Washing Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Confused…

Confusion Reigns In Washington Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

Thanks, tokeofthetown.com!

Graphic: Sodahead

​​Changes to Washington state’s medical marijuana laws kick in today, Friday, July 22. But cities, counties, providers and patients are still trying to make sense of the new guidelines, a patchwork of confusing and often contradictory rules left by Governor Christine Gregoire’s hen-hearted line-item veto of legislation which would have regulated the shops.

The dispensaries have popped up all over the state in the past couple years, reports Liz Jones at KUOW. But the changes in Washington’s medical marijuana law make dispensaries illegal, while authorizing “collective gardens” of up to 45 plants for up to 10 patients.

“You know, I’m getting phone calls constantly from people saying, what do I do, what do I do, what I do?” said Philip Dawdy, who worked with the Washington Cannabis Association during the past legislative session. He helped push for legislation that would have created a statewide system to regulate medical marijuana.

Gov. Gregoire’s partial veto of the bill has created a gigantic mess, according to Dawdy and practically every other person who is familiar with the issue. Cities and counties are interpreting the law differently, with some taking a lenient approach while others are banning the gardens.

“It’s going to depend on what jurisdiction you’re in, and what county you’re in, and what attitude your county prosecutor has,” Dawdy said. “We may have 39 different versions of this for each county. It’s frustrating. It’s very frustrating.”

Kent, Shoreline and Everett are among the cities that have already put a moratorium on the collective gardens.

Meanwhile, the Seattle City Council this week approved a measure to allow and regulate dispensaries and collective gardens, clarifying the city’s approach.

“All we’ve tried to say is that as long as you’re in compliance with all city licensing and code requirements, we’re not going to bother you,” said Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes.

Holmes said his talks with federal prosecutors lead him to believe patients will be safe if they’re seriously ill, have a medical authorization and grow their own small amounts. However, he’ll have to forgive some members of the patient community if they don’t feel particularly reassured learning that law enforcement, not medical personnel, will be deciding who is “seriously ill.”

Part of the change from dispensaries to collective gardens means providers will now need to track where the cannabis is grow and the patients who get it.

Liz Jones of KUOW asked Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna’s office for clarification on the state’s medical marijuana laws — but a spokesman responded that his office “is not involved in this issue.”

That’s what we’re facing in Washington, folks. Thanks to our hen-hearted Governor, we have a confusing and unclear medical marijuana law (which will result in lots of needless arrests), and meanwhile our spineless attorney general — who is supposed to be the top law enforcement officer in the state – doesn’t have the balls to even address the issue.

New Hope For PA Medical Marijuana Bill

By Chris Goldstein

The medical cannabis bill in Pennsylvania has been stalled in House and Senate committees but some procedural wrangling this week could put the issue back in motion. HB 1653 was first assigned to the House Health Committee chaired by Rep. Matthew Baker. At previous public hearings Baker was a vocal opponent of the measure. Today the bill was re-referred to the House Human Services Committee. This means much better chances that public hearings and/or a committee vote will be be scheduled.

This year the PA bill was also re-named The Governor Raymond P. Shafer Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act. This is to honor the former Republican governor who guided a commission for President Nixon on the topic of marijuana. In 1972 Shafer delivered a report that cannabis should not be classified with other narcotics and that personal possession should be decriminalized. There were also clear considerations about the medical use of cannabis in the report.

Previously the PA House Health and Human Services Commitee was combined and had 26 members. This year the committee was split into two separate entities.

At public hearings held in 2009 and 2010 testimony strongly favored the medical marijuana bill. Seriously ill residents, religious leaders, advocates, doctors and nurses spoke about the benefits of cannabis but the the bill never got a vote.

Patrick Nightingale, a Pittsburgh based attorney who serves on the Board of Directors at Pennsylvanians for Medical Marijuana (PA4MMJ), said today, ”Critically ill patients throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania are begging merely that their voice be heard by their elected representatives.”

“The answer is not to ignore or bury the legislation but rather to give it a full and fair hearing,” Nightingale added.

Dr. Harry Swidler, an Emergency Medicine physician said at the 2009 hearings: “Marijuana is non-addicting. There is no physical dependence or physical withdrawal associated with its use. It is, from a practical standpoint, non-toxic. Marijuana is safer by some measures than any other drug. There is simply no known quantity of marijuana capable of killing a person.”

Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana bill is active in both chambers of the General Assembly. In April state senator Daylin Leach re-introduced SB 1003, but it remains stalled in the Senate Health and Public Welfare Committee chaired by Senator Patricia Vance. Advocates are hopeful that renewed action in the House will help the effort to have Senate hearings as well.

Derek Rosenzweig of Philadelphia spearheaded the PA4MMJ effort and testified at previous public hearings. He said in an email today: “With the introduction of legislation in the US Congress today that would remove marijuana from the federal Schedule I classification, states such as Pennsylvania may soon be free of federal interference in implementing medical marijuana laws. Activists across the state have been pushing for a vote. Everyone at PA4MMJ has been making phone calls and sending emails.”

Grassroots link www.pa4mmj.org

From freedomisgreen.com

City Hears From Patients On Marijuana Dispensary Ban

The Shoreline City Council heard from medical marijuana patients and providers Monday night. The cannabis supporters want the Washington city to stop its plans to shut down local dispensaries.

“We’ve got cancer patients who have chemo next week; they want their next medicine, they’re coming to me crying not knowing what to do,” said Laura Stevens, who runs Green Hope, a medical marijuana dispensary in Shoreline, reports Kirsten Joyce at Q13 Fox. “I don’t know what to tell them.”

“Our governor failed us,” Stevens told the council. She said many of her patients suffer from cancer, AIDS and Crohn’s disease.

Photo: Q Fox 13

Dennis Ryder, medical marijuana patient: “We need a place”

​ “We need a place, and we have a place to go safely get what we need to deal with our pain,” said Dennis Ryder, who goes to Green Hope for his chronic arthritis.

The legislature’s fix of the state’s medical marijuana law last session — which would have legalized dispensaries in the state — was almost entirely vetoed by Governor Christine Gregoire in a line-item gutting of the legislation.

Now many local jurisdictions like Shoreline have decided to act on theiur own.

The governor did allow for 45-plant collective gardens, but vetoed provisions allowing the marijuana to be distributed to patients.

Dozens of dispensaries across Washington — including even those like Shoreline, in the more pot-friendly Puget Sound area — are endangered by the new rules.

Tacoma has issued cease-and-desist orders. Edmonds and Granite Falls put moratoriums in place, and Shoreline revoked the business licenses of a few dispensaries back in February, including that of Green Hope, owned by Stevens.

Co-ops in Kent received their cease-and-desist orders in the mail on Monday. They plan to attend their city council meeting this week.

“If they shut down nonprofit patient cooperatives and dispensaries, that will force thousands of patients into the black market,” said Ezra Eickmeyer, a local lobbyist for the Washington Cannabis Association.

Medical Marijuana And Cachexia

You won’t have to research medical conditions treatable with medical marijuana for very long before you come across the term cachexia; if you’re not sure what this term means, you’re not alone so here we’ll explain exactly what cachexia is and how cannabis can help to alleviate it.

What is Cachexia?

This definition from the National Cancer Institute:

cachexia (ka-KEK-see-a)

Loss of body weight and muscle mass, and weakness that may occur in patients with cancer, AIDS, or other chronic diseases.

Cachexia invariably occurs with anorexia:

anorexia (a-nuh-REK-see-uh)

An abnormal loss of the appetite for food. Anorexia can be caused by cancer, AIDS, a mental disorder (i.e., anorexia nervosa), or other diseases.

What Causes Cachexia?

Although it depends very much on what type of cancer a patient has, it’s estimated that 50% to 80% of all cancer patients will develop cachexia, usually during the final stages of pancreatic, lung, and prostate cancers. The condition appears to result from the immune system’s response to the tumor.

Another major cause of cachexia is HIV/AIDS infection.

Cachexia Treatments

In most cases the standard for advanced cachexia is intravenous feeding, together with administration of an appetite stimulant drug – Megace. The problem with Megace is that the weight gain it stimulates is in the form of fat; the weight loss through the cachexia is lean tissue – muscles, heart tissue and the like.

Marijuana and Cachexia

Most people know about the way weed stimulates the appetite – the infamous munchies. The munchies is caused by the action of THC on the body and there have been a number of studies confirming that patients who use medical marijuana experience a reduction in rate of weight loss together with an increase in appetite. Sadly, research has also failed to show any advantage of taking THC and Megace in combination – they do not augment each other’s effects.

Chemotherapy Induced Nausea and Marijuana

It has been shown in various studies that, when used in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, THC is more quickly absorbed from marijuana smoke than from any oral preparation. The only problem appears to be one of dose measurement; however, with experience, chemotherapy patients will learn to manage their weed dosage.

Courtesy of the Medical Marijuana Blog

California Bill Could ‘Zone Out’ Dispensaries

 

The California Senate will vote soon on a bill that will make it much more difficult to establish a legal medical cannabis patients’ cooperative or collective. Senator Lou Correa’s (D-Santa Ana) SB 847 will require that all cooperatives and collectives be located at least 600 feet from residential zones or use – effectively excluding vast portions of most California cities. This would be on top of the existing requirement that facilities be located 600 feet from schools.

Americans for Safe Access (ASA) is calling on medical cannabis patients and supporters to oppose SB 847 today. ASA’s Online Action Center makes it easy to find your Senator and send a message right now.

SB 847 is burdensome. It is already hard enough for patients to organize and operate legal cooperatives and collectives. This new rule may make it almost impossible in some cities. Most medical cannabis patients rely on cooperatives and collectives for access to medicine, so onerous restrictions like this serve to choke off safe access. That is not what voters intended when they approved Proposition 215 calling on lawmakers “to implement a plan to provide for the safe and affordable distribution of marijuana to all patients in medical need of marijuana.”

SB 847 is unnecessary. Research conducted by ASA and more than fifteen years of experience with medical cannabis in California have taught us that sensible local regulations reduce crime and complaints. We do not need to usurp local control on medical cannabis. Instead, legislators should be cooperating with local government and other stake holders to adopt state laws that facilitate safe, reliable, and legal access to medicine.

Email your California Senator today and ask him or her to vote no on SB 847.

Don Duncan
California Director
ASA

P.S. – ASA needs your help to keep fighting for safe access in California and Washington, DC. Please make a special contribution to support our work today.

Poll: 85% of Grandparents Favor Legalization of Marijuana

Grandparents, those members of society who’ve had the most time to accumulate knowledge, experience and wisdom, overwhelmingly favor the legalization of marijuana, according to a new poll.

GRAND Magazine, which calls itself “the only magazine for today’s grandparents,” on Thursday released the results from a poll question which appeared in their March/April issue: Is it time to legalize marijuana? A whopping 85 percent responded that yes, pot should be legalized.

Even readers who don’t use cannabis themselves argued that it is hypocritical to outlaw pot when cigarettes, alcohol and fatty foods are legal, but account for so many health issues and deaths.

They pointed out that cannabis is used to treat symptoms such as pain and nausea, and that in some states it is legal for dispensaries to sell medical marijuana.

Additionally, respondents indicated that the billions of tax dollars that are spent in the United States on policing and courts related to marijuana enforcement could be better spent on schools or infrastructure.

Grandparents who are part of the Baby Boomer generation (born from 1946 to 1964, according to the U.S. Census Bureau) have a unique perspective on marijuana, having come of age during a time when cannabis use became mainstream. Twenty-first century grandparents are a group with a significant influence on the country’s youth, as they are the primary caregivers for more than six million children, according to the Census Bureau.

In fact, about 75 percent of all non-parental care of children is provided by a grandparent, representing a large shift in family dynamics. Now it seems that as they guide and influence new generations, older people view marijuana as a harmless indulgence rather than the gateway to a lifetime of drug addiction.

“I am a grandparent strongly in favor of decriminalization,” commented D.W. of Guysville, Ohio. “I would much rather my grandkids smoke pot than use cigarettes or alcohol. I expect I will need cannabis for my health soon and don’t want (it) to be illegal. The whole charade needs to stop; we are blowing far too much money on the drug war and have no positive results to show for it. The whole approach is counterproductive.”

To visit the page in GRAND Magazine’s March/April online edition with the reader poll that asks, “Is it time to legalize marijuana?” click here.

Marijuana Use Associated With ‘Superior’ Cognitive Performance in Schizophrenic Patients

Toronto, Ontario–(ENEWSPF)–April 8, 2011.  Schizophrenic patients with a history of cannabis use demonstrate “superior neurocognitive performance” compared to non-users, according to the findings of a meta-analysis to be published in the journal Schizophrenia Research.

Investigators at the University of Toronto, Institute of Medical Sciences, performed a meta-analysis to determine the magnitude of the effect of cannabis consumption on cognition in subjects with schizophrenia. Eight studies met inclusion criteria, yielding a total sample of 942 subjects. Three hundred and fifty six of these participants were cannabis users with schizophrenia, and 586 were patients with no history of cannabis use. Neuropsychological tests were grouped into seven domains: general cognitive ability and intelligence; selective, sustained and divided attention; executive abilities; working memory and learning; retrieval and recognition; receptive and expressive language abilities and visuo-spatial and construction abilities.

Authors determined, “[R]elated statistics of differences in performance … all suggest superior cognitive functioning in cannabis-using patients as compared to non-using patient.”

Researchers stopped short of attributing subjects’ cannabis use to the improved outcome, noting that patients with superior cognitive skills may simply be more likely to acquire cannabis than subjects with lesser abilities.

read more: http://www.thcfinder.com/marijuana-blog/medical-marijuana/2011/04/marijuana-use-associated-with-superior-cognitive-performance-in-schizophrenic-patients-stu#ixzz1IyPmfCoO

Medical Marijuana Lobbying Debuts in D.C.

The $1.7 billion medical marijuana industry made its lobbying debut in Washington on Wednesday with its official trade association launching an effort for changes in federal tax law that would put medicinal purveyors on equal footing with fully legitimate businesses.

From an underground movement to a legal business in California, 14 other states and Washington, D.C., medical marijuana is emerging as a full-fledged commercial sector with sales that might soon rival those of Viagra, advocates said.

“We simply feel that our industry should be treated like any other legitimate industry,” said Aaron Smith, director of the National Cannabis Industry Association. He spoke at a news conference kicking off the association’s first day of lobbying, which included meetings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Federal law does not recognize Big Pot. The sophisticated marijuana farms sprouting up in Northern California’s Emerald Triangle and elsewhere exist in a legal twilight zone, although the Justice Department has advised its prosecutors not to pursue marijuana providers operating under state law.

The lobbying campaign is aimed at amending a federal tax code provision that categorizes medical marijuana dispensary operators as drug traffickers. Such a categorization prevents them from tax deductions for marijuana-related expenses. It also makes them particularly susceptible to audits from the Internal Revenue Service.

California has 76 percent of the nation’s medical marijuana market and issued 51,550 medical marijuana cards in the past 5 years.

http://articles.sfgate.com/2011-03-31/news/29363998_1_medical-marijuana-marijuana-providers-medical-cannabis