Madeline Martinez, 54, is allowed to grow and use marijuana as medicine to treat pain. Madeline Martinez smokes marijuana everyday. She medicates herself with about an ounce of green buds each week, which she grows herself. She is a 54-year-old grandmother, a retired peace officer from a women's prison in California and a sufferer of chronic pain. Martinez has a degenerative disk and joint disease. She says of all the drugs prescribed to her, marijuana keeps her quality of life high, without the nasty stomach irritation brought on by opiates prescribed by her doctor. [continues 627 words]
The U.S. Supreme Court's Recent Ruling Against The Use Of Medical Marijuana Ignores The Reality That It Works At Restoring Health And Relieving Pain - The High Court's Decision Also Overlooks The Fact Most Californians Believe It Should Be Legalized For Those Purposes Brian smokes pot every day. Sometimes just once, but on his worst days, when he feels particularly depressed, anxious and in pain, he may toke up three times throughout the day. Today, 36-year-old Brian is in so much pain that he rarely leaves his South Pasadena home. In healthier times, Brian occasionally smoked pot for pleasure, but not anymore. Brian remembers experimenting with marijuana for fun in his 20s, and then discovering that it relieved the pain he suffered in his back as the result of an injury. [continues 3409 words]
Day One Calls For Thanksgiving Hunger Strike To Protest Drug References In Music. Local middle and high school students went on a hunger strike this week, demanding that Target Stores not sell music with parent advisory labels to kids under 18. About 20 youth advocates from the anti-drug group Day One, which for the past year has been protesting the use of positive drug images in popular music, demonstrated Friday outside Target's Pasadena store on Colorado Boulevard. The demands of the children are: that Target not sell music with parent advisory labels to underage youth; that the store consider adopting Wal-Mart's policy of not carrying any music not appropriate for people under 18; and that the NAACP stop nominating hip-hop artists who glorify drug use in their lyrics for Image Awards. [continues 242 words]
City To Take Lead In Securing Grant Money For Drug Treatment Programs In Wake Of Prop. 36 Passage. Without the support of Pasadena Police Chief Bernard K. Melekian and other law enforcement officials around California, Proposition 36, the "Substance Abuse Act of 2000," passed statewide. The question now, at least among those working in Pasadena's drug treatment industry, is: Are we ready for this? Several private health care organizations and officials with the Pasadena Health Department met Monday to discuss the implications of Proposition 36, which mandates treatment over jail for first- and second-time drug offenders, and how a $60,000 grant, called Demand Treatment!, can help. [continues 490 words]
