• Focus Alerts

    ALERT: #465 Will New Mexico Repeal Its Medical Marijuana Law?

    WILL NEW MEXICO REPEAL ITS MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW?

    **********************************************************************

    DrugSense FOCUS Alert #465 – Saturday, February 26th, 2011

    It seems more likely than not that the New Mexico Legislature
    http://www.nmlegis.gov/lcs/ will repeal the state’s medical marijuana law.

    New Mexico became the 12th state in the country to allow legal access
    to medical cannabis. The bill, the Lynn and Erin Compassionate Use
    Act, passed the New Mexico State Legislature and was signed into law
    in the spring of 2007.

    News clippings about this effort to repeal the law will be found at
    http://www.mapinc.org/states/NM/

    If the law is repealed it will encourage similar efforts in other
    medical marijuana states.

    Please do whatever you can to help stop this effort. Tell your
    friends. Forward this alert or send links to it. Support
    organizations opposing the repeal effort.

    Below is an Associated Press wire authored by Sue Major Holmes which
    provides details.

    Please note that the alert “Will Montana Repeal Its Medical Marijuana
    Law?” is still valid as there has been no final decision by their
    legislature. http://www.mapinc.org/alert/0464.html

    Verified facts about medicinal cannabis are found at
    http://www.drugwarfacts.org/cms/node/54

    **********************************************************************

    MEDICAL MARIJUANA REPEAL POSSIBILITY

    NM Lawmaker Wants to Repeal Medical Marijuana

    ALBUQUERQUE (AP) – A freshman New Mexico lawmaker who’s a high school
    teacher in civilian life is trying to repeal the state’s medical marijuana law.

    The law “sends a bad message to kids, that somehow marijuana is good
    for you,” said Republican Rep. Jim Smith of Sandia Park, who teaches
    at East Mountain Charter High School east of Albuquerque.

    Gov. Susana Martinez said during her campaign last year the state’s
    medical marijuana law put state employees in the position of
    violating federal law. The federal government classifies marijuana as
    a Schedule 1 drug, a category reserved for drugs that have “no
    currently accepted medical use.”

    But after taking office Jan. 1, the Republican governor focused on
    New Mexico’s pressing budget issues and said repeal was not a
    priority in the 2011 legislative session.

    Smith said, however, he was encouraged by an effort in Montana to
    repeal that state’s medical marijuana law. Montana House Speaker Mike
    Milburn argues the multimillion dollar marijuana industry has gone
    far beyond what voters envisioned when they voted for it in 2004.

    Martinez spokesman Scott Darnell said she would sign a repeal of New
    Mexico’s medical marijuana law if it reached her desk.

    Some legislators who voted for the law originally said earlier this
    month they were troubled by the expansion in medical conditions that
    qualify for the program and the growing number of people using it.

    Only patients with conditions approved by the health secretary can
    legally use medical marijuana. When New Mexico’s law went into effect
    in July 2007, the state had seven approved conditions, including
    cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy and HIV-AIDS. Now
    there are 16, plus some people in hospice care can qualify. The
    program is overseen by the state Department of Health.

    As of Feb. 16, the day before Smith introduced his bill, New Mexico
    had 3,218 active patients.

    Smith’s measure is expected to be heard next week by the House
    Consumer and Public Affairs Committee, whose vice chairman is
    Democratic Rep. Antonio Maestas of Albuquerque, who sponsored the
    medical marijuana law in the House.

    Maestas said the program has proved to be more valuable than
    expected, with soldiers returning from war using it to treat post
    traumatic stress disorder.

    “Moving medical marijuana out of the criminal justice realm is
    difficult for many people to accept, but I believe the vast majority
    are in agreement it was a great decision and should not be rolled
    back,” he said.

    Smith said it’s hard to argue against people in pain who say medical
    marijuana makes them feel better, but he believes there are medical
    alternatives.

    He said he’s encouraged by the 27 co-sponsors, both Republicans and
    Democrats, who signed onto the one-page bill when it was introduced
    earlier this month.

    “The people I got to sign the bill were very passionate about wanting
    to get rid of medical marijuana,” Smith said.

    **********************************************************************

    Prepared by: Richard Lake, Focus Alert Specialist www.mapinc.org

    ===
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    free to produce. Your contributions make DrugSense and its Media
    Awareness Project (MAP) happen. Please donate today. Our secure Web
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    Drugs.” Donations are tax deductible to the extent provided by law.
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  • Letter of the Week

    Letter Of The Week

    A BUDGET SAVING IDEA: END THE WAR ON DRUGS

    One area of the federal budget that should be cut is the money spent
    to fight the drug wars. Primarily, this means decriminalizing personal
    drug use by peaceful adults and regulating the sale of currently
    illegal drugs. Whether we are talking about controlled drugs or
    prescription drugs, it should not be a civil or criminal offense for
    peaceful and honest adults to ingest any substance.

    If a person drives a vehicle while intoxicated or commits crimes to
    support a drug habit, that is a different situation, and it is a
    proper role of government to protect citizens against the real threats
    to physical harm by others. It is also a proper role of our government
    to protect children. But, we should not wreck the futures of peaceful
    adults by giving them a criminal record for drug use.

    You can drink as much alcohol as you want in your home or at a bar (as
    long as you don’t drive while intoxicated), and that is your personal
    business, and it has no effect on your ability to get or keep a job or
    to serve in the military or to get an education. But, if you get
    caught using drugs, you will have significant problems in all of those
    areas. That is not right, it is not just and is a wrongful
    infringement on our liberties.

    Kurt Johnson, Urbandale

    Pubdate: Sat, 19 Feb 2011

    Source: Des Moines Register (IA

  • Hot Off The 'Net

    Why This Cop Asked the President About Legalizing Drugs

    The president’s YouTube comments are a tremendous first step for a more open national dialogue on drug reform.

    You might not think a 65-year-old retired cop would take to the Internet to ask the president of the United States to consider legalizing drugs, but that’s just what I did recently. The answer I got from President Obama in YouTube’s “Your Interview with the President” contest pleasantly surprised me.

  • Cannabis & Hemp - Hot Off The 'Net

    Ingredient in cannabis restores taste for cancer patients

    Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011

    PARIS – The ingredient that gives cannabis its “high” and famously whets the appetite can help cancer patients recover lost pleasure in food, according to a study published on Wednesday.

    Researchers in Canada enrolled 21 patients who had been treated with chemotherapy for advanced cancer, and gave them either capsules containing THC — delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive chemical in cannabis — or dummy lookalike pills.

    The volunteers took the tablets for 18 days, and were asked to fill in questionnaires.

    Seventy-three percent of those who took the THC reported an increased liking for food and 55 percent said the medication “made food taste better”. In the placebo group, these figures were only 30 percent and 10 percent.

    Both groups consumed roughly the same total of calories, but the THC patients said they ate more protein than before the start of the experiment and enjoyed savoury foods more.

    The THC-takers also reported better quality of sleep and relaxation than in the placebo group.

    The experiment is small scale but the first to explore the touted qualities of THC through random selection of volunteers and use of a “control” group by which to make a comparison.

    Lead investigator Wendy Wismer, an associate professor at the University of Alberta, said the findings were important because cancer, or its treatment, can cripple appetite and lead to dangerous weight loss.

    Many cancer patients, for instance, complain that meat smells and tastes unpleasant, so they eat less of it.

    “For a long time, everyone has thought that nothing could be done about this,” Wismer said in a press release.

    “Indeed, cancer patients are often told to ‘cope’ with chemosensory problems by eating bland, cold and colourless food. This may well have the result of reducing food intake and food enjoyment.”

    Wismer said that doctors should consider THC treatment for cancer patients suffering from loss of taste, smell and appetite.

    THC was well tolerated, and in terms of side effects there were no differences between the THC and placebo groups, which suggests that long-term therapy is also an option, she said.

    The study appears in the journal Annals of Oncology, published by the European Society for Medical Oncology.

  • Drug Policy - Question of the Week

    How many medical marijuana patients are there?

    Drug Policy Question of the Week – 2-26-11

    As answered by Mary Jane Borden, Editor of Drug War Facts for the Drug Truth Network on 2-26-11. http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/3284

    Question of the Week: How many medical marijuana patients are there?

    The Congressional Research Service reported that,

    “A July 2005 CRS telephone survey of the state [medical marijuana] programs revealed a total of 14,758 registered medical marijuana users in eight states.”

    The report also noted,

    “More recently, an estimate published by Newsweek early in 2010 found a total of 369,634 users in the 13 states with established programs.”

    Medical cannabis programs are changing quickly. Applying the National Survey on Drug Use and Health or the Monitoring the Future survey to U.S. Census Bureau data can extrapolate national estimates.

    Using the legal state of Colorado as a basis, the Census Bureau calculated Colorado’s 2009 population age 18+ at 3.8 million. The 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health claims that 6.8% of Coloradans are current cannabis consumers. Applying that percentage to the population results in an estimated 260,000 “current users” in Colorado.

    According to the Colorado Medical Marijuana Registry, the

    “total number of patients who currently possess valid Registry ID cards [was] 95,477”

    as of 6/30/2010. Thus, these registered patients represented about 36% of the state’s “current” marijuana users.

    Assuming 36% to be a standard patient percentage and applying it to the estimated 16.7 million current marijuana users nationwide results in about 5 million U.S. patients.

    This count is supported by the Monitoring the Future survey, which apportions daily marijuana use percentages by age. Daily cannabis consumption implies medical use. Matching survey percentages to the middle series 2010 Census population computes an approximate total of 5 million patients between the ages of 18 and 55.

    These facts and others like them can be found in the Medical Marijuana Chapter of Drug War Facts at www.drugwarfacts.org.

    Questions concerning these or other facts concerning drug policy can be e-mailed to [email protected]

  • Drug Policy - Question of the Week

    “How are women affected by the drug war?”

    Drug Policy Question of the Week – 2-8-11

    As answered by Mary Jane Borden, Editor of Drug War Facts for the Drug Truth Network on 2-8-11. http://www.drugtruth.net/cms/node/3261

    Question of the Week: How are women affected by the drug war?

    According to the 2009 National Survey for Drug Use and Health, the percentage of women using drugs and alcohol is less than men. About 6.6% of American women are current users of marijuana vs. 10.8% for men. Men use more psychotherapeutics and cocaine than women. Men are also more likely than women to use alcohol and drink heavily. However, the small percentages for non-medical use of tranquilizers and for methamphetamine are about the same for men and women.

    Just because women are less likely to engage in substance use, doesn’t mean that they are spared arrest and incarceration for drug offenses.

    The Institute on Women and Criminal Justice reported that,

    “The number of women serving sentences of more than a year grew by 757 percent between 1977 and 2004 – nearly twice the 388 percent increase in the male prison population.”

    In 2008, 25,500 women were imprisoned under state jurisdiction for drug offenses of one year or more.

    While women often play relatively minor roles in the drug trade, they bring special issues to the criminal justice system.

    As the Institute noted,

    “More than 70 percent of women in prison have children. More than half of mothers in prison have no visits with their children for the duration of their time behind bars. Children are generally subject to instability and uncertainly while their mothers are imprisoned.”

    The Institute concluded,

    “Incarcerating women does not solve the problems that underlie their involvement in the criminal justice system. ”

    These facts and others like them can be found in the Women and the Drug War Chapter of Drug War Facts at www.drugwarfacts.org.

    Questions concerning these or other facts concerning drug policy can be e-mailed to [email protected]

  • Letter of the Week

    Letter Of The Week

    DRUG WAR PROFITS AT STAKE

    Thomas Ravenel’s Feb. 5 commentary regarding legalizing drugs gives me
    grave concern. Legalization could severely impact the socio-economic
    fabric of our state. He asks, ‘Has all that incarcerating (of drug
    users) helped?’

    Yes! The Drug War ‘industrial complex’ is thriving.

    South Carolina law enforcement agencies, criminal courts and prison
    systems are expanding. As a defense attorney, I fear legalization
    could reduce the number of employed prosecutors, public defenders and
    judges who handle drug cases. Judges and lawyers would come off
    government payrolls. I say, let’s keep them in state and federal courts.

    Drug legalization could devastate rural communities where prisons
    employ thousands. We need a steady source of convicted drug users as a
    stimulus for these communities. Otherwise, we better have a plan for
    out-of-work guards, prison builders, food service workers and
    administrators.

    When non-violent drug offenders are convicted on felony charges, we
    don’t have to compete with them for scholarships or jobs.

    Maybe the money saved by rationally downsizing the Drug War industrial
    complex, could be diverted to drug addiction programs, re-training
    prison workers for ‘green’ or education jobs.

    Money could be used for infrastructure instead of prisons.

    The original goals of prohibition — to reduce drug use, protect kids
    and reduce crime — are no longer important.

    The Drug War ‘gravy train’ may defy logic, but it sure is good for the
    economy.

    Guy J. Vitetta

    Attorney at Law

    Seven Farms Drive

    Daniel Island

    Pubdate: Wed, 9 Feb 2011

    Source: Post and Courier, The (Charleston, SC)

    Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v11/n073/a01.html

  • Focus Alerts

    ALERT: #464 Will Montana Repeal Its Medical Marijuana Law?

    WILL MONTANA REPEAL ITS MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW?

    **********************************************************************

    DrugSense FOCUS Alert #464 – Thursday , February 17th, 2011

    It seems more likely than not that the Montana Legislature
    http://leg.mt.gov/ will repeal the state’s medical marijuana law.

    In November 2004, Montana passed Initiative 148
    http://www.dphhs.mt.gov/medicalmarijuana/i148text.pdf , allowing
    certain patients with specific medical conditions to alleviate their
    symptoms through the limited use of marijuana under medical
    supervision. Montanans overwhelmingly endorsed the 2004 initiative by
    62 percent to 38 percent.

    News clippings about this effort to repeal are at
    http://www.mapinc.org/states/MT/

    If Montana’s law is repealed it will encourage similar efforts in
    other medical marijuana states.

    Please do whatever you can to help stop this effort. Tell your
    friends. Forward this alert or send links to it. Support
    organizations opposing the repeal effort.

    It is not what others do, it is what you do.

    **********************************************************************

    Prepared by: Richard Lake, Focus Alert Specialist www.mapinc.org

    ===
    .
    DrugSense provides many services at no charge, but they are not
    free to produce. Your contributions make DrugSense and its Media
    Awareness Project (MAP) happen. Please donate today. Our secure Web
    server at http://www.drugsense.org/donate.htm accepts credit cards
    and Paypal. Or, mail your check or money order to:
    .
    DrugSense
    14252 Culver Drive #328
    Irvine, CA 92604-0326.
    (800) 266 5759
    .
    DrugSense is a 501c(3) non-profit organization dedicated to raising
    awareness about the expensive, ineffective, and destructive “War on
    Drugs.” Donations are tax deductible to the extent provided by law.
    .
    Unsubscribe: http://drugsense.org/unsub.htm