Journal of Patients Out of Time

Welcome Home

mingovideo@yahoo.com (Ervin Dargan) — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 22:13:56 +0000

Welcome Home

When I got into the terminal at Logan Airport in Boston there were people waiting for me. My wife, Butch, Sheila McCarthy, Eddie and Larr. Sheila, a registered nurse, had written me in Nam often and while not dating Butch any longer had met with him to be there for me. My male friends were and are friends for life all these years later.
Other than Nam Vets (1) and those who were there when I came back from war no one has, to this day, ever said welcome home to me.That's just one reason I work real hard these days for Veterans to have cannabis as a medical option.

The plane rides from Nam to Massachusetts took almost 24 hours. The red eye from San Francisco was almost empty. The stewardess brought me a sandwich and on the plate were some cherry tomatoes. I had not seen a whole tomato in a year. They exploded flavor in my mouth and it was the first stirring in me that I was alive and would likely stay that way for a bit. I'd been ready to die for quite a while.
The war would go on for four more years after I got back to “the world”. I watched the end on TV in Rhode Island where I was stationed with the Navy. Back at work at the base the talk was Nam and the “fall”. I got in a pick-up, drove to a neglected pier where J. F. Kennedy had learned how to drive a PT boat and cried.
My head kept seeing the first image of Nam I recall. In a file down the rear steps of a passenger jet I looked to the front of the plane where a file of sailors and soldiers were climbing aboard. Between us, U.S. airmen were loading dozens of body bags into the hold. Dozens, black, shapeless, stacked on pallets.

Last year more Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan died here at home in the U.S. from suicide than died in combat.

Pulmonary Study - JAMA

mingovideo@yahoo.com (Ervin Dargan) — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:01:01 +0000

Evidence-Based Science: Relative Risks of Smoking Cannabis

"Occasional and low cumulative marijuana use was not associated with adverse effects on pulmonary function." - That is the conclusion of a 20 year longitudinal study of more than 5000 men and women by NIH researchers just published in the Journal of the American Medical Association: Association Between Marijuana Exposure and Pulmonary Function Over 20 Years - http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/307/2/173.short

Patients Out of Time has previously highlighted similar results from the leading pulmonary research on the long term effects of smoking cannabis.

Dr. Donald Tashkin, Medical Director of the Pulmonary Function Laboratory and Professor of Medicine at the University of California at Los Angeles, presented the results of twenty-five years of observations (on cannabis smokers; tobacco smokers; a combination of the two; and non-smokers) at our Fifth National Clinical Conference on Cannabis Therapeutics, held in April, 2008 in Pacific Grove, CA. His presentation is viewable here in three videos:
Does regular marijuana smoking cause COPD, Emphysema and/or Lung Cancer?

Dr. Tashkin, Part One - Risk of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Dr. Tashkin, Part Two - Risk of Emphysema

Dr. Tashkin, Part Three - Dr. Tashkin examines Cancer Risk and overall Results from his Study

Yellow Ribbons

al@medicalcannabis.com (Al Byrne) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:32:27 +0000

Yellow Ribbons

I'm not sure I'll get the words just right, and you do not want me to sing, but it seems to me it went something like:

“Oh she wore, she wore a yellow ribbon, she wore it for her love who was far, far away. Oh she wore, she wore a yellow ribbon, she wore it in the winter and in the month of May. Oh she wore, she wore a yellow ribbon, she wore it for her love who was far, far away.”

It's an old US Army, Calvary tune. The Calvary wore yellow bandanas whether they were white troops or buffalo soldiers. It meant something to them when their women wore yellow.

Times change but in the US I see yellow ribbons on trees in front of houses, in some small towns they hang from the street light poles or beneath our flag and the POW banner. The back of every other car sports a ribbon or two.

Does it mean anything? These yellow ribbons. Or is it just the latest politically correct symbol? My vote is being held on those questions.

I'm waiting to see what the White House of the United States does with a petition they have received from citizens of both the US and Canada that do care about yellow. The signers of the petition were not yellow, anything but. The spirit that moves them is the other yellow, the yellow that says I care. I really do care.

“And when I asked her why she wore the ribbon, she said she wore it for her love who was far, far away.” Far away in danger or back at “home” she cared, she supported her troop.

The petition: “Allow United States disabled Veterans access to medical marijuana to treat their PTS(d).”

www.Veteransformedicalcannabis.org (VMCA) was the originator of the petition which was accessed on the White House web page. In a month VMCA easily met the 5,000 signature requirement that the White House says will give the petition a professional review and a published finding of white house action on the petition. I'm waiting. Seems simple enough. This country allows some Vets to have therapeutic cannabis. The feds issue cannabis to four Directors of Patients Out of Time. Why just them? Why not all disabled Vets? Why not all patients?

PTSD & NIDA Monopoly

mingovideo@yahoo.com (Ervin Dargan) — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 08:00:00 +0000

In response to the federal government's refusal to allow research into cannbias treatment of post traumatic stress, Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access has initiated a petition at the White House's website - please sign and contact your representatives on this urgent matter:

https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/!/petition/allow-united-states-disabled-military-veterans-access-medical-marijuana-treat-their-ptsd/1MD2nrHC//

PRESS RELEASE (MAPS) - Oct 1, 2011:

NIDA Refuses to Sell Marijuana to Scientists,

Blocking FDA-Approved Research for Vets with PTSD

SANTA CRUZ, Calif.–A proposed pilot study of marijuana for 50 veterans with chronic, treatment-resistant post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is at a standstill, following a refusal by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to sell researchers marijuana for the study.

The study, to be conducted by Dr. Sue Sisley of the University of Arizona-Phoenix and sponsored by nonprofit research and educational organization the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), has clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). However, the monopoly held by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) on the legal supply of marijuana for research allows it to deny researchers permission to purchase marijuana regardless of FDA clearance.

Hundreds of veterans in medical marijuana states already report using marijuana to control their PTSD symptoms. The growing number of service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with combat-related trauma combined with large numbers of treatment-resistant veterans highlights the pressing need for research into additional treatments for PTSD. To date, no studies have examined marijuana for PTSD.

On April 28, the FDA accepted MAPS’ study protocol. That same day, MAPS submitted the protocol to be reviewed by NIDA and the Public Health Service, bothpart of HHS. This additional review is required solely because of NIDA’s monopoly. Researchers do not need approval from NIDA or the PHS when initiating studies into the therapeutic uses of more controversial compounds, such as MDMA and LSD.

Marijuana as Medicine Video

mingovideo@yahoo.com (Ervin Dargan) — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 22:21:53 +0000

Re-release of the First Medical Cannabis Video -

The award winning video, "Marijuana as Medicine", opened in 1993 a new era of education into the newest prohibition policy of the US, cannabis prohibition. The key participants in this documentary are the first five patients in the US to receive medical cannabis (marijuana) from the FDA.

Their honesty concerning their physical ailments and the remarkable stories they voice about their journey to get for their health legal medical cannabis is riveting. These men and women, at great risk by taking the federal government to task for untruthful, myth slinging statements about the therapeutic utility of cannabis, forever changed the way their fellow citizens think about the curative effects of medicinal cannabis.

Take a look - 17 minutes. Listen to true citizens speaking the truth.

Then do something.

Send the video to your network and ask that they do the same.

Call or write your Senators and Representative. Send the video to them. It means a lot and only you can do it.

Stand up and be counted. Join the bravery of five patients who are after all,

Patients Out of Time

Veterans - Treatment by Geography

al@medicalcannabis.com (Al Byrne) — Mon, 30 May 2011 15:21:02 +0000

Some US military Veterans are allowed to use cannabis medicinally. Some are not.

In the current patchwork of Medical Marijuana laws and regulations across the country, clinical cannabis use is not decided by the military patients' need for medicine, but rather where they live. This practice is, of course, totally illogical. Realizing that Veterans are not being treated for their injuries properly, is not surprising to me. I am a Vietnam Veteran myself.

Treatment by geography can be looked on as a win for some Vets. Before this protocol was adopted by the Veterans Health Administration, in July of 2010, there was no cannabis allowed medicinally for any service member. The change in policy, VHA Directive 2010-035, allows those Veterans who live in states where cannabis is legally available to use their medicine without fear of losing cherished and earned benefits. The caveat is that they cannot possess or use cannabis on federal property and may only medicate for symptoms approved by their state of residence.

This leads to another challenging process. A Veteran in Oregon cannot use cannabis for PTS(d), while a Vet in New Mexico can. This is because of the variance between states of "acceptable" diagnoses allowed by the individual state laws, and the people who are responsible for granting or denying cannabis to Veterans do not talk across state borders. Veterans for Common Sense found that more than half of all Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans treated in the VA hospitals since 2002 have been diagnosed (at least preliminarily) with mental health problems.

Those making these decisions are, in effect, practicing medicine without a license. They are law enforcement, lawyers and lobbyists. They are not MD's or RN's and often have little grasp of modern medicine's discovery of the endocannabinoid system universal to all mammals and essential to life. Most are equally ignorant of the worldwide science concerning cannabis. Because of research validating the effectiveness of cannabis for managing post traumatic stress or traumatic brain injuries, soldiers of Czechoslovakia and Israel, allies of the US in Iraq, can be prescribed cannabis as medicine.

We hear every day how Americans should support our troops. The time has come to give them the support they really deserve when it comes to medicinal cannabis.

- Al Byrne, for Patients Out of Time

Press Release - CRP Writ

mingovideo@yahoo.com (Ervin Dargan) — Tue, 24 May 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Press Release - May 24, 2011

Patients Out of Time joined others in an effort to put the DEA on notice that it must respond to a Petition to Reschedule Cannabis that was submitted in 2002 in accordance with the regulations of the Controlled Substances Act.

On Monday, May 23, 2011 a coalition of advocacy groups and patients filed suit (a Writ of Mandamus) in the DC Circuit Court to force the current administration to answer the 9 year old petition to remove cannabis/marijuana from Schedule I (forbidden category) and place it in a less restrictive category.

Background
The Cannabis Rescheduling Petition is a scientific argument why the federal government must legally recognize the accepted medical use of Cannabis (marijuana) and regulate it in the same fashion as pharmaceutical drugs.
Cannabis/marijuana is regulated by the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) as a Schedule I substance, restricted solely for research purposes. The CSA establishes a process by which the scheduling of a substance can be reconsidered. This rescheduling process requires the filing of a detailed report of scientific evidence and the CSA specifies which aspects of the scientific record are relevant to the scheduling process. The Cannabis Rescheduling Petition seeks to have marijuana rescheduled into one of the four other schedules, all of which allow access for medical use. (full details found at www.DrugScience.org).

The Cannabis Rescheduling Petition was submitted to the DEA in October of 2002 by the Coalition to Reschedule Cannabis (CRC). Patients Out of Time along with Americans for Safe Access are two of the primary organizations in the CRC. In effect, the petition presents evidence to show that cannabis does have accepted medical use in the U.S., it is safe for medical use and it is not highly addictive and therefore does not meet Schedule I criteria.

The Writ of Mandamus
The petition for the Writ of Mandamus (PDF) has been filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit since it is directed at the DEA and the U.S. Attorney General. The goal is to compel the DEA to finally answer the Cannabis Rescheduling Petition.

"The evidence has only gotten stronger for medicinal cannabis, while the DEA refuses to answer the petition. There are now 16 states along with Washington DC that have laws that recognized the medical value of cannabis. Enough is enough. Patients need this medicine now," states Mary Lynn Mathre, President of Patients Out of Time.

What Next?
The DEA will be forced to issue a formal answer to the Petition. "We don't know how the DEA will rule on the Cannabis Rescheduling Petition. Common sense, science, and compassion should lead them to placing it in a Schedule lower than III (which is the category that dronabinol or synthetic THC is now at). However, past actions by the DEA lead us to believe that they will continue to maintain the reefer madness myths of marijuana and deny legal access to cannabis," predicts Mathre.

If the DEA refuses to move cannabis out of Schedule I, the CRC will formally challenge their decision. In 1988, the DEA's Administrative Law Judge Francis Young ruled on a previous marijuana rescheduling petition that it should be removed from Schedule I and he stated that, "Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man." The DEA rejected its own judge's ruling. But much has changed since then. Scientists have discovered that humans (and other animals) have an endocannabinoid system (ECS) - we have receptors for cannabinoids throughout our bodies and we make our own cannabinoids (similar to those made by the cannabis plant). This is a very important molecular-based system that helps protect us from stressors and keeps us in balance. This new science helps us understand how and why cannabis has such a wide safety margin and has such a wide array of indications for use. "Cannabis can boost the ECS when it is overworked or supplement it if it begins to fail. It is time to put cannabis back in the pharmacopoeia and allow patients legal access to this herbal medicine," says Mathre.

- Mary Lynn Mathre, President, Patients Out of Time

1472 Fish pond Rd., Howardsville, VA 24562

434-262-4484

email - patients@MedicalCannabis.com

Florida Medical Cannabis Bill

mingovideo@yahoo.com (Ervin Dargan) — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 15:42:07 +0000

March 10, 2011 - At the state capitol in Tallahassee, Rep. Jeff Clemens (D-Lake Worth) and co-sponsors introduce the first legislation ( HJR 1407 - pdf ) in the history of Florida to put the issue of medical cannabis to a vote.
Observing that "In Florida, seven people a day die from using prescription drugs. No one on Florida dies from medicinal cannabis", Rep Clemens also notes the "pill mill" problem in Florida, which sells 85% of the Oxycodone in America - "To me it makes absolutely no sense that we would not allow people to use a safer drug - something that helps with their issues, yet doesn't cause all the problems that some of those prescription narcotics cause".

Rep. Clemens invited Catherine Jordan to speak at the press conference, as she has lived for a remarkable twenty-five years since diagnosis of ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), even now with a good quality of life. Clemens quoted her in his press release, "Cannabis is a neuro-protector, anti-oxidant; and an anti-inflammatory...I am here today to help patients and the families of patients with neuromuscular diseases and brain disorders to educate themselves on cannabis".

Also invited to speak to the press was Mary Lynn Mathre, from Patients Out of Time. A registered nurse and a former U.S. Navy Lieutentant on the Board of Directors of Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access. Mary Lynn observed the new position of the Veterans Administration that allows veterans in states with legal medical marijuana programs to use cannabis without repercussions.

Video of the Press Conference on our YouTube channel:

Medical Marijuana Milestone 1990

mingovideo@yahoo.com (Ervin Dargan) — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 21:56:06 +0000

Legal Medical Cannabis Patients at NORML, 1990 - C-Span Archive

Congratulations to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws NORML on its official 40th anniversary today! Few know that the history of Patients Out of Time is connected with the history of NORML, in an important episode in medical marijuana history - a convergence that occurred at NORML's 20th annual conference.

At that time, Al Byrne was an officer and board member of NORML and Mary Lynn Mathre was a board member and Director of NORML's Council on Marijuana & Health and both were on the planning committee for this visionary conference.

This conference brought together for the first time the original five patients admitted to the Compassionate Investigational New Drug (IND) program that provided medicinal cannabis to them for their individual ailments.

They were Robert Randall (glaucoma), Irv Rosenfeld (multiple congential cartilaginous exostoses), Elvy Musikka (glaucoma), George McMahon (nail-patella syndrome), and Corinne Millet (glaucoma). The patients spoke freely, honestly and provocatively of the improvement in their personal health through the use of cannabis. Their courage in challenging the lies of the beast that fed them makes them true pioneers of the modern medicinal cannabis knowledge.

Dr. John Morgan, professor of pharmacology at City University of New York (now deceased), was on a panel preceding this historic patient testimony and was included in this C-Span video, Vigilance for Health

C-Span aired this segment several times in the fall of 1990. Forty thousand phone calls poured into the NORML offices the next month. The patients had put a new face on marijuana. These were not the stoner hippies so often portrayed in the press, but men and women with gray hair, soft words and serious illnesses. They were everybody’s dad, grandmother or son and the US government provided them with their medicine. The callers were from all over the country, supportive, and wanted to know more about "medical marijuana."

So, sit back and enjoy a special moment in medical cannabis history, courtesy of C-Span's new streaming video archive - Vigilance for Health

Rosenfeld in Montana

mingovideo@yahoo.com (Ervin Dargan) — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 11:44:28 +0000

Florida Stockbroker Returns to Montana to Help Save Medical Cannabis Laws

Irvin Rosenfeld, the longest surviving patient of the four Federal Medical Cannabis Patients in the United States and a Director for Patients Out of Time be flying to Montana on January 8th to speak before the Montana Legislature for a week. Irvin will be there to educate people of the importance of Medical Cannabis and its true value as a medicine. As a Federal Patient for over 28 years, he has knowledge and experience that no one has in this country which he will share with others. To him, Cannabis is a medicine like any other medicine and should be treated that way. As Senior Vice-President of Newbridge Securities in Ft. Lauderdale Florida, he also understands the economic aspect and how this medicine creates jobs for thousands of Montanans.

“Montana is being watched Nationally, and what happens in this legislative session could set precedence around the world” states Rosenfeld. “Medical Cannabis Patients are productive members of society. I am living proof. I have been a stockbroker for over 23 years handling millions of dollars on a daily basis.”

“One of the biggest problems in Montana now is, they have had very bad press. The media in Montana has focused its efforts on one specific individual, and that has bled over Nationally. There are some very experienced, professional, caring people in Montana working very hard to care for patients who have went virtually unrecognized in Montana. I know, I have met many of them.”

“My goal is to help educate the politicians in Montana. There are some very intelligent people in Montana, and I am sure they will see the science and facts, and consider what is best for the people of Montana. Montana has a proud history of pioneering. It is my hope they will take the lead, and be the true pioneers for Medical Cannabis, and a shining example of the true value of not only Medical Cannabis but Hemp as well.”