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Medical-Use Marijuana Hot Topic

Discussion in 'Medical Marijuana Usage and Applications' started by IndianaToker, Feb 9, 2005.

  1. Editorial
    Source: Peoria Journal Star

    Springfield -- As a Chicago lawmaker pushes a proposal to legalize medical-use marijuana, a former drug-policy adviser to President George W. Bush is touring the state lecturing against the practice. The conflict reached a head this week when Rep. Larry McKeon, D-Chicago, challenged Dr. Andrea Barthwell to a public debate about medical marijuana. Barthwell declined the challenge.

    "I have no need to engage in street theater," Barthwell said.

    McKeon charged that Barthwell's seminars appear to be a smear campaign against his proposal. The lawmaker - who is living with AIDS - said House Bill 407 attempts to improve the quality of life for terminally ill patients struggling with the debilitating side effects of chemotherapy and other treatments.

    "This is about dealing with health problems that traditional medications have failed at," McKeon said.

    The proposal would allow individuals with a debilitating medical condition or their caretakers to own up to 12 cannabis plants and 21/2 ounces of usable cannabis.

    Individuals would be registered confidentially with the Illinois Department of Human Services and receive an identification card exempting them from arrest, prosecution or penalty.

    The measure also allows for the creation of not-for-profit organizations to grow the limited amount of marijuana plants for registered patients.

    Source: Peoria Journal Star (IL)
    Published: Wednesday, February 9, 2005
    Copyright: 2005 Peoria Journal Star
    Website: http://pjstar.com/
    Contact: comment@pjstar.com
     
  2. By Mary Massingale, State Capitol Bureau
    Source: State Journal-Register

    As a state lawmaker pushes his proposal to legalize medical-use marijuana, a former drug-policy adviser to President Bush is touring Illinois lecturing against the practice. The conflict reached a head this week, when Rep. Larry McKeon, D-Chicago, challenged Dr. Andrea Barthwell to a public debate about medical marijuana. Barthwell declined the challenge.

    "I have no need to engage in street theater," she said.

    McKeon charged that Barthwell's seminars appear to be a smear campaign against his proposal. The lawmaker - who is living with AIDS - said House Bill 407 attempts to improve the quality of life for terminally ill patients struggling with the debilitating side effects of chemotherapy and other treatments.

    "This is about dealing with health problems that traditional medications have failed at," McKeon said.

    The proposal would allow individuals with a debilitating medical condition or their caretakers to own up to 12 cannabis plants and 21/2 ounces of usable cannabis. Individuals would be registered confidentially with the Illinois Department of Human Services and receive an identification card exempting them from arrest, prosecution or penalty.

    The measure also allows for the creation of nonprofit organizations to grow the limited amount of marijuana plants for registered patients.

    Law enforcement officials and anti-drug advocates charge that legalizing the plant would lead to increased marijuana use. Federal law prohibits possession of the plant, but the U.S. Supreme Court will rule this year on whether federal officials can prosecute individuals who use medical marijuana.

    Ten states allow marijuana to be used for medicinal purposes: Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.

    McKeon sponsored a similar proposal a year ago that allowed six cannabis plants and 1 ounce of usable cannabis. That measure was banished to a subcommittee of the House Health Care Availability and Access Committee. This year, McKeon's legislation is slated for the House Human Services Committee.

    "I want to move it out of committee to the House floor and then hold it on the House floor until we've had a reasonable amount of time to do the education and outreach to get further feedback," McKeon said.

    Barthwell said she already is educating the public, as she travels the state presenting the Illinois Marijuana Lectures. Barthwell initiated the free, parent-aimed series last month with lectures in Peoria, Bloomington and Decatur, and continues this week with stops in Alton, Belleville and Mount Vernon.

    "A crude plant is definitely not a medicine," Barthwell said. "A surgeon doesn't come to a patient recovering from surgery and give them a pipe of opium - you give them a derivative."

    The Food and Drug Administration has not approved marijuana for medical use. A 1978 Illinois law allows participants in federally approved research projects to use medical marijuana, but that law never has been implemented.

    Law enforcement officials also object to a provision of HB407 allowing local and state officers to be fired for pointing federal officials toward a registered medical marijuana user.

    "That, to us, is pretty Draconian," said Laimutis Nargelenas of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police.

    A former Los Angeles police officer, McKeon said he is willing to sit down with law enforcement groups to come up with a compromise.

    "This is not a crime bill," McKeon said. "This is a health-care bill."

    Note: State legislator wants debate with doctor who is challenging practice.

    Source: State Journal-Register (IL)
    Author: Mary Massingale, State Capitol Bureau
    Published: Wednesday, February 9, 2005
    Copyright: 2005 The State Journal-Register
    Contact: letters@sj-r.com
    Website: http://www.sj-r.com/
     
  3. By Andrea Hahn, The Southern
    Source: Southern Illinoisan

    Mount Vernon -- About a dozen people, some of them in education or counseling, turned out in Mount Vernon Wednesday to hear Dr. Andrea Barthwell talk about the need to take marijuana seriously. Barthwell has embarked on a lecture series presenting the dangers of marijuana use -- particularly in the face of Illinois House Bill 407, which would create the Illinois Medical Cannabis Act. Barthwell is the former deputy director for Demand Reduction from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy -- otherwise known as the deputy drug czar.

    The Illinois Medical Cannabis Act, sponsored by Rep. Larry McKeon, D-Chicago, would allow a person diagnosed with what the bill describes as a "debilitating medical condition" to be a card-carrying legal cannabis user. The sick person and that person's primary caregiver would be allowed to own up to 12 cannabis plants and two and a half ounces of "usable cannabis."

    Barthwell said her "Illinois Marijuana Lectures" are not specifically in response to the bill, which was filed Jan. 26 and sent to the Human Services Committee on Feb. 2. Judy Kreamer, president of Educating Voices and Barthwell's tour-mate, said she had asked Barthwell to present these lectures as part of the organization's overall mission to keep children from using drugs.

    However, much of Barthwell's 90-minute presentation focused on the issue of legalizing marijuana for medical purposes. Kreamer said she hoped those in attendance would "do a training session" or "write about this" after hearing the program.

    Barthwell stressed that legalizing marijuana for medical purposes by popular vote would subvert the Food and Drug Administration approval process.

    "We'll be going back to the days of snake-oil medicine," she said.

    Barthwell said perception causes a serious dilemma when it comes to marijuana. She said many people who are responsible adults in today's society remember a time when marijuana use was fairly common, and something that was generally left behind as people matured. In fact, she said, many people, including parents, believe that marijuana use is relatively harmless.

    However, Barthwell said the negative side-effects of marijuana use on health -- including an increased risk of lung cancer -- are part of an equation that should raise concern. The other part of the equation relates specifically to school-age children.

    Barthwell said the THC level -- the chemical in cannabis that produces the high -- has increased as marijuana producers have learned more about manipulating plant growth. She said in the '60's and '70's, the THC level was about 1 percent. Now it averages about 7 percent, she said, up to 17 percent, with "BC bud" from Canada showing a potency of up to 30 percent THC level.

    Barthwell said the "initiation age" of users is 9 to 11 years old. She said the increased potency of cannabis combined with the lower average age of first-time users is equivalent to gulping whiskey on an empty stomach as opposed to nursing a beer over a period of hours.

    She said legalizing marijuana for any reason, even medicinal reasons, would make the substance more available to minors.

    Barthwell said the Illinois Medical Cannabis Act is a cover for the broader agenda of general legalization of marijuana.

    "Another agenda being worked here is using our compassion for the sick and dying," she said, referring medical proponents testimony about the drug's beneficial effects on those with cancer or glaucoma.

    "It is not a medicine," she said. "You don't know what's in it," she said. She said the variable level of THC in marijuana plants depending upon variety and growing methods makes it nearly impossible to prescribe a particular dosage.

    Barthwell urged those in attendance to "let Springfield know how people feel about (marijuana use and legalization)."

    In an interview after the presentation, Barthwell said nine of 10 marijuana users do not become addicted to the drug -- but those non-dependent users tend to be the ones who recruit new users. She said those who introduce drug use to their peer groups usually do so after they have had a "novel and pleasant experience" -- not after they have become entwined in a downward spiral of drug addiction.

    Matthew Atwood, Illinois Drug Education and Legislative Reform Executive Director, said Barthwell's lectures are filled with "disingenuous arguments."

    "I don't think she has the research to back up her arguments," Atwood said. "She refuses to back up her claims with citations, and she continues to drive around the state with her disingenuous claims."

    Barthwell said she will have her research citations available online within "a couple of weeks."

    Atwood said protecting children from abusing legal drugs is a responsibility of families and of those to whom the drugs are prescribed. He said cannabis would be in the same category.

    Since marijuana is, in at least some cases, beneficial for treating symptoms, Atwood said a patient would not necessarily need an exact prescription, but could "use as much as they need." He added that medical research of marijuana has been blocked by the very organizations that claim more research is needed.

    The Illinois Medical Cannabis Act is scheduled for a hearing before the Human Services Committee on Feb. 17.

    Barthwell was reported to have considered a run for the U.S. Senate representing Illinois when she stepped down as her deputy drug czar. She said at present she has no political ambition, but, in the face of the political nature of the legalization question, she would "seriously consider" resuming her political career "if duty called."

    Source: Southern Illinoisan (Carbondale, IL)
    Author: Andrea Hahn, The Southern
    Published: Thursday, February 10, 2005
    Copyright: 2005 Southern Illinoisan
    Contact: andrea.hahn@thesouthern.com
    Website: http://www.southernillinoisan.com/
     
  4. By Jennifer A. Bowen, News-Democrat
    Source: Belleville News-Democrat

    While Illinois lawmakers are considering a bill to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes, a former member of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy was in Belleville on Tuesday to warn about the dangers of marijuana. The medicinal marijuana bill was introduced into the Illinois General Assembly in Springfield last month. On Tuesday afternoon, Dr. Andrea Barthwell, the former White House official, met with drug-use prevention experts in Belleville.

    Barthwell, who is touring 18 Illinois cities, opposes legalization of marijuana, even for medicinal purposes.

    If marijuana use is legalized, she's concerned about the risks posed to children. She warns that legalizing it in any form would increase the work of law enforcement and drug dependency counselors.

    "This has absolutely no relationship to what's going on in Springfield," Barthwell said. "We aren't paying attention to the agenda of what other people are doing, but I believe if we had done this (lecture series) five or six years ago, the climate in Springfield today would be much different."

    One of the issues Barthwell addressed is the change of potency in marijuana over the past 30 years. She said increased potency has caused a rise in addiction.

    According to Barthwell, the potency of THC, the chemical in marijuana that induces a high, has gone up significantly over the years and its quality cannot be controlled, even under a physician's guidance for medical use.

    "If there were compelling scientific and medical data supporting marijuana's medical benefits that would be one thing," Barthwell said. "But the data is not there. The claim of one individual who has used marijuana does not medical data make. Marijuana has not gone through the test of science because it is a botanical and it doesn't have the same effect on every individual."

    Bruce Mirken of the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana Policy Project, disagrees with Barthwell. He supports the legalization bill sponsored by Illinois State Rep. Larry McKeon, D-Chicago. McKeon has battled HIV for 20 years.

    "She is just not living in the real world on this issue," Mirken said. "A lot of things she talks about are blatantly not true, especially when it comes to medical marijuana. There is precisely zero medical evidence that higher THC levels in marijuana causes more dependence. As far as potency goes, there is an average of 7 percent THC potency in medical marijuana in the United States. That's less than half the minimum potency standards set by the government in the Netherlands for medical marijuana sold in pharmacies in the Netherlands."

    According to the University of Mississippi Potency Monitoring Project, the average potency of marijuana in the United States has increased little over the past 30 years. In 1985, the average THC content of commercial grade marijuana was 2.84 percent. In 1995, the potency averaged 3.73 percent and by 2001, the potency averaged 4.72 percent. Medical marijuana typically has a slightly higher THC potency as indicated by Mirken.

    "Barthwell is spreading so many falsehoods that this begins to look like a 'marijuana disinformation tour,'" McKeon said. "She regularly claims that medical marijuana is a 'hoax' foisted upon us by some cabal of 'legalizers' who are exploiting patients. As a person living with AIDS, who has spent a lot of time discussing this issue with doctors, nurses and fellow patients, I know that's false and I am personally insulted by this smear campaign."

    House Bill 0407, currently under review by the House Human Services Committee, would allow people with a debilitating illness to legally possess no more than 12 marijuana plants and carry 2 1/2 ounces of marijuana. A similar bill is in the Senate.

    Illinois already has a law allowing licensed physicians to research the medicinal use of marijuana and protects participants from prosecution.

    Ten states now have laws to protect medical marijuana patients. The most recent was passed in Montana in November.

    "Marijuana helps many people with HIV and AIDS by easing their nausea, boosting their appetite and helping them stay on their medications," McKeon said. "I've seen medical marijuana help others and know that many physicians recommend it. I don't know if I will ever need medical marijuana, but no one battling a life-threatening illness should face arrest and jail for simply trying to stay alive."

    Some studies have shown that marijuana reduces nausea from cancer chemotherapy, stimulates appetites in AIDS patients and reduces pressure in the eye in people with glaucoma.

    Barthwell said she is compassionate to patients with AIDS, cancer and glaucoma but cannot support the legalization of a drug that does more harm than good. She said there are several drugs available and approved by the FDA that can provide similar effects to those of marijuana.

    "There is a very serious drug problem in this country today," Barthwell said. "It's marijuana and the problem is even bigger than has previously been recognized. Younger and younger children are starting to use marijuana and my commitment is to my children and all of the children in the U.S."

    Note: Illinois lawmakers considering medicinal bill.

    Complete Title: Former Federal Drug Policy Official Warns of Marijuana Dangers

    Source: Belleville News-Democrat (IL)
    Author: Jennifer A. Bowen, News-Democrat
    Published: February 9, 2005
    Copyright: 2005 Belleville News-Democrat
    Contact: letters@bnd.com
    Website: http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/
     
  5. By Larry McKeon
    Source: Chicago Sun-Times

    As a legislator, I am used to political disagreements, and I enjoy a healthy debate. But when a former White House official crisscrosses our state, deliberately spreading misinformation about a proposal to protect some of our most vulnerable citizens, that's where I draw the line. The proposal is House Bill 0407, my bill to permit seriously ill patients to use medical marijuana without fear of arrest and jail under Illinois law. It is modeled after 10 existing state laws that are working well and have received broad support from the public and -- most important -- from the medical and public health community.

    Organizations supporting such legislation include the American Public Health Association, the American Nurses Association, the Illinois Nurses Association, the state medical societies of New York, California and Rhode Island, the AIDS Foundation of Chicago and the American Academy of HIV Medicine -- doctors who specialize in treating HIV/AIDS -- among many others.

    As a person living with AIDS, those last two are particularly important to me. I know firsthand how tough this disease is to beat.

    But Andrea Barthwell, former deputy director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, is telling a different story. She is crisscrossing Illinois giving a series of lectures claiming that medical marijuana is "a cruel hoax," not supported by the medical community at all. To hear Barthwell tell it, I'm the pawn of a sinister cabal of "legalizers" who "use the pain and suffering of patients" to further their nefarious agenda.

    What utter nonsense. Unfortunately, Barthwell has turned down my offer to debate the issue.

    That's a shame, because she has a long history of saying things about medical marijuana that simply are not true. Interviewed on PBS' ''News Hour With Jim Lehrer'' in October 2003, she claimed that "no credible medical organizations" support medical marijuana. In a Feb. 17, 2004, Chicago Tribune column, she insisted that "marijuana is so complex, unstable and harmful that sensible physicians and researchers consider it unethical to expose individuals to the risks associated with smoking it."

    In fact, what the medical community actually says is precisely the opposite of what Barthwell claims. In its official policy statement on medical marijuana, the American Public Health Association stated, "Marijuana has an extremely wide acute margin of safety for use under medical supervision . . . greater harm is caused by the legal consequences of its prohibition than possible risks of medicinal use."

    In a 1997 editorial, the New England Journal of Medicine -- widely regarded as the most prestigious medical journal in the world -- called the ban on medical use of marijuana "misguided, heavy-handed and inhumane."

    In a November 2003 letter to New York legislators, the American Academy of HIV Medicine put it this way: "When appropriately prescribed and monitored, marijuana/cannabis can provide immeasurable benefits for the health and well-being of our patients."

    And the Illinois Nurses Association, in a position paper issued last December, said, "Cannabis [marijuana] is considered by the scientists directly involved with cannabinoid research to be one of the least toxic substances known that delivers a therapeutic response. . . . There is almost a half-century of research that supports the safety and efficacy of cannabis for conditions such as reducing nausea and vomiting, stimulating appetite, controlling spasticity, decreasing the suffering from the experience of chronic pain, and controlling seizures."

    That's not my opinion. It's the opinion of some of this state's and this nation's leading health experts, the people who every day do the hard work of caring for people battling illnesses like cancer, AIDS and multiple sclerosis.

    I welcome an honest debate about my medical marijuana bill, but let's base that debate on facts, not spin. Illinoisans deserve better than Andrea Barthwell's travelling con job.

    State Rep. Larry McKeon (D-Chicago) represents the 13th District in the Illinois House of Representatives.

    Newshawk: Jose Melendez
    Source: Chicago Sun-Times (IL)
    Author: Larry McKeon
    Published: February 13, 2005
    Copyright: 2004 The Sun-Times Co.
    Contact: letters@suntimes.com
    Website: http://www.suntimes.com/
     
  6. 3 February 2005

    INA Joins Legislator Living with AIDS in Drive to Protect Patients

    SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS -- The 6,000-member Illinois Nurses Association (INA) has lent its support to legislation introduced by Rep. Larry McKeon (D-Chicago) to permit seriously ill patients to use and possess medical marijuana with their doctor's recommendation, without fear of arrest or jail under Illinois state law. The bill, HB 0407, has been referred to the Human Services Committee.

    Ten states now have laws to protect medical marijuana patients; the most recent was passed by Montana voters last November by a 62% to 38% margin. Such measures have drawn wide support from the medical and public health communities, including the American Public Health Association, American Nurses Association, New England Journal of Medicine, and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago.

    In a position paper issued in December, the INA endorsed "legislation to remove criminal penalties, including arrest and imprisonment, for bona fide patients and prescribers of therapeutic cannabis [marijuana]." The INA took note of "almost a half-century of research that supports the safety and efficacy of therapeutic cannabis for conditions such as reducing nausea and vomiting, stimulating appetite, controlling spasticity, decreasing the suffering from the experience of chronic pain, and controlling seizures."

    The full INA statement is available at http://www.illinoisnurses.org.

    "Marijuana helps many people with HIV and AIDS by easing their nausea, boosting their appetite and helping them stay on their medications," said Rep. McKeon. "As a person living with AIDS, I've seen medical marijuana help others and know that many physicians recommend it. I don't know if I will ever need medical marijuana, but no one battling a life-threatening illness should face arrest and jail for simply trying to stay alive."

    A study published in the January 2005 Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes showed that HIV/AIDS patients suffering nausea from their medications stayed on their anti-HIV regimens more consistently if they used marijuana. Physicians consider strict adherence to HIV treatment regimens essential to keeping the virus under control and prolonging life. Other recent research has highlighted marijuana's ability to relieve pain and other symptoms in patients suffering from cancer and multiple sclerosis.

    With more than 18,000 members and 150,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP works to minimize the harm associated with marijuana -- both the consumption of marijuana and the laws that are intended to prohibit such use. MPP believes that the greatest harm associated with marijuana is imprisonment. For more information, please visit MarijuanaPolicy.org.

    Link to article: http://www.mpp.org/releases/nr20050203.html
     
  7. By Stephanie Sievers
    Source: Quad-City Times

    Springfield -- Irvin Rosenfeld credits the 10 to 12 marijuana joints he smokes each day with keeping him alive. The Florida man suffers from a disease that causes bone tumors to develop throughout his body. The disease causes joint inflammation, muscle tears, severe muscle spasms and hemorrhaging.

    Rosenfeld tried mainstream drugs like morphine, but the only thing that's given him real relief for all his symptoms, he says, has been marijuana.

    Now 52 and a stockbroker in Ft. Lauderdale, he has been legally smoking for 22 years as one of a small group of patients who receive marijuana from the federal government as part of a medical cannabis project.

    Rosenfeld plans to come to Springfield this week to testify in favor of legislation that would allow seriously ill people in Illinois to legally use marijuana under the recommendation of their doctors.

    "This medicine should be in the hands of physicians, not politicians or the police," he said.

    The bill, sponsored by Rep. Larry McKeon, D-Chicago, would allow people with debilitating diseases such as cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis and chronic pain to legally possess two and half ounces of usable marijuana -- about a month's supply -- and up to 12 cannabis plants.

    They would confidentially register with the Illinois Department of Human Services for an identification card that would exempt them from potential arrest and prosecution. Ten other states already allow marijuana for medicinal use.

    McKeon said there are seriously ill people who believe that marijuana helps. For some, it helps control chronic pain. For others, it stimulates their appetite so they can eat or helps them control nausea so they keep other medicines down.

    McKeon, who himself is living with HIV, said patients don't want to break the law, but some are taking that risk for relief from pain.

    "Through the grace of God and modern chemistry I'm doing fairly well. I don't know if my health was to progress to cancer or (something else) what I would do, but I'd like to have the opportunity without being criminalized in the process,"

    Similar legislation has stalled in the past, but co-sponsor Rep. John Fritchey, D-Chicago, said it's time for lawmakers to get beyond political posturing.

    "This is a health-care bill. It's not a law-enforcement bill. It's not a drug bill," Fritchey said. "This is a bill that is about compassion and a recognition that traditional medicines don't always work in all circumstances."

    A medical marijuana bill also has been introduced in Iowa this year. Jim Getman of Davenport is director of Iowa NORML, part of the national push to reform all marijuana laws. He said the Illinois and Iowa bills are steps in the right direction.

    But law enforcement groups such as the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police oppose the bill, saying marijuana still is illegal in the eyes of the federal government and there are other legitimate and tested medications on the market.

    "It's nothing more than an attempt to backdoor the legalization of marijuana," said Laimutis Nargelenas, manager of governmental relations.

    Illinois passed a law in 1978 allowing for medical marijuana research but it has never been used.

    The latest legislation allows too much leeway for abuse and too little control over how the marijuana would be grown, Nargelenas said. Designated caregivers can be chosen to grow the marijuana if the patient doesn't want to, but potential criminals might be able to skirt the law under the guise of helping the sick.

    On top of that, the legislation threatens suspension or termination of state or local police officers who work with federal law enforcement to arrest or prosecute someone who qualifies for the Illinois program.

    The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide in the coming months if the federal government can prosecute those using marijuana even for medicinal purposes. Despite that, McKeon is pushing his legislation now.

    "I'm unconcerned about the Supreme Court decision. Let them do what the Supreme Court will do and in the meantime, we're moving forward," he said.

    The Illinois Nurses Association has come out in support of better access to marijuana for therapeutic uses. And approval among the general public seems to be growing, McKeon said.

    AARP surveyed some of its members last year and 72 percent said they support marijuana used for medicinal purposes if recommended by a doctor. Of those surveyed, 55 percent say they would obtain marijuana for a suffering loved one.

    Illinois Drug Education and Legislative Reform, the group that helped write McKeon's bill, conducted a random poll of about 800 Illinois residents in 2002 and found that 67 percent believe a doctor should be allowed to prescribe marijuana to relieve pain and suffering. It jumped to 77 percent if the patient is terminally ill.

    Dr. Andrea Barthwell, a former deputy drug czar for the White House, now lives in River Forest and is traveling the state speaking out against marijuana use in general. She's opposed to the latest medical marijuana push because it subverts the traditional drug research process.

    That also concerns Kankakee oncologist Dr. Mehmet Sipahi, medical director of the Rush-Riverside Cancer Institute.

    He said it would be hard to say no to a terminally-ill patient who is in a lot of pain, but he and many other doctors would be reluctant to recommend marijuana without more clinical evidence that it works.

    "I personally would like to see real solid scientific research before I would be willing to use it."

    Complete Title: Bill Would Allow Seriously Ill Illinoisans To Legally Use Marijuana

    Newshawk: Mayan
    Source: Quad-City Times (IA)
    Author: Stephanie Sievers
    Published: February 13, 2005
    Copyright: 2005 Quad-City Times
    Contact: opinions@qctimes.com
    Website: http://www.qctimes.com
     
  8. By Montel Williams
    Source: Chicago Tribune

    Talk-show host Montel Williams tried many different medications to dull the pain from MS, but the only thing that has worked for him has been marijuana. That makes him a criminal in Illinois. You may know me as a television talk-show host, but I am also a criminal. My crime? Using the medicine that has allowed me to live a normal life despite having multiple sclerosis.

    Being diagnosed with MS in February 1999 felt like a death sentence. I wondered what the future held for my family and me. Would I cease to be self-sufficient and independent?

    I always took excellent care of my body. I worked out, followed a healthy diet and looked the picture of health. What I was hiding was the mind-numbing pain that seared through my legs as if I was being stabbed with hot pokers. I doubted my ability to function as a husband, father, son, brother, friend, talk-show host and producer. I honestly couldn't see a future.

    My doctors wrote me prescriptions for some of the strongest painkillers available. I took Percocet, Vicodin and OxyContin on a regular basis, two at a time, every three or four hours. I was knowingly risking overdose just trying to make the pain bearable. In my desperation, I even tried morphine.

    These powerful, expensive drugs brought me no relief. Instead, they made me nearly incoherent. I couldn't take them when I had to work because they turned me into a zombie.

    Yet, even with all the drugs, I couldn't sleep. I was agitated, my legs kicked involuntarily in bed, and I found myself crying in the middle of the night.

    Worse, these drugs are all highly addictive. I did not want to become a junkie, wasted and out of control. I spiraled deeper into a black hole of depression.

    In "Climbing Higher," my book on living with MS, I write in detail about how I became suicidal and twice attempted to end my life. I was in severe mental and physical pain, getting little sleep and feeling completely spent. Someone suggested that I try smoking a little marijuana before going to bed, saying it might help me fall asleep.

    Skeptical but desperate, I tried it. It was like a miracle. Three puffs and within minutes the excruciating pain in my legs subsided.

    I had my first restful sleep in months. When I awoke, the sheet and blankets weren't on the floor and my legs had taken a break from their nightly kicking.

    Marijuana is classified by the federal government as a Schedule I drug, meaning that--like PCP, LSD and heroin--it is considered unsafe to use under any conditions, including medical supervision. Physicians are not allowed to prescribe it. But 99 percent of marijuana arrests are made by local police under state law, and states can choose not to arrest medical marijuana patients.

    Last year, Montana and Vermont joined the list of states that protect medical marijuana patients from arrest under state law, bringing the total up to 10--one-fifth of the U.S.

    But in Illinois, I'm still a criminal.

    In 1999, the Institute of Medicine, a branch of the National Academy of Sciences, released a two-year study of marijuana that showed it was effective in combating the muscle spasms associated with MS. Canada, Great Britain, Israel and Netherlands also have conducted studies on marijuana and found that it can help people suffering from certain forms of cancer, AIDS, MS and Tourette's syndrome by relieving symptoms such as pain, nausea, loss of appetite, muscle spasms and tics. Patients struggling for life and dignity against illnesses like MS, cancer or AIDS should not be treated as criminals.

    It is time to take politics out of the debate. It is time for government-sanctioned research into the medicinal effects of marijuana and time to heed the research already available. It is time to change marijuana's classification so that physicians can prescribe it.

    And while we await that rescheduling--which must be done at the federal level--states can and should act now to protect patients under state law. Just such a bill, House Bill 0407, is under consideration by the Illinois House.

    In the eyes of the law, I am a criminal. But because of medical marijuana, I am still alive and living a far more productive, fruitful life than before. And that shouldn't be a crime.

    TV Talk show host Montel Williams is the author of "Climbing Higher."

    Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
    Author: Montel Williams
    Published: February 14, 2005
    Copyright: 2005 Chicago Tribune Company
    Contact: ctc-TribLetter@Tribune.com
    Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/
    Link to article: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread20239.shtml
     
  9. Doctors, Patients to Testify Before House Human Services Committee

    SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS -- The Human Services Committee of the Illinois House of Representatives will hold a hearing on the Illinois Medical Cannabis Act, HB 407, at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 17. Physicians and patients speaking in support of the measure include Irvin Rosenfeld, one of seven patients still receiving a monthly supply of medical marijuana from the U.S. government. Supporters will also hold a press conference at 12:00 p.m. the same day.

    <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="75%"> <tbody><tr> <td>WHAT:</td> <td>Illinois House Human Services Committee hearing on medical marijuana bill HB 407; press conference with doctors and patients.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>WHO:</td> <td>Confirmed speakers at the press conference and hearing:

    Brenda Kratovil -- Glaucoma and multiple sclerosis patient, convicted of felony marijuana possession when the judge refused to allow a medical necessity defense;

    Irvin Rosenfeld -- One of seven patients receiving a monthly supply of medical marijuana from the federal government, for treatment of multiple congenital cartilaginous exostosis, a painful genetic disorder;

    Julie Falco -- Multiple sclerosis patient;

    Bruce Doblin, M.D.,M.P.H. -- Specialist in internal medicine, hospice, and palliative care;

    Edward Lack, M.D. -- Surgeon and survivor of pancreatic cancer; and

    Matthew Atwood -- Executive director of Illinois Drug Education and Legislative (IDEAL) Reform.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>WHEN:</td> <td>Hearing at 8:00 a.m., press conference at 12:00 p.m.</td> </tr> <tr> <td>WHERE:</td> <td>Hearing in Room D-1, Stratton Building; press conference in Blue Room, State Capitol.</td> </tr> </tbody></table>
    With more than 17,000 members and 150,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP works to minimize the harm associated with marijuana -- both the consumption of marijuana and the laws that are intended to prohibit such use. MPP believes that the greatest harm associated with marijuana is imprisonment. For more information, see http://www.MarijuanaPolicy.org.


    Link to article: http://www.mpp.org/releases/nr20050216.html
     
  10. By The Associated Press
    Source: Associated Press

    Springfield, , Ill. -- An Illinois House committee rejected a proposal to legalize medical marijuana, but not without one activist who testified before the committee being detained by police Thursday. Irvin Rosenfeld of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., brought 300 marijuana cigarettes to the hearing. Afterward, he was held until police verified that Rosenfeld is authorized by the federal government to use the marijuana.

    Rosenfeld told the House Human Services Committee that the marijuana helps him cope with the pain of bone tumors. He urged the committee to legalize it for medical uses in Illinois.

    "We're tired of making criminals out of our sick patients," said Rosenfeld, 51.

    The new U.S. drug czar, John Walters, also spoke at the hearing. He told the committee that legalizing marijuana would create safety and law-enforcement problems.

    "I don't think this is simply about medicine," he said.

    The legislation failed on a committee vote of 4-7.

    The bill is HB407.

    On the Net: http://www.ilga.gov

    Complete Title: Committee Rejects Medical Marijuana Proposal; Activist Detained

    Source: Associated Press (Wire)
    Published: February 17, 2005
    Copyright: 2005 The Associated Press
    Link to article: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread20256.shtml
     
  11. By Phil Davidson
    Source: Pantagraph

    Springfield -- A state government building is about the last place a marijuana user would go armed with a tin containing 300 joints. When you're one of seven federally sponsored medical marijuana patients, however, you can bring your marijuana anywhere you want. Irvin Rosenfeld, a 51-year-old stockbroker from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., testified before a state House committee Thursday on a measure that would allow a person with a debilitating medical condition to possess 2.5 ounces of usable marijuana.

    Immediately after the two-hour committee session in the Stratton Building, secretary of state police officers stopped Rosenfeld and asked to see the contents of his silver tin, which contained dozens of marijuana cigarettes and roughly 2 ounces of cannabis. Rosenfeld was ushered to a security office where his credentials were verified by his pharmacist and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

    Although Rosenfeld was cleared, lawmakers defeated the legislation he supported by a 7-4 vote.

    State Sen. Larry McKeon, D-Chicago, sponsored the measure that was rejected in the House Human Services Committee. The proposal drew the attention of the White House, which sent National Drug Control Policy Director John Walters to testify against the measure.

    Walters said medical marijuana laws make a game of law enforcement by adopting vague control measures regarding who is allowed to grow and distribute the drug.

    "There is very loose, unscientific basis for claiming medical conditions," he said. "If some medical professional says you have it, you have it."

    Rosenfeld is the longest surviving federal marijuana smoker in the United States. He receives 300 joints a month for a rare disease that causes tumors to grow on his bones, leaving him in excruciating pain.

    For 22 years, Rosenfeld has been a participant in a federal program that provides marijuana for patients with ailments lacking known treatments.

    The diminutive Rosenfeld, who smokes 12 marijuana cigarettes a day, said his experience with the secretary of state police shows the hassles that people with legitimate medical needs can go through.

    "It's sad, but people need to be educated. They just don't understand that this is a needed medicine and that's all it is," he said. "It might be a social problem, but that's not our concern."

    McKeon said he would personally contact Secretary of State Jesse White to inquire about Rosenfeld's treatment.

    "That two cops took it upon themselves to detain this person is a clear example of why we need this legislation," said McKeon, who is a former Los Angeles police officer.

    McKeon, who has AIDS, said he will continue to fight for medical marijuana laws in Illinois. He said Walters' presence points out clearly the "stupidity, insanity and political ideology" that is driving the issue.

    "I'm a lowly state rep from a Midwestern state called Illinois and to see this entourage sent directly by President George Bush, ... well, I'm honored," he said.

    Newshawk: Mayan
    Source: Pantagraph, The (IL)
    Author: Phil Davidson
    Published: Friday, February 18, 2005
    Copyright: 2005 The Pantagraph
    Contact: newsroom@pantagraph.com
    Website: http://www.pantagraph.com/
    Link to article: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread20258.shtml
     
  12. By Shelby Sebens, H&R Springfield Bureau Writer
    Source: Herald & Review

    Springfield -- The longest surviving federally legal medical marijuana patient was briefly detained for possessing cannabis after a state House committee shot down a proposal to make the drug legal. "The two cops took it upon themselves to detain this person," said state state Rep. Larry McKeon, D-Chicago, sponsor of House Bill 407. "It is a clear example why we need this legislation."

    Proponents of McKeon's proposal say medical cannabis eases pain caused from diseases such as AIDS, multiple scleroses and cancer.

    McKeon was upset with the Secretary of State police Thursday when they detained a proponent of his initiative.

    "I think part of the issue is training, education and common sense," McKeon said. "I've been a sergeant, I've been a lieutenant, I've been a captain. Supervision, management, training, that's your job. That's Secretary (Jesse) White's job. That's the job of the chief of police and Capitol security, and it's the job of the commander in charge of the Illinois State Police that augment that security. That's what I will tell Secretary White."

    However, Brad Demuzio, director of Secretary of State police, said, "Secretary of State police was not familiar with the federal exemption."

    Demuzio said Irvin Rosenfeld, a stockbroker from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and medical marijuana patient, agreed to head downstairs of the Stratton Building for questioning. Once Rosenfeld explained his exemption, the two officers called Washington, D.C., for confirmation.

    "We found out that he is one of seven from 1982 that has a federal exemption for medical marijuana," Demuzio said.

    Rosenfeld smokes 10 to 12 marijuana cigarettes a day and goes through 13 ounces a month. His medical condition causes tumors to grow on the ends of his bones at random. Rosenfeld said his marijuana prescription is the only thing that eases his pain.

    "To me, it's lifesaving," Rosenfeld said. "When I pulled out my marijuana in the hearing, it was to show people that the government is giving out marijuana to patients. I'm living proof that it works, and I'm also living proof that the government doesn't want to know it works well."

    Judy Kreamer, president of Educating Voices, feels marijuana is too uncontrolled and unsafe to be a legal prescription.

    "Our primary focus is the young people," Kreamer said. "The message that you're sending to children is that this is a safe drug and you can use it."

    Although McKeon's measure was voted down 7-4 in committee, he is determined to push ahead. Supporters of the bill and the representative already have plans to meet with officers and conductors of medical marijuana programs in other states.

    McKeon said he would also consider amending some language of the bill and bringing it back to the House.

    Complete Title: Medical Marijuana Patient Detained After Bill Sinks in State Committee

    Newshawk: Mayan
    Source: Herald & Review (IL)
    Author: Shelby Sebens, H&R Springfield Bureau Writer
    Published: Friday, February 18, 2005
    Copyright: 2005 Herald & Review
    Contact: ddawson@herald-review.com
    Website: http://www.herald-review.com/
    Link to article: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread20259.shtml
     
  13. By Mary Massingale, State Capitol Bureau
    Source: State Journal-Register

    Irvin Rosenfeld on Thursday expected to do his moral duty by testifying before Illinois lawmakers on the benefits of smoking marijuana for a painful bone disorder. He didn't expect to be detained by Illinois secretary of state police for bringing in a tin containing about 150 federally approved joints. Call it “show and tell” gone bad.

    The 51-year-old stockbroker from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., appeared in front of the House Human Services Committee in support of House Bill 407. Sponsored by Rep. Larry McKeon, D-Chicago, the proposal would legalize marijuana use for residents with debilitating medical conditions such as cancer, multiple sclerosis or AIDS.

    Federal law prohibits possession of the cannabis plant, but the U.S. Supreme Court will rule this year on whether federal officials can prosecute individuals who use medical marijuana. Ten states currently allow marijuana to be used for medicinal purposes.

    Rosenfeld is one of seven patients nationwide allowed to legally use marijuana under a now-closed federal program. Every 25 days, he picks up a tin of 300 marijuana cigarettes provided by the federal government at his local pharmacy. Smoking 10 to 12 cigarettes a day for the past 33 years - 22 1/2 years with the approval of the White House - has kept his bone tumors under control and managed the constant pain.

    He told committee members wanted to help give others the same relief he gets from smoking marijuana.

    "When you have a disabling disease, it sucks," Rosenfeld said. "You want to make something good come out of something bad."

    It was about to get worse.

    After his testimony, Rosenfeld was detained by two secretary of state police officers stationed in the committee room. Extra security had been requested by the U.S. marshal's office for the earlier appearance of John Walters, the White House "drug czar."

    The officers walked Rosenfeld through a commonly used tunnel connecting the Capitol with the building housing the committee room, using a wheelchair when Rosenfeld complained of ankle pain. He was detained in a Capitol basement substation while officers called the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to verify his story.

    "He is in fact one of seven who are federally exempt," said Brad Demuzio, director of the secretary of state police.

    McKeon, a former Los Angeles police officer who is HIV positive, criticized the officers for taking it upon themselves to investigate Rosenfeld when they had heard his testimony about his marijuana use.

    "I find that disgusting and offensive," McKeon said.

    Demuzio defended his officers, saying they were justified in the 30-minute detention.

    "When you have a tin with 300 marijuana cigarettes and you walk into the Capitol and you tell us you have a federal exemption, you have to investigate," Demuzio said.

    The incident upstaged the earlier appearance of Walters, who serves as director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. He told lawmakers that marijuana use and dependency accounts for 60 percent of rehabilitation treatment sought nationwide and can often lead to methamphetamine use.

    "This is not your father's marijuana," Walters said. "This is not your marijuana when you were in college, if you are a baby boomer. You are suffering under 'reefer madness' if you think it is."

    The Food and Drug Administration has not approved marijuana for medical use. A 1978 Illinois law allows participants in federally approved research projects to use medical marijuana, but that law has never been implemented.

    Committee members rejected HB407 on a 4-7 vote, with opponents asking how law enforcement officials could contain such a program.

    McKeon, however, said he would continue to push the proposal. He suggested setting up a teleconference among law enforcement officials in Illinois and the 10 states with medical-marijuana laws to further the debate.

    "I'm going to proceed with this legislation, period," McKeon said.

    Note: Man detained by secretary of state police after he testifies before House committee.

    Source: State Journal-Register (IL)
    Author: Mary Massingale, State Capitol Bureau
    Published: Friday, February 18, 2005
    Copyright: 2005 The State Journal-Register
    Contact: letters@sj-r.com
    Website: http://www.sj-r.com/
    Link to article: http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread20260.shtml
     
  14. by Stephen Young, (Source: DrugSense Weekly)
    18 Feb 2005

    I headed down to the Illinois statehouse in Springfield yesterday to see a committee hearing on medical marijuana. Unfortunately, the bill failed to be voted out of committee, so there it remains. Yet many interesting things took place; Pete at Drug WarRant has a complete report at http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/2005/02/17.html#a777

    To me, the day was typified by the two incidents involving heavy security and seemingly harmless middle-aged white men.

    One man was named John Walters; the other was named Irvin Rosenfeld. Both came from out of state to testify at the hearing.

    John Walters, of course, is the federal drug czar. This political appointee flew in at taxpayer expense with a full entourage, including several serious-looking security people. The intense security detail was there, I suppose, to protect the czar from the good people of Illinois. Or, perhaps, to give an otherwise bland and unimpressive bureaucrat a sense of authority. Either way, it was unnecessary overkill.

    Walters insisted he wasn't there to influence the legislative process - an obviously false cover story contradicted by his very presence ( when else does he show up at a state level committee meetings? ) and indicative of his sincerity in general.

    Physically isolated by his security team, intellectually insulated by rigid ideology, I wonder if Walters even carries the capacity for recognizing the difference between a truth and a lie.

    And, indeed, he and his allies did not want to acknowledge the truth of the other fellow who found himself surrounded by security at the state house.

    Irving Rosenfeld came to Illinois by himself from his home state of Florida and offered an unimpeachable, fact-based presentation on his experience with medical marijuana. One of the seven surviving patients in a federal medical marijuana program, Rosenfeld gets eleven ounces shipped to his pharmacy by Uncle Sam every 25 days. He's been smoking roughly 12 government joints a day for 22 years. He and his doctors know that it helps relieve the pain from a rare bone disease called multiple congenital cartilaginous exostoses.

    He believes that the marijuana has not only extended his life, but made his disease bearable for all these years. He's had comprehensive physical examinations which have determined no ill effects from smoking his medicine.

    "The government does give marijuana to patients. I'm living proof," he told reporters during a press conference. "I'm also living proof that it works well. I'm also living proof that the government doesn't want to know how well it works. If they want to do research, all they have to do is contact me."

    He brought a tin can full of marijuana cigarettes that he picks up at his pharmacy each month and showed them to a room full of astonished state legislators during the hearing. Shortly after his presentation, he found himself surrounded by four burly state security officers. They wanted to ask him some questions, and they didn't want the press to follow, so some other reporters and I were barred from the elevator where he was hustled away.

    Fortunately, one of the reporters had a good idea where they were taking him. I followed her and watched as Rosenfeld faced what seemed like an unofficial interrogation over his medicine ( asked repeatedly whether Rosenfeld was under arrest or being detained, the security officers would only say, "No comment." ).

    I thought Rosenfeld was a hero before, but watching his grace under pressure amazed me. He was polite and cooperative with the officers, effectively educating them, while remaining firm about his rights and the limits of their intrusions ( he was not going to let the tin can out of his sight, and I don't blame him ).

    He showed them many documents confirming his situation, and offered phone numbers for his pharmacy as well as a DEA agent with whom he is on friendly terms. Eventually the officers got confirmation they deemed acceptable and let him go, but not before an officer finally acknowledged that Rosenfeld was being detained, and he was removed from the sight from reporters. In a few minutes he was free to go.

    Rosenfeld said such things happen when he speaks up. Why does he continue to do it?

    Because, unlike sicker patients who have more trouble with mobility, he can, he said. And because citizens have the right to spread the truth in America.

    So it goes in the drug war. If you're a private citizen, obeying the law and exercising clearly established rights, prepare to be hassled by security. If you are a political appointee engaging in legally questionable behavior and spreading false and defamatory insinuation as fact, then you are entitled to the best protection taxpayer money can buy.

    In a more sane world, Rosenfeld wouldn't face any scrutiny from law enforcement, but Walters sure would.

    [size=-1]Pubdate: Fri, 18 Feb 2005
    Source: DrugSense Weekly (DSW)
    Section: Feature Article
    Website: http://www.drugsense.org/current.htm
    Author: Stephen Young
    Note: Stephen Young is an editor with DrugSense Weekly, author of
    Maximizing Harm and operator ofdecrimwatch.com
    Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/Irvin+Rosenfeld (Irvin Rosenfeld)
    Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/walters.htm (Walters, John)
    [/SIZE]
     

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