cannabisnews.com: It's Not Just Pot - It's Medicine, Says Group It's Not Just Pot - It's Medicine, Says Group Posted by CN Staff on October 04, 2004 at 22:40:12 PT By Stefanie Hubbs Source: SHNS New York - Claiming it's not about getting stoned, representatives of a 10,000-member coalition of doctors and patients are storming the capital in a fresh attempt to ease federal restrictions on the medical use of marijuana."Without cannabis, I'm pretty much a basket case," said Michael Krawitz, 40, a disabled Air Force veteran from Ironto, Va., who uses the illicit drug to treat service-related injuries. At a press conference Monday, Krawitz wore a red-and-white T-shirt declaring himself a medical marijuana user. "I don't know how to say this any clearer - I need this medicine," he said. "And the government needs to get out of my way so I can have it."Americans for Safe Access, a Berkley, Calif., patient-advocacy group filed a petition Monday with the Department of Health and Human Services that charges the agency with spreading information that undermines the medicinal properties of marijuana.Tuesday the group will protest at HHS headquarters. Hilary McQuie, a protest organizer, said in a statement that busloads of patients will come from all over the country to demand that the government review its stance on medical marijuana.The group is harnessing the power of the little-known Data Quality Act - a law that, until now, has mostly been used by businesses to challenge scientific reports that could cost them money. Reversing the law's corporate trend, Americans for Safe Access says it is the first liberal, non-profit group to use Data Quality on behalf of U.S. patients. The law gives citizens the right to dispute scientific information disseminated by government agencies and requires the agencies to respond to petitions within two months.In 2001, HHS concluded that "marijuana has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States."Steph Sherer, ASA executive director, said the goal of the petition is to dismiss this and other government assertions that marijuana is dangerous and not medically effective.David Murray, a policy analyst with the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, said there is no such thing as "medical marijuana." He said the Food and Drug Administration has reviewed these claims and found them to be contradictory."This is a bit of a ruse and a bit of a sideshow," Murray said. "To date, there is no literature showing a currently acceptable use of marijuana. The abuse potential and the hazards of smoking outweigh any claims of value."Murray said the ASA petition is a political prop to open the doors to recreational marijuana use. He said that, even though researchers may someday find effective medicines to extract from the cannabis plant, it is hazardous to smoke it.Sherer said, however, that the drug has proven valuable for patients with cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, spinal injury and other conditions. She said she founded ASA in 2002 after she began using marijuana to combat chronic back pain related to a spinal injury.Nine states, including Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington, have laws permitting patients to use marijuana with a doctor's recommendation. But these state laws are at odds with federal prohibitions classifying marijuana as a "Schedule I" drug, along with heroin, LSD and peyote, that have no medical use. The ASA petition could allow the Drug Enforcement Administration to declare it a "Schedule II" drug, which would make marijuana more easily available for research and prescription purposes.At the press conference, physicians endorsed the use of marijuana as medicine, as did a research biologist, the attorney who prepared the legal petition and a handful of patients.Dennis J. Petro, a consulting neurologist at Malcolm Grow Medical Center at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, said his studies have found that cannabis significantly reduces muscle spasticity in patients with multiple sclerosis. He said his results are confirmed by seven other double-blind, placebo-controlled studies."There is no magic drug that works for everyone all the time," said Robert J. Melamede, biology department chair at the University of Colorado. "But there are many, many people who will benefit from marijuana use because of the way it affects their system. And the argument that we don't know the chemicals that are in this plant is really very false."Melamede said the U.S. government's stance on marijuana goes against scientific research.Erin Hildebrandt, 33, a Portland, Ore., resident who has Crohn's disease, said she recently moved 3,000 miles from her home in Maryland just so she could have easier access to marijuana. The mother of five children, Hildebrandt said marijuana is the only drug that gives her relief from the debilitating gastrointestinal disorder.Through teary eyes, Hildebrandt said, "All I want is to be a law-abiding citizen. I want my kids to know that it's important to work within our system. I want them to be able to look up to me."Note: Representatives of a 10,000-member coalition of doctors and patients are storming the capital in a fresh attempt to ease federal restrictions on the medical use of marijuana.Complete Title: It's Not Just Pot - It's Medicine, Says Advocacy GroupSource: Scripps Howard Foundation Wire Source: SHNS (DC)Author: Stefanie HubbsPublished: October 4, 2004Copyright: 2004 Script Howard News ServiceWebsite: http://www.shns.com/Contact: copelandp shns.comRelated Articles & Web Site:Americans For Safe Accesshttp://www.safeaccessnow.org/Initiative Planned To Get Marijuana Curbs Easedhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19589.shtmlGovernment Must Correct MMJ Misinformationhttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19579.shtml Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help Comment #4 posted by BigDawg on October 05, 2004 at 07:42:16 PT I agree Kaptinemo There are two words that I use CONSISTANTLY when discussing our cause.1) Cannabis (as opposed to Marijuana, weed, etc)2) Prohibtion (as opposed to WOD, etc)IMHO, these 2 words are key. Cannabis is more than worthy of using her real name, and "prohibition" puts the issue squarely in its place. [ Post Comment ] Comment #3 posted by kaptinemo on October 05, 2004 at 04:41:36 PT: The magic word *...these state laws are at odds with federal prohibitions...*'Prohibitions'. The root word being "prohibition". As in Mafia. As in Al Capone. As in drive-by shootings. As in adulterated illicit drugs being sold to minors and causing tens, scores of thousands to suffer and die. As in the name of a disastrously failed national policy our grandparents endured decades ago, and scrapped in favor of something much more practical. According to the antis, that makes all of our grandparents 'drug legalizers'. So, who wants to call big-hearted ol' Grandad a 'legalizer'?Prohibition. The more the media uses that word, the more evident it will become to the population at large that *that* is exactly what is happening now: the repetition of a failed policy that benefited only gangsters and corrupt politicians and police. [ Post Comment ] Comment #2 posted by The GCW on October 05, 2004 at 04:00:07 PT STOP the Cannabis exterminators. 10:5:4 When the Cannabis exterminators say, Those sick people don’t benefit from marijuana; the potheads just want to get high, It has some of the ring of this:Luke 7:33-34, "For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, 'He has a demon!' 34 "The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'4:20Cannabis exterminators evolve from sick minds. They are not just screwing up the cannabis laws; they are screwing up other things they touch.Staunch Cannabis exterminators have proven that they are not in touch with the truth; that personal problem gets in the way of other parts of their daily lives, which effect others. If that problem exists in a politician, it may effect many others. [ Post Comment ] Comment #1 posted by FoM on October 04, 2004 at 23:07:13 PT Good Luck Everyone I hope wonderful things come from all this effort! [ Post Comment ] Post Comment