420 Use and Health

[BadAxe]

I actually just ran into a pleasant surprise outside of Walmart! For once it wasn't boyscouts selling popcorn or girlscouts selling cookies, it was a pro-med mj guy trying to get people to sign a petition for legalization, I think. I admit that I didn't stop and chat, my kid was with me and he is impatient. But it made me realize and perhaps this has been mentioned here before, (I am too impatient to read through 22 pages)...but would people make such a big fuss if say, Astra Zeneca or one of those big pharma co's were to put pot into a pill and market that??? It seems to me, an outsider, I have nothing really against or for complete legalization, that people get all pissy about marijuana because of the current way it is used...the bongs and bowls and blunts...I dunno, if I had to use the stuff, I am not sure I'd like smoking it...but in pill form or brownie form and if it could replace my oxycottons!!!??? Sign me up! At the same time, I know people enjoy the different varieties, just as snus/snuff users enjoy different strains of tobacco, so with that said, I am not against the smoking of it, just thinking more people might climb onboard if pill form was proposed..From the very little I read on this topic I am no idiot, I can see the beneficial aspect of mj, but others need to see this too, sadly it seems many people only trust pills & big pharm though..

They do have it in pill form. Unfortunately, Big Pharma also created marinol, a synthetic substance, that has side effects. ANd they love to point ot Marinol and tell you whats bad about pot. But real pot pills are made by people everyday. For recreational purposes, I love smoking/vaping. The taste and the process is aprt of the recreational enjoyment for me. So I would never want my recreational high to just come from a pill. I could do chemicals for that. But for medicianl purposes i can totally understand wanting a pill or an edible, and yes, those are readily available.

Not sure why you take Oxy's, but yes, put in a pill form or edible form can really help with pain, and could possibly lead to replacing your addictive chemicals. I would look into that if I were you. I rarely take pain pills for anything. A couple cookies and I am feeling much more relaxed with reduced pain. I get better pain relief from MJ when eating edibles, then from smoking or vaping. Vaping is just my recreational choice. Edibles are my medicinal choice.

[Crow]

I dunno, if I had to use the stuff, I am not sure I'd like smoking it...but in pill form or brownie form and if it could replace my oxycottons!!!??? Sign me up!

Medical cannabis is available in many forms: pills (capsules), edibles (food and drink), topicals (cremes and lotions), and so on.

[desirexe]

I actually just ran into a pleasant surprise outside of Walmart! For once it wasn't boyscouts selling popcorn or girlscouts selling cookies, it was a pro-med mj guy trying to get people to sign a petition for legalization, I think. I admit that I didn't stop and chat, my kid was with me and he is impatient. But it made me realize and perhaps this has been mentioned here before, (I am too impatient to read through 22 pages)...but would people make such a big fuss if say, Astra Zeneca or one of those big pharma co's were to put pot into a pill and market that??? It seems to me, an outsider, I have nothing really against or for complete legalization, that people get all pissy about marijuana because of the current way it is used...the bongs and bowls and blunts...I dunno, if I had to use the stuff, I am not sure I'd like smoking it...but in pill form or brownie form and if it could replace my oxycottons!!!??? Sign me up! At the same time, I know people enjoy the different varieties, just as snus/snuff users enjoy different strains of tobacco, so with that said, I am not against the smoking of it, just thinking more people might climb onboard if pill form was proposed..From the very little I read on this topic I am no idiot, I can see the beneficial aspect of mj, but others need to see this too, sadly it seems many people only trust pills & big pharm though..

[Crow]

United States

NORML Attorneys file multiple constitutional challenges to federal medical marijuana crackdown

NORML Attorneys Matt Kumin, David Michael, and Alan Silber, have filed suit (read here) in the four federal districts in California to challenge the Obama Administration’s recent crackdown on medical marijuana operations in the Golden State. Aided by expert testimony from NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano and research from California NORML Director Dale Gieringer, the suits seek an injunction against the recent federal intrusion into state medical marijuana laws at least and at most a declaration of the unconstitutionality of the Controlled Substances Act with respect to state regulation of medical marijuana.

The NORML attorneys allege the federal government has engaged in entrapment of California patients and their caregivers. They point to the courts’ dismissal of County of Santa Cruz, WAMM et al. v. Eric Holder et al. where the Department of Justice (DOJ) “promised a federal judge that it had changed its policy toward the enforcement of its federal drug laws relative to California medical cannabis patients.” So after 2009, California providers had reason to believe that the federal government had changed its policy. The legal argument is called ‘judicial estoppel’, which basically means that courts can’t hold true to a fact in one case and then disregard it in another.

Kumin, Michael, and Silber also argue the government has engaged in ‘equitable estoppel’, which most people commonly think of as ‘entrapment’. That is to say, you can’t bust a person for committing a crime when the authorities told him it wasn’t a crime to do it!

Under established principles of estoppel and particularly in the context of the defense of estoppel by entrapment, defendants to a criminal action are protected and should not be prosecuted if they have reasonably relied on statements from the government indicating that their conduct is not unlawful. That principle should be applied to potential defendants as well, the plaintiffs in this action. Such parties, courts have noted, are “person[s] sincerely desirous of obeying the law”. They “accepted the information as true and [were]…not on notice to make further inquiries.” - U.S. v. Weitzenhoff, 1 F. 3d 1523, 1534 (9th Cir. 1993)

The US Constitution figures prominently in the legal challenge as well. The 9th Amendment says that “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” The NORML attorneys argue that threatening seizure of property and criminal sanctions violates the rights of the people to “consult with their doctors about their bodies and health.”

The 10th Amendment provides that “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” The NORML attorneys argue that the States have the “primary plenary power to protect the health of its citizens” and since the government has recognized and not attempted to stop Colorado’s state-run medical marijuana dispensary program, it cannot suggest Colorado has a state’s right that California does not.

The 14th Amendment says that all citizens have equal protection under the law. The NORML attorneys argue that the federal government:

1. Actively provides cannabis for medical purposes to individuals through its own IND program.
2. Actively allows patients in Colorado to access medical cannabis through a state-licensing system that allows individuals to make profit from the sales of medical cannabis.
3. Actively restricts scientific research into the medical value and use of cannabis to alleviate human suffering and pain.

Thus, according to Kumin, Michael, and Silber, the government can’t be allowing Colorado medical marijuana commerce, engaging it its own IND program that mails 300 joints a month to four federal medical marijuana patients yet squelching all attempts to study medical value of marijuana, then have a rational basis for shutting down medical marijuana dispensaries in California. Under the 14th Amendment, the feds can’t treat Californians differently than Coloradoans and differently than four US citizens who get legal federal medical marijuana.

Finally, while acknowledging that Raich v. Gonzales 545 US 1 (2005) set the precedent that the Constitution’s Interstate Commerce Clause does allow the feds to prosecute California’s medical marijuana, the NORML attorneys argue:

…it is still difficult to imagine that marijuana grown only in California, pursuant to California State law, and distributed only within California, only to California residents holding state-issued cards, and only for medical purposes, can be subject to federal regulation pursuant to the Commerce Clause. For that reason, Plaintiffs preserve the issue for further Supreme Court review, if necessary and deemed appropriate.

We will keep you posted on all updates related to this groundbreaking lawsuit. Archive of our interview with the lead attorneys in this case is available in our “Audio/Video” section on The NORML Network.

Click here to join NORML today and help us in the fight to legalize marijuana.

[snusgetter]

Marijuana is good for you!

B U T ... does it cause oral cancer??


Let us hope Kkingery83's hubby doesn't meet MJ ... the forums will heat up then!!

[EricHill78]

Marijuana is good for you!

[Crow]

United States

Medical marijuana turns 15 years old – Has it reached its zenith?

Tomorrow, November 5th, 2011, marks the fifteenth anniversary of California’s passage of Prop 215, The Compassionate Use Act. The Act passed with 55.58% of the vote and remains the greatest achievement in marijuana law reform in the “War on Drugs” era.

The successes of Prop 215 are well documented. Two years following its passage, the rest of the West Coast and Alaska passed their own medical marijuana initiatives, with close to equal (OR 55%) or greater (WA 59% & AK 58%) support than California voters gave Prop 215.

The next decade saw twelve more states and the District of Columbia passing medical marijuana laws, with seven of those states doing so through the legislature. Five of the citizen initiatives topped 60% support. As states passed medical marijuana, some added more conditions for qualification, some legislated dispensary operations, and the most recent have instituted protections for the rights of patients to drive, work, have a home, get an organ transplant, and raise their kids. In some ways, medical marijuana has improved in fifteen years.

But a closer examination reveals a reform strategy that has stalled out and may even be in decline. The last election saw Oregon fail to pass a dispensary measure for the second time with about the same support after six years. South Dakota defeated medical marijuana with only 36% support, a drop of 12 points since they tried in 2006. Arizona only barely passed medical marijuana with 50.13% support, when they had previously seen 65% in 1996 and 64% in a 1998 referendum (both 1990’s Arizona Acts were invalidated.)

Indeed, the national polls show a stalling on the medical marijuana issue as well. When Gallup asked about support for medical marijuana and legalized marijuana in 1999, support was 73% and 29%, respectively. We assume that someone who supports legalization for healthy people probably supports legalization for sick people, too, so that means 44% of those polled only support medical marijuana, not legalization. But in the latest 2011 poll, legalization support has hit 50% while in the 2010 poll, medical support had dropped to 70%, down 8 points since 2005. How has the support for legalization doubled (25% to 50%) since Prop 215 while support for making a medical exception to criminal marijuana has flatlined?

Continued at http://blog.norml.org/2011/11/04/med...ith/#more-7432

[Crow]

[Crow]

Washington (US)

Donors give boost to marijuana petition

A campaign to legalize and tax marijuana for recreational use in Washington state is getting a big cash boost with two months left to collect signatures.

New Approach Washington said Tuesday it received $100,000 from Harriet Bullitt, a philanthropist and environmentalist from one of the state's most prominent families.

And by the end of next week it expects to have $200,000 more from Progressive Insurance Chairman Peter Lewis, who already has given $50,000.

"In financial terms, it means we'll have what we need," campaign director Alison Holcomb said.

Initiative 502, would legalize up to an ounce of dried marijuana; 1 pound of marijuana-infused product in solid form, such as brownies; or 72 ounces of marijuana-infused liquids. People over 21 could buy marijuana at state-licensed stores.

The campaign must collect 241,000 valid signatures by the end of this year to send the initiative to the Legislature, which can pass it outright or allow it to go to a public vote on the November 2012 ballot.

-----------------------------

Colorado (US)

Colorado Marijuana Initiative Passes 100,000 Signatures!

The Coalition to End Marijuana Prohibition, the MPP-backed issue committee paying for the signature drive in Colorado for the initiative to regulate marijuana like alcohol, has hit a major milestone.

As of today, the campaign has 100,000 signatures in hand! This puts us more than two-thirds of the way toward our goal of collecting 145,000 raw signatures by January 6, with 86,105 valid signatures needed to qualify the initiative for the November 2012 ballot.

There are some amazing volunteers helping out on the ground, but we simply cannot finish the drive without also paying people to circulate petitions. The cold weather that’s descending on Colorado has forced us to increase the amount we’re paying per signature by $0.50. Would you please help us cover the additional $22,500 that we need to finish the signature drive by donating $10, $50, or even $1,000 today?

According to the latest poll, 51% of Coloradans support regulating and taxing marijuana like alcohol, with only 38% of voters opposed. While these are encouraging numbers, the campaign is far from over. This is one of the primary reasons we need to finish the signature drive as soon as possible — so the campaign can begin to focus on educating the residents of Colorado about the benefits of passing this initiative.

If you live in Colorado and would like to help the campaign, there are a variety of ways to do so. Visit this page to find out what you can do, including becoming a paid signature gatherer.

Together, we will end marijuana prohibition.

[Crow]

Study: Alcohol Is “More Than Twice As Harmful As Cannabis” — So Explain To Me Again Why Pot Is Illegal?

Alcohol consumption causes far greater harms to the individual user and to society than does the use of cannabis, according to a new review published online in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, the journal of the British Association of Psychopharmacology.

Investigators at the Imperial College of London assessed “the relative physical, psychological, and social harms of cannabis and alcohol.” Authors reported that cannabis inhalation, particularly long-term, contributes to some potential adverse health effects, including harms to the lungs, circulatory system, as well as the exacerbation of certain mental health risks. By contrast, authors described alcohol as “ a toxic substance” that is responsible for nearly five percent “of the total global disease burden.”

Researchers determined, “A direct comparison of alcohol and cannabis showed that alcohol was considered to be more than twice as harmful as cannabis to [individual] users, and five times more harmful as cannabis to others (society). … As there are few areas of harm that each drug can produce where cannabis scores more [dangerous to health] than alcohol, we suggest that even if there were no legal impediment to cannabis use, it would be unlikely to be more harmful than alcohol.”

They concluded, “The findings underline the need for a coherent, evidence-based drugs policy that enables individuals to make informed decisions about the consequences of their drug use.”

The researchers’ findings should hardly come as a revelation. Last week, a just-published study that was completely ignored by the mainstream media reported that alcohol consumption increased lung cancer risk by 30 percent.

Surprised? You shouldn’t be. After all, a February 2011 World Health Organization report concluded that alcohol consumption causes a staggering four percent of all deaths worldwide, more than AIDS, tuberculosis or violence. A just-published analysis in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine finds that in the United States alone, an estimated 79,000 lives are lost annually due to excessive drinking. The study further estimates that the overall economic cost of excessive drinking by Americans is $223.5 billion annually.

Naturally, any health costs related to cannabis use pale in comparison. A 2009 review published in the British Columbia Mental Health and Addictions Journal estimated that health-related costs per user are eight times higher for drinkers of alcoholic beverages than they are for those who use cannabis, and are more than 40 times higher for tobacco smokers. “In terms of [health-related] costs per user: tobacco-related health costs are over $800 per user, alcohol-related health costs are much lower at $165 per user, and cannabis-related health costs are the lowest at $20 per user,” investigators concluded.

In an op/ed I wrote last year entitled “Pot Versus Alcohol: Experts Say Booze Is the Bigger Danger,” I cited the findings of numerous independent commissions, all of which pronounced that the risks of marijuana were nominal compared to those associated with booze. You can read these findings here and much of this evidence is discussed in even greater detail in my book, Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink?

Nevertheless, despite its enormous societal toll, alcohol remains celebrated in this country — American Craft Beer Week is now endorsed by the U.S. Congress — while cannabis remains arbitrarily criminalized and demonized. It’s a situation illogical enough to drive most anyone to drink.

http://blog.norml.org/2011/11/01/stu...ot-is-illegal/

[Crow]

United States

White House response to NORML’s “We the People” marijuana legalization petition

The Obama White House has released its official response to the “We the People” online petition for marijuana legalization submitted by NORML. The petition, which garnered 74,169 signatures, was by far the most popular petition submitted. The government response (released late on a Friday to avoid news cycles, we’ll note) repeats the same tired lies and classic misdirections. Most of all, it fails to answer NORML’s actual petition, which asked:

Legalize and Regulate Marijuana in a Manner Similar to Alcohol.

We the people want to know when we can have our “perfectly legitimate” discussion on marijuana legalization. Marijuana prohibition has resulted in the arrest of over 20 million Americans since 1965, countless lives ruined and hundreds of billions of tax dollars squandered and yet this policy has still failed to achieve its stated goals of lowering use rates, limiting the drug’s access, and creating safer communities.

Isn’t it time to legalize and regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol? If not, please explain why you feel that the continued criminalization of cannabis will achieve the results in the future that it has never achieved in the past?

The following is the full official White House response, with NORML’s comments interspersed…

What We Have to Say About Legalizing Marijuana

By: Gil Kerlikowske

When the President took office, he directed all of his policymakers to develop policies based on science and research, not ideology or politics. So our concern about marijuana is based on what the science tells us about the drug’s effects.

Oh, good. Then we’ll look forward to the implementation of the 1972 Shafer Commission Report or any of the other government and scientific studies that recommend the decriminalization of cannabis.

Continued at: http://blog.norml.org/2011/10/29/whi...tion-petition/

[Ansel]

Nationally recognized marijuana-policy experts Steve Fox, Paul Armentano, and Mason Tvert compare and contrast the relative harms and legal status of the two most popular recreational substances in the world--marijuana and alcohol. Through an objective examination of the two drugs and the laws and social practices that steer people toward alcohol, the authors pose a simple yet rarely considered question: Why do we punish adults who make the rational, safer choice to use marijuana instead of alcohol?

Marijuana Is Safer reaches for a broad audience. For those unfamiliar with marijuana, it provides an introduction to the cannabis plant and its effects on the user, and debunks some of the government's most frequently cited marijuana myths. For current and aspiring advocates of marijuana-law reform, as well as anyone else who is interested in what is becoming a major political battle, the authors spell out why the message that marijuana is safer than alcohol must be a prominent part of the public debate over legalization.

Most importantly, for the millions of Americans who want to advance the cause of marijuana-policy reform--or simply want to defend their own personal, safer choice--this book provides the talking points and detailed information needed to make persuasive arguments to friends, family, coworkers, and elected officials.

http://www.divshare.com/download/16077459-27f

Please buy the book if you enjoy reading it.

[Ansel]

I don't like all these Frankenstein weed strains like skunk... give me some of the African bush or something nice and weak or 'mellow' any day of the week.

[Crow]

[Joe234]

Got my Volcano today!