One board member, a psychiatrist, said he was glad the issue was being discussed. After more than three hours of debate over dropping post traumatic stress disorder from the Medical Cannabis Program, the Medical Cannabis Advisory Board unanimously recommending to keep PTSD as a qualifier. Albuquerque psychiatrist William Ulwelling made headlines last month when his plans to petition against PSTD as a qualifying condition for medical marijuana went public. It led to plenty of press coverage -- more than Ulwelling says he's ever experienced in his life -- and resistance from medical marijuana advocates across the state. [continues 729 words]
Pricey marijuana and other problems plague medicinal users Of the 16 states that allow medical marijuana, New Mexico is one of only three that haven't experienced federal government crackdowns, according to Washington, DC-based National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. Medical marijuana advocates cite the state Medical Cannabis Program's stringent rules. "That seems to isolate it from attacks that are going on in medical cannabis programs in other states," Stephen Farber, a Santa Fe attorney and longtime member of the NORML legal committee, which advocates for legalizing nonmedical marijuana, tells SFR. [continues 898 words]
For NM's Medical Marijuana Program, The Devil Is In The Details At the end of a year that ostensibly brought the most significant progress to date for New Mexico's medical marijuana program, more than half of the 899 approved medical marijuana patients remain without adequate access to their medicine. Pot made headlines left and right in 2009. California struggled with an oversaturated and under-regulated commercial pot industry. Attorney General Eric Holder discouraged federal prosecutors from interfering with states' medical marijuana laws. And in New Mexico, officials toyed with the nuts and bolts of the state's fledgling program. [continues 701 words]
I'm writing about Alexa Schirtzinger's "Preaching to Converts." According to a recent Rasmussen poll, 44 percent of adults believe that pot is just as, or more, dangerous than alcohol. Until this false belief can be changed, marijuana will probably remain a criminalized substance. The fact is marijuana is an extremely safe product (no reported deaths in the 5,000 year history of its use). People consume marijuana for the same reasons they consume alcohol. Why not offer adults the much safer alternative to alcohol? Kirk Muse Mesa, Ariz. [end]
I love the paper and you do great work. As a patient since 2001 in Northern California, I believe more articles about current Medical Cannabis laws, especially one that sheds light on the Department Of Health's (DOH) horrible math, would help the common citizen understand how to support this important medicine. As a registered patient I cannot understand the "limits," as the FBI studies show that usable medicine relates to square footage of canopy and NOT number of plants (.38 ounces per square foot). Also the limit on possession of 6 ounces for a three-month period is ridiculous. Three 1- gram joints per day equates to 3 pounds per year or 4 ounces per month. I've seen the LA Weekly's ads with over three pages of clinics and doctors to help patients, and sure there's money being made but how would the cannabis income compare to Pharma's income on Ibuprofen alone? Justin Case Tesuque [end]
Drug Policy Reform Enters a New Era--of Hard Work Medical marijuana is finally happening--but distributing it may be the least of New Mexico's worries. Such was the conceit of the International Drug Policy Reform Conference, which began just days after New Mexico's Department of Health approved four new medical marijuana producers to field demand from the state's 755 patients. The conference, a three-day event held at the Albuquerque Convention Center, featured attendees clad in a broad and fascinating variety of pot-themed T-shirts, as well as workshops and panels galore on subjects ranging from "Marijuana's Cultural Moment" to new developments in psychedelics. There was talk of "the movement" and the future, but the post-Obama cynicism that seems to have hit like a cold front everywhere else was notably absent. [continues 1087 words]
Cannabis Producers Spread Out Across New Mexico. The Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Rio Rancho triangle could become home to four medical marijuana growhouses, according to documents filed with the New Mexico Department of Health and the Public Regulation Commission. In July 2007, the Department of Health began development of New Mexico's Medical Marijuana Program as mandated by the Legislature. Two years later, several hundred patients have enrolled in the program, but questions remain as to when the program will produce enough cannabis to meet demand. [continues 1093 words]
"The drug war is a proxy for racism," says Andy Ko, project director of ACLU-Washington's Drug Policy Reform Project. "Most modern politicians wouldn't dream of explicitly advocating that society persecute or enslave poor people or members of minority communities. But that is exactly what is happening as a result of the 'get-tough-on-crime' drug war policies of the past few decades." Ten years ago, perspectives such as these might still have been viewed as exaggerated, rhetorical stabs at trying to reverse the trend of skyrocketing us incarceration rates. [continues 2152 words]
