cannabisnews.com: Marijuana: Illegal Drug or Medical Treatment Marijuana: Illegal Drug or Medical Treatment Posted by CN Staff on September 17, 2004 at 13:12:10 PT Press Release Source: PRNewswire New York -- On the Tuesday, September 21, 2004 episode of The Montel Williams Show, Montel Williams presents a very personal appeal for the legalization of medical marijuana. Montel publicly announces that he uses marijuana to ease the debilitating pain of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). He is joined on the show by several guests who use medical marijuana to aid their illnesses, and experts who offer pros and cons on the topic of legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes. On the show, Irvin Rosenfeld, a stockbroker from Lauderhill, FL, tells Montel that he has been receiving medical marijuana from the government for over 20 years as part of a federally funded program. He suffers from a rare condition called Multiple Congenital Cartilaginous Exostosis and says he has been enrolled with 12 others in a compassionate-care program that allows treatment with government-grown marijuana from The University of Mississippi. Though President Bush ended the program in 1992, Rosenfeld still receives medical marijuana on a monthly basis from the government.Don Murphy, Maryland's former Republican State Delegate, says he "voted for higher penalties for large amounts of marijuana and other drugs." But then, he says, his father died of cancer, and he learned too late of the value of medical marijuana. According to Murphy, "My father died in 1997 of cancer, and I didn't even know marijuana's medicinal value for him." He says he "didn't try to get it." But, Murphy continues, "I can tell you one thing, elected or not, I would have (tried to get medical marijuana for his father to ease his pain), and I defy anyone in this audience or anyone else to say they wouldn't do the same thing."The opposing viewpoint is stated by Dr. Andrea Barthwell, MD, former White House Office of National Drug Control Policy's Deputy Director for Demand Reduction, who says to Montel, "The problem with trying to bring medications to the marketplace through a popular vote ... is setting modern medicine back to the turn of the century." Barthwell continues by saying, "We developed a process through which we would evaluate botanicals, biologicals, even a molecule that we found in a lab, and would manipulate that in a way to increase its efficacy, reduce its side effect, and bring it to the people in a way that protected the public health." She claims that legalizing marijuana at this point in time, compares to "snake oil salesmen handing out medication from the back of a stagecoach."Montel passionately rebuts her statement, referring to the government funded medical marijuana program that Rosenfeld openly discusses on the show. Williams exclaims, "Talk to me about stagecoaches. Tell me about the stagecoach from Washington D.C. that delivers this to a pharmacy every single week!"To which Dr. Barthwell replies, "Well, there are some exceptions, and there are other patients that could get it through exception, but what we know is that ... independent scientists who determine medicine in this country ... determined that there was potential for medication development for marijuana, but that the research should follow the same scientific principles that we follow for all other medication development."To which Williams responds, "For 20 years in a row there's been research garnered by the US government. You can research this guy (Irvin Rosenfeld)!" Other guests on the show include: A mother and grandmother of an eight-year-old boy from Rocklin, CA, who claim his aggressive behavior was initially treated by over 16 psychotropic drugs with no success, until they discovered medical marijuana. And a woman from Oakland, CA, whose body is unable to synthesize traditional medication and can only function with regular intake of medical marijuana.Also appearing on the show are: Dr. Donald Abrams, MD, Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of California/San Francisco; Rob Kampia, Executive Director of the Marijuana Policy Project; and Roger Curtiss, addiction counselor and director of alcohol and drug services of Anaconda/Deer Lodge, an outpatient treatment facility in Montana.The Montel Williams Show is a Mountain Movers production in association with Paramount Domestic Television. Montel Williams and Diane Rappoport are executive producers.Source: Paramount Domestic TelevisionSource: PRNewswire (US)Published: September 17, 2004Copyright 2004 PRNewswire Website: http://www.prnewswire.com Contact: http://www.prnewswire.com/news/Related Articles & Web Sites:Montel Williams Showhttp://www.montelshow.com/Medical Marijuana Information Linkshttp://freedomtoexhale.com/medical.htmMontel Williams Tosses Gov Pot Potatohttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19504.shtmlMontel Williams Pushes Pot -- for Medical Reliefhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18797.shtmlPatient Praises Marijuana http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18540.shtmlTranscript: Montel Williams on Medical Marijuanahttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18288.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #23 posted by ekim on September 18, 2004 at 09:10:06 PT Is the War on Drugs a War on Terror? http://www.november.org/stayinfo/Calendar.htmlSeptember 21, 2004, New York City. Ethan Nadelmann Speaking Event: "Narcoterrorism: Is the War on Drugs a War on Terror?" 6:00 PM; at the McNally Amphitheatre, New York, NY. For further info, contact Meredith Kapushion at kapushion fordham.eduSeptember 23, 2004, New York City. The Drop the Rock Coalition will meet on Thursday, September 23 from 6:00 to 7:00 PM at the Correctional Association of New York (135 E. 15th Street between Irving Place and 3rd Ave). Contact Shayna Kessler at shaynak bronxdefenders.org for more info.September 23, 2004, Kalamazoo, MI. 9:00 AM: Western Michigan University Drug Policy Symposium. LEAP (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition) Member and Sheriff Bill Masters will participate in an all day drug policy symposium with numerous guest speakers. Featuring Nora Callahan of the November Coalition. For more info, contact info leap.cc or see www.leap.cc/calendar/view_entry.php?id=547; also Ben Lando at (269) 760-5107 or mrbenlando yahoo.comSeptember 24-25, 2004, Vancouver, BC, Canada. 3rd Annual Drug War Vigil Film Festival and Contest. Sponsored by The Drug War Vigil Memorial Group. To enter, send the Group your films or 30 minutes or less on any topic related to cannabis, drugs and the drug war or harm reduction, in VHS tape or Hi-8 or digital-8 format. The films will be screened and judged by participants in the Festival as well as by viewed of Pot-TV (http://www.Pot.TV.net). Grand prize award is $2,000 US, 2nd place award $1,000, 3rd place $500, new special $500 prize for best short. To entry, you must register your film for entry. To do so, send an e-mail ASAP to film cannabisculture.com to let the Group know your intention to enter the contest. Include the projected length of your work. Registration is free. The Group must receive your finished film by September 10. Send it to: D.W.V. c/o BCMP Bookshop, 307 W. Hastings, Vancouver, BC V6B 1H6, CANADA.September 24 - 26, 2004, Queensland, Australia. The 5th International Addictions 2004 Conference. For more info, see www.addiction-conference.elsevier.comSeptember 25, 2004, Asheville, NC. 8:00 am; The Adverse Effects of Drug War Prohibition, Our Families, Our Children and Our Communities, WONPR Coalition Against Prohibition Educational Forum (The Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform), University of North Carolina, Asheville, NC. Cosponsored by the UNC-Asheville Women's Studies Dept. For more info, see www.wonpr.org http://www.wonpr.org [ Post Comment ] Comment #22 posted by ALM on September 18, 2004 at 04:45:08 PT Prohibition is a tool of capitalist greed The FDA approval process is more about protecting pharmaceutical industry profits than protecting the patients who actually use medicine.The real reason Andrea Barthwell doesn't want us to have marijuana is because a safe, effective medicine people can grow in their backyards for free doesn't enrich greedy corporations.We need to connect the dots to outrageous prices for prescription drugs and explain that it is all part of the same greedy plan to gouge sick people.We let them get away with selling dangerous "anti-depressants" to children that increase the risk of suicide, while jack-booted thugs from the government kick down the doors of sick people who use a medicine that nature provides for free. [ Post Comment ] Comment #21 posted by siege on September 17, 2004 at 19:08:54 PT receptors From what I have learned genetic receptors are all ready in the body / brain at birth,then with generations they are turned on one at time by what sequence of events occurs. [ Post Comment ] Comment #20 posted by E_Johnson on September 17, 2004 at 18:25:55 PT AlvinCool Cannabinoid receptors did not evolve because humans ingested cannabis -- the cannabinoid receptor system evolved in organisms back before animals and plants differentiated, about 500 million years ago. [ Post Comment ] Comment #19 posted by AlvinCool on September 17, 2004 at 18:01:48 PT Macauley Culkin Arrested Thought people might want to see this http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Entertainment/ap20040917_1946.html [ Post Comment ] Comment #18 posted by The GCW on September 17, 2004 at 17:45:53 PT Alvin Cool, "doesn’t Genesis state that all fruit born of seed is for man’s use."Yes, ON THE VERY 1ST PAGE.Genesis 1:11-12 & 29-30. [ Post Comment ] Comment #17 posted by AlvinCool on September 17, 2004 at 17:30:14 PT Thanks Thanks for the informationAnyone know where I can find out how many generations we would have to consume something before genetic receptors formed in your brain at birth to use those substances [ Post Comment ] Comment #16 posted by Ethan Russo MD on September 17, 2004 at 17:26:52 PT Compassionate Use IND Chronic Use Study Please see complete article for details: http://www.cannabis-med.org/jcant/russo_chronic_use.pdf [ Post Comment ] Comment #15 posted by Dankhank on September 17, 2004 at 17:26:07 PT Data Dr. Ethan Russo covers most if not all of your questions in his study: Chronic Cannabis Use in the "Compassionate Investigational New Drug Program: An examination of benefits and adverse effects of Legal Clinical Cannabis" study available on my copy of the CRL and probably online if googled for.He studied three of the remaining six, I believe.No detrimetal effects found due to Cannabis use.Google: Chronic Cannabis Use and go right to it. [ Post Comment ] Comment #14 posted by AlvinCool on September 17, 2004 at 17:24:44 PT Sent this to Montel's foundation Might not get read, but I enjoyed writing it. Maybe it will help him in a future show To get right to the point. It’s my understanding to get into the original medical marijuana pilot you had to have either a terminal disease or have eyesight that would have been guaranteed to progress into blindness. Once closed the original members were grandfathered in and expected to all be dead years ago. How many people were in that group total with 12 left in it after all these years? What I would like to know is what percentage on the whole do the survivors comprise and how does that compare with a random sampling of people with the same diseases and health levels. Plus, to be through, include quality of life of the people that passed on in both groups through surviving relatives and friends. I bet the two studies would be so different as to not be believed.If the above study came out as I think then the second question is the religion factor in this mess. Since more religious people favor prohibition of marijuana I would ask this, “How can you allow marijuana to be prohibited?” First is the church screaming how horrible marijuana is, based on what they hear from our government. But I say, doesn’t Genesis state that all fruit born of seed is for man’s use. Cannabis is one of the world’s natural perfect foods. Can a religious person deny that this is about a direct as it gets. This means that anyone that believes marijuana is evil, knowing that God himself made it for man to use, may be unable to ascend to Heaven since they have willingly ignored the word of God. Second part of that is for the Atheists. Of the scientists out there can someone say how many generations a human would have to have consumed cannabis before a receptor appears genetically? I like to look at drugs in the convience store model. Cannabis would be considered the gasoline of the market. Every one knows somebody to get drugs from. The problem is there are people that just sell cannabis, and there are people that sell cannabis and drugs. If legal for adults they would never buy cannabis from people that sell other drugs. I personally believe that the drug market would dwindle in size dramatically and it would be much harder for a new drug to spread.I would like to add that I would like to see our country change from our current prison system to one styled after the Finnish. They had a 6 to 1 return rate just like we did. Now they do smaller terms, no parole and completely integrate everyone back into society. Their return rate is now 1 in 10If I were John Kerry I would pounce on prison reform as a great passed by idea. I bet Bush would drop his teeth. [ Post Comment ] Comment #13 posted by FoM on September 17, 2004 at 17:08:16 PT AlvinCool Maybe Dr. Russo would know the answer to your question.That's a really good link and I have hope again now because of Montel and this upcoming show. [ Post Comment ] Comment #12 posted by AlvinCool on September 17, 2004 at 16:48:22 PT Check out Montel's stance If any of you are interested Montel has started an MS foundation. On the site he posts his stance on medical marijuana.I do have a question though. Since to get into the original medical marijuana pilot you had to have either a terminal disease or have eyesight that would have been guaranteed to progress into blindness. How many people were in that group total with 12 left in it after all these years? What I would like to know is what percentage on the whole do the survivors comprise and how does that compare with a random sampling of people with the same diseases and health levels. Plus include quality of life of the people that passed on in both groups through relatives and friends.I bet they would be so different as to not be believed. Think I sould ask Montel if he can get those figures if you guys don't have them? http://www.montelms.org/resource/marijuana.asp [ Post Comment ] Comment #11 posted by FoM on September 17, 2004 at 16:31:23 PT We Sure Do Know It Helps EJ that's the truth. About the word snakeoil I think of covered wagons going into towns and selling assorted bottles of different extracts that made people feel better. Doctors were hard to find way back in the pioneer days and having snakeoil was probably a god send to many poor folks. Maybe I don't see it right but that's what I think. [ Post Comment ] Comment #10 posted by E_Johnson on September 17, 2004 at 16:12:09 PT And what we know now, FoM Marijuana doesn't just treat symptoms, it seems to be able to treat a wide range of diseases. [ Post Comment ] Comment #9 posted by Max Flowers on September 17, 2004 at 16:07:49 PT Misstatement? - And a woman from Oakland, CA, whose body is unable to synthesize traditional medication and can only function with regular intake of medical marijuana. - I'm sure they meant "whose body is unable to METABOLIZE traditional medication" [ Post Comment ] Comment #8 posted by BGreen on September 17, 2004 at 15:12:24 PT roger curtiss IS a DRUG TREATMENT WHORE This article pretty much sums up his addiction to prohibition and lies.The Reverend Bud Green**********************************************************But critics of the proposed law have said that medical marijuana laws are the first step towards drug re-regulation, and called the initiative a ‘‘law enforcement nightmare.''Roger Curtiss, an addiction counselor for Anaconda-Deer Lodge counties and opponent of the initiative, points to data recently released by the National Center for Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University that shows children and teens are three times likelier to be in treatment for marijuana use than for alcohol use.And they are six times likelier to be in treatment for marijuana use than for all other illegal drugs combined, he cited.Curtiss also said marijuana is a so-called ‘‘gateway drug,'' which means people who use marijuana have less inhibitions about using other, more serious, drugs such as methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin. Advocates cite Calif. pot-use study [ Post Comment ] Comment #7 posted by FoM on September 17, 2004 at 14:54:04 PT Snake Oil When I think of snake oil I think of natural medicine used to help a person. Snake oil salesman have a bad reputation and so does the term snake oil. It's just as bad as calling cannabis the devil's weed. [ Post Comment ] Comment #6 posted by E_Johnson on September 17, 2004 at 14:50:42 PT That snake oil comment That made Gwen Ifill's jaw drop on the Lehrer News Hour.She was speechless for a moment, then she asked her, "Are you saying an American doctor would recommend snake oil to a patient?"Barthwell backtracked like one of those crabs that walk backwards and dig themselves into the sand when you try to grab them on the beach. [ Post Comment ] Comment #5 posted by FoM on September 17, 2004 at 14:44:01 PT Sad News Article from The Associated Press Mary Gennoy, Medical Marijuana Activist, Dies at 53Friday, September 17, 2004 SAN FRANCISCO - Mary Elaine Gennoy, a San Francisco resident who used a diminutive body shaped by birth defects to become a passionate medical marijuana activist, has died at age 53, according to close friends.Gennoy, a longtime resident of the city's Castro district, died Sept. 5 after suffering complications from throat surgery she had undergone for cancer of the larynx, said Dennis Peron, a neighbor and friend who co-sponsored the California law allowing qualified patients to use medical marijuana.During the 1996 campaign to pass Proposition 215, Gennoy - who stood just 4 feet 6 inches tall and weighed less than 70 pounds - gathered signatures to put the measure on the ballot and later served as a spokeswoman for the cause, Peron said.Her small size resulted from the radiation treatment her mother underwent for cancer while pregnant. Gennoy also was born without forearm bones and with other physical disabilities that included useless thumbs. She also had hearing and intestinal problems.She spent much of her life recovering from surgeries and serious illnesses, and as a teenager discovered that marijuana eased her chronic discomfort."You looked at her and you knew she was in pain," Peron said. "It took her five minutes to walk up to a podium where it would take someone 20 seconds. She said, 'Walk in my body for one day and tell me medical marijuana isn't necessary.'"In a 1998 interview with the San Francisco Examiner, Gennoy defended her longtime habit of smoking about three marijuana joints a day. She said she felt so strongly that marijuana had made her life bearable that she wished she could "be like Robin Hood and steal from the rich and give to the poor who need it.""If you were born like me, you'd have no choice," she said. "You'd just do it. There have been times when I've almost died, and I really need this to help me out."More recently, Gennoy started getting around in a wheelchair, but she still was a reliable presence at medical marijuana rallies - the one place where she smoked pot in public."She looked like an elf, and she played the part in a way," Peron said. "She was in your face, but so disarming because of her physical appearance."Gennoy is survived by her mother, Doris Elaine Gilla; her father, William Gennoy; and a sister, Jane Dietmeyer, all of Fresno; and an aunt, Molly Carbone of Oakland.Gennoy asked that her ashes be spread in the Santa Cruz Mountains. A celebration of her life will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday at Peron's house.Copyright: 2004 Associated Press http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/states/california/counties/alameda_county/9692608.htm?1c [ Post Comment ] Comment #4 posted by E_Johnson on September 17, 2004 at 14:36:37 PT Holy Cow, Marvin Chavez is free! It hasn't been in the news, I was just checking his web page, this is great:http://www.hempevolution.org/media/orange_county_register/ocr040817.htm [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by FoM on September 17, 2004 at 13:49:32 PT BGreen This show is a miracle to me! [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by BGreen on September 17, 2004 at 13:43:52 PT Does Anybody Else Think This?. barthwell (and I'm sure the drug treatment whore, roger curtiss) must have felt nervous telling her drug czar lies around all of those people with superior intellect instead of in the usual 'they talk, we listen' form of drive-by propaganda.I can't wait to see this show.The Reverend Bud Green [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on September 17, 2004 at 13:13:42 PT I Can't Wait! What a show this will be! Thank you everyone! [ Post Comment ] Post Comment