Newsbrief: Montel Williams Show Brings Medical Marijuana Issue to the Masses 9/24/04 The medicinal use of marijuana was the sole topic on Tuesday's edition of the Montel Williams TV talk show. Williams, who suffers from Multiple Sclerosis, has become an increasingly vocal proponent of medical marijuana, and Tuesday's program was no exception. The show opened with an extended sympathetic piece about California medical marijuana patient Angel McLary Raich, then turned to Debbie Jeffries, author of "Jeffrey's Journey: A Determined Mother's Battle for Medical Marijuana for Her Son," a story of a child pumped full of stimulants, tranquilizers, and antidepressants who was helped tremendously by using medical marijuana. Audience members moaned in empathy as Jeffries described how the DEA raid on their supplier, the Wo/Men's Alliance for Medical Marijuana, cost them access to his medicine and led to him being institutionalized. Other guests on the program included Jeffries' mother Larayne; Donald Abrams, professor of clinical medicine at the University of California, who studies marijuana for medicinal uses; Irvin Rosenfeld, federal-supplied legal medical marijuana patient; Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project; Andrea Barthwell, former ONDCP deputy director; Roger Curtiss, Montana addiction counselor; and Don Murphy, a Republican state legislator who introduced medical marijuana bills in Maryland. Jeffries was a hard act for former deputy drug czar Dr. Andrea Barthwell to follow, and in typical talk show host manner, Williams was making no pretense of being even-handed. "You don't know what this woman is going through," he barked, pointing at Raich. "You don't know what I'm going through. If my doctor is smart enough to be able to give me Oxycontin, which has lots of adverse effects -- but the government doesn't care about the adverse effects of these drugs -- I'm saying why can't the federal government expand this [NIDA compassionate use] program so I don't have to get locked up and pay taxes to keep people like you employed?" There's plenty more in a similar vein. And it's available at online at http://www.drugpolicycentral.com/real/csa/montel.rm online. http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/355/montel.shtml
Its ridiculous that the federal govt is SOOOOO willing to totally disregard the US Constitution that they are sworn to uphold (its more like they think they are sworn to ignore it). Since when did the US govt allow the FDA drug classification have more power than a STATE GOVERNMENT. In fact, the whole FDA thing is becoming fucking ridiculous.... The FDA keeps more drugs off they market that might save lives and they end up empowering huge pharmecuetical monopolies by requring over $100 million dollars of testing to bring drugs to the market. I feel the original purpose of the FDA was like a 'consumer protection' role and I feel this role is important...in the old days, people sold 'snake oils' and made outrageous claims... the funniest old drug that I ever saw was you swallow radioactive material to give you a better erection.... of course, you died.... and this is why the FDA was created in the first place. in other words the purpose of the FDA should be to tell us what we are taking is really what it says it is.... and I beleive in consistency and purity standards for product that claim to be 'something' so that you know you are getting 'something' But, the idea that the FDA is prevent me from what I fully know about and CHOOSE to use is FUCKING RIDICULOUS and against the very concept of freedom that Jefferson said was 'INALIENABLE RIGHTS'.... YEs, its our fucking INALIENABLE RIGHT TO PUT WHATEVER WE WANT INTO OUR BODIES... and NO govt can stop it... what will they do... assign a guard to everyperson on earth... or jail us all (and they even get dope in jail so even THAT don't work)...