Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Medical Marijuana News New Hampshire Senate passed its medical marijuana bill 14-10. Illinois religious leaders call for medical marijuana More than 60 religious leaders in Illinois are calling on state senators this week to pass a bill that would allow patients to use medical marijuana with a doctor's recommendation and without criminal consequences. "Medical marijuana is an issue of mercy and compassion," said Rev. Bill Pyatt of the First United Methodist Church of Carthage. "We pray that the Illinois legislature will have the compassion to stop this war on patients." Many religious leaders also hope the discussion about easing restrictions on marijuana use will widen the conversation about treating illegal drug use as a public health issue instead of a crime. Religious proponents of the Senate bill, which is expected to be decided before Thursday, say although medical marijuana use and decriminalization of drug use are related, they are separate issues. Minnesota: Minnesota's Senate just followed its New Hampshire counterpart with a medical marijuana victory of its own, passing its medical marijuana bill 36-28. The process in Minnesota is a little complicated: Today's vote was technically made by the Senate's Committee of the Whole, and needs an official vote that will probably take place later this week. But today's victory is a very good sign. Rhode Island We just got word that the Rhode Island Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill, 35-2, that would establish "compassion centers" to provide medical marijuana to qualified patients, making access for the seriously ill far safer and more reliable. 7:22:23 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []

Some good news Washington Post Justice Department officials this morning endorsed for the first time proposed legislation that would eliminate vast sentencing disparities for possession of powdered versus rock cocaine, an inequality that civil rights groups say has disproportionately affected poor and minority defendants. Newly appointed Criminal Division chief Lanny A. Breuer told a Senate Judiciary Committee panel this morning that the Obama administration would support bills to equalize punishment for offenders accused of possessing the drug in either form, fulfilling one of the president's campaign pledges. Breuer explicitly called on Congress to act this term to "completely eliminate" the sentencing disparity. The issue has received attention from both political parties, but never before have top law enforcement officials backed legislative reforms, according to drug control analysts. Again, the devil is in the details, but this is a good step. What's also interesting is what is missing from the article. No law enforcement big shots saying that we should keep things as they are. Everyone interviewed, including Senator Durbin, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton, representatives of FAMM, former DEA head Asa Hutchinson, and Miami police chief John Timoney, supported sentencing reform. 5:55:02 PM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []

A Proclamation Eugene, Oregon WHEREAS: Thirteen states have passed laws allowing for chronically and seriously ill patients to use cannabis with the approval of their physicians; and, WHEREAS: On September 6, 1988, Drug Enforcement Administrations (DEA) own Administrative Law Judge, Francis L. Young, ruled that Marijuana, in it˙s natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known; and, WHEREAS: There are over are over 17,000 published scientific studies on the therapeutic values of cannabis and cannabinoids in the National Library of Medicine, and, there are over 2,600 patents filed for the medical use of cannabinoids in the United States Patent office; and, WHEREAS: Pre-Clinical and Clinical trials indicate that cannabinoids are useful in controlling Alzheimer˙s Disease, Cancer, Chronic Pain, Diabetes, G I Disorders, Hepatitis C, Multiple Sclerosis, Osteoporosis, Pruritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Sleep Apnea; and, WHEREAS: Marijuana has a history of thousands of years of safe use without any recorded deaths attributed to its use, and, all citizens deserve to know the truth about cannabis, NOW, THEREFORE, I, Kitty Piercy, Mayor of the City of Eugene, Oregon, do hereby proclaim the Week of April 30th, 2009 to May 6th, 2009 as Medical Marijuana Awareness Week in the city of Eugene, and encourage all citizens to join in this observance. Kitty Piercy, Mayor Dated this 22nd day of April 2009 Just one more item pointing out the absurdity of the Controlled Substances Act as it currently exists: Schedule I controlled substances The findings required for each of the schedules are as follows: (1) Schedule I.-- (A) The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse. (B) The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States. (C) There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision." Drugs in this schedule include... Marijuana Tetrahydrocannabinols Yeah. Right. 8:08:10 AM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []

This won't end well... ZANGABAD, Afghanistan -- American commanders are planning to cut off the Taliban's main source of money, the country's multimillion-dollar opium crop, by pouring thousands of troops into the three provinces that bankroll much of the group's operations. [...] "I'm very happy to see you," the farmer told the Americans. "Really?" one of the soldiers asked. "Yes," the farmer said. The interpreter sighed, and spoke in English. "He's a liar." 7:37:23 AM | drug policy | Related  | permalink | comment []