for a medication, whether prescription or over the counter, to be accompanied by a warning not to drive while using the medication.”

The problem is, the medical marijuana law doesn’t define “under the influence of marijuana,” the justices wrote.

“What we are left with is the (medical marijuana law), which affords a certain degree of immunity from prosecution for possession or use of marijuana for a medical purpose, and the Michigan Motor Vehicle Code, which prohibits operating a motor vehicle while there is any amount of marijuana in the driver’s system.”

It said the medical marijuana law, or legislators, could have rescheduled marijuana from a Schedule 1 controlled substance.

The court said that the medical marijuana law didn’t create a right to use marijuana, but provided protection from prosecution for possessing an illegal drug.

Koon contended that he had the “right” to “internally possess” marijuana, and, if he didn’t break any laws, could go about his “day-to-day activites, including operating a vehicle.

The medical marijuana law was supported by 63 percent of voters in 2008.

The justices called the medical marijuana law an “inartfully drafted act.”

E-mail John Agar: jagar@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/grpressagar

Estimate: Worldwide Population Of Lawful Medical Marijuana Patients

On April 11, 2012, in News, by Admin

by Allen St. Pierre, NORML Executive DirectorApril 11, 2012

From the International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines
IACM-Bulletin of 8 April 2012

World: Increasing numbers of patients use cannabis for medicinal purposes

An increasing number of patients in the world are using cannabis for therapeutic reasons, with available data from countries, which have installed programs for their citizens. Good data are available for Israel, Canada, the Netherlands and many states of the US with medicinal cannabis laws and registries. In several more countries only a few patients are allowed to use cannabis for medicinal purposes, including Germany, Norway, Finland and Italy. In many other countries such as Spain and some states of the US without a registry such as California the number of medicinal users is estimated to be high, but no detailed data are available.

The numbers in California with hundreds of cannabis dispensaries and clinics that issue medical cannabis recommendations are unclear, since the state does not require residents to register as patients (see below**)
Most of the 16 states that allow the medicinal use of cannabis require a registration. Recently the press agency Associated Press published data on registered patients in different states of the USA based on state agencies responsible for maintaining patient registries:

State: Number of registered patients (per 1,000 of the whole population) –
Colorado: 82,089 (16.3)
Oregon: 57,386 (15.0)
Montana: 14,364 (14.5)
Michigan: 131,483 (13.3)
Hawaii: 11,695 (8.6)
Rhode Island: 4,466 (4.2)
Arizona: 22,037 (3.5)
New Mexico: 4,310 (2.1)
Maine: 2,708 (2.0)
Nevada: 3,388 (1.3)
Vermont: 505 (0.8)
Alaska: 538 (0.8)
Patient registration is mandatory in Delaware, New Jersey and the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.), but their registries are not yet up and running. Washington State has neither voluntary nor mandatory registration.

Data from Israel show that in August 2011 6,000 patients got medicinal cannabis (0.8 patients in 1,000). It is estimated that the number increases to 40,000 in 2016 (5.2 patients in 1,000 citizens).

In Canada 12,116 patients were allowed to use cannabis on 30 September 2011 (0.35 patients in 1,000 citizens).

Numbers of patients using cannabis from the pharmacies in the Netherlands were estimated to be 1,300 in 2010 (0.08 patients in 1,000 citizens). However, many patients in the Netherlands use cannabis from the coffee shops or grow their own.

In Germany about 60 patients are currently allowed to use cannabis for medicinal purposes.

(Sources: Associated Press of 24 March 2012, website of the Israeli Prime Minister of 7 August 2011, UPI of 31 October 2011, Pharmaceutisch Weekblad No. 20, 2011)

**[Editor's note: CA NORML published a white paper last May estimating that California has 750,000 - 1,125,000 citizens who possess a physician's recommendation to use cannabis medicinally.]

Michigan Father Killed in Marijuana Child Removal Incident

On March 26, 2012, in News, by Admin

A prosecutor in northern Michigan has cleared the police officer who shot and killed a Grayling man as police and Child Protective Services (CPS) employees attempted to seize his three-year-old. The attempted removal of the minor child came after a police officer who came to the scene on a call earlier that same day reported that he smelled marijuana and reported the incident to CPS authorities, who decided the child needed to be removed. The dead man, William Reddie, 32, becomes the 17th person killed in US domestic drug law enforcement operations so far this year.

[Editor's Note: This case illustrates the difficulties that arise in determining which deaths qualify as being a direct result of drug law enforcement. Police here were enforcing child protections laws, not drug laws, but the only reason CPS was called in was because of the allegation of marijuana use. There was no allegation of crazed behavior due to marijuana use; only the allegation of use. For Michigan CPS authorities, that was enough to remove the child. Bottom line: This guy died because the state tried to take his kid because he was accused of smoking pot, so he merits inclusion. That doesn't mean his own actions didn't contribute to his death.]

Reddie’s killing took place on February 3, but we only became aware of it when news broke this week that prosecutors had decided that the police officer’s use of deadly force in the incident was justified.

According to the Crawford County Avalanche, Grayling police Officer Alan Somero was called to Reddie’s apartment for an alleged domestic disturbance. Somero made no arrests, but believed he smelled marijuana and reported it to CPS. Two CPS employees went to Reddie’s apartment to check on the situation. They then got a court order to remove Reddie’s 3-year-old son, Cameron, and asked police to escort them to the apartment to serve the court order.

The Gaylord Herald-Times, which obtained the CPS removal order, added more detail. It reported that Reddie had been accused of smoking marijuana in front of his son, and that Reddie had become “agitated” and threatened police when confronted by that accusation earlier in the day.

The court order gave the following reason for removing the child: “There are reasonable grounds for this court to remove the child(ren) from the parent… because conditions or surroundings of the child(ren), and is contrary to the welfare of the child(ren) to remain in the home because: It is alleged that the father used marijuana in the home in the presence of the child. In addition, there is concern for the safety of the child due to a domestic disturbance and threats made toward law enforcement by the father.”

Returning to the Avalanche’s narrative, when police and CPS workers arrived to seize the child, Reddie then reportedly displayed a pocketknife and lunged at them. Crawford County Deputy John Klepadlo shot and killed him. Police had been deploying Tasers, but holstered them and grabbed their guns when Reddie displayed the knife.

Crawford County Sheriff Kirk Wakefield then asked the Michigan State Police to investigate his deputy’s use of deadly force. The Michigan Attorney General’s Office referred the case to the neighboring Roscommon County Prosecutor’s Office. After receiving a report from the State Police, Roscommon County DA Mark Jernigan determined that the use of deadly force was justified and that Klepadlo would not be charged with any crime.

“The deceased was in possession of an edged weapon,” Jernigan said. “The deceased pulled a knife and hid it behind his back. At the point where he pulls his hand forward and lunges at the officer, he is in such close proximity, and presents a clear danger of deadly force, the officer is left with no option other than to use deadly force to protect himself, the other officer and the three civilians that were present. The use of deadly force is completely justified and therefore, the homicide was justified.”

Toxicology reports, which were included in the final investigation, showed there was no marijuana or alcohol in Reddie’s system when he was killed.

Reddie had been seeking permanent custody of his son and was due in court for a hearing on that matter three days after he was killed.

“They took the only thing he ever loved,” Reddie’s mother, Michelle VanBuren, told the Avalanche after the prosecutor’s announcement.

VanBuren said she was baffled by the conduct of authorities, especially since no evidence or alcohol or marijuana use was found. She said she had been in contact with her son throughout that day.

“I was on the phone with my son all day, and that cop was bullying him and harassing him so badly,” she said. “Where was protect and serve?” VanBuren asked. “The officers always have to stick together and for them to do this is just totally uncalled for.”

VanBuren said the family would continue to fight to ensure that CPS and law enforcement are held accountable for their actions. “They need to be held accountable and they will be held accountable, believe you me,” she said.

Reddie’s family is not alone in questioning police and CPS actions. “I can’t believe they (police) could not subdue Will without killing him, and over what, marijuana,” said Joanne Michal, who knew Reddie for half of his life. “Why didn’t police just arrest him or cite him for marijuana instead of removing his child?” she told the Herald-Times.

“It is particularly sad that Will was shot to death right in front of his son,” Michal continued. “Why not use a Taser? Even if he (Will) had a knife and lunged at police, they didn’t have to kill him. Instead of using a Taser, you shoot him in front of his child. It is just totally unjustified. They didn’t have to kill him. I think it’s very sad that his life was taken during the removal of his son. And the smell of marijuana shouldn’t have been a reason for an emergency order. Just a few days before he was killed, Will was visiting, and he was so excited because a hearing was coming up for custody. And it seemed to give him hope of getting permanent custody. His son was everything to him.”

Crawford County Clerk Sandra Moore said she also knew Reddie. “It’s truly a shame,” Moore said. “He was a good guy and very fond of his son. He had been very excited just days before” about gaining permanent custody.

Cameron Reddie is now in foster care. His father’s family is seeking visitation rights.

Meanwhile, Deputy Klepadlo, who had been on administrative leave after the shooting, is back on the job.

Grayling, MI

United States

To get more impact:

Tweet or post on Santos and Calderon’s walls the link to the open letter http://www.calderon-santos.org/carta-abierta/ with a short commentary. Please be courteous and respectful.
President Calderon: On Twitter: @FelipeCalderon, On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/presidentefelipecalderonhinojosa, By email: felipe.calderon@presidencia.gob.mx
President Santos: on Twiter: @JuanManSantos, on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JMSantos.Presidente?sk=wall

To promote the Calderon-Santos initiative:

·         Send an email to at least 5 of your friends to promote the petition, asking them to sign it.
·         Post a link to the petition on your own wall. Post it 3 to 4 times per week.
·         Post a link to the petition on the wall of your friends and the wall of the groups you follow
·         Tweet the petition.
·         Send letters to the editors or comments either online, or to your local press.
·         If you belong to a group, try to get your group to endorse this movement.

Thanks to the initiative of Guatemalan president Otto Perez Molina, on April 14-15, for the first time ever, drug legalization will be debated in a major international Summit, the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia, attended by 34 heads of state, including Obama, Calderon and Santos. These are historic times when prohibitionism might finally be defeated, and an end might be in sight to the unwinnable War on Drugs. We also realize that big fights are looming ahead of us, and that the support of Colombia and Mexico, the two countries that paid the highest human price for this failed war, is critical to the success of our cause. This is the moment that all drug reform activists have been expecting for decades. But prohibitionism will not just disappear. It will require massive, concerted mobilization and unshakable determination to defeat it. We cannot afford to waste this opportunity. This is history in the making, be part of it!

Michigan Group Pushing Marijuana for November Ballot

On March 16, 2012, in News, by Admin

decriminalize gr

A group of Michigan residents took to the street this morning in support for a marijuana proposal they’re hoping makes it to the November ballot. About 15 people from the group DecriminalizeGR met in Calder Plaza, in Grand Rapids, Michigan to collect signatures for a city charter amendment to make use of marijuana a civil infraction with smaller fines ranging from $25 to $100.

A similar ordinance has been active elsewhere in the state in Ann Arbor, where marijuana use has been a longtime infraction.

“If we don’t regulate marijuana, the state will do it for us,” DecriminalizeGR’s legal counsel Jack Hoffman told MLive. “Ann Arbor’s a successful city by any measure and we’d do well to learn from Ann Arbor’s success.”

Zach Rosenberg

State of Michigan, Medical Marijuana, and Gluacoma

On March 1, 2012, in News, by Admin

01MAR2012

by Vivian I Curl in

Marijuana and Glaucoma

Dear PUBLIC SERVANT:

The Republicans are at it again with yet another assault against the people of Michigan with the launch of “Senate Bill 977, which removes Glaucoma as a qualifying medical condition by the State of Michigan for the Medical Marijuana Program.” We the people take this as a direct assault aimed against the aging Michigan population. The people are tired of the expensive pharmaceutical toxins that provide minimal relief for this condition glaucoma. We the people write this letter because we are mad that you are actually considering this attempt with Senate Bill 977. We the people see this Bill as an attack against the aging senior community.

Public Servant you should be aware that “Over 2.2 million Americans, and over 60 million people worldwide, have glaucoma. Experts estimate that half of them don’t know they have it. Combined with our aging population, we can see an epidemic of blindness looming if we don’t raise awareness about the importance of regular eye examinations to preserve vision”Gluacoma.Org

We are writing this letter to educate you the PUBLIC SERVANT. We believe you must need this educational information as it is only obvious that you are not considering the peer reviewed validated research. This research confirms that marijuana is the best alternative herbal treatment for the condition of glaucoma.

We the people are uniting to state our disapproval of Senate Bill 977:

http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2011-2012/billintroduced/Senate/pdf/2012-SIB-0977.pdf

www.legislature.mi.gov

The condition “Glaucoma is an eye condition that develops when too much fluid pressure builds up inside of the eye. The condition tends to be inherited and may not show up until later in life” WebMD. This condition starts with “the increased pressure, called intraocular pressure, can damage the optic nerve, which transmits images to the brain. If damage to the optic nerve from high eye pressure continues, glaucoma will cause loss of vision. Without treatment, glaucoma can cause total permanent blindness within a few years.” WebMD

Six validated research articles that confirm marijuana is a critical component for relieving the symptoms of pressure in the eyes for Glaucoma patients:

Elsevier, SciVerse, Science Direct provides a survey of ophthalmology and presents “Marijuana can cause a profound lowering of IOP, but the high nonresponse rate, short half-life, and significant toxicity are strong indicators that it is not an appropriate therapeutic agent. Ginkgo biloba and some other Chinese herbal remedies do not affect IOP, but may improve blood flow to the optic nerve and, as such, may have a beneficial effect on glaucoma” Science Direct
The Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry states “The smoking of marijuana has decreased IOP in glaucoma patients. Cannabinoid drugs, therefore, are thought to have significant potential for pharmaceutical development. However, as the mechanism surrounding their effect on IOP initially was thought to involve the CNS, issues of psychoactivity hindered progress. The discovery of ocular cannabinoid receptors implied an explanation for the induction of hypotension by topical cannabinoid applications, and has stimulated a new phase of ophthalmic cannabinoid research” PubMed.
The British Journal of Ophthalmology presents that “cannabinoid will most likely prove to be useful as an anti cancer drug21 and for the management of pain,22,23 and of various kinds of motor dysfunction that include the muscle spasticity, spasm, or tremor associated with multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury,24 the tics and psychiatric signs and symptoms of Tourette’s syndrome, and the dyskinesia that is produced by l-dopa in patients with Parkinson’s disease.25–27 As now discussed, one other important potential clinical application for cannabinoids, is the management of glaucoma” PubMed.
The Department of Ophthalmology says the only issue with marijuana is the toxicological profile “Development of drugs based on the cannabinoid molecule or its agonists for use as topical or oral antiglaucoma medications seems to be worthy of further pursuit. Among the latter chemicals, some have no known adverse psychoactive side effects. Smoking of marijuana plant material for the reduction of elevated IOP in glaucoma is ill-advised, given its toxicological profile” PubMed
J Clinic Pharmacol, 1981, Aug-Sep, 21 (8-9 Suppl): 467S-471S “Systemic delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), administered either by smoking marihuana or as synthetic THC in soft gelatin capsules, lowers ocular tension in various glaucoma’s, but at the expense of significant decreases in systolic blood pressure” PubMed
Chem Biol Drug Des, 2010 Jun, 75 (6):632-40 says “Cannabinoid compounds have widely been employed because of its medicinal and psychotropic properties. These compounds are isolated from Cannabis sativa (or marijuana) and are used in several medical treatments, such as glaucoma, nausea associated to chemotherapy, pain and many other situations” PubMed

Please research and you will find that these are validated reasons why we should continue to allow Glaucoma patients the opportunity to medicate and relieve the pressure without the use of harmful synthetics. Wake up and realize that pharmaceutical sludge is the reason that people are unhealthy today. We must stand against the pharmaceutical and governmental assault on medical marijuana.

Thank you for your consideration:

Vivian I Curl, Marketing Specialist, Nutritional Health Research Writer, Poet, and Communication Major. Vivian@Qventerprises.com

You the citizen can take action also by copy and pasting your name into the above spot and sending this letter to: www.legislature.mi.gov

Michigan Update

On February 23, 2012, in News, by Admin

Last Tuesday, the Port Orchard City Council extended a moratorium on dispensaries and another on collective gardens for six more months. The two moratoria have been in effect for a year now and are intended to give city staff more time to develop appropriate land-use and zoning regulations for medical marijuana collective gardens and dispensaries. The city attorney said regulations could be completed during this six-month period, especially if the state legislature clarifies regulation at the state level.

On Tuesday, the owner of the Herbal Resource dispensary in Owosso was charged with state marijuana cultivation distribution offenses. The charges stem from a January 19 raid by the Mid-Michigan Area Group Narcotics Enforcement Team (MAGNET).

By: Phillip Smith

Michigan House to begin medical marijuana hearings

On February 23, 2012, in News, by Admin

February 23, 2012 11:21 AM
LANSING, Mich. (AP) – The Michigan House plans a hearing Thursday on proposals that supporters say would clarify the state’s voter-approved law allowing the use of marijuana for medical purposes.

The House Judiciary Committee hearing is likely to be the first of several on the legislation.

One proposal aims to better define the type of doctor-patient relationship that would be needed before medical marijuana use could be certified. Another bill would detail requirements for photographs to be included on identification cards that people certified to use medical marijuana must carry.

Republican Attorney General Bill Schuette and some state lawmakers say changes are needed to the 2008 law. Schuette has said the law has “more holes than Swiss cheese.”

Medical marijuana advocates say the proposed changes might make the drug harder to get.