Filed under: Hemp&Law, HempTherapy, hemp in general | Tags: cannabis, chemoterapy, ganja, hashish, hemp, Livingston, marijuana, Marinol, medical cannabis, medical marijuana, Michigan, nausea, pot, skunk, therapeutic use, weed
Michigan — There’s a key reason why some groups want to make it legal for some seriously ill patients to smoke marijuana to ease vomiting and nausea.
Although there is a pharmaceutical version of marijuana called Marinol that comes in pill form, it doesn’t work, according to Dr. Elaine Chottiner. She serves as section head of hematology and oncology at Saint Joseph Mercy Health System, which runs the Saint Joseph Mercy Woodland Center in Genoa Township.
“If Marinol worked, nobody would care about legalizing marijuana,” Chottiner said.
On Nov. 4, Michigan voters will decide the fate of the medical use of marijuana ballot question. Under Proposal 1, there would be specific guidelines to using marijuana.
A physician would need to approve marijuana use for a patient with a debilitating medical condition, and patients would receive an identification card. Patients would only have protected use in their home and could not smoke it in public places.
Chottiner said Marinol was approved because it was shown in clinical trials to alleviate vomiting and nausea caused by certain kinds of chemotherapy. It contains a synthetic form of THC, the major active substance in marijuana, which helps relieve nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy and stimulates appetite for AIDS patients.
However, Chottiner said few patients have found the pill to be effective and usually don’t seek refills. She said absorption is probably one reason the drug doesn’t work as well, since it takes longer to digest something than smoke it. Also, Marinol contains only one of marijuana’s 66 compounds.
Chottiner said a few people have asked her about smoking marijuana to ease their symptoms, and a few patients have told her they’re smoking marijuana to ease their nausea and vomiting. In general, Chottiner said only a very small percentage of patients have chronic nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy. She said most chemotherapy does not cause those symptoms. She also said there are excellent medications available — and that work — to prevent those symptoms.
Chottiner, who indicated she was neutral on the ballot question, said there are pros and cons with the proposal.
She said the most important issue is helping patients.
“We want to do everything we can for our patients and alleviate their suffering,” she said. “If this is something that can be used for this purpose, it would be helpful to find a way to provide it.”
However, Chottiner said she feels much more comfortable prescribing drugs that have gone through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval process. She said the FDA conducts rigorous clinical trials so doctors know what’s in a drug, a proper schedule and dosage for a particular drug. She said it would be difficult to prescribe marijuana because there are no standards.
Chottiner said she doesn’t prescribe herbs because “you never know what you’re getting.”
Source: Livingston Daily Press
Filed under: Hemp&Law, HempTherapy, hemp in general | Tags: AIDS, cancer, cannabis, Detroit, ganja, hashish, hemp, HIV, marijuana, medical cannabis, medical marijuana, Michigan, multiple sclerosis, pot, proposal n.1, Proposition 215, skunk, therapeutic use, weed
Michigan — Marijuana has proven benefits in limiting pain and reducing the side effects of other medicines used to treat certain illnesses. Proposal 1 would allow the use of marijuana for these limited medical purposes. Voters should say yes to Proposal 1.
Proposal 1 would legalize doctor-prescribed marijuana. The Detroit News has reported that upwards of 500,000 Michiganians with “debilitating medical conditions” — HIV/AIDS, cancer, Hepatitis C, Crohn’s disease, Alzheimers, multiple sclerosis and the like — will qualify. It can be useful, for example, in controlling nausea during chemotherapy in cancer treatments.
Anyone found to be lying about their medical condition or distributing marijuana to friends would be barred from future participation.
The proposal contains other safeguards. If voters accept Proposal 1, the Michigan Department of Community Health would create a state medical marijuana registry, and each user will be given an identification card. Anyone without such a card, debilitating illness or not, is still subject to state law. And Michigan law is harsh on marijuana. The penalty for possession is up to one year of imprisonment and up to $2,000 in fines. Dealers risk $10 million in fines and imprisonment for up to 15 years — and these are for first offenses. None of that would change with Proposal 1.
Proposal 1 would also protect the over-21 primary caregivers who handle marijuana for and administer marijuana to sick family or friends. Users are protected from the threat of prosecution and the possibility of losing custody of their children due to smoking medical herbs.
The law would no longer view primary caregivers administering marijuana as drug dealers. And compassionate doctors will no longer have to risk their medical licenses and livelihoods every time they prescribe marijuana to ailing patients.
There are also standards for registered users. All the normal laws apply to smoking in public. No one will be permitted to smoke in public places or near schools or prisons, and “drugged driving” will still be illegal.
Employers won’t be forced to allow use of medical marijuana in the workplace. Insurance providers can decide for themselves whether to cover it.
Twelve states allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes. The record is that it can be properly administered as one more part of the mix of medicines available to physicians.
Proposal 1 seems to have been written to anticipate and address concerns that it is a backdoor route to full-blown legalization. The standard for obtaining a registry card is high and the penalty for misuse is steep.
Proposal 1 won’t make pot any more publicly visible or available than it already is; all it will do is allow doctors, primary caregivers, and most importantly patients another option in managing serious and painful illnesses. Vote yes on Proposal 1.
Source: Detroit Free Press
Filed under: Hemp&Law, HempTherapy, hemp in general | Tags: cannabis, ganja, hashish, hemp, marijuana, medical cannabis, medical marijuana, medical research, Michigan, pot, skunk, therapeutic use, weed
Michigan — Support appears to be deep and widespread for a measure on the Nov. 4 ballot that would allow for the medical use of marijuana in Michigan.
If approved, cancer chemotherapy patients suffering from nausea and vomiting would be able to use marijuana to ease those symptoms. Other patients who might seek this treatment would be those with HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis and glaucoma.
Former state lawmaker Dianne Byrum said a recent poll showed 67 percent of voters statewide support the ballot measure.
“I think it speaks to the compassion that this proposal is about,” said Byrum, spokeswoman for the Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care. The organization obtained 500,000 voters signatures to get it on the November ballot.
Currently, five Michigan communities — Ann Arbor, Flint, Traverse City, Ferndale and Detroit — have local ordinances that allow for medical marijuana use. There are 12 states in the United States which permit the use of marijuana for medical purposes.
“There have been no law enforcement issues on it,” Byrum said, referring to the five Michigan communities.
Under the proposal, a physician would need to approve marijuana use for a patient with a debilitating medical condition.
Byrum said patients would receive an identification card. She also said they would only have protected use in their home and could not smoke it in public places.
The measure would only permit limited quantities for private use.
Organizers do not have figures on how many patients might seek this approach, but it’s been estimated to be between 10,000 to 35,000 in the state.
Byrum said physicians would remain an essential part of the treatment process.
“This is an option that they would be able to use when other medicines aren’t working,” she said.
Byrum said there is a pill that contains a synthetic form of one of marijuana’s 66 compounds that can be prescribed.
However, she said, a pill isn’t going to work for patients with severe vomiting because they can’t keep it down.
Byrum said certain medicines and treatments work for some people and not others.
“It’s just saying this could be a treatment option that your doctor would recommend to you,” Byrum said.
Source: Livingston Daily
Filed under: HempTherapy, hemp in general | Tags: AIDS, cancer, cannabis, ganja, glaucoma, hashish, hemp, Hepatitis C, HIV, marijuana, medical cannabis, medical marijuana, Michigan, multiple sclerosis, pot, skunk, Wagoner, weed
MI — Michigan voters will decided whether or not to legalize medicinal marijuana in a state wide ballot initiative this November. Although polls show there is growing support for the move, getting people to speak openly about the subject can be bit more difficult.
According to a September poll by the Michigan Resource Group of Lansing, 67 percent of voters said they would support the proposal, while 29 percent said they opposed it.
If passed, the law would permit physician approved use of marijuana for patients with “debilitating medical conditions” including cancer, Glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis, as well as other conditions approved by the Department of Community Health.
Those patients permitted to use marijuana would be given an identification card and the right to grow marijuana plants in an enclosed, locked facility. The last portion of the law would also permit care givers and patients the right to used medical reasons as a legal defense in marijuana prosecutions.
Joshua Snider, a 30-year-old Petoskey resident, advocated for the use of marijuana as medicine for a variety of medical conditions. Snider said his own mild temporal epilepsy was improved with occasional use of marijuana.
Besides working as a pain killer and an appetite stimulant, Snider asserted that marijuana also has antispasmodic qualities.
“It works a lot better than any other prescribed medicines,” he said. “A lot of them can make you pretty sick, they mess with your stomach.”
Snider is an outspoken advocate for marijuana and helped collect signatures to get the measure on the statewide ballot, he said it is not uncommon for people to shy away from speaking about marijuana in public.
“All of it is fear,” Snider said. “Right now it’s dangerous to use it under the current law.”
While the current ballot initiative would allow patients with glaucoma to use marijuana, Dr. Tim Jarvi, an ophthalmologist in Petoskey, is not convinced that marijuana is better other pharmaceutical treatments already on the market. While marijuana can reduce ocular pressure, Jarvi pointed out that it also decreases blood pressure and therefore makes it more difficult to pump nutrients into the eye through the optic nerve.
“It’s impractical,” he said. “Even if it was legal we wouldn’t use it.”
Dr. George Wagoner, a retired obstetrician and gynecologist in Manistee, admitted that he had no scientific experience with marijuana. But during his wife’s unsuccessful battle against severe ovarian cancer in 2007, he said they turned to the illegal drug and found it helped her cope with the pain better than anything else.
Wagoner said his wife developed intractable nausea and vomiting during her chemotherapy and that other pharmaceutical drugs were ineffective.
“When my wife inhaled the smoke twice, she said the nausea was gone,” he said. “It took practically none to be effective. I think everyone in her situation should be allowed to do this legally.”
However, there are those, even with a personal knowledge of cancer, who do not support the current ballot initiative’s scope.
Bob McCullough, a 74-year-old Petoskey resident, is in remission from multiple myeloma and said he understands the need for medicinal marijuana, but was uncomfortable with people being given the legal right to grow it. He said that would open up the possibility of people selling it illegally for profit.
“There is such a strong desire for this stuff, I think it needs to be done through a pharmacy,” he said. “I would like to see it made available, but only a month’s supply at a time. That way a doctor would know if you are starting to abuse it.”
Although marijuana is illegal under federal law, and classified as a schedule I drug, 12 states have passed medicinal marijuana legislation. In 2005, Traverse City passed a city ordinance to make the prosecution of medicinal marijuana cases the lowest priority. However, both the offices of the county and city prosecutors referred requests for comment to one another, preferring to stay mum rather than weigh in on the taboo subject.
Charlevoix County Sheriff George Lasater deferred a request to comment to his successor, Don Schneider, after admitting he was not familiar with the ballot language. Although Schneider had yet to read the language, he said his first reaction was that legalization of medicinal marijuana would compound the issue of prescription drug abuse and marijuana use further.
“I think there’s always the potential for it to be grossly misused,” he said. “There are some doctors, although they are few and far between, that lack integrity and will give a prescription for anything.”
Source: Petoskey News-Review
Filed under: Hemp&Law, HempTherapy, hemp in general | Tags: cannabis, ganja, hashish, hemp, law enforcement, marijuana, medical cannabis, medical marijuana, medical research, medicine, Michigan, pot, research, skunk, stem cell, weed
Michigan — A majority of Michiganians is inclined to legalize marijuana for sick people, but a second statewide ballot proposal to relax restrictions on stem cell research in Michigan is a closer contest — and the advertising blitz has just begun on that measure.
The latest Detroit News-WXYZ Action News poll found that the voters, by a 59-37 margin, favor the ballot proposal to allow terminally and seriously ill people to legally use marijuana if a doctor certified the drug could ease their suffering.
The statewide poll was conducted for The News, WXYZ and three outstate television stations from Saturday to Monday by Lansing’s EPIC-MRA. It showed that the biggest backers were women (63 percent support), Metro Detroiters (60 percent) and Democrats (68 percent). Among men, the proposal garnered 51 percent support and 49 percent of Republicans favored it.
If Proposal 1 is approved by voters in November, Michigan would become the 13th state to legalize medical marijuana. Supporters estimate that as many as 50,000 Michigan residents would legally qualify for medical marijuana to treat a host of “debilitating” medical problems such as cancer, HIV /AIDS, hepatitis C, Alzheimer’s disease, Crohn’s disease and chronic diseases or their treatments that produce wasting syndrome, severe pain, sever nausea, seizures or muscle spasms, such as those caused by multiple sclerosis.
“I’m all for it,” said poll participant Jeff Bergel, a 52-year-old wholesale representative and father of two from Walled Lake.
“I lost a brother-in-law to brain cancer last year and I think marijuana could have helped make his more comfortable. My dad has glaucoma and I understand it could help him as well.”
On the controversial issue of stem cells, poll respondents, by a 50-32 margin, favor amending the state Constitution to allow scientists to derive embryonic stem cells from human embryos for medical research. Support among women is 57 percent compared to 42 percent among men. Support is 56 percent in Metro Detroit, but 45 percent among voters in the rest of the state.
Michigan has one of the nation’s most restrictive laws on stem cell research; a scientist here who uses new human embryos for stem cell research can face a $10 million fine and up to 10 years in prison.
Supporters of embryonic stem cell research say research could lead to better therapies and possible cures for a host of diseases and injuries such as cancer, Parkinson’s, juvenile diabetes and spinal cord injuries. Opponents — including political heavy hitters Right to Life of Michigan and the Michigan Catholic Conference — say research on human embryos is morally wrong because it destroys life. Critics of the measure also say its adoption could lead to human cloning, although the proposal doesn’t seek to change state law that already bans cloning.
“I’ve thought about it a lot and I think stem cell research would be all right,” said Regina Gerling, a grandmother from Muskegon who took part in the poll.
“I’m a diabetic, so I wish they would find new cures.”Law enforcement groups are near unanimous in their opposition to medical marijuana, saying it’s part of a broader agenda to legalize marijuana for everyone. But there doesn’t appear to be any group ready to spend money on an ad campaign to defeat the measure.
Michael Opland, a 64-year-old father of three from Harrison Township, said he supports medical marijuana, although he believes a lot of people would get the marijuana even though their medical conditions wouldn’t warrant it.
“A certain number of people would probably take advantage of the law,” he said. “But it’s worth it to get marijuana to people who really need it.”
The stem cell campaign is likely to get red-hot in the coming weeks. Opponents of the proposal started running TV commercials this week, suggesting that Michigan taxpayers would shell out hundreds of millions of dollars for the research. The opposition group, Michigan Citizens Against Unrestricted Science and Experimentation, filed a financial statement with the state on Thursday, showing it has rose about $595,000 — including $500,000 from the Catholic Conference — and had $233,000 on hand as of Sept. 18.
Supporters of stem cell research have not yet launched an ad campaign, although they are expected to shortly. They say the ballot proposal doesn’t direct a dime of state money to research.
Judith Maser, a retired clothing buyer from Novi, was originally opposed to stem cell research.
“Now I believe stem cell research could help a lot of people,” she said. “I think medicine has gotten so advanced that this is the future for our young people.”
Source: http://www.detnews.com/
Filed under: Hemp&Law, HempTherapy, hemp in general | Tags: cannabis, ganja, hashish, hemp, marijuana, Michigan, pot, skunk, weed
Michigan — Do you believe in having the freedom to do as you choose with your own body? Or should government make those decisions for you?
That’s the fundamental question in many great controversies of our time regarding smoking, prostitution, abortion, stem cell research, marijuana, wearing a motorcycle helmet, the right to die with dignity, the use of steroids, and drug use to name a few.
At least half the time, we (ie. society) decide to limit ourselves. If you want to make money by inviting strangers to enjoy your body, too bad — it’s against the law. If you want to hit the ball farther than anyone else on the team by taking steroids, tough luck — it’s illegal.
But if you want to smoke cigarettes or have an abortion, you are still free to do so. For the time being, that is.
So it’s all quite arbitrary as to what you can legally do with your own body in our supposedly “free” country.
That’s why this November’s vote on the Michigan Medical Marijuana Initiative seems momentous: we don’t often decide to legalize anything — the trend is usually in the other direction.
In March, members of the Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care turned in over 300,000 signatures from state voters, securing a place on the ballot for the Michigan Marijuana Act. The act would amend state law “to allow authorized patients to use cannabis therapeutically under a doctor’s supervision.”
If Michigan voters grant their approval, ours would be the 13th state to approve the use of medical marijuana since 1996, according to NORML (the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws).
Medical marijuana eases the pain and symptoms of glaucoma, MS, and chemotherapy. Should these people be forced to suffer excruciating pain or be forced to pay for prescription drugs costing thousands of dollars when inexpensive, effective marijuana is available? Vote your conscience on this one, and think of that member of your own family whose pain could have been eased.
Ah, but critics claim that in states where medical marijuana has been legalized, there are always a few Sneaky Petes who bend the rules so that they too can smoke pot.
Fortunately, two forward-thinking congressmen have a prescription for nipping this in the bud (no pun intended). Their idea is to simply quit harassing the American people over small amounts of marijuana and let us be free to use it.
What a concept! Freedom. Who could imagine?
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass) and co-sponsor Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) have offered a resolution to decriminalize the personal use of marijuana. They have proposed ending federal penalties for Americans who possess fewer than 100 grams of marijuana, or a little less than a quarter ounce.
“The vast amount of human activity ought to be none of the government’s business,” Frank said last week in a Capitol Hill press conference. “I don’t think it is the government’s business to tell you how to spend your leisure time.”
Rep. Frank, who doesn’t smoke marijuana, points out that billions have been spent in law enforcement to try to stop something that Americans routinely thumb their noses at — just as they did the prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s. NORML claims there are tens of millions of pot smokers in the U.S., and that there have been 20 million marijuana-related arrests since 1965. In fact, a marijuana smoker is arrested every 38 seconds in our country.
The arrests are a bonanza for law enforcement, courts and lawyers, but a real heartache for parents who’ve had to pay the legal bills for their teens, or have seen their kids sent to the county jail.
Under Frank’s proposal, it would still be illegal to deal marijuana or possess more than a quarter ounce. Obviously, this would require a bit of fait accompli from the government, winking at distribution.
Thus, the main problem with decriminalizing marijuana would, ironically, be a lack of government regulation.
Without government regulation of trade, organized crime would still be involved in marijuana’s distribution. Then too, there is the question of potency: in Amsterdam, where marijuana is legal, some strains are so potent from being refined through the years that smokers have suffered psychotic reactions.
If marijuana is going to be decriminalized, then we should also consider having it regulated and taxed, to the benefit of Michigan farmers and our state treasury.
Source: Northern Express (MI)
Website: http://www.northernexpress.com/
