Federal Drug Enforcement Administration agents raided another local medical cannabis dispensary in San Francisco last week, just days after U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder signaled that the Obama administration would not target patients and providers in the 13 states with medical marijuana laws. "We have a national directive from President Obama that policy has changed," said Shona Gochenauer, executive director of the patient advocacy group Axis of Love and chairperson of the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club's Cannabis Caucus. "The raid is a slap in the face to President Obama because they know he's a reformist who is going to take steps toward sensible drug policy." [continues 718 words]
Marijuana reform measures fared well in Michigan and Massachusetts on Tuesday, November 4, but a California measure that would have reduced penalties for possession of a small amount of pot was defeated by a substantial margin. In Michigan, voters approved Proposal 1, the state's medical marijuana initiative, by a margin of 63 percent to 37 percent. Seriously ill patients with a physician's recommendation who register under the new law will be allowed to possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis without facing arrest. Patients, or their designated caregivers, will also be permitted to grow up to 12 plants in a secure indoor facility. The initiative is scheduled to go into effect in early December, and the state health department will have 120 days to issue regulations for a medical marijuana registry. [continues 295 words]
Medical marijuana can help people with hepatitis C stay on treatment longer, leading to better outcomes, according to a study published in the October 2006 issue of the European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. The standard treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV), a combination of interferon plus ribavirin taken for six months to a year, can cause side effects such as flu-like symptoms, insomnia, nausea, loss of appetite, and depression, which drive many patients to reduce their doses or stop treatment prematurely. If left untreated, hepatitis C can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer, and death due to liver failure. [continues 864 words]
The federal Drug Enforcement Administration raided a home and buildings where medical marijuana was grown Tuesday, December 20, but left the Hope Net pot club in the South of Market District after five hours without raiding it, only to return in the early evening hours. The actions came just a week after a DEA sweep of 13 medical marijuana clubs in San Diego. "It seems like our government is out of control," Dale Gieringer of the California chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws told the Bay Area Reporter . "The feds are playing the Grinch at Christmas." [continues 621 words]
Earlier this month, Canadian health officials announced that patients in that country will soon be allowed to legally use medical marijuana. Beginning on July 30, patients will be issued photo identification cards that allow them to legally possess cannabis. The new rule makes Canada the first country with federal regulations regarding the use of medical marijuana. The regulation is the result of an Ontario Supreme Court ruling last year in a case brought by an epileptic patient who claimed the right to use cannabis. The court instructed the government to change its criminal code to allow people with certain medical conditions to use the herb. The court had threatened to overturn Canada's marijuana laws if they were not changed to provide for medicinal use. [continues 438 words]
The American Medical Association House of Delegates failed to endorse a proposal supporting the use of medical marijuana at its conference last month. The new policy - minus support for medical cannabis - was adopted at the group's annual policy meeting in Chicago. The proposal supporting the compassionate use of medical cannabis under certain circumstances was put forth by the AMA's council on scientific affairs. The council had asked the organization to endorse medical marijuana as "last-resort pain relief for seriously ill patients." Michael Krawitz, a disabled veteran who has an artificial hip and is missing part of his intestinal tract, testified that marijuana relieves his pain. [continues 358 words]
The future of medical marijuana suddenly grew more cloudy Monday, May 14, as proponents sought to interpret the U.S. Supreme Court's unanimous decision disallowing a medical defense for seriously ill patients who use the drug for health reasons. At a press conference on Monday following the 8-0 Supreme Court decision against clubs that provide medical cannabis, Robert Raich, attorney for the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative said, "We are saddened and disappointed that the Supreme Court ruled against providing medicine to seriously ill and dying patients." [continues 579 words]
Last Tuesday, December 19, Hawaii Governor Ben Cayetano (D) approved new rules regarding medical marijuana. The regulations are the result of a law passed by the state Legislature and signed by Cayetano this past June. The rules will take effect on December 28. Under the new rules, certified patients will be allowed to posses up to three ounces of marijuana and grow up to seven cannabis plants. Doctors will be able to get certification for patients who use marijuana for qualifying "debilitating" medical conditions such as cancer and AIDS. [continues 102 words]
On Monday, November 27, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to decide whether medical marijuana can be provided to patients who demonstrate "medical necessity." Cannabis distribution - for medicinal or any other reason - is currently illegal under federal laws. Many patients use the herb to relieve loss of appetite related to AIDS, to relieve nausea caused by cancer and anti-HIV drugs, and for several other illnesses, including cancer and glaucoma. This week's decision is the latest involving the case of the Oakland Cannabis Buyers' Cooperative. In January 1998, the federal government filed a lawsuit against the OCBC and five other California buyers' clubs to prevent them from providing medical marijuana. Federal Judge Charles Breyer issued a preliminary injunction imposing such a ban, and the Oakland club stopped selling marijuana in October of that year. [continues 286 words]
The University of California last week announced the establishment of a new research center to study the safety and efficacy of medicinal marijuana. The Center for Medical Cannabis Research (CMCR) will be a collaborative project of the University of California at San Francisco and the University of California at San Diego, and will be housed at UCSD. Dr. Igor Grant, a professor of psychiatry at UCSD and director of UCSD's HIV Neurobehavioral Research Center will serve as the CMCR's director. Co-directors include Dr. J. Hampton Atkinson, UCSD professor of psychiatry; Dr. Andrew Mattison, USCD associate professor of psychiatry and family and clinical medicine; and Dr. Donald Abrams, UCSF professor of medicine. Abrams recently presented research at the 13th International Conference on AIDS in Durban, South Africa, that showed that medicinal cannabis can be used without detrimental effects in people taking combination antiretroviral therapy for HIV disease. [continues 228 words]
A U.S. District Court in Philadelphia last Wednesday, October 21 heard the first arguments in a class action suit challenging the federal government's prohibition on the use of medical cannabis. The lawsuit - Kuromiya vs. the U.S. - involves 166 plaintiffs from 49 states (the Action Class for Freedom of Therapeutic Cannabis). They claim to represent an estimated 97 million Americans who use medicinal marijuana to help stimulate their appetite to prevent wasting, relieve the effects of nausea due to chemotherapy, reduce high eye pressure related to glaucoma, or for other medical purposes. [continues 415 words]
Not just free pot - subjects get $1,000! Dr. Donald Abrams and colleagues at University of California at San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco General Hospital (SFGH), and the Community Consortium are seeking participants for their study of the effects of medicinal marijuana on the immune system, and its interaction with protease inhibitor drugs. Many people with HIV/AIDS use medical cannabis to help relieve drug-induced nausea and to stimulate their appetite and prevent weight loss. Participants taking part in the study will be hospitalized at SFGH's General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) for 25 nights. They will be randomized (selected by chance) to receive smoked marijuana, Marinol pills (an oral drug that contains THC, one of the active ingredients in marijuana), or placebo (inactive) pills for 21 days. Regular blood and urine tests will be conducted. Participants are expected to have follow-up outpatient visits five days and 37 days after the end of the hospital stay. Those who complete the study will receive $1,000. [continues 481 words]
A U.S. District Court judge ruled August 31 that the Oakland City Council's attempt to shield the staff of medical marijuana buyers clubs is not viable. The city had moved to declare buyers club staff as city officers, because such deputies are immune from prosecution under laws against marijuana possession while carrying out their jobs. Despite the ruling, Oakland Cannabis Buyers Cooperative Executive Director Jeff Jones stated that he is still recognized as a city officer, and that the club is "still operating under the assumption that we are immune from federal law because of that designation." [continues 198 words]
