How could it be schedule 1 (no medical value), if it is shown through the gov. to be aproved?

No Attrition in Research on Wasting Therapies
http://gmhc.org/living/treatment/ti11045/ti11045h.html Thalidomide: New Results
All these therapies aim at overwhelming the signs of wasting with large amounts of protein-building agents. Rather than reversing the obvious wasting effects, why not aim for the underlying cause? Attempts have been made to do this with thalidomide, which blocks production of tumor necrosis factor alpha. TNFa is prominent among the several immune system's inflammatory agents that have been blamed for the depletion of protein stores during HIV infection. In January, a thalidomide developer, Celgene, of Warren, New Jersey, announced that the data from its trial in 99 people with AIDS wasting showed a statistically significant weight gain. The company seems to have "jumped the gun," as one person close to the trial put it. No data were yet available from the trial to justify Celgene's press release.

Drug company rebuked for marketing thalidomide as cancer fighter
http://www.wcanews.com/archives/2000/Jul/jul1700c.htm
In 1957, the drug thalidomide was approved for use in Europe as a treatment for morning sickness caused by pregnancy. Thousands of women took the pills, assured by the drug maker that they were safe.

Unfortunately, the drugs had primarily been tested as a sleep aid for elderly patients -- not on pregnant women. By the time its tragic side effects were known, it was too late to help the than 12,000 babies born with severe birth defects.

Today, it is known that even one capsule of thalidomide can cause devastating defects, including the development of flipper-like limbs.

Yet, the Celgene Corporation has promoted the pill as a cancer treatment, despite warnings from the FDA.

On July 16, 1998, the FDA gave Celgene approval to market its brand of thalidomide -- Thalomid -- for the treatment of leprosy. It specifically told the company that "statements or implications by you that this product may indeed be safe and efficacious in the treatment of diseases or patient populations beyond that approved in your application may be considered a violation of the promotional provisions of the Act."

Just two weeks later, the FDA had to contact Celgene to discuss concerns that the company's promotional materials contained references to unapproved uses of thalidomide.

On Nov. 9, 1998, the FDA issued a letter to Celgene about several press releases it was distributing. "Those press releases were misleading (lacked fair balance) in that they presented little or no risk information," the FDA warned.

Despite repeated warnings, the FDA says Celgene has continued to promote the dangerous drug to the medical community for unapproved uses.

According to an FDA letter to Celgene dated April 21, 2000, "Celgene has also represented to physicians that Thalomid can be used to treat various cancers, for cancer patient 'weight loss,' and to promote a feeling of'general well-being' in these same patients."

At a luncheon held by Celgene for an oncology practice group, a sales representative reportedly told doctors that thalidomide is "good for weight loss," that it could be used "as an appetite stimulant," and that it is a "great drug for feelings of general well-being." When asked if thalidomide had FDA approval for these uses, the sales representative stated "no, but do you want some material anyway?"

SOURCE: Warning Letter to Celgene Corporation, Food and Drug Administration, April 21, 2000.

Nutrition and Wasting by Brenda Lein
http://www.projinf.org/pub/15/fullissue.html#nutrition
Appetite Stimulants
In addition to adjusting eating habits and diet, some people find they need appetite stimulants in order to maintain weight and good nutrition. Many people believe that marijuana may be useful to stimulate appetite and calm the stomach. Smoking marijuana can be hard on the lungs so some people prefer baking it into brownies or truffles. The chemical agent in marijuana, THC, has been synthesized and is the active agent in Marinol, which is FDA approved as an appetite stimulant for people with HIV. Absorption of Marinol is problematic. Sometimes it works perfectly, sometimes not at all and still other times it works a little too well, leaving folks too euphoric or "stoned" to carry on with planned activities.

An older drug, thalidomide, inhibits TNF and reduces viral replication in test tubes. Several studies of thalidomide are ongoing in HIV, one to examine its benefits in treating HIV-related aphthous ulcers, one in HIV-related wasting syndrome and another to examine its antiviral effects. Other approaches to lowering TNF levels, including synthetic antibodies against TNF and soluble TNF receptors, are being tested at the National Cancer Institute and in Canada.

Company Warned NOT to Promote Thalidomide for Treatment of Multiple Myeloma
http://www.cancerpage.com/cancernews/cancernews835.htm
Moreover, during a December 22, 1998 meeting with the company, the agency expressed "strong concern" about Celgene's practice of distributing materials regarding unapproved Thalomid uses and about company press releases, which omitted the drug's risk information.

Department of Health and Human Services
Research Plan Portion of Public Health Service Grant Application submitted April 1996
Protocol: Smoked Marijuana for HIV-Associated Anorexia and Wasting
http://www.maps.org/mmj/abrams2.shtml

Institute of Medicine
The Medical Value of Marijuana and Related Substances
http://books.nap.edu/html/marimed/ch4.html

JAMA HIV/AIDs Research Center
Improving the Management of HIV Disease
http://www.ama-assn.org/special/hiv/library/readroom/other96/abrams.htm
Marijuana, either inhaled or ingested in the form of dronabinol capsules, has also been widely used as an appetite stimulant by persons with HIV disease.

Is the government's war against marijuana justified as public policy?
Lynn Zimmer vs Mark Souder
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m1571/n2_v13/20121867/print.jhtml

I am not insensitive to Ethan's tongue-in-cheek tone, but it's clear, I think, that he means it quite literally too when he says, "prohibitionists are sick."

In the case of Joyce Nalepka, my amateur's diagnosis devolves from the death of her college-aged son with the "overdose" of some drug or other. Nalepka blames this death on "drug dealers" and has, quite irrationally, launched herself on a career of blind persecution of cannabis users of every variety.

It's plain to me that, for Joyce, this is a matter of survival for her ego. She must continue her persecutions and her lies in order to maintain an artificial and intricately constructed self-respect. She is psychologically incapable of considering a rational argument or dispassionately evaluating fact or scientific evidence. For to do so would require that she find an alternative object of blame for her son's death, and that object of blame, considering the obsessive extremes to which Joyce has gone to maintain her artifice, can only be, in Joyce's own tortured mind, herself.

Exactly how, subconsciously, Joyce blames herself for her son's death can be a matter only of sympathetic speculation by the public to which she exposes herself, and for lengthy analysis by her and her therapist.

There is no point to debating Joyce, for her Tourette-like outpourings of bigotry and condemnation are hardly invitations to investigate or discuss, but are cries for help from the desperate and deeply wounded ego of a mother who blames herself for the worst tragedy a mother can suffer.

I would not "debate" Joyce any more than I would relentlessly goad her with a sharp stick. I wish you well, Joyce. I suggest that you seek therapy and I urge my fellow reformers to be kind to you and not attempt to debate you. You are quite insane.

http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/history/whiteb1.htm

It's a long read but enlightening.

From the above link:

When we asked at the Library of Congress for a copy of the hearings, to the shock of the Library of Congress, none could be found. We went "What?" It took them four months to finally honor our request because -- are you ready for this? -- the hearings were so brief that the volume had slid down inside the side shelf of the bookcase and was so thin it had slid right down to the bottom inside the bookshelf. That's how brief they were. Are you ready for this? They had to break the bookshelf open because it had slid down inside.

…….

The other piece of medical testimony came from a man named Dr. William C. Woodward. Dr. Woodward was both a lawyer and a doctor and he was Chief Counsel to the American Medical Association. Dr. Woodward came to testify at the behest of the American Medical Association saying, and I quote, "The American Medical Association knows of no evidence that marihuana is a dangerous drug."

…….

After national marijuana prohibition was passed, Commissioner Anslinger found out, or got reports, that certain people were violating the national marijuana prohibition and using marijuana and, unfortunately for them, they fell into an identifiable occupational group. Who were flouting the marijuana prohibition? Jazz musicians. And so, in 1947, Commissioner Anslinger sent out a letter, I quote it verbatim, "Dear Agent So-and-so, Please prepare all cases in your jurisdiction involving musicians in violation of the marijuana laws. We will have a great national round-up arrest of all such persons on a single day. I will let you know what day."

……..

In the most famous of these trials, what happened was two women jumped on a Newark, New Jersey bus and shot and killed and robbed the bus driver. They put on the marijuana insanity defense. The defense called the pharmacologist, and of course, you know how to do this now, you put the expert on, you say "Doctor, did you do all of this experimentation and so on?" You qualify your expert. "Did you write all about it?" "Yes, and I did the dogs" and now he is an expert. Now you ask him what? You ask the doctor "What have you done with the drug?" And he said, and I quote, "I've experimented with the dogs, I have written something about it and" -- are you ready -- "I have used the drug myself."

What do you ask him next? "Doctor, when you used the drug, what happened?"

With all the press present at this flamboyant murder trial in Newark New Jersey, in 1938, the pharmacologist said, and I quote, in response to the question "When you used the drug, what happened?", his exact response was: "After two puffs on a marijuana cigarette, I was turned into a bat."

He wasn't done yet. He testified that he flew around the room for fifteen minutes and then found himself at the bottom of a two-hundred-foot high ink well.

Well, friends, that sells a lot of papers. What do you think the Newark Star Ledger headlines the next day, October 12, 1938? "Killer Drug Turns Doctor to Bat!"

I highly doubt that if/when i meet her in person she will answer any of my questions, but thats not really my purpose. My purpose will be to educate those blindly following her into the abyss. If she happens to listen and educate herself, then so much the better. And if she runs away and shows her cowardice to answer any legitimate questions, what will her sheep think of her then? What will they think of their War on Nonprofitable Drugs?

The key to ending prohibition is independant thought. We were given that gift for a reason, it's past time that we as a country started to use this long forgotten gift again and make ourselves and others aware of the lies that this country has supported and enforced on others.

Have we ( drug policy reformers) ever been invited to present an opposing view at a Prohibitionist type event?

Thanks for the info Kap...if i do happen to attend, i'll be sure to report my findings here:)

Put the antis on the defensive - and observer's astute method offers endless opportunities. Personally, I take it pretty far and constantly confront people on this issue. Ask parents if they think their kid should be in prison. Statistically, your chances of striking a nerve are 54%.

The lies must end NOW!

http://www.ourdrugfreekids.com/

I will not risk anyone's lunch by asking you to have a look at it...even with a dose of prophylactic anti-emesis. That is entirely up to you. But she hasn't changed a bit. Suffice to say, she is now rampaging against hemp products:

BOYCOTT POT!...and all hemp products!

Go to the link named "Program Against Drug Legalization" and you'll find something interesting. It's a form letter she sends to 'community leaders'. I invite you to have a look at this supposedly professional letter. See if you saw what I did. Hint? She needs a spell checker.

But what's really cute is her tips on public speaking; she evidently expects no one from our camp to attend her little Two Minute Hate Meetings. Go to the link labeled "Public speaking" on the far right of the bottom of the page containing the form letter:

"TAKE QUESTIONS IF TIME PERMITS – Question and answer periods following the speech are desirable in most circumstances if time permits. If you do not know the answer to a question(s), do not panic. Simply inform the person that you do not have the answer, but that you will try to get it for them. A question and answer period should last as long as the audience seems to want it or the schedule allows.

Yes, why don't we Marylanders, Virginians, and Denizens of DC attend some of her little speaking groups? I'm sure we could liven things up for her. after all, she said she wanted to entertain questions, right?

Another thing we can do is pray for Truth.

Truth is the prohibitionist worst nightmare.

Truth dissolves prohiitionists like salt on a slug.

Ignoids and Truth are at opposite ends of reality.

Bravo Murphy! Instead of having to defend or define (etc.) "legalize," you instead succinctly attacked JAIL, and you saw results.

This syndrome is characterized by an inability to incorporate truthful and relevant data when it is staring the person in the face. Its victims continue their opinionated public stances with vindictive tendencies toward those who would wish to point out their illness.

Joyce, how is it possible you missed the answers to your specific objections to cannabis use? Did you not read Ethan Russo's well researched words, or my carefully documented and footnoted point by point refutations of your false assertions? Does it mean nothing to you that legal pharmaceuticals work in the same neural pathways as cannnabis, yet undeniably cause more harm, including but not limited to liver damage, nausea, dizziness, even death? Why do you continue to look the other way when the truth is staring you in the face? Have you noticed your own pattern of ignoring any and all answers to your objections, regardless of the fact that they are well reasoned and articulated? You keep on writing your hit and run pieces, with reckless disregard for the truth. Fortunately for the world, we can compile, compare and contrast your disingenuous rants against cannabis. When we look at your shifting position on the science, it is obvious you have read some of the words, because you eventually stop using some of those particular lies to spread your devious message - which is that marijuana is anything other than safe, effective and tasty in soup. Please reply to these points, Joyce Nalepka. I strongly feel you are avoiding replying to the refutations that consistently and clearly answer your arguments.

From:
http://my.marijuana.com/article.php?thold=-1&mode=flat&order=1&sid=3078#8345

The argument that we are fools because we point out that the drug war infringes on civil rights begs credibility.

It lacks merit especially because the very same lawmakers most vociferously opposed to safe, legal cannabis accept the very highest campaign contributions from manufacturers of deadly and addictive legal substances, which cause demonstrably more harm. Those corporations have built multi-billion dollar industries based on products that would otherwise have to compete with cannabis in the open market.

So, no we are not fools. We will continue to point out the truth; including but not limited to the facts that:

• No one has ever died from a marijuana cigarette.
• Cannabis has proven antimicrobial and anticarcinogenic properties.
• Cannabis works in the same nueral pathways as more dangerous pharmacetical drugs, yet causes neither liver damage nor death that is not also related to the prohibition of this benign herb. Prescription drugs kill 110,000 Americans every year.
• Smoking marijuana is exponentially safer than drinking alcohol, which claims 100,000 US lives annually.
• 400,000 US citizens die from cigarettes. Again, no deaths have ever been credibly linked to marijuana use in all of human history.
• Sir Paul McCartney, one of the world's most prolific and successful songwriters, claimed for years that his writings wer cannabis inspired.
• While on the subject of "druggies", in 1993, Kary Mullis won the Nobel Chemistry Prize for his invention of the polymerase chain reaction. Kary Mullis is a long time proponent of LSD, which, demonized by lawmakers that also accept contributions from the manufacturers of Prozec, and several other selective seratonin reuptake inhibitors, which work in the same neural pathways as LSD. Mr. Mullis' invention has had a major impact on molecular biology, medicine, forensics, molecular paleontology, and many related fields.
• Jamestown (the colony founded in what is now Massachusetts) was founded on hemp (At that time, it was required by law to grow cannabis.)
• George Washington wrote letters that recommended his staff seperate the male hemp plants from female ones. This has the effect of increasing THC content, not strengthening twine.
• There is a wealth of evidence suggesting that cannabis prohibition increases teen drug use, the most credible of which is that of Holland, where teens seem to consider pot less attractive since the de facto decriminalization experiment there started 30 years ago.
• Interestingly, about the same time, Nixon's Shafer Commission formally made the following recommendation on March 22, 1972:
  

  "Neither the marihuana user nor the drug itself can be said to constitute a danger to public safety...Therefore, the Commission recommends ... [the] possession of marijuana for personal use no longer be an offense, [and that the] casual distribution of small amounts of marihuana for no remuneration, or insignificant remuneration no longer be an offense."
  

• Since Nixon started the war on drugs in a kneejerk reaction to what he considered to be a link to the downfall of civiliized societies, more than 13.2 million Americans have been arrested on marijuana charges, including over 735,000 in the year 2000.
• To put these numbers in perspective, that means 6 MILLION Americans DIE from legal drugs every ten years, while laws against the safest mind altering substance known to man are disingenuously applied to incarcerate 7 million citizens in the same time frame.

Posted">http://www.narcosoft.com">Posted by: Narcosoft.com
Arrest Prohibition:
Drug War is TREASON!

I don't know, but it seems obvious she has never smoked marijuana.

I can't decide if she is an antagonist or a bigot. Regardless, I do think she should try medical marijuana before declaring herself as an omniscient judge. I do think she would be able to understand why cancer patients want to have it available to reduce the pain and misery they must endure.

I think there is glimmer of hope for Joyce. Have a heart, Joyce, it's more important than having an opinion.

meanwhile back at the ranch….

…..(snip) 73 percent of Marylanders support medical marijuana.

Fraud and hoax huh?

Gosh, I miss agent "86".......:)

I guess just need to look at the glass as half-filled right now because my health is loudy and if I get outraged, it actually makes it worse.

Am I really the kind of person they want to nab, just 'cause I want to eat?

If you have cancer in Maryland and you believe that marijuana smokers should be jailed, then you can smoke marijuana there.

If you have campaigned against the War on Drugs because you tried marijuana and know it to offer many benefits, and if you then get cancer in Maryland, it will be presumed in a court of law that you smoke marijuana for the addict's "kick" or "high" and you will be jailed in the state of Maryland.

This strikes me as a fair minded approach to persecution, and it should be expanded to include other drugs and all fifty states. The names of people who have been convicted of using illicit drugs - or using licit drugs in an unauhorized manner - should be entered into a national database for reference by doctors, dentists and police.

Then a person convicted, for example, of using codeine - or suspected of the same - could be denied pain medication following dental surgery; a person who has abused nitrous oxide would be denied pain relief during dental surgery.

A woman who has a cocaine conviction, and is unable to prove that she is ignorant of this drug's aphrodisiac properties, should be denied birth control devices and information.

It would be nice to hear this read in that special tone of voice that he alone can summon.

Keeping sick people out of jail. My aren't we noble? We're only charging them $100. How proud of ourselves we must feel today.