hMPp://tbo.com/news/politics/morgan-joins-medical-marijuana-debate-tonight-at-ut-20140224/




(FL) Medical marijuana debate gets testy in Tampa



TAMPA ­­- An audience of several hundred people, largely students, was clearly on the side of legalizing medical marijuana during an debate at the University of Tampa tonight, enlivened by heated exchanges involving the proposal's leading sponsor, trial lawyer John Morgan.

The two sides got testy and the crowd got lively when the two opponents of the proposal, an antidrug activist physician from Kansas and a public policy expert from the University of Florida, accused proponents of wanting to legalize marijuana fully and advocating an untested, possibly dangerous medication.

Morgan responded by questioning their qualifications, sincerity and compassion for the sick and dying in tough language.

The opponents' points drew catcalls and boos from the crowd, and police ejected one attendee who repeatedly shouted interruptions.

Morgan, joined by Allen St. Pierre of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML, debated physician Eric Voth of the Institute on Global Drug Policy and Kevin Sabet, director of UF's Drug Policy Institute.

Morgan opened the debate denying that anyone wants to legalize marijuana for recreational use.

"Legalization, decriminalization ... that's not the issue for this year," he said. "The issue is very simple ... legalization of medical marijuana.

"It works for a lot of people. A lot of really sick people. I don't know why it works, but it works."

But Voth called the proposal "a Trojan horse."

"It is about legalization - the marijuana lobby is driving that and targeting that," Voth said.

Sabet called it a "brilliant public relations strategy" on the part of pro-marijuana forces "to use sick people to move toward legalization.''

He and Voth repeatedly pointed out that the pro-marijuana debate team included no physicians, and that the Florida Medical Association and other medical and physician associations have opposed medical use of marijuana - "every recognizable scientific or medical organization" that has considered the issue, said Sabet. "When I see that, I don't have to ask any more questions."

Voth and Sabet said the amendment would lead to people giving an untested and unregulated drug to children, possibly buying it from sleazy merchandisers.

"What we need to do is figure out the things in marijuana that are effective medicines, and we're very close to doing that, figure out what the effective doses are and bring it to market," Voth said.

They said the federal Food and Drug Administration is now testing a marijuana derivative, Sativax, that they said should be able to deliver all the potentially helpful medicinal effects of marijuana in a controlled, tested form. Now, they said, marijuana has been shown to have potential harmful side effects, including depression, anxiety and suicidal tendencies - as well as impaired driving..

Morgan responded, "I don't trust the FDA," drawing a cheer from the crowd.

There's no reason, he said, why suffering people who find relief from using marijuana should have to wait for the government and the pharmaceutical industry, which he said hopes to make money off a new drug, to attempt to replicate marijuana's effects.

"I trust an organic plant,'' Morgan said. "There has never been one death as a result of marijuana."

Morgan added that he objects to "a guy from a cornfield in Iowa telling me what my motives are" - an apparent reference to Voth, who's from Kansas.

He later said Sabet, "a political science major," has no more qualifications to discuss the matter than Morgan, and that Voth might prescribe oxycodone for pain, even though it's highly addictive and "kills 16,000 people a year."

Though popular with the crowd, those remarks apparently angered Voth and Sabet.

"It's hard to have a civil conversation with someone who is so disagreeable," said Sabet, who added that he's proud to be a public policy graduate from Oxford and didn't like Morgan's "vitriolic and personal attacks."

The audience included several people with severe health problems who said they use medical marijuana, including Cathy Jordan of Parrish, who's severely disabled by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease. Her house was raided a year ago by what Morgan called "a SWAT team" because her husband, Bob, was growing marijuana to ease her symptoms.

Destruction of his plants "put her life in danger," forcing him to buy marijuana off the street, said Bob Jordan.

The two were never charged, and are now permitted to grow marijuana.

"I'm really hoping the Republicans will work with us," Cathy Jordan said, speaking with difficulty. "Some people can't wait."

hMPp://rt.com/politics/russia-drugs-marijuana-legalize-633/




Russian drugs boss rules out marijuana legalization



The head of Russia’s Federal Drug Control Service has called marijuana a dangerous gateway drug and said the authorities did not plan to legalize it, or to allow methadone treatment for heroin addicts.

“Marijuana users have a 50 or 60 times higher risk of switching to heroin. There is one step from dope to heroin,” Viktor Ivanov said in an interview with the Interfax news agency. Quoting unnamed medical research he said that those who smoke marijuana for recreational purposes later suffer from depression,dissatisfaction with life and schizophrenia.

Ivanov completely ruled out the possibility of legalizing marijuana in Russia, saying that such a move would put people in danger if it were used by air traffic controllers, bus and taxi drivers and the like.“Today we live in the age of high technology, a lot of things are managed with the help of computer systems. Someone who works at a nuclear power plant can wreak real havoc after smoking marijuana,” the official added.

The top Russian drug enforcer also questioned the effectiveness of modern measures taken to help drug addicts, such as methadone and handing out clean syringes. He said that there was no reliable evidence that methadone therapy was effective, and some European countries were disappointed with such programs. “If we want to hand out syringes we should do it in places with addicts, to prevent the spreading of diseases. If there are no addicts why would we give syringes to the people? Who would approve of people handing out syringes near his own home?” Ivanov told the agency.

Previously the head of the Russian drug enforcement agency opposed the legalization of soft drugs, both in Russia and in other countries. In December last year Ivanov said that Uruguay’s moves towards marijuana legalization was a mistake.

Russia has strict drug laws with no distinction between soft and hard drugs and lengthy prison sentences for dealing and trafficking. At the same time, addiction to drugs is not criminalized and treatment of addicts is strictly voluntary.

About 8.5 million Russians use drugs and psychoactive substances according to a government report published in mid-2013. However, the Health Ministry puts the number of drug addicts registered at specialist dispensaries at about 600,000.

hMPp://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20140225-NEWS-140229831




Dispute arises over N.H. medical marijuana ID cards



CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The attorney general's office is advising against issuing identification cards this summer to New Hampshire residents eligible to possess up to 2 ounces of marijuana for medicinal purposes under a new state law.

The attorney general argues New Hampshire's law only allows the patients to obtain marijuana from dispensaries which won't be operating for at least another year. The Department of Health and Human Services intends to abide by the attorney general's advice and wait to issue the cards, which is upsetting advocates and the law's sponsors.

They argue the cards protect holders from arrest if they buy the drug on the illegal market. They say people who benefit from marijuana use shouldn't have to wait.

Others say the cards provide no immunity, but show progress in implementing the law.

hMPp://filmingcops.com/americans-killed-by-police/




AMERICANS KILLED BY COPS NOW OUTNUMBER AMERICANS KILLED IN IRAQ WAR



Cops have killed well over 5,000 Americans since 9/11. Many of these killings have occurred during no-knock raids, which have risen by 4000% since the 1980s.

Iraqi insurgents, by comparison, have killed around 3,500 Americans in Iraq since 9/11 in Operation Iraqi “Freedom.”

It is not just Iraq. The number of Americans killed by police also now exceeds the number of Americans killed by Afghan insurgents.

Afghan insurgents have killed around 2,000 Americans in Afghanistan since 9/11 in Operation Enduring “Freedom.”

The police are getting paid with our money to go on shooting sprees and they are killing more of us than the terrorists from whom they “protect” us.

Do not be too surprised. This data is to be expected; it naturally fits with the fact that the State uses “counter-terrorism” as a means to oppress and initiate violence against the population. In fact, you are eight times more likely to be killed by a cop than by an actual “terrorist.”

Domestic violence is two-four times more common among police families than American families in general.

As of 2010 the compared data lifted from Cato’s NPMSRP shows that the reports of police committing sexual assault amounted to more than 2 times the reports in the entire general population.

If officer-involved killings were prosecuted as murder, the murder rate for law enforcement officers would exceed the general population murder rate by at least 472%. And these are only the reported incidents. The vast majority of police misconduct and abuse is unreported. Who knows what the actual total is.

illion human beings were killed by government last century alone, making government the leading cause of unnatural death in the 20th century. This doesn’t include casualties from all the wars that governments started to “protect” us.

The number of Americans in prison now exceeds the number of high school teachers and engineers. There are at least 7.3 million Americans locked in captivity or under federal control as you read this, the majority of whom are non-violent (for example, they were caught ingesting a plant that the government claims is “illegal”).

One in 25 Americans were arrested as of 2011. The number may be even higher now.

Friends, don’t listen to anybody who tells you it’s “just a few bad apples.” The whole barrel is rotten.

hMPp://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1312525/medreleaf-receives-approval-from-health-canada-to-supply-medical-cannabis-to-canadians




MedReleaf Receives Approval from Health Canada to Supply Medical Cannabis to Canadians



MARKHAM, ON, Feb. 25, 2014 /CNW/ - MedReleafTM, a Canadian-owned and operated company, has been approved as a licensed producer under Health Canada's new Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations. With this license, MedReleaf is authorized to supply cannabis for medical purposes to patients across the country.

MedReleaf is the only licensed producer to have an exclusive partnership with world-renowned medical cannabis innovator, Tikun Olam, the largest government-approved producer of medical cannabis in Israel. Through this partnership, patients will have a wide variety of product to choose from including a dozen of Tikun Olam's proprietary varieties, all locally grown at MedReleaf's facility in Markham, Ontario. These proprietary varieties will include Tikun Olam's well-regarded Avidekel™ that is known to contain high levels of CBD and very low levels of THC.

"Our partnership with Tikun Olam provides us with access to exclusive strains as well as treatment data on more than 7,000 patients," said Neil Closner, Chief Executive Officer at MedReleaf. "This proprietary data provides us with a solid understanding of the effectiveness and efficacy of different medical cannabis varieties on patients."

Together, MedReleaf and Tikun Olam will spearhead studies that examine the effectiveness of these varieties in the treatment of various conditions such as nausea, vomiting and weight loss associated with cancer treatment and chronic pain associated with rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, post-operative recovery, HIV/AIDS, Huntington's and Parkinson's disease, inflammatory bowel disease, glaucoma and arthritis as well as Tourette's syndrome, epileptic seizures and other neurological disorders.

"Our focus is on evidence based clinical research to validate the benefits of medical cannabis on a wide range of conditions and symptoms, allowing physicians to ultimately provide individualized care to their patients," said Closner. "We are currently looking to partner with Canadian physicians on new research initiatives."

MedReleaf's senior leadership team has more than 100 years of combined experience working with cannabis and treating patients. MedReleaf also has Patient Care Coordinators available -highly qualified healthcare professionals who will work with MedReleaf patients to recommend the strain (or strains) that best meet their therapeutic needs. These Patient Care Coordinators will also be an essential support resource for physicians to help them more easily and accurately assist their patients.

"Our goal is for MedReleaf to be recognized as a key player in the Canadian healthcare industry and to be the most trusted and reliable producer of medical grade cannabis in the country," added Closner. "We have industry leading quality control and proven patient protocols matched with proprietary strains that can't be found anywhere else."

Canadian patients can now sign-up with MedReleaf at www . medreleaf . com

Yup, the Canadian government took away the personal grow licences so all the people who were legal to grow before would now be criminals. It is back to the crappy government grown weed.

Quote: MR1 wrote in post #6

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Yup, the Canadian government took away the personal grow licences so all the people who were legal to grow before would now be criminals. It is back to the crappy government grown weed.

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and they were singing Bye Bye American Pie drove my Chevy to the levy but the levy was dry and good ole boys drinking whiskey and rye singing this shall be the day that I die. This song was about the death of buddy Holly. When I read the government has taken over the marijuana industry in Canada, this setback dampened the spirits of many marijuana enthusiasts and their small dreams of being able to pursue a life of happiness for themselves and they had to resort to listening to this song or singing another one just about like it. He He. The government just took the jobs and hobbies of many individuals. The reason they give they're unsure how marijuana affects people. Maybe we don't understand everything, but maybe the government should stay in the certain areas where they are needed for the further understanding of medical marijuana and it's uses. And leave the known areas how they are. And then the government can eventually phase themselves out all together. Isn't the government here to serve us? Bye Bye American Pie drove my chevy to the levy but the levy was dry. The people are voting but the government found away to get the upper hand......I'm I making any sense? It just kind of gives ya a sick feeling at least to me.