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California's Medical Marijuana Battles Are a Lesson for Michigan

2010-03-08T11:04:32+00:00

LOS ANGELES – With a 13-year head start on Michigan, California’s efforts to transform marijuana from illicit to prescription drug offers a clear lesson: It ain’t easy.

The conflict has flared in recent weeks with a new Los Angeles ordinance aimed at hundreds of marijuana dispensaries, many that operate more like drug dens than pharmacies. Michigan prohibits dispensaries under its 2008 voter-passed law, but communities are struggling with limits on the medical pot business.

The Los Angeles ordinance would cap dispensaries in the city at 70 with 186 grandfathered in. All must follow tough rules such as observing a 1,000-foot buffer from churches and schools.

Distribution isn’t the only concern. In Los Angeles County, safety concerns have risen with authorities pursuing charges against sellers whose pot had high pesticide levels.

“It’s been pretty tough since everyone’s been getting shut down,” said Bob Nelson, 58, who uses pot for back pain – one of about 300,000 Californians who find relief they don’t get from other drugs.

“I don’t know where to go next.”

Laws Try to Weed Out Rule-Breakers

In the upscale neighborhood where Beverly Hills meets L.A., Aaron Bullock does not enjoy having his enterprise lumped in with the “party stores.”

Bullock, a nutritionist by training, started treating patients with medicinal marijuana two years ago from the Farmacopeia Organica dispensary that he co-owns.

Skeptical of the benefits at first, he now treats about 1,000 patients for ailments from Crohn’s disease to cancer. Many of his customers are referrals from doctor’s offices next door.

He says he welcomes the city’s new curbs on the business of medical marijuana.

“There are too many stores,” he said. “There are too many in places that if I were a homeowner, they would bother me.”

But the city’s new limits, if they take effect as written, would force Bullock to move or close, as his business is next door to a doctor’s office and shares an alleyway with homes — two places dispensaries could no longer be.

California was the first state to allow medical pot in 1996, but it didn’t flourish as a business until the state Legislature clarified the law in 2003. ( That was before Michigan voters passed a new law in 2008 permitting use of marijuana for treating pain. )

In 2004, several California cities, mainly near San Francisco, began passing laws to regulate it.

Last year, the Obama administration gave the nascent industry a boost when it said it would not raid growers or dispensaries that comply with state statutes, following some 200 raids during the Bush administration.

Medical Pot Expo

Welcome to HempCon!

Held last month in L.A.’s cavernous convention center, the event billed itself as the state’s largest convention ever for medicinal marijuana users and pharmacies.

The scene was, well, far out, man.

At one paraphernalia stand, a television played Cheech & Chong’s signature pot culture flick, “Up in Smoke.”

Mixed in among stands offering ornate glass bongs were lawyers and advocacy groups collecting petitions. A few tattoo artists advertised their work alongside guys in polos and khakis selling armored awnings and safes typically found only at jewelers.

While show-goers could inspect a semi trailer-size lab for hydroponic marijuana growing, organizers warned against on-site pot use with posted signs vowing cooperation with the police.

While taking marijuana as medicine in California is legal, it’s still illegal to openly sell the stuff — as it is in Michigan. Under the letter of the law, patients and caregivers must take some part in growing marijuana for their own use, typically by forming a nonprofit cooperative. That cooperative can grow its own or buy from a supplier – — who follows the law by also joining the cooperative.

Regulate but Don’t Ban

The blossoming industry still faces strong opposition, and 150 cities have banned dispensaries outright. L.A. City Attorney Carmen Trutanich and other law enforcement officials have overseen raids on local dispensaries, saying they violated not just state laws on medical marijuana but others, including having marijuana with high levels of pesticides.

“If pharmacies were found to be distributing aspirin contaminated with pesticides, how long would any bottles of that particular brand remain on store shelves?” Trutanich wrote in an opinion piece last week for the Daily News of Los Angeles. “Not very long because the public would demand that the law be immediately enforced. Why should medical marijuana be subjected to any less of a consumer safety standard — especially in light of the advocates’ argument that it is a medicine?”

Advocates of medical marijuana have accused Trutanich and others of blocking the needs of thousands of patients. One group, Americans for Safe Access, filed suit over the city ordinance last week, and spokesman Kris Hermes said the city needs to offer a way for dispensaries to do business.

“There are ways for local governments to regulate this activity without establishing a de facto ban,” Hermes said.

Bullock and others say without better oversight of how marijuana is grown, street-level pot delivered by criminal enterprises without safety standards will survive. Cities could boost their revenue by taxing and licensing legitimate growers, he said.

“I’ve seen a great number of people who’ve done well with medicinal cannabis,” he said. “Doctors send patients because I treat them well. The more I see, the more I believe it matters.”

MICHIGAN VERSUS CALIFORNIA ON MEDICAL POT LAWS

Similarities

Patients, doctors and caregivers must register with state officials. Diseases qualifying for treatment include cancer, HIV/AIDS and glaucoma. State law offers some protection for users against arrest on marijuana possession charges.

Differences

Michigan

Access: Allows only patients and caregivers to cultivate plants for personal use. Does not provide a way to get access to plants or seeds and does not allow sales. Maximum amount of pot allowed per patient is 2.5 ounces or 12 plants statewide.

Other ailments/diseases permissible for marijuana use certification: Alzheimer’s, hepatitis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

California

Access: Allows patients and practitioners to use or set up dispensaries in addition to cultivating their own plants. Maximum amount of pot allowed per user varies by city and county.

Other ailments/diseases permissible for marijuana use approval: migraines, anorexia and arthritis.

http://www.freep.com/

"Gold Standard" Studies Show That Inhaled Marijuana Is Medically Safe And Effective

2010-02-24T09:34:03+00:00

The results of a series of randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials assessing the efficacy of inhaled marijuana consistently show that cannabis holds therapeutic value comparable to conventional medications, according to the findings of a 24-page report issued to the California state legislature by the California Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research (CMCR).

Four of the five placebo-controlled trials demonstrated that marijuana significantly alleviated neuropathy, a difficult to treat type of pain resulting from nerve damage.

“There is good evidence now that cannabinoids (the active compounds in the marijuana plant) may be either an adjunct or a first-line treatment for … neuropathy,” said Dr. Igor Grant, Director of the CMCR, at a news conference at the state Capitol. He added that the efficacy of smoked marijuana was “very consistent,” and that its pain-relieving effects were “comparable to the better existing treatments” presently available by prescription.

A fifth study showed that smoked cannabis reduced the spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis. A separate study conducted by the CMCR established that the vaporization of cannabis – a process that heats the substance to a temperature where active cannabinoid vapors form, but below the point of combustion – is a “safe and effective” delivery mode for patients who desire the rapid onset of action associated with inhalation while avoiding the respiratory risks of smoking.

Two additional clinical trials remain ongoing.

The CMCR program was founded in 2000 following an $8.7 million appropriation from the California state legislature. The studies are some of the first placebo-controlled clinical trials to assess the safety and efficacy of inhaled cannabis as a medicine to take place in over two decades.

Placebo-controlled clinical crossover trials are considered to be the ‘gold standard’ method for assessing the efficacy of drugs under the US FDA-approval process.

“These scientists created an unparalleled program of systematic research, focused on science-based answers rather than political or social beliefs,” said former California Senator John Vasconcellos, who sponsored the legislation in 1999 to launch the CMCR. Vasconcellos called the studies’ design “state of art,” and suggested that the CMCR’s findings “ought to settle the issue” of whether or not medical marijuana is a safe and effective medical treatment for patients.

“This (report) confirms all of the anecdotal evidence – how lives have been saved and pain has been eased,” said California Democrat Sen. Mark Leno at the press conference. “Now we have the science to prove it.”

Full text of the CMCR’s report to the California legislature is available at online at:
http://www.cmcr.ucsd.edu/CMCR_REPORT_FEB17.pdf

http://www.enewspf.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14027:gold-standard-studies-show-that-inhaled-marijuana-is-medically-safe-and-effective&catid=88888904&Itemid=88890249

Medical Marijuana Cultivation Ordinance To Be Heard By Anderson Planning Commission

2010-02-22T10:14:09+00:00

Medical marijuana will not be permitted to be grown in a residence or outdoors in the City of Anderson if the planning commission follows staff recommendations on Monday.

An ordinance governing the cultivation of medical marijuana in the City of Anderson will be heard by the city's planning commission Monday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. in the city council chambers on the third floor of city hall, 1887 Howard St. in Anderson.

City planning staff will recommend the commission adopt several measures pertaining to cultivation, according to the meeting agenda published on the city's Web site. Additionally, city staff recommends extending the moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries.

Restrictions and limitations on the drug's cultivation are needed in the interests of "public health, safety and welfare," Anderson Planning Director John Stokes said in a previous interview with the Valley Post.

According to recommendations, the only place for cultivation would be in a lockable out-building or greenhouse with a working security system. Growers would also have to file with the city and pay a $100 fee.

Anderson Planning Director John Stokes was not immediately available Friday afternoon for comment.

http://www.andersonvalleypost.com/news/2010/feb/19/medical-marijuana-cultivation-ordinance-be-heard-a/

California Research Shows Marijuana Can Ease Muscle Spasms

2010-02-18T15:47:27+00:00

Sacramento, Calif. — The first U.S. clinical trials in more than two decades on the medical benefits of marijuana confirm pot is effective in reducing muscle spasms associated with multiple sclerosis and pain caused by certain neurological injuries or illnesses, according to a report issued Wednesday.

Igor Grant, a psychiatrist who directs the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at the University of California, San Diego, said the five studies funded by the state involved volunteers who were randomly given real marijuana or placebos to determine if the herb provided relief not seen from traditional medicines.

“There is good evidence now that cannabinoids may be either an adjunct or a first-line treatment,” Grant said at a news conference where he presented the findings.

The California Legislature established the research center in 2000 to examine whether the therapeutic claims of medical marijuana advocates could withstand scientific scrutiny. In 1996, state voters became the first in the nation to pass a law approving pot use for medical purposes.

Thirteen other states have followed suit, but California is the only one so far to sponsor medical marijuana research. After 10 years and nearly $9 million, the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research is preparing to wrap up its work next year.

Along with the studies on muscle spasms and pain associated with spinal cord injuries and AIDS, the center also has funded research on how marijuana effects sleep and driving, limb pain due to diabetes, and whether inhaling vaporized cannabis is as effective as smoking it.

A laboratory study supported by the center examined if pot could be helpful in treating migraine headaches and facial pain. In that study, rats given a cannabis-like drug exhibited reduced activity of nerve cells that transmit pain.

State Sen. Mark Leno, a San Francisco Democrat who chairs a budget subcommittee on health and human services and supports medical marijuana, said he doubted there would be more financial support for the center given California’s ongoing budget crisis.

The federal government classifies marijuana as an illicit drug with no medical use but produces the only pot legally available for scientific research under a contract with the University of Mississippi.

Grant said obtaining some of the Mississippi crop and meeting the complex security regulations required by the Drug Enforcement Agency and other federal agencies was time-consuming and cumbersome.

Grant, however, had no problem with the quality of the government’s supply. Its consistency was helpful in determining that patients who smoked less-potent marijuana enjoyed the same amount of pain relief but less mental confusion than those who inhaled a more powerful strain, he said.

Such quality control is notably absent from the marijuana that patients with a doctor’s recommendation can legally obtain in California through hundreds of cooperatives and storefront dispensaries, Grant said.

He said more research was needed on how pot works and its side effects.

“Because we don’t know the composition of the strains that are on the street, we don’t know what patients really are getting,” he said. “As a doctor I feel some discomfort when someone says take X or Y pill or herb because we think that might be helpful.”

Source: Associated Press (Wire)
Author: Lisa Leff, The Associated Press
Published: February 17, 2010
Copyright: 2010 The Associated Press

What's The Harm In Marijuana?

2010-02-02T15:56:05+00:00

The big debate on marijuana, for both medical and non-medical use, is heating up all around the nation – perhaps nowhere more so than here in the San Francisco Bay Area. I know how I feel, but I am interested to see how others from all corners of the nation – or world – feel about this pressing issue.

What is the big deal about marijuana? Have any of the people opposing its legalization actually taken the “drug”? In what way could it possibly have any negative effect upon the community? The only thing bad it could do is if the underage kids got a hold of it and started smoking it all the time – they would become lazy and make bad use of their time. If you’re worried about the kids, consider the fact that kids already have no trouble seeking out and successfully finding and smoking it, just as they do with alcohol.

Making it legal for adults wouldn’t make it any easier for them to get their hands on it. Tobacco and alcohol are both legal for adults to consume. Tobacco is more harmful for one’s health than marijuana ( due in part to the fact that its doused in chemicals? ). Alcohol has a far more powerful psychological effect than marijuana. Thousands of Americans die every year from alcohol-related deaths. This includes drunk driving accidents, over-consumption leading to alcohol poisoning, etc.

On the other hand, how many ever die from marijuana-related incidents? I’d feel far safer sharing the road exclusively with pot heads than I would with a few people that have a liquor buzz going.

As far as over-consumption, you couldn’t possibly smoke too much pot to do any major damage to your vital organs. You might feel woozy or nauseous, but the worst you could ever do is smoke so much you soon fall asleep.

As far as the effect on society, the only thing negative about marijuana is that it is technically illegal. Sure, drug dealers do terrible things like kill each other and even kill innocent people. The illegal drug trade is ruthless, no doubt. So why not take marijuana out of the illegal drug trade and sell it at 7-Eleven? Business would profit more – the sale of marijuana would surely be taxed, just as alcohol and tobacco are. Our police departments would not only be less distracted, taking one more issue off of their busy hands would allow them focus on more important issues. And they would also gain significantly more funding to do so.

People aren’t getting high off marijuana and going to rob old ladies or go murder people or whatever the fear of it is. If people are going to do that kind of stuff they’re going to do it regardless. People get high on PCP – not marijuana – and go act like a crazy maniac. I say this to address possible fears people may have about marijuana.

As for medical marijuana, what possible reason can you give to deny a cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy, or someone who suffers glaucoma, or other ailments the medical marijuana patients suffer, from using it? Does it really physically help their body heal? I don’t know. But if they are suffering, and taking marijuana makes them feel better, then why do they not have the right to ease their pain?

Billions of dollars are spent annually on the war on drugs. They should be focused on the drugs that plague our society like methamphetamine and crack cocaine. The ones that make people go out and stab people for the hard-earned money in their wallet.

Marijuana can make you lazy and unproductive, and it smells kind of funny. Other than that, I simply fail to see the harm in it. Sure, it’s not the best thing – the most productive, or the most healthy – one can do for themselves, but why does it have to be illegal?

Jarred Cartwright

American Canyon

http://www.timesheraldonline.com/

One Doctor Wrote 18 Percent Of All Colo. Medical Marijuana Authorizations

2009-12-18T22:35:56+00:00

One Colorado doctor wrote 18 percent, or approximately 2,850, of all authorizations for medical marijuana in Colorado, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Health and Environment said Friday.

The doctor can’t be legally identified under the law that voters passed in 2000 that allowed the use by certain patients of marijuana for medicinal purposes, said Mark Salley, the spokesman. A total of 15,800 people were on the marijuana registry as of Wednesday; around 29,000 people have submitted applications.

Salley did disclose that the top 10 doctors wrote 66 percent of all authorizations. On Thursday, the department revealed (in a press release) that 15 doctors wrote 73 percent, or nearly three quarters, of all medical-marijuana authorizations.

http://www.statebillnews.com/2009/12/one-doctor-wrote-18-percent-of-all-colo-medical-marijuana-authorizations/

Medical marijuana attorney Rob Corry: "The future is here"

2009-12-18T22:33:56+00:00

The lawsuit against Centennial by CannaMart, a medical marijuana dispensary the city shut down despite granting it a business license a short time earlier, gets its first reading in court today, and Rob Corry and a team of attorneys representing the plaintiffs, including several medical marijuana patients, are clearly feeling their oats.

In advance of the 1:30 p.m. hearing, they've released profiles of the patients in question, written to evoke maximum sympathy, plus a bench brief and
a letter from Corry to Andrew Nathan, the attorney representing Centennial, in regard to a potential settlement.

The latter makes numerous strong statements, with perhaps the boldest being, "The future is here." Look below for some key excerpts:

Having worked with a number of local governments of various degrees of sophistication on this issue across Colorado, I believe the actual concerns of your council member clients are related to the unique and complex history of marijuana and emotion-driven "squeaky wheel getting the grease" citizen complaints about the proliferation of caregiver operations, coupled with a NIMBY-ist/Prohibitionist impulse that somehow, the medical use of marijuana by suffering people isimmoral and should not be viewed or even contemplated by passerby. While citizens complaining about marijuana are entitled to some deference, the constitutional rights of my clients, who in some cases served our country in war and who suffer from painful medical conditions, supersede...
The future is here. Medical use of marijuana is a constitutional right. My clients are committed to helping people and running a responsible, transparent business than the City can be proud of. The bottom line is that the City's total ban causes needless human suffering, and must be adjusted to permit the legal use of the property to help sick people.

Read patient profiles

http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2009/12/medical_marijuana_attorney_rob.php

LA council set to vote on pot ordinance

2009-12-09T09:29:42+00:00

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles city council could vote on a much-anticipated medical marijuana ordinance Wednesday, ending a bottleneck that resulted in hundreds of pot dispensaries cropping up across the city.

The draft ordinance would provide guidelines for the nation's second largest city that would greatly reduce the number of marijuana storefronts and would push them out of neighborhoods and into industrial areas.

While other California cities such as San Francisco, Oakland and West Hollywood have been able to regulate medical marijuana, Los Angeles has fumbled to adopt guidelines over the past two years. Authorities believe the delay has led to widespread abuse of a 1996 state ballot measure allowing marijuana for medicinal use.

City officials estimate as many as 1,000 dispensaries operate in Los Angeles alone. Only four were around in 2005, when city officials first discussed a local medical marijuana law.

Among the ordinance's provisions is capping the number of dispensaries at 70. The move would shutter many of the shops no longer in compliance with city law.

Despite the cap, council members would allow 186 dispensaries that registered before a 2007 moratorium was enacted, but not enforced, to stay open as long as they met the other ordinance requirements. The city attorney's office estimates 137 of those 186 dispensaries are still in operation.

Many of the other pot clinics took advantage of a loophole known as a "hardship exemption" that allowed them to open while awaiting city approval.

The ordinance also would allow cash reimbursement at the clinics. Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley has said he will go after pot dispensaries involved in over-the-counter sales. Cooley's interpretation of vaguely written state law provides only for the possession, use and cultivation of marijuana for medicinal purposes, but not the sale of the drug.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge took a similar stance last week, signaling he would bar a dispensary from selling the drug because he believes it violates state law. Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich is trying to close Hemp Factory V permanently.

One of the more controversial guidelines is where dispensaries can be located. While council members agreed on the distance clinics must be from schools, churches and other gathering spots, some were concerned with language that prohibits dispensaries from being 1,000 feet from a residence. The provision would essentially move all dispensaries to industrial areas.

"The idea is to have these dispensaries more accessible to ill patients so they can walk down the street and get what they need," said James Shaw of the Union of Medical Marijuana Patients, an advocacy group for medicinal marijuana users. "It's NIMBYism."

Fourteen states, including California, permit medical marijuana. Pot, however, remains illegal under federal law.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jWNT7BSn_bpWcrMZ9XF0HX8n74AgD9CFME101

Santa Barbara City Council Adopts Moratorium on Marijuana Distribution

2009-12-09T09:29:08+00:00

After a full day of public meetings, the Santa Barbara City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved and adopted a suspension ordinance — or moratorium — for medical marijuana distribution.

The storefront distribution locations that already have been approved may continue to operate, but all others are stopped in their tracks until a new ordinance is adopted.

A provision that was included in the moratorium allows the processing of pending and future applications for completeness, but the city staff will not approve or deny any projects under the moratorium.

This affects those awaiting appeal or an initial hearing. The moratorium is effective for 45 days, but can — and most likely will be — extended for up to a year. It will end once a new ordinance is in place.

There are three approved locations, two awaiting appeal, five pending, and several nonconforming, illegal or disputed locations. The city attorney has sent cease-and-desist letters to dispensaries on State, Parker, East Haley and De la Vina streets. Most are suspected of being closed for 30 days or more, which violates the ordinance.

Most members of the public who attended Tuesday’s meeting spoke in favor of the moratorium but were wary about the future of the ordinance given the issue’s legal standing statewide.

Court cases are likely to bring changes and better clarity to the issue within the next few months, said David Hughes, a retired attorney and Housing Authority commissioner.

It has been difficult for Planning Department staff to evaluate applications under the current ordinance since they knew changes were coming, and a moratorium helps alleviate the dilemma, Community Development Director Paul Casey said.

Several current medical-marijuana storefront owners were present Tuesday. Some agreed with the need for a moratorium, but some worried about the situation after it is lifted. It could give priority to those who have already filed paperwork and further delay the progress of who, legally, have followed all of the rules under the current ordinance.

Sharon Byrne said the moratorium could give priority to out-of-town applicants over existing local operators who were grandfathered in.

Many groups, including representatives from the Fighting Back Coalition and Santa Barbara Rescue Mission president Rolf Geyling, support the moratorium and spoke in support of limiting the availability of marijuana to nonmedical uses.

Councilmembers Dale Francisco and Iya Falcone, who brought the issue of revising the medical marijuana ordinance to the council, were absent Tuesday.

The revisions proposed by the Ordinance Committee will go before the Planning Commission later this week and end up back with the City Council in early 2010. The decision to extend the moratorium will also be on the agenda next year.

http://www.noozhawk.com/local_news/article/120809_santa_barbara_council_adopts_moratorium_on_marijuana_distribution/

Breckenridge Tweaks Laws To Make Way for Marijuana

2009-11-30T16:02:46+00:00

Breckenridge, Colorado — A new set of marijuana laws is nearing approval in Breckenridge, where possession of the drug and paraphernalia by people over 21 is to be decriminalized Jan. 1. The regulations would make public display and consumption of marijuana punishable by a $100 fine and up to 15 days in jail.

Breckenridge Police Chief Rick Holman said he doesn’t foresee much change in the town that, in 2008, issued only 10 tickets for possession of small amounts of marijuana and four for possession of paraphernalia under the municipal laws.

“We’ve never had a high incidence of public display and use in Breckenridge,” he said. “I don’t expect that to change.”

Holman acknowledged that “some people are miseducated” about what passed in this month’s ballot initiative for decriminalization.

Use of marijuana at Breckenridge Ski Resort remains illegal under the Colorado Ski Safety Act.

The town will continue to prohibit selling and driving under the influence of the drug.

The town on its website explains that non-medical marijuana possession still violates state laws, and that the local police “may still exercise, at their discretion, the authority to charge those in violation of state or federal law.”

Holman has said such enforcement would vary depending on the situation.

Unlike the city of Denver — which decriminalized pot in 2005 — the Breckenridge town code will specifically allow for people over 21 to possess paraphernalia.

The draft to which the Town Council gave preliminary approval last week also allows for transfer without sale of less than an ounce of marijuana between people. Sale of marijuana remains a felony.

Possession between 1 ounce and 8 ounces is still to be a misdemeanor in the town, with possession of more than 8 ounces a felony.

Election results earlier this month reflect about 71 percent of town residents who voted favored decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana.

http://www.aspentimes.com/